Haltwhistle

Haltwhistle, a market-town of Northumberland, on the South Tyne, 16 1/2 miles W. of Hexham. Pop. of parish, 3150.

Halys

Halys. See Asia Minor.

Ham

Ham, a town in the French dep. of Somme, on the river Somme, 12 miles SW. of St Quentin. Its ancient fortress (rebuilt in 1470) is used as a state-prison. It was the place of confinement of Joan of Arc, Louis Napoleon, etc. Pop. 3000.

Ham

Ham, West, a suburb of East London, and a county borough of Essex, on the north bank of the Thames, opposite Greenwich. The rapid growth of the population has been principally owing to the Victoria and Albert docks and the gas-works. It is a busy industrial parish, and has silk-printing, shipbuilding, distilling, and chemical manufactures. In 1885 it was made a parliamentary borough, returning two members to the House of Commons. Here is Mrs Elizabeth Fry's house, 'The Cedars.' Pop. (1851) 18,817; (1901) 267,358. - East Ham, situated in the southwest of the same county, 1 1/2 mile S W. of Barking, has a pop. of 96,018. See Katherine Fry's History of the Parishes of East and West Ham (1888).

Hamadan

Hamadan (anc. Ecbatana), a town of Persia, at the northern base of Mount Elwend, 160 miles WSW. of Teheran. It contains some notable tombs - e.g. Avicenna's and others affirmed to be those of Mordecai and Esther. It is the centre of converging routes from Bagdad, Erivan, Teheran, and Ispahan, and manufactures leather, coarse carpets, and woollen and cotton fabrics. Pop. 30,000.

Hamah

Hamah (Gr. Epiphania; Bible Hamath), a very ancient city of Syria, on the Orontes, 110 miles N. by E. of Damascus. In 1893 it was proposed to connect Hamah and Hems (q.v.) with Damascus and with Aleppo by rail. Pop. 45,000.

Hambato

Hambato, or Ambato, capital of Tunguragua province, Ecuador, in a sheltered amphitheatre on the northern slope of Chimborazo, 8860 feet above the sea. It was twice destroyed - by an eruption of Cotopaxi in 1698, and by an earthquake in 1796. Pop. 10,000.

Hameln

Hameln, a town of Hanover, on the Weser, 25 miles SW. of Hanover. It presents a quite mediaeval appearance, having many Gothic and Renaissance houses and buildings. The chain-bridge (1839) over the Weser is 840 feet long. The industries include machine-making, iron-founding, wool-spinning, etc. Pop. 19,831. With this town is connected the well-known legend of the Pied Piper (or Ratcatcher) of Hameln or Hamlin, who in 1284 freed the town from rats through the mystic charm of his pipe.

Hamirpur

Hamirpur, capital of a district in the United Provinces of India, on the Jumna, and at the head of a branch of the Ganges Canal, 110 miles NW. of Allahabad. Pop. 7200.

Hamm

Hamm, a town of Prussia, in Westphalia, on the Lippe, 25 miles NE. of Dortmund by rail, has large iron-foundries, wire-works, machine-factories, etc. It was a Hanse town, and until 1763 a fortress. Pop. 32,500.

Hammerfest

Hammerfest, the most northern town of Europe, in 70° 40' N. lat. and 23° 30' E. long., is on the island of Kvalo, in the Norwegian province of Finmark. It was destroyed by fire in 1890. Pop. 2289.