or more individuals. Most kinds are
active at night and sleep during the day.
Lemurs may eat fruits, leaves, buds,
insects, and small birds and birds’ eggs.
Loggers and farmers have cut down
many trees where lemurs lived. Several
species are now endangered, or at risk of
dying out completely.
#More to explore
Endangered Species • Loris • Primate
L’Engle,
Madeleine
The U.S. author Madeleine L’Engle
wrote many books, including collections
of poetry and novels for adults. She is
best known, however, for many books
she wrote for children. The most famous
is a fantasy called AWrinkle in Time.
The book was published in 1962. The
American Library Association honored
the book with its Newbery Medal in
1963.
A red-bellied lemur rests in a Madagascar
rain forest. Lemurs use their long tails for
balance while moving through the trees.
128 Lemur BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
Madeleine L’Engle Camp was born on
November 29, 1918, in New York City.
As a writer she used only her first and
middle names. She began making up
stories while very young. Following her
graduation from Smith College in 1941,
L’Engle acted in theater. She published
her first adult book, The Small Rain, in
1945.
L’Engle married Hugh Franklin in
1946. They soon moved to the country.
Her first children’s book, And BothWere
Young, was published in 1949. While
her children were young L’Engle did not
publish many books. However, she kept
on writing, and many of the books she
wrote have to do with family ties. After
AWrinkle in Time L’Engle wrote more
stories about the same family that she
introduced in that book. Those books
include AWind in the Door (1973), A
Swiftly Tilting Planet (1978), and Many
Waters (1986). She also wrote another
series for children about a family called
the Austins. In addition L’Engle wrote
plays, poetry, and books about herself.
Lenin, Vladimir
Ilich
The Russian leader Vladimir Ilich Lenin
was the founder of the Soviet Union.
The Soviet Union was the world’s first
Communist country.
Early Life
Lenin was born on April 22, 1870, in
Simbirsk, Russia. His original name was
Vladimir Ilich Ulyanov. At the time,
Russia was ruled by a tsar. Many people
were unhappy with the way the tsar
treated them.
Vladimir studied law at the University
of Kazan but was thrown out for joining
a protest. He went home and read the
writings of the Communist thinker Karl
Marx. Marx wrote about a system in
which the wealth of a society could be
shared by all the citizens. Vladimir
began to think about overthrowing the
Madeleine L’Engle tsar to establish such a system.
Vladimir Ilich Lenin
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Lenin, Vladimir Ilich 129
Rise to Power
Vladimir became a lawyer in 1892. He
also worked to spread Marx’s ideas.
Because of this, he was arrested in 1895
and sent to jail. In 1897 he was sent to
Siberia (Russian Asia). In Siberia he
lived near the Lena River. Afterward he
began calling himself Lenin, after the
name of the river.
In 1903 the Marxists (followers of
Marx’s ideas) split into two groups.
Lenin took the side of the Bolsheviks
(the majority) against the Mensheviks
(the minority).
WhenWorldWar I broke out in 1914,
Lenin called for workers of all countries
to change their own governments
instead of fighting foreigners. In other
words, he called for revolution.
In 1917 a revolution broke out in
Petrograd (now Saint Petersburg),
Russia. The Russian Revolution forced
Tsar Nicholas II off the throne.
Eventually the Bolsheviks took over,
and Lenin became the head of a new,
Communist government.
Communist Leader
Many Russians disagreed with Lenin’s
government. They fought a civil war
with Lenin’s troops, but Lenin’s forces
won the war. In 1922 the Soviet Union
was formed.
Lenin was a powerful leader. He did not
allow any disagreement with his government.
But Lenin grew weak after he had
a series of strokes. He died after a final
stroke on January 21, 1924.
#More to explore
Communism • Russian Revolution
• Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
Lens
A lens is a piece of glass or other seethrough
material that is curved on one
or both sides. It is usually in the shape of
a circle. Lenses are used to bend light.
This makes objects seen through a lens
look bigger or smaller than they really
are. Telescopes, binoculars, microscopes,
cameras, and eyeglasses all have one or
more lenses.
Concave and Convex Lenses
A concave lens curves inward. That
means it is thinner in the middle than at
After Lenin’s
death, the
Russian city of
Petrograd was
renamed
Leningrad. It
was changed
to Saint
Petersburg in
1991.
A convex lens bends light rays toward each
other. A concave lens spreads light rays
apart.
130 Lens BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
great achievement in the arts and
sciences. Leonardo’s paintings Mona
Lisa and The Last Supper won him great
fame. But he is also well known for his
scientific studies.
Early Life
Leonardo da Vinci was born on April
15, 1452, near Vinci, in what is now
Italy. When he was about 15 he began
studying with the artist Andrea del Verrocchio
in Florence. Verrocchio taught
him about painting, sculpture, and the
design of mechanical devices.
Paintings and Notebooks
