Gilchrist \'gil-krist\, Percy Carlyle (b. Dec. 27, 1851, Lyme Regis, Dorset, Eng.—d. Dec. 16, 1935, England) British metallurgist. In 1876— 77, with his cousin Sidney Gilchrist Thomas (1850-85), he devised the basic Bessemer process of making steel in Bessemer converters from phosphorus-containing pig iron. In the Thomas-Gilchrist process, the lin¬ ing used in the converter is basic rather than acidic, and it captures the acidic phosphorus oxides formed upon blowing air through molten iron made from the high-phosphorus iron ore prevalent in Europe. The pro¬ cess subsequently became widely used.
Gilead Vgi-le-3d\ Area of ancient Palestine, east of the Jordan River. Now northwestern Jordan, it was bounded to the north by the Yarmuk River and to the southwest by what were known then as the plains of Moab. Sometimes the name is used in a more general sense to describe the entire region east of the Jordan River and west of the Arabian Desert. The name first appears in the biblical account of the last meeting of Jacob and Laban (Gen. 31:21-22). The scene of the battle between Gideon and the Midianites, it was also the home of the prophet Elijah.
Gilgamesh Vgil-go-.mesh, gil-'ga-moshV Hero of the ancient Akkadian- language Epic of Gilgamesh. The great literary work of ancient Mesopot¬ amia, the epic is known from 12 incomplete tablets discovered at Nineveh in the library of Ashurbanipal. Gaps in the narrative have been filled in with fragments found elsewhere. The character Gilgamesh is probably based on the Gilgamesh who ruled Uruk in the 3rd millennium bc. The epic presents Gilgamesh as a great warrior and builder, who rejects the marriage proposal of the goddess Ishtar. With the aid of his friend and companion Enkidu, he kills the divine bull that Ishtar sends to destroy him. Enkidu’s death prompts Gilgamesh to seek Utnapishtim, survivor of the legendary flood, to learn how to escape death. He obtains a youth- renewing plant only to have it stolen. The epic ends with the return of the spirit of Enkidu, who gives a dismal report on the underworld.
Gill, Brendan (b. Oct. 4, 1914, Hartford, Conn., U.S.—d. Dec. 27, 1997, New York, N.Y.) U.S. writer. He is chiefly known for his pieces in The New Yorker , where he spent some 60 years, many of them as staff film critic (1960-67), theatre critic (1968-87), and architecture critic (1992-97). His many books include the memoir Here at The New Yorker (1975). A leading preservationist, he led the successful fight to save Grand Central Station.
Gilles de Rais See Bluebeard
Gillespie, Dizzy orig. John Birks Gillespie (b. Oct. 21, 1917, Cheraw, S.C., U.S.—d. Jan. 6, 1993,
Englewood, N.J.) U.S. jazz trum¬ peter, composer, arranger, and bandleader, one of the primary inno¬ vators of bebop. Gillespie was influ¬ enced by Roy Eldridge and played with the big bands of Cab Calloway,
Earl Hines, and Billy Eckstine before leading small groups in the mid- 1940s. He pioneered bebop with saxophonist Charlie Parker and pia¬ nist Thelonious Monk. Bringing this approach to his big band in the late 1940s, Gillespie popularized the use of Afro-Cuban rhythms in jazz. He alternated between large and small ensembles for the rest of his career. His virtuosity and comic wit (in addi¬
tion to his puffed cheeks and trademark 45° upturned trumpet bell) made him one of the most charismatic and influential musicians in jazz.
Gilman, Charlotte (Anna) Perkins (Stetson) (b. July 3, 1860, Hartford, Conn., U.S.—d. Aug. 17, 1935, Pasadena, Calif.) U.S. feminist theorist, writer, and lecturer. She gained worldwide fame as a lecturer on women, ethics, labour, and society. In her best-known work, Women and Economics (1898), she proposed that women’s sexual and maternal roles had been overemphasized to the detriment of their social and economic potential and that only economic independence could bring true freedom. Her other works include the celebrated short story “The Yellow Wallpa¬ per” (1899).
Gilmore, Patrick (Sarsfield) (b. Dec. 25, 1829, County Galway, Ire.—d. Sept. 24, 1892, St. Louis, Mo., U.S.) Irish-born U.S. bandmas¬ ter. He immigrated to the U.S. at age 19. In 1859 he took over the Bos¬ ton Brigade Band (later known as Gilmore’s Band). During the Civil War, the entire band enlisted in the Union army. A flamboyant showman, Gilmore organized extravaganza performances in 1869 and 1872 with more than 10,000 performers; the first featured cannon fire and 100 fire¬ men beating anvils, and the second employed a chorus of 20,000. From 1872 until his death he led the New York 22nd Regiment Band, giving 150 concerts in Europe in 1878. His innovations reduced the heavy reli¬ ance on brass instruments in favour of the higher proportion of reeds characteristic of modern concert bands.
gin Colorless distilled liquor. Made from neutral grain spirits, it acquires its distinctive flavour from juniper berries and aromatics (such as anise and caraway seeds). Its origin is attributed to a 17th-century Dutch medical researcher, Franciscus Sylvius. Two principal types are marketed: a malty- flavoured and full-bodied Netherlands type (alcohol content about 35% by volume) and a dry, purified type favoured in Britain and the U.S. (40- 47% alcohol by volume). Dry gin, which has more flavouring ingredients, is served either unmixed or in cocktails. Dutch gins are usually served unmixed or with water.
gin rummy Rummy game for two players in which each is dealt 10 cards and a player may win a hand by matching or sequencing by suit all the cards in it by drawing from a deck. Play may also end when the unmatched cards count up to 10 points or less. If a player matches all the cards he is “gin.” The first player to reach 100 points wins. The game was introduced in New York in 1909.
ginger Herbaceous perennial plant {Zingiber officinale ; family Zingib- eraceae), probably native to South Asia, or its aromatic, pungent rhizome, which is used as a spice, flavouring, food, and medicine. The spice has a slightly biting taste and is used, usually dried and ground, to flavour breads, sauces, curry dishes, confections, pickles, and ginger ale. The fresh rhizome is used in cooking. The leafy stems of the plant bear flow¬ ers in dense conelike spikes. Oil distilled from the rhizome is used in foods and perfumes.
gingerbread In architecture and design, elaborately detailed embel¬ lishment, either lavish or superfluous. Though the term is occasionally applied to such highly detailed and decorative styles as the Rococo, it usually refers to the hand-carved and -sawn wood ornamentation of the Carpenter Gothic style.
ginkgo Tree {Ginkgo biloba, fam¬ ily Ginkgoaceae) that is the only liv¬ ing representative of the gymnosperm order Ginkgoales.
Native to China, it is often termed a living fossil because it is unclear whether uncultivated groups can be found in the wild. It has been planted since ancient times in Chinese and Japanese temple gardens and is now valued in many parts of the world as an attractive, fungus- and insect- resistant ornamental tree. It tolerates cold weather and, unlike most gym- nosperms, can survive the adverse atmospheric conditions of urban areas. Pyramidal in shape, it has a columnar, sparingly branched trunk.
Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba)
GRANT HEILMAN
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764 I Ginsberg ► Giovanni di Paolo
The light-coloured wood, soft and weak, has little economic value. The fan-shaped, leathery leaves, most divided into two lobes by a central notch, resemble the leaflets of the maidenhair fern. The silvery nut, when roasted, is considered a delicacy. Studies have suggested that Ginkgo biloba supplements can enhance memory function in the elderly and delay the onset of Alzheimer disease.
Ginsberg, Allen (Irwin) (b. June 3, 1926, Newark, N.J., U.S.—d. April 5, 1997, New York, N.Y.) U.S. poet. Ginsberg was the son of a poet. He attended Columbia University, where he met Jack Kerouac. His epic poem Howl (1956), a denunciation of the failings of American society, became the most famous poem of the Beat movement; in it and later works, largely inspired by Walt Whitman, he celebrated the pleasures of psycho¬ tropic drugs, footloose wandering, and homosexuality. Kaddish (1961) is a long confessional poem about his mother’s insanity and suicide. His collections include Reality Sandwiches (1963), The Fall of America (1972), and Mind Breaths (1978). Ginsberg’s life was one of ceaseless travel, poetry readings, and left-wing political activity, and he was a guru of the American youth counterculture in the 1960s and ’70s.