The Nuttall Encyclopaedia
by
Edited by Rev. James Wood
Part 22 out of 53
FRIENDS, SOCIETY OF, a community of Christians popularly known as
Quakers, founded in 1648 by GEORGE FOX (q. v.), distinguished
for their plainness of speech and manners, and differing from other sects
chiefly in the exclusive deference they pay to the "inner light," and
their rejection of both clergy and sacrament as media of grace; they
refuse to take oath, are averse to war, and have always been opposed to
slavery.
FRIENDS OF THE PEOPLE, an association formed as far back as 1792 to
secure by constitutional means parliamentary reform.
FRIES, ELIAS, Swedish cryptogamic botanist, professor at Upsala;
wrote on fungi and lichens (1794-1878).
FRIES, JAKOB FRIEDRICH, a German Kantian philosopher; was professor
at Jena; aimed at reconciling the Kantian philosophy with Faith, or the
intuitions of the Pure Reason (1773-1843).
FRIESLAND, the most northerly province of Holland, with a rich soil;
divided into East and West Friesland; low-lying and pastoral; protected
by dykes.
FRIGGA, a Scandinavian goddess, the wife of Odin; worshipped among
the Saxons as a goddess mother; was the earth deified, or the Norse
Demeter.
FRISIANS, a Low German people, who occupied originally the shores of
the North Sea from the mouths of the Rhine and Ems; distinguished for
their free institutions; tribes of them at one time invaded Britain,
where traces of their presence may still be noted.
FRITH, WILLIAM POWELL, an English painter, born near Ripon,
Yorkshire; his works are numerous, his subjects varied and interesting,
and his most popular pictures have brought large sums; _b_. 1819.
FRITZ, FATHER, name given to Frederick the Great by his subjects
"with a familiarity which did not breed contempt in his case."
FROBISHER, SIR MARTIN, famous English sailor and navigator, born
near Doncaster; thrice over enthusiastically essayed the discovery of the
North-West Passage under Elizabeth; accompanied Drake to the West Indies;
was knighted for his services against the Armada; conducted several
expeditions against Spain; was mortally wounded when leading an attack on
Brest, and died on his passage home (1535-1594).
FROEBEL, FRIEDRICH, a devoted German educationist on the principles
of Pestalozzi, which combined physical, moral, and intellectual training,
commencing with the years of childhood; was the founder of the famous
_Kindergarten_ system (1782-1852).
FROGMORE, a royal palace and mausoleum in Windsor Park, the
burial-place of Prince Albert.
FROISSART, JEAN, a French chronicler and poet, born at Valenciennes;
visited England in the reign of Edward III., at whose Court, and
particularly with the Queen, he became a great favourite for his tales of
chivalry, and whence he was sent to Scotland to collect more materials
for his chronicles, where he became the guest of the king and the Earl of
Douglas; after this he wandered from place to place, ranging as far as
Venice and Rome, to add to his store; he died in Flanders, and his
chronicles, which extend from 1322 to 1400, are written without order,
but with grace and _naivete_ (1337-1410).
FROMENTIN, EUGENE, an eminent French painter and author, born at
Rochelle; was the author of two travel-sketches, and a brilliant novel
"Dominique" (1820-1876).
FRONDE, a name given to a revolt in France opposed to the Court of
Anne of Austria and Mazarin during the minority of Louis XIV. The war
which arose, and which was due to the despotism of Mazarin, passed
through two phases: it was first a war on the part of the people and the
parlement, called the Old Fronde, which lasted from 1648 till 1649, and
then a war on the part of the nobles, called the New Fronde, which lasted
till 1652, when the revolt was crushed by Turenne to the triumph of the
royal power. The name is derived from the mimic fights with slings in
which the boys of Paris indulged themselves, and which even went so far
as to beat back at times the civic guard sent to suppress them.
FROUDE, HURRELL, elder brother of the succeeding, a leader in the
Tractarian movement; author of Tracts IX. and LXIII. (1803-1836).
FROUDE, JAMES ANTHONY, an English historian and man of letters, born
at Totnes, Devon; trained originally for the Church, he gave himself to
literature, his chief work being the "History of England from the Fall of
Wolsey to the Defeat of the Spanish Armada," in 12 vols., of which the
first appeared in 1854 and the last in 1870, but it is with Carlyle and
his "Life of Carlyle" that his name has of late been most intimately
associated, and in connection with which he will ere long honourably
figure in the history of the literature of England, though he has other
claims to regard as the author of the "Nemesis of Faith," "Short Studies
on Great Subjects," a "Life of Caesar," a "Life of Bunyan," "The English
in Ireland in the Eighteenth Century," and "English Seamen in the
Sixteenth Century"; he ranks as one of the masters of English prose, and
as a man of penetration, insight, and enlarged views, if somewhat
careless about minor details (1818-1894).
FROUDE, WILLIAM, another brother, a civil engineer, assistant to
Brunel; made important discoveries in hydro-dynamics of great practical
avail (1810-1879).
FRY, MRS. ELIZABETH, philanthropist, born at Norwich, third daughter
of John Gurney, the Quaker banker; married Joseph Fry of Plashet, Essex;
devoted her life to prison reform and the reform of criminals, as well as
other benevolent enterprises; she has been called "the female Howard"
(1780-1845).
FUAD-MAHMED, PASHA, a Turkish statesman, diplomatist, and man of
letters; studied medicine, but soon turned himself to politics; was much
esteemed and honoured at foreign courts, at which he represented Turkey,
for his skill, sagacity, and finesse; became Minister of Foreign Affairs
in 1852; was hostile to the pretensions of Russia, and gave umbrage to
the Czar; published a Turkish grammar, which is received with favour
(1814-1869).
FUDGE FAMILY, THE, a satiric piece by Thomas Moore, published in
1818.
FUENTES, COUNT, a Spanish general and statesman, eminent both in war
and diplomacy; commanded the Spanish infantry at the siege of Rocroi when
he was eighty-two, borne on a litter in the midst of the fight, and
perished by the sword, the Great Conde having attacked the besiegers
(1560-1643).
FUERO-FUEGO, a Wisigoth Spanish law of the 7th century, a curious
monument of the legislation of the Middle Ages.
FUGGER, the name of a family of Augsburg who rose from the loom by
way of commerce to great wealth and eminence in Germany, particularly
under the Emperors Maximilian and Charles V., the real founder of the
wealth being Jacob, who died 1409.
FULHAM, a suburb of London, on the Middlesex bank of the Thames,
opposite Putney, with the palace and burying-place of the bishops of
London.
FULLAH, a people of the Upper Soudan whose territory extends between
Senegal and Darfur, a race of superior physique and intelligence, and of
a certain polish of manners, and with Caucasian type of feature.
FULLER, ANDREW, an eminent Baptist minister, born in Cambridgeshire,
was settled at Kettering, and a zealous controversialist in defence of
the gospel against hyper-Calvinism on the one hand and Socinianism on the
other, but he is chiefly distinguished in connection with the foundation
of the Baptist Missionary Society, to which he for most part devoted the
energies of his life (1754-1815).
FULLER, MARGARET, an American authoress, born at Cambridgepont,
Mass., a woman of speculative ability and high aims, a friend of Emerson,
and much esteemed by Carlyle, though he thought her enthusiasm
extravagant and beyond the range of accomplishment; she was one of the
leaders of the transcendental movement in America; visited Europe, and
Italy in particular; engaged there in the struggle for political
independence; married the young Marquis of Ossoli; sailed for New York,
and was drowned with her husband and child on the sand-bars of Long
Island (1810-1850).
FULLER, THOMAS, historian, divine, and wit, born in
Northamptonshire, son of the rector of Sarum; entering into holy orders,
he held in succession several benefices in the Church of England, and was
a prebend in Salisbury Cathedral; taking sides with the king, he lost
favour under the Commonwealth; wrote a number of works, in which one
finds combined gaiety and piety, good sense and whimsical fancy; composed
among other works the "History of the Holy War," a "History of the
Crusades," "The Holy and the Profane States," the "Church History of
Great Britain," and the "Worthies of England," the last his principal
work, and published posthumously; he was a man of great shrewdness, broad
sympathies, and a kindly nature; was an author much admired by Charles
Lamb (1608-1661).
FULTON, ROBERT, an American engineer, born in Pennsylvania; began
life as a miniature portrait and landscape painter, in which he made some
progress, but soon turned to engineering; he was one of the first to
apply steam to the propulsion of vessels, and devoted much attention to
the invention of submarine boats and torpedoes; he built a steamboat to
navigate the Hudson River, with a very slow rate of progress however,
making only five miles an hour (1615-1765).
FUM, a grotesque animal figure, six cubits high, one of four
presumed to preside over the destinies of China.
FUNCHAL (19), the capital of Madeira, at the head of a bay on the S.
coast, and the base of a mountain 4000 ft. high, extends a mile along the
shore, and slopes up the sides of the mountain; famous as a health
resort, more at one time than now.
FUNDY BAY, an arm of the sea between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia;
it is of difficult navigation owing to the strong and rapid rush of the
tides.
FUeNEN (221), the second in size of the Danish islands, separated
from Zealand on the E. by the Great Belt and from Jutland on the W. by
the Little Belt; is flat except on S. and W., fertile, well cultivated,
and yields crops of cereals.
FURIES. See ERINNYES.
FURNIVALL, FREDERICK JAMES, English barrister, born at Egham, in
Surrey; devoted to the study of Early and Middle English Literature;
founder and director of numerous societies for promoting the study of
special works, such as the Early English Text, Chaucer, Ballad, and New
Shakespeare Societies, and editor of publications in connection with
them; was in his early days a great authority on boating and
boat-building; _b_. 1825.
FUeRST, JULIUS, a distinguished German Orientalist, born in Posen, of
Jewish descent; a specialist in Hebrew and Aramaic; author of a Hebrew
and Chaldee Manual (1805-1873).
FUeRST, WALTER, of Uri, a Swiss patriot, who, along with William
Tell, contributed to establish the liberty and independence of
Switzerland; _d_. 1317.
FUSELI, HENRY, properly FUSOLI, a famous portrait-painter, born
at Zurich; coming to England at the age of 22, he became acquainted with
Sir Joshua Reynolds, who advised him to go to Rome; after eight years
spent in study of the Italian masters, and Michael Angelo in particular,
he returned to England and became an R.A.; he painted a series of
pictures, afterwards exhibited as the "Milton Gallery" (1741-1825).
FUST JOHANN, a rich burgher of Mainz, associated with Gutenberg and
Schoeffer, to whom along with them the invention of printing has been
ascribed; _d_. 1466.
FYNE, LOCH, an Argyllshire arm of the sea, extending N. from Bute to
Inveraray, and from 1 m. to 5 m. broad; famed for its herrings.
FYZABAD (78), capital of Oudh, in India, at one time, 78 m. E. of
Lucknow; much decayed.
G
GABELENTZ, HANS CONON VON DER, a distinguished German philologist,
born at Altenburg: was master, it is said, of 80 languages, contributed
treatises on several of them, his most important work being on the
Melanesian (1807-1874).
GABELLE, an indirect tax, specially one on salt, the term applied to
a State monopoly in France in that article, and the exaction in
connection with which was a source of much discontent; the people were
obliged to purchase it at government warehouses and at extravagant, often
very unequal, rates; the impost dates from 1286; was abolished in 1789.
GABELSBERGER, FRANZ XAVIER, inventor of the shorthand in use in
German countries as well as elsewhere (1789-1849).
GABERLUNZIE, a licensed beggar, or any of the mendicant class, so
called from the wallet he carried.
GABINUS, a Roman tribune in 66 B.C., afterwards consul; party to
the banishment of Cicero, 57 B.C.
GABOON and FRENCH CONGO (5,000), a French Colony in W. Africa
fronting the Atlantic, between the Cameroon country and the Congo State,
and stretching inland as far as the head-waters of the Congo River; in
the NW. is the great Gaboon estuary, 40 m. long and 10 broad at its
mouth, with Libreville on its N. bank; along the coast the climate is hot
and unhealthy, but it improves inland; the natives belong to the Bantu
stock; the French settled in it first in 1842, but only since the
explorations of De Brazza in 1876-86 have they begun to extend and
colonise it.
GABRIEL, an angel, one of the seven archangels, "the power of God,"
who is represented in the traditions of both the Jews and the Moslems as
discharging the highest functions, and in Christian tradition as
announcing to the Virgin Mary her election of God to be the mother of the
Messiah; he ranks fully higher among Moslems than Jews.
GABRIEL, a French architect, born in Paris (1710-1782).
GABRIELLES D'ESTREES, the mistress of Henry IV. of France, who for
State reasons was not allowed to marry her (1571-1599).
GAD, one of the Jewish tribes inhabiting the E. of the Jordan.
GADAMES or GHADAMES (7 to 10), an oasis and town in Africa,
situated in the SW. corner of Tripoli, on the N. border of the Sahara;
the fertility of the oasis is due to hot springs, from which the place
takes its name; high walls protect the soil and the fruit of it, which is
abundant, from sand-storms; it is an entrepot for trade with the
interior; the inhabitants are Berber Mohammedans.
GADDI, GADDO, a Florentine painter and worker in mosaic, friend of
Cimabue and Giotto (1239-1312).
GADDI, TADDEO, son of the preceding, and pupil of Giotto both in
architecture and fresco-painting (1300-1366).
GADDI, AGNOLO, son of the preceding, and a painter of frescoes
(1350-1396).
GADES, the ancient name of CADIZ (q. v.).
GADSHILL, an eminence in Kent, 3 m. NW. of Rochester, associated
with the name of Falstaff, also of Dickens, who resided here from 1856 to
1870, and where he died.
GAETA (17), a fortified seaport of S. Italy, finely situated on a
steep promontory 50 m. NW. of Naples; it was a favourite watering-place
of the ancient Roman nobility, and the beauty of its bay is celebrated by
Virgil and Horace; it is rich in classic remains, and in its day has
witnessed many sieges; the inhabitants are chiefly employed with fishing
and a light coast trade.
GAGE, THOMAS, English general, son of Viscount Gage; he served in
the Seven Years' War, and took part in 1755 in Braddock's disastrous
expedition in America; in 1760 he became military governor of Montreal,
and three years later commander-in-chief of the British forces in
America; as governor of Massachusetts he precipitated the revolution by
his ill-timed severity, and after the battle of Bunker's Hill was
recalled to England (1721-1787).
GAIA or GE, in the Greek mythology the primeval goddess of the
earth, the _alma mater_ of living things, both in heaven and on earth,
called subsequently Demeter, i. e. Gemeter, Earth-mother.
GAILLARD, French historian, born at Amiens; devoted his life to
history (1726-1806).
GAINSBOROUGH, THOMAS, one of England's greatest artists in portrait
and landscape painting, born at Sudbury, Suffolk; he early displayed a
talent for drawing, and at 14 was sent to London to study art; when 19 he
started as a portrait-painter at Ipswich, having by this time married
Margaret Burr, a young lady with L200 a year; patronised by Sir Philip
Thicknesse, he removed in 1760 to Bath, where he rose into high favour,
and in 1774 he sought a wider field in London; he shared the honours of
painting portraits with Reynolds and of landscape with Wilson; his
portraits have more of grace, if less of genius, than Reynolds, while his
landscapes inaugurated a freer and more genial manner of dealing with
nature, while as a colourist Ruskin declares him the greatest since
Rubens; among his most famous pictures are portraits of Mrs. Siddons,
the Duchess of Devonshire, and the Hon. Mrs. Graham, "Shepherd Boy in the
Shower," "The Seashore," &c. (1727-1788).
GAIUS, a Roman jurist of the 2nd century, whose "Institutes" served
for the basis of Justinian's.
GALAHAD, SIR, son of Lancelot, one of the Knights of the Round
Table; distinguished for the immaculate purity of his character and life;
was successful in his search for the Holy Graal.
GALAOR, a hero of Spanish romance, brother of Amadis de Gaul, the
model of a courtly paladin, and always ready with his sword to avenge the
wrongs of the widow and the orphan.
GALAPAGOS, a sparsely populated group of islands (13 in number),
barren on the N., but well wooded on the S., situated on the equator, 600
m. W. of Ecuador, and which, although belonging to Ecuador, all bear
English names, bestowed upon them, it would appear, by the buccaneers of
the 17th century; Albemarle Island makes up more than half of their area;
they are volcanic in formation, and some of their 2000 craters are not
yet inactive; their fauna is of peculiar scientific interest as
exhibiting many species unknown elsewhere; besides the islands proper
there is a vast number of islets and rocks.
GALATA, a faubourg of Constantinople where the European merchants
reside.
GALATEA, a nymph whom Polyphemus made love to, but who preferred
Acis to him, whom therefore he made away with by crushing him under a
rock, in consequence of which the nymph threw herself into the sea.
GALATIA, a high-lying Roman province in Asia Minor that had been
invaded and taken possession of by a horde of Gauls in the 3rd century
B.C., whence the name.
GALATIANS, EPISTLE TO THE, an epistle of St. Paul to the churches in
Galatia, which was an especial favourite with Luther, as, with its
doctrine of spiritual freedom in Christ, it might well be, for it
corroborated the great revelation first made to him by a neighbour monk;
"man is not saved by singing masses, but by the grace of God"; it is a
didactic epistle, in assertion, on the one hand, of freedom from the law,
and, on the other, of the power of the spirit.
GALATZ or GALACZ (59), the great river-port of Roumania, on the
Danube, 8 m. above the Sulina mouth of the river and 166 m. NE. of
Bucharest; the new town is well laid out, and contains some fine
buildings; its harbour is one of the finest on the Danube; a great export
trade is carried on in cereals, while textiles and metals are the chief
imports.
GALAXY, the Milky Way, a band of light seen after sunset across the
heavens, consisting of an innumerable multitude of stars, or suns rather,
stretching away into the depths of space.
GALBA, a Roman emperor from June 68 to January 69, elected at the
age of 70 by the Gallic legions to succeed Nero, but for his severity and
avarice was slain by the Praetorian guard, who proclaimed Otho emperor in
his stead.
GALE, THEOPHILUS, a Nonconformist divine; author of the "Court of
the Gentiles," in which he attempts to prove that the theology and
philosophy of the Gentiles was borrowed from the Scriptures (1628-1678).
GALE, THOMAS, dean of York; edited classics, wrote on early English
history (1636-1702).
GALEN, or CLAUDIUS GALENUS, a famous Greek physician, born at
Pergamus, in Illyria, where, after studying in various cities, he settled
in 158; subsequently he went to Rome, and eventually became physician to
the emperors M. Aurelius, L. Verus, and Severus; of his voluminous
writings 83 treatises are still extant, and these treat on a varied array
of subjects, philosophical as well as professional; for centuries after
his death his works were accepted as authoritative in the matter of
medicine (131-201).
GALE`RIUS, VALERIUS MAXIMUS, Roman emperor, born in Dacia, of lowly
parentage; rose from a common soldier to be the son-in-law of the Emperor
Diocletian, who in 292 raised him to the dignity of a Caesar; in 305, on
the death of Diocletian, he became head of the Eastern Empire, which he
continued to be till his death in 311; his name is associated with a
cruel persecution of the Christians under Diocletian.
GALGACUS, a Caledonian chief defeated by Agricola at the battle of
the Grampians in 85, after a desperate resistance.
GALIA`NI, FERDINANDO, an Italian political economist, man of
letters, and a wit; held with honour several important offices under the
Neapolitan Government; was attache to the embassy at Paris, and the
associate of Grimm and Diderot (1728-1787).
GALICIA, 1, an old province (1,919) of Spain, formerly a kingdom in
the NW. corner of it, fronting the Bay of Biscay and the Atlantic; now
divided into the four minor provinces, Coruna, Lugo, Orense, Pontevedra;
the county is hilly, well watered, fertile, and favoured with a fine
climate, but cultivated only very partially; some mining is carried on.
2, A crownland (6,607) in the NE. of Austria, between Russia and the
Carpathians; the inhabitants are mainly Slavs, but there is a goodly
number of Jews, Germans, Poles, &c.; the land is fertile, consists
chiefly of extensive plains, well watered by the Dneister and other large
rivers, and yields abundance of cereals, while one-fourth is covered with
forest; timber is largely exported, and salt; many of the useful metals
are found, and productive petroleum wells; it has an independent Diet,
but an Austrian governor; Austria annexed it in 1772.
GALILAEANS, a fanatical sect, followers of one Judas of Galilee, who
fiercely resented the taxation of the Romans, and whose violence
contributed to induce the latter to vow the extermination of the whole
race.
GALILEE, the northern division of Palestine, divided into Upper,
hilly, Lower, level, about 60 m. long and 30 broad.
GALILEE, SEA OF, an expansion of the Jordan, 121/2 m. long, and at the
most 8 m. broad, enclosed by steep mountains, except on NW.
GALILEO, an illustrious Italian mathematician, physicist, and
astronomer, born at Pisa, demonstrated the isochronism of the pendulum,
invented the thermometer and the hydrostatic balance, propounded the law
of falling bodies, constructed the first astronomical telescope, and by
means of it satisfied himself of, and proved, the truth of the Copernican
doctrine, that the sun and not the earth is the centre of the planetary
system, and that the earth revolves round it like the other planets which
reflect its light; his insistence on this truth provoked the hostility of
the Church, and an ecclesiastical decree which pronounced the Copernican
theory heresy; for the profession of it he was brought to the bar of the
Inquisition, where he was compelled to forswear it by oath, concluding
his recantation, it is said, with the exclamation, "still, it moves";
before his end he became blind, and died in Florence at 78, the year
Newton was born (1564-1642).
GALITZIN, the name of a Russian family distinguished for their
ability and success in both war and peace from the 16th century onwards.
GALL, FRANZ JOSEPH, the founder of phrenology, born at Tiefenbronn,
on the borders of Baden and Wuertemberg; in 1785 he established himself as
a physician in Vienna, where for many years he carried on a series of
elaborate investigations on the nature of the brain and its relation to
the outer cranium, visiting with that view lunatic asylums, &c.; in 1796
he gave publicity to his views in a series of lectures in Vienna, which
were, however, condemned as subversive of morality and religion; being
joined by Spurzheim, who adopted his theories, he undertook a lecturing
tour through a large part of Europe, and eventually settled at Paris,
where he published his phrenological work "Fonctions du Cerveau"; it is a
curious fact that on his death his skull was found to be twice the usual
thickness, and that there was a tumour in the cerebellum (1758-1828).
GALL, ST., an Irish monk who, about 585, accompanied St. Columban to
France in his missionary labours, banished from which he went to
Switzerland, and founded a monastery on the Lake of Constance, which bore
his name; _d_. about 646.
GALLAND, ANTOINE, French Orientalist, born in Picardy, professor of
Arabic in the College of France; was the first to translate the "Arabian
Nights" into any European tongue (1646-1715).
GALLAS, an Ethiopian race occupying the S. and E. of Abyssinia,
energetic, intelligent, and warlike; follow mostly pastoral occupations;
number over four millions, and are mostly heathens.
GALLE or POINT DE GALLE (33), fortified seaport town, prettily
situated on a rocky promontory in the SW. of Ceylon; there is a good
harbour, but the shipping, which at one time was extensive, has declined
since the rise of Colombo.
GALLICAN CHURCH, the Catholic Church in France which, while
sincerely devoted to the Catholic faith and the Holy See, resolutely
refused to concede certain rights and privileges which belonged to it
from the earliest times; it steadfastly contended that infallibility was
vested not in the Pope alone, but in the entire episcopal body under him
as its head; maintained the supreme authority of general councils and
that of the holy canons in the government of the Church, and insisted
that there was a distinction between the temporal and the spiritual
power; contentions summed up in a declaration of the French clergy in
1682, the body of whom opposed to which are known by the name of
"Ultramontanists."
GALLICANISM, the name given to the contention of the GALLICAN
CHURCH (q. v.).
GALLIENUS, PUBLIUS LICINIUS, Roman Emperor from 260 to 268, and for
seven years (253-260) associated in the government with his father, the
Emperor Valerian; under his lax rule the empire was subjected to hostile
inroads on all sides, while in the provinces a succession of usurpers,
known as the Thirty Tyrants, sprang up, disowning allegiance, and
aspiring to the title of Caesar; in his later years he roused himself to
vigorous resistance, but in 268 was murdered by his own soldiers whilst
pressing the rebel Aureolus at the siege of Milan.
GALLIGANTUA, the wizard giant slain by Jack the Giant-killer.
GALLIO, the Roman proconsul of Achaia in the days of St. Paul,
before whom the Jews of Corinth brought an appeal against the latter, but
which he treated with careless indifference as no affair of his, in
consequence of which his name has become the synonym of an easy-going
ruler or prince.
GALLIPOLI, 1, a fortified seaport town (8) in Southern Italy, 59 m.
S. of Brindisi; stands on a rocky islet in the Gulf of Taranto, close to
the mainland, with which it is connected by a bridge of 12 arches; a fine
cathedral and huge tanks hewn out of the solid rock for the storage of
olive-oil are objects of interest. 2, A seaport (15) of Turkey in Europe,
stands on a peninsula of the same name at the western end of the Sea of
Marmora, at the mouth of the Dardanelles, 90 m. S. of Adrianople; it was
the first city captured by the Turks in Europe (1356), and is now the
naval arsenal of Turkey and head-quarters of the Turkish navy.
GALLOWAY, a district in the SW. of Scotland, co-extensive with
Wigtown and Kirkcudbright, though formerly of considerably greater
extent; the lack of mineral wealth has retarded its development, and the
industry of the population is limited chiefly to agriculture, the rearing
of sheep and cattle, and fishing, and it is still noted for a small but
hardy breed of horses called Galloways; the province derives its name
from Gall-Gael, or foreign Gaels, as the early inhabitants were called,
who up to the time of the Reformation maintained the characteristics,
language, &c., of a distinct people; in 1455 Galloway ceased to exist as
a separate lordship; in the extreme S. of Wigtown is the bold and rocky
promontory, the MULL OF GALLOWAY, the extremity of the peninsula
called the Rhinns of Galloway; the Mull, which is the most southerly
point in Scotland, rises to a height of 210 ft., and is crowned by a
powerful lighthouse.
GALSWINTHE, the sister of Brunhilda and the second wife of Chilperic
I.; was strangled to death in 568.
GALT, JOHN, Scotch novelist, born at Irvine; educated at Greenock,
where he held a post in the Custom-house for a time; essayed literature,
wrote "The Ayrshire Legatees," "The Annals of the Parish," "Sir Andrew
Wylie," "The Entail," and "The Provost"; died of paralysis at Greenock;
Carlyle, who met him in London in 1832, says, "He had the air of a broad,
gaucie, Greenock burgher; mouth indicating sly humour and
self-satisfaction; eyes, old and without lashes, gave me a _wae_ interest
for him; says little, but that little peaceable, clear, and _gutmuethig_"
(1779-1839).
GALVANISED IRON, plate-iron coated with zinc, which renders it less
liable to be affected by moisture and subject to corrosion.
GALVANISM, the mere contact with two dissimilar metals, the science
of what is now called Voltaic or current electricity, produced, as in the
above instance, from the contact of dissimilar metals, especially that of
acids on metals.
GALVANI, LUIGI, an Italian physician, born at Bologna; celebrated
for his discoveries in animal magnetism called after him Galvanism, due
to an observation he made of the convulsive motion produced in the leg of
a recently-killed frog (1737-1798).
GALVESTON (38), the chief seaport of Texas, situated on a low island
of the same name at the entrance of Galveston Bay into the Gulf of
Mexico; it has a splendid harbour, and is an important centre of the
cotton trade, ranking as the third cotton port of the world; the city is
well laid out, and is the see of a Roman Catholic bishop; it has a
medical college and several foundries.
GALWAY (215), a maritime county in the W. of Ireland, in the
province of Connaught; Lough Corrib (25 m. long) and Lough Mask (12 m.
long), stretching N. and S., divide the county into East and West
districts; the former is boggy, yet arable; the latter, including the
picturesque district known as CONNEMARA, is wild and hilly, and
chiefly consists of bleak morass and bogland; its rocky and indented
coast affords excellent harbourage in many places; the Suck, Shannon, and
Corrib are the chief rivers; the Slieve Boughta Mountains in the S. and
in the W. the Twelve Pins (2395 ft.) are the principal mountains;
fishing, some agriculture, and cattle-rearing are the chief employments;
it contains many interesting cromlechs and ruins.
GALWAY (14), the capital of Connaught and of the county of that
name; is situated on the N. side of Galway Bay, at the mouth of the
Corrib River, 50 m. NW. of Limerick; it is divided into the old and new
town, and contains several interesting ecclesiastical buildings, e. g.
the cruciform church of St. Nicholas (1320), and is the seat of a Queen's
College; fishing is an important industry, while wool and black marble
are exported.
GAMA, VASCO DA, a famous Portuguese navigator, the discoverer of the
route to India round the Cape of Good Hope, born at Sines, in Portugal,
of good family; he seems to have won the favour of King Emmanuel at an
early age, and already an experienced mariner, was in 1497 despatched on
his celebrated voyage, in which he rounded the Cape; on that occasion he
made his way to Calicut, in India, where he had to contend with the
enmity of the natives, stirred against him by jealous Arabian merchants;
in 1499 he returned to Lisbon, was received with great honour, and had
conferred on him an array of high-sounding titles; three years later he
was appointed to the command of an expedition to Calicut to avenge the
massacre of a small Portuguese settlement founded there a year previous
by Cabrat; in connection with this expedition he founded the colonies of
Mozambique and Sofala, and after inflicting a cruel punishment upon the
natives of Calicut, he returned to Lisbon in 1503; the following 20 years
of his life were spent in retirement at Evora, but in 1524 he was
appointed viceroy of Portuguese India, a position he held only for a
short time, but sufficiently long to re-establish Portuguese power in
India; he died at Cochin; the incidents of his famous first voyage round
the Cape are celebrated in Camoens' memorable poem "The Lusiad"
(1469-1525).
GAMALIEL, a Jewish rabbi, the instructor of St. Paul in the
knowledge of the law, and distinguished for his tolerant spirit and
forbearance in dealing with the Apostles in their seeming departure from
the Jewish faith.
GAMBETTA, LEON MICHEL, a French republican leader, born at Cahors,
of Italian descent; intended for the Church, to which he evinced no
proclivity; he early showed a _penchant_ for politics and adopted the
profession of law, in the prosecution of which he delivered a speech
which marked him out as the coming man of the French republic, from the
spirit of hostility it manifested against the Empire; at the fall of the
Empire he stood high in public regard, assumed the direction of affairs,
and made desperate attempts to repel the invading Germans; though he
failed in this, he never ceased to feel the shame of the loss of Alsace
and Lorraine, and strove hard to recover them, but all his efforts proved
ineffectual, and he died in Dec. 31, to the grief of the nation
(1838-1882).
GAMBIA, 1, a river of W. Africa, that flows through Senegambia and
discharges itself into the Atlantic at Bathurst after a course of more
than 1400 m. into a splendid estuary which, in some parts, has a breadth
of 27 m. but contracts to 2 m. at the seaward end; light craft can ascend
as far as Barraconda, 400 m. from the mouth. 2. A British settlement (15)
lying along the banks of the Gambia as far as Georgetown, with a
protectorate to Barraconda (pop. 50); it enjoys a separate government
under a British administrator, and produces hides, cotton, rice, &c.
GAMBIER, JAMES, LORD, British admiral, born in the Bahamas; at 22 he
was created a post-captain; in 1781 distinguished himself in an
engagement against the French at Jersey; and again under Lord Howe in
1794 he rendered material service in repulsing the French off Ushant; in
the following year he was made rear-admiral, and in 1799 vice-admiral;
for his gallant conduct as commander of the English fleet at the
bombardment of Copenhagen he was made a baron; a dispute with Lord
Cochrane at the battle of Aix Roads against the French led to his being
court-martialled, but he was honourably acquitted; on the accession of
William IV. he was made admiral of the fleet (1756-1833).
GAMP, SARAH, a nurse in "Martin Chuzzlewit," famous for her bulky
umbrella, and for confirming her opinions of things by a constant
reference to the authority of an imaginary Mrs. Harris.
GANDO (5,000), a native State traversed by the Niger in Western
Soudan, lying upon the NW. border of Sokoto, of which it is a dependency;
like Sokoto it has been brought within the sphere of influence of the
British Royal Niger Company; the inhabitants belong to the Fulah race,
and profess the Mohammedan religion; Gando is also the name of the
capital, an active centre of the cotton trade.
GANEGA, the Hindu god with an elephant's head and four arms; the
inspirer of cunning devices and good counsel, afterwards the patron of
letters and learned men.
GANELON, a count of Mayence, one of Charlemagne's paladins; trusted
by him but faithless, and a traitor to his cause; is placed by Dante in
the lowest hell.
GANGES, the great sacred river of India, which, though somewhat
shorter than the Indus, drains a larger area and traverses a more fertile
basin; it has its source in an ice-cave on the southern side of the
Himalayas, 8 m. above Gangotri, at an elevation of 13,800 ft. above the
sea-level; at this its first stage it is known as the Bhagirathi, and not
until 133 m. from its source does it assume the name of Ganges, having
already received two tributaries; issuing from the Himalayas at Sukhi, it
flows in a more or less southerly course to Allahabad, where it receives
the Jumna, and thence makes its way by the plains of Behar and past
Benares to Goalanda, where it is joined by the Brahmaputra; the united
stream, lessened by innumerable offshoots, pursues a SE. course till
joined by the Meghna, and under that name enters the Bay of Bengal; its
most noted offshoot is the HOOGHLY (q. v.), which pursues a
course to the S. of the Meghna; between these lies the Great Delta, which
begins to take shape 220 m. inland from the Bay of Bengal; the Ganges is
1557 m. in length, and offers for the greater part an excellent waterway;
it is held in great reverence as a sacred stream whose waters have power
to cleanse from all sin, while burial on its banks is believed to ensure
eternal happiness.
GANGES CANAL, constructed mainly for the purpose of irrigating the
arid land stretching between the Ganges and the Jumna Rivers, originally
extended from Hardwar to Cawnpore and Etawah, but has since been greatly
enlarged, and at present (including branches) has a total extent of 3700
m., of which 500 m. are navigable; it has contributed to mitigate
suffering caused by famines by affording a means of distributing ready
relief.
GANGRENE, the first stage of mortification in any part of a living
body.
GANGWAY, a passage in the House of Commons, running across the
house, which separates the independent members from the supporters of the
Government and the Opposition.
GANYMEDES, a beautiful youth, whom Zeus, attracted by his beauty,
carried off, disguised as an eagle, to heaven, conferred immortality on,
and made cup-bearer of the gods instead of Hebe.
GAO, KARVEH or KARVAH, a Persian blacksmith, whose sons
had been slain to feed the serpents of the reigning tyrant, raised his
leather apron on a spear, and with that for a standard excited a revolt;
the revolt proved successful, and the apron became the standard of the
new dynasty, which it continued to be till supplanted by the crescent.
GARAY, JANOS, Hungarian poet, born at Szegszard; his life was spent
chiefly in Pesth, where he held a post in the university library; he
published a number of dramas which show traces of German influence, and
was also the author of a book of lyrics as well as tales (1812-1853).
GARCIA, MANUEL, a noted singer and composer, born at Seville; in
1808 he went to Paris with a reputation already gained at Madrid and
Cadiz; till 1824 he was of high repute in London and Paris as an operatic
tenor; and in the following year visited the United States; when on the
road between Mexico and Vera Cruz he was robbed of all his money; he
spent his closing years in Paris as a teacher of singing, his voice being
greatly impaired by age as well as fatigue; his eldest daughter was the
celebrated Madame Malibran (1775-1832).
GARCIAS, DON PEDRO, a mythical don mentioned in the preface to "Gil
Blas" as buried with a small bag of doubloons, and the epitaph, "Here
lies interred the soul of licentiate Pedro Garcia."
GARCILASO, called the INCA, as descended from the royal family
of Peru; lived at Cordova; wrote "History of Peru," as well as a "History
of Florida" (1530-1568).
GARCILASO DE LA VEGA, a Spanish poet, born in Toledo, a soldier by
profession; accompanied Charles V. on his expeditions; died fighting
bravely in battle; his poems consist of sonnets, elegies, &c., and reveal
an unexpected tenderness (1503-1536).
GARCIN DE TASSY, Indian Orientalist, born at Marseilles (1794-1878).
GARD (419), a dep. in the S. of France, between the Cevennes and the
Rhone; slopes to the Rhone and the sea, with a marshy coast; produces
wine and olives, and is noted for its silkculture and breed of horses.
GARDA, LAGO DI, the largest of the Italian lakes; stretches, amidst
beautiful Alpine scenery, between Lombardy and Venetia. It is 35 m. long,
and from 2 to 10 broad. Its water is remarkably clear, and has a depth of
967 ft. It is studded with many picturesque islands, and is traversed by
steamers.
GARDE NATIONALE, of France, a body of armed citizens organised in
Paris in 1789 for the defence of the citizen interest, and soon by
extensions throughout the country became a force of great national
importance; the colours they adopted were the famous tricolor of red,
white, and blue, and their first commandant was Lafayette. In 1795 they
helped to repress the Paris mob, and under Napoleon were retained in
service. They played a prominent part in the Revolutions of 1830 and
1848, supporting the revolutionists; but in 1852 their powers were
curtailed, and in 1871 they were dissolved by the National Assembly.
GARDES SUISSES, a celebrated corps of the French army, formed in
1616 for defence of royalty, and numbering 2000. During the great
Revolution they gallantly defended the Louvre, but were overawed and
overpowered almost to annihilation by the infuriated Paris mob. "Their
work to die, and they did it," at that moment. The corps was finally
disbanded in 1830.
GARDINER, COLONEL JAMES, soldier, captain of dragoons, noted for his
bravery and piety; served under Marlborough; fell at Prestonpans; his
Life was written by Dr. Doddridge, and is much prized by religious people
(1688-1745).
GAIRDNER, JAMES, historian, born in Edinburgh, Assistant-Keeper
Record Office, London; edited a series of historical documents, and wrote
among other historical works the "Life and Reign of Richard III."; _b_.
1828.
GARDINER, SAMUEL RAWSON, English historian, born at Ropley, Hants;
his chief historical works include "History of England" in the reign of
James I. and Charles I.; "History of the Civil War," in four vols., and
the "History of the Protectorate," on which he is still engaged; a most
impartial and accurate historian; _b_. 1829.
GARDINER, STEPHEN, bishop of Winchester, born at Bury St. Edmunds;
was secretary to Wolsey; promoted the divorce of Queen Catharine, and
made bishop; imprisoned in the Tower under Edward VI.; restored to his
see, and made Chancellor under Mary (1483-1555).
GARFIELD, JAMES ABRAM, President of the United States, born in
Orange, Ohio; reared amid lowly surroundings; at the age of ten began to
help his widowed mother by working as a farmservant; an invincible
passion for learning prompted him to devote the long winters to study,
till he was able as a student to enter Hiram College, and subsequently to
William's College, Massachusetts, where, in 1856, he graduated; in the
following year he became President of Hiram College, and devoting his
attention to the study of law, in 1859 became a member of the State
Senate; he took an active part on the side of the Federalists in the
Civil War, and distinguished himself in several engagements, rising to be
major-general; in his thirty-third year he entered Congress, and soon
came to the front, acting latterly as leader of the Republican party; in
1880 he became a member of the Senate, and in the same year was elected
to the Presidency; he signalised his tenure of the presidential office by
endeavouring to purify and reform the civil service, but this attempt
drew on him the odium of a section of his party, and on the 2nd July 1881
he was shot down by Charles Guiteau, a disappointed place-hunter; after a
prolonged struggle with death he succumbed on the 19th of September
(1831-1881).
GARGANTUA, a gigantic personage, in Rabelais, of preternally lusty
appetite and guzzling and gourmandising power; lived several centuries,
and begat Pantagruel.
GARIBALDI, Italian patriot, began life as a sailor, associated
himself enthusiastically with Mazzini for the liberation of his country,
but being convicted of conspiracy fled to South America, where, both as a
privateer and a soldier, he gave his services to the young republics
struggling there for life; returned to Europe, and took part in the
defence of Rome against France, but being defeated fled to New York, to
return to the Isle of Caprera, biding his time; joined the Piedmontese
against Austria, and in 1860 set himself to assist in the overthrow of
the kingdom of Naples and the union of Italy under Victor Emmanuel,
landing in Calabria and entering Naples, driving the royal forces before
him without striking a blow, after which he returned to his retreat at
Caprera, ready still to draw sword, and occasionally offering it again,
in the cause of republicanism (1807-1882).
GARMENT OF GOD, LIVING, Living Nature, so called by Goethe, nature
being viewed by him as the garment, or vesture, with which God invests
Himself so as to reveal and impart Himself to man.
GARNET, a well-known precious stone of a vitreous lustre, and
usually of a dark-red colour, resembling a ruby, but also found in
various other shades, e. g. black, green, and yellow. The finest
specimens are brought from Ceylon, Pegu, and Greenland. The species of
garnet crystal known as Pyrope, when cut in the shape of a tallow drop,
is called a carbuncle.
GARNET, HENRY, a noted Jesuit, son of a Nottingham schoolmaster,
implicated in the Gunpowder Plot; bred in the Protestant faith, he early
turned Catholic and went abroad and joined the Jesuit order; in 1588 he
returned to England as Superior of the English Jesuits, and engaged in
various intrigues; on the discovery of the Gunpowder Plot he was
arrested, found guilty of cognisance of the Plot, and executed
(1555-1606).
GARNETT, RICHARD, philologist, born at Otley, Yorkshire, Keeper of
the Printed Books in the British Museum, and one of the founders of the
Philological Society, and contributor to its _Proceedings_ (1789-1850).
GARNETT, RICHARD, an acute critic, born in Lichfield, son of
preceding; long associated with the book department of the British
Museum; an admirer of Shelley, and biographer of Carlyle and Emerson;
_b_. 1835.
GARONNE, an important river of SW. France, which rises in the Val
d'Aran in the Spanish Pyrenees; 26 m. from its source it enters France
near Pont du Roi, and after it passes Toulouse flows in a north-westerly
direction; joined by the Dordogne, 20 m. below Toulouse, it gradually
widens into the Gironde estuary, which opens on the Bay of Biscay; it has
a length of 346 m., and is freely navigable as far as Toulouse.
GARRICK, DAVID, a famous English actor and dramatist, born at
Hereford; was educated at Lichfield, the home of his mother, and was for
some months in his nineteenth year a pupil of Samuel Johnson; in 1737 he
accompanied Johnson to London, with the intention of entering the legal
profession, but soon abandoned the purpose, and started in the wine
business with his brother; in 1741 he commenced his career as an actor,
making his first appearance at Ipswich; in the autumn of the same year he
returned to London, and as Richard III. achieved instant success; with
the exception of a sojourn upon the Continent for two years, his life was
spent mainly in the metropolis in the active pursuit of his profession;
in 1747 he became patentee, along with James Lacy, of Drury Lane Theatre,
which he continued to direct until his retirement from the stage in 1776;
three years later he died, and was buried in Westminster Abbey; he was
the author of many comedies and farces, which, however, are of no great
merit, but his abiding fame rests upon his powers as an actor, his
remarkable versatility enabling him to act with equal ease and success in
farce, comedy, and tragedy; his admirable naturalness did much to redeem
the stage from the stiff conventionalism under which it then laboured;
his wife, Eva Maria Violette, a celebrated dancer of Viennese birth, whom
he married in 1740, survived him till 1822, dying at the advanced age of
98 (1717-1779).
GARRISON, WILLIAM LLOYD, American journalist and abolitionist, born
at Newburyport, Mass.; in his native town he rose to be editor of the
_Herald_ at 19, and five years later became joint-editor of the _Genius
of Universal Emancipation_; his vigorous denunciation of slavery involved
him in a charge of libel and brought about his imprisonment, from which
he was liberated by a friend paying his fine; at Boston, in 1831, he
founded his celebrated _Liberator_, a paper in which he unweariedly, and
in the face of violent threats, advocated his anti-slavery opinions till
1865, when the cause was won; he visited England on several occasions in
support of emancipation, and in 1868 his great labours in the cause were
recognised by a gift of 30,000 dollars from his friends (1804-1879).
GARTER, THE MOST NOBLE ORDER OF THE, a celebrated order of
knighthood instituted in 1344 by King Edward III.; the original number of
the knights was 26, of whom the sovereign was head; but this number has
been increased by extending the honour to descendants of George I., II.,
and III., and also to distinguished foreigners; it is the highest order
of knighthood, and is designated K.G.; the insignia of the order
includes surcoat, mantle, star, &c., but the knights are chiefly
distinguished by a garter of blue velvet worn on the left leg below the
knee, and bearing the inscription in gold letters _Honi soit qui mal y
pense_, "Evil be to him that evil thinks"; election to the order lies
with the sovereign.
GARTH, SIR SAMUEL, a distinguished physician, born in co. Durham;
had an extensive practice; author of a mock-heroic poem entitled "The
Dispensary" (1661-1718).
GASCOIGNE, SIR WILLIAM, English judge, born at Gawthorpe, Yorkshire;
during Richard II.'s reign he practised in the law courts, and in 1397
became king's serjeant; three years later he was raised to the Lord
Chief-Justiceship; his single-eyed devotion to justice was strikingly
exemplified in his refusal to pass sentence of death on Archbishop
Scrope; the story of his committing Prince Henry to prison, immortalised
by Shakespeare, is unauthenticated (1350-1419).
GASCONY, an ancient province of SW. France, lying between the
Atlantic, the Pyrenees, and the Garonne; it included several of the
present departments; the province was of Basque origin, but ultimately
became united with Aquitaine, and was added to the territory of the
French crown in 1453; the Gascons still retain their traditional
characteristics; they are of dark complexion and small in stature,
vivacious and boastful, but have a high reputation for integrity.
GASKELL, MRS., _nee_ STEVENSON, novelist and biographer, born at
Cheyne Row, Chelsea; authoress of "Mary Barton," "Ruth," "Silvia's
Lovers," &c., and the "Life of Charlotte Bronte," her friend (1810-1865).
GASSENDI, PIERRE, a French mathematician and philosopher, born in
Provence; declared against scholastic methods out of deference to the
empirical; controverted the metaphysics of Descartes; became the head of
a school opposed to him; adopted the philosophy of Epicurus and
contributed to the science of astronomy, and was the friend of Kepler,
Galileo, and Hobbes; was a great admirer of Bayle, the head of his
school, a school of Pyrrhonists, tending to materialism (1592-1655).
GASSNER, JOHANN JOSEPH, a noted "exorcist," born at Bludenz, in the
Tyrol; while a Catholic priest at Kloesterle he gained a wide celebrity by
professing to "cast out devils" and to work cures on the sick by means
simply of prayer; he was deposed as an impostor, but the bishop of
Ratisbon, who believed in his honesty, bestowed upon him the cure of
Bendorf (1727-1779).
GATAKER, THOMAS, an English divine, member of the Westminster
Assembly; disapproved of the introduction of the Covenant, declared for
Episcopacy, and opposed the trial of Charles I. (1574-1654).
GATE OF TEARS, the strait of Bab-el-Mandeb, so called from the
shipwrecks frequent in it.
GATES, HORATIO, an American general, born at Maldon, Essex, in
England; served as an English officer in America till the peace of 1763,
and then retired to Virginia; in the War of Independence he fought on the
side of America, and, as commander of the northern army, defeated the
English at Saratoga in 1777; so great was his popularity in consequence
of this victory that ill-advised efforts were made to place him over
Washington, but in 1780 he suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the
British at Camden, and was court-martialled; acquitted in 1782, he again
retired to Virginia, and subsequently in 1800 removed to New York, having
first emancipated and provided for his slaves (1728-1806).
GATESHEAD (86), an English town, situated on the Tyne, on N. border
of Durham; it is united to Newcastle by three bridges spanning the river;
it contains some handsome and interesting buildings, besides extensive
iron-works, foundries, soap, glass, and chemical manufactories; it was
here Defoe lived when he wrote "Robinson Crusoe."
GATH, Goliath's town, a city of the Philistines, on a cliff 12 m.
NE. of Ashdod.
GATLING, RICHARD JORDAN, the inventor of the Gatling gun, born in
Hertford County, N. Carolina, U.S.; he was bred to and graduated in
medicine, but in 1849 settled in Indianapolis and engaged in land and
railway speculation; his famous machine-gun, capable of firing 1200 shots
a minute, was brought out in 1861; another invention of his is a
steam-plough; _b_. 1818.
GATTY, MRS., writer of tales for young people, "Parables from
Nature," and editor of _Aunt Judy's Magazine_; daughter of the chaplain
of the _Victory_, Nelson's ship at Trafalgar, in whose arms Nelson
breathed his last (1809-1873).
GAUCHOS, a name bestowed upon the natives of the pampas of S.
America; they are of Indo-Spanish descent, and are chiefly engaged in
pastoral pursuits, herding cattle, &c.; they are dexterous horsemen, and
are courteous and hospitable; the wide-brimmed sombrero and loose poncho
are characteristic articles of their dress.
GAUDEN, JOHN, bishop of Worcester; protested against the trial of
Charles I., and after his execution published "EIKON BASILIKE"
(q. v.), or the "Portraiture of his Sacred Majesty in his Solitude and
Sufferings," which he declared was written by him (1605-1669).
GAUL, the name the ancients gave to two distinct regions, the one
CISALPINE GAUL, on the Roman side of the Alps, embracing the N. of
Italy, as long inhabited by Gallic tribes; and the other TRANSALPINE
GAUL, beyond the Alps from Rome, and extending from the Alps to the
Pyrenees, from the ocean to the Rhine, inhabited by different races;
subdued by Julius Caesar 58-50 B.C., and divided by Augustus into four
provinces.
GAUNT, JOHN OF, Duke of Lancaster, third son of Edward III., born at
Ghent, who in 1362 succeeded to the estates of his father-in-law, the
Duke of Lancaster; having in 1372 married, as his second wife, the
daughter of the king of Castile, he made an unsuccessful attempt to seize
the Castilian throne; in the later years of Edward III.'s reign he took
an active part in public affairs, and by his opposition to the national
party and overbearing conduct towards the Commons made himself obnoxious
to the people; for selfish motives he for a time supported Wycliffe, but
in 1381 the Peasant Revolt drove him into Scotland; in 1386 he made
another ineffectual attempt to gain the crown of Castile; in his later
years he was engaged in various embassies in France (1339-1399).
GAUR or LAKHNAUTI, the ancient capital of Bengal, now in ruins,
but with Hindu remains of exceptional interest, is situated 4 m. S. of
Malda, between the rivers Ganges and Mahananda; the city is believed to
have been founded in the 11th century; it fell into decay after the Mogul
conquest in 1575, but pestilence and the deflection of the Ganges into a
new channel accelerated its fate.
GAUSS, KARL FRIEDRICH, a celebrated German mathematician and
astronomer, born at Brunswick; was director of the observatory at
Goettingen for 40 years; was equally great on theory of numbers and
practice of calculation; he made important discoveries in magnetism, and
was pronounced by Laplace the greatest mathematician in Europe
(1775-1855).
GAUTAMA, the name of the family Buddha belonged to, a Rajput clan
which at the time of his birth was settled on the banks on the Rohini, a
small affluent of the Gogra, about 137 m. N. of Benares.
GAUTIER, THEOPHILE, a distinguished French poet, novelist, and
critic, born at Tarbes; began life as a painter, but turning to
literature soon attracted the attention of Sainte-Beuve by some studies
in the old French authors; by-and-by he came under the influence of
Victor Hugo, and in 1830 started his career as a poet by the publication
of "Albertus," five years after which appeared his famous novel
"Mademoiselle de Maupin"; for many years he was engaged in the work of
art criticism for the Paris newspapers, and those of his critiques
dealing with the drama have been republished, and fill six vols.; both as
poet and novelist his works have been numerous, and several delightful
books of travel in Spain, Turkey, Algeria, &c., have come from his pen;
as a literary artist Gautier has few equals to-day in France, but his
work is marred by a lax and paradoxical philosophy of life, which has, by
his more enthusiastic admirers, been elevated into a "cult" (1811-1872).
GAUTIER AND GARGUILLE, all the world and his wife.
GAVARNI, PAUL, the _nom de plume_ of Sulpice Guillaume Chevalier,
caricaturist, born in Paris; began life as an engineer's draughtsman, but
soon turned his attention to his proper vocation as a cartoonist; most of
his best work appeared in _Le Charivari_, but some of his bitterest and
most earnest pictures, the fruit of a visit to London, appeared in
_L'Illustration_; he also illustrated Balzac's novels, and Sue's
"Wandering Jew" (1801-1866).
GAVAZZI, ALESSANDRO, an Italian anti-papal agitator, born at
Bologna; admitted into the order of Barnabite monks; he became professor
of Rhetoric at Naples; one of the most energetic supporters of Pius IX.
in his liberal policy, he afterwards withdrew his allegiance; joined the
Revolution of 1848, and ultimately fled to England on the occupation of
Rome by the French; as an anti-papal lecturer he showed considerable
oratorical powers; delivered addresses in Italian in England and
Scotland against the papacy, which were received with enthusiasm,
although in Canada they led to riots; he was taken by some for an Italian
Knox; "God help them," exclaimed Carlyle, who regarded him as a mere
wind-bag (1809-1889).
GAVELKIND, descent of property to all the sons alike, the oldest to
have the horse and arms and the youngest the homestead.
GAWAIN, SIR, one of the Knights of the Round Table, King Arthur's
nephew; celebrated for his courtesy and physical strength.
GAY, JOHN, an English poet, born at Barnstaple the same year as
Pope, a friend of his, to whom he dedicated his "Rural Sports"; was the
author of a series of "Fables" and the "Beggar's Opera," a piece which
was received with great enthusiasm, and had a run of 63 nights, but which
gave offence at Court, though it brought him the patronage of the Duke
and Duchess of Queensberry, with whom he went to reside, and tinder whose
roof he died; was buried in Westminster (1688-1732).
GAYA (80), chief town of a district of the same name in Bengal, on
the Phalgu, 57 m. S. of Patna; it is a great centre of pilgrimage for
Hindus, and has associations with Buddha; 100,000 pilgrims visit it
annually.
GAY-LUSSAC, LOUIS JOSEPH, French chemist and physicist, born at St.
Leonard, Haute-Vienne; at the Polytechnic School, Paris, his abilities
attracted the attention of BERTHOLLET (q. v.), who appointed him
his assistant in the government chemical works at Arcueil; here he
assiduously employed himself in chemical and physical research, in
connection with which he made two balloon ascents; in 1809 he became
professor of Chemistry at the Paris Polytechnic School; in 1832 was
elected to a similar chair at the Jardin des Plantes; seven years later
was created a peer of France, while in 1829 he became chief assayer to
the Mint; his name is associated with many notable discoveries in
chemistry and physics, e. g. the law of volumes, isolation of cyanogen,
&c. (1778-1850).
GAZA, a Philistine town, the gates of which Samson carried off by
night; situated on a mound at the edge of the desert, 5 m. from the sea,
a considerable place to this day.
GAZETTE THE, an official newspaper in which government and legal
notices are published, issued on Tuesdays and Fridays; originally a
Venetian newspaper, the first of the kind so called as issued for a
farthing.
GEBIR or GEBER, the name under which several works on alchemy
and chemistry were written by Jabir ihn Haijan, an Arabic alchemist of
the 8th century; his birthplace is unknown, but he is said to have lived
at Damascus and Kufa.
GED, WILLIAM, the inventor of stereotyping, born in Edinburgh, where
he carried on business as a goldsmith; he endeavoured to push his new
process of printing in London by joining in partnership with a
capitalist, but, disappointed in his workmen and his partner, he returned
despondent to Edinburgh; an edition of Sallust and two prayer-books (for
Cambridge) were stereotyped by him (1699-1749).
GEDDES, ALEXANDER, biblical scholar, born at Arradowl, Banffshire;
was trained for the Catholic Church, and after prosecuting his studies at
Paris was appointed to the charge of a Catholic congregation at
Auchinhalrig; ten years later he was deposed for heresy, and removing to
London took to literary work; his most notable performance is his
unfinished translation of the Scriptures, and the notes appended, in
which he reveals a very pronounced rationalistic conception of holy writ;
this work, which anticipated the views of such men as Eichhorn and
Paulus, lost him his status as a priest, although to the end he professed
a sincere belief in Christianity; he was the author of volumes of poems,
&c. (1737-1802).
GEDDES, JENNY, an Edinburgh worthy who on 23rd July 1637
immortalised herself by throwing her stool at the head of Laud's bishop
as he proceeded from the desk of St. Giles's in the city to read the
_Collect_ for the day, exclaiming as she did so, "Deil _colic_ the wame
o' thee, fause loon, would you say _Mass_ at my lug," which was followed
by great uproar, and a shout, "A Pape, a Pape; stane him"; "a daring
feat, and a great," thinks Carlyle, "the first act of an audacity which
ended with the beheading of the king."
GEEFS, GUILLAUME, Belgian sculptor, born at Antwerp; executed a
colossal work at Brussels, "Victims of the Revolution," and numerous
statues and busts as well as imaginative productions; had two brothers
distinguished also as sculptors (1806-1860).
GEELONG (24), a prettily laid out city of Victoria, on Corio Bay, 45
m. SW. of Melbourne. The gold discoveries of 1851 gave a stimulus to the
town, which is now a busy centre of the wool trade, and has tanneries and
paper works, &c. The harbourage is excellent, and in summer the town is a
favourite resort as a watering-place.
GEFLE (25), a seaport, and the third commercial town in Sweden;
capital of the _laen_ of Gefleborg; is situated on an inlet of the Gulf of
Bothnia, midway between Fahlun and Upsala; has an interesting old castle,
a school of navigation, and, since a destructive fire in 1869, has been
largely rebuilt.
GEHENNA, the valley of Hinnom, on the S. of Jerusalem, with
TOPHET (q. v.) at its eastern end; became the symbol of hell
from the fires kept burning in it night and day to consume the poisonous
gases of the offal accumulated in it.
GEHENNA BAILIFFS, ministers of hell's justice, whose function is to
see to and enforce the rights of hell.
GEIBEL, EMANUEL VON, a celebrated German poet, born at Luebeck; was
professor of AEsthetics at Muenich; the tender, sentimental passion that
breathed in his poetry procured for him a wide-spread popularity,
especially among women (1815-1884).
GEIGER, ABRAHAM, an eminent Hebrew scholar and Rabbi, born at
Frankfort-on-the-Main, and editor of the _Zeitschrift fuer juedische
Theologie_; strove hard to break down the barrier of Jewish exclusiveness
(1810-1874).
GEIJER, ERIK GUSTAV, great Swedish historian, born in Vermland; held
a post in the Record Office, Stockholm; was a poet as well as a
historian, his principal work being "History of the Swedish People"
(1783-1847).
GEIKIE, SIR ARCHIBALD, geologist, born at Edinburgh; at the age of
20 he joined the Geological Survey of Scotland, and in 1867 became
director; in 1870 he became Murchison professor of Geology at Edinburgh,
and in 1881 was appointed chief director of the Geological Survey of
Great Britain; in 1801 he was knighted, and from 1892 to 1893 was
President of the British Association; he is the author of various works
on geology, written with great lucidity, as well as essays much
appreciated; _b_. 1835.
GEIKIE, JAMES, geologist, brother of the preceding, born at
Edinburgh; in 1882, after serving 21 years in the Geological Survey of
Scotland, he succeeded his brother in the chair of Geology at Edinburgh;
his principal work as a scientist is "The Great Ice Age"; his literary
sympathies appear in his admirable volume of translations of, "Songs and
Lyrics of Heine"; _b_. 1839.
GEILER VON KAISERBERG, JOHANN, a famous German pulpit orator, born
at Schaffhausen; Strasburg was the principal scene of his labours; his
writings, though numerous, are rare, among them the "Narrenschiff, or
Ship of Fools" (1453-1510).
GELASIUS I., ST., Pope from 492 to 496; a vigorous man and strong
assertor of the supremacy of the chair of St. Peter; G. II., also
Pope from 1118 to 1119.
GELL, SIR WILLIAM, archaeologist, born at Hopton, Derbyshire; after
graduating at Cambridge was elected to a Fellowship at Emmanuel College;
his passion for classical antiquities led him latterly to settle in
Italy, which bore fruit in various valuable works on the topography and
antiquities of Troy, Pompeii, Rome, Attica, &c.; he had for some time
previously been chamberlain to Queen Caroline, and appeared as a witness
at her trial (1777-1836).
GELLERT or KILLHART, a famous dog which figures in Welsh
tradition of the 13th century, and whose devotion and sad death are
celebrated in a fine ballad written by the Hon. William Robert Spencer
(1796-1834). The story is as follows: Prince Llewellyn on returning one
day from the chase discovered the cradle of his child overturned and
blood-stains on the floor. Immediately concluding that Gellert, whom he
had left in charge of the child, had been the culprit, he plunged his
sword into the breast of the dog and laid it dead. Too late he found his
child safe hidden in the blankets, and by its side the dead body of an
enormous wolf. Gellert's tomb is still pointed out in the village of
Beddgelert on the S. of Snowdon. A story similar even to details is
current in the traditionary lore of many other lands.
GELLERT, CHRISTIAN, a German poet, fabulist, and moralist, born in
Saxony; professor of Philosophy at Leipzig; distinguished for the
influence of his character and writings on the literature of the period
in Germany, in the effect of it culminating in the literature of Schiller
and Goethe; Frederick the Great, who had an interview with him,
pronounced him the most rational of German professors (1715-1769).
GELLUS, AULUS, a Latin grammarian, born at Rome; author of "Noctes
Atticae," a miscellany professing to have been composed in a country house
near Athens during winter nights, and ranging confusedly over topics of
all kinds, interesting as abounding in extracts from ancient writings no
longer extant.
GELON, tyrant of Syracuse from 484 to 478 B.C.; rose from the
ranks, gained a victory in 480 B.C. on the day of the battle of Salamis
over a large host of Carthaginians who had invaded Sicily; _d_.
478 B.C., leaving behind him an honoured memory.
GEMARA, the second part of the Talmud, being a body of notes,
comments, &c. on the Mishna or text.
GEMINI, the Twins, two stars in the southern hemisphere named Castor
and Pollux; also the name of a sign of the zodiac.
GENDARMES (i. e. men-at-arms), a military police in France
organised since the Revolution, and charged with maintaining the public
safety. The gendarmerie is considered a part of the regular army, and is
divided into legions and companies; but the pay is better than that of an
ordinary soldier. In the 14th and 15th centuries the name was applied to
the heavy French cavalry, and later to the royal bodyguard of the
Bourbons.
GENESIS, the first book in the Bible, so called in the Septuagint,
as containing an account of the origin of the world, of the human family,
and of the Jewish race; a book of the oldest date possessing any human
interest.
GENEVA: 1. The smallest canton (106) of Switzerland, situated at the
western extremity of the lake of the name; the surface is hilly, but not
mountainous, and is watered by the Rhone and Arve; the soil is unfertile,
but the patient industry of the inhabitants has made it fruitful; the
cultivation of the vine, fruit-growing, and the manufacture of watches,
&c., are the chief industries; 85 per cent, of the people speak French.
2. Capital (78) of the canton, occupies a splendid geographical position
at the south-western end of the lake, at the exit of the Rhone; the town
existed in Caesar's time, and after being subject in turn to Rome and
Burgundy, ere long won its independence in conjunction with Bern and
Freiburg. In Calvin's time it became a centre of Protestantism, and its
history, down to the time of its annexation by Napoleon in 1798, is
mainly occupied with the struggles between the oligarchical and
democratic factions. On the overthrow of Napoleon it joined the Swiss
Confederation. Since 1847 the town has been largely rebuilt, and
handsomely laid out. Among many fine buildings are the Transition
Cathedral of St. Peter (1124), the Academy founded by Calvin and others.
The Rhone flows through it, and compasses an island which forms part of
the city. It has many literary and historical associations, and was the
birthplace of Rousseau.
GENEVA, LAKE OF, or LAKE LEMAN, stretches in crescent shape
between Switzerland and France, curving round the northern border of the
French department of Haute-Savoie; length, 45 m.; greatest breadth, 9 m.;
maximum depth, 1022 ft. On the French side precipitous rocks descend to
the water's edge, and contrast with the wooded slopes of the north. The
water is of a deep-blue colour; many streams flow into it, notably the
Rhone, which flows out at Geneva.
GENEVIEVE, the patron saint of Paris, born at Nanterre; by her
prayer the city, then called LUTETIA (q. v.) was saved from the
ravages of Attila (422-512) and his Huns.
GENGHIS KHAN (i. e. Very Mighty Ruler), a celebrated Mongol
conqueror, born near Lake Baikal, the son of a Mongol chief; his career
as a soldier began at the age of 13, an age at which he boldly assumed
the reins of government in succession to his father; by his military
skill and daring example he gradually raised his people to a position of
supremacy in Asia, and established by means of them a kingdom which, at
his death, stretched from the Volga to the Pacific, and from Siberia to
the Persian Gulf; he regarded himself as commissioned by Heaven to
conquer the world, a destiny which he almost fulfilled (1162-1227).
GENLIS, STEPHANIE FELICITE, COMTESSE DE, a celebrated French
novelist, born at Champceri, near Autun, Burgundy; at the age of 16 she
was married to the Comte de Genlis, who eventually fell a victim to the
fury of the Revolution; in 1770 she was a lady-in-waiting to the Duchesse
de Chartres, and 12 years later became governess to the children of the
Duc d'Orleans, amongst whom was the future king of the French,
Louis-Philippe; the Revolution drove her to Switzerland, but on the
elevation of Napoleon she returned to Paris, and received from him a
pension, which continued to be paid her even under the restored Bourbon
dynasty: she was a voluminous writer of moral tales, comedies, &c., and
her works amount to about 90 vols., among them the celebrated "Memoirs"
of her life and times; she was ill-natured, and in her "Memoirs"
inaccurate, as well as prejudiced (1746-1830).
GEN`OA (138), a city and chief commercial seaport of Italy, built at
the foot of the Apennines as they slope down to the gulf of the name. The
encircling hills behind, which are strongly fortified, form a fine
background to the picturesquely laid-out city. There is excellent
harbourage for the extensive shipping, and an active export and import
trade is carried on. In the city are iron-works, cotton and cloth mills,
match factories, &c.; the streets are narrow and irregular, but many of
the buildings, especially the ducal palaces and the cathedral, are of
great historical and architectural interest; there is an excellent
university, a public library, and an Academy of Fine Arts; Columbus was
born here.
GENRE PAINTING, name given to paintings embracing figures as they
appear in ordinary life and in ordinary situations.
GENS, the name among the Romans for what we understand by the word
clan as consisting of families.
GENS BRACCATA, the Gauls, from wearing _braccae_ or breeches.
GENS TOGATA, the Roman, from wearing the TOGA (q. v.) as
their distinguishing dress.
GEN`SERIC, king of the Vandals, son of Godigiselus, founder of the
Vandal kingdom in Spain, and bastard brother of Gunderic, whom he
succeeded in A.D. 429; from Spain he crossed to Africa, and in
conjunction with the Moors added to his kingdom the land lying W. of
Carthage, ultimately gaining possession of Carthage itself; he next set
himself to organise a naval force, with which he systematically from year
to year pillaged Spain, Italy, Greece, and the opposite lands of Asia
Minor, sacking Rome in 455; until his death in 477 he continued master of
the seas, despite strenuous efforts of the Roman emperors to crush his
power.
GENTILLY, a southern suburb of Paris, once a village beyond the
fortifications.
GENTLE SHEPHERD, a famous pastoral by Allan Ramsay, with some happy
descriptive scenes and a pleasant delineation of manners, published in
1723.
GENTLE SHEPHERD, a nickname George Grenville bore from a retort of
the elder Pitt one day in Parliament.
GENTLEMEN-AT-ARMS, next to the yeomen of the guard the oldest corps
in the British army, is the bodyguard of the sovereign; was formed by
Henry VIII. in 1509; now consists of a captain, lieutenant,
standard-bearer, adjutant, and 40 members, whose duties are limited to
attendance at State ceremonies.
GENTZ, FRIEDRICH VON, German politician and author, born at Breslau;
while in the Prussian civil service he warmly sympathised with the French
Revolution, but his zeal was greatly modified by perusal of Burke's
"Reflections," a treatise he subsequently translated, and in 1802 entered
the Austrian public service; in the capacity of a political writer he
bitterly opposed Napoleon, but for other purposes his pen and support
were at the service of the highest bidder; he was secretary at the
Congress of Vienna, and held a similar post in many of the subsequent
congresses (1764-1832).
GEOFFREY OF MONMOUTH, a celebrated chronicler and ecclesiastic of
the 12th century, born in Monmouth, where he was educated in a
Benedictine monastery; in 1152 he was made bishop of St. Asaph; his Latin
"Chronicon sive Historia Britonum" contains a circumstantial account of
British history compiled from Gildas, Nennius, and other early
chroniclers, interwoven with current legends and pieced together with
additions from his own fertile imagination, the whole professing to be a
translation of a chronicle found in Brittany; this remarkable history is
the source of the stories of King Lear, Cymbeline, Merlin, and of Arthur
and his knights as they have since taken shape in English literature;
_d_. about 1154.
GEOFFREY SAINT-HILAIRE, ETIENNE, zoologist and biologist, born at
Etampes; he was educated for the Church, but while studying theology at
Paris his love for natural science was awakened, and the study of it
henceforth became the ruling passion of his life; was made professor of
Zoology in the Museum of Natural History in Paris; accompanied Napoleon
to Egypt as a member of the scientific commission, and returned with rich
collections, while his labours were rewarded by his election to the
Academy of Sciences; a scientific mission to Portugal in 1808 next
engaged him, and a year later he was nominated to the chair of Zoology in
the Faculty of Sciences at Paris; the main object of his scientific
writing was to establish, in opposition to the theories of his friend
Cuvier, his conception of a grand unity of plan pervading the whole
organic kingdom (1772-1844).
GEOFFRIN, MARIE THERESE, a French patroness of letters, born at
Paris, the daughter of a _valet-de-chambre_; in her fifteenth year she
married a wealthy merchant, whose immense fortune she inherited; her love
of letters--which she cherished, though but poorly educated herself--and
her liberality soon made her _salon_ the most celebrated in Paris; the
_encyclopedists_, Diderot, D'Alembert, and Marmontel, received from her a
liberal encouragement in their great undertaking; Walpole, Hume, and
Gibbon were among her friends; and Stanislas Poniatowsky, who became king
of Poland, acknowledged her generosity to him by styling himself her son
and welcoming her royally to his kingdom (1699-1777).
GEORGE I., king of Great Britain from 1714 to 1727, and first of the
Hanoverian line; son of Ernest Augustus, Elector of Hanover, and of
Sophia, granddaughter of James I. of England; born in Hanover; in 1682 he
married his cousin, the Princess Sophia Dorothea of Zell, and in 1698
became Elector of Hanover; he co-operated actively with Marlborough in
opposing the schemes of Louis XIV., and commanded the Imperial forces; in
accordance with the Act of Settlement, he succeeded to the English throne
on the death of Queen Anne; his ignorance of English prevented him taking
part in Cabinet councils, a circumstance which had important results in
the growth of constitutional government, and the management of public
affairs during his reign devolved chiefly upon Sir Robert Walpole; the
abortive Jacobite rising of 1715, the South Sea Bubble (1720), and the
institution of Septennial Parliaments (1716), are among the main events
of his reign; in 1694 he divorced his wife on account of an amour with
Count Koenigsmark, and kept her imprisoned abroad till her death in 1724,
while he himself during these years lived in open profligacy with his
mistresses (1660-1727).
GEORGE II., king of Great Britain from 1727 to 1760, and Elector of
Hanover, born in Hanover, son of preceding; in 1705 he married Caroline
of Anspach, and in 1714 was declared Prince of Wales; he joined his
father in the struggle with Louis XIV., and distinguished himself on the
side of the Allies at the battle of Oudenarde; the period of his reign is
one of considerable importance in English history; Walpole and
subsequently Pitt were the great ministers of the age; war was waged
against Spain and France; the last Jacobite rising was crushed at
Culloden (1746); English power was established in Canada by the brilliant
victory of Wolfe at Quebec (1759); an empire was won in India by Clive;
the victory of Minden (1759) was gained in the Seven Years' War;
Methodism sprang up under Wesley and Whitfield; while a great development
in literature and art took place; against these, however, must be set the
doubling of the National Debt, mainly due to the Seven Years' War, and a
defeat by the French at Fontenoy (1745) (1683-1760).
GEORGE III., king of Great Britain from 1760 to 1820, and king of
Hanover (Elector from 1760 to 1815), eldest son of Frederick Lewis,
Prince of Wales, and grandson of preceding, born in London; in 1761 he
married Princess Charlotte Sophia of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, by whom he had
fifteen children; more English in sentiment and education than his two
predecessors, George's main interest was centred in his English kingdom,
and never during his long life did he once set foot in his Hanoverian
possessions; the purity of his domestic life, his devotion to England,
and the pathos attaching to his frequent fits of insanity, won him the
affections of his people, an affection, however, sorely tried by his
obstinate blundering; the 60 years of his reign present a succession of
domestic episodes, far-reaching in their consequences to England and to
the civilised world; the conclusion of the Seven Years' War left England
predominant in North America, and with increased colonial possessions in
the West Indies, &c., but under the ill-guided and obstinate policy of
Lord North she suffered the loss of her American colonies, an event which
also involved her in war with France and Spain; in 1787 the famous trial
of WARREN HASTINGS (q. v.) began, and two years later came the
French Revolution; the great struggle with Napoleon followed, and gave
occasion for the brilliant achievements of Nelson and Wellington; during
these long years of war the commercial prosperity of England never
slackened, but through the inventions of Hargreaves, Arkwright, and
Compton increased by leaps and bounds; freedom of the press was won by
Wilkes; and in 1802 the union with Ireland took place; the majestic
figure of Pitt stands out amidst a company of brilliant politicians that
included Burke and Fox and Sheridan; literature is represented by a line
of brilliant writers that stretches from Johnson to Keats, and includes
the names of Burns, Cowper, Shelley, and Byron (1738-1820).
GEORGE IV., king of Great Britain and of Hanover from 1820 to 1830,
eldest son of the preceding, born in London; in consequence of his
father's insanity he became Regent in 1810; a tendency to profligacy
early displayed itself in an intrigue with Mrs. Robinson, an actress; and
two years afterwards in defiance of the Royal Marriage Act he secretly
married MRS. FITZHERBERT (q. v.), a Roman Catholic; in 1795 he
publicly espoused Princess Caroline of Brunswick, whom later he
endeavoured to divorce; a Burmese War (1823), the victory of Admiral
Codrington at Navarino (1827), the Repeal of the Test and Corporation
Acts (1828), and the passing of the Catholic Emancipation Bill (1829),
were occurrences of some importance in an uneventful reign (1762-1830).
GEORGE I., king of Greece, son of King Christian of Denmark, and
brother of the Princess of Wales; became king of Greece in 1864; _b_.
1845.
GEORGE, HENRY, an American writer on social and economic questions,
born in Philadelphia; he first tried life on the sea, but in 1858 settled
in California as a printer, and there married; in course of time he took
to journalism, became an editor, and zealously addressed himself to the
discussion of public affairs; his peculiar views on the question of land
reform were set forth in "Our Land and Land Policy," published in 1870,
and nine years later appeared his more famous and widely popular work
"Progress and Poverty," in which he promulgated the theory that to the
increase in economic rent and land values is due the lack of increase in
wages and interest which the increased productive power of modern times
should have ensured; he proposed the levying of a tax on land so as to
appropriate economic rent to public uses, and the abolition of all taxes
falling upon industry and thrift; he lectured in Great Britain and
Ireland, Australia, &c.; in 1887 founded the _Standard_ paper in New
York; he died during his candidature for the mayoralty of Greater New
York (1839-1897).
GEORGE, ST., the patron saint of chivalry and of England; adopted as
such in the reign of Edward III.; believed to have been born in Armorica,
and to have suffered martyrdom under Diocletian in A.D. 303; he is
represented as mounted on horseback and slaying a DRAGON (q. v.),
conceived as an incarnation of the evil one.
GEORGETOWN: 1 (53), capital of British Guiana, at the mouth of the
Demerara River; is the see of an Anglican bishop; is neatly laid out, and
has some handsome buildings, but is considered unhealthy; the staple
industries are sugar and coffee. 2 (14), a port of entry in the District
of Columbia, on the Potomac, 2 m. NW. of Washington; is a terminus of the
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal.
GEORGIA: 1 (1,837), one of the 13 original States of the American
Union, lies to the S., fronting the Atlantic between Florida and S.
Carolina; is divided into 136 counties, Atlanta being the capital and
Savannah the chief port; it is well watered with rivers; is low and
swampy for some miles inland, but it rises into plateaux in the interior,
and the Appalachians and Blue Mountains intersect it in the NW.;
excellent crops of wheat and fruit are grown among the hills, rice in the
lowlands, while immense quantities of cotton are raised on the islands
skirting the coast; the vast forests of pitch-pine supply an increasing
lumber trade; the mountain lands are rich in minerals; the State was
named after George II. in 1733 by the founder, James Oglethorpe. 2, The
former name of an independent kingdom, which extended along the southern
slopes of the Caucasus, and which, since the beginning of the century,
has belonged to Russia under the name of Gruzia, and now forms the
central portion of Russian Transcaucasia; the Georgians number at present
about a million; they are a people of splendid physique, whose history
reaches back to the time of Alexander the Great, and who attained their
zenith in the 12th century; subsequently they suffered from Persian and
Turkish invasion, and eventually, as we have said, fell into the hands of
Russia; at present there is a Georgian literature growing, especially in
Tiflis, if that is any sign of advance.
GERA (30), a thriving city on the White Elster, 35 m. SW. of
Leipzig; has broad streets and fine buildings, with a castle; chief
manufactures woollen.
GERAINT, SIR, one of the Knights of the Round Table, the husband of
Enid, whose fidelity he for a time distrusted, but who proved herself a
true wife by the care with which she nursed him when he was wounded.
GERARD, ETIENNE MAURICE, COMTE, marshal of France, born at
Damvillers, Lorraine; in 1791 he entered the army and fought under
Bernadotte in various campaigns; at Austerlitz he won his brigade, and
subsequently fought at Jena, Erfurt, and Wagram; he joined Napoleon after
his flight from Elba, and was wounded at Wavre; on the downfall of the
Emperor he quitted France, but returned in 1817; in 1822 he was elected
to the Chamber of Deputies, and in 1831 assisted in driving the Dutch out
of Flanders; he was War Minister under Louis Philippe (1773-1855).
GERARD, FRANCOIS PASCAL SIMON, BARON, painter, born at Rome, of
French and Italian parentage; came to Paris when a youth, where he
studied painting under David; in 1795 his "Blind Belisarius" brought him
to the front, whilst subsequent work as a portrait-painter raised him
above all his contemporaries; his masterpiece, "Entry of Henri IV. into
Paris," brought him a barony at the hands of Louis XVIII.; his historical
paintings, characterised by minute accuracy of detail, include "Napoleon
in his Coronation Robes," "Battle of Austerlitz," &c. (1770-1837).
GERHARDT, KARL FRIEDRICH, chemist, born at Strasburg; after a
training at Carlsruhe and Leipzig, worked in Liebig's laboratory at
Giessen; in 1838 he began lecturing in Paris, and made experiments along
with Cahours on essential oils, which bore fruit in an important
treatise; in 1844 he received the chair of Chemistry at Montpellier, but
returned to Paris four years later; there he matured and published his
theories of types, homologous series, &c., which have greatly influenced
the science of chemistry; in 1855 he became professor of Chemistry in
Strasburg (1816-1856).
GERHARDT, PAUL, a celebrated German hymn-writer of the Lutheran
Church, born at Graefenhainichen, in Saxony; in 1657 he became dean of St.
Nicholas in Berlin, an appointment he held till 1666, when he was deposed
for his embittered opposition to the union of the Lutheran and Reformed
Churches; he was subsequently pastor at Luebben; his hymns, 123 in number,
rank amongst the finest of their class (1607-1676).
GERIZZIM, a mountain of 2848 ft. in height in the S. of the valley
of Shechem, opposite EBAL (q. v.), and from the slopes of which
the blessings were responded to by half the tribes of Israel on their
arrival in Canaan (Josh. viii. 30-35); the Samaritans erected a temple on
this mountain, ruins of which still remain.
GERM THEORY, the doctrine that certain diseases are due to
fermentation caused by the presence of germs in the system in the form of
minute organisms called bacteria.
GERMAN CATHOLICS, a sect formed in 1844 by secession from the
Catholic Church of Germany, under the leadership of Johann Ronge, on
account of the mummery under papal patronage connected with the
exhibition of the Holy Coat of Treves and the superstitious influence
ascribed to it.
GERMAN VOLTAIRE, name given sometimes to Wieland and sometimes, but
less appropriately, to Goethe.
GERMANICUS, CAESAR, Roman general, son of Nero Claudius Drusus and
Antonia, daughter of Mark Antony; he served with distinction under his
uncle Tiberius in Dalmatia and Pannonia; was awarded a triumph, and in
A.D. 12 was elected consul; his success and popularity as leader of the
army on the Rhine provoked the jealousy of Tiberius, who transferred him
to the East, where he subsequently died; his son Caligula succeeded
Tiberius on the imperial throne (15 B.C.-A.D. 19).
GERMANY (49,428), constituted an empire in 1871, occupies a
commanding position in Central Europe, and stretches from Switzerland in
the S. to the German Ocean and Baltic Sea on the N.; Austria lies to the
SE., Russia to the NE., while France, Belgium, and the Netherlands flank
the W.; is made up of 26 States of widely varying size and importance,
comprising four kingdoms (of which Prussia is by far the largest and most
influential), six grand-duchies, five duchies, seven principalities,
three free towns (Luebeck, Bremen, Hamburg), and one imperial province,
Alsace-Lorraine; the main physical divisions are (1) the great lowland
plain stretching from the centre to the Baltic and North Sea, well
watered by the Ems, Weser, Elbe, Oder, Vistula, and their tributaries, in
which, bating large sandy tracts, agriculture employs a large class, and
cereals, tobacco, and beetroot are raised; (2) the mountainous district,
in the interior of which the Fichtelgebirge is the central knot, in which
vast forests abound, and rich deposits of coal, fire-clays, iron, and
other metals are worked, giving rise to iron-works and potteries; (3) the
basin of the Rhine, on the W., where the vine is largely cultivated, and
extensive manufactures of silks, cottons, and hardware are carried on;
fine porcelain comes from Saxony and vast quantities of beer from
Bavaria; Westphalia is the centre of the steel and iron works; throughout
Germany there are 26,000 m. of railway line (chiefly State railways),
57,000 m. of telegraph line, while excellent roads, canals, and navigable
rivers facilitate communication; 65 per cent. of the people are
Protestants; education is compulsory and more highly developed than in
any other European country; the energies of the increasing population
have in recent years found scope for their action in their growing
colonial possessions; the military system imposes upon every German a
term of seven years' service, three in active service, and the remainder
in the reserve, and till his forty-sixth year he is liable to be called
out on any great emergency; under the emperor the government is carried
on by a _Federal Council_, the members of which are appointed by the
governments of the various estates, and the _Reichstag_, elected by
universal suffrage and ballot for three years.
GEROME, LEON, a celebrated French painter, born at Vesoul; he
studied at Paris under Paul Delaroche, with whom he subsequently
travelled in Italy; he travelled in the East and familiarised himself
with Eastern scenes; in 1863 he was appointed professor of Painting in
the Paris School of Fine Arts; among his most famous pictures, all
characterised by vivid colouring and strong dramatic effect, are "The Age
of Augustus and the Birth of Christ," "Roman Gladiators in the
Amphitheatre," "Cleopatra and Caesar," &c.; _b_. 1824.
GERRY, ELBRIDGE, American statesman, born in Marblehead, Mass.; in
1773, eight years after graduating at Harvard, he was elected to the
Massachusetts Assembly, and in 1789 to the first National Congress; as
envoy to France in 1797 he assisted in establishing diplomatic relations
with that country, and after his recall in 1810 was chosen governor of
his native State; during his tenancy of this office, by an unfair
redistribution of the electoral districts in the State he gave undue
advantage to his own political party, a proceeding which led to the
coining of the word "gerrymandering"; subsequently he held office as
Vice-President of the Republic (1744-1814).
GERSON, JOHN CHARLIER DE, an eminent ecclesiastical scholar, born at
Gerson, in the diocese of Rheims; in 1395 he became chancellor of his old
university at Paris, and earned in that office a high reputation for
learning, becoming known as Doctor Christianissimus; he was a prominent
member of the councils of Pisa and Constance, advocating, as a remedy for
the Western Schism, the resignation of the rival Popes; in consequence of
his denunciation of the Duke of Burgundy for the murder of the Duke of
Orleans he was forced to become a refugee in Germany for some time, but
finally retired into the monastery of Lyons; his various works reveal an
intellect of keen intelligence, but somewhat tinged with a cloudy
mysticism (1363-1429).
GERSTAeCKER, FRIEDRICH, German author and traveller, born in Hamburg;
when 21 he emigrated to New York, and for six years led a wandering life
in different parts of America, working the while now at one occupation
now at another, a narrative of which he published on his return to
Germany; in 1849 he undertook a journey round the world which occupied
him three years; in 1860-61 he crossed S. America; in 1862 he was in
Africa with Duke Ernst of Gotha, and in 1863 in Central America; his many
writings, descriptive of these countries, exhibit a fresh and graphic
style, and have had a wide popularity; he is the author also of several
thrilling stories (1816-1872).
GERVASE OF TILBURY, a mediaeval historical writer, born at Tilbury,
in Essex; said to have been a nephew of King Henry II.; he held a
lectureship in Canon Law at Bologna, and through the influence of Emperor
Otto IV. was made marshal of the kingdom of Arles; he was the author of
"Otia Imperiala," a historical and geographical work; _d_. about 1235.
GERVINUS, GEORG GOTTFRIED, German historian and Shakespearian
critic, born at Darmstadt; he was elected to the chair of History at
Goettingen in 1836, an appointment which was cancelled the following year
by his signing the protest against the abolition of the Hanoverian
constitution; in 1844 he was appointed honorary professor at Heidelberg,
and subsequently contributed greatly to the establishment of
constitutional liberty in Germany by means of his writings and by
founding the _Deutsche Zeitung_ there; in 1848 he became a member of the
National Assembly, but shortly afterwards withdrew, disgusted with the
course things were taking; he now engaged in literary studies, the fruit
of which appeared in his celebrated volumes of Shakespearian criticism
(1805-1871).
GERYON, a king of Erytheia (i. e. red island), on the western
borders of the world, with three bodies and three heads, who had a herd
of oxen guarded by a giant shepherd and his dog, the two-throated
Orthros, which were carried off by Hercules at the behest of his fate.
GESENIUS, an eminent German Hebraist and Biblical scholar, born in
Prussian Saxony, whose labours form an epoch in the study of the Hebrew
Scriptures; was 30 years professor of the language in Halle; produced a
Hebrew Grammar and Lexicon, and commentary on Isaiah on rationalistic
lines (1785-1842).
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