Oophorectomy is the surgical removal of the ovaries of a female animal. In the case of non-human animals, this is also called spaying. It is a form of sterilization.

The removal of the ovaries together with the Fallopian tubes is called salpingo-oophorectomy. Oophorectomy and salpingo-oophorectomy are not common forms of birth control in humans; more usual is tubal ligation, in which the Fallopian tubes are blocked but the ovaries remain intact.

In humans, oophorectomy is most usually performed together with a hysterectomy - the removal of the uterus. Its use in a hysterectomy when there are no other health problems is somewhat controversial.

In animals, spaying involves an invasive removal of the ovaries, but rarely has major complications; the superstition that it causes weight gain is not based on fact. Spaying is especially important for certain animals that require the ovum to be released at a certain interval (called estrus or "heat"), such as cats and dogs. If the cell is not released during these animal's heat, it can cause severe medical problems that can be averted by spaying or partnering the animal with a male.

Oophorectomy is sometimes referred to as castration, but that term is most often used to mean the removal of a male animal's testicles.

See also

• tubal ligation & birth control
• circumcision
• genital mutilation & female circumcision

William Jennings Bryan, (March 19, 1860–July 26, 1925) born in Salem, Illinois, was a gifted orator and three-time United States presidential candidate. Bryan was trained as a lawyer at Northwestern University. He practiced law in Lincoln, Nebraska, and represented Nebraska in Congress. Throughout his career, Bryan held fast to his Midwestern values; his deeply held religious beliefs and his consistent defense of the ordinary American earned him the moniker "the Great Commoner".

Contents

1 Rise to Fame 2 Secretary of State and the Scopes Trial 3 Reference 4 See also 5 External links

Rise to Fame

After serving just two terms in the United States House of Representatives, Bryan reached the pinnacle of his political career. In the presidential election of 1896, Bryan defeated incumbent president Grover Cleveland to win the Democratic party nomination for president. Just thirty-six, Bryan managed to attract the support of mainstream Democrats as well as disaffected third party Populists and Free Silverites. His moving "Cross of Gold" speech, delivered prior to his nomination, lambasted Eastern monied classes for supporting the gold standard at the expense of the average worker. Bryan's stance, directly opposing conservative Grover Cleveland, united splintered Democrats and won the handsome "Boy Orator of the Platte" the nomination.

Bryan logged more than 18,000 miles while visiting 27 states in the campaign of 1896. The unpopularity of the incumbent party combined with the Republican candidate's well-filled war chest, catapulted William McKinley into the White House, by a margin of 271 to 176 in the electoral college. Still, Bryan's following was large enough to result in two additional runs for president. Bryan ran again and lost to McKinley and William Howard Taft in the 1900 and 1908 elections.

Secretary of State and the Scopes Trial

Although Bryan never won an election after 1892, he continued to wield considerable influence. After helping Woodrow Wilson secure the Democratic nomination in 1912, he served as secretary of state. A committed pacifist, Bryan resigned on June 9, 1915 over a disagreement regarding his nation's handling of the sinking of the RMS Lusitania and the push toward World War I. He was still physically active, even attempting to join the army when the U.S. entered the World War I in 1917.

Although he moved to a large home in Florida, Bryan never retired. Always pious, during the final years of his life he was extremely active in religious organizations. By the 1920s, Bryan was among America's most outspoken critics of the theory of evolution. Echoing his earlier support of Prohibition, Bryan actively supported a constitutional amendment banning schools from teaching evolution. His participation in the famous 1925 Scopes Trial served as a capstone to his career. Bryan was exhausted by the trial, especially his examination at the hands of Clarence Darrow who, in an unusual move, called Bryan to the stand. Although Bryan prevailed at the trial, he died on July 26, 1925, just five days after its conclusion.

Reference

• Ray Ginger, William Jennings Bryan; Selections (1967)
• American Memory: Today in History: March 19 http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/mar19.html

See also

• U.S. presidential elections: 1896, 1900, 1908

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations by or about William Jennings Bryan

Wikisource has original works written by or about William Jennings Bryan .

• "William Jennings Bryan" http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/wilson/peopleevents/p_bryan.html at The American Experience on PBS

Text of Vachel Lindsay's famous poem honoring Bryan. http://www.geocities.com/vachellindsaybryan

Preceded by: Philander C. Knox

United States Secretary of State

Succeeded by: Robert Lansing

Preceded by: Grover Cleveland (1892) - Alton B. Parker (1904)

Democratic Party Presidential candidate 1896 (lost) - 1900 (lost) - 1908 (lost)

Followed by: Alton B. Parker (1904) - Woodrow Wilson (1912)