Le Puy-en-Velay, town, capital of Haute-Loire département, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes région, south-central France. Le Puy-en-Velay is situated in the Massif Central at an elevation of 2,067 feet (630 metres) above sea level, 2 miles (3 km) from the left bank of the Loire River. It lies in the middle of

hall church: … church of Notre-Dame (1922–23), at Le Raincy, Fr., one of the first buildings and the first church to display the expressive structural possibilities of reinforced concrete.

historiography: World history: Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie grounded his great history of the peasants of Languedoc in the soil and climate of that part of France, showing how the human population of the ancien régime was limited by the carrying capacity of the land. He went on to…

Ballard Family: …the celebrated lutenist and composer Adrian Le Roy. These two used movable type, cut in 1540 by Robert’s father-in-law, Guillaume Le Bé (or du Gué). Their first patent was granted in 1552 as sole music printers to Henry II. Robert’s widow and his son, Pierre (d. 1639), continued the business,…

pragmatism: Pragmatism in Europe: the French thinkers Maurice Blondel, Édouard Le Roy, and B. de Sailly and the Italian iconoclastic critic Giovanni Papini. Blondel was the author of L’Action (1893) and a spokesman for a voluntaristic and activistic theory of knowledge. He was a founder of the “school of action,” a liberal Roman Catholic…

Alain-René Lesage was a prolific French satirical dramatist and author of the classic picaresque novel Gil Blas, which was influential in making the picaresque form a European literary fashion. Although he was orphaned at age 14 and was always quite poor, Lesage was well educated at a Jesuit

Vercors: …Silence de la mer (1941; The Silence of the Sea), a patriotic tale of self-deception and of the triumph of passive resistance over evil. The novella was published clandestinely in Nazi-occupied Paris and served to rally a spirit of French defiance.

Eustache Le Sueur was a painter known for his religious pictures in the style of the French classical Baroque. Le Sueur was one of the founders and first professors of the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture. Le Sueur studied under the painter Simon Vouet and was admitted at an early age into

Jean-François Lesueur was a composer of religious and dramatic works who helped to transform French musical taste during the French Revolution. In 1781 Lesueur was appointed chapelmaster at the cathedral of Dijon and in 1786 at Notre-Dame de Paris. There he aroused controversy by introducing a

Meridel Le Sueur was an American author who espoused feminism and social reform in her fiction, journalism, and poetry. Le Sueur grew up on the Midwestern plains, where she was influenced by her family’s heritage of social and political activism and by the stories and poetry she heard from Native

Émile Durkheim: Analytic methods: …and in Le Suicide (1897; Suicide). In Durkheim’s view, ethical and social structures were being endangered by the advent of technology and mechanization. He believed that societies with undifferentiated labour (i.e., primitive societies) exhibited mechanical solidarity, while societies with a high division of labour, or increased specialization (i.e., modern societies),…

François-Michel Le Tellier, marquis de Louvois was the secretary of state for war under Louis XIV of France and his most influential minister in the period 1677–91. He contributed to the reorganization of the French army. Louvois was the son of one of the wealthiest and most powerful officials in

Michel Le Tellier was the secretary of state for war (1643–77) and then chancellor who created the royal army that enabled King Louis XIV to impose his absolute rule on France and establish French hegemony in Europe. The son of a Parisian magistrate, Le Tellier became a procureur (attorney) for

Le Loi was a Vietnamese general and emperor who won back independence for Vietnam from China in 1428, founded the Later Le dynasty, and became the most honoured Vietnamese hero of the medieval period. A wealthy upper-class landowner, Le Loi despised the Vietnamese aristocrats who collaborated with

Le Thanh Tong was the greatest ruler of the Later Le dynasty (q.v.; 1428–1788) in Vietnam. Though the early years of his reign were marked by a struggle for power, he eventually developed a governmental power base. He established a Chinese-style centralized administration and expanded dynastic

Le Thanh Tong was the greatest ruler of the Later Le dynasty (q.v.; 1428–1788) in Vietnam. Though the early years of his reign were marked by a struggle for power, he eventually developed a governmental power base. He established a Chinese-style centralized administration and expanded dynastic

Maya Le Tissier English football (soccer) player in the Women’s Super League (WSL) and member of the England women’s national team. From 2022, Le Tissier has played for WSL team Manchester United. Le Tissier began playing football at a young age. Her father coached St. Martin’s AC, a local boys’

Le Touquet-Paris-Plage, town, Pas-de-Calais département, Hauts-de-France région, northern France, at the mouth of the Canche River. Situated on the English Channel 20 miles (32 km) south of Boulogne, it is a fashionable seaside resort with casinos, conference and sports facilities, a horse-racing

Le Van Duyet was a Vietnamese military strategist and government official who served as a diplomatic liaison between Vietnam and France and defended Christian missionaries against the early Nguyen emperors. From early youth, Duyet, who grew up in the Mekong River delta near My Tho, was attached to

Western architecture: France: …from which François Mansart and Louis Le Vau developed their succession of superb country houses.

Neptune: The ring system: …five known rings of Neptune—Galle, Le Verrier, Lassell, Arago, and Galatea, in order of increasing distance from the planet—lack the nonuniformity in density exhibited by Adams. Le Verrier, which is about 110 km (70 miles) in radial width, closely resembles the nonarc regions of Adams. Similar to the relationship between…

Urbain-Jean-Joseph Le Verrier was a French astronomer who predicted by mathematical means the existence of the planet Neptune. Appointed a teacher of astronomy at the École Polytechnique (“Polytechnic School”), Paris, in 1837, Le Verrier first undertook an extensive study of the theory of the

bridge: Eugène Freyssinet: …his effort to save the Le Veurdre Bridge over the Allier River near Vichy, France. A year after its completion in 1910, Freyssinet noted the three-arch bridge had been moving downward at an alarming rate. A flat concrete arch, under its own dead load, generates huge compressive forces that cause…

Lewis blood group system: … specifies the formation of antigen Lea (identified 1946), which is found on the red cells of 20 percent of Europeans and in the saliva and other fluids of over 90 percent. Lea is a water-soluble antigen; red blood cells acquire Lewis specificity secondarily by adsorbing antigen onto their surfaces from…

Anna Lea Merritt was an American artist whose skills as an etcher and painter found expression most often in portraiture and narrative subjects. Merritt displayed artistic talent from an early age. After studying with William H. Furness in Philadelphia for several years, she went to Europe, where

Homer Lea was a U.S. soldier and author whose knowledge of Japanese affairs enabled him, 30 years before World War II, to predict a U.S.-Japanese war and describe its early course. Lea studied law at Stanford University, Palo Alto, Calif. Intensely interested in military history and strategy and

Florence Nightingale: Nursing in peace and war: Sidney Herbert, secretary of state at war for the British government, wrote to Nightingale requesting that she lead a group of nurses to Scutari. At the same time, Nightingale wrote to her friend Liz Herbert, Sidney’s wife, asking that she be allowed to lead a…

River Lea, river rising north of Luton in the county of Bedfordshire, England. It flows for 46 miles (74 km) east and then south to enter the River Thames near Bromley-by-Bow, in the London borough of Tower Hamlets. In the 17th century an important aqueduct known as the New River was constructed in

bullfighting: Bullfighting and the arts: …the spectacle to English-speaking readers: Tom Lea’s The Brave Bulls (1949) and Barnaby Conrad’s Matador (1952), the former about a Mexican matador and the latter about a doomed Spaniard.

Tuatha Dé Danann: The Leabhar Gabhála (Book of Invasions), a fictitious history of Ireland from the earliest times, treats them as actual people, and they were so regarded by native historians up to the 17th century. In popular legend they have become associated with the numerous fairies still supposed to inhabit…

The Book of Leinster, compilation of Irish verse and prose from older manuscripts and oral tradition and from 12th- and 13th-century religious and secular sources. It was tentatively identified in 1907 and finally in 1954 as the Lebar na Núachongbála (“The Book of Noughval”), which was thought

The Book of the Dun Cow, oldest surviving miscellaneous manuscript in Irish literature, so called because the original vellum upon which it was written was supposedly taken from the hide of the famous cow of St. Ciarán of Clonmacnoise. Compiled about 1100 by learned Irish monks at the monastery of

pottery: The artist-potter: Bernard Leach (1887–1979) established the Leach Pottery in St. Ives, Cornwall, in 1920. Leach spent many of his early years in East Asia and learned the art of making raku and stoneware in Japan (see below Japan: Azuchi-Momoyama period). He began working at a time when interest in early Chinese…

storm petrel: Leach’s petrel (Oceanodroma leucorhoa), for example, breeds on islands in the North Atlantic and south to about 28° N in the Pacific. Several other Oceanodroma species occur in the North Pacific. The British storm petrel (Hydrobates pelagicus) breeds on islands and cliffs along the coasts…

Cary Grant was a British-born American film actor whose good looks, debonair style, and flair for romantic comedy made him one of Hollywood’s most popular and enduring stars. To escape poverty and a fractious family, Archie Leach ran away from home at age 13 to perform as a juggler with the Bob

Bernard Leach was one of the foremost modern British potters who influenced contemporary ceramic design. The son of a colonial judge, Leach had lived in Japan, Hong Kong, and Singapore by 1897. In that year he traveled to England and later (1903–08) studied at the Slade School of Art. He returned

Bernard Leach was one of the foremost modern British potters who influenced contemporary ceramic design. The son of a colonial judge, Leach had lived in Japan, Hong Kong, and Singapore by 1897. In that year he traveled to England and later (1903–08) studied at the Slade School of Art. He returned

hazardous-waste management: Secure landfills: …have two impermeable liners and leachate collection systems. The double leachate collection system consists of a network of perforated pipes placed above each liner. The upper system prevents the accumulation of leachate trapped in the fill, and the lower serves as a backup. Collected leachate is pumped to a treatment…

chromium processing: Chromium metal: …containing sodium chromate, which is leached from the insoluble gangue and then reduced and precipitated as Cr2O3. The Cr2O3 is blended with finely divided aluminum powder, charged to a refractory-lined container, and ignited. The combustion quickly generates temperatures in excess of 2,000 °C (3,600 °F), giving a clean separation of…

leaching, in geology, loss of soluble substances and colloids from the top layer of soil by percolating precipitation. The materials lost are carried downward (eluviated) and are generally redeposited (illuviated) in a lower layer. This transport results in a porous and open top layer and a dense,

wastewater treatment: On-site septic tanks and leaching fields: …sewage flows out into the absorption field, through which it percolates downward into the ground. As it flows slowly through layers of soil, the settled wastewater is further treated and purified by both physical and biological processes before it reaches the water table.

Cloris Leachman was an American actress who was most widely known for her comic roles, perhaps most notably Phyllis Lindstrom on the TV show The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970–77). Leachman took piano lessons as a small child and participated in community theatre as she was growing up. She briefly

Stephen Leacock was an internationally popular Canadian humorist, educator, lecturer, and author of more than 30 books of lighthearted sketches and essays. Leacock immigrated to Canada with his parents at the age of six. He attended Upper Canada College (1882–87) and later received a B.A. degree

Stephen Leacock was an internationally popular Canadian humorist, educator, lecturer, and author of more than 30 books of lighthearted sketches and essays. Leacock immigrated to Canada with his parents at the age of six. He attended Upper Canada College (1882–87) and later received a B.A. degree

sea ice: Sea ice formation and features: …water appears within fractures and leads. Leads are typically linear features that are widespread in the pack ice at any time of year, extend for hundreds of kilometres, and vary from a few metres to hundreds of metres in width. In winter, leads freeze quickly. Both new and young ice…

lead (Pb), a soft, silvery white or grayish metal in Group 14 (IVa) of the periodic table. Lead is very malleable, ductile, and dense and is a poor conductor of electricity. Known in antiquity and believed by the alchemists to be the oldest of metals, lead is highly durable and resistant to

Lead, city, Lawrence county, western South Dakota, U.S. It lies in the northern Black Hills, about 40 miles (65 km) northwest of Rapid City, at an elevation of 5,280 feet (1,609 metres). Situated just southwest of Deadwood, it is built on the steep inclines of the hills. It was established in 1876

bridge: Leads: The card led against declarer is selected so as to give information to the leader’s partner. Certain conventional meanings of leads were established during the bridge whist period and, with slight changes, persisted in contract bridge.

lead: Compounds: …the +2 oxidation state is lead acetate, Pb(C2H3O2)2, a water-soluble salt made by dissolving litharge in concentrated acetic acid. The common form, the trihydrate, Pb(C2H3O2)2·3H2O, called sugar of lead, is used as a mordant in dyeing and as a drier in certain paints. In addition, it is utilized in the…

chemical industry: Nitric acid: …or such priming compositions as lead azide [Pb(N3)2], silver azide (AgN3), and mercury fulminate [Hg(ONC)2]. These are not nitrates or nitro compounds, although some other detonators are, but they all contain nitrogen, and nitric acid is involved in their manufacture.

Lead Belly was an American folk-blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist whose ability to perform a vast repertoire of songs in a variety of styles, in conjunction with his notoriously violent life, made him a legend. Musical from childhood, Lead Belly played accordion, 6- and (more usually)

metallurgy: Reduction smelting: …an illustration of a zinc-lead blast furnace, see figure).

brass: Characteristics of the alloy: Among these are the lead brasses, which are more easily machined; the naval and admiralty brasses, in which a small amount of tin improves resistance to corrosion by seawater; and the aluminum brasses, which provide strength and corrosion resistance where the naval brasses may fail.

white lead, any of several white pigments used in exterior paints and containing inorganic compounds of lead

cerussite, lead carbonate (PbCO3), an important ore and common secondary mineral of lead. It is formed by the chemical action of carbonated water on the mineral galena. Notable localities are Murcia, Spain; Tsumeb, Namib.; Broken Hill, N.S.W., Austl.; and Leadville, Colo., U.S. For detailed

chromium processing: Pigments: Chromium yellow varies greatly in the shades available and is essentially lead chromate, or crocoite. This pigment makes an excellent paint for both wood and metal. Zinc yellow, a basic zinc chromate, is used as a corrosion-inhibiting primer on aircraft parts fabricated from aluminum or…

flint glass, heavy and durable glass characterized by its brilliance, clarity, and highly refractive quality. Developed by George Ravenscroft (q.v.) in 1675, it ushered in a new style in glassmaking and eventually made England the leading glass producer of the world. Ravenscroft’s experimentation

lead processing: Oxides: Lead dioxide (PbO2) is an oxidizing agent used in the manufacture of dyes, matches, and rubber substitutes. Orange mineral (Pb3O4), having the same chemical composition as red lead but differing in colour and tone, is exploited in the manufacture of printing inks and pigments. Black…

galena, a gray lead sulfide (PbS), the chief ore mineral of lead. One of the most widely distributed sulfide minerals, it occurs in many different types of deposits, often in metalliferous veins, as at Broken Hill, Australia; Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, U.S.; Clausthal Zellerfeld, Ger.; and Cornwall,

flint glass, heavy and durable glass characterized by its brilliance, clarity, and highly refractive quality. Developed by George Ravenscroft (q.v.) in 1675, it ushered in a new style in glassmaking and eventually made England the leading glass producer of the world. Ravenscroft’s experimentation

weather modification: General considerations: …example, when silver iodide and lead iodide are burned, they create a smoke of tiny particles. These particles produce ice crystals in supercooled clouds below temperatures of about −5° C as the supercooled cloud droplets evaporate. The water vapour is then free to deposit onto the silver iodide or lead…

surface coating: Catalysts and driers: …determined that the presence of lead oxide pigments such as red lead caused oil-based coatings to cure more rapidly and thoroughly than in their absence. The reactive species that causes this reaction is the Pb2+ ion, which forms organic salts with the fatty acid components of the drying oil. The…

capacitor dielectric and piezoelectric ceramics: Piezoelectric ceramics: …titanate, Pb[Zr,Ti]O2) and PMN (lead magnesium niobate, Pb[Mg13Nb23]O3). These materials are processed in a similar manner to capacitor dielectrics except that they are subjected to poling, a technique of cooling the fired ceramic piece through the Curie point under the influence of an applied electric field in order to…

glass: Optical and high-temperature glass: …of superior tableware; by using lead monoxide (PbO) as a flux, it is possible to obtain a glass with a high refractive index and, consequently, the desired sparkle and brilliance.

pencil, slender rod of a solid marking substance, such as graphite, enclosed in a cylinder of wood, metal, or plastic; used as an implement for writing, drawing, or marking. In 1565 the German-Swiss naturalist Conrad Gesner first described a writing instrument in which graphite, then thought to be

lead poisoning, deleterious effect of a gradual accumulation of lead in body tissues, as a result of repeated exposure to lead-containing substances. In humans the main sources of lead are usually lead-based paint and drinking water carried through lead pipes; lead-based paints are especially

lead processing, preparation of the ore for use in various products. Lead (Pb) is one of the oldest metals known, being one of seven metals used in the ancient world (the others are gold, silver, copper, iron, tin, and mercury). Its low melting point of 327 °C (621 °F), coupled with its easy

human sensory reception: Salt: …some of the salts of lead (especially lead acetate) and beryllium are sweet. Both parts of the molecule (e.g., lead and acetate) contribute to taste quality and to stimulating efficiency. The following is a series for degree of saltiness, in decreasing order: ammonium (most salty), potassium, calcium, sodium,

lead processing: Silicates: Lead silicates are considered to be the most versatile of lead chemical compounds in the ceramics industry. Three types are available commercially: lead monosilicate (PbO·0.67SiO2), lead bisilicate (PbO·0.03Α12O3·1.95SiO2), and tribasic lead silicate (PbO·0.33SiO2). The silicates are used extensively in finely divided form for glazes…

anglesite, naturally occurring lead sulfate (PbSO4). A common secondary mineral that is a minor ore of lead, it is usually formed by the oxidation of galena and often forms a concentrically banded mass surrounding a core of unaltered galena. The formation of cerussite (lead carbonate) often

electricity: Piezoelectricity: …and 3 × 10−10 for lead zirconate titanate.

glass: Optical and high-temperature glass: …of superior tableware; by using lead monoxide (PbO) as a flux, it is possible to obtain a glass with a high refractive index and, consequently, the desired sparkle and brilliance.

lead processing: Oxides: Lead dioxide (PbO2) is an oxidizing agent used in the manufacture of dyes, matches, and rubber substitutes. Orange mineral (Pb3O4), having the same chemical composition as red lead but differing in colour and tone, is exploited in the manufacture of printing inks and pigments. Black…

Jane Leade was an English mystic and proponent of Universalist Christianity. Leade’s religious views were based on the thought of the German philosopher and mystic Jakob Böhme (1575–1624) and on her own visions and dreams, particularly those of the Virgin Sophia, an embodiment of wisdom. In 1681,

dating: Model ages: For example, the ratio of lead of mass 206 relative to that of mass 204 has changed from an initial value of about 10 present when Earth was formed to an average value of about 19 in rocks at the terrestrial surface today. This is true because uranium is continuously…

geologic history of Earth: The pregeologic period: …evolution of the isotopes of lead-207 and lead-206 is studied from several lead deposits of different age on Earth, including oceanic sediments that represent a homogenized sample of Earth’s lead, the growth curve of terrestrial lead can be calculated, and, when this is extrapolated back in time, it is found…

lead-210 dating, method of age determination that makes use of the ratio of the radioactive lead isotope lead-210 to the stable isotope lead-206. The method has been applied to the ores of uranium. In the series of unstable products from the radioactive decay of uranium-238, lead-210 results from

Gaston Planté: …resulted in construction of a battery for the storage of electrical energy; his first model contained two sheets of lead, separated by rubber strips, rolled into a spiral, and immersed in a solution containing about 10 percent sulfuric acid. A year later he presented a battery to the Academy of…

amorphous solid: Properties of oxide glasses: …a partial replacement for soda, lead-alkali-silicate glasses result that have lower softening points than lime glasses. The refractive indices, dispersive powers, and electrical resistance of these glasses are generally much greater than those of soda-lime-silica glasses.

branch and twig borer: The lead-cable borer, or short-circuit beetle (Scobicia declivis), bores into the lead covering of older telephone cables. Moisture entering through the hole can cause short circuits. This beetle lives in oak, maple, or other trees and does not feed on the cable sheathing.

chamber process, method of producing sulfuric acid by oxidizing sulfur dioxide with moist air, using gaseous nitrogen oxides as catalysts, the reaction taking place primarily in a series of large, boxlike chambers of sheet lead. The lead-chamber process has been largely supplanted in modern

breeder reactor: Fast breeder reactors: with helium, and sodium-cooled and lead-cooled fast reactors. Additionally, a supercritical water fast reactor has been proposed that would operate at a supercritical pressure to utilize fluid water that is neither steam nor liquid.

petroleum refining: Octane rating: Since the advent of unleaded fuels in the mid-1970s, however, motor octane measurements have frequently been found to limit actual engine performance. As a result a new measurement, road octane number, which is a simple average of the research and motor values, is most frequently used to define fuel…

pottery: Decorative glazing: …principal kinds of glazes: feldspathic, lead, tin, and salt. (Modern technology has produced new glazes that fall into none of these categories while remaining a type of glass.) Feldspathic, lead, and salt glazes are transparent; tin glaze is an opaque white. Hard porcelain takes a feldspathic glaze, soft porcelain usually…

automation: Robot programming: One method is called lead-through programming. This requires that the manipulator be driven through the various motions needed to perform a given task, recording the motions into the robot’s computer memory. This can be done either by physically moving the manipulator through the motion sequence or by using a…

media convergence: Social media: …online content, while British author Charles Leadbeater discussed the “pro-am revolution” and “mass collaboration,” where the tools of content creation become cheaper and simpler to use, distinctions between amateurs and experts become blurred, and media content production becomes increasingly shared, social, and collaborative in nature. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation…

Gordon Parks: Literature and film: …Cops (1974) and the drama Leadbelly (1976) as well as several television films.

Lead Belly was an American folk-blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist whose ability to perform a vast repertoire of songs in a variety of styles, in conjunction with his notoriously violent life, made him a legend. Musical from childhood, Lead Belly played accordion, 6- and (more usually)

Jane Leade was an English mystic and proponent of Universalist Christianity. Leade’s religious views were based on the thought of the German philosopher and mystic Jakob Böhme (1575–1624) and on her own visions and dreams, particularly those of the Virgin Sophia, an embodiment of wisdom. In 1681,

Jane Leade was an English mystic and proponent of Universalist Christianity. Leade’s religious views were based on the thought of the German philosopher and mystic Jakob Böhme (1575–1624) and on her own visions and dreams, particularly those of the Virgin Sophia, an embodiment of wisdom. In 1681,

petroleum refining: Octane rating: The advent of leaded, or ethyl, gasoline led to the manufacture of high-octane fuels and became universally employed throughout the world after World War II. However, beginning in 1975, environmental legislation began to restrict the use of lead additives in automotive gasoline. It is now banned in the…

Richard Rogers: …Hyde Park (2011), London; the Leadenhall Building (2014; called the “Cheese Grater”), London; International Towers Sydney (2016); and 3 World Trade Center (2018), New York. Rogers retired from his firm in 2020.

lightning: Next, a stepped leader (initial lightning stroke) forms and propagates downward, following channels created by the preliminary breakdown process. The leader is highly branched in the direction of its propagation. Most leader channels are negatively charged. When the stepped leader nears the ground, an upward, connecting discharge of…

driving and coaching: …other, and called, respectively, the leaders and the wheelers. Three horses, two wheelers and a single leader, are known as a unicorn team. In Russia and Hungary three horses are driven abreast, the centre horse trotting and the outside horses galloping; such a team is known as a troika.

supreme leader of Iran, head of state in Iran, overseeing virtually all functions of government either directly or indirectly. The post was instituted as rahbar (“leader”) in 1979 with the creation of Iran’s Islamic Republic, which blends democratic elements with theocratic oversight from Islamic

the Shangri-Las: “Leader of the Pack,” which topped the charts in 1964, is a tale of rebellion punctuated by the crack of a motorcycle engine. About that time, Betty Weiss left the band, but the Shangri-Las continued as a trio, touring throughout 1965–66 and scoring a top…

The Red Pony: …Mountains,” “The Promise,” and “The Leader of the People,” in which Jody develops empathy and also learns from his grandfather about “westering,” the migration of people to new places and the urge for new experiences.

operon: …the mRNA is called the leader sequence; it includes the attenuator region, which can fold back on itself, forming a stem-and-loop structure that blocks the RNA polymerase from advancing along the DNA.

George Henry Lewes: … founded a radical weekly called The Leader, for which he wrote the literary and theatrical features. His Comte’s Philosophy of the Sciences (1853) originally appeared as a series of articles in The Leader.

Germany is a federal multiparty republic with two legislative houses. Its government is headed by the chancellor (prime minister), who is elected by a majority vote of the Bundestag (Federal Assembly) upon nomination by the president (head of state). The table provides a chronological list of the