giraffe species of ruminant ( Giraffa Camelopardalis ) that is the tallest of all mammals. It reaches an overall height of 18 ft (5.5 m) or more. The legs and neck are extremely long.
The giraffe has a short body, a tufted tail, a short mane, and short, skin- covered horns. The back slopes downward to the hindquarters. The coat is pale buff, with reddish brown spots. It feeds primarily on acacia leaves. It lives in herds on savannas and in open bush country and is native to most of sub-Saharan Africa.
Giraffes are still numerous in eastern Africa, where they are protected, but hunting has reduced their popula¬ tions elsewhere. The only other member of the family Giraffidae is the okapi.
Giraldus Cambrensis Xjo-'rol- dos-kam-'bren-sosX or Gerald of Wales (b. c. 1146, Manorbier Castle, Pembrokeshire, Wales—d. c.
1223) Historian and archdeacon of Brecknock, Wales (1175-1204). Edu¬ cated in Paris, he returned to Wales and struggled unsuccessfully to become bishop of St. David’s, hoping to make it independent of Canter¬ bury. He advised Henry II of England and Henry’s son John, especially on Welsh and Irish issues. His accounts of life in the late 12th century have proved valuable to historians.
Girard \zhe-'rar,\ English \j3-'rard\, Stephen (b. May 20, 1750, Bor¬ deaux, France—d. Dec. 26, 1831, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.) French-born American financier and philanthropist. He became a sailor at age 14; by 1774 he was commanding a French ship involved in American coastal trade with the West Indies. He settled in Philadelphia during the Ameri¬ can Revolution and resumed trading in 1783. He developed an efficient, worldwide trading fleet and amassed a fortune. In 1812 he bought out the Bank of the United States, renaming it the Bank of Stephen Girard. Dur¬ ing the War of 1812 he purchased government bonds, which by 1814 con¬ stituted 95% of the U.S.’s war loan. He bequeathed his fortune to social- welfare institutions, including Stephen Girard College for male orphans (founded 1833).
Girardon \zhe-rar-'d6 n \, Francois (baptized March 17, 1628, Troyes, Fr.—d. Sept. 1, 1715, Paris) French sculptor. He studied in Troyes and in Rome, and in 1657 he became a member of the French Royal Academy. In 1666 he received his most famous commission, the Apollo Tended by the Nymphs, for the Grotto of Thetis at Versailles. Of his other works at Versailles, the most notable are The Bath of the Nymphs (1668-70) and The Rape of Persephone (1677-79). Although superficially a Baroque art¬ ist, Girardon’s deep-seated Classical tendencies also emerge in the serene solemnity of his two principal works outside Versailles: an equestrian statue of Louis XIV (1683-92), destroyed in the French Revolution, and the tomb of Cardinal Richelieu in the church of the Sorbonne (1675-94). Though influenced by the work of Gian Lorenzo Bernini, his own style was more restrained.
Giraud \zhe-'ro\, Henri (-Honore) (b. Jan. 18, 1879, Paris, France—d. March 11, 1949, Dijon) French army officer. In World War II he commanded forces in northern France but was captured by the Ger¬ mans in 1940. He escaped in 1942 and soon became commander in chief of the French forces in North Africa. In 1943 he was copresident with Charles de Gaulle of the French Committee of National Liberation, but retired in 1944 over differences with de Gaulle.
Giraudoux\zhe-ro-'du\, (Hyppolyte-) Jean (b. Oct. 29, 1882, Bel- lac, France—d. Jan. 31, 1944, Paris) French novelist, essayist, and play¬ wright. He made the diplomatic service his career, while becoming known as an avant-garde writer with early poetic novels such as Suzanne et le Pacifique (1921). He created an impressionistic form of drama by empha¬ sizing dialogue and style rather than realism. In such works as Electre (1937) and Cantique des cantiques (1938), he sought inspiration in Clas¬ sical or biblical tradition. His most famous works are Tiger at the Gates (1935), about the Trojan War, and The Madwoman of Chaillot (1946).
girder In building construction, a large main supporting beam, commonly of steel or reinforced concrete, that carries a heavy transverse (crosswise) load. In a floor system, beams and joists transfer their loads to the gird¬ ers, which in turn frame into the columns.
Gironde Estuary \zhe-'ro n d\ Estuary on the Bay of Biscay, southwest¬ ern France. Formed by the confluence of the Garonne and Dordogne riv¬ ers, it extends for about 45 mi (72 km) inland. It is navigable for oceangoing vessels, although it has sandbanks and strong tides.
Girondin \j9-'ran-din\ or Girondist Label applied to a loose group¬ ing of republican politicians, some of them originally from the departe- ment of Gironde, who played a leading role in the Legislative Assembly from October 1791 to September 1792 during the French Revolution. Their opponents often called them Brissotins, after their most prominent spokes¬ man, Jacques-Pierre Brissot. While in dominance, they supported foreign war as a means to unite the people behind the Revolution. In 1792 the National Convention was divided between them and the more radical Montagnards; in 1793 they were driven from the National Convention and the Montagnards seized power. Many Girondins were guillotined in the Reign of Terror.
GIS See geographic information system
Giscard d'Estaing \zhis-kar-des-'ta n \, Valery (b. Feb. 2, 1926, Koblenz, Ger.) French political leader, third president of the Fifth Republic (1974-81). He was elected to the National Assembly in 1956.
He served as finance minister under Charles de Gaulle (1962-66) and Georges Pompidou (1969-74); in his first term of office France attained its first balanced budget in 30 years, but his conservative policies helped cause a recession and he was dis¬ missed. In 1974 he became president after defeating Francois Mitterrand and helped strengthen the European Economic Community. In 1981 he was defeated in another runoff election with Mitterrand. Giscard later served in the National Assembly (1984-89) and the European Parliament (1989—
93). In 2001 he was appointed by the European Union to chair a conven¬ tion charged with drafting a consti¬ tution for the organization.
Gish, Lillian (Diana) (b. Oct. 14, 1893, Springfield, Ohio, U.S.—d. Feb. 27, 1993, New York, N.Y.) U.S. film and theater actress. She acted on Broadway and with touring companies from age five, often with her sister, Dorothy (1898-1968). Their screen careers began when D.W. Grif¬ fith featured them in An Unseen Enemy (1912). Lillian won international fame in The Birth of a Nation (1915) and starred as the luminous heroine of other Griffith films such as Broken Blossoms (1919), Way Down East (1920), and Orphans of the Storm (1921). Dorothy was a popular star in light comedies through the 1920s, but her career was overshadowed by her sister’s durable fame. After the hits La Boheme and The Scarlet Let-
Masai giraffe (Giraffa Camelopardalis tippelskirchi).
© ANIMALS ANIMALS, 1971
Valery Giscard d'Estaing, 1985.
©1985 THIERRY BOCCON-GIBOD/BIACK STAR
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
766 i Gislebertus ► gladiator
ter (both 1926), Lillian’s film career waned and she returned to the stage in plays such as Uncle Vanya (1930), Hamlet (with John Gielgud, 1936), Life with Father (1940), and The Trip to Bountiful (1953). Returning to the screen, she was acclaimed in The Night of the Hunter (1955), A Wed¬ ding (1978), and The Whales of August (1987).
Gislebertus \,gez-l3-'ber-tus\ (fl. c. 1120-1140, France) French sculp¬ tor. His most notable works are the tympanum sculpture of the western doorway of the Romanesque cathedral at Autun, depicting the Last Judg¬ ment, a masterpiece of expressionistic carving; a large-scale reclining nude Eve for the northern doorway; and some 60 carved capitals in the interior and doorways illustrating biblical scenes. His imagination was far-reaching, and his work had a lasting effect on the development of French Gothic art.