Gissing, George (Robert) (b. Nov. 22, 1857, Wakefield, Yorkshire, Eng.—d. Dec. 28, 1903, Saint-Jean-de-Luz, France) British novelist. He had a brilliant academic career but an unhappy personal life; twice involved in miserable marriages, he experienced the life of near poverty and constant drudgery that he described in New Grub Street, 3 vol. (1891), his best-known work, and The Private Papers of Henry Ryecroft (1903). Inspired by Honore de Balzac, he wrote a cycle of 22 novels, which included Born in Exile (1892) and The Odd Women (1893). His realistic novels of lower-middle-class life are noted for their acute perception of women’s social position and psychology.
Giuliani, Rudolph W(illiam) or Rudy Giuliani (b. May 28,1944, Brooklyn, New York, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. politician, who was mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2002. Beginning in 1970, he worked for the U.S. government, holding positions in the office of the U.S. attorney and in the Department of Justice. He practiced law privately (1977-81) but returned to the Justice Department as associate attorney general (1981-83). In 1983 he was appointed U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. In 1994 he became New York City’s first Republican mayor in two decades. Credited with cutting crime, improving the quality of life, and benefiting business, he won a second term in 1997, though critics charged that he defended police misconduct and gutted essential programs. After the Sep¬ tember 11 attacks in 2001, Giuliani was praised for his strong leadership of the city through the crisis.
Giulini \jii-'le-ne. Carlo Maria (b. May 9, 1914, Barletta, Italy—d. June 14, 2005, Brescia) Italian conductor. He studied viola and compo¬ sition at Santa Cecilia in Rome and, after years as a violist, became a conductor in 1944. That same year he was appointed musical director for Italian Radio. In 1950 he organized the Milan Radio Orchestra. After sev¬ eral years at La Scala in Milan, he left opera at the peak of his interna¬ tional career in 1967; he thereafter devoted his time to conducting symphony orchestras. His recordings of operas and choral works by Wolf¬ gang Amadeus Mozart and Giuseppe Verdi were widely acclaimed, and he subsequently held important orchestral posts in Chicago (1968-78), Vienna (1973-76), and, lastly, Los Angeles (1978-84).
Giulio Romano \'ju-le-6-ro-'ma-no\ orig. Giulio di Pietro di Fil¬ ippo de' Gianuzzi (b. 1492/99, Rome, Papal States—d. Nov. 1, 1546, Mantua, Duchy of Mantua) Italian painter and architect. Apprenticed to Raphael in Rome, on his master’s death he became Raphael’s principal heir and artistic executor, completing several of Raphael’s important Vat¬ ican frescoes. From 1524 he lived in Mantua, where he came to domi¬ nate artistic activity at the Gonzaga court and developed a personal, anti- Classical style. His most important commission, the Palazzo del Te (begun 1526), was one of the first Mannerist buildings to deliberately flout the tenets of Classical architecture. He achieved great fame in his lifetime, and his work presaged the illusionistic ceiling painting of the Baroque PERIOD.
Givenchy \zhe-va n -'she\, Hubert de (b. Feb. 21, 1927, Beauvais, Fr.) French fashion designer. After studying art at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, he designed for the Paris fashion houses of Robert Piguet, Lucien Lelong, and Elsa Schiaparelli. In 1952 he opened his own house and introduced his first collection, featuring separates, high-style coats, and elegant ball gowns. In 1957 he and Cristobal Balenciaga introduced the “sack” silhou¬ ette (clothes without waistlines). His designs for Audrey Hepburn in Break¬ fast at Tiffany’s (1961) popularized the high-bosomed dress without sleeves or belt. In the 1960s his ready-to-wear boutiques brought high fashion at low prices to women throughout the world.
Giza See AI-Jizah
Gjellerup Vgyel-9-rUp\, Karl Adolph (b. June 2, 1857, Roholte, Den.—d. Oct. 11, 1919, Klotzsche, Ger.) Danish poet and novelist. The son of a parson, he studied theology, but after coming under the influence of Darwinism and the ideas of Georg Brandes, he considered himself an atheist, which he proclaimed in An Idealist (1878) and The Teutons’ Apprentice (1882). In his later years he became interested in Buddhism and other Asian religions, and he wrote about reincarnation in The Pil¬ grim Kamanita (1906). He shared the 1917 Nobel Prize for Literature with Henrik Pontoppidan.
glacial age See ice age
glacier Large mass of perennial ice that forms on land through the recrystallization of snow and that moves forward under its own weight. The term ice sheet is commonly applied to a glacier that occupies an extensive tract of relatively level land and that flows from the centre out¬ ward. Glaciers occur where snowfall in winter exceeds melting in sum¬ mer, conditions that prevail only in high mountain areas and polar regions. Glaciers occupy about 11% of the Earth’s land surface but hold roughly three-fourths of its fresh water; 99% of glacier ice lies in Antarctica and Greenland.
Glacier Bay Narrow inlet of the Pacific Ocean, southeastern Alaska coast, U.S. About 60 mi (97 km) long, it contains 16 active glaciers that descend from the St. Elias Mountains to the east and Fairweather Range to the west. The bay has fjordlike inlets and many largely treeless islands, used as rookeries by thousands of seabirds. It is the focus of Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve.
Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve Natural area, south¬ eastern Alaska, U.S. Located on the Gulf of Alaska, it was proclaimed a national monument in 1925, established as a national park and preserve in 1980, and designated a World Heritage site in 1992. It covers 5,040 sq mi (13,053 sq km). It includes Glacier Bay, much of Mount Fairweather, and the U.S. portion of the Alsek River. Among its great tidewater gla¬ ciers is Muir Glacier, which rises 265 ft (81 m) above the water and is nearly 2 mi (3 km) wide. The park also includes a dramatic range of plant species and such wildlife as brown and black bears, mountain goats, whales, seals, and eagles.
Glacier National Park National preserve, northwestern Montana, U.S. Set in the state’s Rocky Mountains wilderness, it adjoins the Cana¬ dian border and Canada’s Waterton Lakes National Park. The two parks together compose the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, dedi¬ cated in 1932. Glacier National Park was established in 1910 and encom¬ passes 1,013,572 acres (410,178 hectares). The park, with its active glaciers, straddles the Continental Divide.
Glacier National Park National preserve, British Columbia, Canada. Lying in the heart of the Selkirk Mountains, within the northern bend of the Columbia River, it was established in 1886; it occupies an area of 521 sq mi (1,349 sq km). Snowcapped peaks flanked by ice fields and glaciers form an alpine panorama. Outstanding features are the Illecillewaet Gla¬ cier and the Nakimu Caves in the Cougar Valley.
glaciology \gla-she-'a-lo-je\ Scientific discipline concerned with all aspects of ice on landmasses. It deals with the structure and properties of glacier ice, its formation and distribution, the dynamics of ice flow, and the interactions of ice accumulations with climate. Glaciological research is conducted in a variety of ways, including radar sounding, boreholes, lateral tunnels, and remote sensing with satellite-borne infrared and mul- tispectral scanners.
Glackens, William (James) (b. March 13, 1870, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.—d. May 22, 1938, Westport, Conn.) U.S. painter. He worked as a newspaper illustrator in Philadelphia and later in New York City. In 1891 he met Robert Henri, and he subsequently became a member of The Eight and the Ash Can school. He favoured colourful street scenes of urban middle-class life, heavily influenced by Impressionism. He was a prolific draftsman, and his drawings (e.g.. Seated Woman, 1902) reveal an elegant style not seen in his paintings. In 1912 he traveled to Europe to buy paint¬ ings for the collection of Albert C. Barnes. In 1913 he helped organize and exhibited in the Armory Show.