\ THE! // POPULAR CYCLOPEDIA OF USEFUL KNOWLEDGE. A COMPLETE LIBRARY OF USEFUL INFORMATION FOR THE MASSES, KMBRACED IN THE SUBJECTS OF HISTORY, BIOGRAPHY, NATURAL HISTORY, TRAVELS, MANNERS AND CUSTOMS, MANUFACTURES, VEG- ETATION, INVENTION AND DISCOVERY, MIN- ING, THE SEA, FAMILIAR SCIENCE, THE LAW, STATISTICS, Etc., Etc. WITH TWO HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-THREE ILLUSTRATIONS. NEW YORK : F. M. LUPTON, PUBLISHER, No. 63 MURRAY STREET. 1888. COPYRIGHT BY M. LUPTON, i88. PREFACE. A BICH store of knowledge may bo ohtaiuccl from books in fact therein may be found ali, or nearly all, that mankind has yet discovered; but there are two entirely opposite methods of giving knowledge to the world. The first is that which enters into extensive detail, and repels and confuses the average reader with scientific phraseology and verbose description. The second is that which seeks, by simplicity and conciseness, to make knowl- edge attractive, entertaining and amusing its readers while it instructs and benefits them. The latter is the method adopted in the present volume. The object is to present for family reading a book which will interest and entertain the most careless reader and at the same time fill his mind with knowledge of the most useful character a book which may be taken up at random, as in idle moments, and read with interest and pront by all classes and conditions of mankind. Few men or women are so well informed that they will not learn much that is of real interest and value to them from this book. Herein is information for the curious, knowledge and facts for those who seek them, self education for old and young. The material of a dozen ordinary volumes has been carefully epitomized and combined in one, yet, unlike other Cyclopaedias sold at low prices, which are practically nothing more than defining dictionaries, it undertakes to treat upon only such a number of topics as can be treated satisfactorily and well. First, we have the department of " Biography," containing sketches of the lives of half-a-hundred of the most prominent men who have figured in the history of this country and Europe for a century or more past, each biography being accompanied by a portrait. In the department of "History" are given graphic descriptions of several of the most impor- tant historical occurrences of the present and former times. Under " Nat- ural History " will be found exceedingly interesting descriptions of animals, birds, reptiles, fishes and insects, nearly all of which are accompanied by handsome illustrations. In the department of " Travels, Manners and Customs, Etc.," are given descriptions of the life of people of many coun- tries and climes, their peculiar rites, forms and ceremonies. Under " The World Illustrated " are described some of the most wonderful works both of the Creator and of man. " Useful Arts and Manufactures " describes 'arious industrial processes, and will be found exceedingly interesting and profitable reading. Under "Trees, Plants, Fruits, Etc.," are given de- scriptions of the vegetable productions of foreign countries, acquainting the reader with many interesting and useful facts regarding these things. "Great Inventions" describes the history of some of the most important mechanical discoveries of mankind, and " Mining " relates to the produc- tion of the mineral wealth of the earth. " Wonders of the Sea " treats ol the wonderful and beautiful things found upon the floor of the ocean. "Familiar Science " describes the earth and other members of the solar eystem, likewise the various agents, forces, etc., in nature. " Law for the " will be fomja of great benefit to men an.d worqen in the practical iv PREFACE. relations of life, while the department of " Statistical and Miscellaneous " is a repository of useful and interesting facts and figures. The illustrations, of which there are two hundred and seventy-three, form one of the most desirable features of the book, and greatly enhance its interest and value. The work is submitted in the hope that it may find a warm welcome in thousands of American homes, and in the firm conviction that its patrons will be invariably ite friends and admirers. It is not too much to say that never before in the history of book-making has a work containing BO vast an amount of useful information been presented in so attractive a form and given to the public at so low a price. It is a book for the masses for old md young, rich and poor. It may be read continuously, or, by the aid of fce index at the end, used as a work of reference. A glance over its pages will serve to convey an idea of the extent and variety of its contents, yet the real excellence and value of the work cannot be appreciated until it hat ben read from beginning to end. CONTENTS, PAGE BlOGBAPHY , 13 UlSTOBY 62 NATUBAL HISTOBY 86 TBAVELS, MANNEBS AND CUSTOMS, ETC 144 THE WOBLD ILLUSTBATED 205 USEFUL ABTS AND MANTIPACTUBES 237 TBEES, PLANTS, FBUITS, ETC 292 GBEAT INVENTIONS 844 MINING 362 WONDEBS OF THE SEA 381 FAMTLIAB SCIENCE 395 LAW FOB THE MASSES ,..-.. 442 Vi CONTENTS. PAGE STATISTICAL AND MISCELLANEOUS 477 INDKI , 539 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE Georgo Washington . . . . . . . .13 Napoleon Bonaparte ........ 15 William Shakespeare . . . . . . . .16 Lord Byron ......... 17 William Penn . . . . . . . . .18 Benjamin Franklin ........ 19 Patrick Henry . . . . . . .20 John Adams ......... 21 Thomas Jefferson . . . . . . . . .22 Alexander Hamilton ........ 23 John Jacob Astor . . . . . . . . .24 Robert Fulton ......... 25 Andrew Jackson . . . . . . . . .26 Henry Clay . . . . . . . 27 Daniel Webster . . . . . . . . .28 George Peabody ........ 29 Edward Everett . . . . . . . . .30 James Fenimore Cooper ....... 31 Washington Irving . . . . . . . .82 Abraham Lincoln ........ 33 Horace Greeley . . . . . . . . .84 Thurlow Weed ........ 35 Wendell Phillips . . . . . . . . .36 Henry Ward Beecher ........ 37 Charles Dickens . . . . . . . . .38 William Cullen Bryant ....... 39 Henry Wadsworth Longfellow . . . . . . .40 Ralph Waldo Emersou . . . . . . .41 Jjhn G. Whittier . . . . . . . . .42 Alfred Tennyson . . . . . . . .43 Herbert Spencer . . . . . . . . .44 William E. Gladstone ....... 45 Oliver Wendbll Holmes . ^ . . . . . .46 James Russell Lowell ....... 47 Peter Cooper . . . . . . . . .48 James A. Garfield ........ 49 Ulysses S. Grant . . . . . . . .50 Samuel J. Tilden ........ 51 George F. Edmunds .... , .52 Allen G. Thurman ..... . S3 John Sherman . . . . . . . , ' . i& ?,Villiam M. Evarts ........ 65 Thomas F. Bayard . . . . . . . .56 James G. 131aiue ........ 57 rili LIST Off ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE William T. Sherman ........ 58 Philip H. Sheridan 59 Grover Cleveland ........ 60 Thomas A. Heudricks ....... 61 The Lion .......... 86 The Hippopotamus ........ 87 The Syrian Bear . . . . . . . .89 The Bison ......... 90 The Tiger 91 The Leopard ......... 92 The Wolf 93 The Giraffe ......... 94 The Zebu. . . 95 The Ant-Eater ......... 98 The Porcupine . . . . . . . . .97 The Hedgehog . . . . . . .98 The Elk .......... 99 The Stag 100 The Chamois . . . . . . . . .101 The Caribou or American Reindeer . . . . . 102 Beavers ......... . 103 The Ferret ......... 105 The Mole .......... 106 The Crocodile. ........ 109 The Alligator . . . . . . . . .110 The Long-Eared Bat . . . . . . .111 The Colugo . . . . . . . . .112 The Paper Nautilus ........ 113 The Flying Fish . . . . . . . . .114 The Sea Horse ..... ... 115 The Lyre-Bird ..... ... 116 The Ostrich . . . . . . . .118 The Condor . . . . . . . . .119 The Vulture ........ .120 The Solitaire . . . . . . . '. .121 The Bittern ......... 122 The Heron 123 The Roseate Spoonbill ....... 124 The Stork 125 The Crane ......... 126 The Crested Grebe . . . . . . . .127 The Cormorant ........ 128 The Bird of Paradise 129 The Falcon ......... 130 The Tailor-Bird . . . . . . . . .131 The Wheatear . . . . . . . .132 The American Bluejay . . . . . . . .133 The Skylark ......... 133 The Belted Kingfisher . . . . . . . .134 The Starling ......... 134 TheTitlark 135 Butterflies 136 LIST OF ILL^^'^-.A PAGE jNest of the Common Humble Bee . . . . . .138 A Spider's Web 141 The Water Spider . . . . . . . .142 Chinese Ladies ........ 144 A Chinese Bride ......... 145 A Chinese Baby in its Winter Cradle ..... 146 Beating on a Temple Drum ....... 147 A Chinese Mode of Punishment ...... 149 A Chinese Pavilion ........ 150 Porcelain Tower ........ 151 Japanese Bride and Attendants ...... 152 A Japanese Family ........ 153 A Japanese Bed ......... 154 A Japanese Temple ........ 155 The Hindoo . . . . . . . . .156 A Brahmin Expounding the Veda ...... 157 The Bheels . . . . . . . . .158 The Mahrattas of India ....... 159 A Native Musician of India ....... 160 Natives of Banjara, India ....... 161 Women of the Himalayas ....... 162 Suttee Worship, India . . . . . 163 Zebu Carriage, India ........ 164 Mode of Fishing in India . . . . . . ' . 164 Senegambia Fulahs ........ 165 The Sourigo, Natives of West Africa ..... 166 Chiefs Wife Traveling, Central Africa . . . . .167 Saluting a Superior ........ 168 Bakalahari Women Filling Water Skins . . . . .169 A Family of Bedouins ....... 170 Arab Dress ......... 171 An Arab Tent . . . . . . . .172 Interior of a Turkish House ....... 173 Life in Constantinople ....... 174 Mexican Women ......... 176 Dancing Girls of Mexico ....... 177 Natives of South America ....... 178 Fruit Dealer of Rio de Janeiro ...... 179 House on the Coast of Ecuador, South America .... 180 A Piute Lode ..... 181 Some Piute Beaux ........ 182 An Egyptian Woman Churning . . 183 An Egyptian Well . . .184 Approaching the King in Siam . ... 185 Eating Rice in Siam . . 185 The Abyssinians . . ... The Herdsman of the Alps . 187 An Icelandic Lady . Mountain Traveling in Spain . . 189 A Dinner in Palestine . 190 The Greek . . .... 191 Marriage Ceremony in Borneo . .... 192 x LIST OP ILLUSTRATIONS. PAOE Niagara Falls from Below . . . . . . .205 The Horseshoe Fall, Niagara ...... 206 Rapids of the St. Lawrence ....... 207 Franoonia Notch, White Mountains ..... 208 Watkins Glen . . . . . . . . .209 Fawn's Leap, Catekill Mountains ...... 210 Trenton Falls, New York . . . . . . .211 The Bartholdi Statue ....... 212 The Palisades of the Hudson River ...... 213 The Allegheny River ....... 214 Natural Bridge, Virginia ....... 215 Gothic Chapel, Mammoth Cave, Kentucky .... 216 Silver Springs, Florida . . . . . .-..'. . 217 Silver Cascade, St. Anthony's Falls ..... 218 Grand Canon of the Colorado ....... 219 Great Falls of the Missouri River, Montana .... 220 Great Springs, Yellowstone Pa-rk ...... 221 Liberty Cap, Yellowstone Park ...... 222 Great Geyser, Yellowstone Park ...... 223 Bridal Veil Fall, Yosemite Valley 224 Summit of the Sierras ........ 225 Cape Horn in the Sierras . . . . . . . 226 In Arctic Seas . . . . . . . . .227 Loch Katrine . . . . . . . .228 Edinburgh Castle . . . . . . . .229 Melrose Abbey ..... , . . 230 Alpine Peaks . . . . . . . . .231 Garden of the Tuileries, Paris ...... 232 Champa Elysees, Paris ........ 233 Vesuvius in Eruption ....... 234 Venice . . . . . . . . ' . 235 Compositor at Work ........ 237 Composing Room ........ 238 Press Room ......... 239 Stereotyping ......... 240 Sewing Books . . . . . . . . 241 Wood Engraving . . . . . . . . .242 Copper-plate Printing ....... 243 Paper-Making Machine . . . . . . . .248 The Silk- Worm 250 Calico Printing ......... 252 Puddling Iron ........ 254 Melting Steel 255 Glass Manufacture Annealing Furnace ..... 257 Watch-Making The Work Room . . . . . .260 " " Firing the Dials 261 Piano-Making The Case Room . . . . . .262 " " The Polishing Room 263 The Manufacture of Soap . . . . . . .264 A Tan-Yard 265 Maple Sugar Gathering the Sap ...... 267 Manufacture of Turpentine, Resin and Tar. Fig. 1 . . .269 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. xl PAGE Manufacture of Turpentine, Resin and Tar. Fig. 2 . . .270 " " " " " " - Fig. 3 . . .271 " " " " " " Fig. 4 . . .272 tt u tt < _pig. 5 . .273 _ Figi 6 . p 274 Nail Forge 277 Manufacture of Needles Drilling the Eyes . . . . .279 Tea Plant, Flower and Leaf ...... 292 A Tea Farm 293 A Coffee Plantation 294 The Cacao 295 The Cotton Plant 297 Picking Cotton . . . . . . . . .298 Flax . ... ....... 300 Hemp . . . . . . . . . .301 Gathering Sugar Cane ....... 303 Tobacco .......... 305 The India Rubber Tree . . ... . .306 Gutta Percha . 307 The Castor Oil Plant ........ 309 The Camphor Tree ..... . 310 Peppermint . . . . . . . ... 311 Wine Growing . . . . . . . . .312 The Nutmeg ......... 314 Tho Clove Tree 315 Cinnamon ......... 316 Allspice .......... 317 The Almond ......... 317 The Cocoanut Tree . . . . . . . .318 'The Pineapple ........ 319 The Banana Tree . . . . . . . .320 The Date 321 The Fig . . . 322 The Orange ......... 323 The Lemon . . . . ... . . .323 Olives .......... 324 The Jak Tree . . . . . . . . .326 Twining Hyacinth of California ...... 327 The Big Trees of California . . . . . . .328 The Ivory Plant ........ 330 The Betel-Nut Tree . . . . . . . .331 The Talipat Palm Tree ....... 333 The Bamboo . . . . . . . . .335 The Star Fish Cactus ....... 336 A Peruvian Forest ........ 337 The Banyan Tree ..... 341 George Stephenson's First Locomotive ..... 345 A Modern Printing Press ....... 349 Shuttle of the Wheeler and Wilson Sewing Machine . . .353 The Spinning Jenny ........ 356 The Type Writer - 338 A Silver Mine .,,.%,, 866 xu LIST Of ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE Diamond Mining in Africa ....... 368 Coal Miners at Work ....... 370 Coal Cars 371 Interior of a Shaft ........ 372 Entrance to the Mine ........ 374 Passage to the Mine ........ 375 The Illuminated Lake . . . . . . . .876 Tropical Anemone ........ 382 Fringed Anemone . . . . . . . 383 The Diver . . . . . ... . .385 Sheila of the Indian Ocean ....... 387 A Living Sponge ........ 390 A Sea Aater Attached to a Crab . . . . . . 392 A Singular Star Fish . . . . . .394 Herschel's Theory of Sun Spots ...... 401 Wind Cloud 433 The Simoon ......... 43-.' Waterspouts ......... 434 Eain Cloud . . . . . . . . .436 Snow Cloud ......... 437 Snow Crystals . . . . . . . . . 438 BIOGRAPHY. George Washington. George Washington was born in Westmorc, land County, Virginia, February 22, 1732, and was the son of Augustine Washington, who died in 1744. His early life was spent chiefly with hi brother at Mount Ver- nou, and with Lord Fairfax, who owned great estates in the Vir- ginia valley; and in 1748 ho engaged to survey these wild territories for a doubloon a day, camping out for mouths in the forest, in peril from Indians and squat- ters. At the age of 19, at the beginning of the Seven Years' War, he was appointed Adjutant of the provincial troope, with the rank of Major; in 1751, he made his only sea voyage a trip to Barbadoes with his brother Lawrence, who died soon after, and left George heir to his es- tates at Mount Vernon. At 22 (1754), he com- manded a regiment against the French, who had established them- selves at Fort Duquesne (now Pittsburgh), and held Fort Necessity against superior num- bers, until compelled to capitulate. The year following, when two regiments of regulars were led against Fort Duquesne by General Braddock, Wash- ington volunteered; and at the disastrous ambuscade of July 9, 1755, he was the only aide not killed or wounded. He had four bullets through his coat, and two horses were skot under him. In 1759, he married Mrs. Martha Custis, a wealthy widow. He was, like nearly all Americans of property at that period, a slaveholder, and possessed at his death 124 slaves, whom he directed, in his will, to be emancipated at the death of his wife (who sur- GEOBGE WASHINGTON. 14 CYCLOPAEDIA OF USEFUL KNOWLEDGE. vived him but three years), so that the negroes of the two estates, who had intermarried, might not be separated. He was for some years a member of the Virginia Assembly; and in 1774, he was ready to fight for the constitu- tional rights of the colonists. The news of the battle of Lexington (April 19, 1775) called the country to arms; and Washington, then a member of the Continental Congress, was elected Commander-in-Chief by that body. -He hastened to the camp at Cambridge; compelled the evacuation of Boston; was driven from New York; compelled to retreat across New Jersey; often defeated, and reduced to the most desperate straits, by disaffection, lack of men and supplies, and even cabals against his authority; but by hia calm courage, prudence, firmness and perseverance, he brought the war, with the aid of powerful allies, to a successful termination; and (December 23, 1783), the independence of the thirteen colonies achieved, ho retired from the army to Mount Vernon. He refused pay, but kept a minute account of his personal expenses, which were reimbursed by Congress. The Federa- tion of States having failed to give an efficient government, Washington pro- posed conventions for commercial purposes, which led to the convention of 1787, of which he was a member, which formed the present Federal consti- tution, considered by him as the only alternative to anarchy and civil war. Under this constitution he was chosen President, and inaugurated at New York, April 30, 1789. He served two terms, and died December 14, 1799. John Milton. This English poet was born in London, December 9, 1608. His father was of an ancient Catholic family, but was disinherited on becoming a Protestant. By occupation he was a scrivener, and a person of great musical accomplishments, being the composer, among other things, of two well-known psalm tunes " Norfolk " and " York." From him the son derived his matchless ear and that strict integrity of character for which he was famous. Milton was carefully nurtured and educated, graduating in 1632 from Christ College, Cambridge, with the degree of A. M. He married Mary Powell, the daughter of an Oxfordshire royalist, by whom he had three daughters, Ann, Mary, and Deborah. The union was an unhappy one and a separation followed. The wife was fond of gay society, while the husband was of an austere, philosophic mind, and two such natures coming together the inevitable clashing at once ensued. A genuine and permanent recon- ciliation took place after a lapse of time, however. Death calling his first wife home, the poet married a second, but she lived only about two years, dying in childbirth. Unceasing study affected Milton's eyesight and he be- came totally blind, but this did not hinder his marrying a third time. " Par- adise Lost," his greatest poem, was sold for 5, with the promise of another like amount from the publisher when sales had reached 1,300 copies. He died Sunday, November 8, 1674, and was buried in the chancel of St. Giles, Cripplegate, by his father's side. He left some 1,500 in property. Milton was stately and grand above all English poets. In one of his prose tracts he did not scruple to say that he proposed to write a poem which would be one of the glories of the century. His pledge was at last redeemed in old age, blindness and neglect. Napoleon Bonaparte. The celebrated warrior and Emperor of the French, Napoleon Bonaparte, was born at Ajaccio, in the island of Corsica, August 15, 1769. At the age of ten he entered the military school of Bri- enne, as a lung's pensioner. In 1785 he obtained his commission as Sub- I4euteuant in. the artillery regiment de ?a Fere, When th,o Revolution broke BIOGRAPHY. 15 ont Napoleon took the popular side, but in a quiet and undemonstrative way. In December, 1793, lie was sent by the convention to assist in the re- duction of Toulon, with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel of artillery. In the following February he was raised to the rank of Brigadier-General. In 1795 the convention was in great peril, on account of the mutinous spirit of the arrondissemcnts of the capital, and Napoleon was made commander of the troops provided for its defence. On the 4th of October, 1795, the national guard, 30,000 strong, attempted to force its way into the Tuileries, where the convention was sitting, but was routed and dispersed by a terrible cannonade di- rected by the young artil- lery officer. Napoleon was immediately appointed to the command of the army of the interior. About this time he made the acquaint- ance of Josephine Beauhar- nais. Captivated by her elegant manners and amia- ble disposition, he proposed marriage to the graceful widow, and was accepted. The ceremony took place March 9, 1796. A few days before he had been appoint- ed to the supreme command of the army of Italy, and he was forced to leave his bride almost at the altar. His fa- mous campaigns against the Austrians for the conquest of Upper Italy, his invasion of Egypt, his phenomenal successes in the field, often against apparently insur- mountable obstacles, are matters of history which volumes would be required to describe. He over- threw the Directory in Paris and became ruler of France, being crowned Emperor in 1804, and in the same year was made Bang of Italy. He fought successfully against the allied forces of Russia and Austria at Austerlitz, an- nihilated the power of Prussia and captured Berlin, defeated Spain and seized the city of Madrid. His wife Josephine having borne him no chil- dren, being ambitious to perpetuate his power in his family, he proceeded to divorce her, and married Maria Louisa, Archduchess of Austria. Such is the outline of the history of the wonderful conquests of Napoleon, but soon disasters fell thick and fast. He invaded Russia with an army of half a million men. The Russians retreated, deliberately wasting the country and carrying off the supplies, but avoiding all engagements, the design being to surround Napoleon in the heart of the country, and, by the help of famine and the rigors of a northern winter, annihilate him. When he reached Mos- cow the city was deserted by its inhabitants, and a fire broke out which raged for three days and left the city a heap of ruins, When he began hi NAPOLEON BONAPAKTE. 1(3 CYCLOPEDIA OF USEFUL KNOWLEDGE. retreat his army was reduced to 120,000, and when ho at last escaped from Russia ho had not more than 25,000. Afterward, in his conflict with tho allied powers of Prussia, Austria, and Russia, at Leipzig, and with tho En- glish and Prussians at Waterloo, ho was completely annihilated, and lost his crown and liberty. Ho died an exile on the island of St. Helena, May 5, 1821. William Shakespeare. This famous man, who has been called " the chief literary glory of England," was born at Stratford-on-Avon, April 23, 1564. His father, John Shake- speare, was a yeoman, but his mother, Mary Arden, came of a good old Warwickshire fam- ily. William was the third child of a family of four sous and four daughters, and at tho free grammar school of Strat- ford received his entire educa- tion. Misfortune overtook the father when the son was four- teen years of ago, and in con- sequence William was with- drawn from school and set to work to earn his own liveli- hood. In what manner he was employed is unknown, but it is probable that he lived miscel- laneoiisly as ho could. At the age of nineteen ho was married to Anne Hathaway, of Shottery. Four children were born to them, two daughters and one son, the last mentioned dying in his twelfth year. Shake- speare went to London in 1586, and became identified in an humble capacity with the Blackfriars Theatre, and very speedily we find him a man of some importance, at onco dramatist, actor, and shareholder in the institution. As an actor he seems at no time to have shone especially, being rather respectable than eminent. As dramatist, his magnificent pow- ers were at once recognized, and in no long time had won for him the very foremost rank among tho writers for the stage of his time. Ho was a man of shrewd business ability, and his material prosperity kept pace with his po- etical reputation. In addition to being a considerable shareholder in tho Blackfriars Theatre he became part proprietor of the Globe, subsequently erected. To both he contributed dramas, and from his gains in the triple capacity of actor, author, and shareholder, ho rapidly amassed a fortune. He purchased largely of landed property in his native town of Stratford, and in 1613 left London and established himself at the former place, where he occupied the closing days of his life in agricultural pursuits, but still con- tinued to write for the stage. His death took place on his 53d birthday, April 23, 1616. The only works of Shakespeare certainly published under his own hand were the two poems " Venus and Adonis " and the " Rape of liucrece," which appeared in 15931594 respectively. As was naturally to be WILLIAM SHAKESPEABE. 17 looked for in the case of pieces on the stage so popular, certain of his dramas found their way from time to time into print, but no authoritative edition of any of them was issued during his lifetime. The first collected edition of his dramas was issued in 1623, by Heminge and Condell, his friends and co- proprietors in the Blackfriars and Globe theatres. A second edition fol- lowed in 1632; a third in 1664; and a fourth in 1685. In 1709, appeared the edition of Howe, with a prefatory sketch of the poet's life. Of the " Shake- spearean literature " which followed, and the various re-issues of the dramas, with such masses of critical commentary and emenda- tion as no other writer has ever perhaps been made the subject of, it would be hope- less to attempt an account. Lord Byron. George Gordon, Lord Byron, was born in Holies Street, Lon- , don, on the 22d of January, 1788. He was the only son of Captain John Byron, of the Guards, and Catherine Gordon, of Gight, an heir- ess in Aberdeenshire. Cap- tain Byron and his wife did not live happily. The hus- band's habits were profligate in the highest degree, and the wife's fortune was soon squandered. Separated from her husband, the lady retired to the city of Aber- deen with her little lame boy, whom she passionately loved, her sole income at this time being about 130 per annum. In his llth year, Byron succeeded his grand uncle, William Lord Byron; and mother and son immediately left the north for Newstead Abbey, the ancient seat of the family. On succeeding to the title, Byron was placed in a private school at Dulwich, and thereafter sent to Harrow. In 1805, he removed to Trinity College, Cambridge; and two years thereafter his first volume of verse, en- titled " Hours of Idleness," was printed at Newark. The poems therein contained were not absolutely without merit, but they might have been written by any well-educated lad, who, in addition to ordinary ability, pos- sessed the slightest touch of poetic sensibility. The volume was fiercely assailed by Lord (then Mr.) Brougham, in the Edinburgh Review, and his sarcasms stung Byron into a poet. The satire, " English Bards and Scotch Reviewers," was written in reply to the article in the Edinburgh, and the town was taken by a play of wit and a mastery of versification unequalled since the days of Pope. In 1812, he published the first two cantos of " Childe Harold," with immense success, and was at once enrolled among the great poeta of his country. During the next two years, he produced " Th LORD BYEON. 18 CYCLOPAEDIA OF USEFUL KNOWLEDGE. Giaour," "The Bride of Abydos," "The Corsair," and "Lara." He mar- ried Miss Milbanke, daughter of Sir Ralph Milbanke, a baronet in the County of Durham. This xinion proved singularly infelicitous. It lasted only a year, and during that brief period, money embarrassments, recriminations, and all the miseries incident to an ill-assorted marriage, were of frequent occurrence. After the birth of her child Ada, Lady Byron retired to her father's house, and refused to return. At Geneva, Byron produced the third canto of'Childo Harold" and "The Prisoner of Chillon." "Man- fred " and " The Lament of Tasso " were written in 1817. The next year, ho was at Venice, and finished " Childe Harold " there; and, in the gay and witty " Beppo," made an experiment in the new field which he was afterwards to work so successfully. During the next three years, he pro- duced the first five cantos of " Don Juan," and a number of dramas of various merit, " Cain " and " Werner" being opposite poles In 1822, he removed to Pisa, and worked there at "Don Juan," which poem, with the exception of " The Vision of Judgment," occupied his pen almost up to the close of his life. He died at Missolonghi, in Greece, April 19, 1824. His body was conveyed to England; and, denied a resting-place in West- minster Abbey, it rests in the family vault in the village church of Hucknall, near New- stead. William Fenn. The celebrated English Quaker WILLIAM PENN. an ^ philanthropist and found- er of the colony of Pennsylva- nia, William Penn, was the son of Sir William Penn, an eminent English admiral, and was born at London, October 14, 1644. He studied at Christ Church, Oxford, and while here was converted to Quakerism by Thomas Loe. His enthusiasm for his new faith was very great, and for non-confor- mity with the customs and services of the Church of England he was beaten and turned out of doors by his father, and, on one occasion, imprisoned in the Tower of London, and at another time in Newgate. His famous works, " No Cross, No Crown," "Innocency with her Open Face," and " The Great Cause of Liberty of Conscience " were written while in prison. In Septem- ber, 1670, Admiral Peun died, leaving his son an estate of 1,500 a year, to- gether with claims against the government for 16,000. He married, in the beginning of 1672, Gulielma Maria Springett, daughter of Sir William Sprin- gett, and for some years thereafter continued to propagate, by preaching and writing, the doctrines of his sect. Circumstances having turned his atr BIOGRAPHY. 19 tontion to the New World, he, in 1681, obtained from the nrown, in lion of his monetary claim upon it, a grant of the territory now forming the State of Pennsylvania. Penn wanted to call it Sylvauia, on account of its forests; but the king (Charles II) good-humoredly insisted on the prefix Penn. His great desire was to establish a home for his co-religionists in the distant West, where they might preach and practice their convictions in peace. Penn, with several friends, sailed for the Delaware in August, 1682, was well re- ceived by the settlers, and on the 30th of November held his famous inter- view with the Indian tribes, under a large elm tree at Shackamaxon, now Kensing- ton. He next planned and named the city of Philadelphia, and for two years governed the colony in the wisest, most benevolent and liberal manner. Not only Quakers, but perse- cuted members of other re- ligious sects, sought refuge in his new colony, where, from the first, the principle of tol- eration was established by law. Having called the colonists to- gether, he gave the infant state a constitution in twenty-four articles. Toward the end of the reign of Charles II, Penn returned to England to exert himself in favor of his perse- cuted brethren at home. His exertions in favor of the Qua- kers were so far successful, that in 1686 a proclamation was issued to release all persons imprisoned on account of their religious opinions, and more than 1,200 Quakers were set free. In 1693, his wile died, but in less than two years ho married again. His second wife, Hannah Callowhill, was a Bristol lady. In 1699 he paid a second visit to the New World, and found Pennsylvania in a prosperous condition. His stay, which lasted two years, was marked by many useful measures, and by efforts to ameliorate the con- dition both of the Indians and Negroes. Penn departed for England towards the end of 1701, leaving the management of his affairs to a Quaker agent named Ford, whose villainy virtually ruined Penn. When the rogue died, he left to his widow and son false claims against his master, and these were so ruthlessly pressed, that Penn allowed himself to be thrown into the Fleet in 1708, to avoid extortion. His friends afterwards procured his release, but not till his constitution was fatally impaired. Penn died at Euscombe, in Berkshire, July 30, 1718. Benj amiii Franklin. The distinguished philosopher and statesman, Benjamin Franklin, was born at Boston, Jamiary 17, 1706. His parents were poor, and had a family of seventeen children, he being the fifteenth. Josiah BENJAMIN FKANKLTN. 20 CYCLOPEDIA OF USEFUL KNOWLEDGE. Franklin, his father, had loft England in 1685, and settled in America, where he followed the business of soap-boiler and tallow chandler. At the age of eight, Franklin was sent to school, where he displayed groat aptitude for learning. At twelve, he was apprenticed to his step-brother James, who had set up a printing shop in the place, and ho soon acquired considerable proficiency at that trade. He was passionately fond of reading, and all the time he could spare he devoted to the perusal of such books as he could lay his hands on. His brother treated him unkindly, and he secretly left home and journeyed to New York, and thence to Philadelphia, where he procured employ- ment in a printing office. Ho led a somewhat wandering life and endured many hard- ships, until in 172G, with the assistance of friends, he start- ed in business for himself in Philadelphia. He became edi- tor and proprietor of the Ga- zeUe, and published the fa- mous " Poor Eichard's Alma- nac." In 1730 he married a Miss Bead. He founded the first association for extinguish- ing fires and the first com- pany for insurance against fire, and through his instru- mentality was established the first public library in Phila- delphia. Among the public offices to which ho was ap- pointed were those of clerk to the General Assembly of Penn- sylvania in 1736; postmaster of Philadelphia in 1737; repre- sentative of Philadelphia in the Assembly in 1747. In 1753, he was appointed Deputy Postmaster-General for the British colonies. In 1757, he was sent to England to settle some matters for the Assembly, and so ably did he perform his task, that Massachusetts, Maryland, and Georgia severally appointed him their English agent. In 1752 he discovered the identity of electricity with lightning, and turned his discovery to account by publishing a plan for defending houses from lightning by the use of pointed conductors. Ho likewise "made important discoveries with regard to the laws that regulate the electric fluid, a subject hitherto very imper- fectly understood. His renown was spread over the whole civilized world, and honors were heaped upon him by the various learned societies of Eu- rope. Ho was elected a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1775, and from that time exerted himself to the utmost to obtain a Declaration of the Independence of the thirteen American States. This Declaration was pro- nounced by Congress on the 4th of July, 1776, and Franklin was appointed United States Minister at the Court of France, where he succeeded in induc- ing the French government to form an offensive and defensive alliance with. PATRICK HENKT. the States. On the 20th of January, 1782, Franklin had the supreme satis- faction of signing at Paris, with the English commissioners, the treaty of peace by which the independence of the American colonies was assured. Returning to America in 1785, he was successively chosen member and presi- dent of the supreme executive council for the city of Philadelphia, and in 1787 delegate for Pennsylvania to the convention for the revision and emen- dation of the Articles of Union. In 1788, he retired from public life, and died April 17, 1790, at the ad- vanced age of 84. Patrick Henry This eminent American orator was born in Hanover County, Vir- ginia, in 1736. His father was a native of Scotland, and a nephew of Robertson, the cele- brated his torian. In early life, Henry seemed too indolent to apply himself to any regular occupation. Ho managed, how- ever, to pick up much general information, and seemed to possess byintuition a profound knowledge of human nature in its various phases. Having failed successively in " store- keeping " and in farming, he was at length induced to try the profession of law. For a few years this seemed to prom- ise no better success than his former occupations had done, but having been employed in 1755 to plead the cause of the people against an unpopular = "JOHN ADAMS. tax, his peculiar talent seemed suddenly to develop itself; his eloquence, untaught except by the inspira- tion of native genius, thrilled the audience, and held it in rapt attention more than two hours. From that moment to the present day he has been universally regarded as the greatest of American orators. He was a zealous patriot in the war of the Revolution, and was one of the most prominent and influential members of the Virginia Legislature, when that State was delib- erating whether or not to join Massachusetts in forcibly resisting the arbi- trary policy of the home government. Henry was a delegate to the first general Congress, which met at Philadelphia, in September, 1774, and his voice was the first to break the silence of that assembly. His eloquence on that occasion is said to have astonished all his hearers. In 1776, he was elected Governor of Virginia, and was afterwards twice re-elected. In 1795, Washington appointed him Secretary of State. He died in 1799. John Adams. The second President of the United States was born at Braintree, in Massachusetts, on the 19th of October, 1735. His parents were descended from a Puritan family which had emigrated from England to Mas- 22 CYCLOPEDIA OF USEFUL KNOWLEDGE. sachnsetts in 1640. Before the Revolution Adams had distinguished himself as a jurist, and wrote in the liostou Journal on "Canon Law and Feudal Law " (1705). He was sent by Massachusetts to the Congress which com- menced its sittings in Philadelphia in 1774. With Lee and Jefferson ho boldly argued for a separation from the mother-country; and Lee's propo- sition of a Declaration of Independence was carried on the 4th of July, 177G. Adams and Jefferson had been appointed to draw up the Declaration of In- dependence, but it appears that Jefferson was the sole author of it. In suc- ceeding years, Adams was employed on many important negotiations with European powers; among others, he as- sisted Franklin, Jay, Jefferson and Laurens, hi 1782, in set- tling the conditions of peace with England. In 1785 he went to London as the first ambassador from the Union. George III expressed his pleasure in receiving an am- bassador who had no preju- dices in favor of the French, the natural enemy of the En- glish crown, and Adams re- plied: " I have no proj ndices but in favor of my native land." He published in Lon- don his " Defence of the Con- stitutions of Government of the United States " (3 vols. 1787) . On his return to Amer- ica, in the same year, he was elected as Vice-President of the United States, and on the retirement of Washington (in 1797, became President. In 1801, -when his term of four years of office had expired, his adversary Jeffer- son was elected by a majority of one vote. Adams now retired to his estate at Quincy, near Boston, where he occupied himself with agricultural pur- suits. After this retirement, he received many proofs of respect and confi- dence from his countrymen. When 85 years old, we find him still in hia place as member of the convention appointed (1820) to revise the Constitu- tion of Massachusetts. He died on the 4th of July, 1826, on the fiftieth anni- versary of the day when he had proclaimed in Congress the independence of the United States. Thomas Jefferson. The third President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson, was the son of a planter, and was born at Shadwell, Albemarlo County, Virginia, April 2, 1743. Ho studied at William and Mary's College, Williamsburg; and after leaving college, was engaged for some years in the practice of law. In 1769, he was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses, where he joined zealously with the revolutionary party. In 1773, as a Mem- ber of the Assembly, he took a prominent part in the measures which re- THOMAS JEFFEBSON. suited in the calling of the Continental Congress, to wliich he was sent as a delegate, where he drew up the celebrated Declaration of Independence. During the war in defence of this Declaration, he was Governor of Virginia, and in 1784 was sent Minister to France, where his manners, accomplish- ments, and more solid qualities did much to secure to America the powerful alliance that insured her success. Returning in 1789, he was appointed, by Washington, Secretary of State, a post due to his abilities, hia influence, and his distinguished services. The Federal constitution had been adopted, and the two parties which soon di- vided the country began to de- velop themselves. Washing- ton, John Adams, Jay, and Hamilton were in favor of a strong centralized govern- ment; Jefferson led the party in favor of States' rights, and a Federal Government of re- stricted and carefully denned powers. The first party took the name of Federalists; the latter wer first called Anti- Federalists, then Republicans, and finally adopted the title first given them, as a reproach, of Democrats. When Wash- ington retired, after eight years of office as President, a new election took place, the two highest candidates, as leaders of the opposing parties, were ?S John Adams and Jefferson. Adams, having the largest vote, was declared President, while Jefferson, having the next highest number, became the Vice-President, 1797. The strife of these parties culmi- nated in 1800, when Jefferson and Aaron Burr were elected President and Yice-President, against John Adams, the Federal candidate. On entering upon the Presidency, he reduced the government to a republican simplicity, made few removals, and resolutely refused to appoint any of his own rela- tives to office. The most important act of his administration was the pur- chase of Louisiana from France. At the end of eight years, he retired to hia residence at Monticello. His death was very remarkable; it occurred on the 4th of July, 1826, while the nation was celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, which he had written. On the same day, and almost at the same hour, John Adams, the second President, who had signed with him the Declaration, died in New England. Alexander Hamilton. This celebrated American statesman was born in January, 175fc in the West Indian island of Nevis, and was the son of a Scotch merchant who had married a young French widow. His father soon failed in business, and Alexander, at the age of twelve, had to enter the ALEXANDER HAMILTON. 24 CYCLOPEDIA Of VSBFVL KNOWLEDGE. souuting-house of a rich American merchant, named Crugcr. His extra- ordinary abilities, however, induced some of his friends to procure for him a better education than could be got at home. He was accordingly sent to a grammar-school at Elizabeth town, New Jersey; and shortly afterwards en- tered Columbia College, New York. On the first appearance of disagree- ment between Great Britain and her colonies, Hamilton, still a schoolboy, and barely eighteen, wrote a series of papers in defence of the rights of the latter, which were at first taken for the production of the eminent statesman Jay, and which secured for the writer the notice and consid- eration of the popular leaders. On the outbreak of the war, he obtained a commission as Cap- tain of Artillery, gained the confidence of Washington, was made his aide-de-camp in 1777, and acquired the greatest in- fluence with him as his friend and adviser. In 1780, he mar- ried a daughter of General Schuyler, who was a member of a very old family. On the termination of the war, he left the service with the rank of Colonel, and betaking himself to legal studies, soon became one of the most eminent law- yers in New York. In 1782, he was elected by the State of New York a Bepresentative at the Continental Congress; in 1786, he became a member of the New York Legislature; and in 1787, he was appointed one of the delegates to the con- vention which met at Phila- delphia, for the purpose of re- vising the Articles of Confederation. In conjunction with Madison, he had the most important share in drawing up the Constitution afterward adopted. He was a strong supporter of the Federal, as opposed to the Democratic party; and, with Jay and Madison, defended the Constitution against all at- tacks, by a series of letters in the Daily Advertiser, of New York, afterwards collected and published under the title of " The Federalist. " On the estab- lishment of the new government in 1789, with Washington as President, Ham- ilton was appointed Secretary of the Treasury. In 1795, he resigned his office, and resumed the practice of law in New York. When the war with France broke out in 1798, he was, according to the wish of Washington, made Major-General of the United States Army; and, on the death of Wash- ington, he succeeded to the chief command. When peace was restored, ho returned to hia civil duties, but became involved in a political quarrel with Aaron Burr. This difference unhappily culminated hi a duel, in which Hamilton received a wound, of which he died the following day (July 12, JOHN JACOB ASTOB. '25 John Jacob Astor. This enterprising merchant, founder of the American Fur Company, was born in a village near Heidelberg, in Germany, 1763. After spending some years in London, he sailed to America in 1783, and boon invested his small capital in furs. By economy and industry, he so increased his means that after six years he had acquired a fortune of $200,000. Although the increasing influence of the English fur companies in North America was unfavorable to his plans, he now ventured to fit out two expeditions to the Oregon territory one by land and one by sea the purpose of which was to open up a regular commercial inter- est with the natives. After many mishaps, his object was achieved in 1811, and the furtrading station of Astoria was established; but the war of 1812 stopped its prosperity for a time. From this period As- tor's commercial connections extended over the entire globe, and his ships were found in every sea. He died in 1848, leaving property amounting to $30,000,000. He left a legacy of $350,000 for the establish- ment of a public library in New York. His wealth was mainly inherited by his son, William, who continued to aug- ment it till his death in 1875, when he is said to have left $50,000,000. He added $200,- 000 to his father's bequest for a public library. He was known T as the " landlord of New York " from the extent of his property in that city. Robert Pulton The celebrated American engineer, Robert Fulton, was born at Little Britain, Pennsylvania. His parents be- longed to Ireland, whence they emigrated to America; and being in poor cir- cumstances, all the education young Fulton acquired was the ability to read and write. When he was old enough, his mother apprenticed him to a jew- eler in Philadelphia. In addition to his labors at this trade, he devoted himself to painting; and the sale of his portraits and landscapes enabled him, in the space of four years, to purchase a small farm, on which he placed his mother, his father being dead. At the age of twenty-two, he pro- ceeded to London, where he studied painting under West; but after several years spent thus, he abandoned painting, and applied himself wholly to mechanics. In 1794, he obtained from the British government a patent for an inclined plane, the object of which was to set aside the use of locks; and in the same year, he invented a mill for sawing and polishing marble. His next invention was a machine for spinning flax, followed by one for making ropes, He was received as a civil engineer in 1795; and wrote a work en KOBEET FULTON. 26 CYCLOPEDIA OF USEFUL KNOWLEDGE. canals, in which he developed his system. Accepting an invitation from the United States Minister at Paris, ho proceeded to that city in 1796, and re- mained there for seven years, devoting himself to now projects and inven- tions. Amongst his inventions here was the itautiltis or submarine boat, in- tended to be used in naval warfare, which he in vain sought the French government to accept; nor was ho more successful with the British govern- ment, which he next tried, though commissions were appointed in both cases to test the value of his invention. Having failed in this matter, he next turned his attention to the application of steam to navigation. In 1803, he con- structed a small steamboat, and his experiments with it on the Seme were attended with great success. He returned in 1806 to New York, and pur- sued his experiments there. He perfected his Torpedo sys- tem, which was afterwards em- ployed effectively in the war between Britain and America. In 1807, he launched a steam- vessel upon the Hudson, which made a successful start, fn the presence of thousands of as- tonished spectators. From this period, steamers (for the con- struction of which Fulton re- ceived a patent from the Leg- islature) came into pretty gen- eral use upon the rivers of the United States. Although Ful- ton was not the first to apply ANDBEW JACKSON. ^^ fo uayigatioll) &s & steam vessel had been tried upon the Forth and Clyde Canal as early as 1789, yet be was the first to apply it with any degree of success. He died in 1815. Andrew Jackson. This famous General and seventh President of the United States was born at Waxaw settlement, South Carolina, March 15, 1767. His father, who was a Scotchman by birth, emigrated to America in 1765, and soon afterwards died, leaving to his widow a half-cleared farm in a new settlement, with no negroes to assist in its cultivation. When Jackson grew up, he was sent to study for the church, but on the breaking out of the American Revolution, he and his brothers were summoned to the field, and the elder lost his life at Stono Ferry. Andrew, though but thirteen years old, fought with his remaining brother under Sumter, and remained with the army until the end of the war. In 1784 he commenced the study of law, and in 1787 was appointed solicitor for the western district of South Caro- lina, now the State of Tennessee. This frontier settlement had for its neigh- bors several powerful tribes of Indians, against whom Jackson fought with euch success as to get from them the complimentary titles of " Share) Knife " 27 and "Pointed Arrow." In 179G, ho was a member of the convention which modeled the Constitution and organized the State of Tennessee, and was elected to the Legislature as Representative, and then as Senator, and ap- pointed Judge of the Supreme Court (an office he soon resigned), and Major- General of the State Militia. In 1813, at an outbreak of hostilities with the Creek Indians, he raised a volunteer force of two or three thousand men, and defeated them. When destitute of supplies, he is said to have set an example of endurance by feeding on hickory-nuts, and hence, according to some, to have acquired the popular sobriquet of " Old Hickory." Jackson's final vic- tory (March 27, 1814) at the Horseshoe peninsula, in the Tallahoosa, completely broke the power of the Indian race in North America. In conse- quence of his skill and energy in Indian warfare, he was ap- pointed a Major-General of the Army of the United States; and in the contemporaneous war with England had command of the forces which captured Pensacola, and defended New Orleans against the attack of the British under General Packenham, December, 1814. After Spain had ceded Florida to the United States, he was made Governor of the territory and subsequently was chosen United States Senator from Tennessee. In 1824, he re- ceived the highest vote of four ^ candidates for the Presidency of the United States, but by HEN T KY CLAY. the influence of Mr. Clay, John Quincy Adams was elected by the House of Representatives. He was, how- ever, in spite of bitter and violent opposition, elected by the Democratic party in 1828, and in 1832 re-elected by a still more overwhelming majority. His administration was marked by singular firmness. He vetoed important measures against large majorities, and, after a long struggle, destroyed the Bank of the United States, and took the first steps towards a specie currency and independent treasury. He died at his farm of the Hermitage, near Nashville, June 8, 1845. Henry Clay. The famous American statesman, Henry Clay, was born April 12, 1777, in Hanover County, Virginia. He early devoted himself to the law, and fixing his residence at Lexington, Kentucky, soon obtained a lucrative practice and political influence enough to be elected to the State Legislature. In 180G ho was elected to Congress, and again in 1809 he was chosen Senator for a term of two years. In 1811 he was sent to the House of Representatives, where he was immediately elected Speaker. A strong 28 CYCLOPEDIA 6f USfiPUL KNoWLEkQ K. advocs.te of nationality, he denounced the claims put forth by England as to right of search; he was a strenuous supporter of the war with that country, and in consequence was sent, in 1814, as one of the commissioners to sign the treaty of peace at Ghent, where his acuteness secured for America many advantages. On his return, he exerted all his talents in favor of the inde- pendence of South America, and labored hard to eradicate all European in- fluence from the American continent. Clay, however, is best known as the author of the famous " Missouri Compromise," restricting slavery to the States south of 30 30' n. lat.; and also for the compromise of 1850, known as Clay's " Om- nibus " measure. He died in June, 1852. He was very pop- ular during his lifetime, and was two or three times pro- posed for the Presidency, an honor, however, which he never succeeded in obtaining. Daniel Webster. The great American statesman and jurist, Daniel Webster, was born at Salisbury, New Hamp- shire, January 18, 1782, and was the second son of Eben- ezer Webster, a small farmer, and Justice of the County Court. He entered Dartmouth College in 1797, and taught school in winter to pay his ex- penses, and aid his brother, Ezekiel, who became a dis- tinguished lawyer, in fitting for college. On graduating in 1801, he commenced to study law, but was induced, by the offer of a salary of $350 a year, to become preceptor of an academy at Fryburg, Maine, paying his board by copying deeds. In 1804, he went to Boston, and entered the law office of Mr. Gore, refusing an appointment of clerk of the court of which his father was a judge, at $1,500 a year. In 1805, having been admitted to the Boston bar, he established himself at Portsmouth, New Hampshire; married in 1808; and having engaged in politics as a member of the Federalist party, was elected to Congress, where ho immediately took rank with the foremost men of the country. Hfe speech on the Berlin and Milan Decrees, and his mastery of the question of currency and finance, gave him a high position; but he determined, in 1816, to remove to Boston, where, leaving politics, he engaged for several years in legal practice of the most extensive and va- ried character. In 1822 he was elected to Congress from Boston, and was distinguished by his speeches on the Holy Alliance and the Greek Revolu- tion, and his labors in the revision of the criminal laws of the United States. In 1826, he was chosen Senator; and in 1830, he rose to the height of his for- ensic renown in a speech of two days, in the debate with Mr. Hayne, ef DAKIEL 'WEBSTER. BIOGRAPHY. 29 South Carolina, on the right of " nullification." Webster and Clay were the leaders of the opposition during the administrations of Jackson and Van Buren. In 1839, he visited England, Scotland and France; and in 1841, ac- cepted the post of Secretary of State in the Cabinet of General Harrison, and remained in that of Mr. Tyler, who, as Vice-President, succeeded on the death of the President, until 1843. In 1844, he aspired to the Presidency, but the choice of his party fell upon Mr. Clay, whom he sup- ported, butunsuccessfully. He was chosen Senator for Mas- sachusetts, and again in 1848 was disappointed of the Presi- dential nomination by the pop- ular enthusiasm for General Taylar. His senatorial efforts at thia period were directed to the preservation of the Union by the advocacy of com- promises on the slavery ques- tion, and he gave offence to the Abolitionists by defending the Fugitive Slave Law. In 1850, he became again Secre- tary of State in the Cabinet of Mr. Fillmore; and in 1852 was once more, and no doubt griev- ously, disappointed at not re- ceiving the nomination to the Presidency, which was given to General Scott. He did net live to see the defeat of his rival; but after a brief illness, died at his country residence at Marshfield, Massachusetts, October 24, 1852. George Peabody. This name deserves to be held in remembrance on account of his munificent philanthropy. He was born at Dauvers, Massachusetts, February 18, 1795. His parents were poor, and his only education was received at the district school. At the age of eleven he was placed with a grocer, and at fifteen in a haberdasher's shop in Newbury- port. When twenty-two years old, he was a partner with Elisha Riggs in Baltimore. In 1827 he first visited England, where he settled permanently ten years later. Withdrawing from the Baltimore firm in 1843, ho established himself in London as a merchant and money-broker, and accumulated a large fortune. As one of three commissioners appointed iii 1848 by the State of Maryland to obtain the restoration of its credit, he refused all payment, and received a special vote of thanks from the Legislature of that State. In 1851 he supplied the sum required to fit up' the American Department at the great exhibition. In the following year he sent a large donation, afterwards increased to $270,000, to found an Educational Institute, etc., in his native town of Danvers (which is now called Peabody). He contributed $10,000 to GEOEGE PEABODY. CYCLOPEDIA OF USEFUL KNOWLEDGE. the first Grinnell Arctic Expedition; $1,400,000 to the city of Baltimore for an Institute of Science, Literature and the Fine Arts; $8,000,000 for the promo- tion of education, endowment of libraries, etc., in the United States. From 1862 to 1868, ho gave $1,750,000 for the benefit of the London poor, and in his will he left $750,000 for the same purpose. This vast sum has been em- ployed in building dwellings for the working-classes. He died in Londo* in 1869. Edward Everett. This distinguished American was born in 1794, at Dorchester, near Boston, Massachusetts, entered Harvard College iii 1807, and took his degree in 1811. He was for some time a Uni- tarian clergyman in the town of Cambridge, and in this ca- pacity had the reputation of being one of the most eloquent and pathetic preachers in the United States. In 1815, he was elected Professor of the Greek Language and Literature in Harvard College; and to qual- ify himself more thoroughly for his work, he visited Eu- rope, where he resided for four years, and had a distin- guished circle of acquaintance including Scott, Byron, Jef- frey, Romilly, Davy, etc. M. Cousin, the French philoso- pher and translator of Plato, pronounced him " one of the best Grecians he ever knew." In 1820, Everett became editor of The North American lie- view; and in 1824, a Member of the United States Congress, sitting in the House of Repre- sentatives for ten years. In 1835, he was appointed Governor of Massachu- setts; and in 1841, Minister Plenipotentiary to the Court of St. James. Whilft in England, ho received from the universities of Oxford, Cambridge, and Dublin the degree of D. C. L. On his return to America in 1845, he was elected President of Harvard College; on the decease of Daniel Webster, he became Secretary of State; and in 1853, the Legislature of Massachusetts chose him as member of the Senate of the United States. He died in Jan- uary, 1865. Mr. Everett's principal works are: " A Defence of Christianity " (1814); "Orations and Speeches on Various Occasions from 1825 to 1836" (1836); and "Orations and Speeches on Various Occasions from 1825 to 1850." This includes all the previous orations. These " Orations," as they are called, are upon all subjects, and indicate a varied, vigorous, and flexi- ble genius. James Fenimore Cooper. The celebrated novelist, James Fenimora Cooper, was born at Burlington, New Jersey, September 15, 1789. Having EDWAHD EVERETT. BIOGRAPHY. 31 received his early education from a private tutor, he, at the age of thirteen, passed to Yale Colloge, and after three years' study there, entered the American navy as a midshipman. He remained six years at sea, gathering the experience of which he was afterwards to make such good use in his novels. On his retirement from the sea in 1811, ho married; and the next ten years of his life were spent in a quiet, domestic fashion. In 1821 ap- peared his first work, "Precaution," a novel that afforded no indication whatever of the talent he siibsequeutly exhibited. In the following year, however, he published " The Spy," a tale which at once secured for him a place in the first rank of novelists. By not a few critics he was even elevated to a higher pedestal than that which Scott occu- pied; but time sobered their judgment, while it still left him a deservedly high posi- tion as a writer of fiction. In quick succession followed " The Pioneers," " The Pilot," " The Last of the Mohicans," " The Bed Hover," and " The Prairie," with which Cooper's genius culminated; for though between this date (1827) and 1850 he wrote about twenty- six different works, none of them equalled in merit those we have mentioned. The se- cret of Cooper's success as a novelist lies in his graphic descriptive powers, and his thorough knowledge of the matters he describes, whether it be the boundless ocean or the broad prairie, together with an attentive study of character. Not a lit- tle of his popularity in America, however, must be attributed to bjs nation- ality; and in Europe a good deal of it was owing to the freshness of the scenes in which his stories were laid. About 1827, Cooper visited Europe, where he remained several years; the fruits of his sojourn, besides novels, being some ten volumes of sketches of European society. Many of his works have been translated into most modern languages, and one " The Spy "- can be read in Persian. He died at Cooperstown, in the State of New York, September 4, 1851. Washington Irving'. This distinguished American author was born in the city of New York, April 3, 1783. At the ago of sixteen he entered a law office; but ho profited largely by his father's well-stocked library, Chau- cer and Spenser being his favorite authors. New York, at this period, was a small town of about 50,000 inhabitants, mauy of whom were descendants of the original Dutch settlers, having quaint manners and customs, of which Irving was a curious observer. In 1807, he contributed a series of genial and JAMES FENTMOEE COOPEE. 82 CYCLOPEDIA OF USEFUL KNOWLEDGE. humorous essays to a periodical called Salmagundi. In 1809, ho wrote " A History of New York, from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty, by Diedrick Knickerbocker. " Having no inclination for law, he engaged in commerce with his brothers as a silent partner, but devoted his time to literature, and in 1813 edited the Analectic Magazine, in Phila- delphia. At the close of the war in 1815, he visited England. While he was enjoying his English visit, his commercial house failed, and he was suddenly reduced to poverty, and the necessity of writing for his bread. The " Sketch Book," which soon after ap- peared, was received with great favor. Irving went to Paris, and in 1822 wrote " Bracebridge Hall," and in 1824 the " Tales of a Traveler." He was then invited by Ever- ett, the American ambassador to Spain, to accompany him to Madrid to translate document* connected with the life of Co- lumbus. With these materials he wrote his "History of the Life and Voyages of Colum- bus " (1828); "Voyages of the Companions of Columbus;" " The Conquest of Granada;" "The Alhambra" (1832), a portion of which was written in the ancient palace of the Moorish kings; " Legends of the Conquest of Spain " (1835); and " Mahomet and his Suc- _ cessors" (1849). In 1829, he WASHINGTON IKYING. returned to England as Sec- retary to the American Lega- tion. In 1831, he received the honorary degree of LL. D. from the univer- sity of Oxford; and next year returned to America, where he was welcomed with great enthusiasm. A visit to the Kocky Mountains produced his " Tour on the Prairies." He also contributed sketches of Abbotsford and Newstead Abbey to the " Crayon Miscellany," and from the papers of John Jacob Astor, wrote " Astoria " (1837), and the " Adventures of Captain Bonneville;" also a series of stories and essays in the Knickerbocker Magazine, collected under the title of " Wolfert's Boost." In 1842, he was appointed Minister to Spain. In 1846 was published his "Life of Goldsmith;" and his great work, the " Life of Washington," was published in 1855 1859. He spent the last years of his life at Sunnyside, in his own "Sleepy Hollow," on the banks of tli8 Hudson, near Tarrytown, with his nieces, where he died suddenly of disease of the heart, November 28, 1859. Ho was never married. Abraham Lincoln. The sixteenth President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, was born in Kentucky, February 12, 1809. His grand- father was an emigrant from Virginia; his father, a poor farmer, who, in 1806, removed from Kentucky to Indiana. In the rude life of the back- woods, Lincoln's entire schooling did not exceed one year, and ho waa m- 83 ployed in tho severest agricultural labor. He lived with his family in Spen- cer County, Indiana, till 1830, when he removed to Illinois, where, with an- other man, he performed the feat of splitting 3,000 rails in a day, which gave him the popular sobriquet of " tho Railsplitter." In 1834, he was elected to the Illinois Legislature. At this period, ho lived by surveying land, wore patched homespun clothes, and spent his leisure hours in studying law. Ho was three times re-elected to the Legislature; was admitted to practice law in 1836; and removed to Springfield, the State capital. In 1844, he canvassed the State for Mr. Clay, then nomi- nated for President. Mr. Clay was defeated, but tho popularity gamed by.Lincoln in the canvass secured' his own election to Con- gress in 184G, where he voted against the extension of slavery; and in 1854 was a recognized leader in the newly-formed Re- publican party. In 1855, he can- vassed the State as a candidate for United States Senator, against Mr. Douglas, but without success. In 1856, ho was an active sup- porter of Mr. Fremont in the Pres- idential canvass which resulted in the election of Mr. Buchanan. In 1860, he was nominated for the Presidency by the Chicago Con- vention. The non-extension of slavery to the Territories or new | States to be formed from them, 1 was tho most important principle of his party. There were three other candidates, but Mr. Lincoln received a majority of votes over any of the other candidates. He ABBAHAM LINCOLN. was inaugurated March 4, 1861. His election by a sectional vote and on a sectional issue hostile to the Soiith, was followed by the secession of eleven Southern States, and a war for the restoration of the union. As a military measure, he proclaimed, January 1, 1863, the freedom of all slaves in the rebel States; and was re-elected to the Presidency in 1864. The war was brought to a close, April 2, 1865; and on the 15th of the same month Lincoln was cut off by the hand of an assassin. He was characterized by a strong sense of duty and great firmness. Horace Gr eeley. The great American journalist, Horace Greeley, was born at Amherst, New Hampshire, February 3, 1811. His father was a farmer of small means; and Horace, after acquiring the rudiments of educa- tion at a common school, entered a printing office as an apprentice in 1825, at Putney, Vermont. On the completion of his apprenticeship, he removed to New York City and worked for some time as a journeyman printer, and hi 1834 commenced the publication of the New Yorker, a literary weekly paper, for which ho wrote essays, poetry, and other articles. After one or two Other essays at editorship, he began in 1841 the New York Tribune^ of which QYVLOT-'JRDIA OF USL'FUL KNOWLEDGE. be was the leading editor until a short time previous to his death. As Mr. Greeley had adopted, to some extent, the social theories of Fourier, he was joined by the most able writers of that school of Socialism, and the paper was published as a joint-stock concern, being held in shares by its writers and others engaged in its publication. The Tri'ntne has been an earnest ad- vocate of temperance, woman's rights, the abolition of slavery and capital punishment, and other reforms, and is recognized as the organ of the Re- publican party. In 1848, Mr. Greeley was elected to Congress from one of the districts of New York, for the short term, but failed in his congressional career by agitating an un- welcome reform in the mile- age payments to members. In 1851 he visited Europe, and was chairman of one of the committees cf the great exhibition. His as- pirations to political posi- tion were defeated by the more conservative party loaders, and he, in turn, is supposed to have secured the election of Mr. Lin- coln, instead of Mr. Seward, in 1860. On the secession of the Southern States from the Union, Mr. Greeley at first advocated their right to secede, in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Independ- ence; but when the war be- gan, he became one of its most zealous advocates, HOKACE GKEELEY. and is supposed to have caused the premature ad- vance that resulted in the defeat of Bull's Run, July 21, 1861. In 1872, ho was a candidate for the Presidency, being nominated by the " Liberal " Re- publican party of that period, and endorsed by the Democratic party, but was defeated by his opponent, General Grant. He died the same year. He is the author of " The American Conflict," "Essays on Political Economy," " Recollections of a Busy Life," " What I Know About Farming," and ether popular works. Thurlow Weed. From the most humble origin Thurlow "Weed rose by slow degrees until he became one of the leading journalists of the United States and the greatest political leader of his time. He was born at Cairo, Greene County, New York, November 15, 1797. His parents were poor, and his opportunities of procuring an education very limited. At the age of ten years he was cabin-boy on a sloop on the Hudson River; at twelve he was an apprentice in the printing office of Mr. Croswcll, at Catskiil; ho then lired for a short time in a backwoods settlement, but at fourteen returned. B10G21AP2/J. 3,') to printing. In early lifo ho was singularly uncouth and awkward in ap- pearance, so much so that ho frequently excited the ridicule of his associ- ates. When the war of 1812 began, young Weed volunteered into the Amer- ican army. At his majority ho owned a newspaper. In 1826 and 1827 ho was cngagod in editing the Anti-Masonic Enquirer. Twice elected to the Assembly of the Empire State, ho never afterwards accepted a political po- sition, however important, honorable or remunerative. Mr. Weed was a clever party manager, and is given a largo share of the credit due to the men who secured the election of Do Witt Clinton as Gov- ernor of New York. In 1830 he settled at Albany, and com- menced the publication of the Evening Journal, an an ti- Jack- son, Whig, or Republican pa- per, which became the organ of the party, and of the State government when its party was in power. Ho is sup- posed to have exercised al- most supremo influence in nominations and appoint- ments, and to have secured the choice of Presidents Har- rison and Taylor. Through- out his whole career he was the friend and adviser of Mr. Seward, and ho was also a member of the famous polit- ical firm of Seward, Weed & Greeley. When Mr. Weed visited Europe in 1861, he was received with marked distinc- tion, due to a prominent jour- nalist, politician and diplo- matist. Ho retired from the Albany Evening Journal in 1862, but so lately as 1880 contributed to its col- umns in the shape of an article recording his half a century's connection with public life. Ho was connected both with the New York Times and the Commercial Advertiser in tho later years of his career. Mr. Weed was the author of a volume of letters addressed from Europe and the West Indies, and of an interesting and valuable book on his personal reminiscences. He died in New York City in the year 1882. Wendell PMllips The great Anti-Slavery agitator, Wendell Phil- lips, was born in Boston, November 29, 1811, and was the son of the first Mayor of that city. He was educated at Harvard, where he was graduated in the year 1831. He studied law at the Cambridge Law School, and was admitted to the bar in -1834, one year after his graduation there. He prac- ticed his profession until 1839, when he retired in consequence of his. uuwiU- THUELOW WEED. 36 CYCLOPAEDIA OF USEFUL KNOWLEDGE. ingness to bo bound by an oath of fidelity to the Constitution, as at that time construed by the supremo court. At a meeting in Faneuil Hall, Boston, in December, 1837, in an impromptu speech of great eloquence, he made his first public appearance as a reformer, and from that time he became known to the public as a prominent agitator in the Anti-Slavery, Temperance, and Woman's Eights reforms. During the early stage of the civil war, he advocated the emancipation of the slaves in a wonderfully ener- getic and eloquent man- ner, and after this reform was accomplished continued a member of the Anii-Slavery Society, which was not dis- solved until 1870. Mr. Phil- lips had been its President continuously as the immedi- ate successor of William Lloyd Garrison. In 1870 he was the candidate of the " La- bor-Reform " party for Gov- ernor of Massachusetts. He strenuously opposed the pol- icy of President Hayes to- wards the Southern States, and his views on the Irish and other political and social questions are well known. He published many pamphlets upon the subjects which so engrossed his thoughts. In 1863 was published an edi- tion of his speeches, lectures and letters. For finished and impressive address, elegance and grace of delivery, he was incomparable among the orators of his time. He died in 1884, at the age of seventy-three years. Henry Ward Bceclier. No man in the United States has been writ- ten about more than Henry Ward Beecher, but the main facts of his life are told in a few words. He is a native of Litchfield, Connecticut, where he was born on the 24th of June, 1813. His father was the sturdy Rev. Dr. Lyman Boecher, who rose from the anvil to bo the leader of orthodoxy in New Eng- land. The future pastor of Plymouth Church was graduated at Amherst in 1834. He studied theology at Lane Seminary, and in 1837 became pastor of a church at Lawrenceburg. In 1839 he accepted a call to Indianapolis, where he remained eight years, after which Plymouth Church, Brooklyn, became the scene of his distinguished efforts as a preacher. Before the war Mr. Beecher was long distinguished among the opponents of slavery. Dur- ing ita progress he visited Great Britain as a representative of the Union cause, where his eloquence assisted the efforts of the journalists, religious other persons who took the same view of the struggle as he BIOGRAPHY. did. Jealousy of the rapid prosperity of this country, the dislike of British manufacturers to our protective system, their business relations with the planters of the South, the interests of the aristocracy, who foresaw mischief to their privileges in the success of popular government, and, on the part of many who were disposed to side with the Union, their non-apprehension of the reason which delayed the abolition of slavery, may be mentioned as among the causes which led to an unfriendly attitude of Great Britain towards the Northern cause at tho time of the war, when, on the other hand, the non- conformist and radical sec- tion of its people favored it. Mr. Beecher met with oppo- sition in his mission, and with great kindness as well. His oratorical gifts were at their best, and ho returned after a campaign which did great credit to his abilities and proved of much value to the cause he promoted. As a preacher and lecturer the sxibject of this sketch takes the highest rank, and as a writer enjoys distinc- tion. His versatility is wonderful, his liberality of thought and sentiments not less extraordinary. His per- sonal appearance and the peculiar fascination of his address, whether in private or public, are so well known that nothing need to be said of them here. While opin- ion is divided as to the effect of his life and teaching, critics, both friendly and unfriendly, are at one in re- garding Beecher as a great man. Charles Sumner This famous American statesman was born at Boston, Massachusetts, January 6, 1811. IJis father was a lawyer, and for many years sheriff of the county. He was educated at Harvard College, where he graduated in 1830; studied law at the Cambridge Law School; was admitted to the Bar in 1834, and entered upon a large practice; edited the American Jui~ist; published three volumes of Sumner's " Reports of the Circuit Court of the United States;" gave lectures at the Law School, but declined a proffered professorship; and from 1837 to 1840, visited England and the continent of Europe. On his return, he edited Vesey's " Reports," in twenty volumes, and in 1845, rnado his debut in politics in a 4th of July oration on the " True Grandeur of Nations " an oration directed against the war with Mexico, pronounced by Mr. Cobcteu the noblest contribution by any modern writer to the cause of peace. Identifying himself with the Free- soil party, he was, in 1850, chosen United States Senator from Massachusetts, HENKY WABD BEECIIER. 88 CYCLOPAEDIA OF USEFUL KNOWLEDGE. in place of Daniel Webster, where be opposed the Fugitive Slave law, and de- clared " freedom national slavery sectional." In 1856, he made a two days' speech on "The Crime Against Kansas," some of which was of a violent personal character, in consequence of which he was attacked in the Senate Chamber, May 22d, and severely beaten by Preston C. Brooks, and so severely injured that his labors were suspended three c* four years, during which he visited Europe for repose and health. Returning to the Senate, he supported the election of Mr. Lincoln, urged upon him the Proclamation of Emancipation, and became the leader of the Senate, as chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations. In 1862 he was again elected a Sena- tor, and re-elected in 1869. In 1871 he opposed the annex- ation of Hayti to the United States. He published ' ' White Slavery in the Bar bar y States" (1853), " Orations and Speeches" (1850), etc. He died hi 1874. Charles Dickens. The great English novelist and humorist, Charles Dickens, was born at Landport, in Hampshire, in February, 1812. His father, Mr. John Dickens, was employed for some years in the Navy Pay Department, but at tho conclusion of the war with CHAELES DICKENS. prance ^ p eD8 i one d, and became a parliamentary reporter. In this pursuit his son was soon dis- tinguished for uncommon ability, and after a literary engagement, at a very early age, tipon The True Sun, he became connected with The Morning Chronicle. In this newspaper he gave the first evidence of his talents in the lively essays entitled " Sketches by Boz," published in 1836. Encouraged by their success he next produced the famous " Pickwick Papers," which had an enormous commercial success and began an era in English literature, being the first of a series of fictitious works exhibiting the life and manners of the middle and lower classes, which up to that time had had scarcely any exponent. Mr. Dickens's fame was now thoroughly established upon both sides of the Atlantic, and each new work as it emanated from his pen was read with eager interest. In due season appeared " Nicholas Nickleby," " Hard Times," " The Old Curiosity Shop," " Barnaby Rudge," " A Tale of Two Cities," "David Copperfield," "Martin Chuzzlewit," "American Notes," " Dombey and Son," " Bleak House," " Little Dorrit," " Great Expecta- tions," "Oliver Twist," "Christmas Stories," and "Our Mutual Friend." At the time of his death, June 9, 1870, he was engaged upon a novel entitled " The Mystery of Edwin Drood," which was left unfinished. Mr. Dickens Tisited America in 1842 and again in 1867, giving numerous readings and meeting with a brilliant reception. BIOGRAPHY. William Cullen Bryant. This famous poet and journalist was born in Curamington, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, on November 3, 1794. He was the son of a physician, a gentleman of culture, who took great pride in his promising son, whose poetic talents wore early made manifest. At tho curly age of ten he made translations from some of the Latin poets and con- tributed rhymes to the lo- cal newspapers. When scarcely thirteen years of age ho wrote a terse and vigorous political poem entitled " The Em- bargo." At eighteen he composed his "Thanatop- sie," a poem full oi beauty and usually regarded as the greatest literary pro- duction of his life. In 1810 Mr. Bryant entered Wil- liams' College, and choos- ing the la w as aprofession, was admitted to the Bar five years later. He prac- ticed for ten years with diligence and success, first at Plainfield and af- terward at Great B&rring- tou, but his tastes inclined toliteraturc,andin!825he went to New York, where he became associated with Eichard H. Dana as edi- tor of the Ntw York He- view. In 1826 ho became principal editor of The Evening Post, one of the leading evening papers of the metropolis, which he conducted with rare ability. The first collected edition of his poems appeared in 1832. They were soon after republished in Great Britain, and were regarded as the highest efforts, up to that time, of the American Muse. In 1842 he published " The Fountain, and other Poems." Mr. Bryant visited Europe in 183-i, and several times afterwards, and records his observations in "Letters of a Traveler in Europe and America." In 1858 appeared a new edition of his poetical works, and in 18G9, a metrical translation of the " Iliad," followed in 1871 by that of " Odyssey." He afterwards engaged in writing a " History of the United States."" He died June 12, 1878. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The subject of this sketch was the most popular of American poets. Mr. Longfellow was bom at Portland, Maine, on the 27th of February, 1807. His father was an attorney at law. In 1821 he entered Bowdoin College, and was graduated therein four years later. He then read law a few months in his father's office, a pursuit which, WILLIAM CULLEN BKYANT. 40 CYCLOPEDIA OP VStifut Happily, he did not continue, friends who knew his genius, by acquaintancQ with his college life, providing him the opportunity of an occupation more congenial. They offered him the position of Professor of Modern Languages at Bowdoin, one entirely proper to his bent. To qualify himself the better for its duties, Mr. Longfellow spent the three years and a half immediately Succeeding his acceptance of the offer, in Europe, visiting France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Holland and England for this purpose. He came home in 1829, and began his professorship at Bowdoin, which continued until 1835, when the death of Mr. George Ticknor, who held the corresponding po- sition hi Harvard University, resulted in his acceptance of the vacant professorship in that eminent seat of learn- ing. Before actually enter- ing upon its duties, he again went to Europe, this time visiting the Scandinavian countries, Germany and Switzerland, mainly with the view of promoting his ac- quaintance with the litera- ture of Northern Europe. In the autumn of 1836, he began to teach in Harvard, and continued there eigh- teen years, when he was suc- ceeded by James Eussell Lowell. Mr. Longfellow's career as an author dated f r o m his undergraduate days, during which ho con- tributed poetry to the col- umns of The United States Literary Gazette. While at Bowdoin some able pieces of literary criticism, the products of his fertile pen, were printed in The North American Review. His first volume of poems was published in 1833, and thereafter, at not infrequent intervals, a new volume appeared, always welcomed with pleasure by a large constitu- ency of admiring, loving readers. There is no occasion whatever to detail the numerous productions of his pen. Perhaps " Evangeline " and " Miles Standish " are the beet known of his longer pieces. In the writer's opinion, his most effective work is seen in some of his lyrics, which are perfect in their construction and pervaded with sweetness, pensive tenderness and humanity. They are carried in the memory of thousands on both sides of the Atlantic, and are gems which permanently enrich the literature of na- tions. Mr. Longfellow's poetry is not characterized by strength or great- ness, but by gentleness, sweetness and refinement, the product of vast labor, but free from pedantry and affectation. He gave eloquent and simple voice to the convictions and emotions of good, every-day kind of people. He died March 24, 1882. HENRY WADSWOBTH LONGFELLOW. 41 Ralph Waldo Emerson. The famous " sago of Concord " was the son of a Unitarian minister. He was born in Bodton, May 25, 1803. During the four years from 1817 to 1821, he studied at Harvard College, where ho was graduated. It is told of him that he was not a model student, in the sense of superiority in the matter of performing set work, but he was a great reader and followed a decided personal judgment in his choice of books. Like many other great men, he started life as a teacher, which he did not follow long, but relinquished for the study of theology an ancestral pur- suit, by the way, for it is recorded that there was al- ways a clergyman in the American branch of the family from the time when Concord was founded, back in the seventeenth century. For three years, from 1829 to 1832, he ministered thought to a congregation in Boston, but resigned when his people and he had grown hopelessly at variance in their conceptions of religion. Retiring to Concord, where he lived to the end, Mr. Emerson devoted himself to a life of letters, producing a considerable number of books in prose and poetry and lecturing in this coun- try and abroad as solicited by demand for his utter- ances. He never cultivated popularity as a speaker, but his voice was, at one period of his life, heard frequently on the question of slavery, womens' rights and other subjects of current and particular interest. Mr. Emerson made his first address as a literary man, in 1837, at Harvard, on " Man Thinking. " An address on " Literary Ethics," to the Divinity School of the same University, was his next effort, delivered a year after the first. In 1840, he started a magazine called The Dial, which taught the " tran- scendental philosophy," at that time greatly exercising the keen wits of New England. This publication lived four years. In 1841, Emerson published his "Method of Nature," " Man the Reformer," a volume of " Essays," and several lectures. His first volume of poems appeared in 1846, in which year two series of " Essays " were alsopublished. Three years after, he visited England, where he delivered a course of lectures on " Representa- tive Men." In 1852, associated with W. H. Channing and J. F. Clarke, he published a biography of Margaret Fuller, who, with A. Bronson Alcott, had assisted him in the conduct of The DM. " English Traits," perhaps the most read of his books, was published in 1856, and " The Conduct of Life," in 1860. These are his principal works. Mr. Emerson's style is peculiar, possessing affectations and conceits which mar the pleasure of EALPH WALDO EMEKSON. CYCLOPEDIA Off USEFUL KNOW LSD C-E. the average reader. His poetry is deeply tender and beautiful. He died April 27, 1882. Jolin G. Wkittier. John Greenleaf Whittier was born at Havcrhill, Mass., in 1807. Ho is a descendant of a family belonging to the Society of Friends, with which Mr. Whittier is also connected, and from which fact ho has gained the name of the " Quaker Poet." His earlier years were spent on his father's farm, ami in the occupation of a shoemaker. A strong desire for learning led him to the local academy for a two years' course of study, and iu 1829 he weiut to Boston and became the editor of the American Manufacture)', a protective tariff publication. In 1830 ho edited the New England Re- view, at Hartford, Conn., from which place his first literary efforts were Bent out. In 1835 and 1836 he represented his native town in the Massachu- Eetta Legislature, and was one of the Secretaries of the American Anti-Slavery Socie- ty, and during the same yeai-s was editor of the Pennxi/i- vania freeman, in Philadel- phia. In 1840, he removed to Amesbury, Mass., and em- ployed a portion of his time as corresponding editor of the National Era, an anti-slavery paper, published at Washing- ton, I). C. From that time until now, his life has been devoted to literature and philanthropy. His first ven- ture, in a literary way, was published in the Newburyport Free Press, in 1826. He is a prolific writer, and his prose has been widely circulated. Ho is a thor- ough American poet, selecting the homo subjects, which find a welcome in every heart, and portraying with graphic word pictures the bright side of human life. There is never an exceptional line in Whittier's poems. They may lack the perfection of idea and expression which characterize the shorter lyrics of Longfellow; they may lack the humor of Holmes, and the polish of Tennyson, yet they have a quaint simplicity, which gives him an individuality entirely his own. The general impression of Whittier is one of simplicity and quiet quaintness, yet, at times, he bursts forth with a fire and energy which seem to spring from the intermingling of his very life-blood, the out-pouring of his soul, in his ardor and enthusiasm. Whittier may not be ranked by critics among the great poets of the world, but it is for but few to hold the love which h holds from the people of hia native land. JOHN G. WHITTIEK. BIOGRAPHY. 43 Alfred Tennyson. Tho Toot Laureate of England was born at Somersby, Lincolnsbiro, in tho year 1809. He was the third son of the fiev. G. C. Tennyson, and nephew of tho Eight Hon. C. Tennyson d'Eyncourt. Trinity College, Cambridge, had the honor of being the place of education of the future poet. The story of Tennyson's life cau be little else than the story of his successive poems. Bibliomaniacs are eager to give a high price for tho little anonymous volume of 'Teems by Two Brothers" (1827), the earliest published verses of Alfred and Charles Tennyson. In 1830 appeared " I'ocnis, Chiefly Lyrical," and from that date on Tennyson's farneasapoetgrewrapidly. Tho " Mort d' Arthur," " Locksley Hall," the "May Queen," and " Two Voices " followed each other in quick succession. Of the "Idylls of tho King," of which the " Mort d' Arthur " was the first, it may bo said that while students of the old Welsh legends and of the ancient French Arthurian ro- mances find much to cavil at, the general reader is intro- duced to a new and magical world of lofty thought and poetry. In 1847 was printed " The Princess," Tennyson's first long poem. "In Me- moriam," the laureate's great- est poem, was suggested by the death of young Arthur Hal- lam. It is a series of marvel- ously touching monodies, is resplendent with religious and philosophical speculation, and was the work of many years. The death of Wordsworth (1850) left it almost a matter of course that to Tennyson should be offered " the laurel greener from the brows of him who uttered nothing base." Such noble poems as that on the death of the Prince Consort and the famous " Charge of the Light Brigade " show that the laureate did not consider his office an idle honor. Of Tennyson's other chief poems, " Maud " was printed in 1855; the first series of the "Idylls of the King" in 1859; "Enoch Arden and Other Poems "in 1864; "The Holy Grail and Other Poems" in 1869; a revised edition of the " Idylls," arranged in sequence, in 1870; and " The Widow " in the same year. His recent short poems ho now writes but little are inferior to his best work. Like more than one great poet he has proved the delusiveness of the belief that a great poet must be also a great dramatist. "Queen Mary, a Drama" (1875), and "Harold" (1877), both tragedies in five acts, have some powerful passages, but as acting plays are dreary failures. Tennyson was married in 1851 to Miss Emily Sellwood. Before ALFBED TENNYSON. Of VSEF17L KNOWL El) GE. that time he had lived chiefly in London; since ho has resided at Farring- ford, Isle of Wight, at Aldworth in Surrey, and near Petersfield, Hampshire. He has two children. Herbert Spencer The famous English evolutionist, Herbert Spencer, was born in Derby in 1820. He was educated by his father, W. G. Spencer, a teacher, chiefly of mathematics, and his uncle, the Rev. Thomas Spencer, a clergyman of the established church, well-known for his liberal opinions on political and ecclesiastical questions. At the age of seventeen, he be- came a civil engineer; but after about eight years, abandoned the profession, in consequence of the large in- flux of young men brought into it during the railway mania, and the consequent undue competition. During the eight years of his engi- neering life, he contributed various papers to the Civil Engineer's and Architect's Journal. His first produc- tions in general literature were in the shape of a series of letters on the " Proper Sphere of Government," published in the Noncon- I'onnist newspaper in 1842, which were some time after reprinted as a pamphlet. From the close of 1848 to the middle of 1853, he was en- gaged on the Economist, then HERBERT SPENCER. edited by the late James Wilson, M. P.; and during this time he published his first considerable work, " Social Statics." Shortly afterward he began to write for the quarterly reviews, most of his articles appearing in the Westminster, and others in the North British, British Quarterly, Edinburgh, Medico-chimrgical, etc. In 1855, appeared his "Principles of Psychology." In 1860 he commenced a connected series of philosophical works, designed to unfold in their natural order the principles of biology, psychology, sociology and morality. To this series belong, besides the "Psychology" (2 vols., new edition 18711872), "First Principles" (1862, second edition, 1867); " Principles of Biology" (two vols., 1864), and " Principles of Sociology " (first vol., 1876). " Education " was published in 1861; "The Study of Sociology "in 1872; and "Descriptive Sociology" in 1873. Spencer has applied universally, and carried out into detail, the theory of evolution. William E. Gladstone. An outline of the public career of William E. Gladstone, Prime Minister of England, is soon given, although he haa n 10 on insisted in tho making of history for nearly half a century, and is, in some respects, the most remarkable, if not the greatest, man in Europe. He was born December 29, 1809, at Liverpool, an Englishman by birth, but Scotch in blood. His father was a merchant of considerable eminence and wealth. Great paina were taken in tho education of a lad singularly studious and ambitious. Before attaining tho ago of twenty-two, tho future statesman graduated at the University of Oxford. This was in tho year 1831, preceding by a twelve-month only his entrance upon public life as member of Parlia- ment for Nowark-on-Trent. Gladstone was an ardent Con- servative at that time, and his first book was a defence of tho union of Church and State a remarkable work which Macaulay reviewed in the Edinburgh Reciew, with appreciation of its spirit and scholarly style, but condemn- ing its conclusion. Newark continued Mr. Gladstone as her representative until 1845. During tho thirteen years of this association, hopeful honors had fallen on the head of the youthful Commoner, " handsome Gladstone," as ho was called. He was only twenty-five when Sir Robert Peel made him a Junior Lord of the Treasury. Three months later, he was promoted to bo an Under Secretary for the Colonies, which position he held until April, 1835, when Peel went out of office. Upon the return of Sir Robert to power, in 1841, Mr. Glad- stone was made Vice-President of the Council and Master of the Mint. In 1843, he relinquished the first-named of these offices in order to assume that of President of tho Board of Trade. Two years afterward ho was made Secretary for the Colonies. In 1851 Mr. Gladstone differed so widely from his party in opinion, that he was no longer numbered in the Conservative ranks. He was a member of the coalition ministry of Lord Aberdeen formed in the year 1852, that same ministry which, in alliance with France and Turkey, undertook the war with Russia. His office was that of Chancellor of the Exchequer, for which he showed a marvelous aptitude. In 1858 and 1859 the subject of this sketch was sent on a special mission to the Ionian Islands, and in June, 1859, again served as Chancellor of the Exchequer under Lord Palmerston, the Premier, upon whose death and the succeeding premiership of Earl Russell he continued to hold the same position, and also acted as leader of the House of Commons. In 1866 the Russell-Glad- stone ministry, as it was called, resigned in consequence of an adverse vote on the question of reform in Parliamentary representation, and a Conserva- tive government assumed office. In 1868, Mr. Disraeli's government retiring WILLIAM E. GLADSTONE. 46 CYCLOPAEDIA OF USEFUL KNOWLEDGE. because of the election of a Liberal majority to the Commons, Mr. Gladstone assumed the premiership for the first time. His great measures, the dis- establishment arid disendowment of the Irish Church and the Irish Land Bill, were passed by the year 1870. In 1873, his government was defeated on the Irish University-Education Bill, and he resigned, but was persuaded by his sovereign to resume office. He served until after the general election of 1874, which resulted in the triumph of the Conservatives. Mr. Gladstone now retired from the leadership of his party in the House of Commons, which was assumed by the Marquis of Hartington, and devoted himself to liter- ary labor. The magnificent triumph of the Liberals in the election of 1880, when Mr. Gladstone was elected by Mid- Lothian and the borough of Leeds, virtually compelled his assumption of power as the First Lord of the Treas- ury, to which he added the functions of Chancellor of the Exchequer. Oliver Wendell Holmes. This famous poet and humorist was born in 1809, in the old " gambrel roofed " house in Cambridge, Mass., opposite the Harvard University buildings. Hia father, Rev. Abiel Holmes, D. D., was an eminent preacher, and was long pas- tor of the First Congregational Church of Cambridge. Dr. OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES. Holmes graduated at Harvard in 1829, and, adopting the medical profession, completed his studies in 1836. Up to 1847 he filled the chair of Anatomy and Physiology at Dartmouth, and in the latter year assumed a similar professorship at Harvard, since which he has resided continuously in Boston. It would be difficult to say whether Dr. Holmes enjoys greater distinction as a physician or man of letters. Both in the theory and practice of medicine, he has achieved the most brilliant success. He has especially devoted himself to the investigation of psychological problems, raised by the interdependence of mind and matter, a romance, " Elsie Venner," dealing with this subject. The success of the Atlantic Monthly was largely due to his " Autocrat of the Breakfast Table " and other prose pieces which ho contributed. His graceful and polished style invests the driest topics with a peculiar charm, and makes him one of the best known and most popular of American writers. Who has not heard of the "One Horse Shay"? Though past the allotted three-score and ten years, he is still tale and hearty, looking as he has for forty years past. gbjewd, observant, reflective, humorous, generous, kindly and tender, he \e BIOGRAPHY. 47 one of those to whom any one could come for help. A genial and cheery temperament has made him the idol of the Harvard medical students whom he has so long instructed. No man in America is hold in higher honor than Oliver Wendell Holmes, whose name is an ornament to American literature as well aa to the medical profession. James Russell Lowell Mr. Lowell is descended from an English family who settled in New England in the year 1639. His grandfather was made a Judge by Washington after having assisted in framing the Constitu- tion of Massachusetts in 1780, moved the insertion in the Bill of Eights of that State of the clause that " all men are born free and equal," and earned great eminence as a lawyer. The family of the Lowells gave its name to the city of Lo- well, and has given mer- chants, manufacturers, authors, preachers, lawyers, scholars, philanthropists and statesmen to the Bay State. Mr. Lowell was born at Cam- bridge, Mass., February 22, 1819. He was educated at Harvard, and in 1855 suc- ceeded Mr. Longfellow in the Belles-Lettres professorship of that college. One of his greatest literary perform- ances was the production of the "Biglow Papers." He is the author of several long poems which are ranked with our best literature, and of shorter pieces almost in- numerable. He is a grace- ful speaker, and is remark- able for the polish of his utterances whether by pen or voice. He has force and the courage of his opinions, which were decidedly on the side of freedom in the anti-slavery agitation, but is not an aggressive man, and treats his opponents with self- restraint, courtesy, and the quiet dignity of the scholar and gentleman. His first diplomatic position was that of Minister to Spain, and his last appoint- ment as Minister to England was conferred upon him by President Hayes. Peter Cooper. No man was more honored arsd loved than the vener- able Peter Cooper, whoso death in 1883 was mourned as a public lose. Mr. Cooper was born in New York City, February 12, 1791. His father served as a Lieutenant in the Eevolution, after which he established a hat factory, where young Peter worked. In 1808 he was apprenticed to a coachmaker, who esteemed him so highly that he offered to start him in business, which was declined. Young Peter was able to attend school but half of each day for a single year. From 1812 to 1815, he manufactured a patent machine for JAMES KT7SSELL LOWELL. 48 CYCLOPAEDIA OF USEFUL KNOWLEDGE. shearing wool, which was in great demand, but lost its value on the conclu- sion of peace. He successively engaged in the manufacture of cabinet ware, the grocery business and in the manufacture of glue and isinglass, which last he continued for more than fortv years. The success which everywhere crowned his efforts ho attributed to his never incurring a debt, and so never having interest to pay. His policy was never to owe any man anything except his good will. Ho built iron works near Baltimore in 1830, and turned out the first locomotive engine in America. Selling this soon after he erected a rolling and wire mill, in which an- thracite coal was first suc- cessfully applied to pud- dling iron. In 1845, he erected at Trenton, New Jersey, the largest mills then in the United States for the manufacture of rail- road iron. Here, he was the first to roll iron beams for building purposes. He invested a large capital in extending the electric tele- graph, and advocated the construction of the Croton Aqueduct, New York. The Erie Canal project received his hearty support, and he invented an endless chain operated by water, which in trial propelled a boat two miles in eleven minutes. But his chief title to fame rests upon his efforts in be- half of popular education. Ho was Yice-President of the old Public School So- ciety, when it was merged in the Board of Education. To give the masses the benefits of the School of Technology ho established in New York, in 1858, the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art. The building covers the block between Seventh and Eighth Streets and Third and Fourth Avenues, and cost $2,000,000. To this ho added an endowment of $150,000 in cash, and other gifts. His career shows him to have been one of the greatest of Americans and the noblest of men. He learned three trades before he was twenty-one; his genius enabled him to rank high as an inventor; he was pre-eminently a man of affairs, his knowledge of men and business securing success in every venture; and most important of all, he was a broad and practical philanthropist, who labored con- stantly for the elevation and advancement of the masses of the people. His son, Edward Cooper, was at one time Mayor of New York, and a daughter is the wife of the Hon. Abram S. Hewitt, for many years a member of Con- gress from New York. PETEB COOPEE. BIOGRAPHY. 19 James A. Garfield. Tlio twentieth President of the United States, James A. Garfield, was born in a log cabin in Orange township, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, November 19, 1831. His early education was obtained at a district school-house, where ho learned to read, write and cipher. At the age of eighteen he went to Newburgh and chopped one hundred cords ot wood for fifty dollars. Ho then hired out to drive horses on the canal. The following year he went to Geauga Academy, to make a beginning toward getting an education. In the summer he worked for day wages as a farm hand and at the carpenter's trade, and in the winter studied industriously and lived economically. From the Geauga Academy he went to the Eclectic Institute at Hiram, Ohio, where he paid for his tuition by teaching country schools in winter. In 1854 he entered Williams College, at Williams- towu, Mass., and after grad- uating there he became pro- fessor of Latin and Greek and afterward President of the Hiram Institute. He now began to take part in politics, and early espoused the cause of the Republican party. He was elected to the State Sen- ate of Ohio in 1859, and after- ward studying law, was ad- mitted to the bar in 18G1. In the same year the civil war broke out, and Garfield was an early volunteer. H e served with distinction under Buell and Eosecrans at Shiloh, Chickamauga and in otherimportant engagements, being promoted successively to the ranks of Lieutenant-Colonel, Colonel, Brigadier-General and Major- General. In 1862 he resigned his commission to accept a nomination for Congress. He served in the House for nearly twenty years, and became recognized as one of the ablest leaders of his party. In January, 1880, he was elected to the United States Senate, and in June of the same year he was nominated by the Republican party as its candidate for President, to which high office he was triumphantly elected in the fall of that year. His administration opened most contpicuously, but on the 2d of July, 1881, he was assassinated by one Charles J. Guiteau, probably from motives of revenge, he having failed to obtain from the President a coveted foreign mission. After a long and painful illness Mr. Garfield died at Long Branch, N. J., September 19, 1881. Ulysses S. Grant. This famous General and the eighteenth Presi- dent of the United States, was born at Point Pleasant, Clermont County, Ohio, April 27, 1822. He graduated at the Military Academy of West Point in 1813, and served under General Taylor in the war with Mexico, in 1816, up to the capture of Monterey. His regiment was then transferred to the JAMES A. GAKFIELD. 60 CYCLOPEDIA OF USEFUL KNOWLEDGE. expedition under General Scott, and he took part in every action from Vera Cruz to Mexico, and was brevetted First Lieutenant and Captain for meri- torious conduct at Molino del Hey and Chapultapec. In 1852, he served in Oregon; but, in 1854, resigned his commission, and settled at St. Loiiis, Mo., whence, in 1859, he moved to Galena, 111., and engaged in the leather trade. At the beginning of the War of Secession in 1861, he volunteered his services, and was appointed Colonel of an Illinois regiment. In Au- gust he was appointed Briga- dier-General, commanding the important post of Cairo, occu- pied Paducah, and led an ex- pedition on the Mississippi. In February, 18G2, ho distin- guished himself in the capture of Fort Donelson, on the Ten- nessee Eiver, and was made Major-General. On the 6th of April following, after a pre- liminary defeat, he won a great battle over the Con- federates at Pittsburgh Land- ing, or Shiloh. Succeeding General Halleck in the west, he commanded the land forces which, in conjunction with tho navy, reduced Yicksburg, July 4, 1863, soon followed by the fall of Fort Hudson, and the opening of tho Mississippi. He then took command of the Army of the Tennessee, and defeated General Bragg at Chickamauga, in September of the same year; and was, in 1864, appointed Lieutonant- General and Commander-in- Chief, and personally directed the operations of the great final struggle in Virginia, in which the Northern forces, though often repulsed with heavy losses, finally compelled the evacuation of Richmond, April 2, 1865, followed ou the 9th by the surrender of the Confederate army under General Lee, and soon after of the entire Confederate forces. Con- gress, in recognition of his eminent services, passed an act reviving the grade of "General of the Army of tho United States," to which Grant was immediately appointed. In 1868 he was elected, on tho Republican platform, President of tho United States; and having, in 1872, been re-elected over a notable opponent, the late Horace Groeley, of the New fork Tril)une, he retired in 1877 after his second term of office. In tho latter year he began his tour around tho world, returning in 1880, after having been the recipient of unprecedented honors. In 1885, he completed his popular work, " The Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant," being a narrative ol his own experiences during the war of the Rebellion. He died July 23, 1885v TTLTSSES S. GBANT. BIOGRAPHY. 51 Samuel J. Tilden. Tho distinguished Democrat, Samncl J. Tildon, was born in Now York City in the year 1814. He entered Yale College, from whence he was graduated. Choosing the legal profession he subsequently studied law in the University of New York, and was admitted to the bar. His advancement, owing to his extraordinary natural gifts, was rapid, and ho soon acquired a reputation for great legal acuteness, especially in rail- road litigation. Ho soon became interested in local and State politics, and was for thirteen years Chairman of the Democratic State Committee of New York. Ho was elected to the Legislature in 1846, and hi 1872 this honor was again con- ferred upon him. Meantime he had acquired great wealth from the practice of his profes- sion and many shrewd specu- lations and investments, being one of the leading capitalists cngagcdin building the elevat- ed railroads in New York City. In 1874 Mr. Tildeu received the nomination for Governor of the State of New York, to which office ho was elected. During the two years in which he was at the head of the State Government he achieved great reputation as a reform- er, breaking up numerous corrupt rings, and became at once the most prominent man in hia party. He was nom- inated for the Presidency in 1876, Mr. Hendricks, of In- diana, being the candidate for Vico-Presidont. In the elec- tion which followed Mr. Til- den received a majority of the popular vote, and on the face of the returns was duly elected. A dispute arose, however, regarding the vote in the States of South Carolina, Louisiana, Florida and Oregon, and a commission consisting of five Senators, five Judges of the Supreme Court and five Members of the House of Representatives, was appointed to deter- mine the matter. This commission was composed of eight Republican and seven Democratic members, and, dividing strictly upon party lines, gave the electoral votes of the disputed States to Rutherford B." Hayes, Mr. Tilden's opponent, who was accordingly declared elected. Though fre- quently urged to again become the standard bearer of his party, Mr. Tilden has mingled no more in politics, but has lived hi retirement at his palatial residence in Yonkers, N. Y. George P. Edmunds. Senator Edmunds is descended from Quaker and Puritanic parentage. He is a Vermonter by birth, having been born at Richmond, February 1, 1828. He received a public school education, read SAMUEL J. TILDEN. 62 CYCLOPEDIA OF USEFUL KNOWLEDGE. law and was admitted to the bar. At twenty-six years of age, he was elected to the State Legislature, and continued to assist in ite proceedings five years, during three of which he served as Speaker of the House. In 1861 and 18G2, he acted as temporary presiding officer in the Senate of Vermont. His seat in the United States Senate has been held continuously since 18C6, when ho received an appointment to fill the vacancy created by the death of Solomon Foot. Ho was a member of the Electoral Commission in 1877, and succeeded Mr. Trumbull in the Chairmanship of the Judi- ciary Committee. In that position some of the most im- portant measures ever before the National Legislature passed through his hands. He is an able, but not a brilliant speaker, and however keen and sarcastic his oratorical efforts may be, he is never per- sonally offensive. As a law- yer, statesman and debater, Senator Edmunds ranks among the highest. The coun- try hears from him on all great public questions, which do not seem to have been thoroughly discussed until the illumination of his learning, cool jiidgment and perspicu- o u s statement have been brought to bear upon them. He is emphatically a safe man. While staunch to his party, he is not narrow or unfair, and is regarded by the opposite party with a respect as nearly like the veneration with which his own party regards him, as the circumstances of political opposition admits of. He is a genial man, warm and constant in hia friendships, as witness his longtime brotherly association with Senator Thurman, with whom he was inseparable, excepting in the Senate where party lines divided them. That he is a good man, against whose fair name calumny would be powerless, needs not to be said. In 1880 several leading newspapers strongly urged hid nomination for the Presidency. Mr. Edmunds is a tall, broad shouldered man with a stoop noticeable in close students. His eyes are steel gray set under heavy eye- brows of bristling white. No public man is more respected. His honors are universally felt to be due to his superior talents, exemplary diligence and exalted character. Allen G. Thurman. Ex-Senator Allen G. Thurman, of Ohio, a gen- tleman held in the highest esteem by both political parties, and a statesman of learning, experience and lofty character, is a native of the State of Yir- GEOKGE F. EDMUNDS. 13100 flA PHY. ginia. He was born at Lynchburg, November 13, 1813. When four years old his home was changed to the State of Ohio. Ho received a thorough education, studied law, and was admitted to the bar when twenty-two years of age. After having practiced law lor some years at Columbus, Ohio, ho was returned as Representative to the Twenty-ninth Congress. In 1851 ho was elected a Judge of the Supreme Court of Ohio, and was Chief Justice in the same court from 1854 to 1856. He was the Democratic candidate for the Governorship of the State in 1867, but was defeated. A year later ho was elected a United States Senator, and took his seat March 4, 1869. He was re- elected in 1874, and his sec- ond term of service expired March 3, 1881, when, the Legislature of Ohio being Eepublican, he retired to private life in his home at Columbus. Mr. Tlmrman's services to his party, as well as to the country at large, are well known. In the Senate ho was a warm and vigorous advocate of all just and prudent measures, and a bitter antagonist of corruption. He is one of the few public men who pos- sess the confidence and esteem of the entire people, even those differing with him upon questions of po- litical economy cheerfully acknowledging Ms remark- able abilities and sterling integrity. He has long been upon terms of warm in- timacy with Senator Ed- ALLEN a. THUBMAN. munds, of Vermont, though the two are widely at variance in political views. He was prominently men- tioned as the Democratic candidate for President in 1880 and again in 1884, and, though Allen G. Thurman may or may not be again called upon to serve tbe country in office, he will always hold a high place in the esteem of his countrymen. John Sherman. His record gives the subject of this sketch great authority on the question of finance. He is an Ohio man, bora at Lancas- ter on the 10th of May, 1823, in a family of English extraction, whose first American ancestry settled in Connecticut and Massachusetts. His father, Charles Eobert Sherman, was made a Judge of the Supreme Court of Ohio, the same year in which John was born, the eighth child of a family of twelve. When his father died, John was only six years old, and the widow's eleven surviving children were divided by harsh necessity, only three being left in their mother's care. In 1831, John was taken by a cousin of his fnther, CYCLOPEDIA OF USEFUL KNOWLEDGE. named John Sherman, to live with him at Mount Vernon. This kinsman had him thoroughly prepared for the academy in anticipation of giving liim a college education. At twelve, young John entered the Academy at Lancas- ter. Wo next find him acting as junior rod man in a corps of engineers engaged in the Muskingum improvement. In 1838, when only fifteen, he was given charge of the works at Beverly. His next move was to study law in the office of Charles T. Sherman, an older brother, who was afterwards made a Judge of the United States District Court. He en- tered into partnership with his brother at Mansfield in 1844. Four years later, ho began his political life as dele- gate to the "Whig Convention which nominated General Taylor for President. In the same year, 1848, he married a daughter of Judge Stewart, of Mansfield. He was dele- gate to the Baltimore Conven- tion of 1852, which nominated General Scott. His first elec- tion to Congress was in 1855, where he gained distinction in committee work. He was a supporter of John C. Fre- mont, in 1856, believing that the area of slavery should not be extended while the exist- ence of the institution itself could not be disturbed in the States which supported it. Mr. Sherman was elected to the Thirty-fifth and Thirty- sixth Congresses. When, in March, 18G1, Salmon P. Chase retired from the Senate, John JOHN SHEEMAN. Sherman was elected to take his place, and was re-elected in 18G7 and 1873. Ho was conspicuous for patriotism in the war, spending money, time and service in the Federal cause. The making Treasury notes a legal tender in 1862 was mainly due to him and Salmon P. Chase. In 1867, he proposed the Refunding Act, passed in 1870, and the resumption of specie payments on January 1, 1879, was the leading triumph of his financial policy. President Hayes made him Secretary of the Treasury in March, 1877. Upon retirement from office with the incumbency of President Garfield, the veteran financier resumed his Beat in the United States Senate. William M. Evarts. Both as a lawyer and a statesman Mr. Evarts ranks high. Since the death of Charles O'Conor ho has been regarded as at the head of the American Bar. His career in his profession has been one of unfailing diligence and brilliant success. The firm of which he is now the PHY. 55 head is entrusted \vitli great interests, and realizes enormous fees. As a matter of course, opinions differ strongly as to Mr. Evarts's political views and conduct. He was born in Boston, February 6, 1818, the son of a clergy- man of that city. When a child he manifested wonderful precocity, and waa well grounded in the learned languages very early in life. He is a graduate of Yale, and of Harvard in law. In 1841 he was admitted to the Bar in New York City, where he continues in active practice. Mr. Evarts was leading counsel for President Johnson in the impeachment proceedings of 1868, and from July 15 of that year to the end of the Johnson administration waa Attorney-General of the Uni- ted States. He represented the United States in the tribunal of arbitration which determined on the Alabama Claims at Geneva in 1872. Mr. Evarts was chief of counsel for Henry Ward Beecher in the Tilton-Beecher trial. In 187C he was appointed by Governor Tilden to serve on the Charter Commission. He was Secretary of State during the administration of Presi- dent Hayes, after having rep- resented the Eepublican party in the discussion, before the Electoral Commission, of the questions on which the Presi- dency depended. In 1885 he was elected to the United States Senate. Perhaps no man is better qualified than Mr. Evarts to speak on ques- tions of interest at public meetings, and he is much in demand on these occasions He ia believed to be un- equalled as a phrase-maker, and seems to be able to talk happily under all circumstances. Unfortunately his delivery, graceful and correct as it is, is unaccompanied by the power necessary to its perfection. Notwithstanding this defect, however, no public man in the United States is heard with greater respect and admiration than Mr. Evarts. He is accused of time- erving, a want of moral courage, and inconsistency in his utterances, but a man who has talked so many years can hardly be expected to remain in the same mind on every question which has engaged his attention. Mr. Evarts's personal appearance is remarkable. He is tall and thin. Hia face is refined and indicative of his extraordinary capacity, but cold and unvarying in its expression. The great lawyer and rhetorician, " the American Cicero," as somebody calls him, dresses most ungracefully; but too much hat and baggy trousers do not impair the certainty of his being recognized as a gentleman by all sorte and conditions of people. He is a family man, the head of a household eminent among the most refined and cultured in New York. WILLIAM M. EVAKTS. 56 CYCLOP^blA Of USBFVL Thomas P. Bayard. Thomas Francis Bayard was borii in Wilming- ton, Del., October 29, 1828. His father and grandfather, both named James A. Bayard, and his uncle, Kichard H. Bayard, served as United States Senators from Delaware. Mr. Bayard was educated chiefly at the Flushing school established by Rev. Francis L. Hawks, D. D., and was originally designed for a mercantile career. He chose the law, however, and was admitted to the Bar in 1851. He was appointed United States District- Attorney for Delaware in 1853. He succeeded his father in the United States Senate, taking his seat on March 4, 1869, and was re-elected in 1875 and 1881. In 1876 he was a Member of the Electoral Commission. During his career in the United States Senate he distinguished him- self in all the ways by which a public official could com- mend himself, and it is pre- suming nothing to say that he is among the foremost of American statesmen to-day. He has brought to his work high personal character, a mind of conservative mold, pure devotion to great pub- lic interests, ability as an orator and debater and activity and energy in the committee r o o m qualities that have never failed him. He has always been an un- questioned Democrat, re- spected by his party as a great and safe leader, al- though hardly ever the beau ideal of the mere machine politicians. In person ho bears an admirable physique; is fond of outdoor sports and athletic exercise. He is marriedj and is the head of an interesting family. In the Democratic National Convention of 1880 he received 153% votes on the first ballot. In the Democratic National Convention of 1884 he received 170 votes on the first ballot and 151% on the second. In 1885 he was appointed Secretary of State by President Cleveland. James G. Blaine. This distinguished gentleman, who is universally known as a statesman of large views and varied attainments, comes of good old Revolutionary stock, and was born in Union Township, "Washington County, Pennsylvania, in 1830. When but seventeen years of age, he was graduated with the first honors of his class from the College of Washington and Jefferson, in that State. Shortly afterward he went to Kentucky and entered upon the active business of life, by becoming Professor of Mathe- matics in the Western Military Institute, at Blue Lick Spring. During his residence there, he first met Miss Harriet Stanwood, an accomplished young lady from Maine, who, after he had had experience as a tutor for two years, THOMAS F. BAYAKD. induced him to remove to her native State, where ho soon began to display those abilities which have since made him famous, and which have for years placed the leadership of the Republican party of that section of tho Union in his hands. Soon after his arrival in Maine, ho married the lady jnst mentioned; and not long subsequently embraced tho profession of journalism, becoming, for a brief period, connected with the Portland Daily Ailrciiiser. Upon relinquishing Ms position on this publication, ho settled in Augusta, and undertook the editorship of tho Kcnnebcc Journal; thence- forward progressing steadily in both private and public estimation. In 1858, Mr. Elaine was elected a Representative of tho Re- publican party to the State Legislature, where he speed- ily made his mark. From this time forward his influ- ence in the House and throughout the State became most pronounced, and so well assured, that he was called upon to serve for four ses- sions, during tho latter two of which he was Speaker of tho House. In 1862 he was first elected to Congress, and was re-elected six times, or until ho became a Senator in 1876. He was Speaker of the Forty-first, Forty-second and Forty-third Congresses, and was still serving his first term as Senator when he was appointed Secretary of State by President Garficld in 1881. Upon the death of Mr. Gar- field, which occured in Sep JAMES G. ELAINE. tember of the same year, Mr. Blaino retired to private life and engaged in writing a voluminous work entitled " Twenty Years of Congress." Tho first volume was published in 1884, and met with an almost unprecedent success. In June of the samo year the Republican National Convention met at Chicago and nominated Mr. Elaine for the Presidency. He directed a vigorous campaign, but was defeated by his Democratic opponent, Grover Cleveland. William T. Sherman. General Sherman is a native of the State of Ohio, and was born at Lancaster, on the 8th of February, 1820. He was graduated at "West Point in his twenty-first year, and saw military service in Florida and tho M r ar with Mexico and elsewhere, before resigning his com- mission in tho year 1853. Upon his retirement from the army he began business in San Francisco as a banker, and continued this vocation four years, including a residence in New York City. From 1857 to 1859 he prac- ticed law in Leavenworth, Kansas. During the succeeding time up to the secession of the State from tho Union, ho acted as Superintendent of the Louisiana Military Academy. His resignation took place in January, 1861, CYCLOPEDIA OF UKEFVt KNOWLEDGE. and was almost immediately followed by his return to the army. The civil war gave Sherman the opportunity of distinguished service, and placed him in the first rank of living generals. His first commission was that of Colonel of a regiment of infantry. At the battle of Bull Run he commanded a brigade of volunteers, and was made Brigadier-General of volunteers. After serving a short time in the camp of instruction at St. Louis, he took part in the campaign conducted in the States of Tennessee and Mississippi, during which he was promoted to the rank of Brigadier-General of the regular army. In October, 1863, he succeeded General Grant as commander of the army department of the Ten- nessee. When, in March, 1864, General Grant was made Lieutenaut-General and Com- mander of all the Union forces, Sherman succeeded him as Commander of the military division of the Missis- sippi. This included the en- tire Southwest, and his ap- pointment gave him command of more than a hundred thou- sand effective troops with whom to operate against Gen- eral J. E. Johnston. He began the invasion of Georgia on the 2d of May, 1864, making his advance movement at the same time with that of General Grant in the East. His forces were superior in number to those of the Confederate Gen- eral, who, however, stubborn- ly contested the advance at every possible point. There was much hard fighting be- tween the two armies, and it was not until September 2d that Atlanta was captured by Major-General Sherman, but then newly promoted to this rank. He occupied the city with his army for ten weeks, when he commenced his march to the sea, having previously dispatched some forty thousand men under General Thomas to repel General Hood's advance into Tennessee. His remaining forces consisted of sixty thousand men, more or less. In less than a month they had marched three hundred miles without resistance. His first fight was at Fort McAllister, below Savannah, the surrender of which stronghold preceded that of Savannah by eight days. In the middle of January, 1865, General Sherman began his invasion of the Carolinas. His march through South Carolina lasted six weeks. In North Carolina ho encountered considerable opposition, and fought two pitched battles. Goldsboro' was occupied on the 22d of March, 1865, Kaleigh on April 13th. On the 26th of April General Johnston surrendered his army to Sherman on the same terms as had been granted to General Lee by General Grant, This surrender virtually closed the war. General Sherman con- W1L.IJAM T. SHEEMAN. BIOGRAPHY. no tinned in command of the military division of the Mississippi a year alter the end of the hostilities, with the rank of Major-General in the regular army. He was promoted to Lieuteuant-General when in July, 18GG, Grant had been made General of the Army. His command continued as before. Sherman succeeded Grant as General of the Army in March, 1869, after the election of the first named to the Presidency. Philip H. Sheridan. -On February 9, 1865, the thanks of the United States Congress were tendered to a man for the gallantry, military skill and courage displayed hi a series of victories, achieved by bis army, in the Valley of the Shenandoah, especially at the battle of Cedar Eun. This man was Philip Henry Sheri- dan, familiarly known as " Little Phil." He was born hi Somerset, Perry County, Ohio, hi 1831, was educated at West Point, and was ad- mitted to the Military Acad- emy hi 1848, where he grad- uated in 1853. Entering the United States Artillery, he served in Texas and Oregon until 1855, when he sailed for San Francisco, in command of an escort to a United States surveying expedition. From this time until 1861, he com- manded a body of troops among the Indian tribes, when he was promoted to the rank of Captain. Upon the breaking out of the civil war, he was appointed Quarter- master of the Western De- partment, and Colonel of the Second Michigan Volunteer Cavalry. At Booneville, hi July, 1862, he was promoted to the rank of Brigadier-General of volunteers, and took command of the third division of the Army of the Ohio, distinguishing himself by his defence of Louisville, and again whining distinction on the banks of the Stone Kiver, December 30th, at which time he was promoted to the rank of Major-General of volunteers. He was appointed in April, 1864, to the command of the cavalry corps of the Army of the Potomac. In September, 1864, he was appointed Brigadier- General, and hi November of the same year Major-General of the United States Army. He was in command of various military divisions of the army from June 3, 1864, until September 12, 1867. On March 4, 1869, he was appointed Lieutenant-General of the United States Army, and the same month took the command of the military division of the Missouri. He was in command of the Western Division, with headquarters at Chicago, until 1879, and commanded the forces which were sent to quell the Louisiana PHILIP H. SHERIDAN.