Norell (Levinson), Norman

(1900–72)

   US fashion designer. Norell was born in the small town of Noblesville, Indiana, where his father ran a clothing store. He became a designer of clothes for Hollywood stars in the era of silent movies. In association with Hetty Carnegie and from 1941 with Anthony Traina, Norell became recognized as the leader of American fashion design. NOVOMEYSKY, Moshe 1873–1961. Dead Sea pioneer. Born in Siberia, Novomeysky became a mining engineer and worked on the Siberian gold mines. He belonged to the Russian Social Revolutionary party and was imprisoned for a while. In 1911 he visited Palestine and analyzed samples of Dead Sea water, which convinced him that it contained commercially exploitable potash, as well as bromide, magnesium and other chemical salts. The Dead Sea is the lowest sheet of water on earth (1,300 ft. below sea level) with the highest salt concentration (25% compared with 5% in the Atlantic). Novomeysky reached Palestine again in 1920 after the Russian revolution, trekking for over four months across the Gobi Desert. With the support of the Zionist Organization and the Palestine Administration, he applied for a concession, which was not granted until 1929, after a hostile campaign in the British press and Parliament. The Palestine Potash Company which he founded included both Jews and Arabs among its directors and workers. The works at the northern end of the Dead Sea were destroyed in the Arab-Israel war of 1948, but those at the southern end, near the ancient site of Sodom, continued under Israel operation. Novomeysky’s activities brought him into contact with Emir (later King) ABDULLAH, and he paid him a secret visit in Transjordan in 1949.