Goncalves \g6 n n-'sal-vish\, Nuno (fl. 1450-72) Portuguese painter. He is recorded as court painter to Alfonso V in 1450, but his works for the Portuguese court have not survived. His altarpiece for Lisbon Cathe¬ dral was destroyed in the great earthquake of 1755. His six-paneled St. Vincent altarpiece (c. 1460-70), discovered only in 1882, is the outstand¬ ing Portuguese painting of the 15 th century, a remarkable portrait gallery of scrupulously realistic, stiffly posed figures, with affinities to Italian and Flemish art.
Goncalves Dias \go n n- , sal-vish- , de-ash\ / Antonio (b. Aug. 10, 1823, Boa Vista, near Caxias, Maranhao, Braz.—d. Nov. 3, 1864, off the coast of Maranhao) Brazilian poet. A respected ethnologist and scholar, he lived much of the time abroad. He drowned at age 41. His songs, collected in First Poems (1847), More Poems (1848), and Last Poems (1851), which display both exuberance and longing, are a celebration of the New World as a tropical paradise. His “Song of Exile” (1843) is known to every Bra¬ zilian schoolchild, and he is regarded as the national poet of Brazil.
Goncourt \go n -'kur\, Edmond (-Louis-Antoine Huot de) and Jules (-Alfred Huot de) (respectively b. May 26, 1822, Nancy, France—-d. July 16, 1896, Champrosay; b. Dec. 17, 1830, Paris—d. June 20, 1870, Auteuil) French writers. The Goncourt brothers were enabled by a legacy to devote their lives largely to writing. They produced a series of social histories (from 1854) as well as a body of art criticism. The most lasting of their meticulously detailed naturalistic novels is Germinie Lac- erteux (1864), which explores working-class life. Their published jour¬ nals (kept 1851-96) represent both a revealing autobiography and a monumental history of social and literary life in 19th-century Paris. By his will Edmond established the Academie Goncourt, which annually awards the Prix Goncourt, one of France’s preeminent literary prizes, to the author of an outstanding work of French literature.
Gondwana or Gondwana land Hypothetical former superconti¬ nent in the Southern Hemisphere, which included modern South America, Africa, southern Europe, India, Australia, and much of the Middle East and Antarctica. The concept that the continents were at one time joined was first set forth in detail by Alfred Wegener in 1912. He envisioned a single great
1850, London, Eng.—d. Dec. 13,
Samuel Gompers, 1911.
COURTESY OF THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, WASHINGTON, D.C.
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Gongora ► goose I 779
landmass, Pangea, which supposedly began to separate late in the Triassic Period. Subsequent workers distinguished between a southern landmass, Gondwana, and Laurasia to the north. See also continental drift.
Gongora \'gon-go-ra\ (y Argote), Luis de (b. July 11, 1561, Cor¬ doba, Spain—d. May 23, 1627, Cordoba) Spanish poet. Very influential in his era, he developed the difficult, complex poetic style that became known as gongorismo\ it provoked scorn and enmity from many of his contemporaries and was so exaggerated by less gifted imitators that his reputation suffered until the 20th century, when his poems began to be appreciated for their cold beauty. Solitudes (1613) is perhaps his most out¬ standing work in the style. His lighter poetry— romances (folk ballads), letrillas (short lyric poems), and sonnets—achieved greater popular suc¬ cess.
Gonne, Maud (Edith) married name Maud MacBride (b. Dec. 21, 1866, Tongham, Surrey, Eng.—d. April 27, 1953, Dublin, Ire.) Irish activist, actress, and feminist. Gonne became involved in the Irish nation¬ alist movement at an early age and cofounded the Daughters of Erin (1900-14; a nationalist organization). She was also a founder of Sinn Fein. While engaged in political activities, Gonne became a noted actress. The poet and dramatist W.B. Yeats fell in love with her, and she was the model for the heroine of his play Cathleen ni Houlihan (1892). Nevertheless, Gonne turned down his many proposals of marriage and in 1903 married Maj. John MacBride, a fellow activist who was executed for his role in the Easter Rising in 1916. Their son, SeAn MacBride, the first chairman of Amnesty International, won the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1974.
gonorrhea \,ga-n3-'re-3\ Sexually transmitted disease. It is characterized by genitourinary inflammation, caused by the bacterium Neisseria gonor- rhoeae (gonococcus). Symptoms in men include burning on urination, dis¬ charge of pus, and, with deeper infection, frequent urination, sometimes with blood. Women may have mild vaginal discharge and burning, but there is usually no sign until a sex partner is infected or complications— sometimes serious—arise from its spread beyond the cervix. If spontane¬ ous recovery does not occur, it may cause sterility in both sexes but is rarely fatal. Gonorrhea is common worldwide. Penicillin, generally a successful treatment, reduced its incidence, but resistant strains are increasingly found. Many cases are not reported. Penicillin may also mask coexisting syphilis (since the dose to cure gonorrhea does not cure syphilis).
Gonzaga dynasty \gon-‘dza-ga\ Italian dynasty that ruled Mantua 1328-1707 and Montferrat and Casale 1536-1707. Its history began with Luigi I (or Lodovico; 1267-1360), who gained control of Mantua in 1328. Its rulers, many noted as military and political leaders and patrons of the arts, included Giovan Francesco II (died 1444), a general and founder of the first school based on humanistic principles (1423); and Federigo II (died 1540), captain general of the papal forces who was made duke of Mantua in 1530. Mantua was annexed by Austria in 1708.
Good Feelings, Era of (1815-25) Period of U.S. national unity and complacency. A Boston newspaper coined the term in 1817 to describe a nation free from the influence of European political and military events. The good feelings were stimulated by two events of 1816, during James Madison’s presidency: enactment of the first U.S. protective tariff, and establishment of the second national bank. The presidency of James Mon¬ roe (1817-25) was marked by the dominance of the Democratic- Republican Party and the decline of the Federalist Party.
Good Friday Friday before Easter, commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus. As early as the 2nd century it was kept by Christians as a day of penance and fasting. The Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches have special liturgies for the day, which include readings and prayers commemorating Christ’s sufferings on the cross. Protestant churches also hold special services on Good Friday.
Good Hope, Cape of Rocky promontory, southwestern coast, West¬ ern Cape province, South Africa. It was sighted by the Portuguese navi¬ gator Bartolemeu Dias in 1488 on his return voyage to Portugal after finding the southern limits of the African continent. Known for the stormy weather and rough seas encountered there, the cape lies at the conver¬ gence of warm currents from the Indian Ocean and cool currents from Antarctic waters. A part of the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve estab¬ lished in 1939, the cape was the site of the first Dutch settlement at Table Bay in 1652.
Good Hope, Cape of (province) See Cape Province
Good Neighbour Policy Popular name for the policy toward Latin America pursued in the 1930s by Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt. In a marked departure from its traditional interventionism, which was abhorrent to Latin Americans, the U.S. repudiated its assumed right to intervene unilat¬ erally in Latin American affairs, abrogated most provisions of the Piatt Amendment (1901), which had restricted the national sovereignty of Cuba, and withdrew its Marines from Haiti. U.S. anticommunist policies after World War II led to renewed distrust between the U.S. and Latin America and brought an end to the noninterventionism of the Good Neighbour Policy.
Goodall, Jane (b. April 3,1934, London, Eng.) British ethologist. Soon after finishing high school, she fulfilled her childhood ambition of traveling to Africa, where she assisted Louis Leakey (see Leakey family), who sug¬ gested she study chimpanzees. She received a Ph.D. from Cambridge Uni¬ versity for her work and remained at the research centre she founded in Gombe, Tanz., until 1975. In 1977 she cofounded the Jane Goodall Institute for Wildlife Research, Education, and Conservation in the U.S. Her obser¬ vations established, among other things, that chimpanzees are omnivorous rather than vegetarian, can make and use tools, and have complex and highly developed social behaviours. Noteworthy among her writings are In the Shadow of Man (1971) and The Chimpanzees of Gombe (1986). She was made a Dame of the British Empire in 2003.