The American Cyclopaedia Vol10 | by George Ripley And Charles A. Dana

The American Cyclopaedia - Popular Dictionary Of General Knowledge. Vol10

Title	The American Cyclopaedia
Author	George Ripley And Charles A. Dana
Publisher	D. Appleton And Company
Year	1873
Copyright	1873, D. Appleton And Company
Amazon	The New American Cyclopædia. 16 volumes complete.

The American Cyclopædia

Edited By George Ripley And Charles A. Dana.

Other spellings could be: Cyclopaedia, Cyclopedia, Encyclopædia, Encyclopaedia, Encyclopedia

Philadelphus: Philadelphus, a genus of shrubs popularly called mock orange, and sometimes syringa, a name the use of which should be discouraged, as it properly belongs to the lilac. The genus is now placed in the ...

Philae: Philae, an island of the Nile in Upper Egypt, 5 m. S. of Asswan, in lat. 24 1' 34 N., Ion. 32 54' 16 E. Its Egyptian name is Pilak, Ailak, or Manlek, the place of the frontier. The Arabs...

Philander Chase: Philander Chase, an American clergyman, born in Cornish. N. II., Dec. 14, 1775, died at Jubilee college, Illinois, Sept, 20, 1852. He graduated at Dartmouth college in 1795. His religious views at thi...

Philaret (Basil Drozdoff): Philaret (Basil Drozdoff), a Russian prelate, born near Moscow in 1782, died there, Dec. 1,1867. He was a professor in the academy of St. Petersburg, and in 1812 became its rector, in 1817 bishop of R...

Philemon: Philemon, an Athenian comic poet, born probably at Soli in Oilicia or in Syracuse about 360 B. 0., died in 262. He became a resident of Athens at an early age, and was the first writer of the new come...

Philip: Philip, one of the twelve apostles, born in Bethsaida, died probably at Hierapolis in Phry-gia. Being a townsman of Peter and Andrew, he was also probably a disciple of John the Baptist. He is mention...

Philip Augustus (II): Philip Augustus (II) , king of France, the seventh monarch of the Capetian line, born in August, 1165, died in Mantes, July 14, 1223. He was the son of Louis VII., and was crowned at Rheims during the...

Philip Beaver: Philip Beaver, an English navigator and philanthropist, born Feb. 28, 1760, died at the Cape of Good Hope, April 5, 1813. He served in the royal navy during the war of the American revolution, and aft...

Philip Doddridge: Philip Doddridge, an English clergyman, born in London, June 26, 1702, died in Lisbon, Oct. 26, 1751. Left an orphan at the age of 13, he was sent to a private school at St. Albans, where he made the ...

Philip Dormer Stanhope Chesterfield: Philip Dormer Stanhope Chesterfield, fourth earl of, born in London, Sept. 22, 1694, died March 24, 1773. He. was educated at Cambridge, and early entered public life, having been elected to the house...

Philip Embury: Philip Embury, the first Methodist minister in America, born in Ballygaran, Ireland, Sept. 21, 1729, died at Camden, Washington co., N. Y., in August, 1775. He was of German parentage, was educated at...

Philip Gilbert Hamerton: Philip Gilbert Hamerton, an English author, born in Manchester, Sept. 10, 1834. His mother died when he was a fortnight old, and his father when he was ten years old, leaving his early education to be...

Philip Henry Gosse: Philip Henry Gosse, an English zoologist, born in Worcester, April 0, 1810. He went to Newfoundland in 1827 in a mercantile capacity, and during a residence there of eight years occupied his leisure i...

Philip Henry Sheridan: Philip Henry Sheridan, an American soldier, born in Somerset, Perry co., Ohio, March 6, 1831. He graduated at West Point in 1853, served in Texas in 1854-'5, and on the Pacific coast till May 14, 1861...

Philip II: Philip II, the 18th king of Macedon, counting from Caranus, born in 382 B. C, assassinated at AEgae in August, 336. The accounts of his early life are in many respects contradictory. He was the younge...

Philip II (2): Philip II, king of Spain, born in Vallado-lid, May 21, 1527, died in the palace of the Es-curial, Sept. 13, 1598. His father was Charles V., emperor of Germany and king of Spain, and his mother the em...

Philip IV: Philip IV, the Fair, the 11th king of France of the Oapetian line, born at Fontainebleau in 1268,'died there, Nov. 29, 1314. He succeeded his father, Philip the Bold, in October, 1285, and was crowned...

Philip L: Philip L, called the Handsome, archduke of Austria and king of Castile, born in Bruges, July 22, 1478, died in Burgos, Sept. 25, 1506. He was the son of the archduke of Austria, afterward the emperor ...

Philip Massinger: Philip Massinger, an English dramatist, born in Salisbury in 1584, died in London, March 17, 1640. His father was a retainer of the earl of Pembroke. In 1602 Philip was entered at St. Alban's hall, Ox...

Philip Milledoler: Philip Milledoler, an American clergyman, born at Rhinebeck, N. Y., Sept. 22,1775, died on Staten Island, Sept. 23, 1852. His father, a Swiss, came to America about 1751. The son graduated at Columbia...

Philip Parker King: Philip Parker King, a British admiral, born on Norfolk island, Dec. 13, 1793, died at Grantham, near Sydney, Australia, in February, 1855. He was the son of a naval officer, and entered the navy in 18...

Philip Schaff: Philip Schaff, an American scholar, born in Coire, Switzerland, Jan. 1, 1819. He studied at Tubingen and Halle, graduated at Berlin in 1841, travelled as a private tutor, and lectured on theology in B...

Philip Schuyler: Philip Schuyler, an American general, born in Albany, N. Y., Nov. 22, 1733, died there, Nov. 18, 1804. He inherited, according to the law of primogeniture, the whole of his father's estate, but divide...

Philip The Bold: Philip The Bold (le Hardi), duke of Burgundy, son of John the Good of France, born Jan. 15, 1342, died at the chateau of Hall, in Hainaut, April 27, 1404. The duchy having reverted to the crown of Fra...

Philip The Good: Philip The Good (le Bon), duke of Burgundy, grandson of Philip the Bold, and only son of John the Fearless, born in Dijon, June 13, 1396, died in Bruges, June 15, 1467. He was educated under the direc...

Philip The Magnanimous: Philip The Magnanimous, landgrave of Hesse, born in Marburg, Nov. 13,1504, died in Cassel, March 31,1567. In 1509 he succeeded his father William II., under the regency of his mother, and in 1523 marr...

Philip V: Philip V, king of Macedon, son of Demetrius II., born in 237 B. C, died in 179. His father died when he was eight years old, but he did not succeed to the throne until the death of his uncle Antigonus...

Philip V (2): Philip V, the first king of Spain of the house of Bourbon, born in Versailles, Dec. 19, 1683, died in Madrid, July 9, 1746. The second son of the dauphin Louis, son of Louis XIV., by Maria Anna of Bav...

Philip VI: Philip VI, of Valois, the first king of France of the house of Valois, born in 1293, died at Nogent-le-Roi, near Chartres, Aug. 22, 1350. He was the son of Charles of Valois, brother of Philip the Fai...

Philip William Otterbein: Philip William Otterbein, founder of the church of the United Brethren in Christ, born in Dillenburg, Germany, June 4, 1726, died in Baltimore, Md., Nov. 17, 1813. He was ordained to the ministry in t...

Philipp Hackert: Philipp Hackert, a German artist, born at Prenzlau, Prussia, Sept. 15, 1737, died near Florence, April 28, 1807. He studied painting with his father, and afterward at Berlin, and went to Paris in 17G5...

Philipp Jakob Spener: Philipp Jakob Spener, a German theologian, born at Rappoltsweiler, Alsace, in January, 1G35, died in Berlin, Feb. 5, 1705. He studied at Strasburg, early lectured on philosophy and history, and was tu...

Philipp Melanchthon: Philipp Melanchthon, the second leader of the Lutheran reformation, born at Bretten, in the present grand duchy of Baden, Feb. 16, 1497, died in Wittenberg, April 19, 1560. His family name was Schwarz...

Philipp Ronrad Marheineke: Philipp Ronrad Marheineke, a German theologian, born in Ilildesheim, May 1, 1780, died in Berlin, May 31, 1846. He was educated at Gottingen, and in 1806 became professor extraordinary of theology at ...

Philippe De Chabot: Philippe De Chabot, a French general, born toward the end of the 15th century, died June 1, 1543. Descended from an ancient family of Poitou, he was brought up with Francis I. He bravely defended Mars...

Philippe De Comines, Or Comynes: Comines, Or Comynes, Philippe De, a French statesman and historian, born at the chateau of Comines, near Lille, in 1445, died at his domain of Argenton in 1509. He stood high in the favor of Charles t...

Philippe De Creveoeur: Philippe De Creveoeur, baron d'Esquerdes, a French soldier, born early in the 15th century, died at La Bresle, near Lyons, in 1494. He was in the service of the duke of Burgundy, and distinguished him...

Philippe De Mornay: Philippe De Mornay, seigneur du Plessis-Marly, known as Duplessis-Mornay, a French soldier, born at Buhy, Isle de France, Nov. 5, 1549, died at Foret-sur-Sevre, Nov. 11, 1623. His father was a Roman C...

Philippe Joseph Benjamin Buchez: Philippe Joseph Benjamin Buchez, a French physician and writer, born at Matagne, March 31, 1796, died at Rodez, Aug. 12, 1865. He was a violent opponent of the restoration of the Bourbons, was engaged...

Philippe Pinel: Philippe Pinel, a French physician, born at the chateau de Rascas, near Lavaur, Langue-doc, April 25, 1745, died in Paris, Oct. 26, 1826. He was the son of a physician, and studied in several colleges...

Philippi: Philippi, an ancient city of Macedonia Adjecta, near the shore of the AEgean sea, enlarged by Philip, father of Alexander the Great, from whom it received its name. Previously, as a town of Thrace, it...

Philippine Islands: Philippine Islands, the most northern group of the Indian archipelago, belonging chiefly to Spain. They embrace an area of 112,500 sq. m., from lat. 5 24' to 19 38' N., and from Ion. 117°...

Philippopoli: Philippopoli (Turk. Filibeh), a town of European Turkey, in the vilayet of Edirneh (Adrianople), about 230 m. W. N W. of Con-stantinople, with which and Adrianople it is connected by rail; pop. about ...

Philippus Van Limborch: Philippus Van Limborch, a Dutch theologian, nephew of Episcopius, born in Amsterdam, June 19, 1633, died there, April 30, 1712. In 1657 he became pastor of the congregation of Remonstrants at Gouda, a...

Philistines: Philistines (Heb. Pelishtim), a people which gave to the Holy Land the name of Palestine (from Pelesheth, the name of their own limited territory), though possessing only the portion on the S. coast b...

Phillimore: I. John George John George, an English jurist, born at Shiplake house, Oxfordshire, in 1809, died there, April 27, 1865. He was for some time a professor in the Middle Temple, London, and in 1852 he ...

Phillips: I. An E. County Of Arkansas An E. County Of Arkansas, separated from Mississippi by the Mississippi river, and intersected in the N. E. by the St. Francis and L'Anguille rivers; area, 725 sq. m.; pop...

Philo Judaeus: Philo Judaeus, a Jewish philosopher of Alexandria, born probably in Egypt a few years before Christ. He was of the priestly family of Aaron, and was sent at the head of an embassy to Caligula, after t...

Philopcemen: Philopcemen, a Greek general, born about 252 B. 0., died by poison in Messene in 183. His father, Oraugis, belonged to a noble family of Arcadia, and was one of the most prominent men of Megalopolis; ...

Philosophical Anatomy: Philosophical Anatomy, a department of anatomical science, based on data furnished by descriptive and comparative anatomy, embryology, and histology. It is also called transcendental anatomy, as it se...

Philosophy: Philosophy (Gr. , loving, and , wisdom), the universal and absolute science, aiming to explain phenomena by ultimate causes; to grasp the nature of real as distinguished from phenomenal existenc...

Phincas Lyman: Phincas Lyman, an American soldier, born in Durham, Conn., about 1710, died in West Florida in 1775. He graduated at Yale college in 1738, and subsequently practised law in Suffield. In 1755, being co...

Phineas Taylor Barnum: Phineas Taylor Barnum, an American speculator, born at Bethel, Conn., July 5, 1810. His father was an innkeeper and country merchant, and from the age of 13 to 18 the son was in business in various pa...

Phips, Or Phipps, Sir William: Phips, Or Phipps, Sir William, governor of Massachusetts, born in Woolwich, Maine, Feb. 2, 1651, died in London, Feb. 18, 1695. He was one of 26 children by the same father and mother, 21 of whom were...

Phlebitis: Phlebitis (Gt. a vein), inflammation of the veins. It was first noticed by John Hunter in 1784; numerous isolated cases were soon after published, and in the early part of this century the disease ...

Phlius: Phlius, an ancient independent city in N. E. Peloponnesus. Its territory, Phliasia, was bounded N. by Sicyonia, E. by Cleonse, S. by Argolis, and W. by Arcadia, and consisted of a small valley, 900 ft...

Phlox: Phlox (Gr. , flame,-the ancient name for lychnis, applied to these plants by Linnaeus), an exclusively North American genus of plants, including several highly ornamental species. It belongs to the...

Phocaea: Phocaea, an ancient town of western Asia Minor, on a peninsula extending into the AEgean between the Cymsean and Hermaaan gulfs, about 25 m. N. W. of Smyrna. According to the legend, it was founded by...

Phocis: Phocis, a country of central Greece, bounded N. by the territories of the Locri Epicne-midii and the Locri Opuntii, E. by Bceotia, S. by the Corinthian gulf, and W. by Doris and Ozolian Locris. At one...

Phocion: Phocion, an Athenian general, born about 402 B. 0., put to death in 317. He studied under Plato and Xenocrates, and first distinguished himself in the naval victory gained at Naxos in 376 by the Athen...

Phonetics: Phonetics (Gr. , pertaining to sound or speaking), the science of articulate sounds. Articulation depends on the organs of speech, and an adequate knowledge of their functions, and of the laws of s...

Phonography: Phonography (Gr. , voice, and , to write), a system of shorthand, mainly invented by Isaac Pitman, of Bath, England, and published in 1887, since when various changes have been made by the inven...

Phosphor Bronze: Phosphor Bronze, a compound formed by the addition of a small percentage of phosphorus to gun metal (bronze containing from 90 to 91 parts of copper to 9 or 10 of tin), possessing remarkable propertie...

Phosphorescence: Phosphorescence, the property which some bodies possess of being luminous in the dark without the emission of sensible heat. Physicists generally recognize five kinds, designated as follows: 1, sponta...

Phosphorus: Phosphorus (Gr. , light, and , to carry), an elementary body, discovered by Brandt of Hamburg in 1669, in the solid residue left on evaporating urine, while attempting to obtain a liquid capable...

Photius: Photius, patriarch of Constantinople, and principal author of the Greek schism, died about 891. The place and time of his birth are unknown. He was related by the marriage of his uncles to the patriar...

Photography: Photography (Gr. , light, and , to write), the art of depicting objects by the agency of light. The earliest observations on the chemical changes produced by the agency of light were doubtless t...

Photometry: Photometry (Gr. , light, and measure), the process of measuring the intensity of light. The first quantitative comparison of different sources of light with much approach to accuracy was made b...

Phrenology: Phrenology (Gr. mind, and discourse), a system of philosophy of the human mind, founded on the physiology of the brain. As a system, it had its origin in the ideas and researches of Franz Jose...

Phrygia: Phrygia, in ancient geography, a division of Asia Minor, whose boundaries varied materially at different periods. It was situated west of the river Halys, and surrounded by Bithynia, Paphlagonia, Capp...

Phthiotis: Phthiotis (Gr. ), the southernmost district of ancient Thessaly. It extended from Dolopia and the S. E. portion of the Pindus range on the west to the Pagasiean gulf on the east, and from the Narth...

Phylactery: Phylactery (Gr. , from , to guard), a name given to any amulet or charm worn by the ancients to guard them against danger and disease, or, as among the Hebrews, against transgression. Among ...

Phylloxera: Phylloxera (Gr. , a leaf, and , parched), a word coined in 1834 by a French entomologist, Fonscolombe, to designate a genus of plant lice, founded on the phylloxera qvercus, a species living on ...

Physalis: Physalis (Grr. , a bladder, in reference to the inflated calyx), a genus of annual and perennial herbs, of the solanacece or nightshade family, comprising about 50 species, several of which are Nor...

Physical Geography: Physical Geography, that department of the science of geography which treats of the physical condition of the earth, describing its character and relations as a member of the solar system, explaining ...

Physiognomy: Physiognomy (Gr. , from nature, and , to know), the art or science of reading human nature by means of the face, which is hence called the physiognomy. It is certain that physiognomy was cul...

Physiology: Physiology (Gr. , nature, and discourse), strictly speaking, the doctrine of nature, embracing a knowledge of all the physical and natural sciences, but now restricted to the science which trea...

Phytelephas: Phytelephas (Gr. , a plant, and elephant), the botanical name of the genus which produces the ivory nut or Vegetable ivory. It was formerly placed in the palm family; but as it differs essen...

Piacenza: I. A N Province Of Italy A N Province Of Italy, bordering on Pavia, Milan, Cremona, Parma, and Genoa; area, 965 sq. m.; pop. in 1872, 225,-775. The S. part is mountainous; the N, part belongs to the ...

Pianoforte: Pianoforte (Ital. piano, soft, and forte, loud), a musical instrument, the tones of which are elicited by the blows of small hammers upon a series of tightly stretched elastic steel strings; the hamme...

Piarists, Or Fathers Of The Pious Schools: Piarists, or Fathers (Regular Clerks) of the Pious Schools (scholarum iriarum, whence the popular name), a religious order in the Roman Catholic church, whose members take, in addition to the three co...

Piatt: Piatt, an E. central county of Illinois, intersected by the Sangamon river; area, 275 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 10,953. The surface is level and the soil fertile. It is traversed by the Toledo, Wabash, an...

Piauhy: Piauhy, a N. E. province of Brazil, bounded N. by the Atlantic, E. by Ceara and Pernam-buco, S. by Bahia and Goyaz, and W. by Ma-ranhao; area, 94,500 sq. m.; pop. in 1871, 232,000. Piauhy has but 20 m...

Picardy: Picardy, an ancient province of N. France, bounded N. by the straits of Dover and Artois, E. by Champagne, S. by lie de France, and W. by the English channel and Normandy. It was divided into Upper Pi...

Piccini, Or Piccinni, Mcolo: Piccini, Or Piccinni, Mcolo, an Italian composer, born in Bari'in 1728, died at Passy, near Paris, May 7, 1800. At 14 years of age he was placed in the conservatory of Sant' Ono-frio at Naples, where ...

Pickens: I. A N. W. County Of South Carolina A N. W. County Of South Carolina, bordering on North Carolina, bounded N. E. by the Saluda and S. W. by the Keo-wee; area, about 500 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 10,269, ...

Pickering: I. Timothy Timothy, an American statesman, born in Salem, Mass., July 17, 1745, died there, Jan. 29, 1829. He graduated at Harvard college in 1763, and in 1768 was admitted to the bar. He held many l...

Pickersgill: I. Henry William Henry William, an English painter, born in London, Dec. 3, 1782, died there, April 25, 1875. In 1826 he was elected a royal academician, and in 1856 became librarian of the academy. ...

Pickles: Pickles, vegetables of various sorts, as small cucumbers, onions, string beans, and cabbage, and also some fruits, such as melons, peaches, India mangoes, and soft unripe nuts, preserved in vinegar to...

Picric Acid: Picric Acid (Gr. , bitter; called also carbazotic, trinitrophenic, and nitrophenisic acid), a frequent product of the action of nitric acid upon complex organic substances. Carbolic acid, salicine,...

Picts: Picts, an ancient people of North Britain, inhabiting the E. coast and lowlands of Scotland. They are supposed to have been identical with the ancient Caledonians; the name Picti (painted), probably d...

Picter Camper: Picter Camper, a Dutch physician and anatomist, born in Ley den, May 11, 1722, died at the Hague, April 7,1789. He studied medicine at Ley den, and in 1748 travelled through England, France, and Switz...

Pictou: I. A N. E. County Of Nova Scotia, Canada Canada A N. E. County Of Nova Scotia, bordering on Northumberland strait; area, 1,126 sq. m.; pop. in 1871, 32,114, of whom 27,165 were of Scotch, 1,974 of Ir...

Pictro Bembo: Pictro Bembo, an Italian cardinal and author, born in Venice, May 20, 1470, died in Rome, Jan. 18, 1547. He was of a noble family, and at an early age studied at Florence, whither his father was sent ...

Pictures Of Christ: Pictures Of Christ. Among the early Christians, the aversion to the fine arts, as practised by pagan nations, was so great, that no pictorial representation of Jesus Christ was ventured upon, except s...

Piedmont: Piedmont (It. Piemonte, from pie di monte, foot of the mountain), a N. W. division of Italy, bounded N. by Switzerland, E. by Lombardy and Piacenza, S. by Liguria, which separates it from the Mediterr...

Piegans: Piegans, a tribe of American Indians belonging to the Blackfeet nation, now in Montana. They derive their name from a chief named Piegan ( the Pheasant), under whom they separated from the main body...

Pierce: I. A S. E. County Of Georgia A S. E. County Of Georgia, intersected by the Satilla river; area, about 500 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 2,778, of whom 814 were colored. The surface is low and mostly level. A...

Pierer: I. Johann Friedrich Johann Friedrich, a German publisher, born in Altenburg, Jan. 22, 1767, died there, Dec. 21, 1832. He began the study of law, but afterward studied medicine, and settled as a phys...

Pierre Ambroise Francois Clioderios De Laclos: Pierre Ambroise Francois Clioderios De Laclos, a French writer and soldier, born in Amiens in 1741, died in Taranto in 1803. He entered the army at the age of 18, and reached the rank of captain in th...

Pierre Amedee Emilien Probe Jaubert: Pierre Amedee Emilien Probe Jaubert, a French orientalist, born in Aix, June 3, 1779, died in Paris, Jan. 28, 1847. A graduate of the school for the oriental languages, he was in 1798 appointed assist...

Pierre Andre Latreille: Pierre Andre Latreille, a French naturalist, born in Brives, Nov. 29, 1762, died in Paris, Feb. 6, 1833. He belonged to a poor though distinguished family, and owed his education to friends, one of wh...

Pierre Angnstc Broussomet: Pierre Angnstc Broussomet, a French physician and naturalist, born at Montpellier, Feb. 28, 1761, died there, July 27, 1807. He was the first who introduced the botanical system of Linnseus into Franc...

Pierre Armand Dufrenoy: Pierre Armand Dufrenoy, a French geologist and mineralogist, born at Sevran, Seine-et-Oise, in 1792, died in Paris, March 20, 1857. His mother Adelaide (1765-1825) was a poetess of merit. His first es...

Pierre Augustin Caron De Beaumarchais: Pierre Augustin Caron De Beaumarchais, a French dramatic author and speculator, born in Paris, Jan. 24, 1732, died there, May 19, 1799. He was the son of a watchmaker named Caron, and received his ear...

Pierre Bayle: Pierre Bayle, a French philosophical writer, horn at Carla, in the county of Foix, Nov. 18, 1647, died in Holland, Dec. 28, 1706. He was the son of a Protestant clergyman, and was educated at the univ...

Pierre Belon: Pierre Belon, a French naturalist, born at Soulletiere, in the province of Maine, about 1517, assassinated in Paris in April, 1504. His early studies in natural history were facilitated by the bishop ...

Pierre Bonrdeilles Brantome: Pierre Bonrdeilles Brantome, seigneur de l'abbaye de, a French historian, born between 1527 and 1540, died July 5, 1614. Familiar with military life at the headquarters of Francois de Lorraine, second...

Pierre Boucher: Pierre Boucher, sieur de Boucherville, a Canadian pioneer, born in Perche, France, in 1622, died at Boucherville, Canada, April 20, 1717. He came to America with his father in 1635, and was for many y...

Pierre Charles Alexandre Louis: Pierre Charles Alexandre Louis, a French physician, born at Ai, department of Marne, in 1787, died in Paris in September, 1872. He received his degree of M. D. at Paris in 1813, and subsequently enter...

Pierre Charles Le Monnier: Pierre Charles Le Monnier, a French astronomer, born in Paris, Nov. 23, 1715, died at Heric, near Bayeux, May 31, 1799. The son of a noted savant, he made astronomical observations at the age of 16, a...

Pierre Charron: Pierre Charron, a French author, born in Paris in 1541, died there, Nov. 16, 1603. He studied law at Orleans and Bourges, and had practised for some years as an attorney when he took holy orders, and ...

Pierre Claude Francois Daunou: Pierre Claude Francois Daunou, a French scholar and politician, born at Boulogne-sur-Mer, Aug. 18, 1761, died in Paris, June 20, 1840. In 1792, being a member of the national convention, he denied its...

Pierre D Aubusson: Pierre d' Aubusson, grand master of the hospitallers, or knights of St. John of Jerusalem, born at La-marche, France, in 1423, died in 1503. He is said to have first served in the Hungarian armies aga...

Pierre Daniel Huet: Pierre Daniel Huet, a French scholar, born in Caen, Feb. 8, 1630, died in Paris, Jan. 26, 1721. He studied at Caen and Paris, and travelled in Holland and Sweden in 1652. In 1670 he was appointed by t...

Pierre De Berulle: Pierre De Berulle, a French prelate and statesman, born near Troves, Feb. 4, 1575, died in Paris, Oct. 2, 162!). He was the founder of the order of Carmelite nuns and of the congregation of the Orator...

Pierre De Boscobol De Chastelard, Or Chatelar: Chastelard, Or Chatelar, Pierre De Boscobol De, a French poet born about 1540, died in 1563. He was a nephew on his mother's side of the chevalier Bayard. He was handsome, young, a distinguished perfo...

Pierre De Ronsard: Pierre De Ronsard, a French poet, born near Vendôme, Sept. 11, 1524, died near Tours, Dec. 27, 1585. At the age of ten he entered the service of the duke of Orleans, son of Francis I.; and resuming it...

Pierre De Ruel Marquis De Beurnonville: Pierre de Ruel marquis de Beurnonville, a French soldier, born at Champignolle, May 10, 1752, died April 23, 1821. After serving for some time in India, he became in 1792 aide-de-camp to Marshal Luckn...

Pierre Du Terrail Bayard: Pierre Du Terrail Bayard, chevalier de, a French knight, born at the chateau de Bayard, in Dauphiny, in 1475, died in Italy, April 30, 1524. He came of a martial family: his great-great-grandfather wa...

Pierre Dupont De Letang: Pierre Dupont De L'Etang,, count, a French general, born at Chabannais, Angoumois, July 14, 1765, died Feb. 16, 1838. Appointed brigadier general in 1793 and general of division in 1797, he joined Bon...

Pierre Etienne Louis Dumont: Pierre Etienne Louis Dumont, a Swiss scholar, born in Geneva, July 18, 1759, died in Milan, Sept. 30, 1829. He was ordained a minister of the Protestant church of Geneva in 1781, and distinguished him...

Pierre Eugene Marcellin Berthelot: Pierre Eugene Marcellin Berthelot, a French chemist, born in Paris, Oct. 25, 1827. He was an assistant of Balard in the college de France, and afterward professor of organic chemistry in the school of...

Pierre Francois Andre Mechain: Pierre Francois Andre Mechain, a French mathematician and astronomer, born in Laon, Aug. 16, 1744, died in Castellon, Spain, Sept. 20, 1805. After receiving a limited education, he became a mathematic...

Pierre Francois Charles Augereau: Pierre Francois Charles Augereau, duke of Castiglione, a French soldier, born in 1757, died in June, 1816. At an early age he entered the Neapolitan army, in which he continued a private until he was ...

Pierre Francois Xavier De Charlevoix: Pierre Francois Xavier De Charlevoix, a French historian, critic, and traveller, born at St. Quentin, Oct. 29, 1682, died at La Fleche, Feb. 1, 1761. He entered the society of Jesus in 1698, and while...

Pierre Gaspard Chaumette: Pierre Gaspard Chaumette, a French revolutionist, born at Fevers, May 24, 1763, guillotined in Paris, April 13, 1794. He was the son of a shoemaker, but ran away from home, and became cabin boy and st...

Pierre Gustave Tontant Beauregard: Pierre Gustave Tontant Beauregard, an American general, born near New Orleans about 1817. He graduated at West Point in 1838. In the Mexican war he earned the brevet rank of captain at Contreras and C...

Pierre Helyot: Pierre Helyot, a French historian, born in Paris in 1660, died Jan. 5, 1716. He was descended from an English Catholic family that took refuge in France, and in 1683 entered the third order of St. Fra...

Pierre Hyaeinthe Azais: Pierre Hyaeinthe Azais, a French philosopher, born in Sorreze, Languedoc, March 1,1766, died in Paris, Jan. 22, 1845. He was educated at the Benedictine college of Sorreze, where his father was teache...

Pierre J. 0. Chauveau: Pierre J. 0. Chauveau, a Canadian statesman and author, born at Quebec, May 30,1820. He received his education at the seminary in that city, and studied law. He first attracted attention as a writer i...

Pierre Jacques Etienne Cambronne: Pierre Jacques Etienne Cambronne, baron, a French general, born at St. Sebastien, near Nantes, Dec. 26, 1770, died in Nantes, Jan. 8, 1842. He served in La Vendee under Hoche, then in Switzerland unde...

Pierre Jean Baptiste Chaussard: Pierre Jean Baptiste Chaussard, a French .author, horn in Paris in 1760, died there in 1823. He had achieved considerable reputation as a jurist and scholar at the outbreak of the revolution, in which...

Pierre Jean Beckx: Pierre Jean Beckx, general of the society of Jesus, born at Sichem, near Louvain, Belgium, Feb. 8, 1795. He was admitted to the society of Jesus at Hildesheim in 1819, was confessor of Ferdinand of An...

Pierre Jean David: Pierre Jean David, a French sculptor, commonly called David d'Angers, born in Angers, March 12, 1789, died in Paris, Jan. 4, 1856. He was not a relative of the famous painter of his name, although he ...

Pierre Jean De Beranger: Pierre Jean De Beranger, a French lyric poet, born in Paris, Aug. 19, 1780, died there, July 16, 1857. His father was bookkeeper to a grocer, and married a milliner, the daughter of a tailor of the na...

Pierre Jean George Cabanis: Pierre Jean George Cabanis, a French physician and philosopher, born at Conac, in Sain-tonge, June 5, 1757, died at- Rueil, near Paris, May 5, 1808. In his early studies, which he pursued at Brives, h...

Pierre Joseph Desault: Pierre Joseph Desault, a French surgeon, born at Magny-Vernais, a village of Franche-Comte, in 1744, died in Paris, June 1, 1795. He commenced his education for the church in a Jesuit school, but exhi...

Pierre Joseph Proudhon: Pierre Joseph Proudhon, a French political writer, born in Besançon, July 15, 1809, died at Passy, Paris, Jan. 19, 1865. He was educated at the college of his native city, became apprentice to a print...

Pierre Jules Barociie: Pierre Jules Barociie, a French statesman, born in Paris, Nov. 18, 1802. He became a lawyer, and had acquired great celebrity as an advocate - particularly as the defender of Co-lombier, charged with ...

Pierre Jurieu: Pierre Jurieu, a French theologian, born at Mer, Orleanais, Dec. 24, 1637, died in Rotterdam, June 11, 1713. He was sent to England to complete his education under his maternal uncle, Peter Du Moulin,...

Pierre Laromiguiere: Pierre Laromiguiere, a French philosopher, born at Livignac-le-Haut, Guienne, Nov. 3, 1756, died in Paris, Aug. 12, 1837. He was a member of the congregation of doctrinaires, and from 1774 to 1783 tau...

Pierre Laurent Bnirette De Belloy: Pierre Laurent Bnirette de Belloy, a French dramatist, born at St. Flour, in Auvergne, Nov. 17, 1727, died in Paris, March 5, 1775. He was educated for the bar, but became an actor at St. Pete...

Pierre Le Moyne Iberville: Pierre Le Moyne Iberville, sieur d', a Canadian naval and military commander, founder of Louisiana, born in Montreal, July 16, 1661, died in Havana, July 9, 1706. He was one of eleven brothers, most o...

Pierre Leroux: Pierre Leroux, a French socialist, born in Paris in 1798, died there, April 12, 1871. After studying several years in the college of Rennes and in the polytechnic school of Paris, he became a composit...

Pierre Louis Dulong: Pierre Louis Dulong, a French naturalist, born in Rouen, Feb. 12, 1785, died in Paris, July 19, 1838. He studied medicine, which he practised for some time, and then devoted himself to physical scienc...

Pierre Louis Morean De Maupertuis: Pierre Louis Morean De Maupertuis, a French astronomer, born in St. Malo, July 17, 1698, died in Basel, July 27, 1759. He was five years in the army, but he resigned in 1723, and was admitted into the...

Pierre Paul Prudhon: Pierre Paul Prud'Hon, a French painter, born at Cluny, April 4, 1758, died in Paris, Feb. 16, 1823. He was educated by charity, developed a taste for art, and was placed under the tuition of Devosges ...

Pierre Paul Royer-Collard: Pierre Paul Royer-Collard, a French statesman and philosopher, born at Sompuis, Champagne, June 21, 1763, died at Châteauvieux, Loir-et-Cher, Sept. 4, 1845. He was an advocate, held office in Paris af...

Pierre Puget: Pierre Puget, a French artist, born in Marseilles, Oct. 31, 1622, died there, Dec. 2, 1694. He was apprenticed to a ship builder and wood carver, travelled on foot to Italy, and after suffering great ...

Pierre Rene Marie Henri Moul-Lin De La Blanchere: Pierre Rene Marie Henri Moul-Lin De La Blanchere, a French naturalist and photographer, born at La Fleche, Sarthe, May 2,1821. After studying the natural sciences, he established himself in Paris in 1...

Pierre Samuel Du Pont De Nemours: Pierre Samuel Du Pont De Nemours, a French economist and statesman, born in Paris, Dec. 14, 1739, died near Wilmington, Delaware, Aug. 6, 1817. Two pamphlets on the finances, published at the age of 2...

Pierre Simon Ballanche: Pierre Simon Ballanche, a French writer and philosopher, born in Lyons in 1776, died in Paris, June 12, 1847. He first followed the trade of his father, who was a bookseller and a printer. In 1801 he ...

Pierre Simon Laplace: Pierre Simon Laplace, marquis de, a French astronomer and mathematician, born at Beau-mont-en-Auge, Lower Normandy, March 23, 1749, died in Paris, March 5, 1827. Of the events of his early life he sel...

Pierre Snzanne Augustin Cochin: Pierre Snzanne Augustin Cochin. a French writer, born in Paris, Dec. 12, 1823, died at Versailles, March 15, 1872. He early took part in many philanthropic societies, and in 1850 became deputy to the ...

Pierre Soule: Pierre Soule, an American statesman, born in Castillon, France, in 1801, died in New Orleans, March 16, 1870. He studied in the Jesuits' college at Toulouse, was implicated in a plot against the Bourb...

Pierre Victurnien Vergniaud: Pierre Victurnien Vergniaud, a French revolutionist, born in Limoges, May 31, 1759, executed in Paris, Oct. 31,1793. He was admitted to the bar in Bordeaux in 1781, where he gained great distinction. ...

Pieter Van Musschenbroek: Pieter Van Musschenbroek, a Dutch mathematician, born in Leyden, March 14, 1692, died there, Sept. 19, 1761. He was educated at Leyden, and in 1717 formed an intimacy with 'sGravesande, who subsequent...

Pietro Angelo Secchi: Pietro Angelo Secchi, an Italian astronomer, born in Reggio in Emilia, July 29, 1818. He became a Jesuit Nov. 3, 1833, studied mathematics under Padre de Vico, and taught physics in the college of Lor...

Pietro Antonio Domenico Bonaycntnra Metastasio: Pietro Antonio Domenico Bonaycntnra Metastasio, an Italian poet, born in Rome, Jan. 3, 1698, died in Vienna, April 12, 1782. He is said to have excelled in improvising verses at the age of 10. Gravina...

Pietro Damiani: Pietro Damiani, an Italian prelate and saint of the Roman Catholic church, born in Ravenna about 1000, died at Faenza, Feb. 22, 1072. While young he entered the monastery of Font' Avellana, of which h...

Pietro Della Valle: Pietro Della Valle, an Italian traveller, surnamed II Pellegrino, born in Rome, April 2, 1586, died there, April 20, 1652. In June, 1614, he embarked from Venice in the habit of a pilgrim. He went fir...

Pietro Martire Vermigli: Pietro Martire Vermigli, commonly called Peter Martyr, an Italian reformer, born in Florence, Sept. 8, 1500, died in Zürich, Nov. 12, 1562. At an early age he entered the order of regular canons of St...

Pietro Tamburini: Pietro Tamburini, an Italian theologian, born in Brescia in 1737, died in Pavia in March, 1827. In 1772, while professor in the seminary of Brescia, he was appointed by Pope Clement XIV. prefect of st...

Pigeon: Pigeon, an extensive family of rasorial birds, by some ornithologists raised into an order, characterized by a short, straight, compressed bill, with the apical half vaulted and strong, and the base c...

Pigeon English: Pigeon English (or more correctly pidjin English), a language used in China between the natives and the English-speaking residents. Its origin is referable to the difficulty met by traders in communic...

Pigeon Hawk: Pigeon Hawk, a small bird of prey of the falcon subfamily and genus hypotriorchis (Boie) or msalon (Kaup), which differs from falco (Linn.) in its longer and more slender tarsi, covered in front with ...

Pigmy, Or Pigmy: Pigmy, Or Pigmy (Gr. , from , the fist, or a measure extending from the elbow to the fist, equal to about 13 1/2 inches), the name of a nation of dwarfs believed by the ancients to inhabit the int...

Pigweed: Pigweed, the popular name in this country for several species of chenopodium, especially G album; in England the same plants are called goosefoot, a more appropriate name, being a translation of the b...

Pika (Lagomys Cuv.): Pika (Lagomys Cuv.), a genus of the family leporidce, including the tailless hares. They have no visible tail, the ears are short and rounded, the hind legs short, and the molars (5-5)/(5-5); the skul...

Pike: Pike, the name of counties in ten of the United States. I. A N. E. County Of Pennsylvania A N. E. County Of Pennsylvania, separated from New York and New Jersey, which there form an angle, by the De...

Pike's Peak: Pike's Peak, a summit of the Rocky mountains, in El Paso co., Colorado, about 75 m. S. of Denver; elevation more than 14,000 ft. above the sea. It is reached from Colorado Springs on the Denver and Ri...

Pilchard: Pilchard, a fish of the herring family, and genus alosa (Cuv.). It is about as large as a herring, but rounder and thicker, and with larger scales; it differs principally from the herring (clupea) in ...

Pilgrimage: Pilgrimage (Lat. peregrinatio; Ital. pelle-grinaggio), a journey undertaken from devout motives to some holy place. The history of Christian pilgrimages belongs chiefly to the middle ages, though from...

Pillory: Pillory, an instrument of punishment, consisting of a wooden frame erected on posts, having holes in it through which the head and arms of the culprit were thrust, in which position he remained for a ...

Pilot: In some maritime countries of Europe this word was formerly, and is to some extent even now, used to designate an officer of a vessel having the charge of the ship's course. By general usage the term ...

Pilot Fish: Pilot Fish, a scomberoid fish of the genus naucrates (Raf.). It is characterized by a fusiform body, small uniform scales, a keel on the side of the tail, the dorsal composed of isolated spines, and t...

Pilsen: Pilsen (Boh. Plzeri), a city of Bohemia, situated where the Mies, Radbusa, and Uslawa unite to form the Beraun, 52 m. S. W. of Prague, on the West-Bohemian railway; pop. in 1870, 23,681. Among its bui...

Pima: Pima, the S. E. county of Arizona, bounded N. by the Gila river, E. by New Mexico, and S. by Mexico, and intersected in the E. portion by the. Rio San Pedro and Rio San Domingo, tributaries of the Gil...

Pimpernel: Pimpernel, a name of doubtful origin, applied in England to two or three different plants, but in this country used only for ana-gallis arvensis, which is also the common pimpernel of England. The pla...

Pin: Pin, a bit of wire, sharp at one end and headed at the other, used chiefly in the toilet for temporarily securing portions of the dress, and generally by seamstresses and tailors for fastening their w...

Pin Worm (Oxyuris Vermicularis): Pin Worm (Oxyuris Vermicularis), a nema-toid parasitic worm sometimes inhabiting the rectum of the human subject, especially in young children. This worm is white and filamentous; the male one eighth ...

Pinckney: Pinckney, the name of a family of South Carolina. Thomas Pinckney, its founder, emigrated from Lincolnshire, England, in 1687, and settled at Charleston. He was wealthy, and had three sons, Thomas, Ch...

Pindar: Pindar (Gr. ), a Greek lyric poet, born in Thebes or in the village of Cynos-cephalse about 520 B. C, died about 440. The family to which he belonged was one of the noblest in Thebes. Pindar in his...

Pindemonte: I. Ippolito Ippolito, an Italian poet, born in Yerona, Nov. 13, 1753, died there, Nov. 18, 1828. He was educated at the college of Este and at Modena, travelled through France, Germany, Holland, and ...

Pine: Pine (Lat. pinus), the most numerous genus among coniferous trees, distinguished from all others by its foliage, which consists of needle-shaped leaves in clusters of two to five, surrounded at the ba...

Pineapple: Pineapple, a tropical fruit, so called from its resemblance in form and external appearance to the cones of some species of pine; its botanical name in most general use is ananassa sativa, but some bo...

Pingijicula: Pingijicula (Lat. pinguis, fat), a small genus of plants belonging to the bladderwort family (lentibulacem). They are stemless herbs with a cluster of broad radical leaves, from the centre of which ri...

Pink: Pink, the common name for species of di-anthus (Gt. , of Zeus, and , flower), many of which have long been in cultivation as garden flowers. One of the species, D. caryopliyllus, has furnished t...

Pinkney: I. William William, an American lawyer, born in Annapolis, Md., March 17, 1764, died Feb. 25, 1822. His family was a branch of the South Carolina Pinckneys, and early settled at Annapolis. He studied...

Pinkroot: Pinkroot, an American ornamental and medicinal plant, known also in different localities as Indian pink, Carolina and Maryland pink and pinkroot, and worm grass. Its botanical name is Spigelia Marilan...

Pinzon: Pinzon, the name of a family of wealthy and daring navigators, of the port of Palos de Moguer in Andalusia, three members of which were intimately associated with Columbus in his discovery of America....

Pipe Fish: Pipe Fish, the popular name of the subfamily syngnathince of the lophobranchiate order of marine acanthopterygian fishes, and particularly of the genus syngnathus (Linn.). The characters of the order ...

Piqua: Piqua, a city of Miami co., Ohio, on the W. bank of the Great Miami river, here crossed by three bridges, and on the Miami canal and the Cincinnati, Hamilton, and Dayton, and the Pittsburgh, Cincinnat...

Piquet: Piquet, a game played by two persons with 32 cards, eight of each suit, from ace to seven inclusive. The cards rank as in whist. He who cuts the lowest piquet card deals, after his adversary has cut, ...

Piracy: Piracy, robbery upon the sea. Spelman says that pirata once meant in England sea knight or soldier; and he cites an instrument of the time of King Edgar, in which one of the witnesses styles himself a...

Piraeus: Piraeus(Gr. ), a town of Greece, the seaport of Athens, on a peninsula of the same name and on the shore of the harbor formed by a small inlet of the Saronic gulf, 5 m. W. S. W. of the city, ...

Pire (Esox Linn.): Pire (Esox Linn.), the common name of the soft-rayed abdominal fishes of the family eso-cidce. Their headquarters are in North America, only one species being found in Europe and temperate Asia; they ...

Pisa: Pisa, an ancient town in the Peloponnesus, capital of Pisatis or the middle district of Elis, situated in the lower valley of the Alpheus, between Harpina and Olympia, and near the latter place. In my...

Pisano: I. Nicola Nicola, an Italian sculptor, born in Pisa about 1200, died about 1278. He was the son of a notary, and seems to have derived his art chiefly from the models of antiquity. He was the first t...

Piscataquis: Piscataquis, a N. county of Maine, drained by the Piscataquis and the west branch of the Penobscot and their tributaries; area, 3,780 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 14,403. Its surface is dotted over with hill...

Pisgah: Pisgah, a mountain of Palestine, E. of the mouth of the Jordan. Its identification has been a matter of much doubt in modern times, though it was known to Eusebius and Jerome. The Bible associates it ...

Pisidia: Pisidia, in ancient geography, an inland territory of Asia Minor, bounded N. by Phrygia, N. E. and E. by Isauria and Cilicia, S. by Pam-phylia, and S. W. and W. by Lycia and Phrygia. From the S. slope...

Pisistratis: Pisistratis, tyrant of Athens, born about 612 B. 0., died in 527. He was the kinsman and friend of Solon, and accompanied him in the expedition for the recovery of Salamis. After the adoption of the ...

Pistachio: Pistachio (Gr. ), the name of an edible nut and of the tree which bears it (pistacia vera), which is a native of western Asia, and is generally cultivated in southern Europe. The tree was formerly ...

Pistoja, Or Pistoia (Anc: Pistoja, Or Pistoia (Anc. Pistoria or Pis-torium), a fortified city of Italy, in Tuscany, on the left bank of the Ombrone, 21 m. N. W. of Florence; pop. about 13,000. It is situated on the railway fro...

Pistol: Pistol, a small, light firearm, intended to be used with one hand. Every other small arm is handled by placing the butt against the shoulder when it is to be fired, using both hands; but the pistol is...

Pitcairn Island: Pitcairn Island, an island of the Pacific ocean, in lat. 25 3' S., Ion. 130 8' W.; extreme length about 2 1/4 m., breadth 1 m. It is elevated, the greatest height being nearly 2,500 ft. abov...

Pitch: Pitch (Gr. ), a black resinous substance, commonly known as black pitch, constituting the residuum when the volatile portions of tar are driven off by heat. It is soft and sticky when warm, but bec...

Pitcher Plants: Pitcher Plants, a general name for plants with leaves wholly or partially transformed into receptacles for water. This occurs in plants widely separated botanically, and though the grouping of them to...

Pitt (2): I. William William, first earl of Chatham, an English statesmen, born at Boconnoc, Cornwall, Nov. 15, 1708, died at Hayes, Kent, May 11, 1778. He was the son of Robert Pitt of Boconnoc, and grandson ...

Pittacus: Pittacus, one of the seven wise men of Greece, born in Mytilene in Lesbos about 652 B. 0., died there in 569. He was the son of a Thracian, Hyrradius, and a Lesbian woman, and is first mentioned as en...

Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh, the second city of Pennsylvania in population and importance, county seat of Allegheny co., at the confluence of the Alleghany and Monongahela rivers, which here form the Ohio, 466 m. abov...

Pittsfield: Pittsfield, the shire town of Berkshire co., Massachusetts, on the Boston and Albany railroad, and at the terminus of the Housatonic and the Pittsfield and North Adams railroads, 130 m. N. N. E. of Ne...

Pittston: Pittston, a borough of Luzerne co., Pennsylvania, on the E. bank of the Susquehanna, just below the mouth of the Lackawanna, and on the Lackawanna and Bloomsburg, the Lehigh and Susquehanna, and the L...

Pius: Pius, the name of nine popes, of whom the following are the most important. I. Pins I., Saint Saint Pins I., born in Aquileia about the year 90, died in Rome in 157. His father's name was Rufinus, a...

Piura: Piura, an inland city of Peru, capital of the department, province, and district, and on the river of the same name, 523 m. N. W. of Lima; pop. about 15,000. Situated in the midst of a sandy plain, it...

Pizarro: I. Francisco Francisco, a Spanish adventurer, born in Trujillo, Estremadura, about 1471, assassinated in Lima, Peru, June 26, 1541. He was an illegitimate son of Gonzalo Pizarro, a colonel of infantr...

Placer: Placer, a N. E. county of California, bordering on Nevada, bounded N. by Bear river, S. by the American river and its Middle fork, and intersected by the N. fork of the American and other streams; are...

Plagiostomes: Plagiostomes (Gr. , transverse, and , mouth), a suborder of cartilaginous fishes, including the sharks and rays, in some respects the most highly organized of their class. They correspond to the...

Plague: Plague (Gr. , a blow), an aggravated malignant fever, endemic in the East, and frequently epidemic. The words pestis and pes-tilentia, the synonymes of plague, as well as the corresponding Greek wo...

Planarians: Planarians, a family of worms, or annelids, belonging to the order of turlellaria, which includes also the nemertians. Almost all the order are aquatic, and none are parasitic; they have neither sucki...

Plane Tree: Plane Tree, a common name for species of the genus platanus (Gr. , broad), in this country called button wood and buttonball, and incorrectly sycamore. The genus standing alone in its family (plata...

Planet: Planet (Gr. , to wander; , a wandering star), a name formerly used to distinguish the seven celestial bodies which seem to move from the seemingly fixed stars, and now applied to the eight pr...

Planing Machine: Planing Machine, a machine for planing lumber by mechanical power. One of the earliest forms, invented by Gen. Bentham of England in 1791, drove a slightly modified hand plane. A machine patented by M...

Plant: Plant (Lat. planta), an organized being originating from a germ and nourished solely by inorganic substances. Although the differences between plants and animals in their higher forms are sufficiently...

Plant Cutter: Plant Cutter, a conirostral bird, the type of the subfamily phytotominm, by some placed with the finches and by others with the chatterers. In the single genus phytotoma (Mol.) the bill is short, stro...

Plantain: I. A genus (plantago) of humble weed-like plants found nearly all over the globe, but most abundant in the temperate parts of the old world. It gives its name to the small family plantiginacem, which ...

Plantain Eater: Plantain Eater, the name of the musopha-gince, a subfamily of conirostral birds, inhabiting Africa, and living chiefly upon the fruit of the plantain. In all the genera the bill is strong, broad at th...

Plataea, Or Plataese: Plataea, Or Plataese, an ancient city of Boe-otia, on the boundary of Attica, at the foot of Mt. Cithseron, about 7 m. S. by W. of Thebes. The Platseans claimed to derive their name from Platsea, a da...

Plated Ware: Plated Ware, articles of various kinds, consisting as a rule of a cheap metal as a base covered with one of more value, as britannia metal, nickel, copper, or brass covered with silver or gold, or iro...

Platinum: Platinum (Sp. platina, little silver), a grayish white metal, distinguished by its great specific gravity and difficult fusibility, discovered by Wood, an assayer of Jamaica, in 1741. It occurs in the...

Plato: Plato, a Greek philosopher, born in Athens (or according to some authorities in .zEgina) about 429 B. 0., died about 348. His father Ariston traced his descent to Oodrus, and his mother Perictione rec...

Platte: I. A N. W. County Of Missouri A N. W. County Of Missouri, separated from Kansas by the Missouri river, which bounds it S. and S. W., and intersected by the Little Platte river; area, 416 sq. m.; pop....

Plattsburgh: Plattsburgh, a town and village of Clinton co., New York, capital of the county, situated on Cumberland bay, an inlet of the W. shore of Lake Champlain, at the mouth of the Sara-nac river, 145 m. N. o...

Playing Cards: Like the game of chess, cards are supposed to be of Asiatic origin, and indeed seem to have been based upon the same warlike associations, some of the figures of chess having appeared also in the card...

Playing Marbles: Playing Marbles, little balls of marble, baked clay, agate, or other stony substance, used as toys for children. Marbles are made in immense quantities in Saxony for exportation to the United States, ...

Pleading: The pleadings in a cause are the alternate allegations, by plaintiff and defendant, of those matters of fact which constitute on the one hand the ground of action, and on the other the ground of defen...

Plebeians: Plebeians (Lat. plebeius, from plebs, the common people), a class of Roman citizens not included either among the patricians or clients. Originally they were excluded from the senate, from all offices...

Plesiosaurus: Plesiosaurus, an extinct gigantic enaliosau-rian or marine reptile, found principally in the lias (secondary) formation of England, in company with the still larger ichthyosaurus. The head was small, ...

Pleura: Pleura (Gr. , the side), the thin serous membrane which lines the cavity of the chest on either side, and is reflected at the root of the lung over the external surface of these organs. That portion...

Pleurisy (Pleuritis): Pleurisy (Pleuritis), inflammation of the pleura, the membrane which lines the chest, and also covers the lungs. Pleurisy has been recognized and described as a distinct disease from the earliest time...

Pleyel: I. Ignaz Ignaz, a German composer, born at Ruppelsthal, near Vienna, in 1757, died in Paris, Nov. 14,1831. He was a pupil of Haydn, visited Italy, and in 1789 was appointed chapel-master in the cathe...

Plica Polonica: Plica Polonica (Lat. plicare, to knit together), a disease of the hair and hairy scalp, endemic in Poland, and characterized by a matting together of the hairs. It was formerly common in Poland, but i...

Pliilipp Veit: Pliilipp Veit, a German painter, born in Berlin, Feb. 13, 1793. His mother was the daughter of the philosopher Mendelssohn, who after the death of her first husband married Friedrich Schlegel. He comp...

Pliny: I. The Elder (Caius Plinitts Seoun-Dus) The Elder (Caius Plinitts Seoun-Dus), a Roman author, born A. D. 23, died in 79. Verona and Novum Oomum (the modern Oomo) both claimed to be his birthplace. He...

Pliocene: Pliocene, in geology, the upper of the three epochs of the tertiary or mammalian age. The term was introduced by Sir Charles Lyell, and is derived from the Greek , more, and recent, because more...

Plotinus: Plotinus, a Neo-Platonic philosopher, born in Lycopolis, Egypt, about A. D. 204, died at Puteoli about 270. At the age of 28 he went to Alexandria, and attended the lectures of Ammonius Saccas, the fo...

Plough: Plough, an instrument for breaking up, turning over, mixing, or loosening the soil, drawn by animal or steam power. The plough of the ancient Egyptians was of wood, a single crooked stick serving for ...

Plover: Plover (Fr. plwuier, rainy), the common name of the charadrinae, a large group of wading birds, very generally distributed over the world; so called because their flocks migrate during the rainy seaso...

Plum: Plum, the name of wild and cultivated species and varieties of trees of the genus prunus, and their fruit.' Formerly our cultivated stone fruits were distributed in three or four different genera, but...

Plutarch: Plutarch, a Greek biographer, born in Chaeeronea in Bceotia. The little that is known of his life has been collected chiefly from his own works. He was studying philosophy under Ammonius at Delphi whe...

Plymouth: I. A S. E. County Of Massachusetts A S. E. County Of Massachusetts, bordered E. by Massachusetts bay and S. partly by Buzzard's bay, and watered by Taunton and North rivers; area estimated at 700 sq....

Plymouth (2): Plymouth, a town and the capital of Washington co., North Carolina, situated on a small creek, a few miles S. of Roanoke river, where it enters into Albemarle sound, 105 m. E. of Raleigh; pop. in 1870...

Plymouth Brethren: See Plymouth Breth- REX. Plymouth Brethren #1 Plymouth Brethren, a Christian denomination, called by themselves simply Brethren, and sometimes called also Darbyites after one of their leaders. They ...

Pneumatics: Pneumatics (Gr. , wind, air), that branch of general mechanics which treats of the equilibrium and motion of aeriform fluids. Many portions of this subject being embraced and treated under special ...

Pneumatic Despatch: Pneumatic Despatch, a contrivance for sending packages through tubes by means of atmospheric pressure. The first idea of a plan for pneumatic transmission appears to be due to Denis Papin, who in 1667...

Pneumatic Railway: Since the plan of Medhurst mentioned in the preceding article, it has been sought to connect a passenger carriage with a pneumatic tube so as to afford a practical method of transit, and many patents ...

Po: Po (anc. Padus and Eridanus), a river of N. Italy, having its source in Piedmont, in two springs about 6,000 ft. above the sea, near lat. 44 40' N, Ion. 7 E., on the E. side of Monte Viso, o...

Pocahontas: I. An E. County Of West Virginia An E. County Of West Virginia, intersected by Greenbrier river; area, 710 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 4,069, of whom 259 were colored. It has an elevated and mountainous su...

Podolia: Podolia, formerly a province of Poland, and now a government of Russia, bordering on Volhynia, Kiev, Kherson, Bessarabia, and Austrian Galicia; area, 16,224 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 1,933,188. Kamenetz, ...

Podophyllum: Podophyllum (Gr. , a foot, and , a leaf, its leaves bearing some resemblance to the foot of some web-footed animal), the botanical name of a plant of the order berberi-dacem, generally called Ma...

Poe Bird: Poe Bird, a tenuirostral bird of the subfamily meliphaginm or honey eaters, and the genus prosthemadera (Vig. and Horsf.). The bill is long, curved, acute, slightly notched at the tip; wings moderate,...

Poet Laureate: Poet Laureate, a poet officially crowned with laurel. The custom of crowning the poets successful in a musical contest originated among the Greeks, and was adopted by the Romans during the empire. It ...

Poey: I. Felipe Felipe, a Cuban naturalist, of French descent, born in Havana in 1802. He studied law in Madrid, where he was implicated in a political conspiracy, and fled to Paris. There he published in ...

Pointer: Pointer (canis avicularis), a well known sporting dog belonging to the race of hounds, which it resembles in general aspect, character, and colors. Though frequently called Spanish, and probably intro...

Poison: Poison, any substance which, introduced in small quantities into the animal economy, seriously disturbs or destroys the vital functions. Under this head are obviously included a vast number of bodies ...

Poitiers, Or Poictiers (Anc: Poitiers, Or Poictiers (Anc. Lemonum or Li-monum, afterward Pictavi), a town of France, formerly capital of the province of Poitou, and now of the department of Vienne, 180 m. S. W. of Paris; pop. in ...

Poitou: Poitou, an ancient province in the west of France, bounded N. by Brittany, Anjou, and Touraine, E. by Berry, Marche, and Limousin, S. by Angoumois, Saintonge, and Aunis, and W. by the bay of Biscay. I...

Poke: Poke, one of the many common names for Phytolacca decandra (Gr. , a plant, and Fr. lac, lake, from the color of the berries), which is also called garget, pigeon berry, co-cum, scoke, and mechoacan...

Poker: Poker, a game derived from brag, and first played about 40 years ago in the southwestern United States. At first it was played with 20 cards, all below the tens being thrown out, and the number of pla...

Pola: Pola, a fortified seaport of Austria, near the S. extremity of Istria, at the head of a harbor of the same name (Porto di Pola), 54 m. S. of Trieste; pop. in 1869, 10,473, and of the commune formed by...

Poland: Poland (Pol. Polska), Kingdoms of, the name of that part of ancient Poland which in 1815 was reconstituted and placed under the sovereignty of Russia. It forms the westernmost portion of the Russian e...

Polar Circles: Polar Circles, two small circles or parallels of latitude, situated so that the arc of a meridian included between each of them and the nearest pole of the earth measures the angle of inclination of*t...

Polar Clock: Polar Clock, an instrument invented by Sir Charles Wheatstone for showing the time of day by means of the polarized light of the sky. By referring to the subject of polarization in the article Light, ...

Polar Seas: Polar Seas, the waters surrounding the north and south poles. I. Arctic Ocean This is properly only the termination of the Atlantic, and is bounded by the northern coasts of America, Europe, and Asi...

Polecat: Polecat (putorius communis, Cuv.), a well known animal of the weasel family, spread over Europe and temperate Asia. It is about 15 in. long, the tail 6 in. additional, and 6 or 7 in. high; the general...

Polemo: I. A Greek Philosopher A Greek Philosopher, born in Athens about 340 B. C, died about 273. _ In his youth he gave himself up to sensuality; but becoming a disciple of Xenocrates, ho went to the other...

Police: Police (Gr. , government), a civil force organized in connection with the judicial and executive system of a state or city, for the preservation of order and the enforcement of the laws. Little is ...

Political Economy: Political Economy, properly, an exposition of the measures necessary for directing the movements of society so that man may act in harmony with those natural laws which control his efforts to improve ...

Polk: Polk, the name of 12 counties in the United States. L A S. W. county of North Carolina, bordering on South Carolina, and drained by affluents of Broad river; area, about 250 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 4,34...

Pollack: Pollack, a northern fish of the cod family, and genus merlangus (Cuv.). As in the cod, there are three dorsals and two anals, but these are triangular; there is no barbel under the chin; the head is m...

Pollanarrua: Pollanarrua, a ruined city of Ceylon, once the capital of the kingdom, situated in lat. 8 N., Ion. 81 E., about 60 m. N. N. E. of Candy. The city stood on the banks of an immense artificial ...

Pollock: I. Sir George Sir George, an English soldier, born in London in 1786, died at Walmer, Oct. 6,1872. He was the son of a saddler, and was educated at Woolwich. In 1802 he entered the army of the East I...

Poltava, Or Pultowa: I. A Government Of European Russia A Government Of European Russia, in Ukraine, bordering on Tchernigov, Kursk, Kharkov, Yekaterinoslav, Kherson, and Kiev; area, 19,265 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 2,102,61...

Poltcarp: Poltcarp, one of the early Christian fathers, born of a Christian family probably in Smyrna soon after the middle of the 1st century, put to death in 168 or 169. He was educated at the expense of Call...

Polybius: Polybius, a Greek historian, born probably about 204 B. C, died about 122. His father was Lycortas of Megalopolis, one of the chief men of the Achaean league, who after the death of Philopoemen became...

Polycletus: Polycletus, a Greek sculptor, born probably at Sicyon, flourished about 430. He was a citizen of Argos, and is said to have been the pupil of the Argive Ageladas, in whose school Phidias and Myron wer...

Polycrates: Polycrates, a tyrant of Samos, killed in 522 B. 0. In conjunction with his brothers Pantagnotus and Syloson he seized the sovereignty of Samos. Having assassinated one brother and banished the other, ...

Polydore Vergil: See Vergil. Polydore Vergil #1 Polydore Vergil, an English historian, born in Urbino, Italy, about 1470, died in his native country in 1555. Being in holy orders, he was sent to England in 1501 by P...

Polygamy: Polygamy (Gr. , many, and , to marry), a state in which a man has at the same time more than one wife, or a woman more than one husband. The latter custom, more commonly called polyandry, prevai...

Polyglot: Polyglot (Gr. , many, and , a tongue), a book with versions of its text in several languages. In common use the word is generally restricted to the Bible. The Bib-Ma Hexapla of Origen is regarde...

Polygnotus: Polygnotus, a Greek painter, born in the island of Thasos about 493 B. C., died about 426. On Cimon's return to Athens from the expedition against Thasos in 463, Polygnotus accompanied him, and was em...

Polygonum: Polygonum (Gr. , many, and , knee, from the numerous joints), a large genus of annual or perennial herbs, rarely under-shrubs, giving its name to a somewhat important family, the polygonacece, w...

Polyp: Polyp (Gr. , many, and , foot), a name formerly applied to the three classes of ra-diata, the eoral animals and actinia, ,jelly fishes or medusae, and the echinoderms. The name as thus extended ...

Polypes: Polypes, a name applied in pathology to various morbid growths projecting into the mucous cavities and passages, having their origin either in or beneath these membranes. These growths or excrescences...

Polysperchon: Polysperchon, a general of Alexander the Great, died about 300 B. C. He distinguished himself in the Persian and Indian campaigns, but, not being in Babylon at the time of Alexander's death in 323, wa...

Polyzoa: Polyzoa (Gr. , many, and , animal), a name given by Thompson to the lowest of the molluscoids, popularly known as sea mosses and sea mats; Ehrenberg called them bryozoa. They form colonies of di...

Poma (Sp. Panama): I. A State Of The United States Of Colombia A State Of The United States Of Colombia, occupying the isthmus connecting North and South America, between lat. 6 45' and 9 40' N, and Ion. 77&d...

Pomegranate: Pomegranate (Lat. pomum, a fruit, and gra-natum, grained or many-seeded), a fruit-bearing tree botanically known as Punica granatam (Lat. Punicus, of Carthage). It was known from the earliest times, a...

Pomerania: Pomerania (Ger. Pommern; Wendish, po, along, and more, sea), a province of Prussia, bordering on the Baltic sea, West Prussia, Brandenburg, and Mecklenburg; area, 11,629 sq. m.; pop. in 1871,1,431,633...

Pomeroy: Pomeroy, a city and the capital of Meigs co., Ohio, on the Ohio river, about midway between Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, at the terminus of the Atlantic and Lake Erie and the Springfield, Jackson, and P...

Pompeii: Pompeii, an ancient city of southern Italy, 12 m. S. E. of Naples, and at the foot of Mt. Vesuvius. Though probably several centuries older, it is not mentioned in history previous to the conquest of ...

Pompey: I. Cneius Pompeius Magnus Cneius Pompeius Magnus, a Koman general, born Sept. 29,106 B. 0., assassinated in Egypt, Sept. 28, 48. He was the son of Cneius Pompeius Strabo, under whom he first served i...

Pompon Marchesi: Pompon Marchesi, an Italian sculptor, born in 1790, died in Milan. Feb. 6, 1858. His earlier works were executed under the direction of Canova, and he became professor in the academy of fine arts, ran...

Poncas: Poncas, a tribe of Indians in Dakota territory, a branch of the Dakota family. They were originally part of the Omahas, and resided on the Red river of the North. Here they were attacked by the Sioux,...

Pondicherry: Pondicherry, a town on the Coromandel coast, capital of the French possessions in India, 85 m. S. by W. of Madras; pop. about 51,000. It is at the mouth of a small river accessible by vessels of light...

Poniatowski: Poniatowski, the name of a Polish family of Italian origin. Giuseppe Salinguerra, a member of the Italian family of Torelli, settled in Poland about the middle of the 17th century, and there assumed t...

Pontes: Pontes, an ancient division of Asia Minor, so named from its situation on the S. shore of the Pontus Euxinus, bounded N. E. by Colchis, S. E. and S. by Armenia Minor, Cappadocia, and Galatia, and W. b...

Pontiac: Pontiac, the N. W. county of Quebec, Canada, separated from Ontario on the southwest by the Ottawa river; area, 20,798 sq. m.; pop. in 1871, 16,547, of whom 8,649 were of Irish, 3,530 of French, 1,981...

Pontifex: Pontifex, in ancient Rome, the title of a priest. The office of pontifex is said to have been created by Numa. The pontifices were not attached to the worship of any particular divinity, but were a co...

Pontigny: Pontigny, a village of France, in the department of Yonne, about 18 m. S. E. of Aux-erre; pop. about 800. It is celebrated for a magnificent abbey, originally Cistercian, founded in 1150 by Thibaud, c...

Pontine Marshes: Pontine Marshes, a low marshy plain in the S. part of the Campagna of Rome, extending 28 m. along the Mediterranean coast from Cisterna to Terracina. Its breadth varies from 4 to 11 m. These marshes a...

Pontius Pilate: Pontius Pilate, the Roman officer or ruler of Judea under whom Christ suffered. The nature of his office is not well understood. In the Greek Testament he is called , which King James's and the Rhe...

Poonah: Poonah, a town of British India, on the Moota, above its confluence with the Moola, in the province and 80 m. S. E. of the city of Bombay; pop. about 75,000. It is divided into seven quarters named af...

Popayan: Popayan, an inland city of the United States of Colombia, capital of the state of Cauca, on the Rio Molino, 228 m. S. W. of Bogota; pop. about 16,000. It is situated in a delightful plain about 2,500 ...

Pope: I. A N. W. County Of Arkansas A N. W. County Of Arkansas, bordered S. W. by the Arkansas river and W. partly by Big Piney creek, and drained by Illinois bayou and other streams; area, about 800 sq. ...

Pope (2): Pope (Gr. , father), a title applied by the eastern Christians to all priests, and in the West originally given to all bishops, but now restricted to the bishop of Rome. The Roman Catholics regard ...

Pope Joan: Pope Joan, a fictitious female personage who was long supposed to have succeeded Leo IV. in the papal chair in 855, and to have occupied it over two years. The first who mentions her is Marianus Scotu...

Pope Vigilius: Pope Vigilius, born in Rome, died in Syracuse in 555. While yet a deacon he was designated by Pope Boniface II. (530-'32) as his successor in the papal see; but this act was repealed as uncanonical. D...

Poplar: Poplar (Fr. peuplier, from Lat. populus), the common name for trees of the genus populus, the classical Latin name, said to have been given because it was much planted in public walks and was regarded...

Popocatepetl: Popocatepetl (Aztec, the smoking mountain ), a volcano about 45 m. S. S E. of the city of Mexico, in lat. 19 N, Ion. 98 30' W., the largest of the six craters which succeed each other acr...

Poppy: Poppy (Ang. Sax. papig), the common name of plants of the genus papaver, the type of the order papaveroxew, or poppy family. Some botanists have united the fumitory family (fumariacea), which have ver...

Porcupine: Porcupine (Lat. porcus, a hog, and spin a, a thorn or spine), the common name of the subfamilies cercolabina and hystricina, the most highly organized and widely distributed of the rodent family of hy...

Porcupine Ant-Eater: Porcupine Ant-Eater, the popular name of the echidna (Cuv.), a genus of marsupial mammals of the section monotremata, inhabiting Australia and Tasmania. The snout is long, slender, and naked, and the ...

Porisms: Porisms (Gr. , from , to supply or deduce), a class of geometric propositions treated by the ancient Greek geometers, the precise nature of which is a matter of dispute. The only original author...

Porosity: Porosity (Gr. , a passage), the condition of open structure in which the particles of matter are arranged in all bodies, leaving between them pores or interstices that are supposed to be vacant or ...

Porphyry: Porphyry (Gr. , purple), a rock so named from the prevalent color of the varieties used by the ancients, as the rosso antico or red porphyry of Egypt. This variety consists of a ground or paste of ...

Porpoise: Porpoise, the common name of the small cetacean mammals of the genus phocama (Cuv.). The snout is short, uniformly rounded, wide from the breadth of the more horizontal inter-maxillaries and maxillari...

Port Huron: Port Huron, a city and the county seat of St. Clair co., Michigan, port of entry of the customs district of Huron, on the St. Clair river and at the mouth of Black river, which is here crossed by two ...

Port Lous: Port Lous, the capital of the island of Mauritius, on its N. W. coast, at the head of a triangular bay about 10 sq. m. in area; pop. about 40,000. It is well protected to seaward by forts which comman...

Port Royal: Port Royal, the name of two Cistercian monasteries widely celebrated as the nurseries of Jansenism in France. The parent house, Port Royal des Champs, was situated at Che-vreuse, near Versailles, and ...

Port-Au-Prince: Port-Au-Prince, a city, capital of the republic of Hayti, at the head of the bay of Gonaives, on the W. coast of the island; lat. 18 33' N., Ion. 72 21' W.; pop. about 21,000. The town is on...

Portage: I. A N. E. County Of Ohio A N. E. County Of Ohio, drained by Cuyahoga and Mahoning rivers; area, 500 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 24,584. It is intersected by the Pennsylvania and Ohio canal, and by the Cle...

Porter: Porter, a N. W. county of Indiana, bordered N. by Lake Michigan and S. by the Kankakee river, and drained by Calumet river and Coffee and Salt creeks; area, about 420 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 13,942. It ...

Porter L David: Porter* L David, an American naval officer, born in Boston, Feb. 1,1780, died in Pera, Turkey, March 28, 1843. He entered the navy in April, 1798, and was a midshipman in the frigate Constellation in ...

Portland: Portland, a city and port of entry, capital of Cumberland co., Maine, the largest city in the state, on an arm of the S. W. side of Cas-co bay, in lat. 43 39' N., Ion. 70 15' W., 63 m. by ra...

Porto Rico, Or Poerto Rico: Porto Rico, Or Poerto Rico, the smallest and most easterly of the Greater Antilles, West Indies, belonging to Spain, lying between lat. 17 55' and 18 30' N., and Ion. 65 39' and 67°...

Portsmouth: Portsmouth, a city, port of entry, and one of the capitals of Rockingham co., New Hampshire, the only seaport in the state, situated on the S. side of- the Piscataqua river, 3 m. from the sea and 54 m...

Portsmouth (2): Portsmouth, a city and the capital of Scioto co., Ohio, on the Ohio river, just above the mouth of the Scioto, at the terminus of the Ohio and Erie canal and of a branch of the Marietta and Cincinnati...

Portugal: Portugal (from Portm Cale, the ancient name of the town of Oporto; anc. Lusitanid), a kingdom of Europe, occupying most of the W. portion of the Iberian peninsula. It is bounded N. and E. by Spain, an...

Porus: Porus, the Greek form of the name of several kings of India, two of whom were met by Alexander in his conquest of the East. The first ruled E. of the Hydaspes, and when the Greeks attempted to cross t...

Posen: I. An E. Province Of Prussia An E. Province Of Prussia, bounded E. by Russian Poland, and bordering on the provinces of West Prussia, Brandenburg, and Silesia; area, 11,178 sq. m.; pop. in 1871, 1,58...

Post: Post, a public establishment for the conveyance of letters, newspapers, etc. The Assyrian and Persian monarchs had their posts placed at stations a day's journey from each other, with horses saddled, ...

Postage Stamps: The system of prepaying postage by means of small adhesive labels, to be sold to the public and received by the post office in evidence of payment when attached to letters, was first advocated by Rowl...

Potash, Or Potassa: Potash, Or Potassa, the name usually given to the hydrated oxide of potassium (potassium hydroxide), or caustic potash. Aristotle is one of the earliest writers who mention it. He says that the Imbria...

Potassium: Potassium, one of the alkali metals, discovered by Sir Humphry Davy in 1807. It had long been suspected that the alkalies and the earths were compound bodies, but up to this time all attempts to decom...

Potato (Span: Potato (Span, batatas, the name for sweet potato, erroneously transferred to a very different plant), the plant and tuber of solanum tuberosum. The genus solanum contains over 900 described species; i...

Potato Bug: Potato Bug, a term popularly used to designate any insect that affects the potato injuriously. There are more than a dozen such insects in the United States; but in view of its interesting history and...

Potato Rot: In 1845 the potato crop in various parts of Europe, and in the United States and British provinces, was attacked by a most destructive disease, which was called the potato murrain or potato rot. It ha...

Potocki: Potocki, a Polish family of counts, the most prominent of whom are the following. I. Stan-Islaw Felix Stan-Islaw Felix, field marshal of the Polish artillery, born in 1745, died in 1803. He publishe...

Potomac: Potomac, a large river of the United States, constituting nearly the whole boundary between Maryland on the one hand and Virginia and West Virginia on the other, and formed by the junction of the Nort...

Potosi: I. A S. W. Department Of Bolivia A S. W. Department Of Bolivia, bounded N. by Oruro, N. E. by Chuquisaca, E. by Tarija, S. by the Argentine Republic, and W. by Atacama and Peru; area, 54,297 sq. m.; ...

Potsdam: Potsdam, a town and village of St. Lawrence co., New York, on Raquette river, 25 m. E. by S. of Ogdensburg; pop. of the town in 1870, 7,774; of the village, 2,891. The town is rich in agricultural res...

Pottawattamie: I. A S. W. County Of Iowa A S. W. County Of Iowa, separated from Nebraska by the Missouri river, and drained by the Boyer and West fork of the Nishnabatona, besides several large creeks; area, 960 sq...

Potter: Potter, a N. county of Pennsylvania, bordering on New York; area, about 1,000 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 11,265. It has an elevated and mountainous surface, and is drained by head waters of the Alleghany, ...

Pottery And Porcelain: The history of pottery, if it could be written, would be as old as the history of man. Baking clay and making vessels is one of the first useful arts in the history of all peoples, savage as well as c...

Potto: Potto (cercoleptes, Illig.), a genus of small carnivorous mammals, inhabiting tropical America. They resemble the bears in their plantigrade movements, and in their dentition, but differ in other char...

Pottsville: Pottsville, a borough and the capital of Schuylkill co., Pennsylvania, on the Schuylkill river, at the mouth of Norwegian creek; pop. in 1850, 7,515; in 1860, 9,444; in 1870, 12,384. It is the terminu...

Pouchet: I. Felix Archimede Felix Archimede, a French naturalist, born in Rouen, Aug. 26,1800, died there, Dec. 6, 1872. He was son of Louis Ezechiel Pouchet (1748-1809), an eminent manufacturer and author. I...

Poughkeepsie: Poughkeepsie, a city and the capital of Dutchess co., New York, on the E. bank of the Hudson river, and on the Poughkeepsie, Hartford, and Boston and the Hudson River railroads, 75 m. N. of New York a...

Pound: Pound (Lat. pondus, a weight), a measure of weight. Two different pounds are in use, one called the avoirdupois or commercial pound, equal to 7,000 grains, and the other the apothecaries' or troy poun...

Poussin: I. Nicolas Nicolas, a French painter, born in Grand Andely, Normandy, in 1593 or 1594, died in Rome, Nov. 19,1665. He belonged to an ancient but impoverished family of the French nobility, and was ca...

Power: Power, in law, an authority by which one is enabled to exercise the control of an owner over the property of another. The term is important in real estate law, where powers are variously classified wi...

Power Of Attorney: Power Of Attorney, an authority by which one person is empowered to act in the place or as the attorney of another. The one who confers the power is called the constituent or the principal, and the on...

Powhatajv: Powhatajv, an American Indian sachem, born about 1550, died in Virginia in April, 1618. His original name was Wahunsonacock, the name Powhatan being that of his early residence near the falls of the J...

Pozzuolana: Pozzuolana, a reddish, porous volcanic mineral found near Pozzuoli, between Rome and Naples, and in other countries in the neighborhood of volcanoes. The catacombs of Rome were excavated in a large de...

Pozzuoli: Pozzuoli (anc. Puteoli), a town of Italy, on a bay of the same name, in the province and 6 m. W. of the city of Naples; pop. about 10,-000. It is celebrated for its antiquities, which comprise an amph...

Praeneste (Now Palestrina): Praeneste (Now Palestrina), an ancient city of Latium, on a spur of the Apennines, 23 m. E. S. E. of Rome. It is first mentioned in history in the list of cities of the Latin league given by Dionysius...

Praetor: Praetor (Lat. prceire, to lead), the title of a Roman officer whose duties were chiefly judicial, and also, according to Cicero, that of the consuls as leaders of the Roman armies. The office was firs...

Praetorians, Or Praetorian Cohorts: Praetorians, Or Praetorian Cohorts, a Eoman body guard, named in imitation of the cohort said to have been formed by Scipio Africanus out of his bravest troops. Their number increased during the civil...

Pragmatic Sanction: Pragmatic Sanction (Gr. , a deed or act), a state ordinance decreed by the monarch or legislature. The phrase seems to have originated with the Byzantine monarchs, but was early introduced into Fra...

Prague: Prague (Boh. Praha, Ger. Prag), a city of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, capital of Bohemia, on the Moldau, 155 m. N. W. of Vienna; lat. 50 5' N, Ion. 14 25' E.; pop. in 1870, 157,713, of wh...

Prairie: Prairie (Fr., a meadow), the name applied by the early French explorers to the great fertile, treeless plains of North America which lie between Ohio and Michigan on the east and the arid plains on th...

Prairie Dog: Prairie Dog (cynomys, Raf.), a genus of American rodents, intermediate between the marmots and the spermophiles or prairie squirrels. The cheek pouches are very rudimentary; the eyes large, and the ea...

Prairie Du Chien: Prairie Du Chien, a town and the capital of Crawford co., Wisconsin, on the Mississippi river, 2 m. above the mouth of the Wisconsin river, and on the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul railroad, 87 m. ...

Prairie Squirrel: Prairie Squirrel, the common name of the North American rodents of the genus sper-mophilus (Cuv.), most of them coming under Brandt's subgenus otospermophilus; they be-' long to the marmot family, and...

Praslin: I. Cesar Gabriel Cesar Gabriel, count de Choi-seul, duke de, a French statesman, born in Paris, Aug. 14, 1712, died there, Nov. 15, 1785. In 1748 he retired from the army with the rank of general, af...

Pratincole: Pratincole (glareola, Briss.), a genus of wading birds of the plover family, inhabiting the temperate and warmer regions of the old world. About half a dozen species are described in Europe, Asia, Afr...

Prawn: Prawn, a marine decapod crustacean, of the macrourous division and genus palcemon (Fabr.). About 20 species are described, mostly small, though some from tropical regions are a foot long; they somewha...

Praxiteles: Praxiteles, a Greek sculptor, flourished about the middle of the 4th century B. C. He ranks at the head of the later Attic school, but nothing is known of his personal history, except that he was a re...

Prebend: Prebend (Lat. prcebere, to deliver), in ecclesiastical usage, a pensioned office attached to a cathedral or collegiate church, and the emoluments derived from the same. Canons or members of cathedral ...

Precession Of The Equinoxes: Precession Of The Equinoxes, a slow regression of the equinoctial points upon the plane of the ecliptic. It is so called from its causing the sun to arrive in either equinox a little earlier than he o...

Premonstratensians: Premonstratensians (Fr.pre monstre, meadow pointed out), or Norbertines, a religious order in the Roman Catholic church, founded in the diocese of Laon, France, in 1120, by St. Norbert, a canon regula...

Presbtterianism: Presbtterianism (Gr. , elder), a system of church government by presbyters. These consist of two classes, teaching and ruling elders, the former answering to pastors or ministers, and the latter be...

Presburg (Hung. Pozsony): I. A N. W. County Of Hungary A N. W. County Of Hungary, bordering on the counties of Neutra, Komorn, and Wieselburg, and on Lower Austria; area, 1,664 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 297,377, chiefly Slovaks a...

Prescott (2): I. Oliver Oliver, an American patriot, born at Groton, Mass., April 27, 1731, died there, Nov. 17, 1804. He graduated at Harvard college in 1750, practised medicine, was successively major, lieutena...

Prescription: Prescription (in the Roman law, praescrip-tio), a title acquired by possession during the time and in the manner fixed by law. It is a natural and immutable principle, says Domat, that the owner of a ...

Preservation Of Food: Articles of food (see Aliment) are very complex in their chemical constitution, and are exceedingly prone to return to the simpler and more stable compounds called inorganic. (See Eremacausis, and Fer...

Preservation Of Wood: In its natural state the durability of wood depends upon the variety of tree from which it is taken, the time of felling, the manner of drying, and the conditions in which it is placed. Natural wood i...

President: President (Lat. prceses), an officer appointed or elected to preside over a tribunal, a company, an assembly, or a republic. The chief executive officer of the United States bears this title, and the ...

Prester John: Prester John, the name given by Europeans in the middle ages to a supposed Christian sovereign or dynasty of sovereigns established in the interior of Asia. The name occurs first in the 11th century, ...

Preston: Preston, a N. county of West Virginia, bordering on Pennsylvania and Maryland, and intersected by Cheat river; area, about 600 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 14,555, of whom 118 were colored. It occupies a val...

Preston S Brooks: Preston S Brooks, an American politician, born in Edgefield county, S. C, Aug. 4, 1819, died in Washington, Jan. 27, 1857. He graduated at South Carolina college in 1839, was elected to the legislatur...

Prestonpans: Prestonpans, a village in Haddingtonshire, Scotland, on the frith of Forth, 8 1/2 m. E. of Edinburgh, where was fought a memorable action between the Scottish Jacobites under the young pretender, Char...

Presumption: Presumption, in law, an inference or assumption made in the absence of evidence. Presumptions are divisible into conclusive presumptions and disputable presumptions. Conclusive presumptions answer to ...

Prickly Ash: Prickly Ash, one of the common names for xanthoxylum Americanum (Gr. , yellow, and , wood), a shrub belonging to the rue family (rutacem), and quite common throughout the northern states ; its p...

Pride Of China, Pride Of India, Or Bead Tree (Melia Azedarach): Pride Of China Pride Of India, Or Bead Tree (Melia Azedarach), an oriental tree, now naturalized in most warm countries. The genus melia (from the Greek name for the manna ash, which its foliage somew...

Priest: Priest, a person set apart for the performance of religious offices and ceremonies, and in particular for the performance of sacrifice. History shows the priestly office to be nearly coextensive with ...

Primate: Primate (Lat. primas, one first in rank), a hierarchical title generally given to archbishops, and sometimes to bishops, and denoting jurisdiction or precedence over the episcopal body of a whole coun...

Prime: I. Samuel Irenseus Samuel Irenseus, an American clergyman, born at Ballston, N. Y., Nov. 4, 1812. He graduated at Williams college, Mass., in 1829, studied theology at Princeton, and entered the mini...

Primogeniture: Primogeniture, a rule of law which confers a dignity or estate in lands on a person in virtue of his being the eldest male of those who could inherit. A preference of sons to daughters was common to m...

Primrose: Primrose, the name of a plant which in old English and French was written primerole, from the Italian primaverola, the diminutive of primavera, spring, which according to Pry or originally belonged to...

Prince: Prince (Lat. princeps), a title appertaining to a sovereign, to his male offspring, or to persons of eminent rank who do not possess the attributes of sovereignty. The word princeps was employed by th...

Prince De Rohan Louis Rene Edouard: Prince De Rohan Louis Rene Edouard, a French cardinal, born Sept. 25, 1734, died at Ettenheim, Baden, Feb. 17, 1803. He was destined for the church, and became while very young the associate of his un...

Prince Edward: Prince Edward, a S. county of Virginia, bordered N. by the Appomattox and S. by the Nottaway river, and drained by several small streams; area, about 350 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 12,004, of whom 7,898 we...

Prince Edward Island: Prince Edward Island, a province of the Dominion of Canada, comprising the island of Prince Edward, lying in the gulf of St. Lawrence, between lat. 45 58' and 47 7' N., and Ion. 62 and ...

Prince George: Prince George, a S. E. county of Virginia, bordered N. by James river and N. W. by the Appomattox, and drained by the sources of the Blackwater; area, about 350 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 7,820, of whom 5,...

Prince Kung-Chien-Wang (Kung): Prince Kung-Chien-Wang (Kung), a Chinese statesman, born in 1835. He is the brother of Hien-fung, emperor of China from 1850 to 1861, and the uncle of Tung-che, the present ruler. On the death of Hien...

Prince Rupert: Prince Rupert (Prince Robert of Bavaria), a royalist general of horse during the English civil war, born in Prague, Dec. 17, 1619, died at Spring Gardens, London, Nov. 29, 1682. His mother Elizabeth w...

Princes De Conti: Princes De Conti, a junior branch of the Conde family of France, originating from Conti or Conty, a village near Amiens. Francois de Bourbon, who died childless in 1614, and who was a son of the first...

Princeton: Princeton, a township and town of Mercer co., New Jersey, at the terminus of a branch (3 m. long) of the Pennsylvania railroad, 40 m. N. E. of Philadelphia, and 11 m. N. E. of Trenton; pop. in 1870, o...

Principality Of Orange: Principality Of Orange, formerly an independent seigniory of S. E. France, 12 m. long by 9 broad, now included in the department of Vaucluse. Its origin is traced to the time of Charlemagne, and it wa...

Printing: Printing (abbreviated from imprinting, from Lat. imprimere, to press in or on), the art of producing in a pigment reversed copies of characters engraved upon types, stamps, or plates. The essential fe...

Priscillian: Priscillian, the founder of a religious sect in Spain and Gaul, born in the neighborhood of Cordova, died in Treves in 385. He was of high birth, and possessed wide learning and great rhetorical talen...

Prism: Prism, in geometry, a solid bounded by plane faces, of which two that are opposite are equal, similar, and parallel, and are called the bases of the prism; the other surfaces are parallelograms. The a...

Prisons And Prison Discipline: Penitentiary science, or the system of detaining, punishing, and reforming criminals, is of modern origin. The Scriptures contain references to prison houses and to the punishment of offenders. In Gre...

Privateer: Privateer, an armed private vessel which bears the commission of a state to cruise against the commerce of its enemy. When one sovereign has duly declared war against another, all the subjects of the ...

Privet: Privet (also called in England prim and primprint), a name formerly given to the primrose, and afterward unaccountably transferred to ligustrum vulgare, the generic name being the classical Latin one....

Prize: Prize, any property captured in virtue of the rights of war. A difference exists in practice between war on land and on the sea in respect to private property. At sea all the property of every citizen...

Prize Money: The distribution of prize money, or of the proceeds of the sale of ships or goods adjudged by courts of admiralty to be good prize, is carefully regulated by statutes of the United States. The 10th se...

Probate: Probate, in law, the proof, before the competent authority, that an instrument offered purporting to be the last will and testament of a person deceased is indeed his lawful act. Until the act 20 and ...

Process: Process, in law, a term which, in a large sense, signifies the whole proceedings in any action, civil or criminal, real or personal, from the beginning to the end. In a narrower and more technical sen...

Proclus: Proclus, a Greek philosopher of the Neo-Platonic school, born in Constantinople in A. D. 412, died in Athens in 485. In his childhood he lived at Xanthus in Lycia, afterward for several years in Alexa...

Procopius: Procopius, a Byzantine historian, born in Caesarea, Palestine, about A. D. 500, died about 565. He early removed to Constantinople, and became distinguished as an advocate. In 527 he was chosen secret...

Procter: I. Bryan Waller Bryan Waller, an English poet, better known by his anagrammatic pseudonyme of Barry Cornwall, born in London about 1790, died there, Oct. 5, 1874. He was educated at Harrow, passed so...

Proctor: Proctor (Lat. procurator, agent), in a general sense, one who is commissioned to manage the business of another. In a particular sense, a proctor is one who is commissioned to transact the business of...

Prometheus: Prometheus, in Grecian mythology, the son of Japetus and Clymene, and brother of Atlas, Menoetius, and Epimetheus. According to Hesiod, gods and men were in a dispute at Mecone in regard to what porti...

Propaganda, Or Congregatio De Propaganda Fide (Congregation For Propagating The Faith): Propaganda, Or Congregatio De Propaganda Fide (Congregation For Propagating The Faith), a board of 25 cardinals founded at Rome in 1622 by Gregory XV. for the support and direction of foreign missions...

Prophecy: Prophecy (Gr. , from , to foretell), the prediction of future events. The belief that certain men or classes of men had the faculty of prediction can be traced to the remotest antiquity; and. the ...

Prosper Merimee: Prosper Merimee, a French author, born in Paris, Sept. 28, 1803, died in Cannes, Sept. 23, 1870. He studied law, and was received as advocate, but did not practise. In 1830 he became secretary of the ...

Proteine: Proteine (Gr. , first), a name given by Mulder to a product obtained by the action of potash on albuminoids, such as fibrine, albumen, and caseine, of which he considers it the base, the other facto...

Protest: Protest (Lat. protestari, to testify or declare against), a term used in many ways and for many purposes. One who is called upon to pay an import duty, a tax, a subscription, or the like, which he thi...

Protestant: Protestant, a collective name for a large body of Christian denominations, embracing in general all except the Roman Catholic and eastern churches. The name originated in 1529 in Germany, at the diet ...

Protestant Episcopal Church: Protestant Episcopal Church, an ecclesiastical body in the United States which derives its origin from the church of England. Previous to the American revolution members of the church of England were ...

Proteus (Laurenti), Or Hypochthon (Merr.): Proteus (Laurenti), Or Hypochthon (Merr.), a perennibranchiate batrachian reptile, belonging to the same family as the axolotl and the menobranchus. The skin is naked and slimy, the body elongated and...

Proteus Of The Lakes, Or Fish Lizard Menobrancms: Proteus Of The Lakes, Or Fish Lizard Menobrancms, a batrachian of the order amphijmeusta, and of the division of perennibranchiate amphibia, so called because the gills are persistent and external; th...

Protoplasm: Protoplasm (Gr. , first, and , form), a term applied to the supposed original substance from which all living beings are developed, and which is the universal concomitant of every phenomenon of li...

Protozoa: Protozoa (Gr. , first and , animal), a subdivision of invertebrate animals, proposed by Siebold, since adopted by Leuck-art and Vogt, and now generally admitted by naturalists. As they include the...

Protractor: Protractor, an instrument for laying off angles in plotting. There are four principal forms of the protractor: the rectangular, the semicircular, the circular, and the reflecting. The rectangular cons...

Provencal Language And Literature: Provençal belongs to the Romance or Romanic group of the Aryan or Indo-European family of speech. (See Romance Languages.) Its real home is the south of France, the boundary line running through Dauph...

Provence: Provence, an ancient province of S. E. France, bounded N. by Dauphiny and Venais-sin, E. by the Alps, S. by the Mediterranean, and W. by Languedoc. It was a part of the territory to which the Romans g...

Proverbs: Proverbs, a book of the Old Testament, entitled in the Hebrew original as well as the Septuagint and the Vulgate The Proverbs of Solomon. Its real or final authorship, however, is not ascribed to So...

Providence (2): Providence, a city, the principal port of entry, and one of the capitals of Rhode Island, and the shire town of Providence co., at the head of navigation on an arm of Nar-ragansett bay known as Provid...

Province Of The Rhine, Or Rhenish Prussia (Ger. Rheinprovinz, Rheinpreussen, Or Rheinland): Rhine, Province Of The, Or Rhenish Prussia (Ger. Rheinprovinz, Rheinpreussen, Or Rheinland), a W. province of the kingdom of Prussia, lying on both sides of the Rhine, bordering on the provinces of We...

Provincetown: Provincetown, a town of Barnstable co., Massachusetts, occupying the extremity of Cape Cod, at the terminus of the Cape Cod division of the Old Colony railroad, 120 m. by rail and 55 m. by water S. E....

Pruning: Pruning, a most important horticultural operation, which consists in removing a portion of a plant for the benefit of that which remains. The operation may be required by all plants which have an abov...

Prussia: Prussia, the largest and leading state of the German empire, occupying a northern central portion of the European continent, between lat. 49 and 56 N., and lon. 5 45' and 23 E. It ...

Prussia Proper: Prussia Proper, a great division of the Prussian kingdom, comprising East or Ducal Prussia, and West or Royal Prussia, now officially united into one province; area, 24,114 sq. m.; pop. in 1871, 3,137...

Prussian Silesia: Prussian Silesia, the S. E. province of Prussia, bounded N. by Brandenburg and Posen, E. by Russian Poland and Austrian Galicia, S. by Austrian Silesia and Moravia, and S. W. and W. by Bohemia, the ki...

Pskov, Or Pleskov: I. A W. Government Of European Russia A W. Government Of European Russia, bordering on St. Petersburg, Novgorod, Tver, Smolensk, Vitebsk, and Livonia; area, inclusive of lakes, 17,067 sq. m.; pop. in...

Psyche: Psyche (Gr. , breath, or the soul), a character of Greek romance, generally accepted as a personification of the human soul. A certain king, says Apuleius, had three daughters, of whom the youngest...

Ptarmigan: Ptarmigan, the popular name of the gallinaceous birds of the grouse family embraced in the genus lagopus (Briss.), which differ from the ordinary grouse in having the legs feathered to the claws, givi...

Pterodactyl: Pterodactyl (pterodactylus, Cuv.; Gr. , wing, and , finger), a genus of fossil flying reptiles, possessing essentially the characters of saurians, with some only apparent relations to bats and bi...

Ptolemy: Ptolemy (Gr. II ), the name of 13 Greek kings of Egypt, of whom the first three were the most important, and are treated in separate articles. Ptolemy IV., Philopator (222-205 B. C.), son of Ptolemy...

Ptolemy I: Ptolemy I, surnamed Soter, son of Lagus, and founder of the Graeco-Egyptian dynasty, born near the court of Philip of Macedon in 367 B. C., died in Alexandria in 283. His mother Arsinoë had been a con...

Ptolemy II: Ptolemy II, surnamed Philadelphus, king of Egypt, youngest son of the preceding by Berenice, born in the island of Cos in 309 B. C, died in Alexandria in 247. He was carefully educated, and was thorou...

Ptolemy III: Ptolemy III, surnamed Euergetes, eldest son and successor of the preceding, by Arsinoë, daughter of Lysimachus, died in 222 B. C. On coming to the throne he found in the public treasury an immense amo...

Puberty: Puberty, the period of youth characterized by the acquirement of functional power in the reproductive apparatus of the sexes; its activity, however, cannot be called into exercise until the growth of ...

Publins Clodus Pulcher: Publins Clodus Pulcher, a Roman demagogue, killed in 52 B. C. He was by birth a Claudius, but changed his patrician name to Clodius in order to curry favor with the plebeians. He served in Asia under ...

Publins Servilius Casca: Publins Servilius Casca, one of the conspirators against the life of Julius Caesar. He had been attached to the Pompeian party, and, like many others of the dictator's slavers, submitted him-self to C...

Publius Cornelias Dolabella: Publius Cornelias Dolabella, a Roman general, born about 70 B. C., died in 43. He was noted for his profligacy, and is said to have committed several capital crimes in his youth which but for Cicero w...

Publius Decius Mus: Publius Decius Mus, the name of three celebrated Roman plebeian consuls, father, son, and grandson. The first distinguished himself, in the year 343 B. 0., in the war against the Sam-nites, and comman...

Publius Papillitis Statics: Publius Papillitis Statics, a Roman poet, born probably in A. D. 61, died probably in 96. His father was a preceptor of the emperor Do-mitian, by whom the son was patronized. In the Alban contests he ...

Publius Valerius Publicola: Publius Valerius Publicola, a Roman lawgiver of the semi-historical period of the foundation of the republic. He is said to have been present when Lucretia stabbed herself, and to have borne a promine...

Puccoon: Puccoon, an aboriginal name applied to several plants with a yellow or reddish juice, but quite unlike in other properties. In the south, the bloodroot (sanguinaria Canadensis) is called puccoon. (See...

Puebla: I. A S. E. State Of The Republic Of Mexico A S. E. State Of The Republic Of Mexico, bounded N. and E. by Vera Cruz, S. by Oajaca, S. W. by Guerrero, and W. by Mexico, Tlascala, and Hidalgo; area, 9,5...

Pueblo Indians: Pueblo Indians, a general name applied by the Spaniards, and subsequently by Americans, to several tribes of semi-civilized Indians found by the former early in the 16th centu-ry in what is now New Me...

Puerperal Convulsions, Or Puerperal Eclampsia: Puerperal Convulsions, Or Puerperal Eclampsia (Lat. puer, child, and parere, to bring forth), a dangerous disease occurring during the puerperal or lying-in period of women, either before, during, or ...

Puerperal Fever, Or Childbed Fever: Puerperal Fever, Or Childbed Fever, a disease which attacks lying-in women, generally attended by an inflammation of the peritoneum, or of the uterus and its appendages, of a dangerous character. The ...

Puerperal Mania: Puerperal Mania, a form of mental derangement which attacks women during the lying-in period. It is to be distinguished from the melancholia which occurs at the same period, although some authors trea...

Pufendorf: Pufendorf (often spelled Puffendorf by English writers), Samuel, a German jurist and publicist, born near Chemnitz, Saxony, Jan. 8, 1632, died in Berlin, Oct. 26, 1694. He was educated at Grimma, stud...

Puff Bird: Puff Bird, an appropriate name for the bucconinoe, an American subfamily of diurnal fissirostral birds, placed by Gray in the kingfisher family, but by the older and some modern writers in the scansor...

Puget Sound: Puget Sound, in a general sense, the body of water which extends S. from the E. end of the strait of Fuca, through which it communicates with the Pacific ocean, into the N. W. portion of Washington te...

Pugilism: Pugilism (Lat. pugil, a boxer), the art of fighting with the fists, practised in modern times according to certain rules, known as the rules of the English prize ring. It is said that Theseus was the ...

Pugin: I. Augustus Augustus, an English architectural draughtsman of French extraction, born in Normandy in 1769, died in London, Dec. 19, 1832. He made many architectural drawings for engraving, but is bes...

Pulaski: Pulaski, the name of counties in seven of the United States. I. A S. W. County Of Virginia A S. W. County Of Virginia, bordered E. partly by New river, which, turning W., intersects it toward the so...

Pulo Penang Penang: Pulo Penang Penang (Areca island), or Prince of Wales's Island, an island belonging to Great Britain, situated at the N. entrance of the strait of Malacca, extending from lat. 5 14' to 5 2...

Pulque: Pulque, an aboriginal Mexican name for the fermented juice of agave Americana, the American aloe, maguey, or. century plant (see Agave), which is cultivated in southern Mexico, as well as in Central a...

Pulse: Pulse (Lat. pulsare, to beat), the throbbing of the arteries caused by the intermitting impulses communicated to the blood by the heart's contractions, propagated as a wave by the elasticity of the ar...

Pump: Pump, a machine for raising liquids in pipes, either by direct action or by atmospheric pressure, and also for exhausting air from vessels. (See Air Pump.) The history of the hydraulic pump cannot be ...

Pumpkin: Pumpkin (formerly written pompion, from the old French pompon; Gr. ), the plant and fruit of cucurbita pepo, an annual plant of the natural order cucurbitaceoe or gourd family, for the characters of...

Punch, Or Punchinello: Punch, Or Punchinello, a humorous character in a species of puppet show exhibited in the streets of European cities. The exhibition is of Italian origin, and its Italian name Polici-nella or Pulcinell...

Punctuation: Punctuation, in grammar, the art of dividing a written or printed discourse into sentences and parts of sentences, for the purpose of indicating the mutual relations of the words, by means of points. ...

Punjaub, Or Panjab: Punjaub, Or Panjab (Pers., the country of the five rivers), a province in the N. W. portion of British India, between lat. 27 40' and 35 5' N., and Ion. 69 30' and 78 30' E., and b...

Punta Arenas: Punta Arenas, the only seaport town of Costa Rica on the Pacific, situated on the E. side of the gulf of Nicoya, about 60 m. W. by N. of San José; permanent pop. about 300. The town stands on a sandy ...

Purgatory: Purgatory (Lat. purgatorium, a place for cleansing), in the belief of the Roman Catholic and the eastern churches, a state of temporary suffering in the next world, where the souls of the just expiate...

Puritan: Puritan, an epithet first applied in 1564 to English nonconformists, which continued to designate them during the reigns of Elizabeth and the first two Stuarts. During the reign of Mary the stricter n...

Purple: Purple (Gr. ; Lat. purpura), a color produced by the union of red and blue, and of various shades as one or the other of these predominates. The ancients esteemed it more highly than any other color...

Purpurates: Purpurates, salts of purpuric acid. Scheele in 1776 found that a solution of uric in nitric acid produced a beautiful deep red dye. Prout in 1818 obtained this coloring matter in a crystalline form, a...

Purslane: Purslane, the common name (of obscure derivation) for portulaca oleracea, one of the most common weeds of our gardens, and often abbreviated to pusley. Portulaca (the ancient Latin name) gives its n...

Putnam: Putnam, the name of counties in nine of the United States. I. A S. E. County Of New York A S. E. County Of New York, bordered W. by the Hudson river, E. by Connecticut, and watered by Croton river a...

Pyramid: Pyramid (Gr. ), the geometrical term for any solid contained by a plane polygonal base and other planes meeting in a point, applied to various monumental and temple structures of several nations. Th...

Pyrenees: Pyrenees (Celt. byrin, a steep mountain), a mountain range of Europe, separating France from Spain, and extending from Capes Creus and Cervera on the Mediterranean to the S. E. angle of the bay of Bis...

Pyrites: Pyrites (Gr. , from , fire), a name given to yellow sulphuret of iron because it struck fire with steel. The German name Kies is similar to that for flint, Kiesel, and in the earliest firearms the...

Pyroligneous Acid: Pyroligneous Acid (Gr. , fire, and Lat. lignum, wood), also called pyroligneous and wood vinegar, the compound mixture of the volatile products from the destructive distillation of woody matters, wh...

Pyrometer: Pyrometer (Gr. , fire, and , measure), any instrument for determining degrees of heat higher than those which can be measured by ordinary thermometers. Pyrometers are required in the determination...

Pyrophone: Pyrophone (Gr. and sound), or Flame Organ, a musical instrument invented by Frédéric Kastner of Paris, in which the tones are produced by flames of hydrogen or illuminating gas burning in tubes of...

Pyrophorus: Pyrophorus (Gr. , fire, and to bear), a substance which takes fire on exposure to the air. This property is possessed by several substances and mixtures specially prepared. Finely divided metal...

Pyrotechny: Pyrotechny (Gr. , fire, and , art), the art of making fireworks for public exhibitions or for military purposes. Until the invention of gunpowder, and before the properties of saltpetre were unde...

Pyroxene: Pyroxene (Gr. , fire, and , a stranger), a mineral species of Dana's augite section of the silicates, comprising numerous varieties. That to which the name was first applied, though found in the s...

Pyroxylic Spirit: Pyroxylic Spirit (also known as pyrolig-neous spirit or ether, wood spirit or naphtha, methylic alcohol, hydrate of methyle, etc.), a spirituous liquid, not a product of fermentation, but forming one ...

Pyrrho: Pyrrho, a Greek philosopher; a native of Elis, born about 360 B. C., died about 270. He was successively a painter, a poet, and a companion of Anaxarchus, under whose patronage he joined the eastern e...

Pyrrhus: Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, born about 318 B. C., killed at Argos in 272. He was the son of Aeacides and Phthia, and traced his descent from Pyrrhus, the son of Achilles, and was also connected with the ...

Pythagoras: Pythagoras, a Greek philosopher, founder of a philosophical, religious, and political association in southern Italy, born in Samos about 580 B. C, died probably in Metapontum about 500. He was the son...

Pythian Games: Pythian Games, one of the four great national festivals of Greece, held at Delphi, which was originally called Pytho from the serpent Python killed by Apollo near there. The legendary account attribut...

Q: THE 17th letter and 13th consonant of the , English alphabet. It corresponds with the Hebrew and Phoenician koph, and as it is seldom used except in conjunction with u, most grammarians are disposed t...

Qnintus Sertorius: Qnintus Sertorius, a Roman general, born at Nursia, in the country of the Sabines, about 121 B. C., assassinated in 72. He distinguished himself in the campaign of Marius against the Cimbri and Teuton...

Quadrant: Quadrant (Lat. quadrans, a quarter), the fourth part of the circle or an arc of 90, and hence an instrument employed for measuring angles in any plane. The use of quadrants has been for surveying...

Quadrature: Quadrature, the finding of a square equal in area to that of any given figure. No mathematical problem has excited so great interest as the quadrature of the circle, or the determination of a square o...

Quadrumana: Quadrumana (Lat., from quatuor, four, and manus, hand), a division of the mammalia embracing the lemurs and monkeys or apes, and forming the highest order of Owen's subclass gyrencephala, so called fr...

Quaestor: Quaestor(Lat., from quoerere, to seek), the name given to two classes of officers at Rome, the quoestores parricidii and the quoestores clas-sici. The former have sometimes been confounded with the pe...

Quagga: Quagga, a species of zebra, belonging to the asinine division of the horse family, and to the genus asinus as defined by Gray, characterized by a tail furnished with long hair only at the tip, the abs...

Quail: Quail, the common name of several genera of the partridge division of gallinaceous birds. The American quails constitute the subfamily of odontophorinoe or ortyginoe, which have a short, high, and arc...

Quarantine: Quarantine (It. quarantina, Fr. quarantaine, a space of 40 days), a police regulation for the exclusion of contagious diseases from a city or state. Sanitary laws are founded upon the assumption that ...

Quarles: I. Francis Francis, an English author, born at Stewards, Essex, in 1592, died Sept. 8, 1644. He was educated at Christ's college, Cambridge, studied law at Lincoln's Inn, was cupbearer for a while to...

Quartz: Quartz, the most abundant of all minerals, existing as a constituent of many rocks, as the granitic and the micaceous and silicious slates, composing of itself the rock known as quartz-ite or quartz r...

Quassia: Quassia, a bitter drug, the properties of which, it is said, were first made known to Europeans by a negro slave named Quassi; the tree producing it was named Quassia amara by Linnaeeus, and belongs t...

Quebec (2): Quebec, a fortified city and port of entry of the Dominion of Canada, capital of the province of Quebec, situated on the N. W. bank of the river St. Lawrence, at its confluence with the St. Charles, n...

Quebec (Formerly Lower Canada Or Canada East): Quebec (Formerly Lower Canada Or Canada East), a province of the Dominion of Canada, situated between lat. 45 and 53 30' 1ST., and Ion. 57 8' and 79 30' W.; area, according to the ...

Quedlinburg: Quedlinburg, a town of Prussia, in the province of Saxony, beautifully situated near the lower Hartz mountains, on the Bode, a tributary of the Saale, 31 m. S. W. of Magdeburg; pop. in 1871, 16,402. T...

Queen: Queen (Goth. queins, quens, a woman, a wife; Icelandic, kvan; A. S. cwên, wife, queen; Gr. , a woman), the wife of a king, or a woman who is the sovereign of a kingdom. In the ...

Queen Charlotte Islands: Queen Charlotte Islands, a group in the N. Pacific ocean, about 130 m. N. W. of Vancouver island, and about 80 m. from the coast of British Columbia, to which they belong. They consist of four princip...

Queen Of England Catharine Parr: Queen Of England Catharine Parr, the sixth and last wife of Henry VIII., born at Kendal castle, Westmoreland, about 1513, died at Sudely castle in Gloucestershire, Sept. 7, 1548. She was the daughter ...

Queen Of Sweden Chiristina: Queen Of Sweden Chiristina, the only legitimate child of Gustavus Adolphus who survived infancy, born in Stockholm, Dec. 8, 1626, died in Rome, April 19, 1689. She was but six years of age when her fa...

Queensland: Queensland, a British colony in Australia, comprising the N. E. part of the island, lying between lat. 10 43' and 29 S., and Ion. 138 and 153 E., bounded N. by Torres strait, N. E....

Queenstown: Queenstown, a town of county Cork, Ireland, on the S. side of Great island, in the harbor and 7 m. E. S. E. of the city of Cork; pop. in 1871, 10,039. It is built on a steep acclivity, the streets ris...

Quercitron: Quercitron, a dyestuff, the bark of the black oak, quercus coccinea, var. tinctoria (Q. tinctoria of authors), in some localities called the yellow-barked oak. (See Oak.) The black outer portion of th...

Queretaro: I. A Central State Of Mexico A Central State Of Mexico, bounded N. by San Luis Potosi, E. by Hidalgo, S. by Mexico, S. W. by Michoacan, and W. by Guanajuato; area, 3,429 sq. m.; pop. in 1869, 153,286...

Quetzalcoatl: Quetzalcoatl (i. e., the serpent or the twin with peacock or trogon feathers), the name of a mythical personage introduced into Mexican mythology by the Huastecas, a branch of the Mayas, who came, acc...

Quichuas: Quichuas, the dominant people in the empire of Peru under the incas, who made their language the general one of their territory. The Quichuas extended from Lake Titicaca to Quito, and toward the coast...

Quillwort: Quillwort, a genus of cryptogamic plants so called from having some resemblance to a bunch of quills; they are mostly aquatics, and being evergreens, Linnaeus called the genus isoëtes (Gr. , equal, ...

Quince: Quince (the plural of old Eng. coine, from Fr. coing, which is derived from the Lat. cy-donia, from the Cretan town of Cydonia), a tree long cultivated in temperate climates for its fruit, and which i...

Quincy: Quincy, a town of Norfolk co., Massachusetts, on Quincy bay, and on the Old Colony railroad, 7 m. S. S. E. of Boston; pop. in 1830, 2,201; in 1840, 3,486; in 1850, 5,017; in 1860, 6,778; in 1870, 7,44...

Quincy (2): I. Josiah Josiah, jr. (so called to distinguish him from his father, who survived him), an American lawyer, born in Boston, Feb. 23, 1744, died at sea off Gloucester, Mass.; April 26, 1775. He gradua...

Quinsy: Quinsy (tonsillitis, amygdalitis, or cynanche tonsillaris; Fr. esquinancie), common inflammatory sore throat. Though called tonsillitis, the inflammation is rarely confined to the tonsils, but involve...

Quintin Craufurd: Quintin Craufurd, a Scottish author, born at Kilwinning, Sept. 22, 1743, died in Paris in November, 1819. He went in early life to the East Indies, where he served in the war against Spain. After the ...

Quintns Emius: Quintns Emius, the father of Roman literature, born at Rudiaj, a village of Calabria, about 239 B. C, died in 169. He claimed descent from a mythical hero, the first settler in his country; and after ...

Quintns Hortensius: Quintns Hortensius, a Roman orator, born in 114 B.C., died in 50. At the age of 19 he made a speech in the forum, and gained the applause of the orators Crassus and Scaevola. He joined the side of Sul...

Quitclaim: Quitclaim, a word often used in deeds, and usually in connection with words of grant and conveyance, when the grantor or seller intends to convey to the grantee or buyer all the right, title, interest...

Quito: Quito, a city of Ecuador, capital of the republic, and of the province of Pichincha, in a district of its own name formed by a valley in the Andes; lat. 0 13' S., Ion. 78 43' W.; pop. about ...

R: THE 18th letter and 14th consonant of , the English alphabet. It is a lingual and a liquid or semi-vowel, being pronounced both before and after most other consonants. It is found in all languages exc...

Raab: Raab (Hung. Gyr). I. A W. County Of Hungary A W. County Of Hungary, in the Trans-Danubian circle, bordering on Presburg, Comorn, Veszprém, Oeden-burg, and Wieselburg; area, 1,590 sq. m.; pop. ...

Rabanus Or Hrabanus (Mauris): Rabanus Or Hrabanus (Mauris), a German theologian, born in Mentz about 776, died at Winkel in 856. He was educated in the Benedictine convent of Fulda, and continued his studies in Tours under Alcuin,...

Rabbit: Rabbit, the common name of several species of the hare family, especially the lepus cuniculus of Europe and the L. sylvaticus of North America; the family and generic characters have been given under ...

Raccoon: Raccoon (procyon, Storr), a genus of American plantigrade mammals of the bear family, of the section subursinoe. In this genus the size is comparatively small, the body stout, and the tail moderately ...

Races And Languages Of India: The population of India, without special reference to the latest intruders who have preserved their original characteristics and imposed their own institutions, may be divided into Aryans and Dravidia...

Rachel: Rachel (Élisabeth Rachel Félix), a French actress, born at Mumpf, Switzerland, Feb. 28, 1820, died at Cannet (near Toulon), France, Jan. 3, 1858. She was the daughter of a Jewish peddler, whom she acc...

Racine: Racine, a S. E. county of Wisconsin, bordering on Lake Michigan; area, about 350 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 26,740. It is watered by several streams, and is traversed by the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Pau...

Radiata, Or Radiates: Radiata, Or Radiates, next to the protozoa the lowest of the great branches of the invertebrates, whose characteristic feature is that of radiation from the mouth as a centre. All live in the water, a...

Radish: Radish (Lat. radix, root), a cruciferous plant, raphanus sativus (Gr. , quickly, and , to appear, in allusion to its rapid germination), long cultivated for its edible root. The plant has rough a...

Radziwill: Radziwill, the name of a family long distinguished in Lithuania and Poland. Nicholas IV., surnamed the Black, prince of Olyka and Nieswiez, the founder in the 16th century of the modern branch of the ...

Rafael Carrera: Rafael Carrera, president of Guatemala, born in the city of Guatemala in 1814, of mixed Indian and negro blood, died April 14, 1865. In 1829, when Morazan was president of the federal government, Carr...

Raffaelle Sanzio Morghev: Raffaelle Sanzio Morghev, an Italian engraver, born in Florence, June 19, 1758, died there, April 8,1833. He was instructed by his father, an engraver, and at 20 years of age executed a series of seve...

Rafflesia: Rafflesia, a remarkable genus of apeta-lous, exogenous plants, named in honor of Sir Stamford Raffles. While making a tour in the interior of Sumatra, Dr. Joseph Arnold, one of the suite of Raffles, w...

Rafiristan: Rafiristan, a country of central Asia, lying between lat. 35 and 36 N., and lon. 69 20' and 71 20' E., bounded N by Badakhshan, E. by Chitral, and S. and W. by Cabool; area, about ...

Ragusa: Ragusa (Slav. Dubrovnik), a town of Dal-matia, on a small peninsula Of the Adriatic, at the foot of Mt. Sergius, 40 m. N. W. of Cattaro; pop. in 1870, 8,678. It has several towers and old walls, and t...

Rahway: Rahway, a city of Union co., New Jersey, on Rahway river, here navigable by small craft, at the head of tide, 5 m. above its mouth in Staten Island sound, 16 m. in a direct line S. W. of New York; pop...

Rail: Rail, the proper name of the rallinoe, a subfamily of wading birds of the family rallidoe. The genus rallus (Linn.) is characterized by a bill longer than the head, nearly straight and slender, with t...

Railroad, Or Railway: Railroad, Or Railway, a road with wooden, stone, or iron sleepers supporting timber or iron ways upon which the wheels of carriages may run. The graduated earthen or stone embankment or cut which supp...

Rain Gauge: Rain Gauge, an instrument for measuring the amount of rain which falls upon a given area during a certain space of time. For approximate purposes a tub or bucket, with a thin-edged mouth, placed in a ...

Rainbow: Rainbow, an arch of concentric colored bands, visible usually on a portion of sky overspread with falling rain drops, and always on that side of the observer opposite to the place from which the sun o...

Raisin: Raisin (Fr., a grape), the dried fruit of the European grape vine (vitis vinifera). None of our native grapes (see Grape) has yet afforded raisins suitable for commerce, though one or two varieties en...

Rajpootana: Rajpootana (formerly Rajasthan), a territory of British India, consisting of 18 native states, principally inhabited by Rajpoots, in subsidiary alliance with the British government. This aggregation o...

Rakoczy: Rakoczy, a noble family of Transylvania, several members of which were princes of that country. Of these, George I. (1631-'48) made himself conspicuous by his cooperation with the Swedes in the latter...

Rale, Or Rasles, Sebastien: Rale, Or Rasles, Sebastien, a French missionary to the North American Indians, born in Franche-Comté in 1658, killed at Norridge-wock, Maine, Aug. 12, 1724. He was a Jesuit, and taught Greek at a coll...

Raleigh: Raleigh, a S. county of West Virginia, bounded E. by the Kanawha or New river, and watered by Coal river and other tributaries of the Kanawha; area, about 380 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 3,673, of whom 16 w...

Raleigh, Or Ralegh, Sir Walter: Raleigh, Or Ralegh, Sir Walter, an English courtier and navigator, born at Hayes, Devonshire, in 1552, beheaded at Old Palace yard, Westminster, Oct. 29, 1618. At the age of 17 he left Oriel college, ...

Ralph Cudworth: Ralph Cudworth, ah English divine and philosopher, born at Aller, Somersetshire, in 1617, died in Cambridge, June 26, 1688. At the age of 13 he was entered at Emmanuel college, Cambridge, in which he ...

Ralph Randolph Gurley: Ralph Randolph Gurley, an American clergyman and philanthropist, born at Lebanon, Conn., May 26, 1797, died in Washington, D. C., July 30, 1872. He graduated at Yale college in 1818, and soon after to...

Ralph Waldo Emerson: Ralph Waldo Emerson, an American poet and essayist, born in Boston, Mass., May 25, 1803. He is the son of the Rev. William Emerson, pastor of the first church in that city. In his eighth year, on the ...

Ralph Wardlaw: Ralph Wardlaw, a Scottish clergyman, born at Dalkeith, Mid-Lothian, Dec. 22, 1779, died in Glasgow, Dec. 17, 1858. He was educated at the university of Glasgow and the divinity hall of the Secession c...

Ram Mohun Roy: Ram Mohun Roy, rajah, a Hindoo scholar, born in the district of Burdwan, Bengal, about 1774, died near Bristol, England, Sept. 27, 1833. His family were strict Brahmans, but having studied the Koran h...

Ramie: Ramie, one of the East Indian names, and the one generally adopted in this country, for the plant producing the fibre called China grass. Its botanical name is Boehmeria ni-vea, and it is found either...

Ramisseram, Or Rameswar: Ramisseram, Or Rameswar, an island between Ceylon and the continent of India, at the W. extremity of the chain of rocks and sand banks, called Adam's Bridge, that stretch across from Ceylon and separa...

Ramon Cabrera: Ramon Cabrera, count of Morella, a Spanish general, born at Tortosa in Catalonia, Aug. 31, 1810. When civil war broke out in 1833, after the death of Ferdinand VII., between the partisans of his broth...

Ramon Maria Narvaez: Ramon Maria Narvaez, duke of Valencia, a Spanish statesman, born in Loja, Andalusia, Aug. 4, 1800, died in Madrid, April 23, 1868. He was early engaged in military operations, and was wounded during t...

Ramsay: I. Allan Allan, a Scottish poet, born at Leadhills, Lanarkshire, Oct. 15, 1686, died in Edinburgh, Jan. 7, 1758. He was originally a wig maker in Edinburgh, and his first poem was written at the age ...

Ramsey: I. An E. County Of Minnesota An E. County Of Minnesota, bordered S. W. and S. by the Mississippi river; area, about 200 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 22,-886. It has an elevated surface, with prairies and fo...

Randolph: Randolph, the name of counties in eight of the United States. I. A N. E. County Of West Virginia A N. E. County Of West Virginia, drained by the sources of the Monon-gahela river; area, about 1,200 ...

Randolph Macon College: Randolph Macon College, an institution of learning at Ashland, Hanover co., Va., 16 m. N. of Richmond, on the Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac railroad. It was founded by a resolution of the Virg...

Randolph Rogers: Randolph Rogers, an American sculptor, born in the state of New York about 1825. In early manhood he spent several years in Rome studying his art. On his return home he soon became known through his s...

Rangoon: Rangoon, a seaport and the capital of British Burmah, in Pegu, on the left bank of the E. branch of the Irrawaddy, known as the Rangoon, about 26 m. from the sea, in lat. 16 46' N., lon. 96 ...

Ranunculus: Ranunculus (Lat., a little frog, some of the species growing in wet places where frogs abound), the botanical name of a large genus of plants, the common species of which are popularly known as butter...

Ranz Des Vaches: Ranz Des Vaches, the name applied to certain simple melodies played by the mountaineers of Switzerland upon the Alpine horn, which are identified with the scenes and pursuits of pastoral life. The ter...

Rape: Rape (law French, rapt; law Latin, raptus), the violation or carnal knowledge of a woman, forcibly and against her will. Early English statutes, which have perhaps in some of the United States the for...

Raphael (Raffaelle Sanzio, Or Sanzio Of Urdino): Raphael (Raffaelle Sanzio, Or Sanzio of Urdino), an Italian painter, born in Urbino, April 6, 1483, died in Rome, April 6, 1520. He belonged to a family of artists, and his father, Giovanni Santi (who...

Raphael Lambert Closse: Raphael Lambert Closse, the great Indian fighter of colonial Canada, born at St. Denis de Mogres, near Tours, France, killed at Montreal, Feb. 6, 1662. He came out with Mai-sonneuve in 1642, and was m...

Raphael Semmes: Raphael Semmes, an officer in the confederate navy, born in Charles co., Md., Sept. 27, 1809. He entered the United States navy as a midshipman in 1826, became lieutenant in 1837, and commander in 185...

Rappahannock: Rappahannock, a river in the E. part of Virginia, formed by the confluence of the North fork and other small streams, which rise in the Blue Ridge and unite on the N. E. border of Culpeper co. At the ...

Rarstens Nieblhr: Rarstens Niebl'Hr, a German traveller, born at Ludingworth, Lauenburg, March 17, 1733, died at Meldorf, Holstein, April 20, 1815. He studied at Hamburg and Gottingen with a view to becoming a land sur...

Rasmus Christian Rask: Rasmus Christian Rask, a Danish philologist, born at Brendekilde, on the island of Fünen, Nov. 22, 1787, died in Copenhagen, Nov. 14, 1832. He graduated at the university of Copenhagen, was appointed ...

Raspberry: Raspberry, the name (of very doubtful derivation) of fruit-bearing shrubs of the genus rubus, of the order rosacea or rose family. The genus consists of shrubs or half-shrubby (and a few herbaceous) p...

Rastadt: Rastadt, a fortified town of Baden, on the Murg, 14 m. S. W. of Carlsruhe; pop. in 1871, 11,559. It has a fine palace, a Protestant and several Catholic churches, a Catholic normal school, a lyceum, a...

Rat: Rat, a well known rodent, the type of the subfamily murinoe. In the murine tribe of this subfamily, confined originally to the old world, belong the common house rats. The brown or Norway rat (mus dec...

Ratisbon: Ratisbon (Ger. Regensburg; anc. Reginum; mediaeval Lat. Ratisbona), a city of Bavaria, capital of the united district of the Upper Palatinate and Ratisbon, on the right bank of the Danube, opposite it...

Rattazzi: I. Urbano Urbano, an Italian statesman, born in Alessandria, June 29, 1808, died in Fro-sinone, June 5, 1873. He became an advocate, and in 1848 was elected a member of the Sardinian parliament. For ...

Rattlesnake: Rattlesnake, an American venomous serpent, the type of the family crotalidae, which includes several species, all characterized by a deep pit lined with small plates on each side, beneath and usually ...

Raumer: I. Friedrieh Ludwig Georg Von Friedrieh Ludwig Georg Von, a German historian, born at Wörlitz, near Dessau, May 14, 1781, died in Berlin, June 13, 1873. He completed his studies at Halle and Göttinge...

Raven: Raven, the largest of the corvidoe or crow family, and the type of the genus corvus (Linn.). In this genus the bill is long and very strong, and arched; the nasal feathers are lengthened and reach abo...

Ravenna: I. A N. E. Province Of Italy A N. E. Province Of Italy, in Emilia, bordering on the Adriatic, Ferrara, Bologna, Florence, and Forli; area, 742 sq. m.; pop. in 1872, 221,115. It is mountainous, especi...

Rawlins Lowndes: Rawlins Lowndes, an American lawyer, born in the British West Indies in 1722, died in Charleston, S. C, Aug. 24, 1800. His parents settled when he was very young in Charleston, where he received his e...

Rawlinson: I. Sir Henry Creswicke Sir Henry Creswicke, an English archaeologist, born at Chadlington, Oxfordshire, in 1810. In 1826 he entered the military service of the East India company, and served in Bomba...

Ray: Ray, the name of the plagiostome, chondrop-terygian, or cartilaginous fishes of the suborder raiioe, popularly called skates. The numerous families are characterized by great flatness and width of the...

Ray Palmer: Ray Palmer, an American author, born at Little Compton, R. I., Nov. 12, 1808. He graduated at Yale college in 1830, studied theology at New Haven, and was ordained in 1835 as pastor of the central Con...

Raymond Raimundo Lullio (Lully): Raymond Raimundo Lullio (Lully), a Spanish philosopher, surnamed the enlightened doctor, born in Palma on the island of Majorca about 1235, killed at Bougiah in Algeria in 1315. He was the son of a...

Razor Fish: Razor Fish (xyrichthys, Val.), an acanthop-terygian genus belonging to the family of cyclo-labridoe. The body is compressed and covered with large scales, the lateral line interrupted; the profile is ...

Razor Shell: Razor Shell (solen, Linn.), the type of the lamellibranchiate family of solenidae. The genus is characterized by two adductor muscles, the mantle open anteriorly and produced into two short united sip...

Reade: I. Charles Charles, an English novelist, born at Ipsden, Oxfordshire, in 1814. He graduated in 1835 at Magdalen college, Oxford, where he was elected to one of the Vinerian fellowships in 1842. In 18...

Reading: Reading, a city and the capital of Berks co., Pennsylvania, on the E. bank of the Schuylkill river, here crossed by three bridges, and on the Schuylkill and Union canals, at the intersection of severa...

Realty: Realty (law Lat. realitas, from res, a thing), in law, property in lands, tenements, and hereditaments. The common law of real property is distinctively and almost entirely English, founded on the rul...

Recife, Or Pernambuco: Recife, Or Pernambuco, a maritime city of Brazil, capital of the province of Pernambuco, 1,150 m. N. E. of Rio de Janeiro; lat. 8 4' S., lon. 34 50' W.; pop. about 100,000. It is at the comm...

Recitative: Recitative (Lat. recitare, to recite; called by the Italians musica parlante, speaking music), a species of artificial declamation adapted to musical notes, imitating the inflections of natural speech...

Recognizance: Recognizance (law Fr. reconisaunce; law Lat. recognitio),. an obligation of record entered into before a court of record or magistrate duly authorized to take it, with condition to perform some specif...

Record: Record (Lat. recordari, Fr. recorder, to remember). I. An official contemporaneous memorandum in writing, drawn up by the proper officer of a court of justice, and containing a summary statement of th...

Recusant: Recusant (Lat. recusare, to refuse), a term of frequent occurrence in English ecclesiastical history, and used to designate those persons in general who refused or neglected to attend divine service o...

Red Jacket: Red Jacket (Sa-go-ye-wat-ha), a principal chief of the Senecas, of the Wolf tribe, born at Old Castle, near the foot of Seneca lake, in 1752, died at Seneca Village, near Buffalo, N. Y., Jan. 20, 1830...

Red River: Red River, a tributary of the Mississippi, and the last of considerable size which it receives. It rises in N. W. Texas, in about lat. 34 40' N. and lon. 102 10' W., and flows E. to the 100t...

Red River Of The North: Red River Of The North, a stream rising in Elbow lake, 1,680 ft. above the sea, on the border of Becker and Beltrami counties, Minnesota, in about lat. 47 10' N. and lon. 95 25' W. It flows ...

Red Sea: Red Sea, an inlet of the Indian ocean, extending from the straits of Bab-el-Mandeb, lat. 12 40' N., nearly N. N. W. to Suez, lat. 29 57' 30, and separating Arabia on the east from Egypt, Nu...

Redemptorists, Or Congregation Of The Most Holy Redeemer: Redemptorists, Or Congregation Of The Most Holy Redeemer, known also as Liguorians, a society of missionary priests in the Roman Catholic church, founded by St. Alfonso Maria da Liguori. The foundatio...

Redstart: Redstart, the common name of an American and a European genus of birds of the warbler family. In the American genus, se-tophaga (Swains.), the bill is as in the flycatchers (in which family they are i...

Reed: Reed (A. S. hreod), a name of tall coarse grasses, especially of the genera phragmites and arundo. The common reed of this country and England was called arundo phragmites by Linnaeus, but later botan...

Reed Instruments: Reed Instruments, among musical contrivances, a numerous and diverse class, including all those the tones of which are due to vibrations imparted to a body of air in a tube, throat, or chamber, by mea...

Reformation: Reformation, the historical name for the great religious movement of the 16th century, which divided the Latin Catholic church into two opposing sections, and resulted in the establishment of the vari...

Reformatories: Reformatories, institutions for the reformation of juvenile offenders, and for the care and correctional education of neglected children. This duty, but recently assumed by the government in most coun...

Reformed Church: The Protestants on the continent of Europe were divided, about the middle of the 16th century, into two main bodies, known as the Lutheran church and the Reformed church. Though these designations are...

Reformed Church In The United States: Reformed Church In The United States (formerly German Reformed Church in the United States of America), a religious body which is an offshoot of the Reformed church of Germany. The first minister was ...

Reformed Dutch (Church In America): Reformed Dutch (Church In America) (formerly Reformed Protestant Dutch Church), a religious body which arose in the Netherlands early in the 16th century, and attained its form and organization during...

Refrigerator: Refrigerator (Lat. refrigere, to make cool), an apparatus by which various articles, generally meats and drinks, are kept cool or are reduced in temperature. The ordinary food refrigerator is usually ...

Reggio (Reggio Nell Emilia): I. A N. Province Of Italy A N. Province Of Italy, bordering on Cremona, Mantua, Modena, Massa e Carrara, and Parma; area, 877 sq. m.; pop. in 1872, 240,635. The principal rivers are the Po, which for...

Reggio Di Calabria: I. Or Calabria Ulte-Riore I Or Calabria Ulte-Riore I, a province forming the S. extremity of Italy, bordering on the Ionian sea, the strait of Messina, the Tyrrhenian sea, and the province of Catanza...

Reginald Pole: Reginald Pole, an English cardinal, born at Stowerton castle, Staffordshire, in 1500, died Nov. 18, 1558. On his mother's side he was related to Henry VIII. He was sent when seven years old to the Car...

Regiomontanus, Or Johann Muller: Regiomontanus, Or Johann Muller, a German mathematician, born at Königsberg, Franconia (whence his Latin name), June 6, 1436, died July 6, 1476. He completed his studies under Purbach at Vienna, whom ...

Reguier De Graaf: Reguier De Graaf, a Dutch physician, born at Schoonhoven in 1641, died in Delft, Aug. 17, 1673. He was especially distinguished for having originated the discovery that reproduction takes place in the...

Reindeer: Reindeer (rangifer tarandus, Gray), the name usually given to the old world species of rangerine deer, of which the American woodland and barren ground caribou are believed to be mere varieties. The d...

Religious Orders: Religious Orders, the term applied to associations of men or women in the Roman Catholic church and the oriental churches, whose members live in common in convents. The history of these associations i...

Remainder: Remainder, in law, an interest in that which remains of a whole estate, after a partial or particular estate, as it is called, which was reserved out of the whole, has been determined. Like many other...

Remusat: I. Claire Elisabeth Jeanne Gravion De Vergennes Claire Elisabeth Jeanne Gravion De Vergennes, countess de, a French authoress, born in Paris, Jan. 5, 1780, died there, Dec. 16, 1821. She was a grandn...

Rene Antoine Ferchault De Reaumur: Rene Antoine Ferchault De Reaumur, a French natural philosopher, born in La Rochelle, Feb. 28, 1683, died Oct. 18, 1757. He studied law at Bourges, but went to Paris in 1703, gained distinction by his...

Rene Caillie: Rene Caillie, a French traveller, bora at Mauze in 1799, died May 28, 1838. When only 16 years old he set out on a voyage to Senegal, and afterward accompanied a caravan to Bondoo, where he joined an ...

Rene Descartes: Rene Descartes(Lat. Renatus .Cartesitts), a French philosopher, born at La Haye, Tou-raine, March 31, 1596, died in Stockholm, Feb. 11, 1650. He was the youngest son of a councillor of the parliament ...

Rene Edouard Caron: Rene Edouard Caron, a Canadian jurist and statesman, born in the parish of Ste. Anne Cote de Beaupre, Lower Canada, in 1800. He was educated at the seminary of Quebec and the college of St. Pierre, Ri...

Rene I: Rene I, surnamed the Good, duke of Anjou, count of Provence, and titular king of Naples, born in Angers, Jan. 16, 1409, died in Aix, July 10, 1480. He was the second son of Louis of Anjou (crowned kin...

Rene Joachim Henri Dutrochet: Rene Joachim Henri Dutrochet, a French physiologist, born at Neon, Poitou, Nov. 14, 1776, died in Paris, Feb. 4, 1817. His family was rich and noble; but its property having been confiscated during th...

Rene Loniche Desfontaines: Rene Loniche Desfontaines, a French botanist, born at Tremblay, Brittany, about 1752, died in Paris, Nov. 16, 1833. After studying at the college of Rennes, he went to Paris to prepare for the medical...

Rene Menard: Rene Menard, a French missionary, born in Paris in 1604, died near Lake Superior in August, 1661. He entered the society of Jesus in 1624, and was the spiritual guide of theDail-leboust family, promin...

Renn. Dickson Hampden: Renn. Dickson Hampden, an English bishop and scholar, born in the island of Barbadoes in 1793, died in London, April 23, 1868. He studied at Oriel college, Oxford, graduated in 1813, and became fellow...

Rennes: Rennes, a fortified town of France, capital of the department of Ille-et-Vilaine, at the junction of the rivers Ille and Vilaine, 190 m. W. S. W. of Paris; pop. in 1872, 52,044. The court house is an ...

Rennet Tyler: Rennet Tyler, an American clergyman, born in Middlebury, Conn., July 10, 1783, died in South Windsor, May 14, 1858. He graduated at Yale college in 1804, was pastor of the Congregational church in So...

Rensselaer: Rensselaer, an E. county of New York, bordering on Vermont and Massachusetts, bounded W. by the Hudson river, and drained by the Hoosick and Little Hoosick rivers, and Kinderhook creek; area, 690 sq. ...

Rent: Rent, a maritime county of England, forming the S. E. extremity of Great Britain, bordering on Essex (from which it is separated by the Thames and its estuary), Middlesex, Surrey, Sussex, the North se...

Renwick: I. James James, an American physicist, born in New York in 1792, died there, Jan. 12, 1863. He graduated at Columbia college in 1809, was professor of chemistry and physics there from 1820 to 1854, a...

Replevin: Replevin (law Lat. re, back, and plegium, pledge), a redelivery of a thing to the owner, upon pledges or security; the taking from some holder property which the taker claims, he giving back pledges t...

Reptiles: Reptiles (Lat. sing. reptilis, from repere, to creep), a class of vertebrated animals intermediate between fishes and birds. Linnaeus united the oviparous quadrupeds and the serpents of Aristotle unde...

Resins: Resins, a class of proximate principles existing in almost all plants, and appearing upon the external surface of many of them in the form of exudations; also the oxidized and concreted juice of sever...

Respiration: Respiration (Lat. respirare, to breathe), the function by which oxygen is absorbed by the living organism for the maintenance of vitality, and by which carbonic acid is discharged as a product of disi...

Restigouche: Restigouche, a N. county of New Brunswick, Canada, bordering on Quebec and the bay of Chaleurs; area, 2,889 sq. m.; pop. in 1871, 5,575, of whom 2,695 were of Scotch, 1,143 of French, 1,133 of Irish, ...

Retinispora: Retinispora (Gr. , resin, and , seed), a name proposed by Siebold and Zucca-rini in their Flora Japonica for a genus of coniferoe, which has been accepted until within a few years; but it has sin...

Retriever: Retriever, a name given to several breeds of sporting dogs, from their being taught to retrieve or recover game which has fallen beyond the reach of the sportsman, or where he does not choose to go fo...

Reuben Hyde Walworth: Reuben Hyde Walworth, an American jurist, born in Bozrah, Conn., Oct. 26, 1789, died in Saratoga, N. Y., Nov. 21, 1867. He was admitted to the bar in Troy, N. Y., in 1809, and settled in Plattsburgh, ...

Reuben Kemper: Reuben Kemper, an American soldier, born in Fauquier co., Va., died in Natchez, Miss., in 1826. He was the son of a Baptist preacher, who emigrated with his family to Ohio in 1800. Reuben subsequently...

Reuss: Reuss, a river of Switzerland, tributary to the Aar, rising in the canton of Uri, near Mt. St. Gothard, within the small district where the Rhine, Rhône, and Ticino also have their source. It flows, f...

Revel, Or Reval: Revel, Or Reval, a town of Russia, capital of the government of Esthonia, situated on the bay of Revel on the S. side of the gulf of Finland, 200 m. W. S. W. of St. Petersburg; pop. in 1867, 27,325. T...

Reverdy Johnson: Reverdy Johnson, an American statesman, born in Annapolis, Md., May 21, 1796. He was educated at St. John's college in that city, and at the age of 17 began to study law in Prince George's co. in the ...

Rhaetia: Rhaetia, a province of the Roman empire, which in the reign of Augustus was bounded N. by Vindelicia, E. by Noricum, S. by Gallia Cisalpina, and W. by the country of the Helvetii. Later Vindelicia was...

Rheims, Or Reims: Rheims, Or Reims (anc. Durocortorum, afterward Remi), a city of Champagne, France, in the department of Marne, on the Vesle, a . tributary of the Aisne, near the Marne and Aisne canal, 82 m. E. N. E. ...

Rhenish Confederation: Rhenish Confederation (Ger. Rheinbund), a confederacy formed in 1806 by the kings of Bavaria and Würtemberg, the elector arch chancellor of the empire, the elector of Baden, the duke of Berg, the land...

Rheumatism: Rheumatism (Gr. , a flow, discharge). Acute rheumatism is an inflammation of the joints, characterized by general fever, by pain, heat, redness, and swelling of the joints affected, and by a tenden...

Rhine: Rhine (Ger. Rhein; Dutch, Rijn or Ryn; Fr. Rhin; anc. Rhenus), one of the principal rivers of Europe, having its sources in the Swiss canton of Grisons, and flowing into the North sea by an extensive ...

Rhinoceros: Rhinoceros (Gr. , nose, and , horn), an ungulate mammal, surpassed in size among present terrestrial animals only by the elephant, and perhaps by the hippopotamus. The head is long and triangular...

Rhodes: Rhodes (ancient and modern Gr. Rhodos, from , a rose). I. An Island Of Turkey In The Mediterranean An Island Of Turkey In The Mediterranean, off the S. W. coast of Asia Minor, from which it is sep...

Rhode Island: Rhode Island, one of the thirteen original states of the American Union and one of the New England states, the smallest of the 37 of which the Union is now composed. It is bounded N. and E. by Massach...

Rhodium: Rhodium, a metal belonging to the platinum group, discovered by Wollaston in 1803. He found 0.4 per cent. in ore from Brazil, and in a specimen from another locality as much as 3 per cent. It usually ...

Rhododendron: Rhododendron (Gr. , rose tree, the ancient name), a genus of plants of the order ericaceae or heath family, to which the name rose bay has been given, but the botanical name is in more common use. T...

Rhodora: Rhodora (Gr. , a rose, from the color of the flowers), a native shrub of which the botanical and common names are the same. R. Canadensis is the only species, and is by some botanists appended to rh...

Rhone (Anc. Rhodanus): Rhone (Anc. Rhodanus), a river of Europe, rising in the N. E. corner of the Swiss canton of Valais, not far from the sources of the Rhine, and flowing into the gulf of Lyons in. the Mediterranean sea ...

Rhubarb: Rhubarb (Lat. rha, or rheu barbarum, a name given by the early writers), in medicine, the root alone of rheum officinale and some other species, but in horticulture the name of the plants of several ...

Ribbon: Ribbon (formerly spelled riband and riban; Fr. ruban), a narrow strip of woven silk, either plain or ornamented. The manufacture of ribbons first attained great importance in the 17th century. About 1...

Ribbon Fish: Ribbon Fish, the common name of several genera of acanthopterygian fishes of the family toeniidoe. They are characterized by a compressed, elongated, ensiform body, with very small or no scales; the b...

Riccio, Or Ricci, David Rizzio Ritzio: Riccio, Or Ricci, David Rizzio Ritzio, a favorite of Mary, queen of Scots, born in Piedmont about 1533, assassinated in Edinburgh, March 9, 1566. He was the son of a poor musician of Turin, went to th...

Rice: Rice (Gr. , Lat. oryza, Fr. riz), one of the cereal grains, oryza sativa, of the grass family. The genus is the type of a small tribe of gramineoe, the oryzeoe, in which the one-flowered spikelets h...

Rice Paper Tree: Beautifully executed paintings of flowers and insects upon a delicate semi-transparent material, and the material itself, were brought from China in the early days of commerce with that country; for t...

Richard Anthony Proctor: Richard Anthony Proctor, an English astronomer, born in Chelsea, March 23, 1837. He was educated at home until his 11th year, and then entered an academy in Milton-on-Thames, where he remained three y...

Richard Aungervyle, Richard De Bury: Richard Aungervyle, Known In History As Richard De Bury, an English statesman and bibliographer, born near Bury St. Edmunds in 1287, died at Bishop's Auckland, April 24,1345. He was educated at Oxford...

Richard Bancroft: Richard Bancroft, an English prelate, born at Farnworth in September, 1544, died in London, Nov. 2,1010. He was chaplain to Sir Christopher Hatton, and afterward to Archbishop Whitgift, through whose ...

Richard Baxter: Richard Baxter, an English nonconformist clergyman and theological writer, born at Row-ton, Shropshire, Nov. 12, 1615, died in London, Dec. 8, 1691. His early bias was toward religious meditation and ...

Richard Bayley: Richard Bayley, an American physician, born at Fairfield, Conn., in 1745, died Aug. 17, 1801. He studied in the hospitals of London, and in 1772 returned to New York and commenced practice, becoming e...

Richard Bellingham: Richard Bellingham, colonial governor of Massachusetts, born in 1592, died Dec. 7, 1672. He was a lawyer, and one of the original patentees of the colony, to which he removed in 1634. In 1635 he was m...

Richard Bentley: Richard Bentley, an English scholar and critic, born at Oulton, near Wakefield, Jan. 27, 1662, died .July 14, 1742. He was entered as a sizar at St. John's college, Cambridge, at the age of 14, gradua...

Richard Brocklesby: Richard Brocklesby, an English physician, born of a Quaker family at Minehead, in Somersetshire, Aug. 11, 1722, died in London, Dec. 11, 1797. He studied medicine at Edinburgh, and subsequently at Ley...

Richard Brothers: Richard Brothers, an English fanatic, born about 1758, died in London, Jan. 25,1824. He had been a lieutenant in the British navy for several years, and quitted the service in 1789. Declining to take ...

Richard Cameron: Richard Cameron, a Scottish preacher, founder of the Cameronians, born in Falkland, Fife-shire, killed July 20, 1680. His father, a small shopkeeper, was an Episcopalian. Cameron followed for a time t...

Richard Caswell: Richard Caswell, an American revolutionary general and statesman, born in Maryland, Aug. 3, 1729, died Nov. 20, 1789. In 1746 he removed to North Carolina, where in 1754 he became a member of the colo...

Richard Challoner: Richard Challoner, an English bishop and historian, born in the diocese of Chichester, Sept. 29, 1691, died in London, Jan. 12, 1781. Having become in his youth a Roman Catholic, he was sent by Dr. Go...

Richard Chandler: Richard Chandler, an English archaeologist, born at Elson, Hampshire, in 1738, died at Tilehurst, Berkshire, Feb. 9,1810. He studied at Winchester and Oxford, held various livings in Hants, travelled ...

Richard Chenevix Trench: Richard Chenevix Trench, a British clergyman, born in Dublin, Sept. 9, 1807. He graduated at Cambridge in 1829, and after spending some years in travel took orders in 1833, and became curate to Hugh J...

Richard Cobden: Richard Cobden, an English statesman, born at Dunford, near Midhurst, Sussex, June 3, 1804, died in London, April 2, 1805. On the death of his father, a small farmer, he was taken charge of by his unc...

Richard Cox: Richard Cox, an English prelate, born at Whaddon about 1500, died in 1581. He was educated at Eton and King's college, Cambridge, and when Christchurch college at Oxford was founded by Cardinal Wolsey...

Richard Crashaw: Richard Crashaw, an English poet and divine, born in London, died in Loretto, Italy, about 1650. The son of an Anglican clergyman, he was educated at the Charterhouse, London, and Pembroke hall, Cambr...

Richard Culley Wellesley: Richard Culley Wellesley, marquis Wellesley, a British statesman, born in Dublin, June 20, 1760, died at Kingston house, Brompton, Sept. 26, 1842. He was the eldest son of Garret, first earl of Mornin...

Richard Dale: Richard Dale, an American naval officer, born near Norfolk, Va., Nov. 6, 1756, died in Philadelphia, Feb. 26,1826. Appointed in 1776 lieutenant in the Virginia navy, he was captured by the English, an...

Richard Dana: Richard Dana, an American jurist, born in Cambridge, Mass., July 7, 1699, died May 17, 1772. He was grandson of Richard Dana, progenitor of the family in America, who settled at Cambridge in 1640. He ...

Richard Doyle: Richard Doyle, an English artist, born in London in 1826. From his father, John Doyle, an able political caricaturist, he inherited a taste for humorous illustration, and a few years after the establi...

Richard Francis Burton: Richard Francis Burton, a British explorer and author, born at Tuam, Ireland, in 1821. He entered the Indian army in 1842 as lieutenant. While stationed in the presidency of Bombay he spent some time ...

Richard Francois Philippe Brunck: Richard Francois Philippe Brunck, a French philologist, born in Strasburg, Dec. 30, 1729, died June 12,1803. He was educated in the college of the Jesuits at Paris, served in Hanover as commissary of ...

Richard Grant White: Richard Grant White, an American author, born in New York, May 22, 1822. He graduated at the university of New York in 1839, studied medicine and law, was admitted to the bar, and became a writer for ...

Richard Hakluyt: Richard Hakluyt, an English author, born about 1553, died Oct. 23, 1616. He was educated at Westminster school and at Oxford university, where he was appointed lecturer on cosmography and was the firs...

Richard Harris Barham: Richard Harris Barham, an English humorist, born at Canterbury, Dec. 6, 1788, died in London, June 17, 1845. He was educated at London and Oxford, studied law, but afterward devoted himself to theolog...

Richard Henry Dana: Richard Henry Dana, an American poet and essayist, son of Chief Justice Dana, born at Cambridge, Mass., Nov. 15, 1787. He was educated at Harvard college, in the class of 1808, but did not complete th...

Richard Henry Horne: Richard Henry Horne, an English author, born in London about 1803. Educated at the royal military college, Sandhurst, he entered the Mexican navy as a midshipman, and served until the conclusion of th...

Richard Hildreth: Richard Hildreth, an American author, born in Deerfield, Mass., June 28, 1807, died in Florence, Italy, July 11, 1805. He graduated at Harvard college in 1826, and while studying law in Newburyport fu...

Richard Hooker: Richard Hooker, an English divine, born at Heavytree, near Exeter, in 1553 or 1554, died at Bishopsbourne, near Canterbury, Nov. 2, 1600. He became a scholar of Corpus Christi college, Oxford, in 1573...

Richard Hurd: Richard Hurd, an English prelate, born at Congreve, Staffordshire, in 1720, died at Har-tlebury in 1808. He was the son of a farmer, and was educated at Cambridge, where he became a fellow of Emmanuel...

Richard I: Richard I, surnamed COeur de Lion (the lion-hearted), second king of England of the line of Plantagenet, born in Oxford, Sept. 13, 1157, died near Limoges, France, April 6, 1199. He was the second son...

Richard II: Richard II, eighth king of England of the house of Plantagenet, born in Bordeaux in 1366, supposed to have been murdered at Pontefract castle in February, 1400. He was the second and only surviving ch...

Richard III: Richard III, last king of England of the Plantagenet line, born at Fotheringay castle, Oct. 2, 1452, killed at the battle of Bosworth field, Aug. 22, 1485. He was the eleventh child and eighth son of ...

Richard Kirwan: Richard Kirwan, an Irish chemist, born in county Galway about the middle of the 18th century, died in Dublin in 1812. He was educated at Trinity college, and at the Jesuits' college of St. Omer in Fra...

Richard Lalor Sheil: Richard Lalor Sheil, an Irish orator, born near Waterford, Aug. 17, 1791, died in Florence, May 23, 1851. He was educated at the Jesuit school of Stonyhurst, Lancashire, and at Trinity college, Dublin...

Richard Lander: Richard Lander, an English traveller, the discoverer of the course of the river Niger in Africa, born in Truro, Cornwall, in 1804, died on the island of Fernando Po in February, 1834. He was brought u...

Richard Lovelace: Richard Lovelace, an English poet, born in Woolwich, Kent, in 1618, died in London in 1658. He graduated at Oxford in 1636, repaired to court, and was there much admired for his amiable disposition an...

Richard Mam: Richard Mam, an English bishop, born in Southampton in 1776, died in November, 1848. He was educated at Winchester and Trinity college, Oxford, and was chosen fellow of Oriel college in 1798. lie beca...

Richard Mentor Johnson: Richard Mentor Johnson, an American statesman, born near Louisville, Ky., Oct. 17, 1780, died in Frankfort, Nov. 19, 1850. He was educated at Transylvania university, and subsequently studied law and ...

Richard Monekton Milnes Houghton: Richard Monekton Milnes Houghton, lord, an English author, born in Yorkshire, June 19, 1809. He graduated at Trinity college, Cambridge, in 1831, entered parliament as member for Pontefract in 1837, a...

Richard Montgomery: Richard Montgomery, an American general, born near Raphoe, Ireland, Dec. 2, 1736, killed in the attack on Quebec, Dec. 31, 1775. At the age of 18 he obtained a commission in the British army. He was a...

Richard Nash: Richard Nash, known as Beau Nash, born in Swansea, Glamorganshire, Oct. 18, 1674, died in Bath, Feb. 3, 1761. After a preliminary education at Carmarthen school, he was entered at Jesus college, Oxfor...

Richard Neville Warwick: Richard Neville Warwick, earl of, surnamed the king-maker, eldest son of Richard Neville, earl of Salisbury, born soon after 1420, killed at the battle of Barnet, April 14, 1471. About 1449 he marri...

Richard Owen: Richard Owen, a British anatomist, born in Lancaster in 1804. He was for some years a pupil of a surgeon in Lancaster, and in 1824 he attended medical lectures at Edinburgh, acquiring a predilection f...

Richard Peters: Richard Peters, an American jurist, born at Blockley, near Philadelphia, Aug. 22, 1744, died there, Aug. 21, 1828. He was educated for the law, but at the breaking out of the revolution became captain...

Richard Porsojv: Richard Porsojv, an English scholar, born at East Ruston, Norfolk, Dec. 25, 1759, died in London, Sept. 25, 1808. At the age of nine he was sent to a village school at Happisburgh, where he remained t...

Richard Price: Richard Price, a British author, born at Tynton, Glamorganshire, Feb. 23, 1723, died in London, March 19, 1791. He was the son of a dissenting Calvinistic minister, and studied at a dissenting academy...

Richard Robert Madden: Richard Robert Madden, an Irish author, born in Dublin in 1798. In 1829 he became a fellow of the royal college of surgeons. From 1833 to 1847 he was employed in the civil service, especially in conne...

Richard Rothe: Richard Rothe, a German theologian, born in Posen, Jan. 28, 1799, died in Heidelberg, Aug. 20, 1867. He studied theology in Heidelberg, Berlin, and Wittenberg, was chaplain of the Prussian embassy in ...

Richard Savage: Richard Savage, an English poet, born in London, Jan. 10, 1698, died in Bristol, July 31, 1743. According to his own story, he was the illegitimate offspring of Anne, countess of Macclesfield, and Ric...

Richard Simon: Richard Simon, a French Biblical critic, born in Dieppe, May 13, 1638, died there, April 11, 1712. He entered the congregation of the Oratory in 1.662, was professor of philosophy successively in the ...

Richard Southwell Bourke Mayo: Richard Southwell Bourke Mayo, earl of, a British statesman, born in Dublin, Ireland, Feb. 21, 1822, assassinated at Port Blair, Andaman islands, Feb. 8, 1872. He graduated M. A. at Trinity college, D...

Richard Taylor: Richard Taylor, an English printer, born in Norwich, May 18, 1781, died in Richmond, Dec. 1, 1858. He studied the classical and other languages and literature while learning the printer's trade in Lon...

Richard Watson: Richard Watson, an English prelate, born at Heversham, Westmoreland, in August, 1737, died at Calgarth park, Westmoreland, July 4, 1816. He was educated at Cambridge, where in 1764 he became professor...

Richard Whately: Richard Whately, an English prelate, born in London, Feb. 1, 1787, died in Dublin, Oct. 8, 1863. He graduated at Oxford in 1808, became a fellow of Oriel college in 1811, was appointed Bampton lecture...

Richland: Richland, the name of counties in six of the United States. I. A Central County Of South Carolina A Central County Of South Carolina, bordered W. and S. W. by the Congaree river and E. by the Watere...

Richmond: Richmond, the name of counties in four of the United States. I. The Southernmost County Of New York The Southernmost County Of New York, comprising Staten island, Shooter's island at the entrance of...

Richmond (2): Richmond, a city, port of entry, and the capital of Virginia and of Henrico co., the largest city in the state, on the N. bank of James river, here crossed by five bridges, at the head of tide water, ...

Richmond (3): Richmond, a city and the county seat of Wayne co., Indiana, on the E. side of the east branch of Whitewater river, 68 m. E. of Indianapolis; pop. in 1850, 1,443; in 1860, 6,603; in 1870, 9,445; in 187...

Rickets: Rickets (Lat. rachitis, from Gr. , the back bone), a disease of children characterized by an arrest of ossification, and leading to deformity, chiefly of the lower limbs. Rickets rarely occurs befor...

Ricrarees, Or Ricarees: Ricrarees, Or Ricarees, called also Aricaras, Rees, and Black Pawnees, a tribe of Indians of the Pawnee family, living on the Upper Missouri. They are said to call themselves Star-rahhé and also Pauan...

Riedesel: I. Friedrich Adolph Von Friedrich Adolph Von, baron, a German general in the British service, born at Lauterbach in the grand duchy of Hesse, June 3, 1738, died in Brunswick, Jan. 6, 1800. He left hi...

Riesengebirge: Riesengebirge (Giant mountains), a range of mountains partly separating Prussian Silesia from Bohemia, and with the Lusatian range forming a continuation E. of the river Elbe of the Erzgebirge range W...

Rifle: Rifle (Dan., Rifle or Riffel, a chamfer; Ger. reifeln or riffeln, to chamfer or groove), a term applied solely until within the past 25 years to small arms, the surfaces of whose bores are spirally gr...

Riga: Riga, a city of Russia, capital of Livonia, on the right bank of the Düna, about 8 m. from the gulf of Riga, and 300 m. S. W. of St. Petersburg; pop. in 1867, 102,043, of whom 47,000 were Germans, 25,...

Right Of Petition: Right Of Petition, the right of the citizen to petition to those in authority for a redress of grievances. In free countries this is usually regarded as a valuable right, and one to which every person...

Right Of Search: Right Of Search, the right of a belligerent to visit, by his lawfully commissioned cruisers, all private ships sailing on the high seas, and to examine their papers, and their cargoes if need be, in o...

Rights Of Common: Rights Of Common, the use for certain purposes of land belonging to another. In the ancient law they were designated as common of pasture, of piscary, of turbary, and of estovers, and this classificat...

Ring: Ring (Ang. Sax. hring), a circular ornament worn on the finger. The finger ring has been more intimately associated with the most important interests of life than any other ornament. In ancient times ...

Ring Philip: Ring Philip, sachem of Pokanoket, youngest son of Massasoit, and the successor of his brother Alexander, killed at Mount Hope, R. I., Aug. 12, 1676. His Indian name was Pome-tacom, but his father was ...

Rio Colorado, Or Colorado River Of The West Colorado: Rio Colorado, Or Colorado River Of The West Colorado, a river formed by the junction of the Green and Grand rivers in S. E. Utah, about lat. 38 N., lon. 110 W. Green river rises in the Rocky...

Rio De Janeiro: I. A Province Of Brazil A Province Of Brazil, lying between lat. 20 50' and 23 25' S., and lon. 40 50' and 44 40' W., bounded N. by Es-pirito Santo, N. W. by Minas Geraes, S. W. b...

Rio De La Silver River (Plata): Rio De La Silver River (Plata), a river (or more properly an estuary) of South America, between Uruguay and the Argentine Eepublic, having Montevideo, the capital of the former, on its N. bank near th...

Rio Doce: Rio Doce, a river of Brazil, rising at the base of Mt. Itacolumi, S. E. of the city of Ouro Preto, province of Minas Geraes. It flows N. 180 m., then bends first E., afterward S. E., then N. E., flowi...

Rio Grande Del Norte, Or Rio Bravo Del Norte: Rio Grande Del Norte, Or Rio Bravo Del Norte, commonly called simply the Rio Grande, a river of North America, rising in the S. W. part of Colorado, between the La Plata and San Juan mountain ranges. ...

Rio Grande Do Norte: Rio Grande Do Norte, a maritime province of Brazil, bounded N. and E. by the Atlantic, S. by Parahyba, and W. by Ceará; area about 18,000 sq. m.; pop. in 1871, about 230,000, of whom about 13,500 were...

Rio Negro: See Rio Negeo. Rio Negro #1 I. A River Of South America A River Of South America, an affluent of the Amazon, which rises in the Sierra Tunuhy, an isolated group of hills in the state of Cundinamarc...

Riot: Riot (Norman law Lat. riota, riotum; Fr. riotte, a brawl), in law, a tumultuous disturbance of the peace by three persons or more, who have assembled together of their own authority, for the purpose o...

Riparian: Riparian (Lat. ripa, the bank of a river), in law, a term relating to the rights and privileges of persons who own lands lying upon or bounded by streams or rivers. At the common law all bays and arms...

Ripley: I. A S. E. County Of Indiana A S. E. County Of Indiana, intersected by Laughery creek; area, about 450 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 20,977. It has a generally level surface, and the soil is fertile. It is t...

Ritualism: Ritualism, the science of the rites embodied in a ritual or book of rites. The term is popularly, though inaccurately, applied to a movement in churches of the Anglican communion, the three successive...

Riyad, Or Riad: Riyad, Or Riad, a city of Arabia, capital of the sultanate of Nedjed, in the province of Aared, lat. 24 38' 34 N, lon. 46 41' 48 E.; pop. estimated by Palgrave in 1862 at 40,000. It is a n...

Rnggiero Ginseppe Boscovich: Rnggiero Ginseppe Boscovich, an Italian natural philosopher, born at Ragusa, May 18, 1711, died in Milan, Feb. 12, 1787. He was a member of the society of Jesus, a distinguished mathematician and astr...

Roach: Roach, a fish of the carp family (cyprinidoe) and genus leuciscus (Klein). The generic characters have been given under Dace. The common roach of Europe (L. rutilus, Klein) attains a length of 10 to 1...

Road: Road, a solid pathway for the transportation of passengers and commodities. Roads are of various kinds, the degree of perfection to which they have been carried generally corresponding to the degree o...

Roane: I. A W. County Of West Virginia A W. County Of West Virginia, intersected by branches of the Kanawha and De Kalb rivers; area, about 450 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 7,232, of whom 23 were colored. The surf...

Of Roanoke Randolph John: Of Roanoke Randolph John, an American orator, born at Cawsons, Chesterfield co., Va., June 2, 1773, died in Philadelphia, June 24, 1833. He was educated at Princeton, at Columbia college, New York, an...

Robbery: Robbery, in law, a felonious taking of money or goods, of any value, from the person of another or in his presence, against his will, by violence or putting him in fear. The characteristic feature of ...

Robert Aspland: Robert Aspland, an English dissenting minister, born in Cambridgeshire, Jan. 23, 1782, died Dec. 30, 1845. In 1799 he entered the university of Aberdeen, but in the following year he resigned his scho...

Robert Baillie: Robert Baillie, a Scottish theologian, born at Glasgow in 1599, died in July, 1662. He was educated at the Glasgow university and ordained by Archbishop Law in 1622. In the religious controversies of ...

Robert Baird: Robert Baird, D. D., an American clergyman and author, born of Scotch parentage in Fayette county, Penn., Oct. 6, 1798, died at Yonkers, N. Y., Nov. 15, 1863. He was educated at Jefferson college, Pen...

Robert Blake: Robert Blake, an English admiral, born at Bridge water, Somersetshire, in August, 1599, died off Plymouth, Aug. 17,1657. He was the eldest son of a wealthy merchant, and was educated at Oxford. Althou...

Robert Bloomfifxd: Robert Bloomfifxd, an English pastoral poet, born at Honington, Suffolk, Dec. 3, 1766, died at Bhefford, Bedfordshire, Aug. 19, 1823. At an early age he lost his father, a tailor, and was taught to re...

Robert Blum: Robert Blum, a German revolutionist, born in Cologne, Nov. 10, 1807, executed in Vienna, Nov. 9, 1848. He was the son of a journeyman cooper, and at the age of twelve obtained employment as mass serva...

Robert Bonner: Robert Bonner, an American journalist, born near Londonderry, Ireland, April 28, 1824. In 1839 he came to Hartford, Conn., where his uncle was a prosperous farmer, and entered the printing office of t...

Robert Brown: Robert Brown, an English Puritan theologian, founder of the sect of Brownists, born about 1550, died about 1630. His family was nearly connected with Cecil, afterward Lord Burleigh. He studied at Corp...

Robert Browning: Robert Browning, an English poet, born in Camberwell, a suburb of London, in 1812. He was educated at the London university. At the age of 20 he went to Italy, where he remained some years, in order t...

Robert Buchanan: Robert Buchanan, a Scottish poet, born Aug. 18, 1841. He was educated at the high school and the university of Glasgow, and in his 20th year published a volume of poems entitled Undertones, followed...

Robert Burns: Robert Burns, a Scottish poet, born near Ayr, Jan. 25, 1759, died at Dumfries, July 21, 1796. His parents were peasants of the poorest class, but eager for the moral and intellectual improvement of th...

Robert Burton: Robert Burton, an English clergyman and author, born at Lindley, Leicestershire, Feb. 8, 1576, died in Oxford in .1639 or 1640, about the time which, having cast his own nativity, he had himself predi...

Robert Called Barclay Of Ury (Barclay): Robert Called Barclay Of Ury (Barclay), a distinguished member of the society of Friends, born at Gordonstown, Scotland, Dec. 23, 1648, died at Ury, Oct. 13, 1690. He was sent for his education to the...

Robert Cavelier La Salle: Robert Cavelier La Salle, sieur de, a French explorer, born in Rouen in November, 1643, killed in Texas, March 19, 1687. He is said to have forfeited his patrimony by becoming a Jesuit; but he withdre...

Robert Cecil: Robert Cecil, earl of Salisbury, an English statesman, son of Lord Burleigh by Mildred, his second wife, born about the middle of the 16th century, died at Marlborough, May 24, 1012. He was of weakly ...

Robert Charles Dallas: Robert Charles Dallas, a British author, brother of A. J. Dallas, born at Kingston, Jamaica, in 1754, died at St. Adresse, Normandy, Oct. 21, 1824. He was educated at Kensington, England, entered the ...

Robert Cornelis Napier Napier Of Magdala: Robert Cornelis Napier Napier Of Magdala, baron, a British general, born in Ceylon, Dec. 6, 1810. His father was a major in the royal artillery, and he was educated in the royal military academy at Ad...

Robert Dinwiddie: Robert Dinwiddie, lieutenant governor of Virginia, born in Scotland about 1690, died at Clifton, England, Aug. 1, 1770. While acting as clerk to a collector of the customs in the British West Indies, ...

Robert Dodsley: Robert Dodsley, an English publisher and author, born at Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, in 1703, died in Durham, Sept. 25, 1764. He was originally a servant, but produced in 1732 a volume of poems, under...

Robert Edward Lee: Robert Edward Lee, an American soldier, son of Col. Henry Lee, born at Stafford, Westmoreland co., Va., June 19, 1807, died in Lexington, Va., Oct. 12, 1870. He entered West Point in 1825, and graduat...

Robert Everett Pattison: Robert Everett Pattison, an American clergyman, born in Benson, Vt., Aug. 19, 1800, died in St. Louis, Mo., Nov. 21, 1874. He graduated at Amherst college in 1826, was appointed a tutor in Columbian c...

Robert Goodloe Harper: Robert Goodloe Harper, an American lawyer and statesman, born near Fredericksburg, Va., in 1705, died in Baltimore, Md., Jan. 15, 1825. His parents during his childhood removed to Granville, N. C. In ...

Robert Gordon Latham: Robert Gordon Latham, an English philologist and ethnologist, born at Billingborough, Lincolnshire, in 1812. He was educated at Cambridge, and subsequently took the degree of M. D. He then travelled i...

Robert Greene: Robert Greene, an English dramatist and miscellaneous writer, born at Ipswich about 1560, died in London, Sept. 3, 1592. He was educated at Cambridge, and studied for a while also at Oxford. Although ...

Robert Guiscard: Robert Guiscard, the founder of the kingdom of Naples, born about 1015, died July 17, 1085. His father, Tancred de Hauteville, a petty Norman baron, had twelve sons, of whom Robert was the sixth. As t...

Robert Hall: Robert Hall, an English preacher, born at Arnsby, Leicestershire, May 2, 1764, died in Bristol, Feb. 21, 1831. While still a boy his favorite works were Edwards On the Will and Butler's Analogy, w...

Robert Hamilton: Robert Hamilton, a Scottish mathematician born in Edinburgh about 1742, died in Aberdeen, July 14, 1829. In 1766 ho became so favorably known as a mathematician that, although but 23 years of age, he ...

Robert Hare: Robert Hare, an American physicist, born in Philadelphia, Jan. 17, 1781, died there, May 15, 1858. His father, an English emigrant, settled in Philadelphia, and established there an extensive brewery,...

Robert Harley: Robert Harley, earl of Oxford, a British statesman, born in London, Dec. 5, 1G61, died May 21,1724. He was of an old Puritan family of Herefordshire, his father and grandfather having taken arms on th...

Robert Henryson: Robert Henryson, a Scottish poet of the 15th century. Of the particulars of his life and the time of his death little or nothing is known. Dunbar, in his Lament (1508), speaks of gude Mr. Robert He...

Robert Herrick: Robert Herrick, an English poet, born in London, Aug. 20, 1591, died in October, 1674. He studied at Cambridge, and for many years after leaving the university seems to have pursued a gay and dissipat...

Robert Hoore: Robert Hoore, an English mathematician, born at Freshwater, Isle of Wight, July 18, 1635, died at Gresham college, London, March 3, 1703. His father, a clergyman, destined him for the church; but his ...

Robert Houdin: Robert Houdin, a French conjurer, born in Blois, Dec. 6, 1805, died there in June, 1871. His father, a watchmaker, gave him a good education at the college of Orleans, and at 18 years of age placed hi...

Robert James Walker: Robert James Walker, an American statesman, born in Northumberland, Pa., July 19, 1801, died in Washington, D. C, Nov. 11, 1869. He graduated at the university of Pennsylvania in 1819, and was admitte...

Robert Jameson: Robert Jameson, a Scottish naturalist, born in Leith, July 11, 1774, died April 17, 1854. He studied medicine in the university of Edinburgh, and after some mineralogical explorations in Scotland went...

Robert Langelandeor Longland Langlande: Robert Langelandeor Longland Langlande, the supposed author of the Vision of Piers Ploughman, born at Cleobury Mortimer, Shropshire, in the first half of the 14th century. Nothing is known of him e...

Robert Leighton: Robert Leighton, a Scottish prelate, born in Edinburgh in 1611, died in London, June 26, 1684. He was educated at the university of Edinburgh, in 1641 became pastor of a Presbyterian church, and in 16...

Robert Lowe: Robert Lowe, an English statesman, born at Bingham, Notts, where his father was rector, in 1811. He was educated at Winchester and Oxford, graduating in 1833. In 1835 he became a fellow of Magdalen co...

Robert Mercer Taliaferro Hunter: Robert Mercer Taliaferro Hunter, an American statesman, born in Essex co., Va., April 21, 1809. He graduated at the university of Virginia, studied law, and commenced practice in 1830. Having served i...

Robert Moffat: Robert Moffat, a Scottish missionary, horn at Inverkeithing, Fifeshire, in 1795. He was reared in the Secession church, but his religious associations from 1811 till 1816 were largely with the Methodi...

Robert Morris: Robert Morris, an American financier, and a signer of the Declaration of Independence, born in Lancashire, England, Jan. 20, 1734, died in Philadelphia, May 8, 1806. When 13 years old he came to Ameri...

Robert Morrison: Robert Morrison, an English missionary, born in Morpeth, Northumberland, Jan. 5, 1782, died in Canton, Aug. 1, 1834. He was apprenticed to his father as a last maker, but commenced the study of theolo...

Robert Murray Mccheyne: Robert Murray Mccheyne, a Scottish clergyman, born in Edinburgh, May 21, 1813, died in Dundee, March 25, 1843. He entered the Edinburgh university in 1827, where, besides the usual course, he studied ...

Robert Napier: Robert Napier, a Scottish engineer, born in Dumbarton, June 18, 1791. The son of a blacksmith, he preferred serving an apprenticeship to that trade to going to college. In 1811 he went to Edinburgh, b...

Robert Newton: Robert Newton, an English clergyman, born at Roxby, Yorkshire, Sept. 8, 1780, died April 30, 1854. With a limited education he began to preach in 1798, and in 1799 was received into the British confer...

Robert Nieolas Charles Bochsa: Robert Nieolas Charles Bochsa, a harpist and composer, bom at Montmedy, France, Aug. 8, 1789, died in Australia in June, 1856. When 7 years old he performed in public on the pianoforte, and at 12 had ...

Robert Ollara Burke: Robert Ollara Burke, an Australian explorer, born in county Gal way, Ireland, in 1821, died in Australia in June, 1861. He received a collegiate education in Belgium, served in the Austrian army, was ...

Robert Parker Parrott: Robert Parker Parrott, an American inventor, born in Lee, N. H., Oct. 5, 1804. He graduated at the United States military academy in 1824, became second lieutenant of artillery, and served at the acad...

Robert Payne Smith: Robert Payne Smith, an English orientalist, born in Gloucestershire in November, 1818. He graduated at Pembroke college, Oxford, in 1841, took orders, was curate of Trinity church and master of the ac...

Robert Philippe Lonis Engene Ferdinand Dorleans Chartres: Robert Philippe Lonis Engene Ferdinand Dorleans Chartres, duke de, a French prince, second son of the late duke of Orleans and grandson of Louis Philippe, born in Paris, Nov. 9, 1840. Having lost his ...

Robert Plumer Ward: Robert Plumer Ward, an English author, born in London, March 19, 1765, died at Okeover hall, Aug. 13, 1846. He was educated at Oxford, and in 1790 was admitted to the bar. In 1805 he was appointed one...

Robert Pollok: Robert Pollok, a Scottish author, born at Muirhouse, Eaglesham parish, Renfrewshire, in 1799, died near Southampton, Sept. 15,1827. He graduated at the university of Glasgow, studied theology there, a...

Robert Roberto Bellarmino (Bellarmin): Robert Roberto Bellarmino (Bellarmin), an Italian theologian and cardinal, born of a, noble family at Monte Pulciano, near Florence, Oct. 4, 1542, died in Rome, Sept. 17, 162l He was the nephew of Po...

Robert Schumann: Robert Schumann, a German composer, born in Zwickau in 1810, died at Endenich, near Bonn, July 29, 1856. His father was a bookseller and publisher. At the age of eleven he wrote little choral and orch...

Robert Shelton Mackenzie: Robert Shelton Mackenzie, an American journalist, born at Drew's Court, county Limerick, Ireland, June 22, 1809. He was educated at Fermoy, and at the age of 13 was apprenticed to a surgeon apothecary...

Robert Southwell: Robert Southwell, an English author, born at Horsham St. Faith's, Norfolk, in 1500, executed at Tyburn, Feb. 21, 1595. He was educated at Douai, became a Jesuit at Rome in 1578, was appointed rector o...

Robert Stewart Castlereagh: Robert Stewart Castlereagh, viscount and marquis of Londonderry, a British statesman, born at the family seat of Mount Stewart, county Down, Ireland, June 18, 1709, died by his own hand at his seat of...

Robert T Conrad: Robert T Conrad, an American jurist and author, born in Philadelphia, June 10, 1810, died June 27, 1858. While studying law, he wrote his first tragedy, Conrad of Naples, which was produced successf...

Robert Toombs: Robert Toombs, an American politician, born in Washington, Wilkes co., Ga., July 2, 1810. He graduated at Union college, Schenectady, in 1828, studied law at the university of Virginia, and commenced ...

Robert Turn Bull: Robert Turn Bull, an American clergyman, born at Whiteburn, Linlithgowshire, Scotland, Sept. 10, 1809. He graduated at Glasgow university, studied theology, preached for a short time in Scotland and E...

Robert Vaughan: Robert Vaughan, an English clergyman, born in 1795, died in June, 1868. He was educated for the ministry at Bristol college, was for six years pastor at Worcester, some years later was minister of the...

Robert Walter Weir: Robert Walter Weir, an American painter, born in New Rochelle, N. Y., June 18, 1803. He studied in Italy in 1824-'7, and on his return opened a studio in New York. In 1834 he was appointed instructor,...

Robert Wilhelm Bunsen: Robert Wilhelm Bunsen, a German chemist, cousin of the preceding, born in Gottingen, March 31, 1811. His father was professor of oriental languages and literature at the university of Gottingen, and t...

Robert William Elliston: Robert William Elliston, an English actor, born in London, April 7, 1774, died there, July 7, 1831. He was educated at St. Paul's school, but at the age of 17 ran away and joined a theatrical company ...

Robert Young Hayne: Robert Young Hayne, an American statesman, born in St. Paul's parish, Colleton district, S. C, Nov. 10, 1791, died in Asheville, N. C, in. September, 1840. He was educated in Charleston, and was admit...

Roberto Ridolfi: Roberto Ridolfi, an Italian conspirator, born in Florence about 1520. He settled in London as a merchant and banker in 1554, acted there as secret agent for the pope and other continental princes, and...

Robertson: I. A Central County Of Texas A Central County Of Texas, bordered E. by the Navasoto river and W. by the Brazos, and drained by their branches; area, 840 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 9,990, of whom 4,530 wer...

Robin: Robin, a name applied in the old world to several small dentirostral birds of the family of warblers, and subfamily erythacinoe. In these the bill is short, slender, tapering, depressed at the base, s...

Robin Hood: Robin Hood, an English outlaw, supposed to have lived at the end of the 12th and beginning of the 13th century The traditions concerning him are mostly embodied in the account given by Stow : In this...

Robinson: I. Edward Edward, an American Biblical scholar, born at Southington, Conn., April 10, 1794, died in New York, Jan. 27, 1863. He graduated at Hamilton college, Clinton, N. Y., in 1816, and served for ...

Robley Dunglison: Robley Dunglison, an American physician and author, born at Keswick, England, Jan. 4, 1798, died in Philadelphia, April 1, 1869. He graduated in medicine at Erlangen, Germany, in 1823, and in 1824 was...

Rochambeau: I. Jean Baptists Donation De Vimeur Jean Baptists Donation De Vimeur, count de, a French soldier, born in Vendôme, July 1, 1725, died at Thoré, near that city, May 10, 1807. He entered the army in 17...

Rochdale: Rochdale, a town of Lancashire, England, on both sides of the river Roch, 10 m. N. N. E. of Manchester; pop. in 1871, 44,559. A parliamentary act in 1872 extended the municipal borough over the distri...

Rochester: Rochester, a city, port of entry, and the capital of Monroe co., New York, on the Genesee river, 7 m. from its mouth in Lake Ontario and 229 m. by railroad W. N. W. of Albany; pop. in 1815, 331; in 18...

Rock: I. A S. County Of Wisconsin A S. County Of Wisconsin, bordering on Illinois, intersected N. and S. nearly in the middle by Rock river, and drained by its branches; area, about 750 sq. m.; pop. in 187...

Rocks (2): Rocks, in geology, the solid mineral masses which make up the earth's crust. These may be considered both geologically and minera-logically; mineralogy is the natural history of all such bodies as do ...

Rock Island: Rock Island, a N. W. county of Illinois, separated from Iowa on the N. W. by the Mississippi river, and intersected by Rock river; area, about 350 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 29,783. The surface is rolling ...

Rocket: Rocket, a projectile which is set in motion by a force residing within itself, thus performing the twofold functions of piece and projectile. Rockets are used as night signals, missiles of war, and in...

Rockford: Rockford, a city and the county seat of Winnebago co., Illinois, on both sides of Rock river, here crossed by a fine iron bridge, and at the intersection of the Chicago and Northwestern railroad, the ...

Rockingham: I. A S. E. County Of New Hampshire A S. E. County Of New Hampshire, bordered E. by the Atlantic and S. by Massachusetts, and separated from Maine on the northeast by the Piscataqua river; area, about...

Rockland: Rockland, a S. E. county of New York, bordered E. by the Hudson river and S. W. by New Jersey, and drained by the Hackensack and Ramapo rivers and several smaller streams; area, 208 sq. m.; pop. in 18...

Rocky Mountains: Rocky Mountains, a name applied indefinitely to a long series of mountain ranges west of the Mississippi, of a great variety of form and structure. The term Stony mountains was originally used without...

Rocky Mountain Locust: Rocky Mountain Locust, an insect belonging to the same family (locustidae of West-wood, acrididae of later authors) as the locusts of the old world and of Scripture. It is the only species in this cou...

Rodentia: Rodentia (Lat., from rodere, to gnaw), an order of mammals characterized by the chisel shape of the incisors, adapted for gnawing the hard vegetable substances upon which they principally feed, such a...

Rodney: I. Caesar Caesar, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, born in Dover, Del., about 1730, died there in 1784. His grandfather, William Rodney, came from Bristol to Kent co., Del., soon after Pe...

Roebuck: Roebuck, a small European deer of the genus capreolus (H. Smith), the G. caproea of Gray, and the chevreuil of the French. The horns are small, nearly erect, cylindrical, slightly branched, with a ver...

Rogers: I. James Biythe James Biythe, an American chemist, born in Philadelphia, Feb. 22, 1803, died there, June 15, 1852. He received the degree of M. D. at the university of Maryland, and was successively ...

Roger Bacon: Roger Bacon, an English Franciscan scholar, born near Ilchester, Somersetshire, in 1214, died at Oxford in 1292 or 1294. At an early age he was sent to Oxford, and thence he went to the university of ...

Roger Mortimer: Roger Mortimer, baron of Wigmore, earl of March, the favorite of Isabella, queen consort of Edward II. of England, executed at Smith-field, Nov. 29, 1330. He was convicted of treason in the reign of E...

Roger Sherman: Roger Sherman, an American statesman, born in Newton, Mass., April 19, 1721, died in New Haven, Conn., July 23, 1793. He was a shoemaker till after he was 22 years old. In 1743 he removed to New Milfo...

Roger Williams: Roger Williams, the founder of the colony of Rhode Island, born in Wales in 1599 (and not in 1606, as supposed by Dr. Elton), died in Rhode Island in 1683. At an early age he went to London, and attra...

Rohilcund: Rohilcund, the country of the Rohillas, in British India, W. of Oude, N. and E. of the Ganges, and S. of Kumaon and Gurhwal, now comprised in a commissionership or administrative division of the North...

Roland: Roland, called by the Italians Orlando, a paladin of the court of Charlemagne, and one of the most famous heroes of the chivalric romances of the middle ages. According to tradition, he was a nephew o...

Roman Catholic Church: Roman Catholic Church, the name popularly given to the body of Christians throughout the world in communion with the bishop of Rome. It is not assumed by the church herself. The holy Roman church is u...

Roman Emperor For A Short Time Under The Name Of Marcus Didius Commodus Severus Julianus Marcus Didius Salvius Julianus: Roman Emperor For A Short Time Under The Name Of Marcus Didius Commodus Severus Julianus Marcus Didius Salvius Julianus, born about A. D. 133, killed June 1, 193. Having filled successively the office...

Roman Emperor Of The West Flavius Popilius Magnentius: Roman Emperor Of The West Flavius Popilius Magnentius, died in August, 353. He is said to have been of a German family of Gaul, and taken captive by Constantius Chlorus or Con-stantine. Under the latt...

Romance Languages: Romance Languages, also called Romanic languages, tongues developed from Latin through admixture of Germanic, Celtic, and other idioms. They are Provençal, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Wallac...

Romansh, Or Roumansh: Romansh, Or Roumansh, also called Roma-nese and Rhaeto-Romanic, a language spoken in the Grisons, Switzerland, and the bordering districts of Tyrol, comprising a portion of ancient Rhaetia. Though it ...

Rome: Rome, a city and one of the county seats of Oneida co., New York, on the W. bank of the Mohawk river (which here changes from a S. to a S. E. course), at the junction of the Erie and Black River canal...

Rome (2): Rome (Lat. and It. Roma), the chief city of ancient Italy, ultimately the capital of the Roman empire, and now the capital of the kingdom of Italy. Its origin is lost in the mists of antiquity, for mo...

Romilly: I. Sir Samuel Sir Samuel, an English jurist, born in London, March 1, 1757, died there by his own hand, Nov. 2, 1818. He was descended from French Protestant refugees, was distinguished as a chancery...

Romulus: Romulus, the legendary founder of Rome. Amulius, the younger son of Procas, king of Alba Longa, after the death of his father seized on the throne rightfully belonging to his brother Numitor, and made...

Roof: Roof, the covering of a building. Roofs are very various in form, material, and.construction. The rude dwellings of barbarous tribes are usually covered with the branches of trees. In tropical climate...

Rook: See Kur. Rook #1 Rook (corvus frugilegus, Linn.), a bird of the crow family, about the size, form, and color of the common crow, from which it differs principally in having the base of the bill cove...

Root: Root, in mathematics, a term used in two different though related senses. I. In arithmetic a root is the inverse of a power; thus 16 is the fourth power of 2, and 2 is the fourth root of 16; 9 is the ...

Rope: Rope, a large cord, formed by twisting together a collection of vegetable or animal fibres or metallic wires. The smaller cords are called twines and lines, and all are included under the general name...

Roric Figures: Roric Figures (Lat. ros, dew), a name applied to certain curious images rendered manifest upon breathing on polished solid surfaces, when these have been previously exposed to contact with or close pr...

Rorqual: Rorqual, the largest of the whale family, distinguished from the Greenland or right whale (baloena mysticetus, Linn.) by the presence of a dorsal fin, and by nearly parallel longitudinal folds extendi...

Ross: Ross, a S. county of Ohio, intersected by Scioto river and drained by Paint creek; area, about 650 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 37,097. It has a diversified surface, and the soil, especially in the valley of...

Rosario: Rosario, a city of the Argentine Republic, in the province of Santa Fé, on the right bank of the Paraná, 170 m. N. W. of Buenos Ayres; pop. about 40,000, including many foreigners. In 1854, when it co...

Rosary: Rosary (Lat. rosarium), the name given by Roman Catholics to a certain form of prayers recited on a string of beads, and to the beads themselves. This form of prayer was instituted in the 13th century...

Roscoe: I. William William, an English historian, born near Liverpool, March 8, 1753, died in Liverpool, June 27, 1831. In 1774 he was admitted an attorney of the court of king's bench, and commenced practic...

Roscommon: Roscommon, an unorganized county of N. Michigan, drained by the south branch of the Au Sable and some of the head waters of the Muskegon and Titibawasee rivers; area, 625 sq. m.; returned as having no...

Rose: Rose, the common name for plants of the genus rosa, the ancient Latin name, which has been adopted into most European languages. The genus gives its name to the family rosaceoe, which includes most of...

Rose (2): I. Heinrich Heinrich, a German chemist, born in Berlin in 1795, died there, Jan. 29, 1864. His grandfather, Valentin Rose the elder, and his father, Valentin Rose the younger, were distinguished chem...

Rose Bug: Rose Bug, a diurnal beetle of the melolon-thian group, the melolontha subspinosa (Fab.) or macrodactylus subspinosus (Lat.). It is about 7/20 of an inch long, buff yellow above and white below, with a...

Rose Marie Cizos Cheri: Rose Marie Cizos Cheri, a French actress, born at Etampes, Oct. 27, 1824, died at Passy, Sept. 22, 1801. The daughter of an actor, she appeared on the stage in 1830, and was afterward greatly admired ...

Rose Of Jericho: See Rose of Jericho. Rose Of Jericho #1 Rose Of Jericho, a trivial name for an oriental plant of the cruciferoe or mustard family, anastatica hierochuntina (Gr. , resurrection), the only species o...

Rosemary: Rosemary (Lat. rosmarinus, dew of the sea, the plant growing wild upon the Mediterranean coast), a genus of the labiate family, consisting of a single species, rosmarinus officinalis. Rosemary is a sh...

Rosenmuller: I. Johann Georg Johann Georg, a German theologian, born at Ummerstädt, near Hildburg-hausen, Dec. 18, 1736, died in Leipsic, March 14, 1815. He became professor of theology at Erlangen in 1775, at Gi...

Rosewood: Rosewood, the name under which several costly kinds of ornamental wood are found in commerce, coming from different countries and afforded by various known and unknown trees of different species and f...

Rosicrucians: Rosicrucians, the name of a secret society first known in the 17th century. In Chy-mische Hochzeit Christiani Rosenkreuz (1816), ascribed to J. V. Andreae, there is a story of a certain Christian Rose...

Rosin: Rosin, the residue after the distillation of the volatile oil from the turpentine of different species of pines. It is rather an incidental product of the preparation of the oil of turpentine, which, ...

Rossetti: I. Gabriele Gabriele, an Italian poet, born in the Abruzzi, March 1, 1783, died in London, April 26, 1854. He was director of the museum of Naples from 1814 to 1821, when he was exiled, and in 1824 h...

Roswell Dwight Hitchcock: Roswell Dwight Hitchcock, an American clergyman, born at East Machias, Me., Aug. 15, 1817. He graduated at Amherst college in 1836, and in 1838-'9 was a member of the theological seminary at Andover. ...

Rotterdam: Rotterdam, a city of the Netherlands, in the province of South Holland, on the Maas, 18 m. from the sea and 36 m. S. W. of Amsterdam; pop. in 1870, 116,232; in 1873 (estimated), 125,893. It is remarka...

Rouen: Rouen (anc. Rotomagus), a city of France, capital of the department of Seine-Inférieure, on the right bank of the Seine, 67 m. N. W. of Paris; pop. in 1872, 102,470. It stands on a gentle acclivity sl...

Rouge: I. A pink cosmetic for the cheeks. Varieties are prepared from carmine and from the dried leaves of the safflower or carthamus. The latter furnish the delicate sort known as vegetable rouge. The leave...

Rouge Et Noir: Rouge Et Noir (Fr., red and black), Trente-un (thirty-one), or Trente et Quarante (thirty and forty), a game of chance played with cards upon a table marked with two large spots of red and black (when...

Roulette: Roulette (Fr., a little wheel), a game of chance, which from the end of the 18th century till 1838, when it was forbidden by law, was the principal gambling game in Paris. It was the leading game in t...

Roumania: Roumania, a state of S. E. Europe, tributary to Turkey, consisting of the united Danu-bian principalities Wallachia and Moldavia (including that portion of Bessarabia which was annexed from Russia in ...

Rovigo: I. A N. E. Province Of Italy A N. E. Province Of Italy, in Venetia, bordering on Verona, Padua, Venice, the Adriatic, Ferrara, and Mantua; area, 651 sq. m.; pop. in 1872, 200,835. The Po and the Adig...

Rowan: I. A W. County Of North Carolina A W. County Of North Carolina, bordered partly on the E. by the Yadkin, and N. E. by the South Yadkin; area, about 600 sq. m.; pop in 1870, 16,810, of whom 5,307 were...

Rowing: Rowing, the art of propelling a boat by means of oars. In the Greek and Roman galleys the oars were arranged in banks, of which different galleys had from 2 to 12, and more. (See Galley.) In all civil...

Rowland Gibson Hazard: Rowland Gibson Hazard, an American manufacturer and author, born in South Kingston, R. I., Oct. 9, 1801. He has been engaged from his youth in mercantile and manufacturing pursuits, in which he has ac...

Rowland Hill: Rowland Hill, an English clergyman, born at Hawkestone, near Shrewsbury, Aug. 12, 1744, died April 11, 1833. He was educated at Eton and Cambridge. He early showed a predilection for the Methodists, a...

Rowland Williaris: Rowland Williaris, an English clergyman, born at Halkyn, Flintshire, Aug. 16, 1817, died at Broad Chalk, near Salisbury, Jan. 18, 1870. He graduated at Cambridge in 1840, and became fellow and in 1842...

Rroach, Or Raroach. I: A district and collec-torate of Bombay, British India, extending in a narrow strip along the W. coast of the main peninsula and the E. shore of the gulf of Cambay; area, about 1,350 sq. m.; pop. estim...

Rubidium: Rubidium (Lat. rubidus, dark red), a metal of the alkalies, discovered by Bunsen and Kirchhoff in 1860 by means of the spectroscope. The lines characteristic of the new metal are two remarkable bands ...

Rudder Fish: Rudder Fish, one of the mackerel family, constituting the only described species of the genus palinurus (De Kay). It belongs to the division of the scomberoids in which the first dorsal is composed of...

Rudolf Albert Kolliker: Rudolf Albert Kolliker, a German physiologist and microscopist, born in Zurich, July 6, 1817. He studied at the gymnasium and university of his native town till 1839, when he went to Rome and soon aft...

Rudolf Hermann Lotze: Rudolf Hermann Lotze, a German philosopher, born in Bautzen, Saxony, May 21, 1817. He studied at the gymnasium of Zittan and the university of Leipsic, where he graduated in medicine and philosophy in...

Rudolf Virchow: Rudolf Virchow, a German physiologist, born at Schivelbein, Pomerania, Oct. 13, 1821. He studied at the Pépiniére in Berlin, received his medical degree in 1843, and became assistant physician and sub...

Rudolph Gottschall: Rudolph Gottschall, a German poet and dramatist, born in Breslau, Sept. 30, 1823. He studied law at Konigsberg, where he published anonymously in 1842-3 Lieder der Gegenwart and Censurfluchtling. He w...

Rudolph I. Of Hapsburg: Rudolph I. Of Hapsburg, emperor of Germany, founder of the imperial house of Austria, son of Count Albert IV. of Hapsburg, born in the Breisgau, May 1, 1218, died in Ger-mersheim, July 15, 1291. He wa...

Rue: Rue, from ruta, the ancient Latin and present botanical name of a genus of plants, one species of which, the common rue (R. graveo-lens), has long been cultivated, and is now occasionally seen in old ...

Ruff: Ruff, a wading bird of the subfamily trin-ginoe or sandpipers, and the genus phihmachus (Möhr.). The bill is as long as the head, straight, rather slender, with sides compressed and grooved, and sligh...

Rufus Babcock: Rufus Babcock, D. D., an American clergyman, born at North Colebrook, Conn., Sept. 18, 1798. He graduated at Brown university in 1821, and was for two years tutor in Columbian college, D. C. In 1823 h...

Rufus Choate: Rufus Choate. an American lawyer, born at Essex, Mass., Oct. 1, 1700, died in Halifax, Nova Scotia, July 13, 1850. He graduated at Dartmouth college in 1810, was tutor there for a year, then studied l...

Rufus King: Rufus King, an American statesman, born in Scarborough, Me., in 1755, died in Jamaica, L. I., April 29,1827. His father, Richard King, a successful merchant, gave him the best education then attainabl...

Rufus Putnam: Rufus Putnam, an American pioneer, cousin of Gen. Israel Putnam, born in Sutton, Mass., April 9, 1738, died in Marietta, O., May 1, 1824. In 1757 he enlisted in the war against the French, and in 1760...

Rufus Wilmot Griswold: Rufus Wilmot Griswold, an American author, born in Benson, Rutland co., Vt., Feb. 15, 1815, died in New York, Aug. 27, 1857. A great part of his early life was spent in roaming about the world. He had...

Rugen: Rugen, an island of Prussia, in the province of Pomerania, separated from the mainland by a channel from 1/2 to 2 m. wide; area, about 400 sq. m.; pop. of the circle of Rügen in 1867, 47,539. Numerous...

Ruins Of Palexque: Ruins Of Palexque, remarkable aboriginal remains on the Rio Chacamas in the state of Chiapas, Mexico, 8 m. S. E. of Santo Domingo de Palenque. They consist of artificial terraces, or terraced, truncat...

Rum: Rum, a spirituous liquor distilled from fermented molasses, the refuse juice and scum from the sugar manufacture, and the spirit wash or lees (known as dunder) of former distillations. A peculiar vola...

Rumelia, Or Romania Roumelia: Rumelia, Or Romania Roumelia (Turk. Ru-mili, Roman land), the name formerly applied by the Turks to the largest of their European provinces, comprising their most important possessions in Greece and N...

Ruminantia: Ruminantia (Lat. ruminare, to chew the cud), a group of ungulate even-toed mammals, characterized by the absence of incisors in the upper jaw in almost all cases, their place being supplied by a callo...

Runes: Runes (Old Norse, rúnir, secret signs, mysteries), an ancient graphic system employed chiefly by the Teutonic races of northern Europe, though traces of its use are found also in France and Spain. The...

Runjeet Singh: Runjeet Singh, a rajah or sovereign of the Sikhs, in the Punjaub, born at Gujerawala, N. of Lahore, about 1780, died there, June 27, 1839. He was the son of Maha Singh, sirdar or governor of one of th...

Rush: Rush (written by the old authors risk, resh, and rashes, probably from the A. S. risc), the common name for species of juncus, but used in combination, as bog rush and scouring rush, for plants of oth...

Russell: I. A S. W. County Of Virginia A S. W. County Of Virginia, bordered S. E. by the Clinch mountains and intersected by Clinch river; area, about 700 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 11,103, of whom 1,167 were colo...

Russia: Russia (Russ. Rossiya), the largest connected empire of the world, extending, in Europe and Asia, from lat. 38 20' to about 77 30' N., and from lon. 17 38' E. to about 170 W. It is...

Russian Paper Money Assignations: Russian Paper Money Assignations, introduced early in the reign of Catharine II., about the year 1770, principally to carry on the wars against the Turks. The standard currency was then as now the sil...

Rutgers College: Rutgers College, an institution of learning in New Brunswick, N. J., established by royal charter in 1770, under the name of Queen's college. It was connected with the general synod and theological se...

Ruthenians, Or Rusniaks (Pol: Ruthenians, Or Rusniaks (Pol. Rusini, Hung. Oroszok), a branch of the Slavs, inhabiting E. Galicia and Bukowina, adjoining parts of Poland and West Russia, and N. E. Hungary. In Galicia and Bukowina t...

Ruthenium: Ruthenium, one of the platinum group of metals, closely allied to osmium in many of its chemical relations. It was first observed by Prof. Osann in ores from the Ural mountains, and was named by him f...

Rutherford: I. A S. W. County Of North Carolina A S. W. County Of North Carolina, bordering on South Carolina and drained by the head waters of Broad river, a branch of the Congaree; area, about 850 sq. m.; pop....

Rutland: Rutland, a W. county of Vermont, bordering on New York, from which it is separated partly by Lake Champlain, and drained by Black, White, Quechee, and Paulet rivers, and Otter creek; area, about 1,000...

Rutledge: I. John John, an American statesman, of Irish parentage, born in Charleston, S. C, in 1739, died there, July 23, 1800. He studied law in London, returned to Charleston in 1761, and attained the forem...

Ruy Gonzalez De Clavijo: Ruy Gonzalez De Clavijo, one of the ambassadors of Henry III. of Castile to Tamerlane, died in Madrid in 1412. He wrote a minute account of the whole embassy, its adventures and its results. It was fi...

Ruysselede: Ruysselede, a town of West Flanders, Belgium, 14 m. S. S. E. of Bruges; pop. about 7,000. It is the seat of a celebrated reformatory, which was opened by the government in 1849. Although under one dir...

Rye: Rye, a cereal grain, secale cereale, much cultivated in temperate climates. The genus secale belongs to the subtribe of grasses with wheat and barley (hordeineoe) in which the inflorescence is in a de...

S: THE 19th letter, 15th consonant, and , chief sibilant in the English alphabet. It is a linguo-dental, and represents the hissing made by driving the breath between the end of the tongue and the roof o...

S. Stehman Haldeman: S. Stehman Haldeman, an American naturalist and philologist, born near Columbia, Pa., in 1812. He was educated at Dickinson college, and in 1830 became assistant in the geological survey of New Jersey...

Sabbath: Sabbath (Heb. shabbath, day of rest), the name of the seventh day of the week among the Hebrews, dedicated to an entire cessation from worldly labor. It began on Friday evening, and extended to the ev...

Sabellius: Sabellius, the originator of the doctrine described in the history of the church as Sabel-lianism. He was a native of Africa, a presbyter of Ptolemais, a city of the Libyan Pentapolis, and lived about...

Sabine: Sabine, a river which rises in Hunt co. in N. E. Texas, runs S. E. about 250 m., when it reaches the E. boundary, and then generally S. with a curve to the east, separating Texas and Louisiana, and en...

Sable: Sable, a carnivorous animal of the weasel family, and genus mustela (Linn.), of which the generic characters have been given under Fisher; it is the M. zibellina (Linn.). In size it is about equal to ...

Sable Island: Sable Island (Fr. sable, sand), a low island in the Atlantic ocean, about 100 m. S. E. of Nova Scotia, to which it belongs; length about 25 m., breadth from 1 to 5 m. It consists of two nearly paralle...

Sackatoo, Or Sokoto: I. A Foolah Monarchy Of Central Africa A Foolah Monarchy Of Central Africa, in Soodan, E. of the Niger and N. of the Benoowe, and largely identical with the territories of Houssa except in its wester...

Sackett's Harbor: Sackett's Harbor (or more correctly Sack-et's), a village in the town of Hounsfield, Jefferson co., New York, on the S. shore of Black River bay, an inlet of Lake Ontario, at the terminus of the Utica...

Sackville: I. Thomas Thomas, earl of Dorset, an English statesman, born at Buckhurst, Sussex, in 1536, died in London, April 19, 1608. He was educated at Oxford and Cambridge, was called to the bar, was elected...

Saco: Saco, a river of New England, rising in the White mountains, in Coös co., N. H., and formed by the junction of three principal branches at Bartlett, Carroll co. It flows S. E. until it enters Maine, t...

Sacrament: Sacrament (Lat. sacramentum, the military oath or its obligation), in Christian theology, an external ordinance or rite of divine institution, significant of a supersensual grace or spiritual effect. ...

Sacramento: Sacramento, a river of California, draining with the San Joaquin the central valley of the state. It rises on the southern slope of Mt. Shasta, in lat. 41 25' N., and runs principally S. 370 m. t...

Sacramento (2): Sacramento, a city and the capital of California, county seat of Sacramento co., the second city in the state in population and importance, 83 m. by the California Pacific railroad and 139 m. by the C...

Sacs, Or Sauks: Sacs, Or Sauks, an Algonquin tribe of Indians, formerly on the Detroit river and Saginaw bay, but driven beyond Lake Michigan by the Iroquois. They settled near Green bay, where they subsequently welc...

Sacy: I. Antoine Isaac Sylvestre De, Baron Baron Antoine Isaac Sylvestre De, a French orientalist, born in Paris, Sept. 21, 1758, died there, Feb. 21, 1838. After studying law, he devoted himself to orient...

Sadducees: Sadducees, the name of a Jewish sect, derived according to a Jewish tradition from Zadok, its reputed founder, in the 3d century B. C.; but Epiphanius derives it from the Hebrew word tzaddik (just), a...

Safe: Safe, a strong box or closet for the preservation of money, valuable papers, etc., usually made of iron, and as nearly proof against fire and burglars as possible. Until the present century the most u...

Safflower: Safflower, a dyeing material, the florets of carthamus tinctorius, also called bastard and dyer's saffron, and in this country, incorrectly, saffron. The genus carthamus (from kartam or quortom, the A...

Saffron: Saffron (Arab. zafran, from asfar, yellow), a drug consisting of the dried stigmas of crocus sativus. The genus crocus is familiar through the spring-flowering garden sorts; the saffron crocus resembl...

Saga: Saga, a city of Japan, in the province of Hizen, at the head of the bay of Shimabara, island of Kiushiu; pop. about 100,000. It is regularly laid out, the streets crossing at right angles, is the prin...

Sage: Sage (Fr. sauge), the name given to species of salvia, of the labiate family, and especially to the common or garden sage, S. officinalis. The genus salvia (Lat. salvare, to save, in reference to repu...

Saghalien, Or Saghalin: Saghalien, Or Saghalin, an island of Russia, formerly jointly claimed and occupied by Russia and Japan, off the E. coast of Asia, between lat. 45 56' and 54 25' N., and intersected by the me...

Saginaw: Saginaw, a river of Michigan, formed at Saginaw City by the confluence of the Cass, Shiawassee, and Tittabawassee rivers. It flows nearly N. for 18 m., and empties into Saginaw bay. It is navigable by...

Saginaw, Or Saginaw City: Saginaw, Or Saginaw City, a city and the capital of Saginaw co., Michigan, on the W. bank of the Saginaw river, here formed by the confluence of the Cass, Shiawassee, and Tittabawassee rivers, and cro...

Sago: Sago, a form of starch obtained from the trunks of several species of palm. Sagu (also written zagu and saga) is the Malay name for the starch and the tree which yields it, and is in Java the name for...

Saguenay: Saguenay, a river of Quebec, Canada, flowing from Lake St. John by two outlets, which unite 9 m. E. of the lake (see Quebec, vol. xiv., p. 135), to the St. Lawrence at Tadou-sac, 120 m. below Quebec; ...

Sahara: Sahara, the largest desert in the world, occupying an area estimated at from 1,500,000 to 2,500,000 sq. m., in the N. portion of Africa, across which it extends 3,000 m. from the Atlantic ocean to the...

Saida (Anc. Sidon Or Zidon): Saida (Anc. Sidon Or Zidon), a town of Syria, in the pashalic of Acre, 24 m. S. S. W. of Beyrout, on the ST. W. slope of a promontory projecting into the Mediterranean; lat. 33 34' N., lon. 35&de...

Sailt Ste. Marie, Or Sanlt De Ste: Sailt Ste. Marie, Or Sanlt De Ste. Marie. I. A village and the county seat of Chippewa co., Michigan, on St. Mary's strait, at the foot of the rapids, and on the ship canal connecting the navigation o...

Sainfoin: Sainfoin (Fr., wholesome hay), a fodder plant (onobrychis sativa) of the order legumi-nosoe, growing spontaneously in the limestone districts of England, middle and southern Europe, and Asia. Its root...

Saint Albans: Saint Albans, a town and the capital of Franklin co., Vermont, bordering on Lake Champlain, at the junction of several divisions of the Central Vermont railroad, 52 m. N. W. of Montpelier, 23 m. N. by...

Saint Andrews: Saint Andrews, a city and parish of Fife-shire, Scotland, on the North sea, between the mouths of the friths of Forth and Tay, 31 m. N. E. of Edinburgh; pop. of the city in 1871, 6,316. It is the seat...

Saint Athanasius: Saint Athanasius, patriarch of Alexandria and doctor of the eastern church, died there in 373. He was born at Alexandria about 296, of Christian parents, was educated under the direction of Alexander,...

Saint Augustine: Saint Augustine, a city, port of entry, and the county seat of St. John's co., Florida, on the E. coast, 33 m. S. S. E. of Jacksonville; pop. in 1870, 1,717, of whom 594 were colored; in 1875, about 2...

Saint Barnabas: Saint Barnabas, a Christian.teacher, noted for his early connection with the apostle Paul. His original name was Joses or Joseph. The surname Barnabas (Gr. Bapvaac, from Chald. Bar-nebuah), sign...

Saint Bartholomew: Saint Bartholomew, one of the twelve apostles, a native of Galilee, and generally supposed to be the same as Nathanael, who is mentioned by St. John among the first disciples of Christ. According to E...

Saint Bartholomew (2): Saint Bartholomew, Massacre of, the slaughter of Huguenots in France on St. Bartholomew's day (Aug. 24), 1572. It is maintained on the one hand that it Was the result of a plot laid long beforehand to...

Saint Bernard: Saint Bernard, Great and Little. See Saint Bernard. Saint Bernard #1 Saint Bernard, a S. E. parish of Louisiana, between the gulf of Mexico and the Mississippi river, having Lake Borgne on the north...

Saint Bonaventura: Saint Bonaventura (Giovanni di Fidanza), a cardinal and doctor of the Roman church, born at Bagnarea in Tuscany in 1221, died in Lyons, July 15, 1274. He entered the order of St. Francis in 1248, stud...

Saint Catharine Fieschi Adorno: Saint Catharine Fieschi Adorno, born in Genoa in 1447, died Sept. 14, 1510. Her father was viceroy of Naples. At the age of 13 she desired to consecrate herself to God in the religious state; but in o...

Saint Charles: I. A S. E. Parish Of Louisiana A S. E. Parish Of Louisiana, bounded N. by Lake Pontchartrain, and intersected by the Mississippi river; area, about 340 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 4,867, of whom 3,963 were...

Saint Christopher: Saint Christopher, a martyr of the early church, beheaded, according to tradition, in the year 250, during the persecution of Decius. His feast is celebrated by the Greek church on May 9, and by the L...

Saint Clair: Saint Clair, a lake lying between Michigan and Ontario, Canada, 30 m. long, with a mean breadth of 12 m., at its widest part 20 m.; area, 360 sq. m.; mean depth, 20 ft. It is 6 ft. higher than Lake Er...

Saint Cloud: Saint Cloud, a city and the county seat of Stearns co., Minnesota, on the W. bank of the Mississippi river, 67 m. in a direct line and 100 m. by the course of the river N. W. of St. Paul; pop. in 1870...

Saint Croix: I. A River A River, also called Passa-maquoddy and Schoodic, which forms a portion of the N. E. boundary between the United States and British America. It rises in Grand lake, and flows in a very win...

Saint Donstan: Saint Donstan, an English prelate and statesman, born near Glastonbury, Somersetshire, in 925, died May 19, 988. Under the patronage of his uncle, the archbishop of Canterbury, he passed some years at...

Saint Elizabeth: Saint Elizabeth, called Elizabeth of Hungary, landgravine of Thuringia, daughter of Andrew II., king of Hungary, born in Presburg in 1207, died in Marburg, Germany, Nov. 19, 1231. At four years of age...

Saint Epiphanius: Saint Epiphanius, a father of the church, born near Eleutheropolis in Palestine about 310, died at sea in 402 or 403. He was of Jewish parentage, but having become a Christian retired to an Egyptian m...

Saint Eustatius: Saint Eustatius, an island of the West Indies, belonging to the Netherlands, in the Leeward group, 12 m. N. W. of St. Christopher; area, about 8 sq. m.; pop. about 2,200. The N. part is broken into ru...

Saint Francis Feancisco De Xavier (Xavier): Saint Francis Feancisco De Xavier (Xavier), a Spanish missionary, called the apostle of the Indies, born at the castle of Xavier, near Obafios, in Navarre, April 7, 1506, died in the island of Sau Cha...

Saint Gall: Saint Gall (Ger. Sanct-Gallen). I. A N. E. Canton Of Switzerland A N. E. Canton Of Switzerland, bounded N. by Thur-gau, N. E. by the lake of Constance, E. by the Rhine, which separates it from Vorar...

Saint Helena: Saint Helena, an island. See Saint Helena. Saint Helena #1 Saint Helena, wife of the emperor Constan-tius Chlorus and mother of Constantine the Great, born in Drepanum (Helenopolis), Bi-thynia, in 2...

Saint Henry II: Saint Henry II., surnamed the Lame, emperor of Germany, great-grandson of the preceding, born May 0, 972, died at Grone, near Gottingen, July 13, 1024. His surname of the Lame was derived from an acci...

Saint Hippolytus: Saint Hippolytus, an ecclesiastical writer of the 3d century. Although his writings had been always numbered among those of the ante-Nicene fathers, his personal history had been surrounded with uncer...

Saint Hyacinthe: I. A S. W. County Of Quebec Canada; Area A S. W. County Of Quebec, 263 sq. m.; pop. in 1871, 18,310, of whom 18,075 were of French origin or descent. It lies between the Yamas-ka river on the east an...

Saint Ignatius: Saint Ignatius, of Antioch, surnamed Theo-phorus, one of the primitive fathers of the church, died Dec. 20, 107 or 115, at Rome according to some, but most probably at Antioch, as others have it. He i...

Saint Ignatius De Loyola: Saint Ignatius De Loyola, founder of the society of Jesus, born at the castle of Loyola, near Azcoytia, Guipuzcoa, Spain, in 1491, died in Rome, July 31, 1550. His true name was Don Inigo Lopez de Rec...

Saint Irenaeus: Saint Irenaeus, one of the fathers of the church, supposed to have been born near Smyrna about 135, died in Lyons about 202. In a letter to the Valentinian Florinus, Irenaeus reminds him of their havi...

Saint Ital. San Gennaro (Januarius): Saint Ital. San Gennaro (Januarius), a Christian martyr, patron saint of Naples, born in Naples, or according to some accounts in Benevento, April 21, 272, beheaded at Pozzuoli, Sept. 19, 305. He was ...

Saint James: I. The Elder, one of the twelve apostles, son of the fisherman Zebedee and Salome, and brother of the evangelist John, died about A. D. 44. With his brother John he followed his father's occupation, a...

Saint John: Saint John, a river of North America, called by the Indians Looshtook (Long river), which rises, under the name of the S. W. branch, in the highlands that separate Maine from Quebec, Canada, at the Me...

Saint John (2): Saint John, the chief city and seaport of New Brunswick, Canada, capital of St. John co., on a harbor of the same name, at the mouth of the river St. John in the bay of Fundy, 84 m. by the course of t...

Saint John (3): I. James Augustus James Augustus, an English author, born in Carmarthenshire, Sept. 24, 1801. He went to London at the age of 17, edited a newspaper at Plymouth, published a poem entitled Abdallah,...

Saint Johns (4): Saint John's, the capital and commercial metropolis of Newfoundland, the easternmost town of North America, situated in the S. E. part of the island, on the N. side of a harbor of the same name on the...

Saint Johnsbury: Saint Johnsbury, a town and the county seat of Caledonia co., Vermont, on the Pas-sumpsic river, and on the Portland and Og-densburg and the Connecticut and Passumpsic Rivers railroads, 38 m. E. N. E....

Saint Joseph: I. A N. County Of Indiana A N. County Of Indiana, bordering on Michigan, drained by the St. Joseph and Kankakee rivers, and traversed by several railroads; area, 470 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 25,322. The...

Saint Lawrence (2): Saint Lawrence, a river and gulf of North America. The river proper begins at Kingston, at the foot of Lake Ontario, and flows N. E., first between New York and Ontario, Canada, and then through the p...

Saint Louis: I. A N. E. County Of Minnesota A N. E. County Of Minnesota, bounded N. E. by the chain of small lakes which separate that state from British America, S. E. by Lake Superior, and drained by St. Louis,...

Saint Louis (2): Saint Louis, the chief city of Missouri, county seat of St. Louis co., and the commercial metropolis of the central Mississippi valley, on the right bank of the Mississippi river, 20 m. below the entr...

Saint Lucia: Saint Lucia, an English island of the West Indies, in the Windward group, between St. Vincent and Martinique, crossed by the parallel of 14 N. and the meridian of 61 W.; length 26 m., breadt...

Saint Lucian: Saint Lucian, an early Christian theologian, born in Samosata about the middle of the 3d century, died in Nicomedia about 310. Having lost both his parents when 12 years old, he distributed his inheri...

Saint Lure: Saint Lure, the evangelist, the author of the third Gospel, and, according to ecclesiastical tradition, also of the Acts of the Apostles. The name is now generally regarded as an abbreviation of Lucan...

Saint Malachy: Saint Malachy, archbishop of Armagh, born in Armagh about 1095, died at C'lairvaux, France, Nov. 2, 1148. He was of noble birth, became a monk, and was appointed vicar of St. Celsus, archbishop of Arm...

Saint Mark: Saint Mark., the evangelist, according to the opinion of most theologians, identical with John Mark, mentioned in the Acts (xii. 12, 25). By comparing the passages of the New Testament relating to bot...

Saint Martin: Saint Martin, bishop of Tours, born at Sa-baria in Pannonia about 316, died at Cande in Touraine about 400. He was educated for the military profession, and entered the army of Constantino the Great a...

Saint Matthew: Saint Matthew, one of the twelve apostles, and author of the first Gospel. The New Testament tells us little of his personal history. He was a son of Alpheus, and a receiver of customs at the lake of ...

Saint Maurice: Saint Maurice, a river of Quebec, Canada, rising on the N. border of the province, and emptying into the St. Lawrence at Three Rivers, after a tortuous S. course of more than 400 m. Its banks are gene...

Saint Meletius: Saint Meletius, bishop of Antioch, born at Melitene, near the Euphrates, about 310, died in Constantinople in 381. In 357 he was elected to succeed Eustathius, the deposed bishop of Sebaste, but soon ...

Saint Olaf: Saint Olaf, king of Norway, killed in battle, July 29, 1030. He was the son of Ilarald Granske, and grandson of Harald the Fair-Haired, and was educated by Sigurd Syr, the chief of an upland district,...

Saint Pachomhs: Saint Pachomh's, the founder of the first organized monastic community, born in Upper Egypt in 292, died about 348. He was born a pagan, but about the age of 20, while serving in the army, became a co...

Saint Paul: Saint Paul, the first Christian missionary who extended his labors beyond the limits of the Jewish people, and the first Christian teacher who maintained the equality of Jews and gentiles under the ne...

Saint Pennafort Raymond De: Saint Pennafort Raymond De, a Spanish canonist, born in the castle of Pennafort, near Barcelona, in 1175, died in that city, Jan. 6, 1275. He opened a free school of philosophy in his native city at t...

Saint Peter: Saint Peter, one of the twelve apostles, born at Bethsaida in Galilee. He was the son of one Jonas or John, whence Christ calls him on one occasion (Matt. xvi. 17) by the surname Barjona or son of Jon...

Saint Petersburg: Saint Petersburg, a N. W. government of Russia, bounded N. by the gulf of Finland, the government of Viborg, and Lake Ladoga, E. by Novgorod, S. by Pskov, and W. by Lake Peipus, which separates it fro...

Saint Petersburg (2): Saint Petersburg, the capital of Russia, situated on and around the delta of the Neva, in lat. 59 56' 30 N., lon. 30 19' E., 13 m. E. of its port of Cronstadt, and 390 m. N. W. of Moscow; p...

Saint Prosper (Aquitanus): Saint Prosper (Aquitanus), a church father of the 5th century, born near Bordeaux about 403, died about 464. He was distinguished as a chronologist, poet, and theologian, and is chiefly known from the...

Saint Rich Edmund: Saint Rich Edmund (called by the French Saint Edme), archbishop of Canterbury, born in Abingdon, Berkshire, about 1190, died at Soissy, France, Nov. 16, 1242. He studied at Oxford, graduated in theolo...

Saint Sebastian: Saint Sebastian (Sp. San Sebastian), a seaport of Spain, capital of Guipúzcoa, on the bay of Biscay, 39 m. N. N. W. of Pamplona; pop. about 14,000. It occupies a low isthmus uniting Mt. Urgull, on whi...

Saint Sophronius Eusebius Hie-Ronymus (Jerome): Saint Sophronius Eusebius Hie-Ronymus (Jerome), one of the four great doctors of the Latin church, born at Stridon, on the confines of Pannonia and Dalmatia, about 340, died in Bethlehem Sept. 30, 420...

Saint Thomas: Saint Thomas, an island of the West Indies, in the Virgin group, 30 m. E. of Porto Rico, belonging to Denmark; area, about 35 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 14,007, one tenth white, two thirds black, and the r...

Saint Valentine: Saint Valentine, according to some ecclesiastical writers a bishop, according to others a presbyter, who was beheaded at Rome in the reign of the emperor Claudius (270), and was early canonized. Wheat...

Saint Vincent: Saint Vincent, an island of the British West Indies, in the Windward group, about 25 m. S. of St. Lucia; area, 131 sq. m.; pop. in 1871, 35,688, comprising 32,000 colored and 430 aborigines. The surfa...

Saint Vitus's Dance, Or Chorea: Saint Vitus's Dance, Or Chorea, a disorder of innervation, characterized by an irregular action of the voluntary muscles, occurring usually in young persons from the age of 10 to 20 years, and more fr...

Saint-Etienne: Saint-Etienne, a town of France, capital of the department of Loire, on the Furens, a branch of the Loire, 32 m. S. W. of Lyons; pop. in 1872, 110,814. It has several spacious streets lined with subst...

Saint-Helier: Saint-Helier, a market town, seaport, and the capital of the island of Jersey in the English channel, on the S. coast; pop. in 1871, 30,756. It is situated at the base of an amphitheatre of low hills ...

Saint-Quentin: Saint-Quentin, a town of France, in the department of Aisne, on the Somme, 80 m. N. E. of Paris; pop. in 1872, 34,811. It is well built, the principal streets converging into the Grande Place, which c...

Saint. I Bruno: The apostle to the Prussians, born of a noble Saxon family at Quer-furt in 970, killed in 1008. He was an Italian Benedictine, succeeded St. Adalbert in his missionary labors, was active in Poland and...

Saladin: Saladin (Malek al-Nasir Salah ed-Din Abu Modhafer Yusuf), sultan of Egypt and Syria, born in the castle of Tekrit on the Tigris in 1137, died in Damascus, March 4, 1193. He was the son of Ayub, a Kurd...

Salamanca: I. A W. Province Of Spain A W. Province Of Spain, in Leon, bordering on Portugal and the provinces of Zamora, Valladolid, Avila, and Cáceres; area, 4,940 sq. m.; pop. in 1870 estimated at 280,870. It...

Salamander: Salamander, the popular name of most of the batrachian reptiles with persistent tail (urodela) which lose the gills in the adult condition (caducibranchiates). The family of am-phiumidoe has been noti...

Salamis: Salamis (now Kuluri), an island of Greece, in the gulf of AEgina, of very irregular form, lying near Attica, from which it is separated by a narrow channel, and 10 m. W. of Athens; greatest length abo...

Sale: Sale, in law, a contract to give and transfer rights of property for money, which the buyer pays or promises to pay to the seller for the thing bought and sold. The word is often applied indifferently...

Salem (2): Salem, a city, port of entry, and one of the shire towns of Essex co., Massachusetts, occupying a peninsula between two arms of the sea, called North and South rivers, and adjacent territory, 14 m. N....

Salem (3): Salem, a city and the county seat of Salem co., New Jersey, on a creek of the same name, 3 m. from its mouth in the Delaware river, 32 m. in a direct line and 44 m. by rail S. S. W. of Philadelphia; p...

Salep: Salep (Persian, sahaleb), a substance consisting of the dried bulbs of various species of orchis, and other plants of the same family. Any of the tuberous-rooted orchids afford it, and it is ascribed ...

Salicine: Salicine, a crystallizable bitter substance contained in the leaves and young bark of the willow (salix), poplar, and several other trees, discovered by Leroux in 1830. It was investigated by Piria, w...

Salicylic Acid: Salicylic Acid, a product of salicine, carbolic acid, and other substances. (See Salicine.) When salicylol is acted on by chromic acid or potassium hydrate, it becomes oxidized, forming potassium sali...

Saline: Saline, a river of Arkansas, rising in the N. part of Saline co., and flowing S. E., S., and S. W. into the Washita river. Its length is about 200 m. It is navigable at high water by boats of consider...

Salivary Glands: Salivary Glands, those glands which secrete the saliva, the principal of which are the parotid, the submaxillary, and the sublingual, disposed in pairs. The parotid, the largest gland, weighing from h...

Sallust (Caius Sallustius Crispus): Sallust (Caius Sallustius Crispus), a Roman historian, born at Amiternum, in the country of the Sabines, in 86 B. C, died in 34. He belonged to a plebeian family, and about the age of 27 obtained the ...

Salmon: Salmon, the common name of the soft-rayed fishes of the genus salmo (Cuv.). The old genus salmo of Artedi and Linnaeus has been subdivided into the three principal families of salmonidoe, characini, a...

Salmon Portland Chase: Salmon Portland Chase, an American statesman and jurist, born in Cornish, N. II., Jan. 13, 1808, died in New York, May 7,1873. In 1815 his father removed to Keene, and died two years later. When 12 ye...

Salomon Munk: Salomon Munk, a French orientalist, born of Jewish parents in Glogau, Prussian Silesia, May 14, 1805, died in Paris, Feb. 6, 1867. He was educated in Berlin and Bonn, and afterward studied the orienta...

Salonica, Or Saloniki: Salonica, Or Saloniki (Turk. Selanik; anc. Therma, and afterward Thessalonica), a walled town of Turkey in Europe, capital of a vilayet of its own name (see Macedonia), at the head of the gulf of Salo...

Salt: Salt, sodic chloride, sea salt, or common salt, the substance which is always denoted when the word salt is used in ordinary language. The word is derived from the Greek, in which ...

Salts (2): In the present state of chemical science a satisfactory definition of the term salt cannot be given. The older chemists regarded a salt as a product of the union of an acid with a base, as when (usi...

Salt Lake City: Salt Lake City, a city, capital of Utah territory and of Salt Lake co., situated at the W. base of a spur of the Wahsatch mountains, 4,320 ft. above the level of the sea, about 12 m. from the S. E. ex...

Salta: I. A N. W. Province Of The Argentine Republic A N. W. Province Of The Argentine Republic, bordering on Bolivia and the provinces of Jujuy, Santiago, Tucuman, and Catamarca; area, 50,000 sq. m.; pop. ...

Salutation: Salutation, words or signs of greeting. Among the ancient Greeks the verbal form was Xap (Rejoice); among the ancient Romans, Salve, vale (Be healthy, be strong ), and Quid agis? (Wha...

Salvage: Salvage, in admiralty, and generally in the law merchant, the compensation earned by persons who voluntarily assist in saving a ship or her cargo from a maritime peril. This compensation is not a mere...

Salvator Rosa: Salvator Rosa, an Italian painter, born at Aranella, near Naples, June 20, 1615, died in Rome, March 15, 1673. In early life he explored the wildest regions of Calabria, associating with banditti, in ...

Salzburg: I. A Duchy And Crownland Of Austria A Duchy And Crownland Of Austria, bordering on Upper Austria, Styria, Carinthia, Tyrol, and Bavaria; area, 2,767 sq. m.; pop. at the end of 1869, 153,159. It is al...

Sam Houston: Sam Houston, an American soldier, born near Lexington, Va., March 2, 1793, died at Huntersville, Texas, July 25, 1863. His father served in the revolutionary war, and held the post of inspector of bri...

Samarcand: Samarcand (anc. Maracanda), a walled city of central Asia, belonging to Russia, formerly in the khanate and 135 m. E. of the city of Bokhara, about lat. 39 40' N., lon. 67 18' E.; pop. from ...

Samaria: Samaria (Heb. Shomeron), an ancient city in middle Palestine, in the tribe of Ephraim, so called after the hill of Shomeron, upon which it was founded about 925 B. C. by Omri, the sixth king of Israel...

Samaritans: Samaritans (Heb. Shomeronim, later Ku-thim, Cuthaeans), a people commonly supposed to have sprung, after the conquest of Samaria by Shalmaneser, from the mixture of the natives with foreign colonists ...

Samnel Osgood: Samnel Osgood, an American clergyman, born in Charlestown, Mass., Aug. 30, 1812. He graduated at Harvard college in 1832, and at the Cambridge divinity school in 1835. In 1836-'7 he was an editor of t...

Samnel Warren: Samnel Warren, an English author, born at Racre, Denbighshire, May 23, 1807. He began the study of medicine at Edinburgh, but in 1828 entered as a student at the Inner Temple, London, and in 1837 was ...

Samnium: Samnium, a division of ancient Italy, bounded N. W. by the territories of the Marsi, Pe-ligni, and Marrucini, N. E. by that of the Frentani, E. by Apulia, S. by Lucania, and S. W. and W. by Campania ...

Samos: Samos (called by the Turks Susam-Adassi), an island of the Grecian archipelago, belonging to Turkey, separated from the coast of Asia Minor by the strait of Little Boghaz, and from the island of Nicar...

Samoan Islands, Or Navigators Islands: Samoan Islands, Or Navigators' Islands, a group in the S. Pacific, about 400 m. N. E. of the Feejee islands, between lat. 13 27' and 14 18' S., and lon. 169 28' and 172 48' W. They...

Samoyeds: Samoyeds, a nomadic people in the northern parts of European and Asiatic Russia, forming a branch of the Uralo-Altaic division of mankind. The name, which signifies in Russian persons who devour them...

Samphire: Samphire (formerly written sampire and sampetra, from the old Fr. name l'herle de Saint Pierre, Ital. San Pietro, from its growing on rocks), a very succulent plant of the parsley family or umbellifer...

Samson: Samson (Heb. Shimshon), a judge of Israel, celebrated for his bodily strength. He was the son of Manoah, of the tribe of Dan, and was born about the middle of the 12th century B. C. He was devoted to ...

Samuel: Samuel (Heb. Shemuel, heard of God), a Hebrew seer or prophet, the last judge of Israel. He was the son of Elkanah and Hannah, of the tribe of Levi, and was born in the latter part of the 12th centu...

Samuel Barron: Samuel Barron, an American naval officer, brother of the preceding, born in Hampton, Va., about 1763, died Oct. 29, 1810. In 1798 he commanded the brig Augusta, which was prepared by the citizens of N...

Samuel Blodget: Samuel Blodget, an American inventor, born at Woburn, Mass., in 1720, died at Haverhill, N. II., Sept. 1, 1807. Before the revolution he was judge of common pleas in New Hampshire, and was at the sieg...

Samuel Bochart: Samuel Bochart, a French oriental and Biblical scholar, born in Rouen, May 30, 1599, died at Caen, May 16, 1667. He belonged to a Huguenot family, and became like his father and his uncle, the famous ...

Samuel Brown: Samuel Brown, a Scottish chemist and poet, born at Haddington, Feb. 23, 1817, died in Edinburgh, Sept. 20, 1856. In 1832 he en-, tered the university of Edinburgh, devoting himself chiefly to chemical...

Samuel Butler: Samuel Butler, an English poet, born at Strensham, Feb. 13, 1612, died in London, Sept. 25, 1680. The son of a farmer, he commenced his education at Worcester, and sought ineffectually the means of st...

Samuel Chandler: Samuel Chandler, an English theologian, born at Hungerford, Berkshire, in 1093, died in London, May 8,1766. He was the son of a nonconformist clergyman, and had for fellow pupils Joseph Butler, author...

Samuel Chandler Crafts: Samuel Chandler Crafts, an American senator, born at Woodstock, Conn., Oct. 6, 1768, died at Craftsbury, Vt., Nov. 19,1853. He graduated at Harvard college in 1790, in which year his father removed to...

Samuel Chase: Samuel Chase, an American jurist, and one of the signers of the declaration of independence, born in Somerset co., Maryland, April 17, 1741, died June 19, 1811. His father, an Episcopal clergyman of E...

Samuel Christian Friedrich Hahnemann: Samuel Christian Friedrich Hahnemann, the founder of the homoeopathic system of medicine, born in Meissen, Saxony, April 10, 1755, died in Paris, July 2, 1843. He was educated at the high school of hi...

Samuel Clarke: Samuel Clarke, D. D., an English clergyman, born at Norwich, Oct. 11, 1675, died May 17, 1729. He was educated at Cambridge, at a time when the philosophy of Descartes was still in vogue, and Clarke m...

Samuel Colt: Samuel Colt, an American inventor, born in Hartford, Conn., July 19, 1814, died there, Jan. 10,1862. His restless spirit led him even when a child to prefer the work room to the school room, and he en...

Samuel D. Gross: Samuel D. Gross, an American surgeon, born in Northampton co., Pa., July 8, 1805. He received his medical degree in 1828, and began practice in Philadelphia, devoting his leisure to study and to the t...

Samuel De Champlain: Samuel De Champlain, a French navigator, founder of Quebec and first governor of New France, born at Brouage, in Saintonge, in 1567, died Dec. 25, 1635. He was of a family long connected with the sea ...

Samuel Drew: Samuel Drew, an English clergyman, born at St. Austell, Cornwall, March 3, 1765, died March 29, 1833. He was apprenticed to the shoemaker's trade, and his early education was limited. In 1788 he becam...

Samuel Eliot: Samuel Eliot, an American author, born in Boston, Dec. 22, 1821. He graduated at Harvard college in 1839, and passed two years in a counting room and four years in foreign travel and study. While in R...

Samuel Francis Du Pont: Samuel Francis Du Pont, an American naval officer, grandson of Du Pont de Nemours, born at Bergen Point, N. J., Sept. 27, 1803, died in Philadelphia, June 23, 1865. He entered the navy as midshipman D...

Samuel Gardner Drake: Samuel Gardner Drake, an American author, born at Pittsfield, N. H., Oct. 11,1798. He was educated at the common schools of the neighborhood, and between the ages of 20 and 27 was a district school te...

Samuel George Morton: Samuel George Morton, an American physician, born in Philadelphia, Jan. 26, 1799, died there, May 15, 1851. He studied medicine, and graduated at the university of Pennsylvania in 1820. In the same ye...

Samuel Gorton: Samuel Gorton, a New England religious enthusiast, the first settler of Warwick, R. I., born in Gorton, England, about 1G00, died in Rhode Island in November or December, 1677. Ho did business in Lond...

Samuel Hanson Cox: Samuel Hanson Cox, an American clergyman, born at Leesville, N. J., Aug. 25, 1793. He was brought up in the society of Friends, of which his family were members. In 1811 he began the study of law, but...

Samuel Heinicke: Samuel Heinicke, a German educator, born at Nautsehutz, near Weissenfels, April 10, 1729, died in Leipsic, April 30, 1790. At 21 years of age he joined the life guards of the elector of Saxony, in whi...

Samuel Henry Dickson: Samuel Henry Dickson, an American physician, born in Charleston, S. C, in September, 1798, died in Philadelphia, March 31, 1872. He graduated at Yale college in 1814, and afterward studied medicine in...

Samuel Hopkins: Samuel Hopkins, an American clergyman, born in Waterbury, Conn., Sept. 17, 1721, died in Newport, R. I., Dec. 20, 1803. Till about his 15th year he was occupied chiefly in agricultural labor, when he ...

Samuel Horsley: Samuel Horsley, an English prelate and scholar, born in St. Martin's-in-the-fields, London, in 1733, died in Brighton, Oct, 4, 1806. He was educated at Cambridge, took orders in 1759, and held success...

Samuel Hulbeart Turner: Samuel Hulbeart Turner, an American clergyman, born in Philadelphia, Jan. 23, 1790, died in New York, Dec. 21, 1861. He graduated at the university of Pennsylvania in 1807, studied theology, and was o...

Samuel John Mills: Samuel John Mills, jr., an American clergyman, born in Torrington, Conn., April 21, 1783, died at sea in June, 1818. His father was a Congregational minister. He entered Williams college in 1806. In S...

Samuel Johnson: Samuel Johnson, an American clergyman, first president of King's (now Columbia) college, New York, born in Guilford, Conn., Oct. 14, 1696, died in Stratford, Conn., June 6, 1772. He graduated at Yale ...

Samuel Johnson (2): Samuel Johnson, an English author, born in Lichfield, Sept. 18, 1709, died in London, Dec. 13, 1784. His father, Michael Johnson, was a bookseller and stationer, and for some time a magistrate of Lich...

Samuel Jones Tilden: Samuel Jones Tilden, an American lawyer, born in New Lebanon, Columbia co., N. Y., Feb. 9, 1814. He entered Yale college in 1833, but completed his course at the university of New York, and was admitt...

Samuel Joseph May: Samuel Joseph May, an American clergyman, born in Boston, Sept. 12,1797, died in Syracuse, N. Y., July 1, 1871. He graduated at Harvard college in 1817, studied divinity at Cambridge, and in 1822 sett...

Samuel Kneeland: Samuel Kneeland, an American naturalist, born in Boston, Aug. 1, 1821. He graduated at Harvard college in 1840, and at the medical school of the same institution in 1843, and studied in Paris till 184...

Samuel Langhorne Mark Twain (Clemens): Samuel Langhorne Mark Twain (Clemens), an American humorist, born at Florida, Monroe co., Missouri, Nov. 30, 1835. He attended a common school until 13 years of age, when he became an apprentice in th...

Samuel Latham Mitchill: Samuel Latham Mitchill, an American physician, born in North Hempstead, Long Island, Aug. 20, 1764, died in New York, Sept. 7, 1831. He graduated as M. D. at the university of Edinburgh in 1786, retur...

Samuel Lee: Samuel Lee, an English scholar, born at Long-nor, May 14,1783, died at Barley, Dec. 16, 1852. He was educated at a charity school, and at the age of 12 was apprenticed to a carpenter. While laboring a...

Samuel Lorenzo Knapp: Samuel Lorenzo Knapp, an American author, born in Newburyport, Mass., in 1784, died in Hopkinton, Mass., July 8, 1838. He graduated at Dartmouth college in 1804, studied law, and was admitted to the b...

Samuel Lover: Samuel Lover, an Irish author, born in Dublin in 1797, died July 6, 1868. His father, a stock broker in Dublin, intended him for commerce, but the son's natural predilections frustrated this design. H...

Samuel Miller: Samuel Miller, an American clergyman, born near Dover, Del., Oct. 31, 1769, died in Princeton, N. J., Jan. 7, 1850. He graduated at the university of Pennsylvania in 1789 (from which he received the d...

Samuel Much: Samuel Much, an English Egyptologist, born in London, Nov. 3, 1813. He is the son of a clergyman, entered the office of the commissioners of public records in 1834, and in 1836 became connected with t...

Samuel Parr: Samuel Parr, an English author, born at Harrow-on-the-Hill, Jan. 15, 1747, died March 6, 1825. He entered the university of Cambridge in 1765, but the death of his father obliged him to accept in 1767...

Samuel Pepys: Samuel Pepys, an English author, born Feb. 23, 1633, died May 26, 1703. He belonged to an ancient family, but his early life seems to have been passed in humble circumstances. He was educated at St. P...

Samuel Prideanx Tregelles: Samuel Prideanx Tregelles, an English scholar, born in Falmouth, Jan. 30, 1813, died in Plymouth, April 24,1875. His parents were Quakers, but he himself became connected with the Plymouth Brethren. H...

Samuel Richardson: Samuel Richardson, an English author, born in Derbyshire in 1689, died in London, July 4, 1761. He was apprenticed to a printer of London, with whom he remained several years in the capacity of forema...

Samuel Roffey Maitland: Samuel Roffey Maitland, an English clergyman, born in London in 1792, died at Lambeth palace, London, Jan. 19, 1866. He graduated at Trinitv college, Cambridge, studied law. and was called to the bar ...

Samuel Rogers: Samuel Rogers, an English poet, born at Newington Green, near London, July 30, 1763, died in London, Dec. 18, 1855. He was educated by private tutors, and entered his father's banking house in his boy...

Samuel Slater: Samuel Slater, an American manufacturer, born at Belper, Derbvshire, England, June 9, 1768, died at Webster, Mass., April 21, 1835. He was apprenticed to cotton spinning under Jedidiah Strutt, partner...

Samuel Smiles: Samuel Smiles, a British author, born at Haddington, Scotland, in 1816. After practising as a surgeon for some time at Leeds, he became editor of the Leeds Times in 1845, secretary of the Leeds an...

Samuel Spring: I. An American Clergyman An American Clergyman, born at Northbridge, Mass., Feb. 27, 1746, died in Newburyport, March 4, 1819. He graduated at Princeton college in 1771, and in 1775 became a chaplain...

Samuel Stanhope Smith: Samuel Stanhope Smith, an American clergyman, born at Pequea, Pa., March 1G, 1750, died in Princeton, N. J., Aug. 21, 1819. He graduated at Princeton college in 1767, and from 1770 to 1773 was tutor t...

Samuel Taylor Coleridge: Samuel Taylor Coleridge, an English poet and philosopher, born at Ottery St. Mary, Devonshire, Oct. 21, 1772, died at Highgate, London, July 25, 1834. He was the youngest child of a learned and singul...

Samuel Wells Williams: Samuel Wells Williams, an American sinologue, born in Utica, N. Y., Sept. 22, 1812. He graduated in 1832 at the Rensselaer polytechnic institute in Troy, and in 1833 went to Canton as a printer in the...

San Antonio: San Antonio, a city and the county seat of Bexar co., Texas, on the San Antonio and San Pedro rivers, 75 m. S. TV. of Austin and 250 m. N. by W. of Brownsville; pop. in 1850, 3,488; in 1860, 8,235; in...

San Bernardino: San Bernardino, a S. E. county of California, bounded N. E. by Nevada, and E. by Arizona, from which it is separated by the Colorado river; area, about 16,000 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 3,988. About three ...

San Diego: San Diego, the S. county of California, bounded E. by Arizona, from which it is separated by the Colorado river, S. by Lower California, and W. by the Pacific ocean; area, about 13,500 sq. m.; pop. in...

San Francisco: San Francisco, the chief city of California (in law, the city and county of San Francisco), the principal commercial emporium. on the Pacific coast of America, in lat. 37 46' N., lon. 122 24...

San Francisco Bay: San Francisco Bay, a sheet of water in California, connected with the Pacific ocean by a strait 5 m. long and 1 m. wide, called the Golden Gate, in lat. 37 48' N., lon. 122 30' W. It extends...

San Joaquin: San Joaquin, a river of California, which rises in the Sierra Nevada mountains, in Fresno co., flows S. W. to the W. part of the county, and thence N. W. through Fresno, Merced, Stanislaus, and San Jo...

San Jose: San Jose, a city and the county seat of Santa Clara co., California, at the intersection of the Southern Pacific railroad with the San José branch of the Central Pacific line, 8 m. S. E. of San Franci...

San Juan: San Juan, an island of Washington territory, in Washington sound, between the gulf of Georgia on the north, the strait of Fuca on the south, Rosario strait on the east, and the canal de Haro on the we...

San Juan De Puerto Rico: San Juan De Puerto Rico, a fortified city, capital of the island of Porto Rico, on a small island off the N. coast; lat. 18 29' N., lon. G6 7' W.; pop. about 20,000. The streets are regularl...

San Luis: I. A Central Province Of The Argentine Republic A Central Province Of The Argentine Republic, bordering on La Rioja, Cordova, the pampas W. of Buenos Ayres, Men-doza, and San Juan; area, 20,000 sq. m...

San Luis Potosi: I. An E. State Of Mexico An E. State Of Mexico, bounded N. E. by Nuevo Leon, E. by Tamau-lipas and Vera Cruz, S. by Hidalgo, Querétaro, and Guanajuato, and W. and N. W. by Zacate-cas; area, 28,889 sq...

San Marino: I. A Republic In N. E. Italy A Republic In N. E. Italy, the oldest and next to Monaco the smallest state in Europe; area, 22 sq. m.; pop. in 1874, 7,816. It is surrounded by the provinces of Forli an...

San Miguel: San Miguel, an E. county of New Mexico, bordering on Texas, intersected by the Rio Pecos and Canadian river, and watered by their tributaries; area, about 10,800 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 16,058. A S. pro...

San Miguel De La Palma: San Miguel De La Palma, an island of the Canary group, about 50 m. W. of Teneriffe; area, about 300 sq. m.; pop. about 34,000. It is traversed by two mountain masses, divided by a depression 4,600 ft....

San Salvador: I. The smallest but most populous of the five republics of Central America, comprised between lat. 13 and 14 30' N., and lon. 87 30' and 90 20' W., bounded N. and E. by Honduras, S...

Sana, Or Sanaa: Sana, Or Sanaa, a city of Yemen, Arabia, formerly capital of the imamate of Sana, 110 m. E. N. E. of Hodeida; pop. about 20,000. It lies in a fertile valley, about 4,000 ft. above the sea, and is surr...

Sanchuniathon, Or Sanchoniathon: Sanchuniathon, Or Sanchoniathon, the name prefixed, as that of the author, to a history of Phoenicia and Egypt published by Herennius Philo of Byblus as a Greek translation from the Phoenician. Philo,...

Sand Blast: Sand Blast, a method of engraving figures on glass or metal, or cutting away or boring holes in hard substances, by a rapid stream of sharp sand, invented by Mr. B. C. Tilghman of Philadelphia. The je...

Sandal Wood: Sandal Wood (Sansk. chandana), the aromatic wood of several species of santalum (Pers. sandul), especially S. album, of the East Indies. The genus gives its name to a small family of apetalous, exogen...

Sandemanians: Sandemanians, a sect of Christians who originally separated from the Presbyterian church of Scotland. Their actual founder was the Rev. John Glass, a native of Dundee (1695-1773), and they were at fir...

Sanderling: Sanderling, a wading bird of the genus calidris (Cuv.), differing from the sandpipers (tringa, Linn.) chiefly in the absence of the hind toe. The common sanderling is the C. arenaria (Ill.), inhabitin...

Sandor Csoma De Koros (Korosi Csoma): Sandor Csoma De Koros (Korosi Csoma), a Hungarian traveller and orientalist, born at Koros, in Transylvania, about 1790, died at Darjeeling, in India, April 11, 1842. Of a noble but poor family, he st...

Sandor Petofi: Sandor Petofi, a Hungarian poet, born in Little Cumania, Jan. 1,1823, disappeared July 31, 1849. He was the son of a tavern keeper, and after irregular studies at various schools became a strolling pl...

Sandpiper: Sandpiper, the common name of the trin-ginoe, an extensive subfamily of small wading birds of the snipe family. They have the bill as long as or longer than the head, slender, compressed on the sides,...

Sandstone: Sandstone, a rock formed of grains of sand, often intermixed with coarse pebbles, cemented together by the infiltration of calcareous, argillaceous, ferruginous, or silicious substances. This, with lo...

Sandusky: Sandusky, a N. county of Ohio, bordered N. E. by Sandusky bay in Lake Erie, intersected by Sandusky river, and also drained by Portage river and several smaller streams, and traversed by several railr...

Sandwich: Sandwich, a town of Barnstable co., Massachusetts, extending across the peninsula of Cape Cod from Cape Cod bay to Buzzard's bay, 50 m. S. S. E. of Boston; pop. in 1870, 3,694; in 1875, 3,416. There a...

Sandys: I. Sir Edwin Sir Edwin, an English statesman, born in Worcester in 1561, died at Northborne, Kent, in 1629. He was the son of Dr. Edwin Sandys, then bishop of Worcester, afterward archbishop of York....

Sanhedrim: Sanhedrim (accurately, sanhedrin, a Heb. word formed from the Gr. , assembly), the supreme council of the Jews in later times. Traditionally its origin is traced to the 70 elders appointed by Moses,...

Sanskrit: Sanskrit, the literary language of the Hindoos, the Aryan inhabitants of India. Originally a vernacular dialect in Hindostan, it has for nearly or quite 2,000 years past been kept artificially in use,...

Santa Barbara: Santa Barbara, a S. W. county of California, bounded S. and W. by the Pacific ocean, N. by the Guaymas or Santa Maria river, and drained by Santa Inez and other rivers; area, about 2,800 sq. m.; pop. ...

Santa Catharina: Santa Catharina, a S. E. province of Brazil, bounded N. W. and N. by Paraná, E. by the Atlantic, and S. and S. W. by São Pedro; area, 28,220 sq. m.; pop. about 140,000. The island of Santa Catharina, ...

Santa Clara: Santa Clara, a W. county of California, bounded N. by San Francisco bay, watered by the Coyote and Guadalupe rivers and other small streams; area, 1,332 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 26,246, of whom 1,525 wer...

Santa Cruz: Santa Cruz, a W. county of California, lying between the summit of the Santa Cruz mountains and the Pacific ocean, and bounded S. by the Pajaro river; area, 432 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 8,743, of whom 15...

Santa Fe: Santa Fe, a S. E. province of the Argentine Republic, bordering on the Gran Chaco and the provinces of Corrientes and Entre-Rios (from which it is separated by the Parana), Buenos Ayres, Cordova, and ...

Santa Fe Do Bogota: Santa Fe Do Bogota, an inland city of the United States of Colombia, capital of the state of Cundinamarca and of the republic, on the picturesque and fertile plateau of Bogota. 8,671 feet above the se...

Santa Maura (Modern Gr. Levcada; Anc. Leucadia Or Leucas): Santa Maura (Modern Gr. Levcada; Anc. Leucadia Or Leucas), an island and eparchy of Greece, one of the Ionian islands, in the Ionian sea, separated by a strait 1 m. wide from the W. coast of Acarna-ni...

Santander: I. A Province Of Spain A Province Of Spain, in Old Castile, bordering on the bay of Biscay and the provinces of Biscay, Burgos, Palencia, Leon, and Asturias; area, 2,112 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 241,581...

Santiago: I. A Central Province Of Chili A Central Province Of Chili, bordering on the Pacific and the Argentine Republic, and the provinces of Aconcagua, Colchagua, and Valparaiso; area, 7,800 sq. m.; pop. in...

Santiago De Cuba: Santiago De Cuba (locally called Cuba), a city of Cuba, capital of the Eastern department, and of a province of its own name, at the head of a fine bayou on the S. E. coast, 160 m. S. E. of Puerto Pri...

Santiago, Or Santiago Del Estero: Santiago, Or Santiago Del Estero, a central province of the Argentine Republic, bordering on Santa Fé, Cordova, Catamarca, Tucuman, Salta, and the Gran Chaco; area, 35,000 sq. m.; pop. in 1869, 132,76...

Santo Domingo: Santo Domingo (sometimes improperly called San Domingo), a republic comprising the eastern and larger portion of the island of Hayti, in the West Indies, otherwise called the Dominican republic. (For ...

Sao Paulo: I. A S. Province Of Brazil A S. Province Of Brazil, bounded N. by Minas Geraes, E. by Rio de Janeiro and the Atlantic, S. by Parana, and W. by Matto Grosso; area, 93,547 sq. m.; pop. in 1871, 835,000...

Sao Pedro Do Rio Grande Do Sul: Sao Pedro Do Rio Grande Do Sul (formerly abbreviated to Rio Grande do Sul, now to São Pedro). I. The Southernmost Province Of Brazil The Southernmost Province Of Brazil, bounded N. by Paraná, N. E. ...

Saone (Anc. Arar; In The Middle Ages Se-Gona Or Saucona): Saone (Anc. Arar; In The Middle Ages Se-Gona Or Saucona), a river of France, which has its source at Vioménil, in the S. W. part of the department of Vosges, flows generally S. through the departments...

Sapphire: Sapphire (Heb. sappir; Ar. safir), a precious stone, next in value and hardness to the diamond. It is a transparent variety of corundum, composed of nearly pure alumina. It receives different names ac...

Sappho: Sappho, a Greek poetess, born at Mytilene or Eresus in the island of Lesbos, flourished about 600 B. C. She lived in friendly intercourse with her countryman Alcaeus, and was married to Cercolas of An...

Sara Coleridge: Sara Coleridge, the only daughter of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, born at Keswick, Dec. 22, 1802, died May 3,1852. She is described as the inheritor of her father's genius, and her life until her marriage...

Sara Jane Clarke (Lippincott): Sara Jane Clarke (Lippincott), an American authoress, known by her nom de plume of Grace Greenwood, born at Pompev, Onondaga co., N. Y., Sept. 23, 1823. Much of her childhood was passed at Rocheste...

Saragossa: Saragossa (Sp. Zaragoza). I. A N. E. Province Of Spain, In Aragon In Aragon A N. E. Province Of Spain, bordering on Navarre, Huesca, Lérida, Tarragona, Teruel, Guadalajara, Soria, and Logroño; area,...

Sarah Austin: Sarah Austin, an English authoress, born in 1793, died at Weybridge, Aug. 8, 1867. She was one of the famous Taylor family of Norwich, and the wife of Mr. John Austin, a London barrister. Her reputati...

Sarah Siddons: Sarah Siddons, an English actress, born in Brecknock, South Wales, July 5, 1755, died in London, June 8, 1831. The eldest of the children of Roger Kemble (see Kemble), at 13 years of age she took prin...

Saratoga: Saratoga, an E. county of New York, bounded E and partly N. by the Hudson river, and S. by the Mohawk; area, 780 sq; m.; pop. in 1870, 51,529. The surface is mountainous in the northwest. Iron ore, sa...

Saratoga Springs: Saratoga Springs, a town and village of Saratoga co., New York, on the Adirondack and the Rensselaer and Saratoga railroads, 32 m. N. by W. of Albany; pop. of the town in 1870, 8,537; of the village, ...

Sarawak: I. An Independent State In Borneo An Independent State In Borneo, under English control, extending about 300 m. along the N. W. coast from Cape Datu to Kidorong point, between lat. 0 30' and 3&d...

Sardanapalus: Sardanapalus, the last king of the Assyrian empire of Ninus, according to the ancient historian Ctesias. His effeminacy and licentiousness excited a rebellion, headed by Arbaces, satrap of Media, and ...

Sardes, Or Sardis: Sardes, Or Sardis, an ancient city of Asia Minor, capital of Lydia, in the plain N. of Mount Tmolus, on the river Pactolus near its junction with the Hermus, about 45 m. E. of Smyrna. Ancient writers ...

Sardine: Sardine, a small and well known fish of the herring family, and genus alosa (Cuv.). It is regarded by Valenciennes and most ichthyologists as identical with the fish called pilchard on the coasts of G...

Sardinia: Sardinia (Ital. Sardegna; anc. Ichnusa and Sardinia), next to Sicily, the largest and most important island in the Mediterranean sea, lying N. of Africa, N. W. of Sicily, W. of southern Italy, E. of S...

Sardinian States, Or Kingdom Of Sardinia: Sardinian States, Or Kingdom Of Sardinia, formerly a government of Italy, comprising the island of Sardinia, Piedmont (in the wider sense, including Saluzzo, Montferrat, and the W. part of the duchy o...

Sarmatia: Sarmatia, in classical geography, the name of a vast region of eastern Europe and western Asia (according to ancient divisions). Ptolemy the geographer distinguishes between European and Asiatic Sarma...

Sarsaparilla: Sarsaparilla (Span. zarza, a bramble, and parrilla, a vine; i. e., a thorny vine), a drug consisting of the roots of various species of smilax. (See Smilax.) There is no article of materia medica surr...

Saskatchewan: Saskatchewan, a river of British North America, in the Northwest territories, the upper course consisting of two branches. The North branch, issuing from Glacier lake on the E. slope of the Rocky moun...

Sassafras: Sassafras, a North American tree of the laurel family (lauraceoe), formerly called laurus sassafras, but separated from laurus on account of differences in structure by Nees von Esenbeck, who took the...

Sassanidae: Sassanidae, a dynasty of Persian kings founded by Ardeshir, called by the Greeks Artax-erxes, and considered the son of Babek and the grandson of Sassan, who overthrew the rule of the Arsacidae, in A....

Sassari: I. A Province Of The Kingdom Of Italy A Province Of The Kingdom Of Italy, forming the N. portion of the island of Sardinia, bounded S. by Cagliari, and on all other sides by the sea; area, 4,142 sq. ...

Satsuma: Satsuma, the name of a province in the S. part of Kiushiu, Japan, and of the most noted of all the feudal clans in the empire. The fief of the daimio of Satsuma comprised Sat-suma proper, Osumi, Hiuga...

Sattara, Or Satara: Sattara, Or Satara. I. A collectorate in the southern division of the province of Bombay, British India, separated by the Western Ghauts from the Indian ocean, and situated S. of the district of Poona...

Saturn: Saturn (Saturnus), an ancient mythical king or deity of Italy, to whom was ascribed the introduction of agriculture and civilization. According to tradition, he reigned on the Capito-line hill, hence ...

Saturn (2): Saturn, the sixth planet in order of distance from the sun, the third of the superior planets, and in ancient systems of astronomy the outermost member of the planetary system, but now known to travel...

Saturnalia: Saturnalia, the festival of Saturn, celebrated originally by the rural population of ancient Italy in December, as a sort of harvest home, and in later ages converted into a season of almost absolute ...

Saurians: Saurians, an order of scaly reptiles, including such as are popularly called lizards, skinks, monitors, geckos, iguanas, agamas, chameleons, etc., and the extinct iguanodon, ichthyosaurus, pterodactyl...

Savannah: Savannah, the largest city and the commercial metropolis of Georgia, capital of Chatham co., on the right bank of the Savannah river, 18 m. from its mouth, and at the terminus of the Central, Atlantic...

Savile, Or Saville, George: Savile, Or Saville, George, marquis of Halifax, an English statesman, born in Yorkshire in 1630, died in London, April 20, 1695. He was the son of a baronet, and for his zeal in bringing about the res...

Savings Bank: Savings Bank, an institution for the deposit and safe keeping of small sums of money. Savings banks were originally established by benevolent individuals with a view to enable the poor to find places ...

Savinien Cyrano De Bergerac: Savinien Cyrano De Bergerac, a French author and duellist, born at Bergerac in 1620, died in Paris in 1655. He was compelled by serious wounds to retire from the military service, in which he had dist...

Savoy: Savoy (Fr. La Savoie), a territory of France, formerly an independent duchy and afterward part of the kingdom of Sardinia, between lat. 45 4' and 46 24' N., and Ion. 5 37' and 7 15...

Saw: Saw, an instrument usually made of a steel plate with teeth along one edge, used for cutting wood, ivory, stone, and the softer metals. The ancient Egyptians used saws of bronze, and applied them to c...

Saw Fish: Saw Fish, a cartilaginous fish of the genus pristis (Lath.), the type of a family intermediate in position between the sharks and rays, though generally ranked with the latter. It has the elongated an...

Saw Fly: Saw Fly, the popular name of the tenthre-dinidoe, a very destructive family of hymenop-terous insects. They are found on the leaves of plants, and live almost entirely on vegetable food; they are poor...

Sawyer: I. Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson, an American clergyman, born in Reading, Windsor co., Vt., Jan. 9, 1804. He graduated at Middlebury college in 1829, studied for the ministry, and in 1830 took ch...

Saxe-Coburg-Gotha: Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, a duchy of the German empire, consisting of two principal parts separated from each other by Prussia and Meiningen. The northern division comprises the former duchy of Gotha, and is...

Saxe-Meiningen-Hildburghausen: Saxe-Meiningen-Hildburghausen, a duchy of the German empire, composed of the old duchy of Meiningen, the principalities of Hildburghausen and Saalfeld, and some smaller districts, bounded mainly by Pr...

Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach: Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, a grand duchy of the German empire, composed of the principalities of Weimar and Eisenach, which are separated by Prussian Saxony and Coburg-Gotha, and of the district of Neustad...

Saxifrage: Saxifrage (Lat. saxifraga, from saxum, a rock, and frangere, to break), a plant, many species of which grow in the crevices of rocks, and were once supposed to disintegrate them; hence, according to t...

Saxons: Saxons, a name first used by the geographer Ptolemy to indicate a branch of the Germanic race, now dominant in the northwestern lowlands of Germany, especially in the region of the middle and lower El...

Saxony: Saxony (Ger. Sachsen), a kingdom of the German empire, between lat. 50 10' and 51 30' N, and Ion. 11 55' and 15 5' E, bounded N. and N. E. by Prussia, S. E. and S. by Bohemia, S. W...

Scabbard Fish: Scabbard Fish, a fish generally placed with the mackerel family, and in the genus lepido-pus (Cuv.). The only species described is the L. argyreus (Cuv. and Val.), inhabiting the European seas from Gr...

Scaevola: Scaevola, the cognomen of several Romans. I. Cains Mucius Cains Mucius, a legendary hero, who flourished at the close of the 6th century B. C. Por-sena of Clusium, the protector of the expelled Tarq...

Scale: Scale (Lat. scala, a ladder), a graduated line or slip of wood, ivory, metal, or paper, divided into parts equal or unequal, and used for transferring these parts by dividers in plotting. The most sim...

Scaliger: I. Julius CaeSar Julius CaeSar, an Italian philologist, born, according to his own account, at Riva, on the lake of Garda, April 23, 1484, died in Agen, France, Oct. 21, 1558. He claimed descent from...

Scallop: Scallop, a bivalve of the genus pecten (Tur-ton), having the shell rounded, inequivalve, eared, with the upper margin straight and the hinge without teeth. The lobes of the mantle are widely separated...

Scammony: Scammony (Gr. ), a medicinal drug, the concrete juice of convolvulus scammonia. This is a perennial species with a woody root, which in old plants is 2 or 3 ft. long and 3 or 4 in. thick; its stems ...

Scanderbeg: Scanderbeg (Turkish, Iskander Beg), an Albanian prince, whose true name was George Castriota, born in Croia about 1410, died in Alessio, Jan. 17, 1467. He was the fourth son of John Castriota, a Chris...

Scapular: Scapular (Lat. scapula, the shoulder blade), a part of the habit of most ancient religious orders, and in particular a badge worn by the guild of the scapular of our Lady of Mount Carmel, as a symbol ...

Scarabaeus: Scarabaeus (Linn.), the representative genus of a large family of pentamerous lamellicorn beetles, having the antennae generally terminated by a club, and either composed of leaflets or of box-like jo...

Schadow: I. Johann Gottfried Johann Gottfried, a German sculptor, born in Berlin, May 20, 1764, died there, Jan. 26, 1850. He studied the antique in Rome, and going to Berlin in 1788 attracted notice by a mon...

Scheffer: I. Ary Ary, a French painter, born in Dort, Holland, in 1795, died at Argenteuil, near Paris, in June, 1858. At 12 years of age he painted a historical picture which attracted much attention in Amste...

Scheldt: Scheldt (Flem. Schelde; Fr. Escaut; anc. Scaldis), a river of France, Belgium, and Holland, having its source in a small lake near St. Quentin in the French department of Aisne. It first flows N. by C...

Schenectady: Schenectady, an E. county of New York, traversed by the Mohawk river, the Erie canal, and several railroads; area, 221 sq. in.; pop. in 1875, 24,895. The soil in the valley of the Mohawk is very ferti...

Schlegel: I. August Wilhelm Von August Wilhelm Von, a German scholar, born in Hanover, Sept. 5, 1767, died in Bonn, May 12, 1845. He was a son of the poet and clergyman Johann Adolf Schlegel, and studied at Gö...

Schleswig, Or Sleswick (Dan: Schleswig, Or Sleswick (Dan. Slesvig). I. Formerly an independent duchy governed by the king of Denmark, now the N. part of the Prussian province of Schleswig-Holstein. It is bounded N. by Jutland, fr...

Schleswig-Holstein: Schleswig-Holstein, a province of Prussia, formed in 1866, and consisting of the former duchies of Schleswig and Holstein, bounded N. by Denmark, E. by the Baltic, Lübeck, and Lauenburg, S. by the pro...

Schlettstadt (Fr. Schelestadt Or Schlestadt): Schlettstadt (Fr. Schelestadt Or Schlestadt), a town of Germany, in Lower Alsace, on the left bank of the Ill, 25 m. S. S. W. of Stras-burg; pop. in 1871, 9,307, chiefly Roman Catholics. It contains s...

Schlozer: I. August Ludwig Von August Ludwig Von, a German historian, born at Gaggstedt, Würtemberg, July 5, 1735, died in Göttingen, Sept. 9, 1809. He studied in Wittenberg and Göttingen, and became a private...

Schoffer, Or Schoiffer, Peter: Schoffer, Or Schoiffer, Peter, a German printer, born at Gernsheim, near Darmstadt, about 1430, died about 1503. In early life he was a copyist at Paris, but about 1450 became an assistant in the prin...

Schoharie: Schoharie, an E. county of New York, drained by Schoharie and Catskill creeks; area, 675 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 33,340. A branch of the Catskill mountains occupies the S. and W. part, and a ridge calle...

School Brothers And School Sisters: School Brothers And School Sisters, the collective name of numerous associations in the Roman Catholic church, devoted to the education of youth. The first of these associations, the Ursulines, arose ...

Schroder: I. Antoinette Sophie Antoinette Sophie, a German actress, born in Paderborn, Feb. 29, 1781, died in Munich, Feb. 25, 1868. She was a daughter of the comedian Burger, and became a celebrated tragedian...

Schuyler: I. A S. W. County Of New York; Area A S. W. County Of New York; Area, 352 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 18,989. A portion of Seneca lake, and Cayuga, Little, Mud, and other small lakes, are within its border...

Schuylkill: Schuylkill, a river of E. Pennsylvania, rising in the carboniferous highlands of Schuylkill co. and flowing S. E. into the Delaware river at Philadelphia; length, 120 m. It has slack-water navigation ...

Schwarzenmberg: I. Karl Philipp Karl Philipp, prince, and duke of Krumau, an Austrian field marshal, born in Vienna, April 15, 1771, died in Leipsic, Oct. 15, 1820. He distinguished himself under Lacy in the war aga...

Schwerin: Schwerin, a town of Germany, capital of the grand duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, on the W. side of the lake of the same name, 18 m. S. of its seaport Wismar; pop. in 1871, 26,804. It consists of the A...

Schwytz: Schwytz, a N. E. canton of Switzerland, bordering on the cantons of Zürich, St. Gall, Glarus, Uri, Unterwalden, Lucerne, and Zug; area, 350 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 47,705, nearly all Germans and Roman C...

Scilly Islands: Scilly Islands, a group at the W. entrance of the English channel, belonging to the county of Cornwall, about 30 m. W. S. W. of Land's End; lat. of the lighthouse on St. Agnes, 49 53' N., Ion. 6&...

Scinde, Or Sindh Sinde: Scinde, Or Sindh Sinde, an administrative division or commissionership of the province of Bombay in British India, bounded N. by Be-loochistan and the Punjaub, E. by Rajpoota-na, S. by the great weste...

Scioto: Scioto, a river of Ohio, rising in Hardin co., and flowing first nearly E. and then S. by E. to Columbus, thence S. to the Ohio, which it joins at Portsmouth. It is about 200 m. long, and navigable 13...

Scipio: Scipio, a Roman patrician family belonging to the Cornelia gens. The tomb of the Scipios, discovered in 1616 and excavated in 1780, is near the modern gate of St. Sebastian. The most distinguished mem...

Scire Facias: Scire Facias, in law, a judicial writ founded upon some record, and requiring the person against whom it is brought to show cause why the person bringing it should not have the advantage of such recor...

Scllivan: I. John John, an American general, born in Berwick, Me., Feb. 17, 1740, died in Durham, N. II., Jan. 23, 1795. He practised law in Durham. In 1774 he was a member of the first general congress, and i...

Scolithus: Scolithus, a supposed fossil burrowing worm of the arenico-la family, whose long vertical holes are very common in the Potsdam sandstones, of the lower Silurian period. These holes, now filled with ro...

Scoresby: I. William William, an English navigator, born at Cropton, Yorkshire, May 3, 1760, died in 1829. He was bred a farmer, and at the age of 29 entered on a seafaring life; and he became an adventurous a...

Scorpion: Scorpion, an articulate animal of the class arachnida or spiders, division pulmonarioe or those which breathe by air sacs, order pedipal-pi, and genus scorpio (Linn.). The body is long, the head and t...

Scotland (2): Scotland, the N. part of the island of Great Britain, and one of the three kingdoms of the British empire in Europe. It consists of a mainland and several groups of islands on the N. and W. coasts, an...

Scott: Scott, the name of 11 counties in the United States. I. A S. W. County Of Virginia A S. W. County Of Virginia, bounded S. by Tennessee and intersected by Clinch river and the N. fork of Holston rive...

Scottish Authors And Publishers William And Robert Chambers: Scottish Authors And Publishers William And Robert Chambers, born at Peebles, William in 1800, and Robert in 1802; the latter died March 17, 1871. Thrown in boyhood, after receiving the education whic...

Scranton: Scranton, a city of Luzerne co., Pennsylvania, on the left or S. E. bank of the Lackawanna river, 105 m. N. by W. of Philadelphia; pop. in 1853, about 3,000; in 1860, 9,223; in 1870, 35,092, of whom 1...

Screamer: Screamer, the name of a group of South American wading birds, of the subfamily pala-medeinoe, so named from the loudness and shrillness of the voice. The bill is short, elevated, and curved like that ...

Screw: Screw, a device constituting one of the mechanical powers. It is in two forms: one, known as the external, convex, or male screw, is a cylinder of wood or metal surrounded with either a spiral groove ...

Scriveners Palsy, Or Writers Cramp: Scriveners' Palsy, Or Writers' Cramp, a deranged condition of the motor nerves distributed to the muscles of the fingers and thumb holding the pen. It often completely prevents writing, and, although ...

Scrofula: Scrofula, a blood disease manifesting itself in a great variety of organs, and characterized when fully developed by the presence of a peculiar unorganized matter termed scrofulous. The name is suppos...

Scudery, Or Scuderi: I. Georges De Georges De, a French author, born in Havre about 1601, died in Paris, May 14, 1667. After serving without distinction in the army, he became known by attacks upon Corneille's Cid, and b...

Sculpture: Sculpture (Lat. sculpere, to cut out, to carve), literally, the art of cutting or carving any substance into images. The term is used generally to indicate any process by which the forms of objects ar...

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