Greenberg, Clement (b. Jan. 16, 1909, New York, N.Y., U.S.—d. May 7, 1994, New York City) U.S. art critic. After graduating from Syra¬ cuse University, he returned to his native New York City and began writ¬ ing for such publications as Partisan Review and The Nation , promoting an approach to looking at art that became known as “Greenbergian for¬ malism.” The chief arbiter of art in the U.S. from the late 1940s through the 1950s, he exerted extraordinary influence as a champion of Abstract Expressionism and its leading exponent, Jackson Pollock. He routinely vis¬ ited galleries and artists’ studios and promoted the work of many, includ¬ ing Helen Frankenthaler, Mark Rothko, and David Smith. He disavowed such later movements as Pop art and conceptual art and wrote little after the 1960s.
Greenberg, Hank orig. Henry Benjamin Greenberg (b. Jan.l, 1911, New York, N.Y., U.S.—d. Sept. 4, 1986, Beverly Hills, Calif.) U.S. baseball player. Greenberg began his professional career at first base with the Detroit Tigers in 1933. He twice helped the Tigers win the World Series (1935, 1940) and was named the American League’s Most Valu¬ able Player both years. In 1938 he hit 58 home runs (2 home runs short of Babe Ruth’s then-record). He often encountered prejudice on the field,
but his refusal to play on Jewish holidays won him praise. He served four years in the military in World War II then returned to the Tigers; traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1947, he retired in 1948. He was part owner and general manager of the Cleveland Indians until 1957 and general manager of the Chicago White Sox from 1959 to 1963. The first Jewish star player in the major leagues, Greenberg was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1956.
Greenberg, Joseph H(arold) (b. May 28, 1915, New York, N.Y., U.S.—d. May 7, 2001, Stanford, Calif.) U.S. anthropologist and linguist. He received his Ph.D. from Northwestern University. He eschewed more orthodox methods of historical linguistics for the approach he termed “mass” or “multilateral” comparison, which involved looking for phonetic resemblances among words in many languages simultaneously. His 1963 classification of African languages into four families (Afroasiatic, Niger- Congo, Nilo-Saharan, and Khoisan) was widely accepted. However, his 1987 classification of all American Indian languages into just two families, Amerind and Na-Dene (see Athabaskan languages) provoked a rancorous denunciation by specialists, who faulted both his data and his method.
Greene, Charles Sumner and Henry Mather (respectively b. Oct. 12, 1868, Brighton, Ohio, U.S.—d. June 11, 1957, Carmel, Calif.; b. Jan. 23, 1870, Brighton, Ohio—d. Oct. 2, 1954, Pasadena, Calif.) U.S. architects. The Greene brothers established a partnership in Pasadena, Calif., in 1894. Using a Modernist approach, they pushed the older Stick style further than it had ever gone. In the years 1904-11 they pioneered the influential California bungalow, a single-storied house with a low- pitched roof. Their bungalows feature wide, low volumes, the use of bal¬ conies and verandas to achieve a melding of indoor and outdoor space, and frank utilization of wood members (sticks), exquisitely worked and extending gracefully beyond the edges of the spreading gables.
Greene, (Henry) Graham (b. Oct. 2, 1904, Berkhamsted, Hertford¬ shire, Eng.—d. April 3, 1991, Vevey, Switz.) British author. After study¬ ing at the University of Oxford, he converted to Roman Catholicism in 1926. Beginning c. 1930 he worked principally as a freelance journalist for several decades, during which he traveled widely. Stamboul Train (1932; also titled Orient Express ; film, 1934) was the first of his “enter¬ tainments,” thrillers with considerable moral complexity and depth; oth¬ ers included A Gun for Sale (1936; also titled This Gun for Hire\ film, 1942), The Confidential Agent (1939; film, 1945), and The Third Man (1949; film, 1949). His finest novels— Brighton Rock (1938; film, 1948), The Power and the Glory (1940; film, 1962), The Heart of the Matter (1948; film, 1954), and The End of the Affair (1951; film, 1999)—all have distinctly religious themes. Several of his novels set in “third-world” nations on the brink of political upheaval were also adapted as films.
Greene, Nathanael (b. Aug. 7, 1742, Potowumut, R.I.—d. June 19, 1786, Mulberry Grove, Ga., U.S.) American general. He served in the colonial legislature and as commander of the colonial militia (1775). He led troops in the Continental Army at Boston and New York, then fought in the battles at Trenton, Brandywine, and Germantown. He succeeded Gen. Horatio Gates as commander in chief of the southern army (1778), and his strategy so weakened the British troops that Gen. Charles Corn¬ wallis abandoned plans to conquer North Carolina (1781). Greene began the reconquest of inner South Carolina, and by late June 1781 he had forced the British back to Charleston. He presided at the court-martial of John Andre in the Benedict Arnold affair (1780).
Greengard, Paul (b. Dec. 11, 1925, New York, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. molecular and cellular biologist. He received his Ph.D. from Johns Hop¬ kins University. Greengard discovered how dopamine and other neu¬ rotransmitters work in the nervous system. He showed that slow synaptic transmission involves protein phosphorylation, a chemical reaction in which a phosphate molecule is linked to a protein, thus changing the pro¬ tein’s function. Along with Eric Kandel and Arvid Carlsson, he was awarded a Nobel Prize in 2000. The findings of these three men resulted in the development of new drugs for parkinsonism and other disorders.
greenhouse Building designed for the protection of tender or out-of¬ season plants against excessive cold or heat. Usually a glass- or plastic- enclosed structure with a framing of aluminum, galvanized steel, or such woods as redwood, cedar, or cypress, it is used for the production of fruits, vegetables, flowers, and any other plants requiring special temperature conditions. It is heated partly by the sun and partly by artificial means. This controlled environment can be adapted to the needs of particular plants.
Illustration for "When We Went Out with Grandmamma" by Kate Green¬ away for Marigold Garden, 1885.
MARY EVANS PICTURE LIBRARY, LONDON
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
greenhouse effect ► Greens I 801
greenhouse effect Warming of the Earth’s surface and lower atmo¬ sphere caused by water vapour, carbon dioxide, and other trace gases in the atmosphere. Visible light from the Sun heats the Earth’s surface. Part of this energy is radiated back into the atmosphere in the form of infrared radiation, much of which is absorbed by molecules of carbon dioxide and water vapour in the atmosphere and reradiated toward the surface as more heat. (Despite the name, the greenhouse effect is different from the warm¬ ing in a greenhouse, where panes of glass allow the passage of visible light but hold heat inside the building by trapping warmed air.) The absorption of infrared radiation causes the Earth’s surface and lower atmosphere to warm more than they otherwise would, making the Earth’s surface habitable. An increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide caused by widespread combustion of fossil fuels may intensify the greenhouse effect and cause long-term climatic changes. Likewise, an increase in atmo¬ spheric concentrations of other trace greenhouse gases such as chloro- fluorocarbons, nitrous oxide, and methane resulting from human activities may also intensify the greenhouse effect. From the beginning of the Indus¬ trial Revolution through the end of the 20th century, the amount of car¬ bon dioxide in the atmosphere increased 30% and the amount of methane more than doubled. It is also estimated that the U.S. is responsible for about one-fifth of all human-produced greenhouse-gas emissions. See also GLOBAL WARMING.