The American Cyclopaedia Vol12 | by George Ripley And Charles A. Dana

The American Cyclopaedia - Popular Dictionary Of General Knowledge. Vol12

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

Union: Union, the name of 16 counties in the United States. I. A N. E. County Of New Jersey A N. E. County Of New Jersey, bounded N. W. by Passaic river, E. by Staten Island sound and Newark bay, and S. pa...

United Brethren In Christ: United Brethren In Christ, a Protestant church, frequently confounded with the Moravians, with whom, however, they have no ecclesiastical connection. They arose among the Germans in Pennsylvania about...

United Evangelical Church: United Evangelical Church, an ecclesiastical denomination in Germany, which arose in 1817 out of a union of the Lutheran and Reformed churches. Attempts at uniting these two churches were made as earl...

United States Coast Survey: United States Coast Survey. The coast survey of the United States is a national undertaking of high character and importance. Having an extended and dangerous seacoast, with a large foreign commerce, ...

United States Of America: United States Of America, a federal republic in North America, comprising the central portion of the continent and the territory of Alaska, separated from the rest by British Columbia. (See Alaska.) T...

United States of Columbia, Or Estados Unidos De Colombia: United States of Columbia, Or Estados Unidos De Colombia, formerly New Granada, a republic of South America, lying between lat. 12 21' N. and 1 20' S., and lon. 68 52' and 83 5' W....

United States Of Venezuela: United States Of Venezuela, a republic of South America, extending from lat. 1 8' to 12 16' N, and from lon. 60 to 73 17' W. It is bounded N. by the Caribbean sea, E. by the Atlant...

Universalists: Universalists, a religious denomination, holding the' final destruction of evil, and the restoration of all souls through Jesus Christ. The following statement probably represents the belief of the gr...

University (Lat. Universitas): University (Lat. Universitas), a corporation, consisting of the teachers or students, or teachers and students, of an educational institution, empowered to confer degrees in one or more faculties. The...

University Of Cambridge: University Of Cambridge, an English seat of learning, of very ancient origin. It is probable that it was a place of resort for students as early as the 7th century. The date of its incorporation as a ...

University Of Michigan: University Of Michigan, an institution of learning at Ann Arbor, which owes its foundation to a grant of lands by congress in 1826 to the territory of Michigan, including two townships containing 72 e...

University Of Minnesota: University Of Minnesota, an institution of learning in Minneapolis, Minn., beautifully situated on a bluff on the E. bank of the Mississippi river, one mile below the falls of St. Anthony. The college...

University Of Oxford: University Of Oxford, one of the two greatest seats of learning in Great Britain. The city of Oxford, as the scene of important military and political events, is mentioned from the time of Alfred down...

University Of Virginia: University Of Virginia, an institution of learning in Albemarle co., Virginia, 1£ m. W. of Charlottesville. The name of the post office is the same as that of the institution. In 1818 the general asse...

University Of Wisconsin: University Of Wisconsin, an institution of learning at Madison, Wisconsin. In 1838 congress granted to the territory of Wisconsin 46,080 acres of land for the support of a university. In that year the...

Unterwalden: Unterwalden, a central canton of Switzerland, bounded N. by Lucerne and Schwytz, E. by Uri, S. by Bern, and W. by Lucerne; area, 295 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 26,116, of whom 25,687 were Eoman Catholics. ...

Upas Tree: Upas Tree, a Javan tree belonging to the breadfruit family (artocarpeoe), which botanists now unite with the mulberry family (moreai). The native name of the tree is bohun upas, and its resinous and h...

The Upper And Lower Palatinate: The Upper And Lower Palatinate, two separate states of the old German empire, not contiguous, though under one ruler. Their territory is now comprised in that of Bavaria, Baden, Hesse-Darmstadt, and P...

Upsal, Or Upsala: I. A Lan Or District Of Sweden A Lan Or District Of Sweden, in Svealand, bordering on the gulf of Bothnia, Stockholm, Lake Maelar, Westmanland, and Gefleborg; area, 2,015 sq. m.; pop. in 1874, 102,62...

Upshur: I. A N. Central County Of West Virginia A N. Central County Of West Virginia, bounded E. by the Middle fork of the Monongahela river, and intersected by the Buckhannon; area, about 500 sq. m.; pop. i...

Ural: Ural, formerly Yaik, a river of Russia, forming a part of the geographical boundary between Europe and Asia. It takes its rise in the district of Troitzk, in the Asiatic portion of the government of O...

Ural Mountains: Ural Mountains, the chain of mountains forming the N. E. boundary of Europe, and geographically separating European Russia from Siberia, though almost all included in the administrative divisions of t...

Uranium: Uranium, a metal, the protoxide of which, supposed to be the metal itself, was discovered in 1789 by Klaproth in the mineral pitchblende, and was named by him after the planet Uranus, then lately disc...

Uranus: Uranus, the seventh planet in order of distance from the sun, and the outermost but one of all the known members of the planetary system. Uranus travels at a mean distance of 1,753,869,000 m. from the...

Urbain Jean Joseph Leverrier: Urbain Jean Joseph Leverrier, a French astronomer, born in St. Lo, March 11, 1811. He studied successively at the college of St. L6, at Caen, and at the college of Louis le Grand in Paris, and graduat...

Urban: Urban, the name of eight popes, of whom the following are the most important. I. Urban H (Othon De Lagny) Urban H (Othon De Lagny), born at Chatillonsur-Marne, France; about 1042, died in Rome, July...

Urbana: Urbana, a city and the county seat of Champaign co., Ohio, at the intersection of the Atlantic and Great Western, the Pennsylvania Central, and the Sandusky, Dayton, and Cincinnati railroads, 40 m. W....

Urbixo (Anc. Jjroinum Hortenae): Urbixo (Anc. Jjroinum Hortenae), a city of Italy, in the Marches, capital of the province of Pesaro ed Urbino, on an isolated hill in the midst of bleak mountains, 20 m. S. W. of Pesaro; pop. of the t...

Uredo (Lat. Urere To Burn): Uredo (Lat. Urere To Burn), a genus of fungi, to which were formerly referred those minute plants which, under the names of smut, bunt, and rust, sometimes produce such disastrous effects upon grain a...

Uri: Uri, a canton of Switzerland, bounded N. by Schwytz, E. and S. E. by Glarus and Grisons, S. by Ticino, from which it is separated by the St. Gothard mountains, and W. by Valais, Bern, and Unterwalden;...

Urine: Urine, the excrementitious fluid eliminated by the kidneys, and containing the products of disintegration or physiological waste of the animal system. The physical and chemical characters of urine pre...

Ursula: Ursula, a saint of the Roman Catholic church, and, according to the legend, a daughter of a Christian prince of Britain. The date of her martyrdom is variously given as 237, 383, or 451. She was deman...

Ursulines: Ursulines, a monastic order in the Roman Catholic church, founded at Brescia in 1533 by Angela Merici (born at Desenzano in 1474, died March 21, 1540, canonized May 24, 1807). It was at first a volunt...

Uruguay: Uruguay, a river of South America, which rises on the W. slope of the Sierra do Mar in the Brazilian province of Santa Catharina. During the first 75 m. of its course it flows N. W. through the plains...

Uruguay, Or Banda Oriental Del Uruguay: Uruguay, Or Banda Oriental Del Uruguay, a republic of South America, lying between lat. 30 and 35 S., and lon. 53 and 58 30' W., bounded N., N. E., and E. by Brazil, S. E. and S. b...

Urumiah, Or Oroomiah: I. A Town Of Persia A Town Of Persia, in the province of Azerbijan, 65 m. S. W. of Tabriz; pop. estimated by the Austrian consul general in 1872 at 50,000 (other estimates varying from 25,000 to 40,0...

Uses: The word usus was employed in the Roman civil law, and there meant a right to take so much of the fruit or profit of a thing as was needed for sustenance; while usufructu8 had a larger meaning, includ...

Usury: Originally this word meant any taking of money for the use of money; and he was therefore a usurer who, lending money, required in payment anything more than the amount which he lent. This was once co...

Utah: Utah, a territory of the United States, situated between lat. 37 and 42 N., and lon. 109 and 114 W.; general length N. and S., about 350 m.; general breadth, about 260 m.; area, 84...

Utahs, Or Utes: Utahs, Or Utes, a large tribe of American Indians belonging to the Shoshone family, and roaming over a great part of New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, and Nevada. They are hunter tribes, hardy, athletic, an...

Utica: Utica, an ancient city of Africa, on the W. arm of the river Bagradas, near the bay of Carthage, a short distance N. W. of the present city of Tunis; its site is now occupied by the little village of...

Utrecht: I. A Province Of The Netherlands A Province Of The Netherlands, bounded N. by North Holland and the Zuyder Zee, E. by Gelderland, S. by Gelderland and South Holland, and W. by South Holland; area, 53...

Utricularia (Lat. Utriculus A Little Bladder): Utricularia (Lat. Utriculus A Little Bladder), the bladderwort, a genus of aquatic or marsh plants, of which there are more than 100 species, some of which are found in nearly all parts of the world, ...

Uzbecks: Uzbecks, a people of Turkistan, belonging to the Turkish or Tartaric branch of the Turanian race, of which they are the most civilized tribe in that country, and constituting the dominant native popul...

V: THE 22d letter and 17th consonant of, the English alphabet. It was anciently called U consonant. Though found on the most ancient Roman monuments of which we have any knowledge, and even in Etruscan a...

VIII: VIII. A S. W. county of Kansas, bordering on the Indian territory; area, 780 sq. m.; yet unsettled. Its N. E. corner is intersected by the Nescatunga river, the S. E. corner by the Cimarron, while a b...

Vaccination: Vaccination (Lat. Vacca, A Cow), inoculation for cowpox as a protection against smallpox, first practised by Dr. Edward Jenner in 1796. (See Jexner.) On the 2d or 3d day after virus taken from a perfe...

Valais (Ger. Wallis): Valais (Ger. Wallis), a S. W. canton of Switzerland, bounded N. by Vaud and Bern, E. by Uri and Ticino, S. E. and S. by Piedmont, and S. W. and S. by Savoy; area, 2,026 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 96,887, n...

Valckenaer: I. Lodewjjk Casper Lodewjjk Casper, a Dutch scholar, born in Leeuwarden in 1715, died in Leyden, March 14, 1785. He became professor of Greek at Franeker in 1741, and also of Grecian antiquity in 175...

Valdivia: I. A S. Province Of Chili A S. Province Of Chili, bordering on the province of Arauco, the Andes (which separate it from the Argentine Republic and Patagonia), Llanquihue, and the Pacific ocean; area...

Valencia (2): I. An Ancient Kingdom Of Spain An Ancient Kingdom Of Spain, bounded N. by Catalonia, E. and S. E. by the Mediterranean, S. W. by Murcia, W. by New Castile, and N. W. by Aragon; area, 8,897 sq. m.; po...

Valenciennes (Under The Merovingians Valentiance): Valenciennes (Under The Merovingians Valentiance), a town of France, in the department of Le Nord, at the confluence of the Scheldt and Ronelle, 27 m. S. E. of Lille; pop. in 1872, 24,662. Its fortres...

Valentin Jameray Duval: Valentin Jameray Duval, a French scholar, born in Champagne in 1695, died in Vienna in September, 1775. He was of humble parentage, and was employed in his boyhood as a herdsman, but found time for st...

Valentine Greatrakes: Valentine Greatrakes, an Irish quack, born at Affane, county Waterford, Feb. 14, 1628, died in Dublin, probably about 1700. He was educated at Trinity college, Dublin, and on the outbreak of the rebel...

Valentine Mott: Valentine Mott, an American surgeon, born at Glen Cove, Long Island, Aug. 20, 1785, died in New York, April, 26, 1865. He graduated as M.D. at Columbia college in 1806, and studied in London and Edinb...

Valentinian (Valentinianus): Valentinian (Valentinianus), the name of three Roman emperors. I. Flavins, Born At Oibalae, Pannonia Pannonia Flavins Born At Oibalae, in A. D. 321, died at Bregetio, in the same proviace, Nov. 17, ...

Valerian (Lat. Valere To Be Well): Valerian (Lat. Valere To Be Well), a genus of monopetalous plants, Valeriana, which with a few others makes up the family valerianacece. On account of a similarity in the structure of the individual f...

Valerian (Pitblius Licinius Valekianus): Valerian (Pitblius Licinius Valekianus), a Roman emperor, who reigned from A. I). 253 to 260. He was descended from a noble Roman family, rose to the highest honors of the state, and was fixed upon by...

Valerianic Acid, Or Valeric Acid: Valerianic Acid, Or Valeric Acid, an acid which bears the same relation to amylic alcohol that acetic acid does to ethylic or common alcohol. It was first obtained by Chevreul in 1817 from the fat of ...

Valetta, Or La Valetta: Valetta, Or La Valetta, a seaport town, capital of the island of Malta, on the N. E. coast, in lat. 35 54' N., Ion. 14 81' E.; pop. about 60,000. It occupies an elevated peninsula between tw...

Valium Tate: Valium Tate, an English poet, born in Dublin in 1652, died in Southwark, Aug. 12, 1715. He went to London, succeeded Shad well in 1692 as poet laureate, and died in the precincts of the mint, a privil...

Valladolid: I. A N. W. Province Of Spain A N. W. Province Of Spain, in Old Castile (by some included in the kingdom of Leon), bordering on Leon, Palencia, Burgos, Segovia, Avila, Salamanca, and Zamora; area, 3,0...

Vallisneria: Vallisneria, a genus of endogenous aquatiG plants, named in honor of Antonio Vallisnieri. It belongs to a small family, the hydrochariclacea, all water or marsh plants, and consists of but two species...

Valparaiso: I. A W. Central And The Smallest Province Of Chili A W. Central And The Smallest Province Of Chili, bounded N. by Aconcagua, E. and S. by Santiago, and W. by the Pacific; area, including the islands ...

Valtellina (From The It. Vol Tellina; Ger. Veltellin Or Veltlin): Valtellina (From The It. Vol Tellina; Ger. Veltellin Or Veltlin), a valley of Lombardy, in the province of Sondrio, separated by the Rhaetian Alps from the Engadine, bounded N. by the Swiss canton of ...

Van: I. A Town Of Turkish Armenia A Town Of Turkish Armenia, in the vilayet and 145 m. S. E. of the city of Erzerum, near the E. shore of Lake Van; pop. about 35,000. It is in a beautiful region of fruit ...

Van Buren: Van Buren, the name of four counties in the United States. I. A Central County Of Arkansas A Central County Of Arkansas, intersected by Little Red river; area, 1,260 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 5,107, of ...

Van Buren (2): I. Martin Martin, the eighth president of the United States, born at Kinderhook, N. Y., Dec. 5,1782, died there, July 24, 1862. He began the study of law at the age of 14, and passed the last year of...

Van Rensselaer: I. Stephen Stephen, known as the patroon, an American statesman, born in New York, Nov. 1, 1764, died in Albany, Jan. 26, 1839. He was the fifth in lineal descent from Kiliaen Van Rensselaer, the ...

Vanadium: Vanadium, a metal, first recognized as distinct in 1801 by Del Rio, who found it in the brown lead ore (now known as vanadinite) of Zimapan in Mexico, and called it erythronium. But it was generally c...

Vancouver Island: Vancouver Island, an island in the Pacific ocean, off the N. W. coast of North America, forming part of British Columbia, between lat. 48 18' and 50 55' N., and Ion. 123 15' and 128°...

Vandals: Vandals, an ancient confederacy of barbarous nations of Germanic race. Schafarik considered them a mixed people of Suevi, Slavs, and Celts, and others have held that they were Wends or Sarmatians; but...

Vanderbilt University: Vanderbilt University, an institution of learning in the western suburbs of Nashville, Tenn. It was chartered in 1872 as the Central university of the Methodist Episcopal church, South, but the effort...

Vanderburgh: Vanderburgh, a S. W. county of Indiana, bounded S. by the Ohio river; area, 216 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 33,145. The surface is generally undulating and the soil very fertile. Bituminous coal is found in...

Vandervelde, Or Vandevelde: I. Adrian, A Dutch Painter A Dutch Painter Adrian, born in Amsterdam in 1639, died there in 1672. He excelled in figures, and was frequently employed by Ruysdael, Hobbema, Van der Heyden, and other a...

Vandyke, Or Van Dyck, Sir Anthony: Vandyke, Or Van Dyck, Sir Anthony, a Flemish painter, born in Antwerp, March 22, 1599, died in London, Dec. 9, 1641. He was the most illustrious pupil of Rubens, and finally surpassed him in elegant p...

Vanilla: Vanilla (Span, diminutive of vaina, a sheath, the pods being supposed to resemble in shape a little knife sheath), the botanical name of a genus of orchids, and the popular name of the fruit or pods o...

Vanloo: I. Jean Baptiste Jean Baptiste, a French painter, born in Aix, Provence, Jan. 14, 1684, died there, Dec. 19, 1745. He was descended from a family of Dutch painters, and found a patron in the prince o...

The Vapor Of Water Steam: Water, and even ice, at all temperatures, when not confined within impermeable walls, continually give off vapor, the surface particles assuming the gaseous state with a rapidity determined by the tem...

Vaporization: Vaporization, the conversion of the particles of liquids, and in some instances of solids, into a gaseous condition. When the action takes place from the surface, it is called evap' oration; when from...

Var: Var, a S. E. department of France, in Provence, bordering on Basses-Alpes, Alpes-Maritimes, Bouches-du-Rhone, and the Mediterranean; area, 2,349 sq. m.; pop. in 1872, 293,757. The Hyeres islands lie o...

Varicose Veins: Varicose Veins, veins in a state of permanent and preternatural dilatation. The cause of the disease is to be looked for in some obstruction to the return of blood through the affected veins. In some ...

Varna: Varna, a seaport town of European Turkey, in Bulgaria, near the N. E. spurs of the Balkan mountains, on the W. coast of the Black sea, 160 m. N. N. W. of Constantinople; lat. 43 12' N., Ion. 27&d...

Varnish: Varnish, a solution of resinous matter, used for covering the surfaces of bodies to give them a shining appearance, and to protect them against the air and moisture. The principal substances which ent...

Vaseo Nunez De Balboa: Vaseo Nunez De Balboa, a Spanish American discoverer, born at Xeres de los Caballeros, Es-tremadura, in 1475, beheaded at Castillade Oro, Darien, in 1517. He was a nobleman who escaped from his credit...

Vasili Golovnin: Vasili Golovnin, a Russian navigator, born in the government of Riazan in 1770, died in St. Petersburg in 1832. He entered the imperial navy at an early age, and soon became noted for skill and courag...

Vasili Osipovitcb Bebutoff: Vasili Osipovitcb Bebutoff, prince, a Russian soldier, born in 1792, died in Tiflis, March 22, 1858. His family, originally Armenians, acquired distinction in Georgia. He joined the army of the Caucas...

Vasili Zhukoffski: Vasili Zhukoffski, a Russian poet, born in 1783, died in Baden-Baden, April 24, 1852. He studied in Moscow, and in 1808-9 edited the Viestnik Evropi (European Messenger), then the leading periodical...

Vassar College: Vassar College, an institution of learning near Poughkeepsie, N. Y., founded by Matthew Vassar for the advanced education of young women. The founder was born in Norfolk county, England, April 29, 179...

Vatican: Vatican, the papal palace at Rome, so called from its situation on the Mons Vaticanus, at the extreme N. W. part of the city. It adjoins the basilica of St. Peter, and is a little less than half a mil...

Vaucluse: Vaucluse, a S. E. department of France, in Provence, embracing the ancient Comtat-Venaissin and the principality of Orange, and bordering on Dr6me, Basses-Alpes, Bouches-duRhône, Gard, and Ardéche; ar...

Vaud, Or Pays De Vaud (Ger. Waadt Or Waadtland): Vaud, Or Pays De Vaud (Ger. Waadt Or Waadtland), a S. W. canton of Switzerland, bounded N. by the canton and lake of Neufchatel, E. by Fribonrg, S. by the canton and lake of Geneva, and W. by France, ...

Vaudreuil: Vaudreuil, a S. W. county of Quebec, Canada, on the S. bank of the Ottawa river, at its entrance into the St. Lawrence; area, 182 sq. m.; pop. in 1871, 11,003, of whom 9,392 were of French, 570 of Iri...

Veda: Veda, the general designation of the scriptures of the Brahmanic religion. The word means knowledge, the Vedas being considered to contain the knowledge of all knowledge. The Veda texts or Veda San...

Vehmic Courts: Vehmic Courts (Ger. Vehmgerichte or Femgerichte, from old Ger. Fern, punishment, and Gericht, tribunal), secret tribunals which flourished chiefly in Westphalia during the middle ages. They are not me...

Veins: Veins, the name applied to four systems of blood vessels, differing in structure, course, and function, and having in common only the character of conveying blood toward and not from the heart. These ...

Velia, Or Elea: Velia, Or Elea, an ancient Greek city on the W. coast of southern Italy, believed to have been settled by Ionian colonists from Phocsea about 544 B. C. Like their compatriots in Massilia, they were ce...

Vellore: Vellore, a town of British India, in the district of North Arcot, Madras, on the S. side of the river Palar, in lat. 12 55' N., Ion. 79 11' E., 79 m. TV. S. TV. of the city of Madras, and 16...

Velocimeter: Velocimeter, an instrument for measuring the velocity of projectiles. Prior to 1840 such measurements were made by suspending a gun in a pendulum, and observing the arc described in its recoil. This g...

Velocipede (Lat. Velox Swift And Pes, Foot): Velocipede (Lat. Velox Swift And Pes, Foot), a light carriage so constructed that it may be swiftly propelled by the feet of a person mounted upon it. In its earliest form it was invented at Mannheim ...

Velvet (Lat. Vellus A Fleece): Velvet (Lat. Vellus A Fleece), a textile fabric woven wholly of silk or of silk and cotton mixed, having a loose pile or short shag of threads on the surface, which give it a fine soft nap. Cotton stu...

Venakgo: Venakgo, a N. W. county of Pennsylvania, drained by the Alleghany river, French creek or Venango river, and Oil, Sugar, and Sandy creeks; area, 850 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 47,925. A large part of the co...

Vendace: Vendace, the name given in Great Britain to a fish of the salmon family and genus coregonus (Cuv.). This fish, G. Willughbii (Jard.), or C. albula (Cuv. and Val.), is 7 to 8 in. long, delicate greenis...

Vendome: I. Cesar, Duke De Duke De Cesar, a French prince, the eldest son of Henry IV. by his mistress Gabrielle d'Estrées, born in the castle of Coucy, Picardy, in June, 1594, died in Paris, Oct. 22, 1665. H...

Veneer: Veneer, a thin sheet of wood or other material used to give an exterior finish to articles of cabinet or other work, the body of which is of cheaper material. The art of veneering is not modern; accor...

Venetia: Venetia, in ancient geography, a district of upper Italy, bounded by the Carnic Alps, the Timavus (now Timavo), the Adriatic, and the Athesis (Adige), which separated it from Cisalpine Gaul proper, of...

Venice (It. Venezia): I. A Province Of Italy A Province Of Italy, in Venetia, bordering on the Adriatic and the provinces of Udine, Treviso, Padua, and Rovigo; area, 850 sq. m.; pop. in 1872, 337,538. The lagoons occupy h...

Venom: Venom, a kind of secretion produced in certain animal bodies, which acts as a poison when introduced into the tissues of other animals. The characteristics of a venom, as distinguished from poisons in...

Ventriloquism (Lat. Venter The Belly And Loqui, To Speak): Ventriloquism (Lat. Venter The Belly And Loqui, To Speak), a kind of vocal mimicry, by which an illusion is produced in relation to the source or direction from which the sound proceeds. The name, or ...

Venus: Venus, in Roman mythology, the goddess of love, especially of sensual love. She was originally considered a divinity of very little importance, and no mention was made of her in the documents relating...

Venus (2): Venus, the second planet in order of distance from the sun. According to the estimate of the sun's distance used throughout this work (91,430,000 m.), Venus travels at a mean distance from the sun of ...

Venus's Flower Basket: Venus's Flower Basket, the common name of the euplectella speciosa (Gray), a very beautiful silicious sponge, found among the Philippine islands. The animal framework or skeleton, which in the living ...

Vera Cruz: I. A State Of Mexico A State Of Mexico, bounded N. W. by San Luis Potosi N. by Tamaulipas, E. by the gulf of Mexico, Tabasco, and Chiapas, S. W. by Oajaca, and W. by Puebla and Hidalgo; area, 27,433 ...

Veratrine, Or Veratria: Veratrine, Or Veratria, an organic base discovered in 1818 by Meissner in sabadilla seeds, veratrum sabadilla, and soon afterward by Pelletier and Caventou in white hellebore, veratrum album. It proba...

Verbena (Lat. Verlenaca Vervain From Verbena, Sacred Boughs): Verbena (Lat. Verlenaca Vervain From Verbena, Sacred Boughs), the botanical and common name of a very large genus of herbs and shrubs, abundant in tropical countries; also called vervain, and in Franc...

Verboeckhoven: I. Eugene Joseph Eugene Joseph, a Belgian painter, born at Warneton, West Flanders, June 8, 1799. He studied under his father, who had settled in Brussels as a sculptor, and learned painting alone. ...

Vercelli (Anc. Vercellce): Vercelli (Anc. Vercellce), a city of Piedmont, Italy, in the province of Novara, on the W. bank of the Sesia, 40 m. N. E. of Turin; pop. in 1872, 27,349. It is the capital of a district of the same na...

Verdun (Anc. Verodunum): Verdun (Anc. Verodunum), a town of Lorraine, France, in the department of Meuse, on the river Meuse, 130 m. E. N. E. of Paris; pop. in 1872, 10,738. The Meuse, which.is navigable here, separates into ...

Vere: I. Sir Aubrey De Sir Aubrey De, an Irish poet, born Aug. 20, 1788, died July 5, 1846. He succeeded to the baronetcy and family estates, in Limerick and Tipperary counties, in 1818. He published two d...

Vermilion, Or Vermillion: I. A S. W. Parish Of Louisiana A S. W. Parish Of Louisiana, bordering on the gulf of Mexico, and intersected by Vermilion river; area, about 1,400 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 4,528, of whom 1,047 were colo...

Vermont: Vermont, so called from its principal range of mountains (Fr. verd or vert, green, and mont, mountain), one of the New England states of the American Union, and the first admitted under the federal co...

Vernet: Vernet, the name of a family of French painters. The records of Avignon for 1669 mention André Vernet, a painter. Antoine, a decorative painter, two panels by whom are now in the museum of Avignon, wa...

Vernier: Vernier, an instrument attached to a scale for the purpose of measuring spaces smaller than those into which the scale is actually divided. The principle of the vernier will be best understood from th...

Vernon: I. A S. W. Parish Of Louisiana A S. W. Parish Of Louisiana, separated from Texas on the west by Sabine river, and drained by Bayou Lanacoco and affluents of the Calcasieu river; area, about 1,450 sq....

Verona: I. A N. E. Province Of Italy A N. E. Province Of Italy, in the W. part of Venetia, bordering on Tyrol and the provinces of Vicenza, Padua, Rovigo, Mantua, and Brescia, from which it is separated by t...

Verres: Verres, a Roman governor of Sicily, put to death in 43 B. 0. He was the son of a Roman senator, and in 82 became quaestor to Cn. Papirius Carbo, but subsequently deserted the Marian faction to which C...

Versailles: Versailles, a city of France, capital of the department of Seine-et-Oise, and legally of the republic, 10 m. S. W. of the centre of Paris; pop. in 1872, 61,686. It is built with great regularity, the ...

Vertebrata: Vertebrata, a name applied by Lamarck to the highest branch of the animal kingdom, from its being characterized by a bony or cartilaginous internal skeleton, of which the most essential and persistent...

Vespasian (Titus Flavius Sabintts Vespasianus): Vespasian (Titus Flavius Sabintts Vespasianus), a Roman emperor, born near Reate in the Sabine country, Nov. 17, A. D. 9, died there, June 24, 79. His father was a petty officer of the revenue, who di...

Vesta: Vesta, the Roman name of the goddess of the home or hearth, identical with the Greek Hestia. According to the Hesiodic theogony, she was the daughter of Cronos (Saturn) and Rhea. Her brother Jupiter p...

Vestal Virgins: Vestal Virgins (Lat. testales\ the priestesses who served in the temple of Vesta, and guarded the sacred fire. The earliest traditions ascribe their origin to a period before the foundation of Rome, R...

Vestris (Originally Vestri): Vestris (Originally Vestri), the name of a family of dancers of Italian extraction, who emigrated from Florence to Paris about 1740. I. Amriolo Maria Gasparo Amriolo Maria Gasparo, born in Florence ...

Vesuvius: Vesuvius, a volcano of southern Italy, on the E. shore of the bay of Naples, 8 m. E. S. E. of the city. It is the eastern extremity and the principal vent of a chain of volcanoes extending from it thr...

Vetch, Or Tares: Vetch, Or Tares, the name of plants of the genus vicia, which is the ancient Latin name. The genus, which belongs to the leguminosoe, is closely related to the pea and lentil, from the first of which ...

Veterinary Science (Lat. Veterinarius Pertaining To Domestic Animals): Veterinary medicine was studied among the ancient Egyptians, Arabs, Parsees, and Hindoos, and it attracted considerable attention among the ancient Greeks. Hippocratps and Aristotle describe maladies ...

Vetiver (Fr. From The East Indian Vitivayr): Vetiver (Fr. From The East Indian Vitivayr). Several grasses of the genus andropogon, which is largely represented in this country, have aromatic properties in a marked degree; in some cases these are...

Veto: Veto, a Latin word, signifying I forbid, which has been introduced into the political language of modern nations to signify the act by which the executive power refuses its sanction to a measure pro...

Vevay, Or Vevey (Anc. Vibisciim): Vevay, Or Vevey (Anc. Vibisciim), a town of Switzerland, in the canton of Vaud, 10 m. S. E. of Lausanne; pop. in 1870, 7,881, chiefly Protestants. It is beautifully situated at the mouth of the gorge ...

Viatka: I. An E. Government Of European Russia An E. Government Of European Russia, bordering on Vologda, Perm, Ufa, Kazan, Nizhegorod, and Kostroma; area, 59,114 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 2,406,024, including T...

Vibrio (Mull): Vibrio (Mull), the type of the vibrionia, a family of minute colorless organisms, arranged by Ehrenberg and Dujardin among infusorial animals from the possession of apparently voluntary motions, but n...

Viburnum: Viburnum, an ancient name of a genus of monopetalous shrubs or small trees of the honeysuckle family (caprifoliaceoe), in which there are about 80 species; the majority are natives of North and South ...

Vicente Espinel: Vicente Espinel, a Spanish poet, born in Ronda, Andalusia, about 1545, died in Madrid about 1634. His father's name was Francisco Goma, but, according to a Spanish custom, he adopted the name of his m...

Vicente Guerrero: Vicente Guerrero, president of Mexico, born at Tixtla about 1770, executed at Cailapa, Feb. 14, 1831. He was a mulatto, and originally a slave. In the struggle for the independence of Mexico he exhibi...

Vicenza: I. A N. E. Province Of Italy A N. E. Province Of Italy, in Venetia, bordering on Tyrol and the provinces of Belluno, Treviso, Padua, and Verona; area, 1,016 sq. m.; pop. in 1872, 363,161. The princip...

Vicksburg: Vicksburg, a city and port of entry of Mississippi, county seat of Warren co., on the E. bank of the Mississippi river, about 400 m. above New Orleans and nearly the same below Memphis, Tenn., and on ...

Victor Amadeus II: Victor Amadeus II, duke of Savoy and afterward king of Sardinia, born May 14,1666, died Oct. 31, 1732. In 1675 he succeeded his father Charles Emanuel II., under the regency of his mother, against who...

Victor Considerant: Victor Considerant, a French socialist, born at Salins, near Besancon, Oct. 12, 1808. He was educated in the polytechnic school in Paris, entered the army, and rose to the rank of captain of engineers...

Victor Cousin: Victor Cousin, a French philosopher, born in Paris, Nov. 28, 1792, died at Cannes, Jan. 15, 1867. His father was a clock-maker, a disciple of Jean Jacques Rousseau, and a revolutionist. The first publ...

Victor Emajnjel II. (Vittorio Emmanuele Maria Alberto Eugenio Ferdinando Tommaso): Victor Emajnjel II. (Vittorio Emmanuele Maria Alberto Eugenio Ferdinando Tommaso), king of Italy, formerly king of Sardinia, born in Turin, March 14,1820. He is the eldest son of Charles Albert and Th...

Victor Emmanuel Leclerc: Victor Emmanuel Leclerc, a French general, born at Pontoise, March 17, 1772, died near Santo Domingo, Nov. 2, 1802. He enlisted in the army in 1791, and distinguished himself during the siege of Toulo...

Victor Euphemion Philarctc Chasles: Victor Euphemion Philarctc Chasles, a French author, cousin of the preceding, born at Main-villiers, near Chartres, Oct. 8,1708, died in Venice, Aug. 3, 1873. In 1815, while a printer's apprentice, he...

Victor Henri Rochefort-Lucay: Victor Henri Rochefort-Lucay, count de, popularly known as Henri Rochefoet, a French journalist, born in Paris, Jan. 30, 1830. In early life he was one of the writers of the Charivari. He held for som...

Victor Jacquemont: Victor Jacquemont, a French traveller and naturalist, born in Paris, Aug. 8, 1801, died in Bombay, Dec. 7, 1832. After studying botany under Adrien de Jussieu, he visited North America and Hayti. Whil...

Victor Joseph Etienne De Jouy: Victor Joseph Etienne De Jouy, a French author, born at Jouy, near Versailles, probably in 1764, died in St. Germain-en-Laye, Sept. 4, 1846. Having enlisted in the army when a boy, he went to South Am...

Victor Langlois: Victor Langlois, a French orientalist, born in Dieppe, March 20, 1829, died May 14, 1869. He explored Cilicia and Little Armenia in 1852-'3, and the terra cotta figures which he had found in his excav...

Victor Schoelcher: Victor Schoelcher, a French author, born in Paris, July 21, 1804. He early became known as an advocate of free institutions, visited Mexico, the United States, the West Indies, and the East, and the b...

Victoria: Victoria, a British colony in S. E. Australia, between lat. 34 and 39 9' S., and Ion. 141 and 150 E., bounded N. E. and N. by New South Wales, from which it is separated by the Mur...

Victoria (2): Victoria, a S. county of Texas, bounded E. in part by Garcitas creek, and S. W. by Coleto creek and Guadalupe river, the latter also intersecting it; area, 925 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 4,860, of whom 1,7...

Victoria (Victoria Alexandrina): Victoria (Victoria Alexandrina), queen of Great Britain and Ireland and empress of India, born at Kensington palace, May 24, 1819. She is the sixth svereign of the house of Hanover, and is the o...

The Victorious Charles VII (Of France): The Victorious Charles VII., the fifth king of the house of Yalois, born in Paris, Feb. 22, 1403, died at the castle of Mehun-sur-Yevre, near Bourges, July 22, 1461. The fifth son of Charles VI. and I...

Viel-Castel: I. Horace De, Count, A French Author A French Author Horace De Count, born about 1797, died Oct. 1, 1864. He first published a Collection de costumes, armes et meubles (3 vols., Paris, 1826; 2d ed., ...

Vienna (Ger. Wien): Vienna (Ger. Wien), a city of Europe, capital of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy and of the province of Lower Austria, on the Danube, 330 m. S. S. E. of Berlin; lat. 48 13' N., Ion. 16 23' E.;...

Vietor Marie Hugo: Vietor Marie Hugo, a French poet and novelist, born in Besancon, Feb. 26, 1802. The son of an officer whose military duties called him out of France, he was carried in childhood to Elba, Corsica, Swit...

Vigo: Vigo, a W. county of Indiana, bordering on Illinois, and drained by the Wabash river; area, 400 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 33,549. The surface is level or undulating and diversified with forests and prairi...

Vilhelm Fredrik Palmblad: Vilhelm Fredrik Palmblad, a Swedish author, born at Liljested, Dec. 16, 1788, died in Upsal, Sept. 2, 1852. He studied at the university of Upsal. In 1810 he bought the academic printing office, and b...

Villus Vidius: Villus Vidius, the Latinized name of Guido Guidi, an Italian physician, born in Florence about 1500, died in Pisa, May 26, 1569. Early in life he was called to France, where he was appointed first phy...

Vincennes: Vincennes, a city and the capital of Knox co., Indiana, on the E. bank of the Wabash river, here navigable by steamboats, about 90 m. above its mouth, and 100 m. S. W. of Indianapolis; pop. in 1850, 2...

Vincent Benedetti: Vincent Benedetti, count, a French diplomatist, born in Corsica about 1815. He is of Greek origin, and the husband of a wealthy Greek lady, was French consul in Cairo and Palermo, secretary of legatio...

Vincent De Paul: Vincent De Paul, a saint of the Roman Catholic church and founder of the congregation of sisters of charity, born at Pouy, Gascony, in 1576, died at St. Lazare, near Paris, Sept. 27, 1660. His father ...

Vineenzo Bellini: Vineenzo Bellini, an Italian composer, born in Catania, Sicily, Nov. 1 or 3, 1802, died at Pnteanx, near Paris, Sept. 24, 1835. His father and grandfather were musicians of indifferent reputation, and...

Vinegar: Vinegar, diluted impure acetic acid, in the form in which it is usually produced by the acetification of the fermented juices of fruits and other vegetable substances. The acetification of alcohol may...

Vinegar Plant: Many households are supplied with vinegar by preparing a weak solution of sugar or of molasses, and placing in this a fragment of a gelatinous substance known as vinegar plant. If left at a proper tem...

Vineland: Vineland, a post village of Cumberland co., New Jersey, on the West Jersey and New Jersey Southern railroads, 34 m. S. of Philadelphia and 115 m. S. S. W. of New York; pop. in 1875, about 2,300. It is...

Vino's Winds Or Slovens (Slav. Sloventzi): Vino's Winds Or Slovens (Slav. Sloventzi), a Slavic people inhabiting chiefly the rural districts of the Illyrian provinces of Cisleithan Austria. They are also designated as southern Wends, in contra...

Vinton: Vinton, a S. county of Ohio, drained by Salt and Raccoon creeks; area, 414 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 15,027. The surface is undulating and the soil very fertile. Bituminous coal and iron ore abound. The c...

Violet: Violet, the common name for plants of the genus viola (of which it is a diminutive through the It. violetta), an ancient name, adopted by botanists; the genus is the principal one in the small family ...

Violin: Violin, a stringed musical instrument, played with a bow, which in its earlier forms is of great and uncertain antiquity, but which assumed its present form about the beginning of the 16th century. It...

Viper (Lat. Vivipara Bringing Forth Young Alive): Viper (Lat. Vivipara Bringing Forth Young Alive), the common name of the viperidce, a family of old world venomous serpents, distinguished from the rattlesnakes of the new by the absence of pits on th...

Vireo, Or Greenlet: Vireo, Or Greenlet, a common name of a family of American insectivorous birds, coming near the shrikes in the form of the bill and in some of their habits. The general plumage is more or less tinted w...

Virgil (Publius Virgilius, Or Vergilius, Maro): Virgil (Publius Virgilius, Or Vergilius, Maro), a Roman poet, born at Andes, a small village near Mantua, Oct. 15, 70 B. 0., died in Brundusium, Sept. 22, 19 B. 0. His birthplace, acoording to an old ...

Virgin Islands: Virgin Islands, a group of the West Indies, E. of Porto Rico, between lat. 17 30' and 18 50' N, and lon. 64 10' and 65 30' W.; total area, about 250 sq. m.; pop. about 45,000. They...

Virginia: Virginia, one of the thirteen original states of the American Union, situated between lat. 36 31' and 39 27' N., and lon. 75 13' and 83 37' W. Its greatest length from E. to W. is ...

Virginia City: Virginia City, the chief city of Nevada, county seat of Storey co., in the Washoe mountains, at the terminus of the Virginia and Truckee railroad, by which it is 52 m. S. S. E. of Reno on the Central ...

Virginia Creeper: Virginia Creeper, a woody climbing vine of the grape family, peculiar to North America, and found from Canada to Texas. It was placed in the genera vitis and cissus by the earlier authors, but as it d...

Viriathus: Viriathus, a Lusitanian warrior, assassinated in 140 B. C. He was one of those who escaped the slaughter of the Lusitanians in 150 by Servius Sulpicius Galba. In 147 he was chosen general by the Lusit...

Viscont: I. Ennio Quirino Ennio Quirino, an Italian archaeologist, born in Rome, Nov. 1, 1751, died in Paris, Feb. 7, 1818. His father, Giovanni Battista Antonio Visconti, was a Genoese descendant of the Visc...

Visconti: Visconti, a family of rulers of Milan, whose prominence began with Ottone, who in 1262 was appointed archbishop by Pope Urban IV., and waged a sanguinary struggle with the Della Torre family for maste...

Viscount Duncan Of Camper-Down Adam Duncan: Viscount Duncan Of Camper-Down Adam Duncan, a British admiral, born in Dundee, Scotland, July 1, 1731, died near Edinburgh, Aug. 4,1804. He early entered the navy, was made a post captain in 1761, and...

Viscount Melville Henry Dundas: Viscount Melville Henry Dundas, a British statesman, born in Edinburgh about 1741, died there, May 27, 1811. He was of the ancient family of Dundas of Arniston, received his education at the high scho...

Viscount Nelson Of The Nile Nelson Horatio: Viscount Nelson Of The Nile Nelson Horatio, a British admiral, born at Burnham Thorpe, Norfolk, Sept. 29, 1758, killed in the battle of Trafalgar, Oct. 21, 1805. His childhood was marked by the fearle...

Vision (Lat. Visio From Videre To See): Vision (Lat. Visio From Videre To See), a term employed to denote, in different relations, the power, the act or process, or the object of sight. The behavior of rays of light reflected or transmitted...

Vitebsk, Or Witebsk: I. A Government Of West Russia A Government Of West Russia, formerly belonging to the Lithuanian provinces of Poland, bordering on Pskov, Smolensk, Mohilev, Minsk, Wilna, Courland, and Livonia; area,...

Vittore Carpaccio: Vittore Carpaccio, a Venetian painter, born probably in Istria, died subsequently to 1519. He was a pupil and follower of Giovanni and Gentile Bellini of Venice, and in several of his efforts even sur...

Vivisection: Vivisection, (Lat. vivus, alive, and sectio, a cutting), a term used to designate cutting operations performed on living animals for the purpose of acquiring physiological and surgical knowledge, and ...

Vizagapatam: I. A District Of Madras, British India British India A District Of Madras, in the territory formerly known as the Northern Circars, bounded N. E. by Ganjain, E. and S. E. by the bay of Bengal, S. W. ...

Vizir, Or Vesir Arabic, Bearer Of A Burden (Vizier): Vizir, Or Vesir Arabic, Bearer Of A Burden (Vizier), a title given to the ministers of the Ottoman Porte, and other dignitaries. It was formerly applied to the grand vizier and the viziers of the benc...

Vladimir: I. A Central Government Of European Russia A Central Government Of European Russia, bordering on Yaroslav, Kostroma, Nizhegorod, Tambov, Riazan, Moscow, and Tver; area, 18,862 sq. m.; pop. in 1870,1,...

Voice: Voice, the sound produced in the larynx by the vibration of the column of air passing through the rima glottidis. The rima glottidis is the narrow elongated slit or chink situated in the larynx and fo...

Volcaxo (Lat. Vulcanus The God Of Fire): Volcaxo (Lat. Vulcanus The God Of Fire), an opening in the crust of the earth from which are ejected heated gases, steam, finely divided solid matter resembling ashes, cinders, masses of solid rock in...

Volga (Anc. Rha): Volga (Anc. Rha), a river of Russia, the longest in Europe. It rises on the plateau of Valdai, in the western part of the government of Tver, near the head waters of the Diina, in lat. 57 N., Ion...

Volhymnia (Pol. Wotyri): Volhymnia (Pol. Wotyri), a government of West Russia, formerly a province of Poland, bordering on the governments of Lublin, Grodno, Minsk, Kiev, and Podolia, and on the Austrian province of Galicia;...

Vologda: 1. A N. government of European Russia, bordering on Olonetz, Archangel, Tobolsk (from which it is separated by the Ural mountains), Perm, Viatka, Kostroma, Yaroslav, and Novgorod; area, 155,498 sq. m....

Volterra (Anc. Volaterroe): Volterra (Anc. Volaterroe), a town of Tuscany, Italy, in the province of Pisa, on an elevated plateau between the Era on the north and the Cecina on the south, 30 m. S. W. of Florence; pop. about 6,00...

Volunteer: Volunteer, one who engages in any service of his own accord, particularly one who in time of war offers his services to his country and becomes subject to military discipline and service. The term is ...

Vomiting: Vomiting, the act of rejecting the contents of the stomach, due in great part to the contraction of the abdominal muscles, assisted by the active cooperation of the muscular walls of the organ; the di...

Voronezh: I. A S. Government Of Russia A S. Government Of Russia, bordering on Orel, Tambov, Saratov, the country of the Don Cossacks, Kharkov, and Kursk; area, 25,437 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 2,152,696. The surf...

Vorontzoff: I. Mikhail, Count Count Mikhail, a Russian statesman, born in 1710, died in Moscow in 1767. He was descended from Gabriel Vorontzoff, who fell in 1678 at the siege of Tchigrin, Little Russia. He beca...

Vosges: Vosges, a N. E. department of France, formed from the S. portion of the ancient province of Lorraine, bordering on Meurtheet-Moselle, Haute-Marne, Haute-Sa6ne, and Alsace-Lorraine; area, 2,266 sq. m.;...

Vosges (Ger. Vogesen Or Wasgau): Vosges (Ger. Vogesen Or Wasgau), a chain of mountains in N. E. France and the German Reichsland of Alsace-Lorraine, forming a continuation of the Jura chain. They separate the Rhine from its W. afflue...

Vossius, Or Voss, Gerard Johannes: Vossius, Or Voss, Gerard Johannes, a Dutch philologist, born near Heidelberg in 1577, died in Amsterdam, March 17, 1649. He studied at Dort and Leyden, and at the age of 22 was appointed master of the...

Vuk Stelanovitch Karajitch: Vuk Stelanovitch Karajitch, a Servian scholar, born Nov. 7, 1787, died in February, 1864. He was educated in Carlovitz, and in the war for Servian independence served as secretary to various national ...

Vulcan: Vulcan, the Latin name of the Greek Hepluestus, the god of fire, and of the arts and industries dependent on fire. According to the Hesiodic theogony, he was one of the 12 great gods of Olj'mpus; but ...

Vulture: Vulture, the common name of the carrioneating, diurnal birds of prey, of the family vulturidoe (Vigors). This family included all the naked-headed, carrion-eating raptores of both hemispheres; the vul...

W: THE 23d letter of the English alphaj bet. It is peculiar to some of the Teutonic and Celtic languages, being foreign to the Romanic, and in sound, though not in form, also to the Slavic branches of th...

Wabash: I. A N. E. County Of Indiana A N. E. County Of Indiana, drained by the Wabash, Salamonie, and Eel rivers; area, 420 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 21,805. It has a diversified surface, partly covered with tin...

Waday, Or Wadai: Waday, Or Wadai, a kingdom of central Africa, in Soodan, between lat. 8 and 17 N., and lon. 16 and 22 30' E., bounded N. by the Sahara, E. by Darfoor, S. by Dar Banda, and W. by Ba...

Wade Benjamin Franklin: Wade Benjamin Franklin, an American statesman, born in Springfield, Mass., Oct. 27, 1800. He worked as a farmer or laborer in summer and school teacher in winter till 1826, when he began to study law ...

Wager: Wager, in law, a contract by which two parties agree that a certain thing shall be done by one for the benefit of the other, on the happening or not happening of a contingent event. Wagers were certai...

Wagner: I. Richard (Originally Wilhelm Richard) Richard (Originally Wilhelm Richard), a German composer, born in Leipsic, May 22, 1813. His father was an actuary of police, and died when the son was a few mo...

Wahabees, Or Wahabites: Wahabees, Or Wahabites, an Arabian sect of Mohammedans, founded by Abd-el-Wahab in the middle of the 18th century in Nedjed, which, previous to the death of its founder in 1787, spread over a consider...

Waldecr: Waldecr, a principality in N. W. Germany, embracing Waldeck proper, which is situated between the Prussian provinces of Hesse-Nassau and Westphalia, and the county of Pyrmont, between Lippe-Detmold, B...

Waldenses, Or Vaudois: Waldenses, Or Vaudois, a Christian denomination in Italy. The name is commonly derived from Petrus Waldus, Peter Waldo, or Pierre de Vaux, an opulent citizen of Lyons (about 1170), who is regarded as ...

Waldo: Waldo, a S. county of Maine, bounded E. by Penobscot river and bay, and drained by St. George and Marsh rivers and affluents of the Sebasticook; area, 812 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 34,522. The surface is'...

Waldo Irving Burnett: Waldo Irving Burnett, an American naturalist and microscopist, born in Southborough, Mass., July 12, 1828, died in Boston, July 1, 1854. In early boyhood he began the study of entomology, which he con...

Wales (Welsh Cumrie The Land Of The Cymri; Lat. Cambria): Wales (Welsh Cumrie The Land Of The Cymri; Lat. Cambria), a principality of the British empire, occupying a large peninsula on the W. side of the island of Britain, and bounded N. by the Irish sea, E....

Walker: I. A N. W. County Of Georgia A N. W. County Of Georgia, drained by the Chattooga and Chickamauga rivers; area, 500 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 9,925, of whom 1,529 were colored. It is traversed by Taylor's...

Walking Leaf: Walking Leaf, the common name for a North American fern, also called walking fern. It was formerly classed as aspleniwn rhizophyllum, which name it still retains in European catalogues, but it is now ...

Wall Flower: Wall Flower, a perennial cruciferous plant, cheiranthus cheiri (from the Arabic name cheiri). It is a native of southern Europe, but is naturalized in northern and central Europe. It was introduced in...

Walla Walla: Walla Walla, the S. E. county of Washington territory, bounded N. by the Snake river, E. by Idaho, from which it is separated by the Snake, S. by Oregon, and W. by the Columbia river; area, 3,500 sq. ...

Wallace: Wallace, a W. county of Kansas, bordering on Colorado, and drained by the Smoky Hill river and its branches; area, about 2,000 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 538. It is traversed by the Kansas Pacific railroad...

Wallachian Language And Literature: Wallachian is spoken in Wallachia and Moldavia (the modern Roumania), in a large portion of Transylvania, in the adjacent districts of Hungary, and in Bessarabia, and S. of the Danube in parts of anci...

Wallaciiia (Ger. Walachei; Wallach. Tzare Romanesca; Turk. Ak-Iflalc): Wallaciiia (Ger. Walachei; Wallach. Tzare Romanesca; Turk. Ak-Iflalc), a country of S. E. Europe, constituting with Moldavia the principality of Roumania, of which it is the larger part, tributary to ...

Walnut: Walnut, the common name of large nutbearing forest trees of the genus juglans (from Lat. Joris glans, the nut of Jupiter), which with the hickories (carya) and a few others make up the walnut family (...

Walpole: I. Sir Robert, Earl Of Orford Earl Of Orford Sir Robert, an English statesman, born at Houghton, in Norfolk, Aug. 26, 1676, died in London, March 18, 1745. He was educated at Cambridge, and on succee...

Walt Whitman: Walt Whitman, an American poet, born at West Hills, Suffolk co., L. I., May 31, 1819. He was educated in the public schools of Brooklyn and New York, learned the printer's trade, worked at it in summe...

Walter: I. John John, founder of the London Times, born in 1739, died in Teddington, Middlesex, Nov. 16, 1812. He was by trade a printer, and about 1780 became possessed of two patents issued to one Henry ...

Walter Butler: Walter Butler, an Irish soldier of fortune, one of the assassins of Wallenstein, died near Schorndorf, Germany, in September, 1634. He early enlisted as a private in the imperial army, and became an o...

Walter Channing: Walter Channing, an American physician, brother of the preceding, born at Newport, R. I., April 15, 1786. He entered Harvard college in 1804, but left in his junior year on account of the college disp...

Walter Colton: Walter Colton, an American clergyman and writer, born in Rutland, Vt., May 9, 1797, died in Philadelphia, Jan. 22, 1851. He graduated at Yale college in 1822, at Andover theological seminary in 1825, ...

Walter Farquhar Hook: Walter Farquhar Hook, an English clergyman, nephew of Theodore Hook, born in London in 1798. He graduated at Christchurch, Oxford, in 1821, and was successively curate at Whippingham, Isle of Wight, a...

Walter Henry Medhurst: Walter Henry Medhurst, an English missionary, born in London in 1796, died there, Jan. 24, 1857. He was educated for the ministry, and in 1816, under the auspices of the church missionary society, sta...

Walter Rogers Johnson: Walter Rogers Johnson, an American physicist, born in Leominster, Mass., June 21, 1794, died in Washington, April 26, 1852. He graduated at Harvard college in 1819, and in 1821 became principal of the...

Walter Savage Landor: Walter Savage Landor, an English author, born at Ipsley Court, Warwickshire, Jan. 30, 1775, died in Florence, Italy, Sept. 17, 1864. His parents were very wealthy, and he was educated under private tu...

Walter William Skeat: Walter William Skeat, an English philologist, born in London, Nov. 21, 1835. He graduated at Christ's college, Cambridge, in 1858, became a fellow there in 18G0, mathematical lecturer in 18G4, and aft...

Waltham: Waltham, a town of Middlesex co., Massachusetts, on the Charles river and the Fitchburg railroad, 10 m. W. by N. of Boston; pop. in 1850, 4,464; in 1860, 6,397; in 1870, 9,065; in 1875, 9,945. The mos...

Walton: I. A N. County Of Georgia A N. County Of Georgia, bounded N. E. by the Appalachee river and drained by the head streams of the Ocmulgee and Oconee rivers; area, 320 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 11,038, of w...

Walworth: I. A S. E. County Of Wisconsin A S. E. County Of Wisconsin, bordering on Illinois, and drained by affluents of Pishtaka and Rock rivers; area, 576 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 25,972; in 1875, 26,259. The s...

Wampum: Wampum, the common English name for the shell beads used for ornament and as currency among the northern Algonquin and Iroquois tribes of American Indians. They were made chiefly on Long Island and ar...

The Wandering Jew: The Wandering Jew, according to the popular legend, a person born of the tribe of Naphtali, seven or eight years before the birth of Christ, who ran away from his father to accompany the three wise me...

Wapiti: Wapiti, a name given to the cervus Cana'densis (Erxl.), a large American deer, the new world representative of the stag of Europe. It is 7 to 7½ ft. in total length, and 4£ to 5 ft. high at the should...

War Footing: Number of battalions same as above. COUNTRIES. IN THE FIELD. IN DEPOT. IN GARRISON. Total number of men. Line. Chasseurs. Line. Chasseurs. Landw...

Warbler: Warbler, the common name of the dentirostral birds of the family luscinidw or sylvicoUdcB, including many subfamilies and a great number of species. The bill is of moderate length, slender, broad at t...

Ward: I. Samuel Samuel, an American patriot, born in Newport, R. L, May 27, 1725, died in Philadelphia, March 26, 1776. He was a delegate to the convention at Hartford in 1758 to settle the quotas of New E...

Ware: Ware, a S. E. county of Georgia, bordering on Florida, intersected by the Satilla river, and also drained by its numerous tributaries; area, about 850 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 2,286, of whom 452 were col...

Ware (Anglo-Sax. Wcec): Ware (Anglo-Sax. Wcec), a holiday festival once universally celebrated in the country parishes of England. Wakes originated at the period of the conversion of the Saxons to Christianity, and were esta...

Ware-Robivr: Ware-Robivr one of the common names, especially in the southern states, for ariscema triphyllum, which is also called jack-in-thepulpit and Indian turnip; and the name is also applied to species of tr...

Warebouseman: Warebouseman, in law, one who receives goods of any kind for the mere purpose of storage. He is a bailee, and, his contract with the owner being one for their mutual benefit, is held only to ordinary ...

Warming And Ventilation: The principles upon which these arts depend are so mutually involved that it is necessary to consider them together. Much information upon the general subject will be found under the heads Atmospheee,...

Warranty: Warranty, a term used in law, in the transfer of real estate, in the sale of chattels, and in contracts of insurance. The learning of real warranties abounds in the old books, and was subtle and techn...

Warreiy. T. James: Warreiy. T. James, an American patriot, born in Plymouth, Mass., Sept. 28, 1726, died there, Nov. 27, 1808. He graduated at Harvard college in 1745, and became a merchant. In 1757 he was appointed hig...

Warren: Warren, the name of 14 counties in the United States. I. A N. E. County Of New York A N. E. County Of New York, partly bounded E. by Lake George, intersected and partly bounded S. and W. by the Huds...

Warren Colbum: Warren Colbum, an American mathematician, born at Dedham, Mass., March 1, 1793, died at Lowell, Sept, 15, 1833. He was the eldest son of a large family. His parents were poor, and during his childhood...

Warren Hastings: Warren Hastings , governor general of British India, born Dec. 6, 1732, died Aug. 22, 1818. He was descended from the Hastingses of Daylesford, Worcestershire, but the estate had been sold, and of all...

Warsaw (Pol. Warszawa; Ger. Warschau; Fr. Varsorie): I. A Government Of Russian Poland A Government Of Russian Poland, bordering on Plock, Lomza, Siedlce, Radom, Piotrkow, Kalisz, and the Prussian province of Posen; area, 5,622 sq.m.; pop. in 1870, 925...

Wart Hog: Wart Hog, a name given to the African swine of the genus phacochcerus (F. Cuv.), from the large warty protuberances on each cheek. In this genus the feet are four-toed; there is a thick callosity in f...

Wartburg: Wartburg, an old castle in the N. W. part of the Thuringian forest, near Eisenach, SaxeWeiinar. The site, a wooded hill surrounded by rocky glens, is extremely picturesque. The castle was built about ...

Warton: I. Joseph, An English Author An English Author Joseph, born at Dunsford, Surrey, in 1722, died at Wickham, near London, Feb. 23,1800. He was educated at Winchester and Oxford, and became curate of Ba...

Warwick: Warwick, a S. E. county of Virginia, on the peninsula between the York and James rivers, bordering on the latter, and drained by several small streams; area, 95 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 1,672, of whom 1,...

Washington: Washington, a territory of the United States, between lat. 45 30' and 49 N., and Ion. 117 and 124 45' W.; greatest length, E. and W., 340 m.; greatest breadth, 240 m.; area, 69,994...

Washington (2): Washington, the name of 28 counties in the United States. I. The Extreme S. E, County Of Maine County Of Maine The Extreme S. E, separated from New Brunswick by the St. Croix river, bounded S. by th...

Washington (3): Washington, the capital of the United States of America, in the District of Columbia, on the left or N. E. bank of the Potomac river, 116½ m. above its mouth at Smith's point, and 184½ m. from the Atl...

Washington And Lee University: Washington And Lee University, an institution of learning at Lexington, Va. Its germ was the Augusta academy, a mathematical and classical school established by Robert Alexander near the site of Green...

Washington Irving: Washington Irving, an American author, born in New York, April 3, 1783, died at Sun-nyside, near Tarrytown, N. Y., Nov. 28, 1859. He was the youngest son of William Irving, who was descended from an a...

Washoe: Washoe, a N. W. county of Nevada, bordering on California; area, 2,316 sq. in.; pop. in 1870, 3,091, of whom 221 were Chinese; in 1875, 3,953, of whom 267 were Chinese. The N. part is mostly a desert....

Washtenaw: Washtenaw, a S. E. county of Michigan, drained by Huron and Raisin rivers and their branches; area, 720 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 41,434; in 1874, 38,723. It has an undulating surface, diversified by prai...

Wasp: Wasp, the common name of the hymenopterous insects of the family vespidce, of which the old genus vespa (Linn.) is the type. They are characterized by having the upper wings folded longitudinally when...

Water: Water, a liquid composed of oxygen and hydrogen. The earlier chemists supposed it to be an element, and it was only about a century ago that the researches of Cavendish and Lavoisier established its c...

Water Bug: Water Bug, the popular name of the hemipterous insects of the suborder lieteroptera, and families notonectida and neparia. In this suborder the anterior portion of the first pair of wings is of a horn...

Water Cress: Water Cress, a plant (nasturtium officinale) of the cruciferm or mustard family. The generic name has become the common name of a plant of a different family. (See Nasturtium.) It is a smooth perennia...

Water Lilt: Water Lilt, a name for aquatic plants of several distinct genera. The later botanists confirm the popular classification, in including them all under one family, the nymphoeaceoe, or water lily family...

Water Meter: Water Meter, an apparatus for measuring the water which flows through a conduit. An approximation may be arrived at by measuring the velocity of water passing through a pipe of a given section. A rota...

Water Shield: Water Shield, an aquatic plant of the genus brasenia (an unexplained name), which formerly with cdbomba made up the family cdbombacea, but is now classed with the water lilies in nymphmacece. It diffe...

Water Works: Water Works, constructions for the purpose of collecting, conveying, and distributing water. They may be designed for supplying cities, single buildings, or mills, or for drainage or irrigation, and a...

Water-Color Painting: In nearly all the methods of painting known to the ancients, water was employed as the vehicle, either alone or mixed with some glutinous substance serving to bind the colors together. Paintings in di...

Waterbubt: Waterbubt, a town and city of New Haven co., Connecticut, on the Naugatuck river and railroad, at the W. terminus of the Hartford, Providence, and Fishkill railroad, 75 m. N. E. of New York and 33 m. ...

Waterford: I. A S. County Of Ireland A S. County Of Ireland, in the province of Munster, bordering on Cork, Tipperary, Kilkenny, and Wexford counties, Waterford harbor, and St. George's channel; area, 713 sq. m...

Waterloo: Waterloo, a village in Belgium, on the outskirts of the forest of Soignes, 8 m. S. by E. of Brussels; pop. in 1871, 2,935. Near this village was fought, June 18 1815, the battle between the allied Eng...

Waterloo (2): Waterloo, a W. central county of Ontario, Canada, drained by the Grand river; area, sq. m.; pop. in 1871, 40,251, of whom 22,050 were of German, 7,315 of Scotch, 5,056 of English, 3,220 of Irish, 1,53...

Watertowff: Watertowff, a city and the county seat of Jefferson co., New York, on the Black river, 10 m. above its mouth in Lake Ontario, at the intersection of the Rome, Watertown, and Ogdensburg and the Utica a...

Watertown: Watertown, a city of Wisconsin, partly in Dodge and partly in Jefferson co., on both sides of Rock river, spanned here by six bridges, at the junction of the Chicago and Northwestern, and the Chicago,...

Waterville: Waterville, a town of Kennebec co., Maine, on the W. bank of the Kennebec river, at Ticonic falls, and on the Maine Central railroad, 18 m. N. N. E. of Augusta; pop. in 1870, 4,852. It was divided in ...

Watt: I. James, A Scottish Inventor A Scottish Inventor James, born in Greenock, Jan. 19, 1736, died at his estate of Heathfield, near Birmingham, Aug. 25,1819. He early manifested a taste for mathematics ...

Wax: Wax, an organic product of animal and vegetable origin, and occurring also as a mineral, though of organic origin. The term was originally restricted to beeswax; but there are many kinds of wax, only ...

Wax Figures: The employment of wax in imitative art dates from a period anterior to historical times, although, according to Pliny, it was not cast in moulds previous to the time of Lysistratus, who flourished abo...

Wax Plant: Wax Plant, a name given to climbing greenhouse shrubs of the genus Hoy a (named in honor of Thomas Hoy, a distinguished English gardener of the early part of this century), of the milkweed family (asc...

Waxwing: Waxwing, a name applied to birds of the genus ampelis (Linn.) or oorribycilla (Vieill.), derived from the appendages at the ends of some of the secondaries and tertiaries, which in color and texture r...

Waxwork: Waxwork, one of the common names for a climbing shrub, celastrus scandens, which is also in different localities called staff tree, climbing or shrubby bittersweet, and Eoxbury waxwork. The genus cela...

Wayne: Wayne, the name of 15 counties in the United States. I. A N. W. County Of New York A N. W. County Of New York, bordering on Lake Ontario, and intersected by Clyde river; area, 572 sq. m.; pop. in 18...

Wear Fish, Or Squeteague: Wear Fish, Or Squeteague, a spiny-rayed fish of the genus otolithus (Ouv.), resembling the perch. It has numerous teeth in the jaws, some having the form of elongated, hook-like canines; the head is c...

Weasel: Weasel, the general name of the carnivorous mammals of the family mustelidoe, including many genera approaching the cats in bloodthirstiness. Most of these have been described under Badger, Ermine, Fe...

Weaver Bird: Weaver Bird, the common name of the finches of the family ploceinoe, so called from the remarkable manner in which they weave their nests from various vegetable substances, presenting some of the fine...

Weaving: Weaving, the art of combining threads, filaments, or strips, of various nature or material, in the way of interlacing them to form cloth, or other web or woven fabric, by means of a loom. Though the E...

Webb: Webb, a S. county of Texas, bounded W. by the Rio Grande, which separates it from Mexico; area, about 1,200 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 2,615, of whom 2 were colored. The inhabitants are mostly Mexicans, ch...

Weber: Weber, a N. county of Utah, bordering on Great Salt lake, and intersected by Weber river; area, 540 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 7,858. It is traversed by the Central and Union Pacific and the Utah Central r...

Webster: Webster, the name of seven counties in the United States. I. An E: central county of West Virginia, drained by Gauley and Elk rivers, tributaries of the Kanawha; area, about 400 sq. m.; pop. in 1870,1...

Week (Anglo-Sax. Weoc): Week (Anglo-Sax. Weoc), a period of seven days, a division of time adopted by the ancient Egyptians and Hebrews, and in general use among Christians and Mohammedans. Its origin is referred back in one...

Weevil: Weevil, a name applied indiscriminately to insects of the moth, fly, and beetle orders, numbering thousands of species. The term is more properly restricted to the larvae of the tetramerous beetles of...

Weigela: Weigela, a shrub introduced from China by Robert Fortune, named Weigela rosea by Thunberg, after Weigel, a German botanist. It is not sufficiently distinct from a much older genus, Diervilla, after a ...

Weighing. Machines: Weighing. Machines, contrivances for ascertaining the measure of gravity (or weight) of different bodies. The simplest and most accurate form of weighing machine is the common balance, a lever of the ...

Weights And Measures: Weights And Measures, means of determining by comparison, and expressing, in the former instance, the mass or quantity of matter of ponderable bodies, as shown by the effect of gravity upon them, and ...

Weimar: Weimar, a city of Germany, capital of the grand duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, on the Ilm, 53 m. S. W. of Leipsic; pop. in 1871, 15,998. It was long celebrated as the northern Athens, on account of th...

Weld: Weld, the N. E. county of Colorado, bordering on Wyoming and Nebraska, and intersected by the South Platte and its tributaries; area, about 11,000 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 1,636. It is wholly situated in...

Weld (Span Gualda): Weld (Span Gualda), a plant, probably native to southern Europe, cultivated as a dyeing material. It is also called dyers' weed, dyers' rocket, and dyers' mignonette. It belongs to the same genus with...

Wellesley: Wellesley, a province of the British colony of the Straits Settlements, comprising a part of the W. coast of the Malay peninsula, between the Quedah and Perak rivers, and the island of Penang opposite...

Wellington: Wellington, a W. central county of Ontario, Canada, drained by Grand river; area, 1,278 sq. m.; pop. in 1871, 63,289, of whom 23,981 were of Irish, 18,557 of Scotch, 16,385 of English, and 3,134 of Ge...

Welwitschia: In 1863, Dr. Welwitsch discovered at Mossamedes, on the W. coast of Africa, a remarkable plant which Dr. J. D. Hooker described as Welwitschia mirabilis. Unlike other plants in appearance, its reprodu...

Wenceslas, Or Wenzel: Wenceslas, Or Wenzel, a German emperor, of the house of Luxemburg, born in Nuremberg, Feb. 26,1361, died near Prague, Aug. 16,1419. He was the eldest son of Charles IV. and his third wife Anna, and wa...

Wends: Wends, the name of a Slavic tribe, forming a subdivision of the northwestern stem of the Slavs. (See Slavic Race and Languages.) Roman writers called all the Slavs with whom they were acquainted Vened...

Wendell Phillips: Wendell Phillips, an American orator, born in Boston, Mass., Nov. 29, 1811. His father was John Phillips, the first mayor of Boston. Wendell graduated at Harvard college in 1831, at the law school in ...

Wentletrap: Wentletrap, the popular name of the gasteropod shells of the genus scalaria (Lam.), from scala, a stair. The shell is long and turreted, with many whorls, close or separated, ornamented with numerous ...

Wentworth (2): I. William William, an early colonist of New Hampshire, born at Alford, Lincolnshire, England, in 1615, died in Dover, N. H., March 16, 1697. He was a follower of the Rev. John Wheelwright, with whom...

Wenzel Anton Kaunitz: Wenzel Anton Kaunitz, prince, count of Riet-berg, an Austrian statesman, born in Vienna in 1711, died June 27, 1794. One of 19 children, he was destined for the church; but after the death of some of ...

Wenzel Hollar: Wenzel Hollar, a Bohemian engraver, born in Prague in 1607, died in London, March 28, 1677. At 18 years of age he produced his plates of the Virgin and Child and the Ecce Homo. In 1636 ho attracte...

Werner Munzinger: Werner Munzinger, a Swiss traveller, born at Olten in 1832. He- studied at Bern, Munich, and Pans, and in 1852 established himself as a merchant in Egypt, in 1854-'o resided at Mas-Bowah, and for near...

Wesel: Wesel, a town of Rhenish Prussia, on the right bank of the Rhine, near the confluence of the Lippe, in the circle and 32 m. N. by W. of the city of Dilsseldorf; pop. in 1871,18,519, half Protestant an...

Wesley, Or Westley: I. Samuel Samuel, an English clergyman, born in Preston in 1662, '66, or '68, according to different authorities, died April 30, 1735. He was the son of a dissenting minister, but early joined the ch...

Wesleyan University: Wesleyan University, an institution of learning in Middletown, Conn., and the oldest college under the control and patronage of the Methodist Episcopal church. The two original buildings, which previo...

West Chester: West Chester, a borough and the county seat of Chester co., Pennsylvania, situated on the dividing ridge between Brandywine and Chester creeks, 23 m. W. of Philadelphia; pop. in 1870, 5,630. It is sur...

West Djdies: West Djdies, the name given to the vast archipelago of about 1,000 islands between North and South America, extending in two irregular lines, which unite at Hayti, from the peninsulas of Yucatan and F...

West Point: West Point, a village in the town of Cornwall, Orange co., New York, on the W. bank of the Hudson river, at its passage through the Highlands, 50 m. above New York city; pop. in 1870, 942. It is the s...

West Troy: West Troy, a village in the town of Watervliet, Albany co., New York, on the W. bank of Hudson river, opposite Troy, and 6 m. N. of Albany; pop. in 1860, 8,820; in 1870, 10,- 693; in 1875, about 14,00...

West Virginia: West Virginia, a state of the American Union, organized from a part of Virginia in 1863, lying between lat. 37 10' and 40 38' N., and Ion. 77 40' and 82 40' W. It is bounded N. by ...

Westchester: Westchester, a S. E. county of New York, bordering on Connecticut and Long Island sound, bounded W. by the Hudson river, and drained by the Croton and Bronx rivers; area, about 500 sq. m.; pop. in 187...

Western Australia: Western Australia, a British colony in Australia, comprising all of the continent W. of Ion. 129 E.; area estimated at 978,000 sq. m.; pop. in 1871, exclusive of aborigines, 24,785; estimated in ...

Western Empire: Western Empire, the name given to the western of the two parts into which the Roman empire was divided on the death of Theodosius the Great, A. D. 395. By the will of that emperor the eastern portion,...

Westmacott: I. Sir Richard Sir Richard, an English sculptor, born in London in 1775, died there, Sept. 1, 1856. He studied at first under his father and afterward under Canova, remaining in Italy from 1793 to 17...

Westminster Assembly Of Divines: Westminster Assembly Of Divines, a convocation of clergymen and laymen, who assembled at Westminster, England, by direction of parliament, July 1, 1643, and remained in session till Feb. 22, 1649. The...

Westmoreland: I. A S. W. County Of Pennsylvania A S. W. County Of Pennsylvania, bounded N. W. by the Alleghany river and N. and N. E. by the Conemaugh and Kiskiminetas rivers, and drained by the Youghiogheny river...

Westmoreland, Or Westmorland: Westmoreland, Or Westmorland, a N. county of England, bordering on Cumberland, Durham, Yorkshire, and Lancashire, and Morecambe bay; area, 783 sq. m.; pop. in 1871, 65,005. The surface, except that ne...

Westphalia (Ger. Westfalen, Or Westpjialen): Westphalia (Ger. Westfalen, Or Westpjialen), a W. province of Prussia, bordering N. W. on Holland, and on the other sides mainly on the province of Hanover and the Rhine province; area, 7,799 sq. m; p...

Wettstein, Or Wctetein, Johann Jakob: Wettstein, Or Wctetein, Johann Jakob, a Swiss scholar, born in Basel, March 5,1693, died in Amsterdam, March 23, 1754. He became a minister of the national church in 1713, travelled over Europe to exa...

Wexford: Wexford, a N. W. county of Michigan, drained by the Manistee river and its tributaries; area, 625 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 650; in 1874, 3,011. The surface is diversified by prairie and woodland, and is ...

Whale: Whale, the popular name of the typical or carnivorous cetacean mammals, with fishlike forms, embracing the families halcenidce or baleen whales, pliyseteridm or sperm whales, and delphinidce or dolphi...

Whale Fishery: Whale Fishery, the pursuit of whales for their oil or whalebone. In the United States the principal whaling ports are New Bedford and Provincetown, Mass., and New London, Conn. The business as now con...

Wharton: Wharton, a S. E. county of Texas, bounded N. E. by the San Bernard river, and intersected by the Colorado; area, 1,094 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 3,426, of whom 2,910 were colored. The surface is generally...

Wheat (A. S. Hwoete White In Distinction From Rye And Other Dark-Colored Grains): Wheat (A. S. Hwoete White In Distinction From Rye And Other Dark-Colored Grains), a cereal, triticum vulgare, which has been cultivated from the earliest antiquity, and now furnishes the principal bre...

Wheat Fly: Wheat Fly, the name given in Europe to the cecidomyia tritici (Kirby), a small dipterous insect of the family of gall gnats, from its depredations on wheat, to which it is nearly as destructive as the...

Wheat Moth: There are two kinds of moths which do serious injury to grain crops, not only in America, but also in Europe, where they both originated; one is the tinea granella, frequently called corn moth, and th...

Wheel: Wheel, a solid piece or frame of wood or metal, usually circular, fixed to or movable upon a solid axis, about the centre line of which in either case it is intended to turn. The solid axis, when the ...

Wheeling: Wheeling, a port of delivery and the largest city of West Virginia, capital of the state and of Ohio co., on the E. bank of the Ohio river and on both sides of Wheeling creek, 92 m. below Pittsburgh, ...

Wheelock: I Eleazar, an American clergyman, the founder and first president of Dartmouth college, born in Windham, Conn., April 22, 1711, died in Hanover, N. H., April 24, 1779. He graduated at Yale college in ...

Whelk: Whelk, a marine, univalve, gasteropod shell, of the genus duecinum (Linn.). There are about 20 living species, and more than 100 fossil in the miocene formations. The shell is ovate-conic, the apertur...

Whig And Tory: Whig And Tory, designations of political parties in English, and more lately in American history, originally applied as terms of reproach. The word whig11 is a contraction of whiggamore, which in t...

Whippoorwill: Whippoorwill, the common name of antrostomus vociferus (Bonap.), a North American bird of the goatsucker family, derived from the fancied resemblance of its notes; for family and generic characters, s...

Whirlwind: Whirlwind, a general term applicable to a large class of storms. (See Cyclone, Hurrica'ne, and Water Spout.) In all these storms, except an occasional tornado, the air circulates with considerable reg...

Whiskey (Gaelic Uisgue Water, Whence Usquebaugh, Water Of Life): Whiskey (Gaelic Uisgue Water, Whence Usquebaugh, Water Of Life), a spirituous liquor distilled from grain, potatoes, or roots (as turnips or beets). Scotch and Irish whiskey is made from malt, and it ...

Whist: Whist, a game played by four persons with a full pack of 52 cards. The game is traced to that of triumph or trump, which was known in the early part of the 16th century, but was first clearly describe...

White: See Color. White #1 White, the name of five counties in the United States. I. A N. County Of Georgia A N. County Of Georgia, drained by the head waters of the Chattahoochee river; area, about 250 ...

White Brethren: White Brethren, a sect of the 15th century, who first appeared in the Italian Alps about 1399, and were headed by a priest, probably a Spaniard, although some say that he was a Provencal, others that ...

White Fish (Coregonus Albus Lesueur): White Fish (Coregonus Albus Lesueur) a valuable member of the salmon family, peculiar to North America. It is found in the great lakes from Lake Erie to the Arctic sea, in Lake Ohamplain, in the small...

White Mountains: White Mountains, a mountain chain of New England. According to the recent survey of the state of New Hampshire, the mountains are considered as belonging to the Atlantic system, an older series than t...

White Plains: White Plains, a town and the county seat of Westchester co., New York, on the Harlem railroad, 25 m. N. N. E. of the city hall of New York; pop. in 1870, 2,630; in 1875, 2,727. It contains two banks, ...

White Sea (Russ. Bieloye More): White Sea (Russ. Bieloye More) a large gulf or branch of the Arctic ocean, which penetrates far into N. W. Russia, between lat. 63 48' and 68 40' N. It is nearly semicircular.; length from N...

White Swelling: White Swelling, the popular name for a chronic inflammation of the joints occurring in scrofulous subjects. The complaint appears sometimes to originate in a slight injury; sometimes no cause can be a...

Whitehall: Whitehall, a town and village of Washington co., New York, at the head of Lake Champlain, on the Rensselaer and Saratoga and New York and Canada railroads, 65 m. N. N. E. of Albany; pop. of the town i...

Whitley: I. A S. E. County Of Kentucky A S. E. County Of Kentucky, bordering on Tennessee, and intersected by the Cumberland river; area, about 450 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 8,278, of whom 138 were colored. The s...

Whitlow, Or Felon (Faronychia): Whitlow, Or Felon (Faronychia), an abscess occurring on the fingers, attended with great pain and inflammation, commencing in, if not confined to, the terminal joint. The cutaneous or superficial whit...

Whooping Cough: Whooping Cough, an affection characterized by paroxysms of convulsive cough, accompanied by short and sudden acts of noisy expiration, followed by a long and whooping inspiration; it is the chincough ...

Wicopy: Wicopy, a popular name for Dirca palmtrw, a shrub of the mezereum family (thymelacece), peculiar to North America, growing in woods from New England to Georgia. Dirca (Gr. Aipkn, a fountain near Thebe...

Widgeon: Widgeon, the common name of the river ducks of the genus mareca (Steph.). They have a bill shorter than the head, of equal width throughout, much rounded at the tip, with a strong broad nail, and uppe...

Wiesbaden: Wiesbaden, a city of Prussia, in the province of Hesse-Nassau, formerly the capital of the duchy of Nassau, in the basin of the Salza, on the S. E. slope of the Taunus mountains, 20 m. W. by S. of Fra...

Wig (A Contraction Of Periwig Fr. Perruque): Wig (A Contraction Of Periwig Fr. Perruque), a covering for the head formed of hair, silk, thread, or other material designed to imitate the natural hair. The oldest wigs in existence, among the Egypt...

Wiihelm Traugott Krug: Wiihelm Traugott Krug, a German philosopher, born at Radis, June 22, 1770, died in Leipsic, Jan. 13, 1842. He was educated at the university of Wittenberg, where in 1794 he became adjunct of the philo...

Wilberforce: I. William William, an English philanthropist, born in Hull, Aug. 24, 1759, died in London, July 29, 1833. He was educated at Cambridge, and elected to parliament in 1780, and held a seat there till ...

Wilcox: I. A S. Central County Of Georgia A S. Central County Of Georgia, bounded N. E. by the Ocmulgee river; area, 500 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 2,439, of whom 537 were colored. The surface is undulating and t...

Wilfred, Or Wilfrid, Saint: Wilfred, Or Wilfrid, Saint, bishop of York, born about 634, died in the monastery of Oundle, Oct. 12, 709. In order to bring the Scottish church into accord with the rest of Christendom as to the time...

Wilhelm Dindorf: Wilhelm Dindorf, a German philologist, born in Leipsic, Jan. 21, 1802. His father was professor of oriental languages at the university in his native city, which he entered in 1817, and where he conti...

Wilhelm Emanuel Von Ketteler: Wilhelm Emanuel Von Ketteler, baron, a German prelate, born in Munster, Westphalia, Dec. 25, 1811. After studying law and being engaged in the civil service at Munster for several years, he qualified ...

Wilhelm Haring: Wilhelm Haring, better known under his nom de plume Wilibald Alexis, a German novelist, born in Breslau, June 23, 1797, died at Arnstadt, Dec. 16, 1871. He served in the army as a volunteer, and studi...

Wilhelm Heinrich Ludwig Gruner: Wilhelm Heinrich Ludwig Gruner, a German engraver, born in Dresden, Feb. 24, 1801. He studied in Italy, Spain, France, and England. His first effort, an engraving of a Spanish shepherd, after Velasque...

Wilhelm Lubke: Wilhelm Lubke, a German historian of art, born in Dortmund, Jan. 17, 1826. He studied at Bonn and Berlin, and in 1852 published Vorschule zur Geschichte der Kirchenbaukunst des Mittelalters, in 1853 M...

Wilhelm Martin Leberecht De Wette: Wilhelm Martin Leberecht De Wette, a German theologian, born at Ulla, near Weimar, Jan. 14, 1780, died in Basel, June 16, 1849. Having studied at Weimar and Jena, he was appointed professor of philoso...

Wilhelm Rustow: Wilhelm Rustow, a German military writer, born in Brandenburg, May 25, 1821. He joined the army in 1838, and became an officer of engineers. He was indicted in 1850 for a publication on the military c...

Wilhelm Von Kaulbach: Wilhelm Von Kaulbach, a German painter, born in Arolsen, Oct. 15, 1805, died in Munich, April 7, 1874. His mother was a superior woman, and his father was a skilful goldsmith and engraver. But the fam...

Wilhelra Ednard Baltzer: Wilhelra Ednard Baltzer, a German clergy-man and author, born at Hohenleine, Prussia, Oct. 24, 1814. He studied in Leipsic and Halle, became a tutor, and was chaplain of the hospital of Delitzsch from...

Wilkes: I. A N. W. County Of North Carolina A N. W. County Of North Carolina, intersected by the Yadkin river; area, 864 sq. m.; pop. in 1870,15,539, of whom 1,662 were colored. The Blue Ridge extends along ...

Wilkesbarre: Wilkesbarre, a city and the county seat of Luzerne co., Pennsylvania, on the E. bank of the North branch of the Susquehanna river, here crossed by a handsome bridge, about 100 m. N. by W. of Philadelp...

Wilkinson: I. A Central County Of Georgia A Central County Of Georgia, bounded N. E. by the Oconee river and drained by its affluents; area, 430 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 9,383, of whom 4,699 were colored. The surf...

Will: Will, in law, the written instrument wherein a man declares his wishes in respect to the disposition of his property after his death. There is good reason to believe that the right of inheritance, or ...

Willem Barentz: Willem Barentz, a Dutch navigator, died June 20, 1597. He was appointed chief pilot of the vessel fitted out by the city of Amsterdam in the expedition which sailed from Holland June 5, 1594, in searc...

Willem Bilderdijk: Willem Bilderdijk, a Dutch poet, born in Amsterdam, Sept. 7,1756, died in Haarlem, Dec. 18, 1831. He was educated at Leyden, published in 1779 a volume of poems, consisting principally of imitations a...

Willem Jakob Van's Gravesande: Willem Jakob Van's Gravesande, a Dutch philosopher, born in Bois-le-Duc, Sept. 27,1688, died in Leyden, Feb. 28, 1742. He published at the age of 18 an essay on perspective, and a philosophical thesis...

Willis: I. Nathaniel Nathaniel, an American journalist, born in Boston, June 6, 1780, died there, May 26, 1870. In 1803 he established the Eastern Argus in Portland, Me., and in 1816 the Boston Recorder,...

Williams: I. The Extreme N. W. County Of Ohio The Extreme N. W. County Of Ohio, bordering on Indiana and Michigan, and intersected by the St. Joseph's and Tiffin rivers; area, 600 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 20,991....

William Adolphus Wheeler: William Adolphus Wheeler, an American lexicographer, born in Leicester, Mass., Nov. 14, 1833, died in Roxbury, Oct. 28, 1875. He graduated at Bowdoin college in 1853, taught school a few years, and be...

William Alexander Hammond: William Alexander Hammond, an American physician, born at Annapolis, Md., Aug. 28, 1828. He graduated in the medical department of the New York university in 1848, and from 1849 to 1850 was an assista...

William Andrew Smith: William Andrew Smith, an American clergyman, born in Fredericksburg, Va., Nov. 29, 1802, died in Richmond, March 1, 1870. In 1825 he was admitted to the Virginia conference of the Methodist Episcopal ...

William Angnstns Cumberland: William Angnstns Cumberland, duke of, third son of George II. of England, born April 15, 1721, died at Windsor, Oct. 31,1765. He was wounded at the battle of Dettingen in 1743 and in 1745 he received ...

William Augustus Bowles: William Augustus Bowles, an American adventurer, born in Frederick co., Md., in 1763, died in Havana, Dec. 23, 1805. His father was an English schoolmaster who had established himself in Maryland. Whe...

William Bainbbidge: William Bainbbidge, an American naval officer, born in Princeton, N. J., May 7, 1774, died in Philadelphia, July 28, 1833. He had a command in the merchant service, when, upon the reorganization of th...

William Banting: William Banting, a London merchant, born in 1797, died in 1871. Owing to the wide circulation of his Letter on Corpulence, published at first in 1863 in the newspapers, and subsequently in a pamphle...

William Barclay: William Barclay, a Scottish jurist, born in Aberdeenshire in 1541 or 1546, died at Angers, France, in 1605. He studied law at Bourges, under Cujas, and received the degree of doctor of laws, He was so...

William Barton: William Barton, an American soldier, born in Providence, R. I., about 1747, died there, Oct. 22, 1831. He was a lieutenant colonel in the state militia when, on the night of July 20, 1777, he crossed ...

William Baxter: William Baxter, an English philologist and archaeologist, nephew of the preceding, born at Llanilugan, Montgomeryshire, in 1650, died in London, May 31, 1723. He had few advantages of instruction in h...

William Beach Lawrence: William Beach Lawrence, an American jurist, born in New York, Oct 23, 1800. He graduated at Columbia college in 1818, studied law, went to Europe in 1821, and on his return to New York in 1823 was adm...

William Beaumont: William Beaumont, a surgeon in the U. S. army, born at Lebanon, Conn., in 1796, died in St. Louis, April 25, 1853. He is principally noted for his discoveries regarding the laws of digestion resulting...

William Bedell: William Bedell, an English prelate, born at Black Notley, Essex, in 1570, died at Kilmore, Feb. 7, 1642. He was secretary to Sir Henry Wotton on his embassy to Venice in 1604. Having acquired the Ita...

William Beloe: William Beloe, an English clergyman and author, born at Norwich in 1756, died April 11, 1817. He studied under Dr. Parr and at Cambridge university, for a time assisted Dr, Parr in a school at Norwich...

William Benjamin Carpenter: William Benjamin Carpenter, an English physiologist, son of the preceding, born in Exeter in 1813. He was originally intended for an engineer, but graduated as doctor of medicine at Edinburgh in 1839....

William Beveridge: William Beveridge, an English prelate, born at Harrow. Leicestershire, in 1688, died in London, March 5, 1708. At the age of 20 he published an able Latin treatise on the Hebrew, Ohaldee, Syriac, Arab...

William Blackwood: William Blackwood, a Scottish bookseller and publisher, born in Edinburgh, Nov. 20, 1776, died Sept. 16. 1834. He was apprenticed to a bookseller, and conducted business successively in Glasgow and Lo...

William Blake: William Blake, an English artist and poet, born in London, Nov. 28, 1757, died there, Aug. 12, 1827. He was the son of a hosier, and at the age of 14 was apprenticed to an engraver, and when 21 began ...

William Bligh: William Bligh, an English navigator, born in 1753, died in London, Dec. 7, 1817. He was a lieutenant in the navy, accompanied Cook on his voyages in the Pacific, and when he returned was appointed com...

William Bnell Sprague: William Bnell Sprague, an American clergyman, born in Andover, Conn., Oct. 16, 1795. He graduated at Yale college in 1815, studied in the theological seminary at Princeton, and in August, 1819, was or...

William Boyce: William Boyce, an English composer, born in London in 1710, died in February, 1779. He was the son of a mechanic, and was placed under the tuition of Charles King, choir master of St. Paul's cathedra...

William Bradford: William Bradford, second governor of Plymouth colony, born in Yorkshire, England, in March, 1588, died May 9, 1657. At an early age he emigrated to Holland for the sake of religious liberty, and, havi...

William Butler: William Butler, an American soldier, born in Prince William county, Va., about 1757, died at Columbia, S. C, in 1821. He graduated at South Carolina college as a physician, became lieutenant in the a...

William C Redfield: William C Redfield, an American meteorologist, born in Middletown, Conn., March 26, 1789, died in New York, Feb. 12, 1857. In early life he was a mechanic. In some pedestrian journeys he observed the ...

William Cabell Rives: William Cabell Rives, an American statesman, born in Nelson co., Va., May 4, 1793, died near Charlottesville, Va., April 26, 1868. He was educated at Hampden Sidney and William and Mary colleges, and ...

William Calder Marshall: William Calder Marshall, a Scottish sculptor, born in Edinburgh in 1813. He studied in London under Chantrey and Baily. visited Rome in 1836, and passed some years in Italy. In 1835 he first exhibited...

William Camden: William Camden, a British historian and antiquary, born in London, May 2, 1551, died at Chiselhurst, Kent, Nov. 9, 1623. In 1571 he left the university of Oxford, having previously been educated at Ch...

William Campbell Preston: William Campbell Preston, an American statesman, born in Philadelphia, Dec. 27, 1794, died in Columbia, S. C, May 22, 1860. He was of a Virginia family, and was born while his father was a member of c...

William Carey: William Carey, an English missionary and oriental scholar, born in Paulerspury, Northamptonshire, Aug. 17, 1761, died at Seram-pore, India, in June, 1834. He was the founder, in connectiou with other ...

William Carr Beresford: William Carr Beresford, viscount, a British general, born in Ireland, Oct. 2, 1768, died in Kent, Jan. 8, 1854. He was the illegitimate son of the first marquis of Waterford, and entered the army at a...

William Caxton: William Caxton, the first English printer, born in Kent about 1412, died in 1-491 or 1492. In his 15th or 16th year he was apprenticed to Robert Large, a London mercer, who became lord mayor in 1439. ...

William Chapin: William Chapin, an American instructor of the blind, born in Philadelphia in 1802. Much of his earlier life was occupied in literary pursuits. He was the author and publisher of a gazetteer and map of...

William Charles Lunalilo: William Charles Lunalilo, sixth king of the Hawaiian Islands, born in Honolulu, Jan. 31, 1835, died there, Feb. 3, 1874. He was descended from the chieftain Keoua, the father of Kamehameha I., who uni...

William Charles Macready: William Charles Macready, an English actor, born in London, March 3, 1793, died at Weston-super-Mare, Somersetshire, April 29, 1873. His father, the lessee and manager of several provincial theatres, ...

William Chauvenet: William Chauvenet, an American mathematician and astronomer, born in Milford, Penn., May 24, 1819, died at St. Paul, Minn., Dec. 13, 1870. He graduated with high honors in 1840 at Yale college, where ...

William Claiborne: William Claiborne, one of the settlers of Virginia, and a member of the council and secretary of that colony. In 1627 the governor of Virginia gave him authority to discover the head of Chesapeake bay...

William Clarke: William Clarke, an American soldier, born in Virginia, Aug. 1, 1770, died in St. Louis, Mo., Sept. 1, 1838. In 1784 his father removed to Kentucky, and settled on the present site of the city of Louis...

William Clowes: William Clowes, an English printer, born at Chichester, Jan. 1, 1779, died Jan. 26, 1847. His father was a schoolmaster, who died leaving his family in straitened circumstances. The son, after receivi...

William Cobbett: William Cobbett, an English political writer, born at Farnham, in Surrey, March 9, 1762, died near Farnham, June 18, 1835. His lather, who for many years kept an inn at Farnham, and farmed a piece of ...

William Coddington: William Coddington, founder of the colony of Rhode Island, born in Lincolnshire, England, in 1601, died Nov. 1, 1678. He arrived by the ship Arabella at Salem in 1630, as one of the magistrates of Mas...

William Coleman: William Coleman, an American journalist, born in Boston, Feb. 14, 1766, died in New York, July 13, 1829. He was educated for the bar, and commenced practice in Greenfield, Mass. During Shays's rebelli...

William Collins: William Collins, an English poet, born at Chichester, Dec. 25,1720, died there, June 12, 1756. He was destined for the church, and in 1733 was admitted a scholar at Winchester. In 1740 he stood first ...

William Congreye: William Congreye, an English dramatist, born at Bardsey, near Leeds, in February, 1670, died in London, Jan. 19, 1729. He received his early education in Ireland, and proposed to study law, but applie...

William Conyngham Plunket: William Conyngham Plunket, baron, an Irish lawyer, born in Enniskillen in July, 1764, died Jan. 4, 1854. He was the son of a Presbyterian minister, graduated at Trinity college, Dublin, obtained a sch...

William Cooke Taylor: William Cooke Taylor, an Irish author, born in Youghal, April 16, 1800, died in Dublin, Sept. 12, 1849. He was educated at the university of Dublin, and went to London, where he resided till two years...

William Cowper: William Cowper, earl, an English judge born at Hertford in 1664, died in 1723. He was called to the bar in 1688, and led a company to welcome the prince of Orange. He entered parliament in 1695, and i...

William Cowper (2): William Cowper, an English poet, born at Great Berkhamstead, Hertfordshire, Nov. 15, O. S. (26, N. S.), 1731, died at East Dereham, Norfolk, April 25, 1800. His father was one of the chaplains to Geor...

William Coxe: William Coxe, an English historian and biographer, born in London in 1747, died at Bem-erton in 1828. He was elected a fellow of King's college, Cambridge, in 1768, and in 1771 was appointed to the cu...

William Cullen: William Cullen, a Scottish physician, born in Hamilton, Lanarkshire, April 15, 1710, died near Edinburgh, Feb. 5, 1790. He studied medicine at the university of Glasgow, and at the same time served an...

William Cullen Bryant: William Cullen Bryant, an American poet, born at Cummington, Hampshire co., Mass., Nov. 3,1794. His father, Peter Bryant, was a distinguished local physician, who had also travelled considerably, and ...

William Dampier: William Dampier, an English navigator, born at East Coker, Somersetshire, about 1652; the date of his death is unknown. In early life he went to sea, served in the war against the Dutch, and afterward...

William Daniell: William Daniell, an English painter and engraver, born in 1769, died in 1837. He set out at the age of 14, in company with his uncle Thomas, on an artistic exploration of the pen-ninsula of Hindostan....

William Darlington: William Darlington, an American botanist and politician, born in Birmingham, Chester co., Pa., April 28, 1782, died in West Chester, Pa., April 23, 1863. He received the degree of M. D. from the unive...

William De Malvoisine, Or Mawmoisine: Malvoisine, Or Mawmoisine, William De, a Scottish ecclesiastic, died Jnlv 9, 1238. He was educated and perhaps born in France, but was at an early age archdeacon of St. Andrews. In 1199 he became chan...

William Dexter Wilson: William Dexter Wilson, an American clergyman, born in Stoddard, N. II., Feb. 28, 1816. He studied in the theological department of Harvard university, and in 1842 was ordained to the ministry in the P...

William Dodd: William Dodd, an English clergyman, born at Bourne, Lincolnshire, in May, 1729, executed in London, June 27, 1777. He studied at the university of Cambridge, where he distinguished himself as a writer...

William Duane: William Duane, an American politician and journalist, born near Lake Champlain, N. Y., in 1760, died in Philadelphia, Nov. 24, 1835. At the age of 11 he was taken by his mother to her native country, ...

William Dunbar: William Dunbar, a Scottish poet, born in Salton about 1460, died about 1525. He received the degree of master of arts from the university of St. Andrews in 1479, became a Franciscan friar, and travell...

William Dunlap: William Dunlap, an American painter and author, born in Perth Amboy, N. J., Feb. 19, 1766, died Sept. 28, 1839. In his 17th year he began to paint portraits, and in the summer of 1783 executed one of ...

William Dwight Whitney: William Dwight Whitney, an American philologist, brother of the preceding, born in Northampton, Mass., Feb. 9, 1827. He graduated at Williams college in 1845, and studied at Berlin and Tubingen from 1...

William Eaton: William Eaton, an American soldier, born in Woodstock, Conn., Feb. 23, 1764, died in Brimfield, Mass., June 1, 1811. At the age of 16 he enlisted in the revolutionary army, from which he was discharge...

William Edmondstonne Aytoun: William Edmondstonne Aytoun, a Scottish poet, born in Fifeshire in 1813, died in Edinburgh, Aug. 4, 1865. He was educated in the schools of Edinburgh, where he gained distinction in English and Latin ...

William Elford Leach: William Elford Leach, an English naturalist, born in Plymouth in, 1790, died at San Se-bastiano, Piedmont, Aug. 25, 1836. As a boy he loved to make collections of natural objects, and in 1809 he becam...

William Ellery: William Ellery, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, born in Newport, R. I., Dec. 22, 1727, died there, Feb. 15, 1820. He graduated at Harvard college in 1747, and became a merchant ...

William Ellery Channing: William Ellery Channing, D. D., an American clergyman and author, brother of the preceding, born at Newport, R. I., April 7, 1780, died at Bennington, Vt., Oct. 2, 1842. His physical organization was ...

William Elliott: William Elliott, an American author and politician, born in Beaufort, S. C, April 27, 1788, died there in February, 1863. He was entered in Harvard college at the age of 18, but ill health compelled h...

William Etty: William Etty, an English painter, born in York, March 10, 1787, died there, Nov. 13, 1849. He was the son of a baker, and at the age of 12 was apprenticed to a printer at Hull, with whom he remained s...

William Eustis: William Eustis, an American physician and politician, born in Cambridge, Mass., June 10, 1753, died in Boston, Feb. 6, 1825. He graduated at Harvard college in 1772, and subsequently studied medicine....

William Evans Burton: William Evans Burton, an English actor, born in London in 1804, died in New York, Feb. 9, 1860. He was the son of William George Burton, author of Biblical Researches. Intended for the church, he r...

William F. Lynch: William F. Lynch, an American naval officer, born in Virginia in 1801, died in Baltimore, Oct. 17, 1805. He entered the service as a midshipman in 1819, became a lieutenant in 1828, commander in 1849,...

William Gannaway Brownlow: William Gannaway Brownlow, an American clergyman, journalist, and politician, born in Wythe co., Va., Aug. 29, 1805. Left an orphan at an early age, he learned the trade of a carpenter. In 1826 he ent...

William Goffe: William Goffe, an English regicide, born about 1605, died in Hadley, Mass., in 1679. He was one of the most fervent of the Puritans, was a devoted adherent of Cromwell, one of the best officers of the...

William Greenough Thayer Shedd: William Greenough Thayer Shedd, an American clergyman, born in Acton, Mass., June 21, 1820. He graduated at the university of Vermont in 1839, and at Andover theological seminary in 1843, and was orda...

William H Bissell: William H Bissell., governor of Illinois, born near Cooperstown, N. Y., April 25, 1811, died in Springfield, 111., March 18, 1860. He took the degree of M. D. at the Jefferson medical college, Philade...

William Harris Crawford: William Harris Crawford, an American statesman, born in that part of Amherst co., Va., afterward erected into Nelson co., Feb. 24, 1772, died in Elbert co., Ga., Sept. 15, 1834. In 1779 his father rem...

William Hart: William Hart, an American landscape painter, born in Paisley, Scotland, in 1823. He came with his parents to America in 1831, and settled in Albany, N. Y. In his youth he was employed in coach paintin...

William Harvey: William Harvey, an English physician, discoverer of the circulation of the blood, born in Folkestone, Kent, April 1,1578, died in London, June 3, 1657. He was the eldest of a family of nine children, ...

William Heath: William Heath, a major general in the American revolution, born in Roxbury, Mass., March 7, 1737, died there, Jan. 24, 1814. When the Massachusetts congress in 1774 voted to enroll 12,000 minute men, ...

William Heatheote De Lancey: William Heatheote De Lancey, an American bishop, born in Westchester co., N. Y., Oct. 8, 1797, died at Geneva, N. Y., April 5, 1865. He graduated at Yale college in 1817, studied theology under Bishop...

William Henry Channing: William Henry Channing, an American clergyman, cousin of the preceding, born in Boston, May 25, 1810. His father, Francis Dana Channing, died when he was very young. His early education was received a...

William Henry Drayton: William Henry Drayton, an American statesman, born at Drayton hall, on Ashley river, S. 0., in September, 1742, died in Philadelphia in September, 1779. He was educated in England at Westminster schoo...

William Henry Harrison: William Henry Harrison, ninth president of the United States, born in Berkeley, Charles City co., Va., Feb. 9,1773, died in Washington, April 4, 1841. He was the third and youngest son of Governor Ben...

William Henry Harrison Murray: William Henry Harrison Murray, an American clergyman, born in Guilford, Conn., April 26, 1840. He graduated at Yale college in 1862, and was licensed to preach in 1863. In 1864 he became pastor of the...

William Henry Hurlbert: William Henry Hurlbert, an American journalist, born in Charleston, S. C, July 3, 1827. He graduated at Harvard college in 1847, and at the Cambridge divinity school in 1849. After preaching for some...

William Henry Rinehart: William Henry Rinehart, an American sculptor, born in Frederick co., Md., Sept. 13,1825, died in Rome, Italy, Oct. 28, 1874. He was apprenticed to a stone cutter, attended the night school of design o...

William Henry Seward: William Henry Seward, an American statesman, born in Florida, Orange co., N. Y., May 16, 1801, died in Auburn, N. Y., Oct. 10, 1872. He graduated at Union college in 1820, having passed six months of ...

William Henry Waddington: William Henry Waddington, a French archaeologist, born in Paris, of English Protestant parents, in 1826. He graduated at Cambridge in 1849, and followed his father, a rich manufacturer, to France, whe...

William Henry West Betty: William Henry West Betty, an English actor, popularly known as the young Roscius, born at Shrewsbury, Sept. 13, 1701. In infancy he accompanied his father, who was a fanner, to Ireland, He made a su...

William Hepworth Dixon: William Hepworth Dixon, an English author, born in Yorkshire, June 30, 1821. He entered a mercantile house in Manchester when 14 years of age, but early contributed some fugitive poems to several peri...

William Higgins: William Higgins, an English astronomer, born in London, Feb. 7, 1824. He was educated at the city of London school and by private tutors, and devoted himself successively to natural philosophy, astron...

William Holman Hunt: William Holman Hunt, an English painter, born in London in 1827. He studied in the ' school of the royal academy, and in 1846 exhibited his first picture, entitled Hark, which was followed by a scen...

William Hone: William Hone, an English author, born in Bath in 1779, died in Tottenham, Nov. 6, 1842. At the age of 10 he was placed with an attorney in London, but after the expiration of his apprenticeship ho aba...

William Howard Russell: William Howard Russell, a British journalist, born at Lily Yale, county Dublin, Ireland, March 28, 1821. While a student at Trinity college, Dublin, he was employed to report Irish elections for the L...

William Howard Stafford: William Howard Stafford, viscount, an English statesman, born Nov. 30, 1612, executed on Tower hill, Dec. 29, 1680. He was the second son of Thomas, earl of Arundel, and in right of his wife, as succe...

William Hull: William Hull, an American soldier, born in Derby, Conn., June 24, 1753, died in Newton, Mass., Nov. 29, 1825. He graduated at Yale college in 1772, studied law at Litchfield, Conn., and was admitted t...

William Hunter: William Hunter, a British physician and anatomist, elder brother of John Hunter, born at Long Calderwood, Lanarkshire, May 23, 1718, died in London, March 30, 1783. At the age of 14 he was sent to the...

William Huskisson: William Huskisson, an English statesman, born at Birch-Moreton, Worcestershire, March 11, 1770, died at Eccles, Lancashire, Sept. 15, 1830. He was originally intended for the medical profession, and i...

William Hyde Wollaston: William Hyde Wollaston, an English natural philosopher, born Aug. 6, 1766, died in London, Dec. 22, 1828. He received the degree of M. D. at the university of Cambridge in 1793, practised medicine for...

William I: William I, surnamed the Conqueror, king of England, the first of the Norman dynasty, born at Falaise, Normandy, in 1027, died in Rouen, Sept. 9, 1087. He was the bastard son of Robert I. or II., duke ...

William I. (Frederik Wilhelm): William I. (Frederik Wilhelm), first king of the Netherlands, grand duke of Luxemburg, born at the Hague, Aug. 24, 1772, died in Berlin, Dec. 12, 1843. His mother was a niece of Frederick the Great, a...

William I. (Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig): William I. (Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig), king of Prussia and emperor of Germany, born March 22, 1797. He is a son of Frederick William III. and of the celebrated queen Louisa, and in early life accompan...

William II: William II, commonly known as William Rufus from his red hair, third son and successor of the preceding, born in Normandy about 1056, slain in the New forest, Aug. 2, 1100. While his father was dying ...

William II,(Wilhelm Frederik: Georg Lodewijk): William II,(Wilhelm Frederik: Georg Lodewijk), king of the Netherlands and grand duke of Luxemburg, born Dec. 6, 1792, died March 17,1849. He studied in Berlin and Oxford, and in 1811 distinguished hi...

William III: William III, king of England and stadtholder of Holland (William Henry of Nassau, prince of Orange), born at the Hague, Nov. 4, 1650, died in Kensington, March 8, 1702. He was the son of William II., ...

William III,(Wilhelm Alexander Paxil Frederik Lodewijk): William III,(Wilhelm Alexander Paxil Frederik Lodewijk), king of the Netherlands, born Feb. 19, 1817. He was educated in England. In 1849, after his accession to the throne, he faithfully carried out ...

William IV. (William Henry): William IV. (William Henry), king of Great Britain and Ireland, fifth sovereign of the Hanoverian line, born in London, Aug. 21, 1765, died at Windsor, June 20,1837. He was the third son of George III...

William Ingraham Kip: William Ingraham Kip, an American bishop, born in New York city, Oct. 3, 1811. He studied at Rutgers college, 1ST. J., and graduated at Yale in 1831. He first studied law, and then theology at the gen...

William Irvine: William Irvine, an American soldier, born near Enniskillen, Ireland, about 1742, died in Philadelphia, July 30, 1804. He graduated at Dublin university, studied medicine and surgery, and was appointed...

William James Linton: William James Linton, an English engraver, born in London in 1812. He entered warmly into the radical movements from 1844 to 1848, and was deputed to carry to the French provisional government the fir...

William Jasper: William Jasper, an American revolutionary soldier, born in South Carolina about 1750, killed at the assault on Savannah, Oct. 9,1779. At the commencement of the revolution he enlisted in the 2d South ...

William Jay: William Jay, an English clergyman, born at Tisbury, Wiltshire, May 8, 1769, died in Bath, Dec. 27, 1853. The son of a stone-cutter, he began life as his father's apprentice, and was employed in buildi...

William Jenkins Worth: William Jenkins Worth, an American soldier, born in Hudson, N. Y., March 1, 1794, died in San Antonio, Texas, May 7,1849. He entered the army as a private in 1812, became second lieutenant in 1813 an...

William Jennings: William Jennings, an English miser, born in 1701, died in 1797. His father was an aide-de-camp to the duke of Marlborough and on terms of intimacy with William III., who officiated as godfather at th...

William John Macquorn Rankine: William John Macquorn Rankine, a Scottish physicist, born in Edinburgh, July 5, 1820, died in Glasgow, Dec. 24, 1872. He attended scientific classes in the university of Edinburgh, and when 22 years o...

William Jones: William Jones, an English divine, born at Lowick, Northamptonshire, in 1726, died at Nayland in 1800. He was educated at the Charterhouse, and at University college, Oxford, and became successively vi...

William Juxon: William Juxon, an English prelate, born in Chichester in 1582, died June 4, 1663. He was educated at the merchant taylors' school, and at St. John's college, Oxford. Originally destined for the law, h...

William Kennett Loftus: William Kennett Loftus, an English archaeologist, born at Rye about 1820, died on the passage from India to England in November, 1858. He was educated at Cambridge, where he attracted the attention of...

William Kidd: William Kidd, a pirate, born in Scotland (probably in Greenock), executed in London, May 24, 1701. He is said to have been the son of John Kidd, a nonconformist minister. He followed the sea from his ...

William Kirby: William Kirby, an English naturalist, born at Witnesham, Suffolk, Sept. 19, 1759, died at Barham, July 4, 1850. He graduated at Caius college, Cambridge, in 1781, took orders, and was appointed to the...

William L (Friedrich Wilhelm Karl): William L (Friedrich Wilhelm Karl), king of Wiirtemberg, born at Lüben, Silesia, Sept. 27, 1781, died in the palace of Rosenau, near Stuttgart, June 25, 1864. He was a son of Frederick I., first king ...

William Laud: William Laud, an English prelate, archbishop of Canterbury, born in Reading, Berkshire, Oct. 7, 1573, executed on Tower hill, London, Jan. 10, 1645. The son of a wealthy clothier, he was educated in t...

William Lauder: William Lauder, a Scottish literary adventurer, born in the early part of the 18th century, died in Barbadoes in 1771. He was educated at the university of Edinburgh, and failed in several attempts to...

William Laurence Brown: William Laurence Brown, a Scottish theologian, born at Utrecht, Holland, where his father was pastor, Jan. 7,1755, died May 11,1830. His father returned to Scotland in 1757, and he was sent to the gra...

William Law: William Law, an English mystic, born at King's Cliffe, Northamptonshire, in 1686, died there, April 9, 1701. He was admitted into Emmanuel college, Cambridge, in 1705, received the degrees of bachelor...

William Learned Marcy: William Learned Marcy, an American statesman, born at Southbridge, Mass., Dec. 12,1786, died at Ballston Spa, N. Y., July 4, 1857. He was the son of a farmer, graduated at Brown university in 1808, an...

William Ledyard: William Ledyard, an American revolutionary soldier, uncle of the preceding, born in Groton, Conn., about 1750, killed at the capture of Fort Griswold, Sept. 7, 1781. He held the commission of colonel ...

William Leggett: William Leggett, an American author, born in New York in 1802, died May 29, 1839. He was educated at the college in Georgetown, D. C, and in 1819 accompanied his father to Illinois. In 1822 he entered...

William Lewis Herndon: William Lewis Herndon, an American naval officer, born in Fredericksburg, Va., Oct. 25, 1813, lost at sea, Sept. 12, 1857. He entered the navy at the age of 15, served in the Mexican war, and was enga...

William Lilly: William Lilly, an English astrologer, born at Diseworth, Leicestershire, May 1, 1602, died at Walton-upon-Thames, June 9, 1681. In 1620 he went to London and secured a position as footboy to a merchan...

William Lisle Bowles: William Lisle Bowles, an English poet and clergyman, born at King's Sutton, Sept. 24, 1762, died in Salisbury, April 7, 1850. After attending Westminster school he entered Trinity college, Oxford, whe...

William Lithgow: William Lithgow, a Scottish traveller, born in the parish of Lanark in 1583, died there in 1640. He was of humble parentage, and as soon as he attained manhood commenced a pedestrian tour on the conti...

William Lyon Mackenzie: William Lyon Mackenzie, a Canadian politician, born in Dundee, Scotland, March 12, 1795, died in Toronto, Canada, Aug. 28, 1861. He received a good English education, and commenced business at the age...

William Maclure: William Maclure, an American geologist, born in Ayr, Scotland, in 1763, died at San Angel, near the city of Mexico, March 23, 1840. At 19 years of age he visited New York, but returned to London to be...

William Maginn: William Maginn, an Irish author, born in Cork, Nov. 11,1793, died at Walton-on-Thames, near London, Aug. 21, 1842. His father was a classical teacher, under whose care he evinced remarkable aptitude f...

William Marcy Tweed: William Marcy Tweed, an American politician, born in New York, April 3, 1823. He learned the trade of chair making, and later in life was admitted to the bar. In 1852-'3 he was an alderman, in 1853-'5...

William Martin Leake: William Martin Leake, an English author, born in 1777, died in Brighton, Jan. 6, 1860. Having entered the army, he was employed on special missions to Asia Minor and other parts of the East, and devot...

William Mausden: William Mausden, a British orientalist, born in Dublin, Nov. 16. 1754, died near London, Oct 6, 1836. In 1771 his father, who was a merchant of Dublin, procured for him an appointment in the civil ser...

William Mcgillivray: William Mcgillivray, a Scottish naturalist, born in the isle of Harris in 1796, died in Aberdeen, Sept. 5, 1852. In 1823 he was appointed assistant professor of natural history in the university of Ed...

William Mckendree: William Mckendree, an American bishop, born in King William co., Va., July 5,1757, died March 5, 1835. He served several years in the American army of the revolution, attained the rank of adjutant, an...

William Milready: William Milready, a British painter, born in Ennis, Ireland, April 1, 1786, died at Bays-water, near London, July 7, 1863. He was admitted a student of the royal academy at 14 years of age. His Ratt...

William Mitford: William Mitford, an English historian, born in London, Feb. 10, 1744, died in Hampshire, Feb. 8, 1827. He entered Queen's college, Oxford, left it without a degree, studied law at the Middle Temple, b...

William Moorcroft: William Moorcroft, an English traveller, born in Lancashire about 1780, died at And-khui, between Bokhara and Cabool, Aug. 27, 1825. He was a veterinary surgeon, and went to India in 1808 as superinte...

William Morris: William Morris, an English poet, born near London in 1834. He is the eldest son of a merchant who died in 1844, leaving a large estate. He was educated at Forest school in Walthamstow, at Marlborough,...

William Motherwell: William Motherwell, a Scottish poet, born in Glasgow, Oct. 13, 1797, died there, Nov. 1, 1835. He was educated at the grammar school in Paisley, and at the age of 15 was placed in the office of the sh...

William Moultrie: William Moultrie, an American soldier, born in South Carolina in 1731, died in Charleston, Sept. 27, 1805. In 1761 he was appointed a captain of foot in a militia regiment raised against the Cherokees...

William Murray Mansfield: William Murray Mansfield, earl of, a British jurist, born at Scone, Perthshire, March 2,1705, died in London, March 20, 1793. He was the third son of Viscount Stormont, a Scottish peer of Jacobite ten...

William Of Nassau: William Of Nassau, surnamed the Silent, prince of Orange, founder of the independence of the Netherlands, born at the palace of Dillenburg, Nassau, April 16, 1533, assassinated in Delft, July 10, 1584...

William Of Wykeham: William Of Wykeham, an English statesman, born at Wickham, Hampshire, in 1324, died at South Waltham, Sept. 24, 1404. He was educated at Winchester, and became secretary to Sir Nicholas Uvedale, gover...

William Orlando Butler: William Orlando Butler, an American soldier and politician, born in Jessamine county, Ky., in 1793. He studied law, and at the beginning of the war of 1812 enlisted as a private, was in the battles of...

William Owen Pughe: William Owen Pughe, a Welsh author, born at Tyn y Bryn, Merionethshire, Aug. 7, 1759, died June 4, 1835. His original name was William Owen, to which he added that of Pughe late in life, on receiving ...

William Paca: William Paca, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, born in Harford co., Md., Oct. 31, 1740, died in 1799. He graduated at the college of Philadelphia in 1759, was admitted to the bar in 1704, ...

William Page: William Page, an American painter, born in Albany, N. Y., Jan. 23, 1811. He went to the city of New York with his parents in 1819, and at the age of 11 received a premium from the American institute f...

William Parsons Rosse: William Parsons Rosse, earl of, a British astronomer, born in York, June 17, 1800, died at Parsonstown, Ireland, Oct. 31, 1867. He graduated at Magdalen college, Oxford, in 1822. From 1821 to 1834, un...

William Paterson: William Paterson, founder of the bank of England, and of the Scottish colony of Darien, born according to tradition at Skipmyre, Tin-wald parish, Dumfriesshire, about 1660, died in January, 1719. He i...

William Penn: William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania, born in London, Oct. 14, 1644, died at Rus-combe, Berkshire, July 30, 1718. He was the son of Admiral Penn, who married Margaret, daughter of John Jasper, a ...

William Peter Strickland: William Peter Strickland, an American clergyman, born in Pittsburgh, Pa., Aug. 17, 1809. He was educated at the Ohio university, Athens, O., entered the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal church in 1...

William Potts Dewees: William Potts Dewees, an American physician, born at Pottsgrove, Pa., May 5, 1768, died in Philadelphia, May 18, 1841. He attended several courses of lectures at the university of Pennsylvania, and, w...

William Prynne: William Prynne, an English political writer, born at Swainswick, near Bath, in 1600, died in London, Oct. 24, 1669. He graduated at Oriel college, Oxford, in 1620, studied law, and was admitted a barr...

William Pulteney: William Pulteney, earl of Bath, an English statesman, born in 1682, died in London, July 8, 1764. He was educated at Westminster school and at Christ Church, Oxford, travelled on the continent, and in...

William Richard Hamilton: William Richard Hamilton, an English archaeologist, born Jan. 9, 1777, died July 11, 1859. His university education was interrupted by ill health. In 1799 he became secretary to Lord Elgin in the emba...

William Robertson: William Robertson, a Scottish historian, born at Borthwick, Edinburghshire, Sept. 19, 1721, died at Grange house, near Edinburgh, June 11, 1793. He graduated at the university of Edinburgh in 1741, wa...

William Rufus King: William Rufus King, an American statesman, 13th vice president of the United States, born in Sampson co., N. 0., April 6, 1786, died in Dallas co., Ala., April 17, 1853. He entered the university of N...

William Russell: William Russell, lord, an English statesman, second son of William, fifth earl of Bedford, born Sept. 29, 1639, beheaded July 21, 1683. He studied at Cambridge, travelled on the continent, and was ele...

William Sancroft: William Sancroft, an English prelate, born at Fresingfield, Suffolk, Jan. 13, 1616, died there, Nov. 24, 1693. He was educated at Emmanuel college, Cambridge, and became a fellow in 1642, but subseque...

William Sebaw Cathcart: William Sebaw Cathcart, earl, a British general and diplomatist, born at Petersham, Sept. 17, 1755, died at Cartside, near Glasgow, June 17, 1843. He was the eldest son of the 9th Baron Cathcart, stud...

William Seymour Tyler: William Seymour Tyler, an American linguist, born at Harford, Pa., Sept. 2, 1810. He graduated at Amherst college in 1830, and in 1831 became a classical teacher in Amherst academy. He afterward studi...

William Shakespeare: William Shakespeare, an English dramatist, born in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, in April, 1564, died there, April 23, 1616. The exact date of his birth is not known; but as there is a tradition ...

William Sidney Mount: William Sidney Mount, an American painter, born in Setauket, L. I., Nov. 26, 1807, died there, Nov. 19, 1868. In 1826 he entered the school of the national academy of design, in 1828 painted his first...

William Smith: William Smith, called the father of English geology, born at Churchill, Oxfordshire, March 23, 1769, died in Northampton, Aug. 28, 1839. In his youth he was a land surveyor and civil engineer, and was...

William Smith Obrien: William Smith O'Brien, an Irish patriot, born in county Clare, Oct. 17, 1803, died in Bangor, North Wales, June 17, 1864. He was educated at Harrow and Cambridge, in 1827 entered parliament for the bo...

William Stanley Jevons: William Stanley Jevons, an English author, born in Liverpool in 1835. He was educated at University college, London, and in 1854 received an appointment in the mint at Sydney, Australia, where he rema...

William Starke Rosecrans: William Starke Rosecrans, an American soldier, born at Kingston, Ohio, Sept. 6, 1819. He graduated at West Point, and served for a year as assistant engineer in the construction of fortifications at H...

William Starling Sullivant: William Starling Sullivant, an American botanist, born at Franklinton, near the site of Columbus O., Jan. 15, 1803, died in Columbus, April 30, 1873. He graduated at Yale college in 1823, and settled ...

William Sttmpson: William Sttmpson, an American naturalist, born in Roxbury, Mass., Feb. 14, 1832, died at Hchester Mills, Howard co., Md., May 26, 1872. He studied under Agassiz, and in 1849 engaged in dredging off th...

William Swainson: William Swainson, an English naturalist, born in Liverpool, Oct. 8, 1789. He served in the Mediterranean in the army commissariat department from 1807 to 1815, then travelled in South America with Kos...

William Swan Plumer: William Swan Plumer, an American clergyman, born in Griersburg (now Darlington), Beaver co., Pa., July 25, 1802. He graduated at Washington college, Virginia, in 1825, studied theology at Princeton, N...

William Tell: William Tell, a legendary hero of Switzerland. According to tradition, he was a hunter, living at Btirgelen in the canton of Uri. His wife was a daughter of Walter Furst, who with Stauffacher of Schwy...

William Thomas Green Morton: William Thomas Green Morton, an American dentist, born in Charlton, Mass., Aug. 9, 1819, died in New York, July 15, 1868. In 1840 he began the study of dentistry in Baltimore, and 18 months afterward ...

William Torrey Harris: William Torrey Harris, an American philosopher, born in Killingly, Conn., Sept. 10, 1835. He entered Yale college in 1854, but did not graduate. The degree of A. M. was conferred upon him by the colle...

William Tyndale: William Tyndale, an English reformer, born at North Nibley, Gloucestershire, about 1484, executed at Vilvoorden, in Brabant, Oct. 6, 1536. He was educated at Oxford and Cambridge, took orders, and was...

William Vincent Wallace: William Vincent Wallace, an Irish composer, born in Waterford in 1815, died at the chateau de Bay en, Haute-Garonne, France, Oct. 12, 1865. He received his earliest musical instruction from his father...

William Walker: William Walker, an American adventurer, born in Nashville, Tenn., May 8, 1824, executed at Trujillo, Honduras, Sept. 12, 1860. He studied both law and medicine, was a journalist in New Orleans and San...

William Warburton: William Warburton, an English author, born in Newark, Nottinghamshire, Dec. 24, 1698, died in Gloucester, June 7,1779. He was educated for the law, and began business at Newark in 1719; but in 1723 he...

William Wheelwright: William Wheelwright, an American capitalist, born in Newburyport, Mass., in 1798, died in London, Sept. 26, 1873. When 25 years old he commanded a trading vessel on the W. coast of South America, and ...

William Whewell: William Whewell, an English philosopher, born in Lancaster, May 24, 1794, died in Cambridge, March 5,1866. He graduated at Trinity college, Cambridge, in 1816, obtained a fellowship, and was professor...

William Whiston: William Whiston, an English clergyman, born at Norton, Leicestershire, Dec. 9, 1667, died in London, Aug. 22, 1752. He graduated at Cambridge in 1690, obtained a fellowship, took orders in 1693, and i...

William White: William White, an American bishop, born in Philadelphia, April 6,1748, died there, July 17,1836. He graduated at the college of Philadelphia in 1765, studied theology, was ordained deacon in England i...

William Wilkie Collins: William Wilkie Collins, an English novelist, son of the preceding, born in London in January, 1824. After being educated at a private school, and spending two years with his parents in Italy, he was a...

William Windham: William Windham, an English statesman, born in London, May 3,1750, died there, June 3,1810. He was educated at Eton, Glasgow, and Oxford, and began his political career by a speech at a meeting in Nor...

William Wirt: William Wirt, an American lawyer, born in Bladensburg, Md., Nov. 8,1772, died in Washington, D. C., Feb. 18,1834. He was admitted to the bar in 1792, and commenced practice at Culpeper Court House, Va...

William Wycherly: William Wycherly, an English dramatist, born at Clive, near Shrewsbury, about 1640, died in London about the end of December, 1715. He was sent to France for his education, and frequented the residenc...

William Yarrell: William Yarrell, a British naturalist, born in St. James's, Westminster, in June, 1784, died in Yarmouth in September, 1856. He was a newspaper agent, and became a naturalist from being a sportsman. I...

William Yates: William Yates, an English missionary, born at Loughborough, Leicestershire, Dec. 15,1792, died at sea, July 3, 1845. He studied at Bristol college, and sailed for Calcutta, April 16, 1815, as a Baptis...

Williams College: Williams College, an institution of learning at Williamstown, Berkshire co., Mass. It owes its origin to the bequest of Col. Ephraim Williams, whose will (1755) directed that the remainder of his lan...

Williamsburg: Williamsburg, a city of Virginia, and formerly its capital, county seat of James City co., about 50 m. E. S. E. of Richmond, and about the same distance from the Atlantic ocean at the mouth of Chesape...

Williamson: I. A Central County Of Texas A Central County Of Texas, drained by San Gabriel river and its tributaries; area, 1,100 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 6,368, of whom 801 were colored. The surface is level and d...

Williamsport: Williamsport, a city and the county seat of Lycoming co., Pennsylvania, on the N. bank of the West branch of the Susquehanna river, between Lycoming and Loyalsock creeks, 70 m. N. by W. of Harrisburg;...

Willow (Supposed To Be From A. S. Wilig Pliancy): Willow (Supposed To Be From A. S. Wilig Pliancy), the name of shrubs or trees of the genus salix (the ancient Latin name). Some willows are in England, and to some extent in our nurseries, called sall...

Wilmington: Wilmington, a city and port of entry of New Castle co., Delaware, the chief city of the state, at the confluence of Christiana and Brandywine creeks, 28 m. S. W. of Philadelphia; pop. in 1850, 13,979;...

Wilna, Or Vilna (Pol. Wilno): I. A W. Government Of Russia A W. Government Of Russia, in Lithuania, bordering en Kovno, Courland, Vitebsk, Minsk, Grodno, and Suwalki; area, 16,411 sq. m.; pop. in 1876, 1,087,705, comprising chief...

Wilson: Wilson, the name of four counties in the United States. I. A N. E. County Of North Carolina A N. E. County Of North Carolina, drained by the Mackason river; area, about 550 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 12,...

Wilsox: I. James James, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, born near St. Andrews, Scotland, in 1742, died in Edenton, N. C, Aug. 28, 1798. He studied at St. Andrews, Edinburgh, and Glasgow, and in ...

Wiltshire, Or Wilts: Wiltshire, Or Wilts, a S. county of England, bordering on the counties of Gloucester, Berks, Southampton, Dorset, and Somerset; area, 1,343 sq. m.; pop. in 1871, 257,202. It is almost quadrangular, an...

Winchester: Winchester, a city and the county seat of Frederick co., Virginia, in the lower Shenandoah valley, 67 m. W. N. W. of Washington, and 32 m. W. S. W. of Harper's Ferry by the Winchester, Potomac, and St...

Winchester (Anglo-Sax. Witanceaster; Anc. Venta Belgarum): Winchester (Anglo-Sax. Witanceaster; Anc. Venta Belgarum), a city and the capital of Hampshire, England, on the Southwestern railway, 12 m. N. N. E. of Southampton, and 62 m. S. W. of London; pop. in ...

Wind: Wind, a sensible movement of the air with reference to the earth's surface. The horizontal component of this movement is usually that which is specially referred to by the term wind, but the powerful ...

Windham: I. The S. E. County Of Vermont The S. E. County Of Vermont, bordering on Massachusetts, and separated from New Hampshire by the Connecticut river; area, 780 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 26,036. The surface ...

Windmill: Windmill, a building containing machinery driven by the action of wind upon a set of wings or sails. Windmills are of two kinds, one revolving in a vertical, the other in a horizontal plane. The princ...

Windsor: Windsor, a S. E. county of Vermont, separated from New Hampshire by the Connecticut river; area, 900 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 36,063. It is mountainous on the W. border and hilly in other parts, and the ...

Windsor, Or New Windsor: Windsor, Or New Windsor, a municipal and parliamentary borough and parish of Berkshire, England, on the brow of a hill above the right bank of the Thames, 23 m. W. of London; pop. within the municipal...

Wine (Heb. Yain; Gr. Olvoc; Lat. Vinum; Fr. Vin; Ger. Wein): Wine (Heb. Yain; Gr. Olvoc; Lat. Vinum; Fr. Vin; Ger. Wein), originally and properly, the name of the liquor obtained by fermentation of the juice of grapes; but, in later and less strict usage, denot...

Wines Of Greece: As a wine-producing country Greece no longer maintains the reputation which she enjoyed in ancient or even in comparatively modern times. With a climate admirably adapted to the culture of the grape,...

Wines Of Hungary: In respect to climate and soil Hungary may be considered a country unusually well adapted to the culture of the grape; but although wine is produced in almost every portion of it, only a comparatively...

Wines Of Italy: From time immemorial Italy has been noted as a wine-growing country, and at the present day, next to the cereals, wine is the most important production of her soi]. The amount annually made has been v...

Wines Of Portugal: Although by its geographical position and geological conformation Portugal is peculiarly adapted to the cultivation of the grape, its natural advantages have been obstructed, if not almost neutralized...

Wines Of Spain: The Spanish peninsula yields to no other part of Europe in natural advantages for wine growing. With a fertile soil, an admirable geological conformation, and a climate which, aided by the proximity o...

Winfield Scott: Winfield Scott, an American general, born in Petersburg, Va., June 13, 1786, died at West Point, N. Y., May 29, 1866. He was educated at William and Mary college, studied law, was admitted to the bar ...

Winfield Scott Hancock: Winfield Scott Hancock, an American soldier, born in Montgomery co., Pa., Feb. 14, 1824. He graduated at West Point in 1844, served mainly on frontier duty till 1846, and afterward in the war with Mex...

Winnebago: I. A N. County Of Illinois A N. County Of Illinois, bordering on Wisconsin, and drained by Rock and Pecatonica rivers; area, 508 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 29,301. The surface is mostly prairie and the so...

Winnebagoes: Winnebagoes, a tribe of the Dakota family of North American Indians, calling themselves Hochungara, but styled by the Sioux Hotanke or Sturgeon; by the Hurons and Iroquois, Awentsiwaen; and by the Alg...

Winnipeg: Winnipeg, a city, port of entry, and the capital of the province of Manitoba, Canada, on the W. bank of Red river and the N. bank of the Assiniboin, at their confluence, 50 m. by the course of the for...

Winona: Winona, a S. E. county of Minnesota, bordering on the Mississippi river, which separates it from Wisconsin, and drained by Whitewater river and several smaller streams; area, 638 sq. m.; pop. in 1870,...

Winslow: I. Miron Miron, an American missionary, born in Williston, Vt., Dec. 11,1789, died at the Cape of Good Hope, Oct. 22, 1864. He graduated at Middlebury college in 1815, and sailed in June, 1819, as m...

Winston: I. A N. County Of Alabama A N. County Of Alabama, watered by tributaries of the Black Warrior river; area, about 900 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 4,155, of whom 21 were colored. The surface is a rolling tab...

Winterberry: Several native deciduous shrubs, with fruit and flowers much like those of the holly, were formerly placed in the genus prinos (the Greek name for the holly); but later botanists make them only a subg...

Wintergreen: Wintergreen, one of the popular names for Gaultheria procumbens, a low, aromatic, evergreen shrub of the heath family, found in damp woods, especially under the shade of evergreens, in Canada and the ...

Winthrop: I. John John, governor of the colony of Massachusetts, born in Groton, county of Suffolk, England, Jan. 11,1588, died in Boston, Mass., March 20, 1649. He was bred to the law. When in 1629 a charter ...

Wire: Wire, a small metallic rod or thread, varying in thickness from half an inch to 1/5000 of an inch. The facility with which a metal may be drawn into wire is called its ductility. (See Ductility.) From...

Wire Worm: Wire Worm, a name applied to the myriapod animals of the genus lulus (Latr.), to the larva) of several of the spring beetles, and to the caterpillars of many owlet moths of the family agrotididce, the...

Wirt: Wirt, an excrescence on the skin, consisting of elongated papillae of the dermis covered with cuticle, the nature of which is not very well understood. Warts are often superficial and movable, but gen...

Wiscasset: Wiscasset, a port of entry and the shire town of Lincoln co., Maine, on the TV. bank of Sheepscot river, 16 m. from its mouth, and on the Knox and Lincoln railroad, 40 m. N. E. of Portland; pop. in 18...

Wisconsin: Wisconsin, one of the N. TV. states of the American union, the 17th admitted under the federal constitution, between lat. 42 30' and 46 58' N., and Ion. 87 8' and 92 54' TV., exclu...

Wise: I. A S. W. County Of Virginia A S. W. County Of Virginia, bordering on Kentucky, and drained by several small streams; area, about 250 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 4,785, of whom 68 were colored. The surfac...

Wistaria: Wistaria, a genus of woody climbers of the family leguminosce. The first species known was our native W. frutescens, which was placed by Linnaeus in the genus glycine, from which on account of marked ...

Witch And Witchcraft: Witch And Witchcraft, a person supposed to have formed a compact with Satan, and the practice of the powers thereby acquired. The term witch, though applied to both sexes, in strictness denotes a fema...

Witch Hazel, Or Wych Hazel: Witch Hazel, Or Wych Hazel, a name applied in England to an elm (ulmus montana), the leaves of which resemble those of the hazel; the same tree is also called wych elm, its wood having been used to ma...

Wittenberg: Wittenberg, a fortified town of Prussia, in the province of Saxony, on the Elbe, 53 m. S. W. of Berlin; pop. in 1871, 11,567. It is celebrated for associations with Luther and Melanchthon, who are bur...

Woad: Woad, a plant of the mustard family, isatis tinctoria, formerly cultivated for the blue dye yielded by its foliage. The genus isatis comprises 25 or 30 species, all of the old world. The woad has been...

Wobcrn: Wobcrn, a town of Middlesex co., Massachusetts, on the Boston and Lowell railroad, 10 m. N. W. of Boston; pop. in 1850, 3,956; in 1860, 6,287; in 1870, 8,560; in 1875, 9,568. It contains 7,750 acres. ...

Wolcott: I. Roger Roger, a colonial governor of Connecticut, born in Windsor, Conn., Jan. 4, 1679, died in that part of the same town which is now East Windsor, May 17, 1767. He was appointed commissary of th...

Wolf: Wolf, the typical form of the canidai or dogs, whose family characters have been described under Dog. The European wolf (canis lupus, Linn.) is about 4 ft. long, with a tail of 16 in., and is commonly...

Wolf Fish (Anarrhichas Lupus Linn): Wolf Fish (Anarrhichas Lupus Linn) a spiny-rayed fish allied to the blenny family, and inhabiting the seas of northern Europe and America. It attains a size of 3 to 5 ft. or more; the color is purplis...

Wolfgang A German Author Menzel: Wolfgang A German Author Menzel, born at Waldenburg, Silesia, June 21, 1798, died in Stuttgart, April 23, 1873. He began his studies at Breslau, served as a volunteer in the war of 1815, and subsequen...

Wolfgang Kempelen: Wolfgang Kempelen, baron, a Hungarian mechanician, born in Presburg, Jan. 23, 1734, died in Vienna, March 26, 1804. He entered at first upon an administrative career, and became aulic councillor. He w...

Wolfram Von Eschenbach: Wolfram Von Eschenbach, a German minnesinger, belonging to the circle of poets which near the end of the 12th and the beginning of the 13th century frequented the court of the landgrave Herman I. of T...

Woman's Rights: Woman's Rights, a question involving the political, industrial, educational, and general social status of women, and their legal rights and disabilities. It embraces topics treated under Alimony, Divo...

Wombat (Phascolomys Wombat Per. And Les): Wombat (Phascolomys Wombat Per. And Les), a herbivorous marsupial mammal, inhabiting New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania, and the small islands in Bass straits. The generic name means pouched r...

Wonrali, Curari, Trail, Or Tirana Woorara Woorari: Wonrali, Curari, Trail, Or Tirana Woorara Woorari, the name of several powerful poisons prepared by the natives of Para, Brazil, and the interior of British Guiana, and used by them for tipping the po...

Wood: Wood, the name of five counties in the United States. I. A N. W. County Of West Virginia A N. W. County Of West Virginia, separated from Ohio by the Ohio river, and drained by the Little Kanawha; ...

Wood (A. S. Wudu): Wood (A. S. Wudu), the substance forming the body of the trunk and branches of a tree. The stems Of flowering plants are made up of cells of two kinds; the soft parts consist of thin and but little el...

Wood Duck, Or Summer Dock (Aix Sponsa, Boie): Wood Duck, Or Summer Dock (Aix Sponsa, Boie), an American duck, with the bill very high at the base, shorter than the head, the upper lateral angle running back much behind the lower edge; nostrils ve...

Wood Ibis (Tantalus Loculator Linn): Wood Ibis (Tantalus Loculator Linn) a bird belonging, together with the white and glossy ibis (see Ibis), to the family tantalidoe, one of the grallatores. The genus tantalus has the very long bill mu...

Woodchuck: Woodchuck, the common name of an American rodent (arctomys monax, Gmel.), the generic characters of which have been given under Marmot. It is 15 to 18 in. long, the color varying from blackish to griz...

Woodcock: Woodcock, a game bird of the snipe family. The American woodcock (philohela minor, Gray) is 11 in. long and 17 in. in alar extent; the body is stout, and the head, bill, and eyes very large; the last ...

Woodford: I. A N. Central County Of Kentucky A N. Central County Of Kentucky, bounded W. by the Kentucky river and N. E. by a branch of the South Elkhorn; area, 185 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 8,240, of whom 3,825 w...

Woodpecker: Woodpecker, the common name of the very numerous scansorial or climbing birds of the family picidoe. The bill is long, straight, and wedge-shaped, with flattened and truncated tip, and sides more or l...

Woodruff (Ang. Sax. Wude-Rofe): Woodruff (Ang. Sax. Wude-Rofe), sometimes written woodroof, and by the old writers woodderowffe, a low perennial herb (asperula odorata) of the madder family (rubiacem), native of Europe and Russian A...

Woodstock: Woodstock, a town and the county seat of Windsor co., Vermont, on the Ottaquechee, an affluent of the Connecticut river, at the terminus of the Woodstock railroad, 45 m. S. of Montpelier; pop. in 1870...

Woodwaxen, Or Woadwaxen: Woodwaxen, Or Woadwaxen, the plant genista tinctoria (Celtic gen, a bush), which is also called dyers' weed, green weed, and whin, the last name properly belonging to ulex; it is a low shrub of the le...

Wool: Wool, a covering similar to hair, growing from the skins of several kinds of animals, but principally of the sheep, the alpaca, and the Cashmere and Rocky mountain goat. In all but the sheep the wool ...

Woolwich: Woolwich, a parish of Kent, England, formerly an independent town, now a suburb of London, on the right bank of the Thames, 9 m. below London bridge; pop. in 1871, 35,557. It stands principally on ele...

Woonsocket: Woonsocket, a town of Providence co., Rhode Island, on both sides of Blackstone river, 16 m. K N. W. of the city of Providence; pop. in 1870, 11,527; in 1875, 13,576. It borders N. on Massachusetts. J...

Wooster: Wooster, a city and the county seat of Wayne co., Ohio, on Killbuck creek, a tributary of the Muskingum river, and on the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne, and Chicago railroad, 80 m. N. E. of Columbus; pop. in...

Worcester: I. A Central County Of Massachusetts A Central County Of Massachusetts, bounded N. by New Hampshire and S. by Rhode Island and Connecticut, and drained by Blackstone, Chicopee, Nashua, Ware, and othe...

Worcester (2): Worcester, a city and one of the shire towns of Worcester co., Massachusetts, on the Boston and Albany railroad, 40 m. W. S. W. of Boston; pop. in 1763, 1,478; in 1800, 2,411; in 1820, 2,962; in 1830,...

Worcester (3): Worcester, a city of England, capital of Worcestershire, on the left bank of the Severn, 102 m. W. N. W. of London; pop. in 1871, 33,221. The houses are generally of brick; some of them are two or thr...

Wordsworth: I. William, An English Poet An English Poet William, born at Cockermouth, Cumberland, April 7, 1770, died at Rydal Mount, Westmoreland, April 23, 1850. He graduated at Cambridge in 1791, where he mas...

Worms: See Annelida, Earthworm, Entozoa, Hair Worm, Leech, Nereids, Planarians, and Ribbon Worm. Worms #1 Worms, a city of the grand duchy of Hesse, Germany, on the left bank of the Rhine, 26 m. S. S. E. o...

Wormseed: Wormseed, the popular and trade name for two drags used as anthelmintics, of very different origin and composition. I. The chenopoclium of the United States Pharmacopoeia, often called American wormse...

Wormwood (Probably So Called From Its Use As An Anthelmintic): Wormwood (Probably So Called From Its Use As An Anthelmintic), a plant of the composite family, Artemisia absinthium, a native of Europe and somewhat naturalized in this country. It is a perennial wit...

Worth: I. A S. W. County Of Georgia A S. W. County Of Georgia, bounded N. E. by Flint.river and S. E. by Little river; area, about 900 sq. m.; pop, in 1870, 3,778, of whom 1,105 were colored. It is intersec...

Worthington Hooker: Worthington Hooker, an American physician, born in Springfield, Mass., March 2, 1806, died in New Haven, Conn., Nov. 6, 1867. He received his academic education at Yale college, and graduated in medic...

Wrack Grass, Or Grass Wrack: Wrack Grass, Or Grass Wrack, the plant zostera marina, of the pond-weed family (naiadaceai), growing at or beyond low-water mark upon sandy or muddy sea shores in most parts of the world. Wrack is an ...

Wrasse: Wrasse, the common name of the spinyrayed fishes of the family labridoe comprised in the genus labrus (Cuv.). The mouth is protrusible, with double large and fleshy lips, and jaws armed with formidabl...

Wraxall: I. Sir Nathaniel William Sir Nathaniel William, an English author, born in Bristol, April 8, 1751, died in Dover, Nov. 7, 1831. lie went to Bombay in 1769 in the civil service of the East India compa...

Wren: Wren, the name commonly applied to the diminutive tenuirostral birds of the creeper family and genus troglodytes (Vieill.); they come near the dentirostral birds, and by some have been placed by the s...

Wright: I. A Central County Of Minnesota A Central County Of Minnesota, bounded N. E. by the Mississippi and S.. E. by Crow river and its S. fork; area, 708 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 9,457; in 1875,13,775. The ...

Writing: Writing, the art of expressing; ideas by visible signs or characters inscribed on some material. It is either ideographic or phonetic. Ideographic writing may be either pictorial, representing objects...

Wryneck (Torticollis): Wryneck (Torticollis), a surgical disease, dependent generally on contraction of the muscles, in which the head and neck are turned sideways, forward, or backward, according to the muscles affected. I...

Wryneck (Yunx Torquilla Linn): Wryneck (Yunx Torquilla Linn), a small bird of the woodpecker family, so called from its habit of turning the head in various directions; it has also been named snake bird for the same reason. It is a...

Wurtemberg, Or Wiirttemberg (In English Often Wirtemberg): Wurtemberg, Or Wiirttemberg (In English Often Wirtemberg), a kingdom of the German empire, bounded N. E. and E. by Bavaria, S. by Bavaria, the lake of Constance, which separates it from Switzerland, t...

Wurzbirg: Wurzbirg, a city of Bavaria, capital of Lower Franconia, on the right bank of the Main, which is navigable here and spanned by a large stone bridge with statues of saints, 140 m. N. W. of Munich; pop....

Wyandot: Wyandot, a N. W. county of Ohio, intersected by the Sandusky river; area, 350 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 18,553. The surface is level and diversified by prairie and woodland, and the soil is fertile. It is...

Wyandotte: Wyandotte, a N. E. county of Kansas, separated from Missouri on the northeast by the Missouri river, and intersected in the S. part by the Kansas; area, 155 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 10,015; in 1875, 12,...

Wyandotte Cave: Wyandotte Cave, a remarkable natural curiosity in Crawford co., Indiana, 4 m. from Leavenworth. It is 22 m. in extent, with a maximum width of 300 ft. and a height of 245 ft. The cave is dry, and cont...

Wyatt: I. Sir Thomas Sir Thomas, an English poet, born at Allington castle, Kent, in 1503, died at Sherborne, Oct. 11, 1542. He graduated at Cambridge in 1518, became a gentleman of the bedchamber to Henry ...

Wynkin De Worde: Wynkin De Worde, a printer, born in Lorraine about the middle of the 15th century, died in London about 1534. He accompanied Caxton to England, and was his assistant till his death about 1491, when he...

Wyoming: Wyoming, a territory of the United States, situated between lat. 41 and 45 N., and lon. 104 and 111 W., forming nearly a perfect quadrangle; length E. and W. about 350 in., breadth...

Wyoming Valley: Wyoming Valley (a corruption of the Indian Maughwauwama, large plains), a beautiful and fertile tract on the Susquehanna river in Luzerne co., Pennsylvania. It lies N. E. and S. W., having an average ...

Xavier Marmier: Xavier Marmier, a French author, born at Pontarlier, June 24, 1809. He studied the German and other foreign languages, and became editor of the Revue Gcrmaniqne. From 1836 to 1838 he explored northern...

Xenia: Xenia, the presents given to the guests after a banquet by the ancient Greeks and Romans, and hence the title of the 13th book of Martial's epigrams, which consists of distichs referring to this custo...

Xenophon: Xenophon, an Athenian author, the son of Gryllus, a native of the demus of Erchea, and of the order of knights. The date of his birth is uncertain. Some, accepting the statement of Diogenes Laërtius a...

Xerxes: Xerxes, a king of Persia, who reigned from the close of 486 to 465 B. C. He was the son of Darius Hystaspis and Atossa. His first achievement on coming to the throne was the suppression of the Egyptia...

Xylene, Or Xylol: Xylene, Or Xylol, a hydrocarbon homologous with benzene and toluene, first obtained in a pure state from coal naphtha by Hugo Miller in 1863. Mixed with toluene and several other hydrocarbons, it had ...

Y: Y THE 25 th letter of the English alphabet, , is in Teutonic and Romanic languages generally a vowel when occurring in the body or at the end of syllables, and an aspirated gutturo-lingual consonant ...

Yacht (Dutch Jagt; Ger. Jacht From Jagen, To Chase): Yacht (Dutch Jagt; Ger. Jacht From Jagen, To Chase), a vessel for excursions of pleasure. The prophet Ezekiel referred to pleasure galleys of Tyre when he spoke of thy benches of ivory, the fine l...

Yadkin: Yadkin, a river of North Carolina, which rises at the foot of the Blue Ridge in Caldwell co., and runs E. to Stokes co., whence it flows S. S. E. into South Carolina, where it receives the name of Gre...

Yak (Poephagus Grunniens Gray): Yak (PoëPhagus Grunniens Gray), an animal of the ox tribe, inhabiting the mountains of Thibet and central Asia. The wild yak is larger than domestic cattle, generally black, and characterized by a thi...

Yakutsk: I. A Province Of E. Siberia A Province Of E. Siberia, bounded N. by the Arctic ocean, E. and S. E. by the Littoral province, S. by the Amoor and the Transbaikal provinces, S. W. by the government of ...

Yale College: Yale College, one of the oldest and largest of American colleges, situated in New Haven, Conn. The design of founding a college in New Haven was formed by the planters soon after the settlement of the...

Yam: Yam, the popular name for plants of the genus Dioscoroea (named in honor of the Greek naturalist Dioscorides), and in the southern states applied very generally to light-colored varieties of the sweet...

Yankton: Yankton, a S. E. county of Dakota, separated from Nebraska by the Missouri river, and intersected by the Dakota; area, about 520 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 2,097. The Dakota Southern railroad terminates at...

Yapock, Or Water Opossum: Yapock, Or Water Opossum, a rare marsupial animal of the genus chironectes (111.), of which the only described species is C. variegatus, found in Guiana and Brazil. The hind feet are powerful swimming...

Yarkand: Yarkand, a city of East Turkistan, on the left bank of the river Yarkand, about 105 m. (according to the latest maps) S. E. of Kashgar; lat. 38 20' N.,lon. 77Q 30'E.; pop. estimated by some at mo...

Yarmouth: I. A S. W. County Of Nova Scotia Canada A S. W. County Of Nova Scotia, bordering on the Atlantic ocean, and intersected by Tusket river; area, 736 sq. m.; pop. in 1871, 18,550, of whom 11,707 were of...

Yarrow (A. S. Gearwe): Yarrow (A. S. Gearwe), the common name for Achillea millefolium, a plant of the composite family, sometimes called milfoil, introduced from Europe, where, as well as in nearly all parts of this countr...

Yates: Yates, a W. county of New York, bounded E. by Seneca lake, and S. W. partly by Canandaigua and Crooked (now Keuka) lakes, the latter extending half way across the middle of the county; area, about 500...

Yaupon: Yaupon, an aboriginal name for ilex Cassine, a North American shrub which derives its specific name from cassena, by which it was also known to the Indians. The characters of the genus ilex are given ...

Yavapai: Yavapai, the N. E. county of Arizona, bounded N. by Utah and E. by New Mexico; area, over 50,000 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 2,142. The Colorado river crosses the N. W. corner, passing through deep and prec...

Yazoo: Yazoo, a river of Mississippi, formed by the junction of the Tallahatchie and Yalobusha rivers at Greenwood in Leflore co. From the junction it pursues a serpentine course, generally bearing S. W., ti...

Year: Year, a period of time well known within and near the temperate zones of the earth as that in which the four seasons run through their course, and indicated upon all parts of the earth's surface by th...

Yeast: Yeast, the froth which rises upon the surface of beer and other liquors during fermentation, consisting principally of microscopic globules of a fungoid plant. This plant is also found in that variety...

Yeast Powders, Or Baking Powders: Yeast Powders, Or Baking Powders, substitutes for yeast, used in making bread. The chief object of the use of yeast in bread is to develop carbonic acid gas in the dough, by which bubbles are formed i...

Yekaterina Komauovna Dashkoff: Yekaterina Komauovna Dashkoff, a Russian princess, born in 1744, died near Moscow, Jan. 4, 1810. She was the third daughter of Count Roman Vorontzoff, received a literary education at the house of her...

Yekaterinburg: Yekaterinburg, a city of Russia, on the Asiatic or E. side of the Ural mountains, on the Isset, in the government and 180 m. S. E. of the city of Perm; pop. in 1867, 24,500. It is the administrative c...

Yekaterinoslav: I. A Government Of South Russia Or New Russia A Government Of South Russia Or New Russia, bordering on the governments of Kharkov, Poltava, Kherson, and Taurida, the sea of Azov, and the Don Cossack ...

Yellow Bird: I. The American goldfinch or thistle bird (chrysomitris tristis, Bonap.)! Yellow Bird (Chrysomitris tristis). It is 8¾ in. long and 8¾ in. in extent of wings. The male is of a bright gamboge-yell...

Yellow-Eyed Grass: Yellow-Eyed Grass, the common name for plants of the genus xyris (Gr. vpis, some plant with two-edged leaves), which consists of biennial or perennial rush-like plants, and gives its name to a small o...

Yellow-Legs (Garribetta Flavipes Bonap): Yellow-Legs (Garribetta Flavipes Bonap) a North American wading bird of the tattler family. It is about 10½ in. long and 19| in. in extent of wings, considerably smaller than the tell-tale tattler (se...

Yellow-Root: Yellow-Root, a common name applied in different parts of the country to different plants; the most important of these, liydrastis, is described elsewhere under one of its several common names. (See Pu...

Yellow-Throat (Geothlypis Trichas Caban): Yellow-Throat (Geothlypis Trichas Caban) a very common North American warbler. It is 5½ in. long and 7¼ in. in extent of wings; the color is olive-green above, tinged with brown on the crown; chin, th...

Yellowstone River: Yellowstone River, a tributary of the Missouri, rising in Yellowstone lake, in the Yellowstone national park, N. W. Wyoming, near the sources of the Madison (the main constituent of the Missouri) and ...

Yemelyan Pugatcheff: Yemelyan Pugatcheff, a Cossack chieftain and pretender to the throne of Russia, born at Simoveisk on the Don in 1726, executed in Moscow, Jan. 21, 1775. He first appeared as the leader of a band of di...

Yemen: Yemen, a province of the Turkish empire, in Arabia, bounded N. by Hedjaz and the desert, E. by the desert and Hadramaut, S. by the gulf of Aden, and W. by the Red sea; pop., according to Turkish autho...

Yeniseisk: I. A Central Government Of Siberia A Central Government Of Siberia, in the political division of East Siberia, bounded N. by the Arctic ocean, E. by Yakutsk and Irkutsk, S. by the Chinese empire, and...

Yew: Yew (A. S. iw; variously written by the old authors ewgh, ugh, and U, and in French if), the common name for species of taxus (the ancient name, supposed to be from Gr. a bow), especially T. baccata. ...

Yezdegerd, Or Isdigerd: Yezdegerd, Or Isdigerd, the name of three Persian kings of the Sassanian dynasty. - Yezdegerd I. reigned from A. D. 399 to about 420. He maintained peace abroad, although the condition of the empire w...

Yezo, Or Yesso: Yezo, Or Yesso, formerly the name of the uncivilized part of Japan above lat. 38 N., now of one of the four large islands of Japan, between lat. 41 24' and 45 31' N., and Ion. 139 ...

Ygnacio Comonfort: Ygnacio Comonfort, a Mexican statesman, born in Puebla, March 12, 1812, killed near San Luis Potosi, Nov. 13, 1863. He entered the Jesuit college at Puebla in 1826, became a captain of cavalry in 1832...

Yiardot: I. Louis, A French Author A French Author Louis, born in Dijon, July 31, 1800. He studied law in Paris, and wrote for the newspapers. In 1838 he joined Robert in managing the Italian opera, became so...

Yijmas: Yijmas, a nation of American Indians on both sides of the Colorado near its junction with the Gila, calling themselves the Sons of the Eiver. They are also termed Cuchans. They were early known to the...

Yincenzo Monti: Yincenzo Monti, an Italian poet, born at Fusignano, near Ferrara, Feb. 19, 1754, died in Milan. Oct. 13, 1828. He was educated at Faenza and the university of Ferrara, where he read with enthusiasm th...

Yircilia: Yircilia, a name given by Lamarck to a genus of south African leguminous trees, to which Michaux referred one of the finest of our North American trees, the yellow-wood, as Virgilia lutea. As the tree...

Yokohama (Jap. Cross Strand): Yokohama (Jap. Cross Strand), a seaport city on the E. side of the main island of Japan, on the W. shore of the bay of Yedo, 15 m. S. by W. of Tokio (Yedo); lat. 35 26' N., Ion. 139 39' E.; ...

Yoljffgstowff: Yoljffgstowff, a city and the county seat of Mahoning co., Ohio, on the Mahoning river, 135 m. N. E. of Columbus, 60 m. S. E. of Cleveland, and 60 m. N. N. W. of Pittsburgh, Pa.; pop. in 1860, 2,759; ...

Yonkers: Yonkers, a city of Westchester co., New York, on the E. bank of the Hudson river, joining New York city on the south, 16 m. N. of the city hall; pop. in 1875, 17,269. The built up portion is picturesq...

York: York, the name of five counties in the United States. I. The S. Tv. County Of Maine The S. Tv. County Of Maine, bounded S. by the Atlantic ocean, and W. and S. TV. by New Hampshire, from which it is...

York (Anc. Udoracum): York (Anc. Udoracum), a city and the capital of Yorkshire, England, on both sides of the river Ouse, at its junction with the Foss, 172 m. N. N. W. of London, and 58 m. N. E. of Manchester; pop. in 18...

Yorkshire: Yorkshire, the largest county of England, bordering on Durham, the North sea, the estuary of the Humber, and the counties of Lincoln, Nottingham, Derby, Chester, Lancaster, and Westmoreland; area, 6,0...

Yorktown: Yorktown, a post village, port of entry, and the capital of York co., Virginia, on the right bank of the York river, 10 m. from its mouth and 60 m. E. S. E. of Richmond; pop. about 1,000. It has a whi...

Yoruba, Or Yarriba: Yoruba, Or Yarriba, a country of Africa, lying N. of the bight of Benin and W. of the Niger, between lat. 7 and 9 30' N. and Ion. 2 and 5 30' E.; area, about 20,000 sq. m.; pop. es...

Yosemite: Yosemite, a valley in Mariposa co., California, through which winds the Merced river, about 155 m. E. by S. of San Francisco, unequalled for the grandeur of its scenery and the magnificence of its wat...

Young Men's Christian Associations: Organizations of Christian young men existed in Great Britain and Ireland more than 200 years ago, and extended into Germany and Switzerland; and in 1710 Cotton Mather. addressed kindred societies in ...

Ypsila1hi, Or Ypsilantis: Ypsila1hi, Or Ypsilantis, the name of a powerful and wealthy Fanariote Greek family, originating at Trebizond, and claiming descent from the Comneni. I. Athanasins Athanasins, in the early part of t...

Yriarte: I. Jnan De, A Spanish Scholar A Spanish Scholar Jnan De, born at Orotava, in the island of Teneriffe, Dec. 15, 1702, died in Madrid, Aug. 23, 1771. He studied in Paris and London, revisited Teneriffe...

Yttrium (From Ytterby In Sweden Where The Minerals Containing It Were First Found): Yttrium (From Ytterby In Sweden Where The Minerals Containing It Were First Found), a rare metal, first obtained pure by Wöhler in 1828, the oxide of which, discovered by Gadolin in 1794, occurs in sm...

Yucatan: Yucatan, a peninsula of Mexico, extending from about lat. 17 20' to 21 30' N., and from Ion. 87 to 92 30' W. It is bounded W. and N. by the gulf of Mexico, E. by the Caribbean sea,...

Yunnan: Yunnan, a S. W. province of China, bounded N. W. by Thibet, N. by Szechuen, E. by Kweichow and Kwangsi, S. by Anam, Laos, and Siam, and S. W. by Burmah; area, 107,969 sq. m.; pop. according to the cen...

Z - Romanic The Last Letter Of The Teutonic: Romanic The Last Letter Of The Teutonic, and most of the Slavic alphabets, the sixth of the Greek, and the seventh of the Hebrew, Phoenician, and Arabic. In English, French, and Portuguese, as well as...

Zacatecas: I. An Inland State Of Mexico An Inland State Of Mexico, bounded N. by Coahuila, E. by San Luis Potosí, Aguas Calientes, and Jalisco, S. by Jalisco, and W. by Jalisco and Durango; area, 26,585 sq. m.;...

Zachary Taylor: Zachary Taylor, twelfth president of the United States, born in Orange co., Va., Sept. 24, 1784, died in Washington, D. C, July 9, 1850. His father, Col. Richard Taylor, served throughout the revoluti...

Zaehary Pearce: Zaehary Pearce, an English prelate, born in London, Sept. 8, 1690, died at Little Ealing, June 29, 1774. He was educated at Trinity college, Cambridge, and while there is said to have written two numb...

Zaischxeria (Named After M. Zauschner An Amateur Bohemian Botanist): Zaischxeria (Named After M. Zauschner An Amateur Bohemian Botanist), a brilliant flowering plant introduced from California more than 25 years ago, of which there is only one species, Z. Californica, ...

Zambesi: Zambesi, a river of South Africa, known in its upper portions as the Leambye or Leeba. It rises in about lat. 11 S., Ion. 23 E., flows S. about 700 m. to the great cataract of Mosioatunya or...

Zamojski, Or Zamoyski: I. Jan Zamojski, A Polish Statesman A Polish Statesman Jan, born at Skokow, in the palatinate of Chelm, in 1541, died at Zamosc in 1605. He was educated at Paris, Strasburg, and Padua, and after his ...

Zamora: I. A N. W. Province Of Spain A N. W. Province Of Spain, formerly part of the kingdom of Leon, bordering on the provinces of Orense, Leon, Valladolid, and Salamanca, and on Portugal; area, 4,135 s...

Zanesville: Zanesville, a city and the county seat of Muskingum co., Ohio, on both sides of the Muskingum river, at the mouth of Licking river, 78 m. above the junction of the former with the Ohio, and 59 m. E. o...

Zanzibar: Zanzibar, a country on the E. coast of Africa, comprising the islands of Zanzibar, Pemba, and Mafia, and other smaller islands, and the coast opposite to them from the island of Warsheikh, lat. 2...

Zctphen: Zctphen, a city of the Netherlands, in the province of Gelderland, situated on the Yssel at the mouth of the Berckel, 17 m. N. E. of Arnhem; pop. in 1869, 14,554. It is very strongly fortified; the an...

Zebnlon Montgomery Pike: Zebnlon Montgomery Pike, an American soldier, born in Lamberton, N. J., Jan. 5, 1779, killed in the attack on York (now Toronto), Canada, April 27, 1813. He entered the army, serving in his father's c...

Zebra: Zebra, the common name of the striped horse-like animals of South Africa, of which one has been described under Quagga. They come nearer the ass than the horse, having the tail furnished with long hai...

Zebu (Bos Indicus Linn): Zebu (Bos Indicus Linn), the Brahman bull, a variety of the domesticated ox, characterized by a large fatty hump on the shoulders. It is found in India and its archipelago, Ohina, Arabia, Persia, and ...

Zebulun: Zebulun, the tenth son of Jacob, the sixth and last by Leah. Of the patriarch Zebulun nothing is known. In the division of territory after the conquest of Palestine, the tribe received an early allotm...

Zechariah, Or Zachariah: Zechariah, Or Zachariah, the eleventh of the twelve minor prophets, who returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel, and began to prophesy in the second year of Darius, king of Persia, 520 B. C, two months ...

Zend-Avesta: Zend-Avesta, the scriptures of the Zoroastrian faith, the ancient national religion of Persia, now professed only by scanty communities of Parsees. The proper name is simply Avesta, while Zend means t...

Zeno: Zeno, a Greek philosopher, born in Elea, in southern Italy, about 490 B. 0. He was a pupil of Parmenides, and resided at Elea all his life, with the exception of occasional visits to Athens as a teach...

Zerah Colburn: Zerah Colburn, an arithmetical prodigy, ' born at Cabot, Vt., Sept. 1, 1804, died March 2, 1840. In his 6th year he began to give evidence of those extraordinary powers of computation which afterward ...

Zeuglodon (Gr. A Yoke And Bdobc, A Tooth): Zeuglodon (Gr. A Yoke And Bdobc, A Tooth), a gigantic fossil cetacean mammal, found in the eocene and miocene tertiary strata of the southern United States and Europe, so named by Owen from the yoke-l...

Zeuxis: Zeuxis, a Greek painter, born probably in Heraclea in Bithynia about 450 B. 0., died probably in Athens in the first half of the following century. He was a contemporary of Apollodorus of Athens and o...

Zinc, Or Spelter: Zinc, Or Spelter (symbol, Zn; chemical equivalent, 65; specific gravity, 7.03 to 7.2), a highly lustrous white metal, with a bluish gray tint. It crystallizes in forms not perfectly recognized - accor...

Zinnia (Named After J. G. Zinn A German Botanist): Zinnia (Named After J. G. Zinn A German Botanist), a genus of plants of the composite family, of which there are about 12 species, belonging to the Mexican flora, though some occur along our southern ...

Zion, Or Sion (Heb. Tziyori), Mount: Zion, Or Sion (Heb. Tziyori), Mount, one of the hills on which Jerusalem is built. It occupies the whole S. W. section of the ancient site of the city, rising abruptly from the valley of Hinnom on the...

Zirconium (Named From The Mineral Zircon): Zirconium (Named From The Mineral Zircon), a rare metal, recognized as a peculiar substance by Klaproth in 1789, and first separated by Berzelius in 1824. It is a component of the minerals zircon, hya...

Ziska, Or Zizka, John: Ziska, Or Zizka, John, the military leader of the Hussites, born near the castle of Trocznow, in the circle of Budweis in Bohemia, about 1360, died at Przibislaw, Oct. 12, 1424. He was of a noble Bohe...

Zmte, Or Zacynthus: I. A Nomarchy Of The Kingdom Of Greece A Nomarchy Of The Kingdom Of Greece, comprising the Ionian island of the same name and several smaller islands; area, 277 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 44,557. The isla...

Zoar: Zoar, a village of Lawrence township, Tuscarawas co., Ohio, on the left bank of Tuscarawas river and the Ohio canal, 2½ m. N. of the Tuscarawas branch of the Cleveland and Pittsburgh railroad, 90 m. E...

Zodiac: Zodiac, an imaginary belt in the heavens, extending 9 N. and 9 S. of the ecliptic, within which the motions of the sun, moon, and principal planets are confined. It was divided by the ancien...

Zodiacal Light (2): Zodiacal Light, a triangular track of light, seen within the tropics, after sunset and before sunrise, stretching up from the horizon 50 or more according to the season, its axis nearly or quite ...

Zoe Victoire Du Cayla: Zoe Victoire Du Cayla, countess, a favorite of Louis XVIII, born at Boullay-Thierry, near Dreux, Aug. 5, 1785, died at Saint-Ouen, near Paris, March 19, 1852. She was the daughter of the royalist advo...

Zollverein (Ger. Zoll Duty Customs, And Verein, Union): Zollverein (Ger. Zoll Duty Customs, And Verein, Union), an association of German states for the purpose of levying uniform customs upon merchandise imported from abroad, and establishing internal free...

Zone (Gr. A Belt Or Girdle): Zone (Gr. A Belt Or Girdle), in the mathematical sense, the circular belt or portion of the surface of a sphere lying between any two parallel circles of the latter, or the convex surface cut off to o...

Zooloos, Or Amazooloos: Zooloos, Or Amazooloos, a nation of South Africa, constituting a branch of the Caffres. They live chiefly in the elevated country between Natal and Delagoa bay, but many of them are within the bounds ...

Zoroaster (Properly Zarathustra): Zoroaster (Properly Zarathustra), the founder of the ancient Persian religion. Respecting his career, his period, and his history as reformer of the earlier religion of his people, we have scarcely an...

Zouaves (Arab. Zwaica): Zouaves (Arab. Zwaica), a body of French infantry, deriving their name from a tribe of Kabyles in Algeria, whose fighting men have been noted throughout North Africa for generations. After the occupat...

Zuccaro: I. Taddeo, An Italian Painter An Italian Painter Taddeo, born in the duchy of Urbino in 1529, died in Rome, Sept. 2, 1566. As a boy he was employed as a color grinder at Rome, and at the age of 18 es...

Zug: I. A Central And The Smallest Canton Of Switzerland A Central And The Smallest Canton Of Switzerland, bordering on Zurich, Schwytz, Lucerne, and Aargau; area, 92 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 20,993, nearly ...

Zurich: I. A N Canton Of Switzerland A N Canton Of Switzerland, bounded N. by Schaffhausen and the grand duchy of Baden, E. by Thurgau and St. Gall, S. by Schwytz and Zug, and W. by Aargau; area, 665 sq. m.;...

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Zweibruckeff (Lat. Bipontium; Fr. Deuxponts): Zweibruckeff (Lat. Bipontium; Fr. Deuxponts), a city of Bavaria, in the Rhenish Palatinate, on the Erbach, 40 m. W. by S. of Spire; pop. in 1871, 8,395, three fourths of whom were Protestants. Its nam...

Zwingli, Or Zuinglios, Ulrie Or Holdreieh: Zwingli, Or As It Is Often Latinized (Zuinglios, Ulrie Or Holdreieh), a Swiss reformer and patriot, born at Wildhaus, a mountain village of Toggenburg (now canton of St. Gall), Jan. 1, 1484, fell on t...

Zwolle: Zwolle, a city of the Netherlands, capital of the province of Overyssel, on the Zwarte Water and near the Yssel and Vecht, all tributaries of the Zuyder Zee, about 50 m. E. N. E. of Amsterdam; pop. in...

Zymosis (Gr. Vuooig Fermentation): Zymosis (Gr. Vuooig Fermentation), a term used in speculative pathology to denote the action of a peculiar and little known process analogous to fermentation. From remote antiquity various hypotheses ...

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