bird-of-paradise: …golden-silky, bird-of-paradise (Loboparadisea sericea); and Loria’s, or Lady Macgregor’s, bird-of-paradise (Loria loriae)—three species formerly classified as bowerbirds.

Paul McCartney: The Beatles: …rock songs, such as “Lady Madonna,” “Back in the USSR,” and “Helter Skelter” (all 1968), but above all he has an extraordinary gift for melodies and sometimes tags an entirely new one on to the end of a song, as he did with “Hey Jude” (1968). This facility extends…

Suo Masayuki: …Suo directed the musical comedy Maiko wa redî (2014; Lady Maiko) and the historical dramedy Katsuben! (2019; Talking the Pictures).

ballad: Romantic tragedies: …father and brothers or “Lady Maisry,” pregnant by an English lord, is burned by her fanatically Scottish brother. Incest, frequent in ballads recorded before 1800 (“Lizie Wan,” “The Bonny Hind”), is shunned by modern tradition.

Christina Aguilera: …LaBelle’s 1974 funk classic “Lady Marmalade.” Soon after, Aguilera released Stripped (2002), on which she cast off her ingenue image and took on a more provocative sexualized persona, epitomized by her hit single “Dirrty.” Reminiscent of the work of Etta James and Billie Holiday, Back to Basics (2006) paid…

Elche: …La dama de Elche (“The Lady of Elche”), was found on a nearby archaeological site in 1897; a mosaic floor with Latin inscriptions was also uncovered there in 1959. A local custom—declared a national artistic monument in 1931—is observed annually on August 14–15 in the 17th-century church of Santa…

Diane Wakoski: …Bay of Angels (2013), and Lady of Light (2018). The Butcher’s Apron (2000) features poems about food. Wakoski also published several essay collections.

Hannah Webster Foster was an American novelist whose single successful novel, though highly sentimental, broke with some of the conventions of its time and type. Hannah Webster received the genteel education prescribed for young girls of that day. In April 1785 she married the Reverend John Foster,

Walter Crane: …early paintings such as “The Lady of Shalott” (1862). He came to oppose the policies of the academy, which steadily refused his later work. In 1864 he began to illustrate an admirable series of sixpenny toy books of nursery rhymes for Edmund Evans, the colour printer. A new series, beginning…

The Lady of Shalott, narrative poem in four sections by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, published in 1832 and revised for his 1842 collection Poems. Typically Victorian in its exaltation of an imprisoned maiden who dies for a chaste love, the poem tells of Elaine of Arthurian legend, shut in her father’s

La traviata: Alexandre Dumas fils (La Dame aux camélias), the opera marked a large step forward for Verdi in his quest to express dramatic ideas in music. La traviata means “the fallen woman” or “the one who goes astray” and refers to the main character, Violetta Valéry, a courtesan. The…

Day of the Dead: Led by the goddess Mictecacihuatl, known as “Lady of the Dead,” the celebration lasted a month. After the Spanish arrived in Mexico and began converting the native peoples to Roman Catholicism, the holiday was moved to coincide with All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day (November 1 and 2,…

Zhang Yimou: …nu ren: Yang Guifei (2015; Lady of the Dynasty), about the tragic love affair between concubine Yang Guifei and Emperor Xuanzong, and then helmed the English-language thriller The Great Wall (2016). Ying (2018; Shadow) is an action drama inspired by China’s Three Kingdoms. Zhang’s subsequent movies included Yi miao zhong

The Lady of the Lake, poem in six cantos by Sir Walter Scott, published in 1810. Composed primarily in octosyllabic tetrameter couplets, it mines Gaelic history to retell a well-known legend about the graceful feudal heroine Ellen Douglas. The poem, which is set in the Scottish Highlands in the

Florence Nightingale was a British nurse, statistician, and social reformer who was the foundational philosopher of modern nursing. Nightingale was put in charge of nursing British and allied soldiers in Turkey during the Crimean War. She spent many hours in the wards, and her night rounds giving

Jack Conway: Heyday of the 1930s: …a ruthless railroad magnate, while Lady of the Tropics (1939) was a light romance starring Robert Taylor and Hedy Lamarr.

Margaret Atwood: …the northern wilderness of Quebec; Lady Oracle (1976); Cat’s Eye (1988); The Robber Bride (1993; television film 2007); and Alias Grace (1996), a fictionalized account of a real-life Canadian girl who was convicted of two murders in a sensationalist 1843 trial; a TV miniseries based on the latter work aired…

Berry Gordy: …and began producing films, including Lady Sings the Blues (1972), featuring Ross in her film debut as Billie Holiday. By the mid-1980s the company boasted annual revenues in excess of $100 million, and Motown acts had recorded more than 50 number one hits on the Billboard pop singles chart. Facing…

Billie Holiday: …1956 she wrote an autobiography, Lady Sings the Blues (with William Dufty), that was made into a motion picture starring Diana Ross in 1972. Holiday’s health began to fail because of drug and alcohol abuse, and she died in 1959.

lady’s slipper, (subfamily Cypripedioideae), subfamily of five genera of orchids (family Orchidaceae), in which the lip of the flower is slipper-shaped. Lady’s slippers are found throughout Eurasia and the Americas, and some species are cultivated. Lady’s slipper orchids are usually terrestrial,

Jane Austen: Life: …earliest writings is evident in Lady Susan, a short epistolary novel written about 1793–94 (and not published until 1871). This portrait of a woman bent on the exercise of her own powerful mind and personality to the point of social self-destruction is, in effect, a study of frustration and of…

Jack Arnold: The Lady Takes a Flyer (1958), a mainstream romance, featured Chandler alongside Lana Turner, who played a pilot who dislikes the prospect of being domesticated. High School Confidential! (1958), a tongue-in-cheek juvenile-delinquent film starring Mamie Van Doren and Russ Tamblyn, returned Arnold to B-film territory.…

Black Rod, an office of the British House of Lords (the upper house in Parliament), instituted in 1350. Its holder is appointed by royal letters patent, and the title is derived from the staff of office, an ebony stick surmounted with a gold lion. Black Rod is a personal attendant of the sovereign

The Lady Vanishes, British thriller film, released in 1938, that was one of director Alfred Hitchcock’s early classics, noted for the taut suspense and dry humour that would largely define his movies. Iris Henderson (played by Margaret Lockwood) is a young British woman traveling on a train in

Pat Summitt: Named head coach of the Lady Vols at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville in 1974, she posted a 16–8 record in her inaugural season. (In 1980 she married R.B. Summitt; the couple divorced in 2008.) Driven and uncompromising, Summitt demanded the best from her players and was known for…

Lady Windermere’s Fan, comedy of manners in four acts by Oscar Wilde, performed in 1892 and published the following year. Set in London, the play’s action is put in motion by Lady Windermere’s jealousy over her husband’s apparent interest in Mrs. Erlynne, a beautiful older woman with a mysterious

Diego Velázquez: Middle years: The Lady with a Fan (c. 1640), one of the few informal portraits of women, is, on the other hand, remarkable for the subtle and delicate painting and for the sensitive portrayal of personal charm.

D.M. Thomas: … (1990), Flying into Love (1992), Lady with a Laptop (1996), Charlotte (2000), and Hunters in the Snow (2014).

Andrea del Verrocchio: Paintings and sculptures: …his marble bust known as Lady with Primroses (also called Woman Holding Flowers) (1475–80). The latter work created a new type of Renaissance bust, in which the arms of the sitter are included in the manner of ancient Roman models. This compositional device allows the hands, as well as the…

Curtis Bernhardt: Early years in Hollywood: …for Olivia de Havilland, and Lady with Red Hair (1940) was a biopic with Miriam Hopkins as famed actress Mrs. Leslie Carter, though it was Claude Rains as David Belasco who stole the film.

irony: …of Anton Chekhov’s story “Lady with the Dog,” in which an accomplished Don Juan engages in a routine flirtation only to find himself seduced into a passionate lifelong commitment to a woman who is no different from all the others. Dramatic irony is often equated with situational irony, tragic…

Joseph H. Lewis: Lewis’s next film, A Lady Without Passport (1950), was only serviceable, despite the presence of Hedy Lamarr as a shady woman trying to get out of Havana. Retreat, Hell! (1952) was his only foray into war pictures, a downbeat but effective account of U.S. Marines during the Korean…

bedstraw: Lady’s bedstraw, or yellow bedstraw (G. verum), is used in Europe to curdle milk and to colour cheese. The roots of several species of Galium yield a red dye, and many were used historically to stuff mattresses, hence their common name.

history of publishing: Women’s magazines: …Regency magazines in Britain were The Lady’s Magazine (1770), a sixpenny monthly that, along with its literary contributions and fashion notes, gave away embroidery patterns and sheet music; The Lady’s Monthly Museum (1798), which had a half-yearly “Cabinet of Fashion” illustrated by coloured engravings, the first to appear in a…

lady’s mantle, (genus Alchemilla), genus of some 300 species of herbaceous perennials within the rose family (Rosaceae). A number of species are used as ornamental plants in borders and cottage gardens, and some have historically been used in herbal remedies. Lady’s mantles are typically

history of publishing: Women’s magazines: …embroidery patterns and sheet music; The Lady’s Monthly Museum (1798), which had a half-yearly “Cabinet of Fashion” illustrated by coloured engravings, the first to appear in a women’s periodical; and La Belle Assemblée (1806), which encouraged its readers to unburden themselves in its correspondence columns. These three merged in 1832,…

English literature: Chroniclers: …composed for his own daughter The Lady’s New-Year’s-Gift; or, Advice to a Daughter (1688), in which he anatomizes, with a somber but affectionate wit, the pitfalls awaiting a young gentlewoman in life, especially in marriage.

The Lady’s Not for Burning, verse comedy in three acts by Christopher Fry, produced in 1948 and published in 1949. Known for its wry characterizations and graceful language, this lighthearted play about 15th-century England brought Fry renown. Evoking spring, it was the first in his series of four

lady’s slipper, (subfamily Cypripedioideae), subfamily of five genera of orchids (family Orchidaceae), in which the lip of the flower is slipper-shaped. Lady’s slippers are found throughout Eurasia and the Americas, and some species are cultivated. Lady’s slipper orchids are usually terrestrial,

bittercress: Some—such as lady’s smock, or cuckoo flower (Cardamine pratensis)—are grown as ornamentals. A number of species, including narrowleaf bittercress (C. impatiens) and hairy bittercress (C. hirsuta), are considered invasive species outside their native range.

ladies’ tresses, (genus Spiranthes), genus of about 45 species of terrestrial orchids (family Orchidaceae), found in woods and grasslands throughout most of the world. Ladies’ tresses have a fleshy root system, and most species have narrow basal leaves. Species of Spiranthes vary greatly in size

Frank Stockton: …story of a collection called The Lady, or the Tiger? (1884).

lady-in-waiting, in European history, a woman of noble birth who serves a female monarch as a member of the royal household. Any noble woman performing personal service for a queen is often referred to as a lady-in-waiting, although exact titles differ depending on a woman’s particular office or

Campanulaceae: Adenophora, the ladybell genus, is similar to Campanula except for a cuplike disk at the base of the style, which covers the ovary (the basal part of the pistil). It includes 60 species native to cool parts of Europe and Asia and mostly flowering with blue, bell-shaped…

ladybug, (family Coccinellidae), any of approximately 5,000 widely distributed species of beetles (insect order Coleoptera) whose name originated in the Middle Ages, when the beetle was dedicated to the Virgin Mary and called “beetle of Our Lady.” Ladybird beetles are hemispheric in shape and

Ken Loach: Loach also received praise for Ladybird Ladybird (1994), a downbeat portrayal of a single mother struggling to hold her family together in the face of bureaucratic obstacles.

ladybug, (family Coccinellidae), any of approximately 5,000 widely distributed species of beetles (insect order Coleoptera) whose name originated in the Middle Ages, when the beetle was dedicated to the Virgin Mary and called “beetle of Our Lady.” Ladybird beetles are hemispheric in shape and

Frank Perry: The fact-based Ladybug, Ladybug (1963) was a rather heavy-handed drama about a group of rural children who seek shelter after an air-raid siren is accidentally sounded, and the existential allegory The Swimmer (1968) starred Burt Lancaster as an ad man who confronts his past while swimming from…

bonefish, (Albula vulpes), marine game fish of the family Albulidae (order Elopiformes). It inhabits shallow coastal and island waters in tropical seas and is admired by anglers for its speed and strength. Maximum length and weight are about 76 cm (30 inches) and 6.4 kg (14 pounds). The bonefish

ladyfish, (Elops saurus), primarily tropical coastal marine fish of the family Elopidae (order Elopiformes), related to the tarpon and bonefish. The ladyfish is slender and pikelike in form and covered with fine silver scales; there are grooves into which the dorsal and anal fins can be depressed.

The Ladykillers, British dark comedy film, released in 1955, that is considered one of the best comedies produced by the historic Ealing Studios. Alec Guinness played Professor Marcus, the head of a motley band of criminals who use the rented rooms of an old woman’s boarding house as the base for a

Ladysmith, town, northwestern KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa, on the Klip River. Founded in 1850 after the British annexed the area, it was named for the wife of Harry Smith (then governor of Cape Colony). It was besieged by the Boers during the South African War from Nov. 1, 1899, until

Ladysmith Black Mambazo, South African music group founded in 1964 by Joseph Shabalala, a young musician who hoped to bring new interpretations to traditional Zulu music. The a cappella group’s compelling performance style was a unique melding of indigenous Zulu songs and dances with South African

Lae, port city, on the island of New Guinea, northeastern Papua New Guinea, southwestern Pacific Ocean. It is located near the mouth of the Markham River on the Huon Gulf. Commercial activities centre on the export of timber, plywood, and coffee (transported by road from Bulolo and Wau) as well as

Laelia, genus of orchids (family Orchidaceae), containing about 25 species of plants with attractively coloured flowers. The plants are found in semitropical and temperate areas of Central America and Mexico. Many species have been crossed with Cattleya and other genera to produce hybrid orchids

Gaius Laelius Sapiens, the Younger , the Younger was a Roman soldier and politician known chiefly as an orator and a friend of Scipio Aemilianus. Laelius appears as one of the speakers in Cicero’s De senectute (“On Old Age”), De amicitia (“On Friendship"; also called Laelius), and De republica (“On

Gaius Laelius was a Roman general and politician who contributed to Roman victory during the Second Punic War (218–201) between Rome and Carthage. Owing his political advancement to his friend, the renowned commander Scipio Africanus, Laelius accompanied Scipio on his Spanish campaign (210–206).

Carl Laemmle was a German-born U.S. film producer. After immigrating to the U.S. in 1884, he worked at various jobs in Chicago before opening a nickelodeon there in 1906 and becoming a leading film distributor. He founded the Independent Motion Picture Co. in 1909 and induced stars such as Mary

Antiochus IV Epiphanes: Early career: …of Alexandria, the Roman ambassador, Gaius Popillius Laenas, presented Antiochus with the ultimatum that he evacuate Egypt and Cyprus immediately. Antiochus, taken by surprise, asked for time to consider. Popillius, however, drew a circle in the earth around the king with his walking stick and demanded an unequivocal answer before…

alcoholism: Chronic diseases: …cirrhosis of the liver (specifically, Laënnec cirrhosis), which is commonly preceded by a fatty enlargement of the organ. Genetic vulnerability, the strain of metabolizing excessive amounts of alcohol, and defective nutrition influence the development of alcohol-related cirrhosis. In its severest form, Laënnec cirrhosis can be fatal; the successful treatment of…

René Laënnec was a French physician who invented the stethoscope and perfected the art of auditory examination of the chest cavity. When Laënnec was five years old, his mother, Michelle Félicité Guesdon, died from tuberculosis, leaving Laënnec and his brother, Michaud, in the incompetent care of

René Laënnec was a French physician who invented the stethoscope and perfected the art of auditory examination of the chest cavity. When Laënnec was five years old, his mother, Michelle Félicité Guesdon, died from tuberculosis, leaving Laënnec and his brother, Michaud, in the incompetent care of

Bamboccianti: …the physically malformed Dutch painter Pieter van Laer (1592/95–1642). Generally regarded as the originator of the style and its most important exponent, van Laer arrived in Rome from Haarlem about 1625 and was soon well known for paintings in which his Netherlandish interest in the picturesque was combined with the…

Norway: Transportation and telecommunications: The Lærdal-Aurland tunnel (15.2 miles [24.5 km]) became, when it opened in 2000, the world’s longest road tunnel. Located along the route linking Oslo and Bergen, it provides a reliable connection between the two cities, replacing mountain highways that were impassable during the winter months.

Hamlet: …death) and that her brother Laertes seeks to avenge Polonius’s murder. Claudius is only too eager to arrange the duel. Carnage ensues. Hamlet dies of a wound inflicted by a sword that Claudius and Laertes have conspired to tip with poison; in the scuffle, Hamlet realizes what has happened and…

Laestrygones, fictional race of cannibalistic giants described in Book 10 of Homer’s Odyssey. When Odysseus and his men land on the island native to the Laestrygones, the giants pelt Odysseus’s ships with boulders, sinking all but Odysseus’s own

Laestrygones, fictional race of cannibalistic giants described in Book 10 of Homer’s Odyssey. When Odysseus and his men land on the island native to the Laestrygones, the giants pelt Odysseus’s ships with boulders, sinking all but Odysseus’s own

Laetare Sunday, fourth Sunday in Lent in the Western Christian Church, so called from the first word (“Rejoice”) of the introit of the liturgy. It is also known as mid-Lent Sunday, for it occurs just over halfway through Lent, and as Refreshment Sunday because it may be observed with some

Council of Ferrara-Florence: …between the two groups (Laetentur Caeli) was signed on July 6, 1439. After their return to Constantinople, many of the Greeks repudiated the reunion. Meanwhile, the Latins completed union agreements with certain other Eastern churches. No extant document records the closing of the council, which moved to Rome in…

Council of Ferrara-Florence: …between the two groups (Laetentur Caeli) was signed on July 6, 1439. After their return to Constantinople, many of the Greeks repudiated the reunion. Meanwhile, the Latins completed union agreements with certain other Eastern churches. No extant document records the closing of the council, which moved to Rome in…

pyralid moth: Laetilia coccidivora is an unusual caterpillar in that it is predatory, feeding on the eggs and young of scale insects. The freshwater larvae of Acentropus occur throughout the world, feeding on water plants and either breathing through their skin and tracheal gills or obtaining oxygen…

Polyporales: The sulfur mushroom, P. (Laetiporus) sulphureus, a common shelflike fungus that grows on dead wood, derives its name from its sulfur-yellow colour; only the younger portions of the fruiting body are edible.

Laetoli, site of paleoanthropological excavations in northern Tanzania about 40 km (25 miles) from Olduvai Gorge, another major site. Mary Leakey and coworkers discovered fossils of Australopithecus afarensis at Laetoli in 1978, not far from where a group of hominin (of human lineage) fossils had

Laetoli: fossils of Australopithecus afarensis at Laetoli in 1978, not far from where a group of hominin (of human lineage) fossils had been unearthed in 1938. The fossils found at Laetoli date to a period between 3.76 and 3.46 million years ago (mya). They come from…

Laetoli, site of paleoanthropological excavations in northern Tanzania about 40 km (25 miles) from Olduvai Gorge, another major site. Mary Leakey and coworkers discovered fossils of Australopithecus afarensis at Laetoli in 1978, not far from where a group of hominin (of human lineage) fossils had

Dream Team: Roster: Christian Laettner (Duke University Blue Devils) was added as the sole college player instead of Shaquille O’Neal, who at the time played on the Louisiana State University Tigers (O’Neal later played on the U.S. men’s team at the 1996 Games in Atlanta). Chuck Daly, the…

Julius Pomponius Laetus was an Italian humanist and founder of the Academia Romana, a semi-secret society devoted to archaeological and antiquarian interests and the celebration of ancient Roman rites. As a youth, Laetus decided to dedicate his life to the study of the ancient world. He went to

branchiopod: Annotated classification: Suborder Laevicaudata Large bivalved carapace encloses the trunk but not the head; antennae large, branched, and used in swimming; first pair of trunk limbs of male modified for grasping the female during mating, other trunk limbs leaflike and used in filter feeding; nauplius larvae; fossils known…

Lafayette, city, seat (1824) of Lafayette parish, south-central Louisiana, U.S., on the Vermilion River 55 miles (88 km) southwest of Baton Rouge. The area was first settled by exiled Acadians from Nova Scotia in 1763. The earliest village, Vermilionville, was established in 1824 but was renamed

North Kingstown: …villages of Allenton, Davisville, Hamilton, Lafayette, Quonset Point, Saunderstown, Slocum, and Wickford (the administrative centre).

submarine: Strategic submarines: …the United States fitted its Lafayette-class submarines with 16 Poseidon SLBMs, which could launch its warheads a distance of 2,500 nautical miles (4,600 km). To carry as many as 24 Trident missiles, improved versions of which could travel about 6,500 nautical miles (12,000 km), the U.S. Navy commissioned 18 Ohio-class…

Lafayette, city, seat (1826) of Tippecanoe county, west-central Indiana, U.S., on the Wabash River, 63 miles (101 km) northwest of Indianapolis. Laid out by William Digby on May 24, 1825, it was named for the American Revolutionary War hero the marquis de Lafayette, who was then making his last

Lafayette College, private, coeducational institution of higher learning in Easton, Pennsylvania, U.S. It is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). The college is dedicated solely to undergraduate education and awards bachelor’s degrees in arts, sciences, and engineering. Students can

William Wellman: Films of the 1950s: …during World War II, and Lafayette Escadrille (both 1958), the latter his most autobiographical film, dealing with his own flying unit during World War I. Over his prolific career Wellman put his name on scores of films, many of which were unmemorable; however, when he was at his best, his…

Acadia National Park, national park on the Atlantic coast of Maine, U.S., astride Frenchman Bay. It has an area of 65 square miles (168 square km) and was originally established as Sieur de Monts National Monument (1916), named for Pierre du Guast, sieur (lord) de Monts. It became the first

Washington, D.C.: Lafayette Square: The Lafayette Square neighbourhood lies directly north of the White House on H Street between 15th and 17th streets. It was once a showplace of wealth and influence. Throughout the 19th century some of the most distinguished Washingtonians and important national and world leaders…

Marquis de Lafayette was a French aristocrat who fought in the Continental Army with the American colonists against the British in the American Revolution. Later, as a leading advocate for constitutional monarchy, he became one of the most powerful men in France during the first few years of the

Marie-Madeleine, comtesse de La Fayette was a French writer whose La Princesse de Clèves is a landmark of French fiction. In Paris during the civil wars of the Fronde, young Mlle de la Vergne was brought into contact with Madame de Sévigné, now famous for her letters. She also met a leading

Marquis de Lafayette was a French aristocrat who fought in the Continental Army with the American colonists against the British in the American Revolution. Later, as a leading advocate for constitutional monarchy, he became one of the most powerful men in France during the first few years of the

Dany Laferrière is a Haitian-born Canadian author known for lyrical works that often address the immigrant experience. His notable novels include Eroshima (1987), An Aroma of Coffee (1991), Dining with the Dictator (1992), and The Return (2009). Laferrière was the son of a political dissident

Dany Laferrière is a Haitian-born Canadian author known for lyrical works that often address the immigrant experience. His notable novels include Eroshima (1987), An Aroma of Coffee (1991), Dining with the Dictator (1992), and The Return (2009). Laferrière was the son of a political dissident

Arthur Laffer: Laffer drew the famous Laffer curve, which showed that, starting from a zero tax rate, increases in tax rates will increase the government’s tax revenue but that, at some point, when the rates become high enough, further increases in tax rates will decrease revenue. This occurs because higher tax…

Arthur Laffer is an American economist who propounded the idea that lowering tax rates could result in higher revenues. His theory on taxes influenced U.S. economic policy in the 1980s. Laffer studied economics at Yale University (B.A., 1963) and international economics at Stanford University

Arthur Laffer is an American economist who propounded the idea that lowering tax rates could result in higher revenues. His theory on taxes influenced U.S. economic policy in the 1980s. Laffer studied economics at Yale University (B.A., 1963) and international economics at Stanford University

Jean Laffite was a privateer and smuggler who interrupted his illicit adventures to fight heroically for the United States in defense of New Orleans in the War of 1812. Little is known of Laffite’s early life, but by 1809 he and his brother Pierre apparently had established in New Orleans a

Jacques Laffitte was a French banker and politician prominent in public affairs from the end of the Napoleonic period to the first years of the July Monarchy (1830–31). The son of a carpenter, Laffitte became clerk in the banking house of Perregaux in Paris, was made a partner in the business in

Pierre Laffitte was a French philosopher, the closest disciple of the philosopher Auguste Comte, who taught in his doctrine of Positivism that only knowledge verifiable by the methods of the empirical sciences is valid. On Comte’s death in 1857, Laffitte, who was one of his executors, became head

Laurent Lafforgue is a French mathematician who won the Fields Medal in 2002 for his work connecting number theory and analysis. Lafforgue attended the École Normale Supérieure (1986–90) in Paris before receiving a Ph.D. in algebraic geometry from the University of Paris in 1994. In 2001 he became

Lafia, town, capital of Nasarawa state, central Nigeria. Originally the site of Anane, a small town of the Arago people, Lafia became the capital of a prominent local chiefdom in the early 19th century. During the rule of Mohamman Agwe (1881–1903), the Lafia market became one of the most important

Lafia, town, capital of Nasarawa state, central Nigeria. Originally the site of Anane, a small town of the Arago people, Lafia became the capital of a prominent local chiefdom in the early 19th century. During the rule of Mohamman Agwe (1881–1903), the Lafia market became one of the most important