Howard University University in Washington, D.C., the most promi¬ nent African American educational institution in the U.S. It is financially supported by the U.S. government but is privately controlled. Though open to students of any ethnicity, it was founded (1867) with a special obligation to educate African American students. It has a college of lib¬ eral arts, a graduate school of arts and sciences, and schools or colleges of business and public administration, engineering, human ecology, medi¬ cine, dentistry, and law, among others. Its library is the leading research library on African American history.
Howe, Elias (b. July 9, 1819, Spencer, Mass., U.S.—d. Oct. 3, 1867, Brooklyn, N. Y.) U.S. inventor. A nephew of William Howe, he began work as a mechanic. In 1846 he was granted a patent for the first practical sew¬ ing machine. It attracted little attention, and he moved to England and worked to perfect his machine for use with leather and similar materials. When he returned the next year, he found that sewing machines were being widely made and sold; he finally established his patent rights in 1854. His invention soon revolutionized the garment industry. See also Isaac Merritt Singer.
Howe, Gordie in full Gordon Howe (b. March 31, 1928, Floral, Sask., Can.) Canadian-born U.S. ice- hockey player, regarded as one of the greatest of all time. In 26 seasons (1945—71) in the NHL, in 25 of them playing right wing with the Detroit Red Wings, he set all-time career records for goals (801), assists (1,049), and points (1,850). (His records were later broken by Wayne Gretzky.) Howe went on to play for or manage non-NHL teams before retiring in 1980. A tough-minded competitor, he was known for the “Gordie Howe hat trick”—a goal, an assist, and a fight.
Howe, James Wong orig.
Wong Tung Jim (b. Aug. 28,
1899, Canton, China—d. July 12,
1976, Hollywood, Los Angeles,
Calif., U.S.) U.S. cinematographer.
At age five he emigrated with his family from China to the U.S. He worked in Hollywood from 1917 and became a cameraman for Cecil B.
DeMille. He developed innovations in lighting in the 1920s and pioneered the use of the wide-angle lens, deep focus, and the handheld camera. His low-key cinematography is seen in such films as Kings Row (1942),
Body and Soul (1947), Picnic (1956), The Rose Tattoo (1955,
Academy Award), and Hud (1963,
Academy Award).
Howe, Julia Ward orig. Julia Ward (b. May 27, 1819, New York,
N.Y., U.S.—d. Oct. 17, 1910, New¬ port, R.I.) U.S. abolitionist and social reformer. Bom to a well-to-do family, she was educated privately.
Gordie Howe, 1969
COURTESY OF THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Julia Ward Howe, 1902.
COURTESY OF THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, WASHINGTON, D.C.
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
902 I Howe ► Hsiung-nu
In 1843 she married educator Samuel Gridley Howe and took up resi¬ dence in Boston. For a while she and her husband published the Com¬ monwealth, an abolitionist newspaper. During a visit to an army camp near Washington, D.C., in 1861, she wrote a poem, “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” to be set to an old folk tune also used for “John Brown’s Body.” Published in February 1862 in The Atlantic Monthly, it became the semiofficial Civil War song of the Union Army, and Howe became famous. After the war she involved herself in the woman suffrage move¬ ment, helping to found and serving as president of the New England Woman Suffrage Association (1868-77, 1893-1910). She also wrote travel books, biography, drama, verse, and children’s songs and edited Woman’s Journal (1870-90). In 1908 she became the first woman elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
Howe, Richard Howe, Earl (b. March 8, 1726, London, Eng.—d. Aug. 5, 1799) English admiral who commanded the British fleet to vic¬ tory in the Battle of the First of June (1794) in the French Revolutionary Wars. As vice admiral (from 1775), he commanded in North America (1776-78), defeating French attempts to take Newport, R.I. After return¬ ing to England, he commanded the Channel fleet against the French and Spaniards and served as first lord of the Admiralty (1783-88). In 1793 he again commanded the Channel fleet. His victory against the French on June 1, 1794, provided an example of tactical excellence for his succes¬ sors, including Horatio Nelson.
Howe, William Howe, 5th Viscount (b. Aug. 10, 1729—d. July 12, 1814, Plymouth, Devonshire, Eng.) British military commander. The brother of Adm. Richard Howe, he fought in the last French and Indian War (1754-63), in which he earned a reputation as one of the army’s most brilliant young generals. In the American Revolution, he succeeded Thomas Gage as supreme commander of British forces in North America in 1776. He soon captured New York City and the surrounding area, and in 1777 he led British troops to victories at the Battles of the Brandywine and of Germantown. Moving his forces to Philadelphia, he left troops under John Burgoyne vulnerable in New York state, thus contributing to the British defeat at the Battles of Saratoga. He resigned in 1778 and was succeeded by Henry Clinton.
Howe Caverns Cavern system, east-central New York, U.S. Located west of Albany and named for Lester Howe, who discovered them in 1842, the limestone caves have grotesque rock formations and underground channels. Elevators and boat rides are available. A second group. Secret Caverns, with underground waterfalls and fossilized marine life, is nearby.
Howel Dda See Hywel Dda
Howells, William Dean (b. March 1, 1837, Martins Ferry, Ohio, U.S.—d. May 11, 1920, New York, N.Y.) U.S. novelist and critic. He wrote a campaign biography of Abraham Lincoln (1860) and served as consul in Venice during Lincoln’s administration. As editor of the Atlan¬ tic Monthly (1871-81), he became a preeminent figure in late 19th-century American letters. A champion of literary realism, he was one of the first to recognize the genius of Mark Twain and Henry James. His own novels (from 1872) depict America as it changed from a simple, egalitarian soci¬ ety where luck and pluck were rewarded to one in which social and eco¬ nomic gulfs were becoming unbridgeable. His best-known work, The Rise of Silas Lapham (1885), is about a self-made man’s efforts to fit into Bos¬ ton society. Howells risked his livelihood with his plea for clemency for the anarchists involved in the Haymarket Riot, and his deepening disillu¬ sionment with American society is reflected in the late novels Annie Kil- burn (1888) and A Hazard of New Fortunes (1890).
howler monkey Any of several species of slow-moving tropical American monkeys (genus Alouatta) noted for their roaring cries, which carry over a distance of 2-3 mi (3-5 km). Five widely distributed spe¬ cies are the largest New World monkeys, generally reaching lengths of 16-28 in. (40-70 cm), excluding the 20-30-in. (50-75-cm) tail. Howlers are stoutly built and bearded, with a hunched appearance and a thickly furred, prehensile tail. Their hair is long and thick and, depending on the species, black, brown, or red. Howlers live in groups in territories mapped out by howling matches with neighbouring clans. They feed primarily on leaves.
Hoxha \'ho-ja\, Enver (b. Oct. 16, 1908, Gjirokaster, Alb.—d. April 11, 1985, Tirane) Albanian leader, first Albanian communist chief of state (1944-85). A schoolteacher, he opposed the Albanian fascists in World War II and in 1941 helped found the Albanian Communist Party, which
he controlled until his death. He became prime minister (1944-54), and in 1946 he forced King Zog to abdicate. Albania’s economy was revo¬ lutionized under Hoxha’s rule, and he transformed the country from a semifeudal relic of the Ottoman Empire into an industrialized economy. To enforce his radical programs he resorted to brutal Stalinist tactics, making Albania the most tightly controlled society in Europe. An ardent nationalist, he broke with the Soviet Union in 1961 and with China in 1978, declaring that Albania would become a model socialist republic on its own.