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Olbers, Heinrich Wilhelm Matthäus, 1758-1840, German astronomer and physician. He originated (1797) the first satisfactory method for calculating the orbits of comets, but despite the fame it brought him, he remained an amateur astronomer and became a physician. However, he continued his research on comets and discovered several. He was the first to detect the comet of 1815 (Comet Olbers, period 72.7 years). He also discovered two asteroids, Pallas (1802) and Vesta (1807). Considering their orbits and those of the other asteroids then known, Olbers concluded that they are fragments of a disrupted planet that had formerly revolved around the sun. He is best remembered for Olbers' paradox: "Why is the sky dark at night?" Assuming that space is infinite and filled with stars, he suggested, the entire sky should be as bright as the surface of the sun. The question had originally been raised by Kepler. Others offered one of several incorrect resolutions to the paradox, suggesting that absorbing clouds obscured our view of the distant stars. The correct explanation is that our universe is finite both in time and place, and the total amount of matter and energy is far too small to light up the night sky.
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Licensed from Columbia University Press
Licensed from Columbia University Press
Merian, Matthäus, the elder, 1593-1650, Swiss engraver and draftsman. In Frankfurt am Main from c.1623, he produced, with help from assistants, numerous engravings of battles and hunts, and topographic prints of European towns. His notable prints include Dance of Death, illustrations for Gottfried's Chronik, and the series Theatrum Europaeum. His son, Matthäus Merian, the younger, 1621-87, portrait and historical painter, worked throughout Europe. He is best represented by Martyrdom of St. Lawrence (cathedral, Bamberg) and a portrait of his sister, the artist Maria Sibylla Merian (Basel).
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia Copyright © 2004.
Licensed from Columbia University Press
Licensed from Columbia University Press
Ilhéus, city (1991 pop. 223,750), Bahia state, E Brazil, a port on Ilhéus Bay, an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean. Founded in the mid-16th cent., it became the world's chief cacao port during the early 20th cent. Ilhéus is still the cacao center of Brazil. It exports rubber, timber, chemicals, and piassava. A hydroelectric project is located north of Ilhéus.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia Copyright © 2004.
Licensed from Columbia University Press
Licensed from Columbia University Press
(born Dec. 13, 1890, McKeesport, Pa., U.S.—died Dec. 21, 1980, New York, N.Y.) U.S. playwright, screenwriter, and director. He covered theatrical news as a journalist in Pittsburgh and New York City. He collaborated with George S. Kaufman on the play Dulcy (1921), which they followed with the comedies To the Ladies (1922) and Beggar on Horseback (1924) and the librettos for the musicals Helen of Troy, New York (1923) and Be Yourself (1924). Connelly went on to write Green Pastures (1930, Pulitzer Prize; film, 1936), his best-known work, and The Farmer Takes a Wife (1934; film, 1935).
Learn more about Connelly, Marc(us Cook) with a free trial on Britannica.com.
Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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