He exhibited his abilities in several __
films (1916-23). In his later years he H Houdini. campaigned against magicians and pictorial parade
mind readers who claimed super- -
natural powers, including Jean-
Eugene Robert-Houdin, from whom Houdini had taken his name.
Houdon \ii-'do n \, Jean-Antoine (b. March 20, 1741, Versailles, Fr.—d. July 15, 1828, Paris) French sculptor. He studied with Jean-Baptiste Pigalle in Paris and in 1761 won the Prix de Rome. In Rome (1764-68) he achieved immediate fame with an anatomical study of a standing man (c. 1767), casts of which were widely used in art academies. He became a member of the Royal Academy in Paris (1777) with his reclining Mor¬ pheus. He produced numerous religious and mythological works that are definitive expressions of the decorative 18th-century Rococo style of sculpture. His greatest strength was in capturing the individuality of his portrait subjects, including such luminaries as Denis Diderot, Catherine II the Great, Benjamin Franklin, the Marquis de Lafayette, and Voltaire. In the U.S. he made a marble statue of George Washington (1788). The vivid¬
ness of physiognomy and character in his busts places him among the greatest portrait sculptors in history.
hound Classification of hunting dogs that is more general than setter, retriever, pointer, or other sporting dog categories. Most hounds were bred and trained to track by scent or sight. Scent hounds (e.g., blood¬ hound, dachshund) are trained to scent in the air or on the ground.
Sight hounds (e.g., saluki, Afghan hound) were developed to chase game by sight over long distances.
Hounds such as beagles, basset hounds, and foxhounds run in packs;
Afghan hounds, borzois, salukis, and others run alone.
Houphouet-Boigny \uf-'we- bwan-'ye\, Felix (b. Oct. 18, 1905?,
Yamoussoukro, French West Africa—d. Dec. 7, 1993, Yamous¬ soukro, Cote d’Ivoire) President of Cote d’Ivoire from independence until his death (1960-93). He worked as a rural doctor and planter before entering politics in the 1940s.
In the late 1950s he was a member of France’s National Assembly and cabinet and simultaneously president of the territorial assembly and mayor of Abidjan. As president he pursued liberal free-enterprise politics and developed a strong cash-crop
economy, cooperating closely with the French. Under his rule Cote d’Ivoire became one of the most prosperous nations in sub-Saharan Africa. His later years were marred by an economic downturn, civil unrest, and criticism of the enormous Roman Catholic basilica that he had built at Yamoussoukro, his birthplace.
"Diana," bronze sculpture by Houdon, c. 1777; in the Louvre, Paris
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House, Edward M(andell) (b. July 26, 1858, Houston, Texas, U.S.—d. March 28,1938, New York,
N.Y.) U.S. diplomat. An indepen¬ dently wealthy businessman, he served as an adviser to Texas gover¬ nors (1892-1904), one of whom gave him the honorary title of colo¬ nel. He was active in the presidential campaign of Woodrow Wilson, later becoming his adviser (1912-19). He was the president’s chief liaison with the Allies during World War I, and he helped draft the Fourteen Points, which Wilson proposed as the basis for peace at the end of the war. He was a member of the U.S. delegation to the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, and he worked closely with Wilson in drafting the covenant of the League of Nations.
house cat See domestic cat
house mouse Common mouse species (Mus musculus, family Muridae), the mouse most often encountered in buildings. The house mouse has been distributed by humans from Eurasia to all inhabited areas of the world and usually seeks shelter and food in human dwellings. Brown or gray, it grows up to 8 in. (20 cm) long, including a 4-in. (10-cm) tail. It consumes almost anything edible, even sampling soap, paste, and glue. It matures quickly and is ready to mate two to three months after birth. In warm areas or heated buildings, it breeds throughout the year.
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900 I house sparrow ► Houston
house sparrow or English sparrow One of the world’s best- known and most abundant small birds {Passer domesticus, family Passeridae or Ploceidae). It lives in towns and on farms worldwide, hav¬ ing accompanied Europeans from its original home in Eurasia and north¬ ern Africa. Introduced into North America in 1852, it spread across the continent within a century. It is about 6 in. (15 cm) long and buffy-brown; the male has a black bib. House spar¬ rows breed nearly year-round in warm regions. See also sparrow.
House Un-American Activi¬ ties Committee (HUAC) Com¬ mittee of the U.S. House of Representatives, established in 1938 under Martin Dies as chairman, that conducted investigations through the 1940s and ’50s into alleged communist activities. Those investigated included many artists and entertainers, including the Hollywood Ten, Elia Kazan, Pete Seeger, Bertolt Brecht, and Arthur Miller. Richard Nixon was an active member in the late 1940s, and the committee’s most celebrated case was perhaps that of Alger Hiss. Its actions resulted in several contempt-of- Congress convictions and the blacklisting of many who refused to answer its questions. Highly controversial for its tactics, it was criticized for vio¬ lating First Amendment rights. Its influence had waned by the 1960s; in 1969 it was renamed the Internal Security Committee, and in 1975 it was dissolved.
housefly Common dipteran {Musca 90% of all flies in human dwellings.
The adult is dull gray with dirty- yellowish areas on the abdomen.
Body size ranges from 0.2 to 0.3 in.
(5-7 mm), and the conspicuous com¬ pound eyes have some 4,000 facets.
Because it has sponging or lapping mouthparts, it cannot bite. It is a problem wherever decomposing organic waste and garbage are allowed to accumulate. Its feet may carry millions of microorganisms, some of which cause diseases, including cholera, dysentery, and typhoid. Some insecticides are effective, but houseflies have developed resistance to others.
Houseman, John orig. Jacques Haussmann (b. Sept. 22, 1902, Bucharest, Rom.—d. Oct. 31, 1988, Malibu, Calif., U.S.) Romanian-born U.S. producer and actor. Educated in England, in 1924 he immigrated to the U.S. In 1934 he directed the opera Four Saints in Three Acts, and three years later he and Orson Welles founded the Mercury Theatre. After moving to Hollywood in the 1940s he produced 19 films, including Let¬ ter from an Unknown Woman (1948), They Live by Night (1949), and Lust for Life (1956). He also produced and directed Broadway plays and TV specials (winning three Emmy Awards) and directed the American Shakespeare Festival. His most notable acting role was in the film The Paper Chase (1973, Academy Award) and the later TV series of the same name.
houseplant Plant adapted for growing indoors, commonly a member of a species that flourishes naturally only in warm climates. Two factors contribute to the success of the huge number of species grown as house- plants: they must be easy to care for, and they must be able to tolerate the fairly low levels of light and humidity found in most homes. House- plants are selected for their foliage or flowers or both. Aspects of a house- plant’s environment that must be managed include light, temperature and humidity, soil, water, and nutrients.
Housman, A(lfred) E(dward) (b. March 26, 1859, Fockbury, Worcestershire, Eng.—d. April 30, 1936, Cambridge) English scholar and poet. While working as a Patent Office clerk, he studied Latin texts and wrote journal articles that led to his appointment as a professor at Uni¬ versity College, London, and later at Cambridge. His major scholarly effort was an annotated edition (1903-30) of Marcus Manilius (fl.lst cen¬
domestica), accounting for about
Housefly (Musca domestica) on a doughnut
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