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Long - 34 reference results
long-wall mining: see coal mining.
long march, Chin., Changzheng, the journey of c.6,000 mi (9,660 km) undertaken by the Red Army of China in 1934-35. When their Jiangxi prov. Soviet base was encircled by the Nationalist army of Chiang Kai-shek, some 90,000 men and women broke through the siege (Oct., 1934) and marched westward to Guizhou prov. There, at the Zunyi Conference (Jan., 1935), Mao Zedong won leadership of the Communist party and decided to join the remote Shaanxi prov. Soviet base. Overcoming numerous natural obstacles (such as towering mountain ranges and turbulent rivers) and despite constant harassment by Nationalist troops and the armies of provincial warlords, the Red Army arrived at its new home in the north in Oct., 1935. However, more than half of the original marchers were lost in this almost incredible trek. Those who survived settled around the city of Yan'an.

See E. Snow, Red Star over China (rev. ed. 1968) and R. G. Wilson, The Long March, 1935 (1971).

Long, Stephen Harriman, 1784-1864, American explorer, b. Hopkinton, N.H. As an army engineer, Long was sent on several exploring and surveying expeditions. The first in 1817 was to the region of the upper Mississippi and the Fox-Wisconsin portage; it is recorded in his Voyage in a Six-oared Skiff to the Falls of St. Anthony (1860). A journey to the Rocky Mts. in 1819-20 provided much new knowledge of the mountains. He climbed several peaks, including Long's Peak, and explored the regions of the Platte and Arkansas rivers. Edwin James's Account of an Expedition from Pittsburgh to the Rocky Mountains (2 vol. and an atlas, 1822-23) tells of that journey. In 1823, Long led an expedition to determine the source of the Minnesota River and to study the United States-Canadian boundary W of the Great Lakes. Some of his notes were used in W. H. Keating's Narrative of an Expedition to the Source of the St. Peter's River (1824). Chosen to select a route for the Baltimore and Ohio RR, he made a survey that resulted in an authoritative railroad manual, with tables of grades and curves.
Long, Loch, inlet of the Firth of Clyde, extending from northeast to southwest in Argyll and Bute, W Scotland. Oil is imported there and piped 57 mi (92 km) to the Grangemouth refinery.
Long, John Luther, 1861-1927, American playwright, b. Hanover, Pa. In 1900, in collaboration with David Belasco, he dramatized his short story "Madame Butterfly" (1897), which Puccini later made (1906) into an opera. Belasco and Long also collaborated successfully on The Darling of the Gods (1902) and Adrea (1905).
Long, Huey Pierce, 1893-1935, American political leader, b. Winnfield, La.; brother of Earl Long. Originally a farm boy, he was an extremely successful traveling salesman before studying law at Tulane Univ. He was admitted to the bar in 1915 and practiced in Winnfield and Shreveport. Long was elected to the Louisiana railroad commission in 1918; in 1921 it became the public service commission. He was reelected to the commission in 1924, served as chairman, and was attorney for the state in public utility litigation.

Narrowly defeated for governor of Louisiana in 1924, Long was swept into office four years later. When the state legislature obstructed his program of economic and social reform, he severely lessened the influence of the moneyed oligarchy that had dominated Louisiana government since Reconstruction and established his own control of the state through extensive use of patronage. Long was responsible for the building of badly needed roads and bridges, the expansion of state-owned hospitals, and the extension of the school system into remote rural regions. He also increased the taxes of large Louisiana businesses, especially the oil companies. The state legislature was bludgeoned or bought into passing his laws. In 1929, Long was impeached on charges of bribery and gross misconduct, but he was not convicted.

"The Kingfish," as Long was called, was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1930, but he did not take his seat until Jan., 1932, after he had assured the succession as governor of one of his own supporters. From Washington, Long continued to direct the Louisiana government. In 1934 he began a reorganization of the state, which virtually abolished local government and gave Long the power to appoint all state employees. As a senator, Long was at first a supporter of the New Deal, but soon became one of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's most vociferous critics.

A presidential aspirant, Long gained a steadily increasing national following. Early in 1934 he introduced his plan for national social and economic reform, the "Share-the-Wealth" program; it proposed a guaranteed family annual income and a homestead allowance for every family. Meanwhile, in Louisiana, Long continued to expand his powers. In Sept., 1935, on a trip to the state, Long was assassinated. The assassin, Dr. Carl A. Weiss, was slain by Long's bodyguards. Long's political machine flourished for several years after his death, and the Long family remained important in the state.

See his autobiography, Every Man a King (1933, repr. 1964, 1996) and his My First Days in the White House (1935, repr. 1972); H. M. Christman, ed., Kingfish to America, Share Our Wealth: Selected Senatorial Papers of Huey P. Long (1985); biographies by T. H. Williams (1969, repr. 1981), W. I. Hair (1991), S. LeVert (1995), and D. R. Collins (2003); G. Boulard, Huey Long: His Life in Photos, Drawings, and Cartoons (2003); studies by H. T. Kane, (1941, repr. 1971), H. C. Dethloff, ed. (1967), A, P. Sindler (1972), A. Brinkley (1982), G. Jeansonne (1993), R. C. Cortner (1996), O. Handlin and G. Jeansonne, ed. (1997), and R. D. White, Jr. (2006).

His son, Russell Billiu Long, 1918-2003, b. Shreveport, La., was also a politician. A graduate of the Louisiana State University (1941) and its law school (1942), he served (1948-87) as U.S. senator from Louisiana. A Democrat, he was the longtime chairman of the Senate's finance committee and was important in the creation of tax laws. His last significant accomplishment was helping to write simplified national income tax legislation in 1986.

See biography by R. Mann (1992).

Long, Earl Kemp, 1895-1960, American political figure, b. Winnfield, La.; brother of Huey Long. A lawyer, he was given a state office when his brother became governor. He ran for lieutenant governor in 1931 without Huey Long's support and lost. Later, the two were reconciled. In 1936, he was elected lieutenant governor and served (1939-40) as governor, after his predecessor resigned. Although defeated for reelection in 1940, he twice again served as governor of Louisiana (1948-52, 1956-60). From 1935 to 1960, he was a leader in the "Long machine" created by his brother, which dominated Louisiana politics after 1928. His last administration was marred by personal troubles, which at one point caused him to be committed to a mental hospital. Running unopposed as the Democratic candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in 1960, he died before the general election took place.
Long, Crawford Williamson, 1815-78, American physician, b. Danielsville, Ga., M.D. Univ. of Pennsylvania, 1839. He practiced in Jefferson, Ga. In 1842 he excised a tumor of the neck using ether anesthesia, but this was not made public until after the demonstration by W. T. G. Morton in Boston in 1846.
Long Walls, Greece: see Piraiévs.
Long Valley, caldera, c.10 by 20 mi (15 by 30 km), Mono co., E Calif., at the eastern edge of the Sierra Nevada. Formed by a catastrophic eruption c.730,000 years ago, Long Valley and nearby areas have been the scene of volcanic activity for more than 3 million years. The resort city of Mammoth Lakes is in the caldera in the southwest section, in an area of many small lakes. Nearby Mammoth Mt., 11,050 ft (3,368 m), on the southwest rim of the caldera, is composed of about dozen lava domes and formed from 200,000 to 50,000 years ago. Devils Postpile National Monument, outside the caldera to the west of Mammoth Mt., protects basaltic columns, some 60 ft (18 m) in height, that formed from lava that erupted 200,000 to 100,000 years ago. North of Mammoth Lakes, the Inyo and Mono crater fields stretch along a 30-mi (50-km) system of volcanic fissures from the northwestern caldera floor toward Mono Lake (87 sq mi/225 sq km). Eruptions in this area began in the caldera 300,000 years ago, moving to the north over time; the most recent eruption formed Paoha Island in Mono Lake and ended c.A.D. 1850. Since the late 1970s seismic and other geologic activity in the Long Valley area has led to concern over the possibility of a new eruption.
Long Sault Rapids, in the Ottawa River, Canada, midway between Ottawa and Montreal. There in 1660 the Iroquois defeated a party of 18 Frenchmen, led by Dollard des Ormeaux, who were attempting to save Montreal.
Long Range, mountain range, extending c.300 mi (480 km) along the west coast of Newfoundland island, Canada; rises to 2,672 ft (814 m) in the Lewis Hills. It forms the Great Northern Peninsula of NW Newfoundland. Part of the Appalachian system, the range consists of parallel ridges that rise steeply from the coast and slope gently eastward. A depression, of which Grand Lake and St. George's Bay are part, divides Long Range into two sections. The densely forested range is economically important for timber. Gros Morne National Park is there.
Long Parliament: see English civil war.
Long Island, battle of, Aug. 27, 1776, American defeat in the American Revolution. To protect New York City and the lower Hudson valley from the British forces massed on Staten Island, George Washington sent part of his small army to defend Brooklyn Heights, on Long Island. After several unsuccessful peace overtures, Sir William Howe landed at Gravesend while the British fleet under his brother, Richard Howe, shelled New York. After Sir William's troops defeated an American force under John Sullivan and William Alexander (Lord Stirling), Israel Putnam, the corps commander, prepared for the main attack. Sir William, not wanting another Bunker Hill, decided to lay siege instead of storming Brooklyn Heights. Washington saw the position was hopeless and evacuated (night of Aug. 29-30) his army back to Manhattan. Shortly afterward, the Americans began the retreat northward in which delaying actions were fought at Harlem Heights, White Plains, and Fort Washington. Washington managed to extricate most of his troops, and he regrouped them before striking at Trenton.
Long Island University, main campus at Brooklyn, N.Y.; coeducational; chartered 1926, opened 1927. It also includes C. W. Post College (est. 1954) at Brookville, Long Island, a campus at Southampton, Long Island (1963), and the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (chartered 1886) at Brooklyn. Research facilities include the Center for Business Research at C. W. Post and the Marine Station at Southampton. The Southampton campus is also the headquarters of Friends World Program (1965), with eight campuses around the world.
Long Island Sound, arm of the Atlantic Ocean, c.90 mi (145 km) long and 3-20 mi (5-32 km) wide, separating Long Island, N.Y., from the SE New York mainland and Connecticut. On the W the East River joins it with New York Bay. The sound is fed from the north by the Housatonic, Connecticut, and Thames rivers. The Long Island Sound is a popular leisure-boating center. New Haven, New London, and Bridgeport, Conn., are the largest port cities; many residential communities line the sound. Federal and state environmental studies in the mid-1990s identified serious problems in the sound and recommended a massive cleanup.
Long Island City, area of New York City, in SW Queens co., SE N.Y., on Long Island. An industrial and residential district, it has a waterfront on the East River and is connected with Manhattan by the Queensboro Bridge. Manufactures include food products, machinery, furniture, and footwear. Office growth has occurred there since 1980. The Isamu Noguchi sculpture museum is there.
Long Island: see Bahamas.
Long Island (1990 pop. 6,861,454), 1,723 sq mi (4,463 sq km), 118 mi (190 km) long, and from 12 to 20 mi (19-32 km) wide, SE N.Y.; fourth largest island of the United States and the largest outside Alaska and Hawaii. It is separated from Staten Island by the Narrows, from Manhattan and the Bronx by the East River, and from Connecticut by the Long Island Sound; on the south is the Atlantic Ocean. Long Island comprises four counties—Kings, Queens, Nassau, and Suffolk; Kings (coextensive with Brooklyn) and Queens are part of New York City.

Eastern Long Island has two flukelike peninsulas that are separated by Peconic Bay. The northern fluke, terminating in Orient Point, follows part of the Harbor Hill moraine, a hilly ridge that extends west along N Long Island to the Narrows and was deposited by melting ice during the last stage of the Pleistocene period. The southern fluke, terminating in Montauk Point, follows the Ronkonkoma moraine, a somewhat older morainal ridge that extends west to join the Harbor Hill moraine at Lake Success. Low, wooded hills, capped by glacial deposits lie north of the moraines and contrast with a broad, low-lying outwash plain to the south; the highest point on the island is c.400 ft (120 m) above sea level. Long beaches, backed by dunes and shallow lagoons, fringe the south shore; the north shore has low cliffs and is deeply indented by bays.

With no large streams, water supply is limited and is obtained from groundwater or from reservoirs on the mainland. Large recharge basins catch surplus rainwater to replenish underground supplies, and strict conservation measures have been imposed to prevent further contamination of groundwater from sewage disposal and detergents and from encroachment by seawater.

Both the Dutch and the English established farming, whaling, and fishing settlements on Long Island, but it remained sparsely settled until railroads, bridges, and highways provided easy access to New York City. The Long Island Expressway is particularly high-trafficked. Industrial and residential growth occurred rapidly after World War II, and in the 1970s and 80s development further intensified. Farming has declined in importance and changed in nature over time in E Long Island; fields of potatoes have been replaced in part by housing developments and by wine grapes and other more lucrative crops. Sand and gravel are quarried from the island's glacial deposits. Sport and commercial fishing is important on the south and east coasts. The south shore, a popular recreational area, includes Fire Island National Seashore, Robert Moses and Jones Beach state parks, Coney Island, and parts of Gateway National Recreation Area. The Hamptons are an affluent residential and beach community.

La Guardia and John F. Kennedy International airports are on W Long Island; the Brookhaven National Laboratory is in the east. Among the many higher-education institutions are the State Univ. of New York campuses at Stony Brook and Westbury, Long Island Univ., Adelphi Univ., Hofstra Univ., and branches of New York City universities.

In 1995 a state law was signed resolving the highly contentious issue of development of the 100,000-acre (40,500-hectare) Pine Barrens on E Long Island. A forest preserve was established, with a core of 52,500 acres (21,260 hectares) in which development would cease or be severely limited and a surrounding area in which development would be regulated and assisted. In 1997 an agreement was reached to preserve the remains of a 400-year-old fort built by Cutchogue Indians.

See B. Bookbinder, Long Island (1983); M. Tucker, ed., Long Island Writers & Writings (1985).

Long Eaton, town (1991 pop. 42,285), Derbyshire, central England. A number of products are manufactured, including synthetics, electrical equipment, and railroad carriages.
Long Branch, residential city (1990 pop. 28,658), Monmouth co., E central N.J., on the Atlantic coast; settled 1740, inc. 1904. It has clothing, cabinetmaking, and electronics industries. Long Branch, an ocean resort since the early 19th cent., boasts a prestigious array of vacationers. Presidents Grant, Hayes, Garfield, and Arthur summered there, and President Wilson's summer house (now part of Monmouth College) was at West Long Branch. President Garfield died in Long Branch in 1881. A historical museum and an art center are in the city, and the Monmouth Park Racetrack is nearby.
Long Beach. 1 City (1990 pop. 429,433), Los Angeles co., S Calif., on San Pedro Bay; est. 1882 as Willmore City, inc. 1888 as Long Beach. Having an excellent harbor, it serves as one of Los Angeles's two ports—it is one of the world's largest container ports—and a year-round resort noted for its long, wide beaches and active marina. The city also has a large oil industry; oil (discovered in 1921) is found both underground and offshore. Manufactures include aircraft, automobile parts, electronic and audiovisual equipment, and home furnishings. Long Beach grew with the development of high-technology and aerospace industries in the area, and through immigration, with two of the largest groups being Hispanic and Cambodian. Points of interest include an aquarium; an adobe ranch house (1844) that is now a museum; four artificial oil islands in the harbor; and the ocean liner Queen Mary, a museum, hotel, and tourist center. California State Univ. Long Beach is in the city. 2 City (1990 pop. 33,510), Nassau co., SE N.Y., on Long Island; inc. 1922. It is a residential suburb and beach community on the Atlantic Ocean. Clothing, machinery, and umbrellas are manufactured there.
De Long, George Washington, 1844-81, American arctic explorer, b. New York City, grad. Annapolis, 1865. In 1873 he was assigned to the Juniata, which was sent to the arctic to search for C. F. Hall's expedition on the Polaris. In 1879, backed by the younger James Gordon Bennett and under the auspices of the U.S. navy, he sailed from San Francisco on the Jeannette with a plan to penetrate Bering Strait and attempt a dash to the North Pole. There was then a theory that a current from Japan would speed them north. Instead, the vessel was caught in the ice pack and drifted nearly two years until it was crushed and sank. The men had abandoned ship with provisions, sledges, and boats and now set out southward for Siberia. After reaching open water and embarking in the boats, they were separated. One boat was lost. A second, with De Long in command landed, but only two men sent ahead for aid survived. The third boat, commanded by George W. Melville, reached the Lena delta and was rescued. The next year Melville returned and found the bodies of De Long and his companions, who had perished from cold and hunger.

The expedition had proved definitely that Wrangel Island was not the southern tip of a northern continent and had proved essential facts about the polar drift. In traversing nearly 50,000 sq mi (129,500 sq km) of Arctic Ocean territory, De Long had proved that the continental shelf of northern Siberia extends far northward and is dotted by numerous small islands. The expedition was also a demonstration of heroism. De Long's diary was edited by his widow as The Voyage of the Jeannette (1884). Melville's account was published as In the Lena Delta (1885).

See E. Ellsberg, Hell on Ice (1938), a fictionalized account; E. De Long, Explorer's Wife (1938); A. Hoehling, The Jeannette Expedition (1967, repr. 1969).

Chaillé-Long, Charles, 1842-1917, American soldier, African explorer, and writer, b. Princess Anne, Md. After serving in the Civil War, he was commissioned (1869) in the Egyptian army under Gen. C. G. Gordon. Chaillé-Long explored the Victoria Nile and was awarded a medal by the American Geographical Society. In 1875 he crossed the Congo-Nile divide to the Bahr al Ghazal region. He returned to the United States, graduated from Columbia Law School, and became (1887-89) consul general and secretary to the legation in Korea. His travel narratives in English include The Three Prophets (1884), My Life in Four Continents (1912), and Central Africa: Naked Truths of Naked People (1876). Among his writings in French are Les Sources du Nil (1891), L'Égypte et ses provinces perdues (1892), and La Corée ou Tschösen (1894).

In track and field, any foot race over 5,000 m in length. Marathons and cross-country running are also considered long-distance events. Women rarely ran in races beyond 3,000 m until the late 20th century.

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or broad jump

Track-and-field sport consisting of a horizontal jump for distance. It was formerly performed from both standing and running starts, as separate events, but the standing long jump is no longer included in major competitions. The running long jump was an event in the Olympic Games of 708 BC and in the modern Games from 1896. In 1948 the women's long jump became an Olympic event.

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Traditional communal dwelling of the Iroquois Indians until the 19th century. The longhouse was a rectangular box built out of poles, with doors at each end and saplings stretched over the top to form the roof, the whole structure being covered with bark. It was about 20 ft (6 m) wide and could be more than 200 ft (60 m) in length, depending on the number of families living in it. Down the middle of the house were fires, which were shared by families on either side. The term is also applied today to an Iroquois building designated as church and meeting hall, though its form is entirely different. Seealso pole construction.

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Harmless, slow-flying dipteran (family Tipulidae) usually found around water or abundant vegetation. It ranges in size from tiny to slightly over 1 in. (2.5 cm) long. Larvae of the range crane fly (Tipula simplex) are called leatherjackets because of their tough brown skin. In northern latitudes a wingless crane-fly species is found on snow. The crane fly is also called daddy longlegs in English-speaking countries other than the U.S. (in the U.S., daddy longlegs refers to an arachnid).

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Huey Long

(born Aug. 30, 1893, near Winnfield, La., U.S.—died Sept. 10, 1935, Baton Rouge, La.) U.S. politician. Despite an impoverished background, he managed to obtain enough formal schooling to pass the bar in 1915. Politically ambitious, he was elected state railroad commissioner at 25. His call for state regulation of the utilities and his attacks on the Standard Oil Company won him widespread popularity. As governor (1928–31) of Louisiana, he became nationally famous for his fiery oratory and unconventional behaviour, and his nickname, “Kingfish,” became widely known. He implemented public works projects and education reform but used autocratic methods to control the state government. Elected to the U.S. Senate (1932–35), he sought national power with a Share-the-Wealth program. In 1935 he was assassinated by Carl A. Weiss, whose father Long had vilified. His brother Earl K. Long (1895–1960) later served as governor (1939–40, 1948–52, 1956–60).

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Session of the English Parliament summoned in November 1640 by Charles I, so named to distinguish it from the Short Parliament of April–May 1640. Charles called the session to raise the money needed for his war against the Scots. Resistant to Charles's demands, the Parliament caused the king's advisers to resign and passed an act forbidding its own dissolution without its members' consent. Tension between the king and Parliament increased until the English Civil War broke out in 1642. After the king's defeat (1646), the army, led by Thomas Pride, exercised political power and in 1648 expelled all but 60 members of the Long Parliament. The remaining group, called the Rump, brought Charles to trial and execution (1649); it was forcibly ejected in 1653. In 1659, after the end of Oliver Cromwell's protectorate, the Parliament was reestablished; those who were excluded in 1648 were restored to membership. The Parliament dissolved itself in 1660.

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Body of water between the southern shore of Connecticut and the northern shore of Long Island, New York, U.S. It connects with the East River and with Block Island Sound. Covering 1,180 sq mi (3,056 sq km), it is 90 mi (145 km) long and 3–20 mi (5–32 km) wide. Its shores have many residential communities and summer resorts.

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Island (pop., 2000: 7,448,618), southeastern New York, U.S., lying between Long Island Sound and the Atlantic Ocean. It has four counties: Kings, Queens, Nassau, and Suffolk. Kings County (the borough of Brooklyn) and Queens County (the borough of Queens) form part of New York City. At its western end it is separated from the Bronx and Manhattan by the East River and from Staten Island by the Narrows. It is 118 mi (190 km) long, 12–23 mi (19–37 km) wide, and has an area of 1,401 sq mi (3,629 sq km). Its eastern portion has many beaches; it serves as a recreation area for New York City. Its southern shore, lined by sand spits (see Fire Island), shelters several bays, including Jamaica Bay. Originally inhabited by Indians (mostly Delaware), it was included in a grant to the Plymouth Co. It was settled by Dutch and English, but the whole island became part of the British colony of New York in 1664. It was the site of the Battle of Long Island (Aug. 27, 1776), an American defeat in the American Revolution.

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City (pop., 2000: 461,522), southwestern California, U.S. The site was originally an Indian trading camp, and Spanish ranches were located there in the 18th century. Laid out as Willmore City in 1880 and incorporated in 1888, it was renamed for its 8.5-mi (13.5-km) beach. The discovery of oil nearby in 1921 led to rapid growth. An earthquake in 1933 caused extensive damage. It is connected to the Los Angeles harbour by the Cerritos Channel. The British ocean liner Queen Mary has been moored in the harbour since 1969.

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