Volume 17 [MOT - ORM]: Newton to William Cavendish


Tweet 9th Edition of Encyclopedia Britannica - free ninth edition online encyclopedia Britannica Volume 17 [MOT - ORM]: Newton to William Cavendish Newton, Sir Isaac NEWTON, SIR ISAAC (1642-1727), the greatest of natural philosophers, was born on the 25th of December 1642 (o.s.), at Woolsthorpe, a hamlet in the parish of Colsterworth, Lincolnshire, about 6 miles from Grantham. His father (also Isaac Newton) was the farmer of a small freehold property of his own. He died before his son's birth, a few months after his marriage to Hannah Ayscough, a daughter of J… Newtown NEWTOWN (Welsh, Drefnewydd; ancient name, Llanfair Cedewain), a market-town and parliamentary borough of Montgomeryshire, is situated on both sides of the Severn, 11 miles east-north-east of Llanidloes, and 13 south-southwest of Welshpool. Newtown NEWTOWN, a suburban municipal district of Sydney, New South Wales. Newtownards, Or Newtownardes NEWTOWNARDS, or NEWTOWNARDES, a market-town, formerly a parliamentary borough, of the county Down, Ireland, is beautifully situated near the northern extremity of Lough Strangford, on the Belfast and County Down Railway, 9i miles east of Belfast and 42 south by west of Bangor. New York City NEW YORK CITY, the principal city of the United States in I point of wealth and population, and, next to London, the most important commercial and financial centre in the world, lies mainly on Manhattan Island, which is situated at the upper end of New York Bay, between the Hudson River and East River, on the west and east respectively, and the Harlem River and Spuyten Duyvil Creek, small connecti… New York State NEW YORK STATE, United States of America, is situated between 40? 29' 40" and 45?0' 2" N. lat. and between 71? 51' and 79? 45' 54"?4 W. long. It is bounded N. by Lake Ontario and the St Lawrence river, which separate it from the province of Ontario ; E. by Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut ; S. by the Atlantic Ocean, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania ; and W. by Pennsylvania, Lake Erie, and the N… New Zealand NEW ZEALAND consists of two large islands, the North Island and the South Island, of another much smaller one named Stewart Island, and of islets around the coast. The colony includes also the Chatham Islands and the Auckland Islands. New Zealand extends from 34? 25' to 47? 17' S. lat., and from 166? 26' to 178? 36' E. long. The Chatham Islands lie between 43? 25' and 44? 20' S. lat., and 176? 10'… Ney, Michel NEY, MICHEL ( 1 7 69-1815), one of the bravest of Napoleon's marshals, was born at Saarlouis on January 10, 1769. His father, who had been a soldier, gave him a fairly good education, and obtained for him an appointment in some neighbouring mines. But his heart was set after became lieutenant-colonel, when Kldber perceived he was present at Hohenlinden, and in May 1802 he married Mademoiselle Augu… Niagara NIAGARA, a river in North America forming a portion of the great lake and river system known as the ST LAWRENCE (q.v.), flows northward from Lake Erie (573 feet above?sea-level) to Lake Ontario, separating the State of New York from the province of Ontario in Canada, and within the 33 miles of its course makes a total descent of 328 feet. On issuing from Lake Erie the river is only about three-fou… Niagara Falls NIAGARA FALLS, a village of Niagara county, New York, situated at the Niagara falls, opposite Drummondville (on the Canadian side), and a mile and a half above the contiguous village of Suspension Bridge, formerly Niagara City, which is connected by a suspension bridge with Clifton (on the Canadian side). Niam-niam NIAM-NIAM, a numerous and widespread Central African race, who were first visited by John Petherick in 1858, and have since been more fully described, especially by Piaggia, Dr Schweinfurth, Dr W. Junker, Potagos, and G. Casati. But none of these explorers have penetrated more than a few miles from the upper Nile and Welle basins into the Niam-Niam domain, which consequently still remains for the … Nibelungenlied, Or Nibelunge Not NIBELUNGENLIED, or NIBELUNGE NOT, a great epic poem written in a Middle High German dialect. The story told in this poem belonged in its primitive form to the whole Teutonic race, and was composed originally of purely mythological elements. It is touched upon in Beowulf, and forms the most important subject of the old Norse poems, in which it is presented in fragments, - the poets having apparentl… Nicander NICANDER, a Greek poet, physician, and grammarian, succeeded his father Damnoeus or Xeuophanes as hereditary priest of Apollo at Clams, the famous temple in the territory of the Colophonians. Hence he is often called Colophonius. He wrote a great number of works both in prose and verse, of which two are preserved. The longest, Theriaca, is a poem in about 1000 hexameters on the nature of venomous … Nicaragua NICARAGUA, one of the five states of Central America, between 10? 30' and 15? N. lat. and 83? 11' and 87? 40' W. long., forms an irregular equilateral triangle wedged in between Honduras and Costa Rica north and south, with base stretching for 280 miles along the Caribbean Sea from Cape Gracias it Dios southwards to the San Juan delta, and apex at the Coseguina volcano, Gulf of Fonseca, -which sep… Nicastro NICASTRO, an episcopal city of Italy in the province of Catanzaro, 16 miles west of Catanzaro and about 6 miles from the Gulf of Sta Eufemia. Nice NICE, a city of France, the chief town of the department of Alpes Maritimes, and previous to 1860 the capital of the countship of Nice (Nizza) in the kingdom of Sardinia, is situated in 43? 42' N. lat. and 7? 16' E. long., 739 miles by rail from Paris, and occupies a fine position at the mouth of the Paillon (Paglione), a stream (often dried up in summer) which, after a course of 20 miles, enters … Nicephorus NICEPHORUS I., emperor of Constantinople from 802 to 811, born at Seleucia in Pisidia, is alleged on very doubtful authority to have been a descendant of Jaballah, who had been monarch of the small Arabian kingdom of Ghassan in the time of Heraclius, and for a time had professed the Mohammedan religion. In the reign of Irene he rose to the office of logothetes, or lord high treasurer, and in 802 h… Nicephorus NICEPHORUS, one of the Byzantine historians (see vol. iv. p. 614), surnamed PATRIARCHA, was patriarch of Constantinople from 806 to 815. He was born about 758 ; from his father Theodorus, one of the secretaries of the emperor Constantine Copronymus, who for his zeal as an image-worshipper had been scourged and dismissed into exile, he inherited literary talent as well as strong religious convictio… Nicephorus NICEPHORUS, surnamed CALLISTI, the last of the Greek ecclesiastical historians, lived at Constantinople, perhaps as a monk in connexion with the church of St Sophia. He was born about the close of the 13th century, and died not later than 1356. His Historia Ecclesiastica, in eighteen books, brings the narrative down to the death of Phocas in 610 ; for the first four centuries the author is largely… Nicephorus Ii NICEPHORUS II. (Phocas), emperor of Constantinople from 963 to 969, was member of a brave Cappadocian family which had previously furnished more than one distinguished general to the empire. He was born about 912, joined the army at an early age, and under Constantine VII., Porphyrogenitus, attained the high rank of magnus domesticus, or general of the East (954). In the almost continual struggle … Nicephorus Iii NICEPHORUS III. (Botaniates), emperor of Constantinople from 1078 to 1081, belonged to a family which claimed descent from the Roman Fabii. Nicholas NICHOLAS V. (Pietro di Corvara), antipope in Italy from 1328 to 1330, during the pontificate of John XXII. at Avignon, was a native of the Abruzzi and a member of the Franciscan order. Nicholas NICHOLAS I. (1796-1855), czar of Russia, third son of Paul I., was born at Tsarkoe-Selo on the 25th June 1796. His elder brothers were Alexander and Constantine, of whom the former was twenty years his senior. Their father was murdered in 1801, and Alexander then became emperor. The education of Nicholas was conducted under the care of his mother, a pious but narrow-minded woman. He had not, like … Nicholas NICHOLAS I., sometimes called The Great, and certainly the most commanding figure in the series of popes between Gregory I. and Gregory VII., succeeded Benedict III. in April 858. According to the annalist "he owed his election less to the'choice of the clergy than to the presence and favour of the emperor Louis IL and his nobles," - who can hardly have foreseen with what ability and persistency t… Nicholas NICHOLAS V. (Tommaso Parentucelli), the pope whose name is most intimately associated with the revival of learning, was the son of a physician, and was born at Sarzana, near Spezzia, in 1389. He received a good education at Bologna, became tutor in the Albizzi and Strozzi families. at Florence, and ultimately entered into the service of Albergata, bishop of Bologna. He accompanied his patron on se… Nicholas Iii NICHOLAS III. (Giovanni Gaetano), a member of the noble house of Orsini, succeeded John XXI. as pope on November 25, 1277. Though his election was doubtless largely due to family influence, he was also personally a man of good endowments, and the record of his brief pontificate has more than one touch fitted to recall the grander manner of some of the greatest popes. In 1278 he extorted from the n… Nicholas Il NICHOLAS IL, a Burgundian, whose Christian name was Gerard, was archbishop of Florence when he was chosen (December 28, 1058) at that place to succeed Stephen IX. in the papal chair. Some time previously the old Roman feudatory barons had caused to be consecrated, under the name of Benedict X., John, cardinal bishop of Velletri, who, however, was speedily deposed. The election of Nicholas had been… Nicholas Iv NICHOLAS IV. (Girolamo de Ascoli), pope from February 22, 1288, to April 4, 1292, was born at Ascoli, of humble parentage. At an early age he entered the Franciscan order, of which he rose to be general in 1274, after the death of Bonaventura. It was in this capacity that in 1278 he condemned Roger Bacon to imprisonment on account of his writings. He subsequently became bishop of Praeneste ; and h… Nicholas Of Basel NICHOLAS OF BASEL, generally called by his friends the Great Layman or the Great Friend of God, was the founder of a singular widespread association of pious people who, in the age of monastic fraternities, lived in special religious fellowship in a fashion altogether different from the common usage of the time. They did not renounce their property, they took no vows of celibacy or of obedience, b… Nicholas, St NICHOLAS, ST, of Myra, according to the Roman breviary (December 6) was a native of Patara in Lycia, and was given to his parents in answer to their prayers. From his earliest infancy he signally displayed the piety for which his whole life was remarkable, on Wednesdays and Fridays regularly refusing to receive nourishment from his nurse except once only, and that after sunset. While still a youth… Nichols, John NICHOLS, JOHN (1745-1826), a printer, ranks among the most industrious and voluminous of English antiquaries and collectors. He was editor of the Gentleman's Magazine for nearly half a century, from 1778 till his death, and, partly in his magazine and partly in his numerous volumes of Anecdotes and Illustrations, made invaluable contributions to the personal history of English men of letters in th… Nicholson, William NICHOLSON, WILLIAM (1784-1844), portrait-painter, was born at Newcastle-on-Tyne in 1784. Nicholson, William NICHOLSON, WILLIAM (1753-1815), a writer on natural philosophy, was born in London in 1753, and after leaving school made two voyages as midshipman in the East India service. He subsequently entered an attorney's office, but, having become acquainted, in 1775, with Wedgwood, he resided for some years at Amsterdam as agent for the sale of pottery. On his return to England he was induced by Holcroft… Nicias NICIAS was the leader of the aristocratic party at Athens and one of the foremost figures in Athenian history during the Peloponnesian War. Nickel NICKEL, a chemical term, designating a metallic element which was discovered by Cronsted in 1751. In 1754 he succeeded in isolating it (in an impure state), and found it to be a "halbmetall" (semi-metal). Afterwards finding it to be present largely in " kupfer-nickel,"1 he borrowed from that mineral the name for his- new element. Nickel (Ni) is one of the less abundant of elements. It is contained… Nicobars NICOBARS, a cluster of eight large and twelve small islands in the Bay of Bengal, lying to the south of the Andamans, between 6? 40' and 9? 20' N. lat. and between 03? and 94? E. long., with a population in 1881, exclusive of aborigines, of 308. The largest island, the Great Nicobar, is about 30 miles in length and from 12 to 15 in breadth. Many of the islands are hilly, with peaks of considerable… Nicolai, Christoph Friedrich NICOLAI, CHRISTOPH FRIEDRICH (1733-1811), a German author and bookseller, was born on the 18th of March 1733, at Berlin, where his father was a bookseller. He was educated at a real-school in Berlin, and in 1749 went to Frankfort-on-the-Oder to learn his father's business. In 1752 he returned to Berlin, and soon began to take part in current literary controversy. At that time the leaders of critic… Nicolas, Sir Nicholas Harris NICOLAS, SIR NICHOLAS HARRIS (1799-1848), English antiquary, was born 10th March 1799, the fourth son of John Harris Nicolas of East Looe in Cornwall, whose Breton ancestors had settled there on the revocation of the edict of Nantes. He entered the navy in 1808, and was promoted lieutenant in 1815. At the close of the war he retired from the service and began to study for the bar. He was called at… Nicole, Pierre NICOLE, PIERRE (1625-1695), one of the most distinguished of the Port-Royalists, a scholar of great excellence, and, according to Bayle (who had no particular reason for praising him), " one of the best writers in Europe," was born at Chartres in 1625. Like his friend Pascal he was a precocious boy, though his precocity showed itself in classics and in miscellaneous reading, not in mathematics, an… Nicol, William NICOL, WILLIAM, the inventor of the invaluable polarizing prism (LIGHT, vol. xiv.p. 612), was born about 1768, and died at Edinburgh in September 1851. Nothing is known of his early history, beyond the fact that, after amassing a small competence as an itinerant popular lecturer on various parts of natural philosophy, be settled in Edinburgh to live a very retired life in the society of his appara… Nicomedes NICOMEDES I., son of Zipcetes, succeeded his father as king of Bithynia in 278 B.C. Nicomedes Ii NICOMEDES II., fourth in descent from the preceding, was son of Prusias II. Nicomedes Iii NICOMEDES III., son and successor of the preceding. Nicomedia NICOMEDIA, a town at the head of the Sinus Astacenus, which opens on the Propontis, was built in 264 n.c. by Nicomedes I., king of Bithynia, and has ever since been one of the chief towns in this part of Asia Minor. Nicopolis, Or Actia Nicopolis NICOPOLIS, or ACTIA NICOPOLIS, an ancient city of Epirus, founded 31 B.C. by Octavian in memory of his victory over Antony and Cleopatra at Actium. The colony, composed of settlers from a great many of the towns of the neighbouring countries (Ambracia, Anactorium, Calydon, Argos Amphilochicum, Leucas, &c.), proved highly successful, and the city was considered the capital of southern Epirus and Ac… Nicosia NICOSIA, a city of Italy in the province of Catania in Sicily, about 50 miles west of Catania, near the rise of the 15,460 in 1881 ; that of the town was 14,508 in 1871. Nicosia NICOSIA is the name in common use, though originally a mere corruption of the Greek name Lefkosia, for the though the discovery of some ancient tombs in the immediate neighbourhood prove that the site was inhabited in very early times, no mention is found of it before the reign of Constantine, by whom it was fortified with a circuit of walls, which continued to exist down to the time rulers of Cyprus from 1192 to 1489, - an advantage which it probably owed to its inland, and somewhat central, situation, though in other respects its position affords few advantages. Niebuhr, Barthold Georg NIEBUHR, BARTHOLD GEORG (1776-1831), the historian of ancient Rome, was the son of Karsten Niebuhr, noticed below, and was born at Copenhagen on August son. From the earliest age young Niebuhr manifested extraordinary precocity, and especial interest in history and politics. From 1791 to 1796, being already a finished classical scholar and acquainted with several modern languages, he studied at th… Niebuhr, Karsten NIEBUHR, KARSTEN (1733-1815), Eastern traveller, was born at Liidingworth, Lauenburg, on the southern border of Holstein, March 17, 1733, the son of a small farmer. He had little elementary education, and for several years of his youth had to do the work of a peasant. His bent was towards mathematics, and he managed to obtain some lessons in surveying. It was while he was working at this subject t… Niello NIELLO (Italian form of Latin nigellum, diminutive of niger, " black " ; late Greek, pAavOv), a method of producing delicate and minute decoration on a polished metal surface by incised lines filled in with a black metallic amalgam. In some cases it is very difficult to distinguish niello from black enamel ; but the black substance differs from true enamel in being metallic, not vitreous. Our know… Niemcewicz, Julian Ursin NIEMCEWICZ, JULIAN URSIN (1757-1841), was born in 1757 in Lithuania. In the earlier part of his life he acted as adjutant to Kosciusko, was taken prisoner with him at the fatal battle of Maciejowice (1794), and shared his captivity at St Petersburg. On his release he travelled for some time in America, where he married. He died as an emigrant at Paris in 1841. Niemcewicz tried many styles of compo… Niepce, Joseph Nicephore NIEPCE, JOSEPH NICEPHORE (1765-1833), one of the inventors of photography, was born at Chalon-sur-Saone on March 7, 1765. His father, a " conseiller du roi," was in.good circumstances, and young Niepce, who was of a meditative and poetical temperament, showed no eagerness to choose a profession. In 1792, however, he entered the army as a sub-lieutenant, and in the following year he saw active serv… Nievre NIEVRE, a central department of France, formed out of the old province of Nivernais with a small portion of the Orleanais, lies between 46? 40' and 47? 35' N. lat. and between 2? 50' and 4? 12' E. long., and is bounded N.W. by Loiret, N. by Yonne, N.E. by Cote d'Or, E. and S.E. by SaOne-et-Loire, S.W. and W. by Allier, and W. by Cher. It belongs partly to the basin of the Loire, partly to that of … Niezhin, Niejin, Or Nyeziiin NIEZHIN, NIEJIN, or NYEZIIIN, a district town of Kieff. The old town is built on the left bank of the (canalhad 200 students, but now only from 30 to 40, since its transformation into a philological institute. The 23,000 inhabitants are mostly Little Russians and Jews (about 3000); there are also some 400 Greeks, descendants of those who immigrated in the 17th century, at the invitation of Bogdan … Niger NIGER, C. Niger NIGER, one of the most famous of African rivers, has its headwaters on the north side of the mountains (known as Kong Mountains and by various other local names) which run parallel with the coast of Upper Guinea and Sierra Leone at a distance of about 200 miles, flows northeastward as far as 17? 30' N. lat. and the meridian of Greenwich, and then turning south-eastward reaches the Gulf of Guinea a… Nightingale NIGHTINGALE (Anglo-Saxon, Eategale, literally "singer of the night "), the bird justly celebrated beyond all others by European writers for the admirable vocal powers which, during some weeks after its return from its winter-quarters in the south, it exercises at all hours of the day and night. The song itself is indescribable, though several attempts, from the time of Aristophancs to the present,… Nightshade NIGHTSHADE, a general term for the genus of plants known to botanists as Solanum. The species to which the name of Nightshade is commonly given in England is the Solanum Dulcamara, L., which is also called the Bittersweet or Woody Nightshade. It is a common plant in damp hedgebanks and thickets, scrambling over under-wood and hedges. It has slender slightly woody stems, with alternate lanceolate l… Niigata NIIGATA, a city of Japan, with a population of about 34,000, the chief town of the province of Echigo, and one of the ports open to foreign trade since 1869, lies in 37? 57' N. lat. and 139? E. long., on the west coast of the island of Nippon, on a narrow strip of sandy ground between the left bank of the Shinano and the sea, which though quite at hand is shut out from view by a low range of sandh… Nijar NIJAR, a town of Spain, in the province of Almeria, 14 miles to the east-north-east of that town, occupies an exposed site on the southern slope of the Sierra Alhamilla. Nijne-taghilsk NIJNE-TAGHILSK, currently known as TAGHIL, a town and iron-work of Russia, situated in the government of Perm and district of Verkhoturie, 100 miles to the south-east of the district town. It occupies an advantageous position in a longitudinal valley on the eastern slope of the Ural Mountains, within a few miles of the place where the Taghil, cutting through the eastern wall of the valley, escapes… Nijne-tchirskaya NIJNE-TCHIRSKAYA, a Cossack village, or stanitsa, of Russia, chief town of the Second Don district of the Don Cossack government, is situated on the right bank of the Don, at its junction with the Tehir, 25 miles below the Kalatch station of the Volga and Don Railway, and is the chief point for corn and linseed from the basin of the middle Don. Nijni-loinioff NIJNI-LOINIOFF, a district town of Russia, in the government of Penza, 69 miles west-north-west from the capital of the government, on the Lomoff ; the railway from Penza to Tula passes within 17 miles. Nijni-novgorod NIJNI-NOVGOROD, or simply NIJNI Or NIJNIY, capital of the above government, is situated at the confluence of the Oka and Volga, 276 miles by rail to the east of Moscow. It occupies a most advantageous position on the great artery of Russian trade, at a place where the manufactured and agricultural products of the basin of the Oka meet with the metal wares from that of the Kama; the corn and salt b… Nijni-novgorod, Or Nijniy-novgorod NIJNI-NOVGOROD, or NIJNIY-NOVGOROD, a government of Central Russia, bounded by Vladimir on the W., by Yaroslaff and Vyatka, on the N. and N.E., by Kazan and Simbirsk on the E., and by Penza and Tamboff on the S., with an area of 19,800 square miles, two-thirds being on the right and the rest on the left bank of the Volga. The smaller portion, with the exception of the better-drained lands close to… Nikko NIKKO, one of the chief religious centres of Japan, is beautifully situated on the Nikko Zan (Mountains of the Sun's Brightness) in Tochigi ken (province of Shimotsuke), about 92 miles north-north-west of Tokio (Yedo) by the ordinary route via Utsunomiya. The town is properly called Hachi-ishi, but this name is very little used in cornparison with that of the shrines. A Shinto temple seems to have… Nikolaievsk NIKOLAIEVSK, a district town of Russia, in the government of Samara, on the right bank of the Irghiz, lies 48 miles from the Volga and 109 miles to the south-west of Samara. Its 10,000 inhabitants are mostly Raskolniks, or of the "United Church," and about 2000 Tartars occupy a separate part of the town. The chief occupation of the Russian and Tartar inhabitants is agriculture and cattle-breeding,… Nikolaievskaya Sloboda NIKOLAIEVSKAYA SLOBODA, a village of Russia, in the government of Astrakhan and district of Tsareff, 3 miles from the Volga, on its left bank, opposite Kamuishin. Nikopol NIKOPOL, a town of Russia, in the government and district of Ekaterinoslaff, on the right bank of the Dnieper, 76 miles to the south-south-west of Ekaterinoslaff. The town, formerly called Nikitin Rog, occupies an elongated peninsula between two branches of the Dnieper, at a point where its banks are covered on both sides and to a considerable distance with marshes, and has been for many centuries… Nikopoli NIKOPOLI, or NIcorou (Turkish, Nighebolu or Nebul), a city of Bulgaria, the chief town of a circle in the district of Plevna (Plyeven), is picturesquely situated on the south bank of the Danube, at the confluence. of the Osma. According to the census of 1881 it had only 4652 inhabitants, but previous to its destruction by the Russians in 1877 they numbered about 10,000, and as a military post the … Nile NILE. This mighty river, which after a course of I 3370 miles pours into the Mediterranean a low-water current of 61,500 cubic feet per second, has its cradle in the Victoria Nyanza, an enormous lake in Central Africa where the line of the equator is crossed by 32?, 33?, / and 34? of E. long., somewhere about 4000 feet above the sea. The Victoria Nyanza2 measures 230 miles from north to south and … Nilgiri Hills, Or Neilgherity Hills NILGIRI HILLS, or NEILGHERItY HILLS, a district and range of mountains in the Madras presidency, India, lying by Coimbatore, S. by Coimbatore and Malabar, and W. by The highest mountain peaks are - Dodabetta, 8760 feet ; Kudiakad, 8502 ; Bevoibetta, .8188 ; Makurti, 8402 ; Davarsolabetta, 8380 ; Iiunda, 8353 ; 1Cimdarnoge, 7816 ; Utakamand, 7361; Tambrabetta, 7292 ; Hokabetta, 7267. There.are six … Nimaii NIMAII, a district in the Central Provinces, India, lying between 21? 4' and 22? 26' N. lat. and between 75? 50' and 77? 1' E. long., and bounded on the N. and W. by Dhar and Indore states, S. by Khandesh and West Berar, and E, by Hoshangabad. The area is 3340 square Miles, of which only 659 are under cultivation. The population in 18S1 was 231,341 (embracing 199,454 Hindus, 24,426 Mohammedans, 52… Nimeguen, Nimwegen, Or Nymegen NIMEGUEN, NIMWEGEN, or NYMEGEN (Dutch, Nijmegen), probably the oldest of all the cities of the Netherlands, is situated in the province of Guelderland, on the south bank of. the Waal, 80 miles from the sea and 17 miles north-west of Cleves. Built partly on a row of five hillsHessenberg or Hezelberg, Marienberg, Gruitberg, Klokkenberg, and Hunnenberg or Hoenderberg - so that stairs are necessary to… Nimrod NIMROD (NE/4 A, LXX.), apart from the mere mention of his name in Micah v. 5 (A.V., v. 6), occurs only once in Scripture, namely, in Gen. x. 8-12 (1 Chron. i. 10), where, in a Jehovistic portion of the genealogy of the nations there given, we are told that " Cush begat Nimrod, who Noah the first to plant vines, so is Nimrod the first mighty ruler in the earth, and as such at the same time a mighty… Nineveh NINEVEH (Hebrew 7114'; in classical authors Nivos, Ninus; LXX., Ncvevt; Jerome, Niniue), the famous capital of the Assyrian empire, called Ninua or Nina on the monuments. Though the city appears to have been entirely destroyed in the fall of the empire 4 the name of Nineveh (Syriac, Ninwe ; Arabic, Ninawa, Nitnawd) continued, even in the Middle Ages, to be applied to a site opposite Mosul on the e… Ning-po, Or Ning-po-f00 NING-PO, or NING-PO-F00 (i.e., City of the Hospitable Waves), a great city of China, one of the five seaports thrown open to foreign trade in 1842 by the treaty of Nanking, and the principal emporium of the province of Chekeang, stands in a fine plain bounded by mountains towards the west, on the left bank of the Takia or Ning-po river, about 16 miles from its mouth, in 29? 51' N. lat. and 121? 32… Ninian NINIAN (Nim.c.cus or NYNIAS), Si', was, according to the earliest account of him we possess, - that of Bede (II. E., iii. 4), - a bishop of the nation of the Britons who had been trained at Rome in the doctrine and discipline of the Western Church, and who built at Leukopibia (a town of Ptolemy's Novantaz, on the west side of Wigtown Bay, the modern Whithorn) a stone church, called Candida Casa, d… Niobe NIOBE is a figure who appears in the legends of many parts of Greece, especially Thebes, Argos, and the Hermus valley. Proud of her numerous family, she scoffed at Leto as the mother of only two children. Apollo and Artemis, the children of Leto, slew all her children with their arrows; and Niobe, after vainly trying to defend them, wept over them till she became a rock which still weeps incessant… Niobium NIOBIUM, a very rare chemical element which was discovered by H. Niort NIORT, a city of France, chief town of the department of Deux Sevres, distant 255 miles south-west of Paris by the railway to Poitiers and La Rochelle (here crossed by the line from Angers to Angoul'eme), is situated at the head of navigation of the Sevre Niortaise, partly in the valley and partly on the slopes of the enclosing hills. The tower of the church of Notre Dame (16th century) has a spir… Nish NISH, Nrscri, or NISSA, the ancient Naissus, a city of the Balkan peninsula, which at one time was the capital of Servia, and after being the chief town of a Turkish eyalet in the vilayet of the Danube, and (1877) of the new vilayet of Kossovo, was again in 1878 restored to Servia, where it is now the administrative centre of a circle containing a population of 117,000. The town is a thriving plac… Nishapor, Or Msiia NISHAPOR, or MSIIA.Pthi. (Arabic, Naisabgr), the most important city of Khorasan in the Middle Ages, but now much decayed. The second element of the name is that of the traditional founder Shahpuhr or Sapor. Some accounts name the first, others the second Sapor.1 The older name of the town or district was Abrashahr. The importance of the place under the Sasanians was in part religious; one of the … Nisibis NISIBIS, a once famous city and fortress, situated in 37? N. lat. and 41? 20' 10" E. long., in the north of Mesopotamia, near the point where the Jaghjagha leaves the mountains by a narrow defile. The modern Nasibin consists of some two hundred wretched huts, mainly inhabited by Jews, who pay tribute to the Sharnmar Bedouins. The neighbourhood, we are informed by Arab writers, was at one time rich… Nisi Prius NISI PRIUS. For the history and meaning of this term in English law see ASSIZE. As a rule actions only Division, for the trial of actions. The trial at nisi prius was formerly by jury, unless with consent of the parties, but since the rules of the Supreme Court of 1883 the ordinary trial at nisi prius is without a jury in all but some specially excepted cases, chiefly of torts where the damages ar… Nissa NISSA. See Nisu. atmosphere consists of elementary nitrogen ; and, as an essential component of all albumenoids, the element pervades the whole of the animal and vegetable kingdom. Nitrogen minerals are scarce (almost the only ones are Chili saltpetre and native nitre), but traces of the two nitrogen compounds, ammonia and nitric acid, are diffused throughout all soils, besides existing in the atm… Nitroglycerin NITROGLYCERIN (synonymes Glonoin, Glonoin Oil, Dynamites, Blasting Gelatin), C3I-15N30, = C3I-15(NO2)303, was discovered by Sobrero in 1846, and soon afterwards was more thoroughly investigated by Railton and by De Vrij. It is formed by the action of concentrated nitric acid, in the presence of strong sulphuric acid, upon glycerin at a low temperature, and may be readily prepared upon a small scal… Nitzsch, Karl Immanuel NITZSCH, KARL IMMANUEL (1787-1868), theologian, was born at the small Saxon town of Borna on September number of writings, among which may be mentioned a Immanuel, after receiving his elementary education at home, was sent to Schulpforta in 1803, whence he proceeded to the university of Wittenberg in 1806. In 1809 he graduated, when the subject of his thesis was De evangeliorunz apocryphorum in ex… Nivelles NIVELLES (Elem., Nyvel), a manufacturing town of South Brabant, Belgium, stands on the Thines, a small sub-tributary of the Scheldt, 18 miles by rail to the south of Brussels. The Romanesque church of St Gertrude, dating from the 11th century, is interesting, but the exterior suffered defacement in the 18th century, and the restoration of the tower, which suffered from fire in 1859, has not been s… Noah NOAH (r13, Ni;;E, _Yoe) is, according to the book of Genesis, the son of Lamech, and the second father of mankind after the deluge. His name, which is of obscure origin, is connected in Gen. v. 29 with a play on the word inn) (nahem), to comfort. The story of the flood, the two elements of which the extant narrative is composed, and the parallel traditions of other nations, particularly of the Bab… Noailles NOAILLES. This great French family took its name from the castle of Noailles, in the territory of Ayen, between Brives and Turenne in the Limousin, and dated its nobility from the 11th century. It did not obtain more than local and provincial fame until the 16th century, when its head, ANTOINE de Noailles (1504-1562), became admiral of France, and was ambassador in England during three important y… Noakhali, Or Noacolly NOAKHALI, or NOACOLLY, a district in the lieutenant-governorship of Bengal, India, lying between 22? 22' and 23? 17' N. lat. and 90? 43' and 91? E. long, bounded on the N. by Tipperah, on the E. by Hill Tipperah state and Chittagong, on the S. by the Bay of Bengal, and on the W. by the main stream of the Meghni, with an area of 1611 square miles, consists of an alluvial tract of mainthick grove of… Nobili, Leopoldo NOBILI, LEOPOLDO (1781-1834), was in youth an officer of artillery, but afterwards became professor of physics in the archducal museum at Florence, the old habitat of the Accademia del Cinzento. Nobility NOBILITY. To form a true understanding of what is strictly implied in the word " nobility " it is needful to distinguish its meaning from that of several words with which it is likely to be confounded. In England nobility is apt to be confounded with the peculiar institution of the British peerage. Yet nobility, in some shape or another, has existed in most places and times of the world's history,… Nocera Inferiore NOCERA INFERIORE, formerly NOCERA DES PAGANS, a city of Italy in the province of Salerno at the foot of Monte Albino, 22i- miles east-south-east of Naples on the railway was 12,830; but the interest of the place is almost exclusively historical. Nuceria Alfaterna, first mentioned as assisting the Samnites in 315 B.C., was a few years later (308) besieged and captured by Fabius. In 216 Hannibal com… Noddy NODDY, the name applied, originally by sailors, to a sea-bird from its showing so little fear of man as to be accounted stupid. It is the Sterna stolida of Linnmus, and the Anous stolidus of modern ornithology, having the figure of a TERN (q.v.), and belonging to the sub-family Sterninx, but is heavier in flight, with shorter wings and the tail less deeply forked. The plumage is of a uniform sooty… Nodier, Charles NODIER, CHARLES (c. 1780-1844), a writer of greater intrinsic merit and more importance in the history of French literature than is generally recognized, was born at Besancon somewhat less than ten years before the outbreak of the Revolution, but the exact date is strangely uncertain. Besancon for the place and the 29th of April for the day of the month appear to be agreed upon, but the year is so… Noetus NOETUS, a presbyter of the church of Asia Minor about 230 A.D., was a native of Smyrna, where (or perhaps in Ephesus) he became a prominent representative of the particular type of Christology which is now technically called modalistic monarchianism (see vol. xvi. p. 719). Noirmoutier NOIRMOUTIER, an island of France belonging to the department of Vendee, and protecting the Bay of Bourgneuf on the south-west. Between the island and the mainland is a sandbank laid bare at low water, and crossed by an embankment and carriage road, which is continually kept in good repair. It was not till about 1766 that people found they could walk across to the island, which lies from north-nort… Nola NOLA, a city of Italy in the province of Caserta (Terra di Lavoro), is pleasantly situated on the plain between Mount Vesuvius and the Apennines, 14 miles east-northcast of Naples on the road to Avellino, and 202 miles south-west of Cancello on the railway to the same town. The more conspicuous buildings are the ancient Gothic cathedral (restored in 1866), with its lofty tower rebuilt since the fi… Nolle Ken NOLLE KEN S, JOSEPH (1737-1823), sculptor, was born 11th August 1737 in London, where his father, a native of Antwerp, the "old Nollekens" of Horace Walpole, was a painter of some repute. In his thirteenth year he entered the studio of the sculptor Scheemakers, and practised drawing and modelling with great assiduity, ultimately gaining various prizes offered by the Society of Arts. In 1760 he wen… Nolle Prosequi NOLLE PROSEQUI (sometimes shortened into nol. pros.) is a technical term of English law, the meaning of which varies as it is used with reference to civil or criminal cases. In civil cases it applies only to actions in the Queen's Bench Division, and there signifies a formal undertaking by the plaintiff that he will proceed no further with the action (se ulterius nolle prosequi). The more modern p… Nollet, Jean Antoixe NOLLET, JEAN ANTOIXE, French physicist, was born at Pimprez (now in Oise) on 19th November 1700, and died at Paris in 1770. Nonconformity NONCONFORMITY, Law RELATING TO. The history of the gradual relief of nonconformists in England from their disabilities will be found under ENGLAND, and under the heads of the various denominations, e.g., BAPTISTS, INDEPENDENTS, METHODISM, QUAKERS, &c. See also OATHS. It is proposed here to note simply the present legal aspects of nonconformity apart from its history, that is, the matters in which … Nonjurors NONJURORS in English history are the small minority of the beneficed clergy who incurred the penalties of suspension and deprivation for refusing to swear allegiance Charles Leslie, and Henry Dodwell. Nonnus NONNUS, Greek epic poet, author of the Dionysiaca, was a native of Panopolis in the Egyptian Thebaid. He fication is imitated by Proclus, who was born 412 A.D. mythology ; its spirit, at the same time, is anything but often frigid conceits bring it near to the Italian bastard charged upon his age, while his merits are his own. This His influence on the vocabulary of his successors was likewise ver… Nonpareil NONPAREIL, the name under which, from its supposed matchless beauty, a little cage-bird, chiefly imported from New Orleans, has long been known to English dealers (cf. Edwards, Gleanings, i. p. 132). It is the Emberiza ciris of Linninus, and the Cyanospiza ciris of most recent ornithologists, belonging to a small group, which, in the present state of knowledge, cannot with certainty be referred ei… Nonsuit NONSUIT (i.e., non suit, he does not pursue) is the name given to a judgment whereby an issue is determined against the plaintiff. It was a term peculiar to the English common-law courts before the Judicature Acts, and was simply the expression of the opinion of the court that, apart from the merits, the plaintiff's case was incomplete. It did not in any way act as a bar to his bringing another ac… Noodt, Gerhard NOODT, GERHARD (1647-1725), a celebrated jurist, was born at Nimeguen in 1647. He began his studies in his native town, continued them at Leyden and Utrecht, and finished them at Franeker, where he took his doctor's degree in law. After passing through successive grades of promotion he was ultimately appointed to a law chair at Leyden. It was in the character of a writer on jurisprudence, however,… Nord NORD, the most northern of the departments of France, formed out of Flanders, French Hainault, and the district of Cambrais (Cambresis), lies between 50? and 51? 6' N. lat., and between 2? 5' and 4? 15' E. long., but in such a way that, while it has a length from south-east to north-west of 112 miles, its breadth is nowhere more than 40 miles, and contracts to 4 at the point where it is crossed by… Norderney NORDERNEY (i.e., northern island), the most important of the fringe of sand-islands along the coast of East Friesland, belongs to the Prussian province of Hanover. Nordhausen NORDHAUSEN, a flourishing town in Prussian Saxony, in the district of Erfurt, is situated on the Zorge, at the south base of the Harz mountains, and at the west church of St Blasius, containing two pictures by Lucas Granath. Near the medimval town-house stands a Roland's column, the ancient symbol of free commercial intercourse and civic liberty. The chief importance of the place arises from its d… Nordlingen NoRDLINGEN, a town of West Bavaria in the district of Schwaben and Neuburg, is situated on the Eger, 40 miles to the north of Augsburg. It was formerly an imperial town, with an independent territory of 35 square miles in extent, and is still surrounded with walls and towers. The most interesting buildings are the Gothic Hauptkirche and the late Gothic town-house, both of which contain paintings b… Norfolk NORFOLK, a city and port of entry of the United States in Norfolk county, Virginia, opposite Portsmouth, on the north bank of Elizabeth river, an arm of Chesapeake Bay. It is the terminus of the Norfolk and Western Railroad (408 miles) and the Norfolk Southern Railroad (74 miles), has easy access to the Dismal Swamp Canal from Elizabeth City to the Pasquotank river), and the Albemarle and Chesapea… Norfolk NORFOLK, an eastern maritime county of England, is bounded N. and E. by the North Sea, S.E. and S. by Suffolk, S.W. by Cambridge, and W. by Lincoln. It is of an irregular oval form, its greatest length east and west being 67 miles, and its greatest breadth about 42 miles. The area is 1,356,173 acres, or 2119 square miles. Coast-line. - Nearly two-thirds of the boundary of the county is formed by t… Norfolk Island NORFOLK ISLAND, with the much smaller Nepean Island and Phillip Island, lies about 29? 3' S. lat. and 167? 58' E. long, 400 miles north-north-west of New Zealand, on a submarine tableland extending 18 miles to the north, and 25 miles to the south, with an average breadth of 18 miles. Measuring about 6 miles in length from north-west to south-east, Norfolk Island has an area of 8607 acres, or 13i s… Noricum NORICUM was the ancient name of the country south of the Danube, around the rivers Inn and Drave, and extending on the south to the banks of the Save. Normanby, Constantine Henry Phipps NORMANBY, CONSTANTINE HENRY PHIPPS, MARQUIS OF (1797-1863), bore an eminent, though not a leading, part in some of the greatest movements of 'this century. As governor of Jamaica he had charge of the distribution of the huge compensation to owners upon the abolition of slavery in the West Indies ; it fell to him as lord-lieutenant of Ireland to give effect to the Catholic Emancipation Act; he was … Normandy NORMANDY (Terra Northmannorum, Northmannia, Normannia, Normendie, Normandy) is the name which was given to part of northern Gaul in consequence of its occupation in the early part was the 10th century by the Northmen, whose name was on Gaulish soil gradually changed into Normans. Till that time the land which has ever since borne the name of Normandy had no distinct name, nor any separate politica… Normans NORMANS is the softened form of the word "Northman," applied first to the people of Scandinavia in general, and afterwards specially to the people of Norway. In the form of "Norman" (North,mannus, Normannus, Normand) it is the name of those colonists from Scandinavia who settled themselves in Gaul, who founded the Norman duchy, who adopted the French tongue and French manners, and who from their n… Normanton NORMANTON, a township in the West Riding of Yorkshire, is situated on the Calder river, and on several railway lines, 3 miles (by rail) north-east of Wakefield and 24 south-south-west of York. Norris, John NORRIS, JOHN (1657-1711), the disciple of Plato and Malebranche, was born in 1657 at Collingbourne-Kingston in Wiltshire, where his father was then incumbent. He was educated at Winchester School, and entered at Exeter College, Oxford, in 1676. In 1680 he took his degree and was elected to a fellowship at All Souls' College. He first made himself known in the university, Anthony Wood tells us, by … Norristown NORRISTOWN, a borough of the United States, capital of Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, lies on the north bank of the Schuylkill river, opposite Bridgeport (with which it is connected by two bridges), and 16 miles northwest of Philadelphia by the Germantown and Norristown branch of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad. It is a well-built and pleasant town, and contains blast-furnaces and rolling-… Norrkoping NORRKOPING, the "Manchester of Scandinavia," a town of Sweden in the province of Ostergotland, 113 miles south-west of Stockholm by rail, situated on both banks of the Motala, the wide and rapid emissary of Lake Wetter, and not far from the head of Br'avik Fjord. The river, which here forms the two islands of Laksholm and Bruxholm, is spanned by a number of bridges. Having been burned by the Russi… North NORTH, Six DUDLEY (1641-1691), political economist, was third son of Dudley, fourth Lord North, who published, besides other things, Passages relating to the Long Parliament, of which he had himself been a member. He was born 16th May 1641. In his early years he was carried off by Gipsies and recovered with some difficulty by his family, - an incident curiously similar to that which befell Adam Sm… North NORTH, Sin THOMAS, son of Edward North, first Baron North of Kirtling, is memorable as the author of the English version of Plutarch's Lives that supplied Shakespeare with materials for his classical plays. Materials for a biographical notice are extremely scanty ; and neither the exact date of his birth nor that of his death is known. His literary career was long, for he was living in decayed old… North Adams NORTH ADAMS, a township, manufacturing village, and important railway junction of the United States in Berkshire county, Massachusetts, on the Hoosac river, 143 miles from Boston by the Troy and Boston Railroad. Northallerton NORTHALLERTON, a market town and parliamentary borough in the North Riding of Yorkshire, is situated on a small stream, the Sun Beck, a tributary of the Wiske, and on the North-Eastern Railway, about 40 miles north of Leeds and 17 north of Ripon. It consists principally of a long and wide street running north and south. The church of All Saints is a large cruciform structure in the Early English a… Northampton NORTHAMPTON, a city of the United States, the county seat of Hampshire county, Massachusetts, is situated on the west side of the Connecticut river, 17 miles by rail north of Springfield, and is connected with Hadley by a bridge 1230 feet long. The village of Northampton lies in rich alluvial meadow-land, about a mile from the bank of the river, and with its semi-rural streets and venerable trees … Northampton NORTHAMPTON, an inland county of England, is bounded N. by Lincoln, N.W. by Rutland and Leicester, ? W. by Warwick, S.W. and S. by Oxford, S.E. by Buckingham, and E. by Bedford, Huntingdon, and Cambridge. It has an area of 629,912 acres, or about 982 square miles. Its greatest length from north-east to south-west is about 70 miles ; in breadth it varies from 7 to 26 miles. The surface is hilly and… Northampton NORTHAMPTON, a municipal and parliamentary borough, and the county town of Northamptonshire, is situated on the slope and summit of an eminence rising above the river Nene, on the main line of the London and North-Western Company, on several branch railway lines, and on a branch canal connecting it with the Grand Junction Canal, 65 miles north-north-west from London. It is divided into four nearly… North Bierley NORTH BIERLEY, an urban sanitary district in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England, about 2 miles south of Bradford, includes the villages of Bierley Lane, Wibsey, and Low Moor, and other smaller hamlets. North Carolina NORTH CAROLINA, one of the original thirteen States I that formed the American Union, is situated on the Atlantic 3 seaboard between 33? 50' and 36? 33' N. lat. and between 75? 27' and 84? 20' W. long. It stretches 500 miles east and west across the entire breadth of the Atlantic slope of the Appalachians in a long narrow rudely triangular belt, its western extremity, less than 20 miles wide, rest… Northcote, James NORTHCOTE, JAMES (1746-1831), historical and portrait painter, was born at Plymouth on the 22d October same time he studied from the round and the life in the Academy schools, making, it would seem, rather slow progress in the technical processes of art. In 1775 he left Reynolds, and about two years later, having acquired the requisite funds by portrait-painting in Devonshire, he at Michelangelo f… Northern NORTHERN : Dialect of Bunt Kenz or tilattokki, from the first cataract to Seb6' and WAdy al-'Arab, probably dating from the Diocletian period. Northfleet NORTHFLEET, a village and urban sanitary district in the county of Kent, forming part of the parliamentary borough of Gravesend, is situated on the Thames and the North Kent Railway, 20 miles east of London and 2 west of Gravesend. The church of St Botolph, chiefly in the Later Decorated style, dates from the middle of the 13th century ; but the nave is of later date, and the old tower, having fal… North, Lord NORTH, LORD (1732 -1792). Frederick North, second earl of Guilford, but better known by his courtesy title of Lord North, was prime minister of England during the important years of the American War. The only son, by his first marriage, of Francis, seventh Lord North (grandson of Lord Keeper North), who was created earl of Guilford in 1752, Frederick was born on 13th April 1732, and after being ed… North, Roger NORTH, ROGER (1650-1733), in writing his Examen of Kennet's History of England, and the " Lives " of his brothers, Lord Keeper Guilford, Sir Dudley North, and John, master of Trinity College, Cambridge, became one of the original authorities for the political and social history of the reigns of Charles II. and James II. North Sea NORTH SEA. The North Sea or German Ocean lies between Great Britain and the continent of Europe. It communicates with the North Atlantic by the Straits of Dover in the south, and by the Pentland Firth and the various openings between the Orkney and Shetland Islands in the north. Between the Shetlands and Norway it passes by a wide opening into the sub-polar basin, now generally known as the NORWEG… Northumberland NORTHUMBERLAND, the northernmost county of ] England, is of a .somewhat triangular form, roughly re- sembling that of England itself. It lies between 54? 47' and 55? 46' N. lat. and 1?. 25' and 2? 41' W. long., and is in its extremes about 70 'miles long and 53 broad. Its area is 2016 square miles, ranking it fifth among English counties. Northumberland lies entirely on the easterly slope of the c… Northumberland, Kingdom Of NORTHUMBERLAND, KINGDOM OF. The history of Anglo-Saxon England is the history, not of a heptarchy of independent and equal or nearly equal kingdoms united by any kind of federal bond, but of the rise and progress of the kingdom of Northumberland from the end of the 6t11 to the middle of the 8th century under Ethelfrith and the descendants of Edwin of Deira, the predominance of Mercia during the la… North-western Provinces, The NORTH-WESTERN PROVINCES, THE, a lieutenant-governorship of British India, lying between 23? 51' and 31? 5' N. lat. and between 77? 3' and 84? 43' E. long., is bounded on the N. by Tibet, on the N.E. by Nepal and Oudh, on the S. by the Chutia Nagpur districts of Bengal, Rewah, the Bundelkhand states, and the Central Provinces, and on the W. by Gwalior, Rajputana, and the Punjab, with an area under … North-west Territory NORTH-WEST TERRITORY was at first the vague general designation of all that portion of British North Western Territory. Northwicii NORTHWICII, a market town of Cheshire, England, is situated at the confluence of the rivers Weaver and Dane, near the Trent and Mersey Canal, and near the main line of the London and North-Western Railway in the Chester branch of the Cheshire lines, 18 miles north-east of Chester and 22 south-west from Manchester. The streets are narrow and irregular, and many of the houses are screwed and bolted … Norton, Hon NORTON, HON. MRS CAROLINE ELIZABETH (1808-1877), afterwards Lady Stirling-Maxwell, ranks high among the women of letters of the 19th century. She was born in 1808. One of the three beautiful granddaughters of Sheridan, daughters of his son Thomas, "three Graces" of London society in the reign of George IV., she showed literary ambition and faculty before she was out of her teens. Her first publica… Norwalk NORWALK, a post-village of the United States, capital of Huron county, Ohio, 58 miles east of Toledo by the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway and also on the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railroad, is a flourishing little place of 5704 inhabitants (1880), containing planing-mills, grist-mills, manufactories of sewing-machines, organs, carpet-sweepers, and shoes, and breweries. Norwalk NORWALK, a township of the United States, in Fairfield county, Connecticut, on Long Island Sound, 43 miles north-east of New York, at the terminus of the Danbury and Norwalk Railroad. It contains the borough of Norwalk, dating from 1S36, and the city of South Norwalk, incorporated in 1870, the population of township, borough, and city in 1880 being respectively 13,956, 5308, and 3726. Vessels draw… Norway Literature NORWAY LITERATURE - the literature of Norway bears something of the same relation to that of Denmark that American literature bears to English. In each case the development and separation of a dependency have produced a desire on the part of persons speaking the mother-tongue for a literature that shall express the local emotions and conditions of the new nation. Two notable events led to the foun… Norwegian Sea NORWEGIAN SEA. The sub-polar regions of the Atlantic lying between the Scandinavian peninsula and Greenland have been in recent years carefully investigated by Norwegian expeditions under Professors Mohn and Sars; and, as the sea immediately to the west of Norway has not hitherto been known by any distinctive name, Mohn has proposed the name of " Norwegian Sea," - a suggestion which has been now g… Norwich NORWICH, a city of the United States, one of the county seats of New London county, Connecticut, lies 16 miles from Long Island Sound at the junction of the Yantic and the Shetucket to form the Thames, and 13 miles north of New London by the New London Northern Railroad. The greater part of the city is built on rising ground between the valleys of the confluent streams, and with its white and hand… Norwich NORWICH, a city of England, the capital of Norfolk, a county of itself and a municipal and parliamentary borough, stands mainly on the right bank of the winding Wensum, a little above its confluence with the Yare, by rail being 20 miles west of Yarmouth, 68-i north-east of Cambridge, and 114 north-north-east of London. The municipal and parliamentary boundaries enclose an area of 7472 acres ; but … Norwood NORWOOD, a municipal suburb of Adelaide, South Australia, is situated about 2 miles north-east of the centre of the city, with which it is connected by a tramway. Norwood NORWOOD, a large suburban district of London, county of Surrey, is situated in a hilly and finely-wooded district about 1 mile south-west of Dulwich and 4 south of Lambeth. Nossi-be NOSSI-BE, an island off Passandava Bay, on the northwest coast of Madagascar, in 13? 23' S. lat. and 45? 59' E. long., is situated 149 miles from Mayotte, and governed, along with the smaller island of Nossi-komba, by a French commandant subordinate to the governor of Mayotte. Nossi-be is of volcanic formation, the north and south parts of older, the central part of more modern date. Be sides a nu… Nostradamus NOSTRADAMUS (1503-1566), the assumed name of Micr[EL DE NOTREDAME, a French astrologer, who was descended from a family of Jewish origin, and was born at St Remi in Provence 13th December 1503. After completing a course of study in humanity and philosophy at Avignon, he entered the school of medicine at Montpellier, where he eventually took the degree of doctor of medicine in 1529. Shortly afterwa… Notary Or Notary Public NOTARY or NOTARY PUBLIC. In Roman law the notarius was originally a slave or freedman who took notes (note) of judicial proceedings in shorthand or cipher. The notary of modern law corresponds rather to the tabellio or tabularius of Roman law than to the notarius. In the canon law the notary was a person of great importance, and it was a inaxim of that law that his evidence was worth that of two u… Notice NOTICE. The primary meaning of notice is knowledge (notitia), as in "judicial notice ;" thence it comes to signify the means of bringing to knowledge, as in "notice to quit;" at last it may be used even for the actual writing by which notice is given. The most important legal uses of the word are judicial notice and the equitable doctrine of notice. Judicial notice is the recognition by courts of … Notker NOTKER, a name of somewhat frequent occurrence in the ecclesiastical history of the Middle Ages. Noto NOTO, a city of Italy, in the province of Syracuse (Sicily), 24 miles south-west of Syracuse by road on the way to Modica. Built on a new site after the earthquake of 1693, it is laid out in modern style, and contains a number of handsome mansions belonging to the provincial aristocracy. The population of the city was 15,925 in 1881 ; that of the commune, 16,590 in 1871, reached 18,239 in 1881. Ne… Nottingham NOTTINGHAM, a municipal and parliamentary borough of England, a county in itself and the chief town of Nottinghamshire, is finely situated on an acclivity of a rock rising above the Trent and on several railway lines, 128 miles north-north-west of London and - east of Derby. It is connected both with the Midland and Great Northern railway systems, while by means of the Trent, the Grantham Canal, a… Nottingham Or Notts NOTTINGHAM or NOTTS, an inland comity of England, is bounded N. by Yorksllire and Lincolnshire, W. by Derbyshire, S. by Leicestershire, and E. by Lincolnshire. It is of an irregular oval shape, its length from rorth to south being about 50 miles, and its greatest breadtu from east to west about 25 miles. The area is 527,752 acres, or nearly 825 square miles. The surface, though for the most part l… Novara NOVARA, a city of Italy, the chief town of a province, stands between the Agogna and the Terdoppio on a bill 545 feet above sea-level in the plain between the Sessia and the Po. It is an important railway junction, 30 miles west of Milan, on the main line from Turin to Venice, which there connects with the continuation of the St Gotthard line and the Simplon route, as well as with a line to Alessa… Nova Scotia NOVA SCOTIA, originally Acadia, a province of the Dominion of Canada, lies between 43? 25' and 47? N. lat. and 59? 40' and 66? 25' W. long., and is composed of the peninsula proper and the adjoining island of CAPE BRETON (q.v.), which is separated from the mainland by the Gut of Canso. It is bounded on the N. by Northumberland Strait (which divides it from Prince Edward Island) and the Gulf of St … Novatianus NOVATIANUS, Roman presbyter, and one of the earliest antipopes, founder of the sect of the Novatiani or Novatians, was born about the beginning of the 3d century. On the authority of Philostorgius (II. E., viii. 15), he has often been called a native of Phrygia, but perhaps the historian intended by this nothing more than to indicate the Montanistic complexion of Novatian's creed. Of the facts of … Novation NOVATION is a term derived from the Roman law, in which novatio was of three kinds - substitution of a new debtor (expromissio or delegatio), of a new creditor (cessio nonzinum eel actionunz), or of a new contract. In English law the term (though it occurs as early as Bracton) is scarcely yet naturalized, the substitution of a new debtor or creditor being generally called an assignment, and of a n… Nova Zembla NOVA ZEMBLA, or, more correctly, NOVAYA ZEMLYA (i.e., "New Land "), is a large island, surrounded by many small ones, situated in the ARCTIC OCEAN (see vol. ii., plate xxvi.), and belonging to the Russian empire. It lies between 70? 30' and 77? N. lat. and between 52? and 69? E. long., in the shape of an elongated crescent 600 miles in length, with an average width of 60 miles, and an estimated ar… Novel NOVEL. November NOVEMBER (or itiovembris, se. mensis, from novem), the ninth month of the old Roman year, which began with March. By the Julian arrangement, according to which tion of the Virgin on the 21st, St Cecilia's on the 22d, St name probably alluding to the custom of slaughtering cattle about Martinmas for winter consumption. In the calendar of the first French republic November reappeared partly as Bruma… Novgorod NOVGOROD, a government of north-western Russia, bounded on the W. and N. by St Petersburg and Olonetz, on the S.E. by Vologda, Yaroslavl, and Tver, and on the S.W. by Pskov, has an extreme length from south-west to north-east of 400. miles, and an area of 47,240 square miles. Its southern part is occupied by the Valdai or Alvin plateau, which has the highest elevations of middle Russia (800 to 100… Novgorod NOVGOROD, capital of the above government, is situated 119 miles to the south of St Petersburg, on the low fiat banks of the Volkhoff, some two miles below the point were begun in 1302, and much extended and embellished Constantinople to take the place of the original wooden the kremlin is Yaroslaff's Tower, in the square where the the gridnitsa or chancellery of the secretaries of the vyetche: im… Novi NOVI, or (to distinguish it from Novi di Modena, Sc.) NOVI LIGURE, a city of Italy, in the province of Alessandria (Piedmont), at the foot of the Apennines and on the edge of a fertile plain, about 20 miles south of the river the chief objects of interest, though the city also possesses its theatres, public library, antiquarian museum, literary academy, &c. Novibazar, Novipazar NOVIBAZAR, NOVIPAZAR, Or YENIPAZAR (i.e., New Market), on the Rashka, a tributary of the Ibar and subtributary of the Danube, is the chief town of a sanjak in the Turkish vilayet of Bosnia (formerly of Kossovo), which was occupied by Austria-Hungary in 1879 in accordance with the terms of the treaty of Berlin. Novo-bayazet, Or Noviiii Bayazet NOVO-BAYAZET, or NOVIIII BAYAZET, a town of trans-Caucasian Russia, at the head of a district (area 2390 square miles, population 67,800) in the Erivan government, 60 miles east-north-east of Erivan, and about 4 east of Goktchi Lake, lies 5870 feet above the sea on the rocky ravine of the Kavar-tchai. Novogeorgievsk NOVOGEORGIEVSK, a town, and a fortress of Russia. (1) The former, usually known under the name of Kriloff, in the government of Kherson, district of Alexandriya, stands at the junction of the Tyasmin with the Dnieper, 9 miles to the north-west of the Krementchug railway station. Its fort was erected by the Poles in 1615 to protect the passage across the Dnieper, and to guard the steppe on the left… Novomoskovsk NOVOMOSKOVSK, a district town of Russia, in the government of Ekaterinoslaff, 19 miles to the north-east of the capital of the province. Including several villages which have been incorporated with it, it extends for nearly 7 miles along the right bank of the Samara, a tributary of the Dnieper. In the 17th century the site was occupied by several villages of the Zaporog Cossacks, which were known … Novotcherkassk NOVOTCHERKASSK, capital of the province of the Don Cossacks, is situated 737 miles south-south-east from Moscow, and 40 miles from the sea of Azoff. It was founded in 1805, when the inhabitants of the Tcherkassk stanitsa (now Old Tcherkassk) were compelled to leave their abodes on the banks of the Don on account of the frequent inundations. They were settled on a hill, 300 feet above the low plain… Nowgong NOWGONG or NlouloN, a district in the chief-cornniissionership of Assam, India, lying between 25? 45' and 26? 40' N. lat. and 92? and 93? 50' E. long., is bounded on the N. by the Brahmaputra, separating it from Darrang, E. and S. by Sibsagar and the Naga and Khasi Hills. The district, which has an area of 3417 square miles, consists of a wide plain much overgrown with jungle and canebrakes, inter… Noy On NOY ON, a city of France, department of Oise, 67 miles north-north-east of Paris by the railway to Brussels, is built at the foot and on the slopes of a hill, and traversed by a small stream, the Verse, which joins the Oise a mile farther down. The old cathedral of Notre Dame, constructed during the latter half of the 12th century, is a fine example of the mixture of Romanesque and Gothic architec… Noy, William NOY, WILLIAM (1577-1634), attorney-general, was born, it is believed, on the family estate of Pendrea in Burof that institution were invaded by Lord Petre, lie pleaded its cause gratuitously and successfully. Nugent, Robert NUGENT, ROBERT (d. 1788), who ultimately became Earl Nugent, was a native of Westmeath in Ireland, and a Roman Catholic, tersely described by Richard Glover as "a jovial and voluptuous Irishman who had left Popery for the Protestant religion, money, and widows." His change of religion took place at a very early period in life ; the widow whom he married in 1736 was a daughter of Craggs, the postma… Nuisance NUISANCE, in English law, is either public or private. A public or common nuisance is defined by Mr Justice Stephen as "an act not warranted by law, or an omission to discharge a legal duty, which act or omission obstructs or causes inconvenience or damage to the public in the exercise of rights common to all Her Majesty's subjects" (Digest of the Criminal Law, p. 120). A common nuisance is punish… Nukha NUKHA, a town of Russia in the Caucasian government of Elizabethpol (formerly of Baku), and previous to 1819 the capital of the khanate of Sheki, lies 173 miles east-south-east of Tiflis, at the foot of the main chain of the Caucasus, the cupola of the church in the fortress being 2454 feet above the sea-level in 41? 12' 18" N. lat. and 47? 12' 7" E. long. The fortress is a four-cornered enclosure… Numantia NUMANTIA, a town in Hispania Tarraconensis, of great natural strength, is famous for the memorable siege by the Romans under Scipio Africanus the younger. Numa Pompilius NUMA POMPILIUS, the second of the legendary kings of Rome, was a Sabine, a native of Cures; his father's name was Pompo and his wife was daughter of Tatius, the Sabine colleague of Romulus. His election, which was made by the Roman people and ratified by the senate, took place at the close of a year's interregnum, during which the sovereignty had been exercised by the members of the senate in rota… Numbers, Partition Of NUMBERS, PARTITION OF. This subject, created by Euler, though relating essentially to positive integer numbers, is scarcely regarded as a part of the Theory of Numbers. We consider in it a number as made up by the addition of other numbers : thus the partitions of the successive numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, &c., are as follows :- The method gives all the partitions of a number, but we may consider di… Numbers, Theory NUMBERS, THEORY or. The Theory of Numbers, or higher arithmetic, otherwise aritbmology, is a subject which, originating with Euclid, has in modern times, in the hands of Legendre, Gauss, Lejeune-Dirichlet, Kummer, Kronecker, and others, been developed into a most extensive and interesting branch of mathematics. We distinguish between the ordinary (or say the simplex) theory and the various complex… Numenius NUMENIUS, one of the so-called Neo-Pythagoreans, and a forerunner of the Neo-Platonists, was a native of Apamea in Syria, and flourished during the latter half of the second Christian century. Numerals NUMERALS. The use of visible signs to represent numbers and aid reckoning is not only older than writing but older than the development of numerical language on the denary system ; we count by tens because our ancestors counted on their fingers and named numbers accordingly. So used, the fingers are really numerals, that is, visible numerical signs ' ? and in antiquity the practice of counting by … Numerianus NUMERIANUS, M. Numismatics Coins Of Europe NUMISMATICS COINS OF EUROPE - the period of the mediaeval and modern coins of Europe must be considered to begin about the time of the fall of the Western empire, so that its length to the present day is about 1400 years: It is impossible to separate the medimval and modern coins, either in the entire class, because the time of change varies, or in each group, since there are usually pieces indica… Numismatics Oriental Coins NUMISMATICS ORIENTAL COINS - may be best classed as ancient Persian, Arab, modern Persian and Afghan, Indian, and Chinese, and other issues of the far East. The first place is held by the money of the old Persian empire, the Parthians, and the Sasanians. The conquests of the Arabs introduce a new currency, carried on by the Moslem inheritors of their empire. The modern Persian and Afghan money, th… Numismatics Roman Coins NUMISMATICS ROMAN COINS - the Roman coinage is of two great classes, - the republican, commonly called the family coinage, and the imperial ; the first lasted from the origin of money at Rome to the reform of Augustus in 16 B. C. , and the second from this date to the fall of the Western empire in 476 A.D. The origin of the republican coinage is one of the hardest problems in archeology. The evide… Nuncio, Or Nuntiiis NUNCIO, or NUNTIIIS APOsTOLIcuS. See LEGATE, vol. xiv. P. 412. of Birmingham. It consists principally of one long street with a cross street leading to the market-place. The church of St Nicholas is a large and handsome structure in various styles of architecture, and consists of nave, chancel, and aisles, with a square embattled tower having pinnacles at the angles. It contains several interestin… Nunez Cabeza De Vaca NUNEZ CABEZA DE VACA, ALVARO (c. 1490-1564), Spanish explorer, was the lieutenant of Pamfilo Narvaez (supr. p. 234) in the expedition which sailed from Spain in 1527 ; when Narvaez was lost in the Gulf of Mexico, Cabeza de Vaca succeeded in reaching the mainland somewhere to the west of the mouths of the Mississippi, and, striking inland with three companions, succeeded, after long wandering and i… Nuremberg NUREMBERG (in German, Xiirnberg), the second town of Bavaria in size and the first in commercial importance, is situated in the district of Middle Franconia, in a sandy but well-cultivated plain, 95 miles to the north-west of Munich. It is divided by the small river Pegnitz into two parts, called respectively the Lorenzerseite and the Sebalderseite, after the two principal churches. Formerly among… Nurez NUREZ or Nomus, PEDRO, Portuguese cosmographer, was born at Alcacer do Sal in 1492, and died at Coimbra, where he was professor of mathematics, in 1577. Nursia NURSIA. See SABINES. NUT. The term nut is applied to that class of fruit which consists generally of a single kernel enclosed in a hard shell. Botanically speaking, nuts are one-celled fruits with hardened pericarps, more or less enveloped in a cupule or cup, formed by the aggregation of the bracts. In commerce, however, the term has a wider application and embraces many fruits having hard woody i… Nutcracker NUTCRACKER, the name given by Edwards in 1758 (Gleanings, No. 240) to a bird which had hitherto borne no English appellation, though described in 1544 by Turner, who, meeting with it in the Rhwtic Alps, where it was called " Nousbrecher " (hodie "Nussbrecher "), translated that term into Latin as Arucifraga. In 1555 Gesner figured it and conferred upon it another designation, Caryocatactes. It is … Nuthatch NUTHATCH, in older English NIITHACK, from its habit of hacking or chipping nuts, which it cleverly fixes, as though in a vice, in a chink or crevice of the bark of a tree, and then hammers them with the point of its bill till the shell is broken. This bird was long thought to be the Sitio europea of Linnmus ; but that is now admitted to be the northern form, with the lower parts white, and its buf… Nutmeg NUTMEG. The spice known in commerce under this name is the kernel of the seed of illyristica fragrans, Houtt., a dicecious evergreen tree, about 50 to 60 feet high, found wild in the Banda Islands and a few of the neighbouring islands, extending to New Guinea but not to the Philip pines. Nutmeg and mace are almost exclusively obtained from the Banda Islands, although the cultivation has been atte… Nutrition NUTRITION, by the term. nutrition, employed in its widest sense, is understood the process, or rather the assemblage of processes, concerned in the maintenance and repair of the living body as a whole, or of its constituent parts or organs. The term has, however, usually been limited in systematic treatises on physiology to a study, mainly statistical, of the relations which exist between a living… Nutrition Absorption Of Nutritive Matters Into Blood NUTRITION ABSORPTION OF NUTRITIVE MATTERS INTO BLOOD - the complex processes of digestion result in the conversion of insoluble and indiffusible food-stuffs into soluble and diffusible sugars and peptones. These, with the soluble saline matters, the finely-divided or emulsified fats and water, are (if we except the small quantity of soaps formed in the course of pancreatic digestion, and the small… Nutrition Function Of Digestion NUTRITION FUNCTION OF DIGESTION, Hunger and Thirst. - These terms are used to express peculiar sensations which are produced by and give expression to general wants of the system, satisfied respectively by the ingestion of organic solids containing substances capable of acting as food, and by water or liquids and solids containing water. Hunger is a peculiarly indefinite sensation of craving or wa… Nutrition Growth Decay And Death NUTRITION GROWTH DECAY AND DEATH - In the adult body in a state of health the income of matter balances as nearly as possible the expenditure, and therefore the weight of the body and its dimensions remain nearly constant, and the same is approximately true of the different organs and tissues which compose the body, as well as of the anatomical elements which enter into their formation. Even when … Nutrition Processes In The Tissues Of The Body NUTRITION PROCESSES IN THE TISSUES OF THE BODY - while it is probable that the liver modifies the recently-digested raw material of food before it reaches the common stock of the blood, it is quite unknown what (or, indeed, if any) difference exists between the action of the liver on blood laden with raw material immediately after a meal and its action on blood traversing its capillaries during a … Nutrition Processes Of Excretion NUTRITION PROCESSES OF EXCRETION - the blood, as has been more than once said, is subject to continual additions and subtractions on the part of the tissues. The subtractions effected by the tissues are made good in part by the importation of fresh material of food from the alimentary canal. The analogous counterbalancing operations which serve to check the accumulation of used-up tissue-substance… Nuttall, Thomas NUTTALL, THOMAS (1786-1859), botanist and ornithologist in the United States of America, where he lived and worked from 1808 until 1842, was born at Settle in Yorkshire in 1786, and spent some years as a journeyman printer in England. Soon after going to the United States he was induced by Professor Barton to apply himself to the study of the plants of that region ; and in pursuance of his investi… Nux Vomica NUX VOMICA, a poisonous drug, tonsisting of the seed of Strychnos Nux-Vomica, L., a tree indigenous to most parts of India, and found also in Burmah, Siam, Cochin China, and northern Australia. The tree, which belongs to the natural order Loyaniacem, is of moderate size, with a short, thick, often crooked stein, and ovate entire leaves, marked with 5 or 6 or 7 veins radiating from the base of the … Nyborg NYBORG, a town and seaport of Denmark on the east side of the island of Fiinen, 281 miles by rail east of Odense, and the point from which the steam-packets cross the Great Belt to Korsor in Zealand. The fortress, built by Christian IV. and Frederick III., was dismantled in 1869, and the ruins of the castle are now used as a prison. From 4812 in 1870 the population increased to 5402 by 1880. As ea… Nyiregyhaza NYIREGYHAZA, a town of Hungary, in the district of Szabolcs, is situated at the junction of the river producing district of Tokay, which yields about 18 million gallons of wine annually, including 3 or 4 million gallons of genuine Tokay. Nykoping NYKOPING, a city of Sweden, the chief town of the province of Nyki5ping (Sodermanland), is situated on both banks of a stream which unites Lakes Yngaren, Tisaren, &c., with By Fjord, and so with the Baltic. Connected by a branch line with the railway from Stockholm to the the governor's residence, the churches of St Nicholas and All Saints, the town-house (1662), and the hospital are the more note… Nylghau, Or Nil-ga NYLGHAU, or NIL-GA I, one of the largest of the antelopes, a handsome and graceful animal, with short, straight, erect horns, pointed and turned slightly forwards a tuft of hair upon the throat. When adult the sexes are and legs, while the female and young are of a bright lightthe fetlocks are white, and the mane and tip of the tail black. The horns are black, and from 8 to 9 inches long. The male… Nymph NYMPH. The belief that the nature which surrounds mankind - the woods, the springs, the hills - is full of a life resembling, yet different from, human life is universal in a primitive stage of thought. At Psophis in Arcadia a row of tall cypress trees was called cti z-cipeEvot, the damsels. In other places the name K.:Spat was used, but the general term for the spirits who dwell in external natur… Oakland OAKLAND, a city of the United States, in Alameda county, California, lies opposite San Francisco, of which it is practically a residential suburb, on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay, at the terminus of the Central Pacific Railroad. Oakum OAKUM is a preparation of tarred fibre used in shipbuilding, for caulking or packing joints of timbers in wood vessels and the deck planking of iron and steel ships. Oamaru OAMARU, a municipal borough on the coast of Otago, New Zealand (South Island), 73 miles by rail north from Dunedin, and in 45? 5' S. lat. and 171? 2' E. long., is a thriving seaport. It is the outlet of the largest agricultural district in New Zealand, and comprises land of exceptional fertility. It is on the main railway between Christchurch and Dunedin, and is connected by branch lines with fert… Oar-fish OAR-FISH, a fish of the family of ribbon-fishes (Trachypteridw), to which great interest is attached no less on account of the extraordinary shape of its body than of its internal organization, which is unmistakably that of a deep-sea fish. As in the other members of this family, the body is much elongated and compressed, sword-shaped; but in the oar-fish this character is excessive, the length of… Oases OASES. Throughout the great belt of desert extending from the west coast of Africa to central Asia, various fertile tracts occur, clothed with vegetation and watered by springs, to which the name oases has been applied. Those which are best known are met with in the central and eastern portions of the Great Sahara and in the Libyan Desert. In that region they consist generally of deep depressions … Oates OATES, Trrus (c. 1650 to 1705), was, according to one account, the son of an Anabaptist preacher, chaplain to Pride, and, according to another, of Samuel, the rector of All Saints' Church, Hastings. He was admitted on 11th June 1665 to Merchant Taylors', having, according to one authority, been previously at Oakham. There he remained a year, more or less, "and seems afterwards to have gone to Sedl… Oath OATH, Anglo-Saxon ddh, a word found throughout the Teutonic languages (Gothic aiths, modern German eid), but without ascertainable etymology. The verb to swear is also Old Teutonic (Gothic svaran, modern German schworen); this word, too, is not clear in original meaning, but is in some way connected with the notion of answering, - indeed it still forms part of the word answer, Anglo-Saxon and-swar… Obadiah OBADIAH (n4-pD, 0/38ccov, A/38Lov, Abdias) is a name pretty frequent in.the Old Testament, meaning " servant " or worshipper " of Jehovah." It is synonymous with Abdi and Abdeel, and of a type common in Semitic proper names ; compare the Arabic 'Abdallah, Taimallat, `Abd Manat, &c., the Hebrew Obed Edom, and many Phoenician forms. The name of Obadiah is prefixed to the fourth and shortest book of … Oban OBAN, a seaport town and parliamentary burgh of the Western Highlands of Scotland, is situated in Argyllshire, 701 miles north-west of Callander by rail, and 96 from Glasgow. It lies along a deep and sheltered bay in the Firth of Lorn opposite the island of Kerrera, and its villas are scattered over the hill-slopes behind. The public buildings comprise six churches, a court-house, four banks, a hi… Obelisk OBELISK. Obense OBENSE, capital of the above province, and the see of a bishop, suffragan to Santiago, stands on the western slope of Montealegre, on the left bank of the Minho. The river is here crossed by a bridge - one of the most remarkable in Spain - of seven arches, 1319 feet in length, and at its highest point 135 feet above the bed of the river, built by Bishop Lorenzo in 1230 and repaired about the middl… Oberammergau OBERAMMERGAU, a small village in the mountain fixes, images of saints, and rosaries. Many of the houses are adorned with quaint frescos of Biblical subjects. The interest of Oberammergau to the outer world is derived from the Passion Plays which are performed here by the American visitors. - The Oberammergau Passion Play, or dramatic representation of the sufferings of Christ, is not a survival of… Oberhausen OBERHAUSEN, a Prussian town of recent origin, in the province of the Rhine, is situated 5 miles from the east bank of that river and 20 miles to the north of Dusseldorf. Oberlin OBERLIN, JAalituz JAQUES (1735-1806), archaeologist, brother of Jean Frederic Oberlin noticed above, was born at Strasburg 8th August 1735. Oberlin OBERLIN, a village of the United States, in Russia township, Lorain county, Ohio, 35 miles west-south-west of Cleveland by the Lake Shore and Michigan Railway, has a population of 3242 (1880), and is well known as the seat of Oberlin College. Oberlin, Jean Frbiario OBERLIN, JEAN FRBIARIO (1740-1826), pastor and philanthropist, was the son of a teacher, and was born 31st August 1740 at Strasburg, where he studied theology. In 1766 he became Protestant pastor of Waldbach, a remote and poverty-stricken region in the Steinthal (Ban de la Roche) in Alsace. At once he set himself to better the material equally with the spiritual condition of the inhabitants. He be… Oberon OBERON (Auberon, Alberon), king of the fairies, husband of Titania, first appears in literature as protector of the hero in Huon de Bordeaux, a chanson de geste, dating from about the 12th century (see FRANCE, vol. ix. p. 638). Obligation OBLIGATION, in law, is a term derived from the Roman law, in which obligati? signified a tie of law (vinculum juris) whereby one person is bound to perform or forbear some act for another. The obligatio of Roman law arose either from voluntary acts or from circumstances to which legal consequences were annexed. In the former case it was said to arise ex contractu, from contract, in the latter quas… Oboe, Or Hautboy OBOE, or HAUTBOY. The oboe is an instrument conpierced in the side of the pipe permits the instrumentalist of air, whatever may be the mode by which that is set in oboe reproduces each of its fundamental sounds in the conic completely chromatic by the adoption of keys. This extension of compass is further augmented in modern instruments, in the grave sounds by keys permitting lengthenings of the p… Observatory OBSERVATORY -up to a comparatively recent date an " observatory " was a place exclusively devoted to the taking of astronomical observations, although frequently a rough account of the weather was kept. When the progress of terrestrial magnetism and meteorology began to make regular observations necessary, the duty of taking these was often thrown on astronomical observatories, although in some ca… Obsidian OBSIDIAN, a volcanic glass, said to have been named after its discoverer Obsidins. It is usually of black, brown, or grey colour, and in some varieties banded or striated. The colour is generally due not so much to the vitreous mass itself as to the presence of minute foreign bodies or microlites, which in some cases appear to be incipient crystals of felspar, while in others they probably consist… Occam, William OCCAM, WILLIAM of (d. c. 1349), the great English schoolman (Doctor invincibilis), was born in the village of Ockham in the county of Surrey in the end of the 13th century. Scarcely any traces of his early life remain. Unattested tradition says that the Franciscans persuaded him while yet a boy to enter their order, sent him to Oxford to Merton College, and to Paris, where he was first the pupil, … Ocelot OCELOT. Ochino, Bernardino OCHINO, BERNARDINO (1487-1564), Italian Reformer, was born at Siena in 1487. At an early age he entered the order of Observantine Friars, and rose to be its general, but, craving a stricter rule, transferred himself in 1534 to the newly-founded order of Capuchins. He had already become famous for zeal and eloquence, and was the intimate friend of the noble Spaniard Juan de Valdes, of Bembo, Vittor… Ockley, Simon OCKLEY, SIMON (1678-1720), Orientalist, was born at Exeter in 1678. O'connell, Daniel O'CONNELL, DANIEL (1775-1847), born on 6th August, 1775, near Cahirciveen, a small town in Kerry, Ireland, was sprung from a race the heads of which had been Celtic chiefs, had lost their lands in the wars of Ireland, and had felt the full weight of the harsh penal code which long held the Catholic Irish down. His ancestors in the 18th century had sent recruits to the famous brigade of Irish exile… O'connor, Feargus Edward O'CONNOR, FEARGUS EDWARD (1796-1855), Chartist leader, was born in 1796, and entered parliament as member for the county of Cork in 1832. Though a zealous supporter of repeal, he endeavoured to supplant O'Connell as the leader of the party, an attempt which aroused against him the popular antipathy of the Irish. When, therefore, in 1834 he was unseated on petition, he resolved to go to England,whe… Octavia OCTAVIA. (1.) Octavia, daughter of Caius Octavius, praetor, 61 B.c., and sister of the emperor Augustus, was married to C. Marcellus, one of the bitterest enemies of Julius Caesar. In 41 her husband died, and she was married immediately to Antony, with the design of securing peace between her brother and her new husband. Her beauty and her high 'character are praised in the warmest terms by all au… October OCTOBER, the eighth month of the old Roman year, which began in spring. Ocydrome OCYDROME, a word formed from Ocydromus, meaning "swift-runner," and suggested by Wagler in 1830 as a generic term for the New-Zealand bird called in the then unpublished manuscripts of the elder Forster Rallus troglodytes, and so designated in 1788 by Gmelin, who knew of it through Latham's English description. Wagler's suggestion has since been generally adopted, and the genus Ocydromus is accept… Oddfellows ODDFELLOWS, a name adopted by the members of certain social institutions having mystic signs of recogni tion, initiatory rites and ceremonies, and various grades of dignity and honour. The objects the associations have in view are purely social and benevolent ; the sphere of their operations is confined wholly to their own members, and secrecy is enjoined in regard to all benevolent acts. As in th… Odense ODENSE, a city of Denmark, the chief town of the province of the same name, forming the northern part of the island of Fiinen (Fyen), lies about 4 miles from Odense Fjord on the Odense Aa, the main portion on the north side of the stream and the modern Albani quarter on the south side. It is a station on the railway route between Copenhagen and western Denmark, and a ship canal 10 feet deep constr… Oder ODER (Latin, Viadrus ; Slavonic, Vjodr), one of the principal rivers of Germany, rises on the Odergebirge in the Moravian tableland, in 49? 43' N. lat. and 17? 35' E. long., at a height of 1950 feet above the sea, and 14 miles to the east of Olmiltz. It is 550 miles long from its source to its mouth in the Baltic Sea, and drains an area of about 50,000 square miles. The first 45 miles of its cours… Odessa ODESSA, one of the most important seaports of Russia, ranks in the empire by its population (225,000) and foreign trade after St Petersburg, Moscow, and Warsaw. It is situated in 46? 28' N. lat. and 30? 44' E. long., on the southern shore of a semicircular bay, at the north-western angle of the Black Sea, and is 933 miles distant from Moscow and 403 miles from Kieff. Odessa is the proper seaport f… Odoacer, Or Odovacar ODOACER, or ODOVACAR (c. 434-493), the first barbarian ruler of Italy on the downfall of the Western empire, was born in the district bordering on the middle belonging to them by birth ; the evidence slightly preponderates in favour of his descent from the Scyrri. His father was fEdico or Idico, a name which suggests Edeco the Hun, who was suborned by the Byzantine court to plot the assassination … O'donnell O'DONNELL. (1) HENRY JOSEPH (1769-1834), count of La Bisbal, a native of Spain, was descended from the O'Donnells who left Ireland after the battle of the Boyne ;1 he early entered the Spanish army, and in ?1810 became general, receiving a command in Catalonia, where in that year he earned his title and the rank of field-marshal. Henry Joseph afterwards held posts of great responsibility under Fer… Odoric ODORIC (c. 1286-1331), styled of Pordenone, one of the notable travellers to the farther East in the Middle Ages, and a Beatus of the Roman Church, was born at Villa Nuova, a hamlet near the town of Pordenone in Friuli, in or about 1286, and, according to ecclesiastical biographers, in early years took the vows of the Franciscan order and joined their convent at Udine, the capital of Friuli. Under… Odysseus ODYSSEUS is of all the Greek heroes the most typical representative of the Greek race. The quality on which he prides himself (Od., ix. 19) is his cunning and ready wit ; his inventive genius never fails in the greatest danger. But his cunning is not of the narrow kind that is incompatible with real wisdom ; he is not troubled by scruples, but he uses nobly and liberally a power that he has acquir… Oedenburg OEDENBURG (Hungarian, Sopron), one of the oldest and most prepossessing towns in Hungary, the chief place of a district of its own name, lies 3 miles to the west of the Lake of Neusiedl and 35 miles to the south-south-east of Vienna. It possesses several churches (one of which was built with the contents of a Turkish military chest found buried here), three convents, a Protestant .lyceum with a th… Oehlenschlager, Adam Gottlob OEHLENSCHLAGER, ADAM GOTTLOB (1779-1850), the greatest of modern Danish poets, was born in Vesterbro, a suburb of Copenhagen, on the 14th of November 1779. His father, a Schleswiger by birth, was at that time organist to, and later on became keeper of, the royal palace of Frederiksberg ; he was a very brisk and cheerful man. The poet's mother, on the other hand, who was partly German by extraction… Oels OELS, the chief town of a circle in Prussian Silesia, and the capital of a mediatized principality of its own name, lies in a sandy plain on the Oelsa, 18 miles to the northeast of Breslau. The prince's chateau, dating from 1558, contains a good library and a collection of pictures. The Schlosskirche was originally built about 980. The other buildings are unimportant. The inhabitants, numbering ma… Oesel OESEL, one of the largest islands in the Baltic, forming with Abro, Mohn, Runo, &c., a district of the Russian government of Livonia, lies across the mouth of the Gulf of Riga, between 57? 55' and 58? 40' N. lat., has a length from south by west to north by east of about 45 miles, and according to Strelbitsky contains an area of 1010 square miles. It is separated from Courland to the south by the … Offenbach OFFENBACH, the principal manufacturing town in the grand duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt, lies on the left bank of the Main, 5 miles above Frankfort. The most interesting building in the town is the old Renaissance chateau of the counts of Isenburg, while the most conspicuous modern edifices are the five churches, the synagogue, the new residence of the Isenburg family, and the town-hall. The manufacture… Offenbach, Jacques OFFENBACH, JACQUES (1819-1880), the inventor of the latest form of the modern opera boufe, was born at Cologne, of Jewish parents, 21st June 1819. His talent for music was developed at a very early age ; and in 1833 he was sent to Paris to study the violoncello at the conservatoire, where, under the care of Professor Vaslin, he became a fairly good performer, notwithstanding his utter want of that… Ogden OGDEN, a flourishing city of the United States, in Weber county, Utah, 37 miles by rail north of Salt Lake City, at the confluence of the Weber and Ogden rivers. Ogdensburg OGDENSBURG, a city and port of entry of the United States, in St Lawrence county, New York, on the St Lawrence river, at the mouth of the Oswegatchie, 72 miles below Lake Ontario. It is an important railway junction (the terminus of the Ogdensburg and Lake Champlain, the Utica and Black River, and the Rome, Watertown, and Ogdensburg Railroads), and the headquarters of the Northern Transportation C… Oglethorpe, James Edward OGLETHORPE, JAMES EDWARD (1696-1785), general, the founder of the State of Georgia, was born in London 21st December 1696, the son of Sir Theophilus Oglethorpe of Godalming, Surrey. He entered Corpus Christi College, Oxford, in 1714, but in the same year joined the army of Prince Eugene. Through the recommendation of the duke of Marlborough he became aide-de-camp to the prince, and he served with … Ogoway, Or Ogowe OGOWAY, or OGOWE (Ogooawai, Ogobar), a river of West Africa which falls into the Atlantic in the neighbourhood of 1? S. lat., or 400 miles north of the mouth of the Congo. The extent of its delta (70 to 80 miles from north to south), and the immense volume of water which it brings down when in flood, gave origin to the belief that it must either be a bifurcation of the Congo or one of the leading … Ogyges OGYGES, in the legends of Attica and Bceotia, was an early king in whose reign a great flood had overwhelmed the land. Ohio OHIO, the third of the States of the American Union in point of wealth and population, is situated between 38? 27' and 41? 57' N. lat. and between 80? 34' and 84? 49' W. long., and is bounded on the N. by Michigan and Lake Erie, on the E. by Pennsylvania, on the E. and S. by the Ohio river, which separates it from the States of West Virginia and Kentucky, and on the W. by Indiana. The greatest len… Ohm, Georg Simon OHM, GEORG SIMON (1781-1854), was born at Erlangen in 1781 and educated at the university there. He became university of Munich. He died 6th July 1854. His writings are numerous, but, with one important exception, not of the first order. The exception is his pamphlet published in Berlin in 1827, with the title Die galvanise& Bette math.ematisch. bearbeitet. This work, the germs of which had appear… Oil-cake OIL-CAKE. The solid compressed mass remaining after the expression of oil from the many oil-yielding seeds, nuts, &c., forms a material of considerable commercial importance. It retains after the most perfect treatment by pressure no inconsiderable portion of oil, with practically the whole of the albuminous matter, sugar, mucilage, and the starchy components of the seeds, &c., thus forming in mos… Oil City OIL CITY, a city of the United States, in Venango county, Pennsylvania, at the junction of Oil Creek with the Allegheny river, lies 132 miles north-north-east of Pittsburg by the Allegheny Valley Railroad, in the heart of the Venango petroleum district, and possesses the principal oil exchange of the world, the transactions in 1883 amounting to 1,129,109,500 barrels, valued at $1,209,654,064. Oils OILS. The term oil is a generic expression under which are included several extensive series of bodies of diverse chemical character and physical properties. In its most comprehensive ordinary acceptation the word embraces the hard solid odourless waxes, tallows, and fats, the viscid fluid fixed oils, the odorous essential oils, and the solid, fluid, and volatile hydrocarbons obtained in nature or… Oise OISE, a department. of northern France, three-fourths of which belonged to ilegle-France, and the rest to Picardy, is situated between 49? 4' and 49? 46' N. lat. and 1' 40' and 3? 10' E. long., and is bounded on the N. by Somme, on the E. by Aisne, on the S. by Seine-et-Marne and Seineet-Oise, and on the W. by Eure and Seine-Inferieure. Its greatest length is 75 miles from north-west to southeast,… Oken, Lorenz OKEN, LORENZ ( 1 779-1851). Under this name the great naturalist of the transcendental or deductive school is commonly known ; but his real name was Lorenz Ockenfuss, under which he was baptized at Bohlsbach, Baden, being born in that small Swabian village on the 1st of August 1779. As Ockenfuss he was entered at the natural history and medical classes in the university of Wiirzburg, whence he pro… Oland OLAND, or ()ELAND, next to Gottland, the largest of the islands belonging to Sweden, stretches for 85 miles along the east coast of the southern extremity of that country, from which it is separated by the Calmar Sound, about 5 miles broad at the narrowest point, and not more than 10 fathoms deep in the central portion. Its greatest breadth does not exceed 8 or 9 miles, and its area is estimated a… Olaus Magnus Or Magni OLAUS MAGNUS or MAGNI (Magnus, i.e., Store, being the family name, and not a personal epithet) was born in 1490 and died at Rome in 1558. Olbers, Heinrich Wilitel3 OLBERS, HEINRICH WILITEL3/I MATTHIAS (1758-1840), a distinguished astronomer, was born 11th October 1758 at Arbergen, a village near Bremen, where his father was minister. He studied medicine at Gottingen, 1777-80, attending at the same time Kaestner's mathematical course; and in 1779, while watching by the sick-bed of a fellowstudent, he devised a method of calculating cometary orbits which made … Olbia, Olbiopolis, Or Borysthenis OLBIA, OLBIOPOLIS, or BORYSTHENIS, in the south of Russia, on the right bank of the Borysthenes, near its mouth, was a colony of Miletus, 655 D.c. It was the great station for the trade with the interior, and a wealthy city from a very early time. Inscriptions, published in the Corpus Inser. Grxe., vol. ii., especially the famous decree in honour of Protogenes, throw much light on its internal his… Oldbury OLDBURY, a township of Worcestershire, England, comprising the two parishes of Oldbury and Langley, is situated on the Birmingham Canal and on the London and North-Western and Great-Western Railways, 5 miles west of Birmingham and 3 east of Dudley. Oldcastle OLDCASTLE, Sul JOHN (d. 1417), who had married Johanna, heiress of the noble family of Cobham, and in her right sat in the House of Lords as Lord Cobham, was a nobleman who at once enjoyed the personal friendship of Henry IV. and was a professed follower of Wickliffe and an adherent of Lollardy. His reputation both as soldier and as statesman stood so high that he was selected by the king to comma… Old Catholics OLD CATHOLICS, the self-assumed name of a new party in religious Christendom, which, like the Reformers of the 16th century, has for its avowed aim the restoration of the ancient standard of Christian belief and practice ; but, while the Reformers took for their model the supposed doctrines and institutions of the apostolic age, the Old Catholics have agreed to accept the decrees of the first seve… Oldenburg OLDENBURG, the capital of the grand-duchy of that name, is a quiet and pleasant-looking town, situated 24 miles to its somewhat narrow streets, is surrounded by avenues laid out on the site of the former ramparts, beyond which are the villas, parks, and gardens of the more modern quarters. Oldenburg has almost nothing to show in the shape of the present century as to show no trace of its antiquity… Oldenburg OLDENBURG, a grand-duchy of Germany, with an area feld. It ranks tenth among the states of the German empire and has one vote in the federal council and three members in the reichstag. I. The duchy of Oldenburg, comprising fully four-fifths of the entire area and population, lies between 52? 29' and 53? 44' N. lat. and 7? 37' and 8? 40' E. long., and is bounded on the N. by the German Ocean and on… Oldham OLDHAM, a municipal and parliamentary borough and important manufacturing town of south-east Lancashire, munication with Manchester, Ashton, Stockport, and mense factories and workshops, Oldham has some good streets and a number of imposing public buildings. Among these the principal are the town-hall, a fine structure in the Grecian style, with a tetrastyle portico copied from the Ionic temple of… Oldham, John OLDHAM, JOHN (1653-1683), a satirist of the Restoration period, achieved notoriety by his Satires on the Jesuits, published during the heat of the excitement caused by the revelations of Titus Oates and the murder of Godfrey in 1678. In such a time of national panic and hatred "who peppered the highest was surest to please," and Oldham's satires could hardly be surpassed for energy of invective an… Old Ys, William OLD YS, WILLIAM (1696-1761), a useful bibliographer, was the natural son of Dr Oldys, chancellor of Lincoln, and was born in 1696. Oleander OLEANDER is the common name for the shrub known to botanists as .Nerium Oleander. It is a native of the Mediterranean and Levant, and is characterized by its tall shrubby habit and its thick lance-shaped opposite leaves, which exude a milky juice when punctured. The flowers are borne in terminal clusters, and are like those of the common periwinkle ( Vinca), but are of a rose colour, rarely white,… Olearius, Adam OLEARIUS, ADAM, a German traveller whose true name was Oelschlaa6er, was born at Aschersleben near Magdeburg in 1600, and died at Gottorp 22d February 1671. After studying at Leipsic he became librarian and court mathematician to Duke Frederick III. of HolsteinGottorp, and in 1633 he was appointed secretary to the ambassadors Philip Crusius and Otto Briiggemann or Brugman sent by the duke to Musco… Oleo -Margarine OLEO -MARGARINE. The process by which the French chemist Mege-Mouries sought to convert ordinary Manufacturing Company" in New York is abridged from a report by Mr Victor Drummond, secretary to the British Embassy in Washington, in 1880. Fresh fat from recently killed cattle is soaked in tepid water for one hour, then thoroughly washed with cold water, and, after having been soaked in cold water, … Oleron OLERON, an island lying off the west coast of France, opposite the mouths of the Charente and Seudre, and included in the department of the Charente-Inferieure, has an area of 59 square miles. Olga OLGA, wife of Igor, prince of Kieff, and afterwards (from 945) regent for Sviatoslaf her son, was baptized at Constantinople about 955 and died about 969. Oliva, Fernan Perez De OLIVA, FERNAN PEREZ DE, Spanish man of letters, one of .the earliest writers of didactic prose in that language, was born at Cordova about 1492, and, after studying at Salamanca, Alcala, Paris, and Rome, was appointed to the chair of moral philosophy at Salamanca, where he died in 1530. His principal work, a Dialogue on the Dignity of Man, which he did not live to complete, was finished by Francis… Olive OLIVE (Olea europxa), the well-known plant that yields the olive oil of commerce, belongs to a section of the natural order Oleacex, of which it has been taken as the type. The genus Olea includes about thirty-five species, very widely scattered, chiefly over the Old World, from the basin of the Mediterranean to South Africa and New Zealand. The wild olive, or olcaster, is a small tree or bush of … Olives, Mount Of OLIVES, MOUNT OF, or MOUNT OLIVET (Opos EAams vos or TU31, E Acta-iv, in Mishna and Midrash wrop nn or rtritjrzn -0, now Jebel al-T0r), is the hill facing the in Acts i. 12, and appears to be excluded by Luke xxiv. 50, for Bethany lies at the back of the hill and almost a mile from the top. Olivetans OLIVETANS, a monastic order, that of Our Lady of Monte Oliveto, following the Benedictine rule, was founded about the year 1313 by Bernardo Tolomei of Siena (see 141oNicutsm). Olmsted, Denison OLMSTED, DENISON (1791-1859), man of science, was born at East Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.A., on 18th June 1791, and became a student of Yale, where he graduated in 1813, and acted as college tutor from 1815 to 1817. Olmutz OLMUTZ (Slavonic, Olomouc or Holomauc), the second city and the ecclesiastical metropolis of Moravia, and one Gothic building of the 14th century, containing the tomb of King Wenceslaus III., who was murdered here in 1306. The principal secular buildings are the archbishop's palace, the town-house, the arsenal, the barracks, and the various schools, convents, and hospitals. The old university is n… Olonetz OLONETZ, a government of north-western Russia, extending from Lake Ladoga almost to the White Sea, is bounded on the W. by Finland, on the N. and E. by tion belongs orographically and geologically to the Finland region ; it is covered with hills reaching 1000 feet in height, and with numberless smaller ridges and hollows running from north-west to south-east. The rest of the Laurentian metamorphic… Olybritjs OLYBRITJS, Roman emperor from 11th July to 23d October 472, was a member of the Anician family and a native of Rome, where he lived until the sack of Genseric in 455. Olympia OLYMPIA. The purpose of this article is to give a short but clear summary for English readers of the principal results obtained by the German exploration of Olympia in 1875-81, and recorded in the five volumes of the Ausgrabungen published at Berlin. While the sketch is necessarily confined to salient features and essential points, two aims have been kept in view : - first, to omit nothing that is… Olympias OLYMPIAS, the ambitious and energetic wife of Philip II., king of Macedonia, and the mother of Alexander III., commonly called The Great, was daughter of Neoptolemus I., king of Epirus, who claimed to be descended from Pyrrhus, son of Achilles. Plutarch tells us that it was while being initiated in the Samothracian mysteries, in which she was an enthusiastic participant, that Philip, still very yo… Olympus OLYMPUS, the name of many mountains in Greece and Asia Minor, and of the fabled home of the gods, and also a city name and a personal name. I. Of the mountains bearing the name the most famous is the lofty ridge on the borders of Thessaly and Macedonia. The river Peneus, which drains Thessaly, finds its way to the sea through the great gorge of Tempe, which is close below the south-eastern end of … Olynthus OLYNTHUS was an important city of Chalcidice (see vol. xv. p. 137), situated in a fertile plain at the head of the Toronaic gulf between the peninsulas of Sithonia and Pallene, at some little distance from the sea, and about 60 stadia from Potiddea. The district belonged originally to a Thracian people, the Botticei ; and it is said that it was given over to the Greek colonists of Chalcidice at th… Omaha OMAHA, the largest city in Nebraska, U.S., is situated on the west bank of the Missouri, 600 miles from its confluence with the Mississippi, in 41? 15' 43" N. lat. and 95? 55' 47" W. long. (time 1" 16m after that of Washington). The lower part, situated mainly on a terrace, is principally devoted to business; the upper part, on the bluffs, to the finer residences, parks, and churches. It was found… Omar Khayyam 'OMAR KHAYYAM. The great Persian mathematician, astronomer, freethinker, and epigrammatist, Ghiyhthuddin Abulfath 'Omar bin Ibrahim al-Khayyami, who derived the epithet Khayyam (the tentmaker) most likely from his father's trade, was born in or close by NishapUr, and is stated to have died there in 517 A.H. (1123 A.D.). This date is accepted by most Eastern and 'Western writers, but the renowned v… Omsk OMSK, the chief town of the government of Akmolinsk and capital of western Siberia, stands at the junction of the Om with the Irtish, on the great highway of Siberia, the true commercial capital of western Siberia, Omsk has situated in a wide steppe, broken only by the gently-sloping hill occupied by the fort, is almost entirely of wood. It has a military school, a lyceum, several lower schools, a… Onega ONEGA, next to Ladoga the largest lake in Europe, having according to Strelbitskiy an area of 3763 square miles, is situated in the heart of the government of Olonetz miles. Between the northern and southern divisions of the lake there is a considerable difference : while the latter has a comparatively regular outline, and contains hardly any islands, the former splits up into a number of inlets a… Oneida Community ONEIDA COMMUNITY, in Madison co., New York, is a society which has attracted wide interest on account of its pecuniary success and its peculiar religions and social principles. Its founder, organizer, and controlling mind was John H. Noyes, who in 1834, while a student and licentiate of the theological seminary of Yale College, was led by his study of the New Testament to believe that the gospel o… Onomacritus ONOMACRITUS was a seer, priest, and poet of Attica about 530-480 n.c. Ontario ONTARIO is the name given under the confederation of the provinces of British North America to what was previously known as Upper Canada (see CANADA). The river Ottawa, through a considerable part of its course, forms the eastern boundary separating it from the province of Quebec. Its southern and south-western boundaries are the Lakes Ontario, Erie, St Clair, Huron, and Superior, with the St Lawr… Onteniente ONTENIENTE, an old town of Spain, in the province of Valencia, stands on an elevation on the right bank of the Clariano or Onteniente, a sub-tributary of the Jucar, trade in the cereals, wine, and oil produced in the neighbouring district, which is very fertile. Onyx ONYX, a variety of agate consisting of layers of variegated chalcedony, arranged in parallel bands. The colours of the successive strata vary in different stones, but in the typical onyx they are black and white. If one of the layers consists of the brown chalcedony known as " sard " or the red variety called "carnelian," the resulting stone is termed a " sardonyx." It was probably this kind of st… Opah OPAH (Lanzpris luna), a pelagic fish of the family Coryphwnidx or Dolphins. It differs from the typical dolphins (Coryphxna) materially in the shape of its body and the structure of the ventral fins. Instead of being elongate, the body is compressed and deep (more so than in the bream), and destitute of distinct scales. A long dorsal fin, high, and pointed anteriorly, runs along nearly the whole l… Opal OPAL, a natural form of hydrated silica, occurring in a "porodine" condition, i.e., it has apparently hardened from a gelatinous state. During consolidation it has suffered con- traction unequally in different directions ; and thus, though amorphous, it behaves in polarized light like a doubly-refracting body. The beautiful variety known as noble or precious opal is remarkable for its play of irid… Openshaw OPENSHAW, a township of Lancashire, England, is situated on the Manchester and Stockport Canal, about 31 miles east from the Manchester exchange. Ophicleide OPHICLEIDE is a brass musical instrument with keys. It belongs to that class of instruments in which the column of air is set in vibration by a trembling of the lips applied to the edge of a hemispherical cup at the extremity of the tube, called the "embouchure." The lips vibrate from the action of the breath and play the part of reeds ; the degree of pressure of the embouchure determines the rapi… Ophir OPHIR (-mit4), a place famous among the Hebrews for its gold from the time of Solomon, whose Red Sea fleet, in conjunction with the Phoenicians, went to Ophir and brought thence a vast treasure of gold with precious stones and " almug " wood (1 Kings ix. 2S, x. 11). Ophthalmology OPHTHALMOLOGY. The scientific development of the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the eye belongs to the last hundred years. Helmholtz's invention of the ophthalmoscope is little more than thirty years old. Our knowledge of the refraction and accommodation of the eye has been worked out by Airy, Young, Sanson, Purkinje, Donders, Sneller, Helmholtz. Many of the major operations have been perf… Opie OPIE, JoEiN (1761-1807), historical and portrait painter, was born at St Agnes near Truro in May 1761. He early showed a taste for drawing, and for scholarship also, having at the age of twelve mastered Euclid and opened an evening school for arithmetic and writing. Before long he won some local reputation by portrait-painting ; and in 1780 he started for London, under the patronage of Dr Wolcot (… Opie, Amelia OPIE, AMELIA (1769-1853), the wife of John Opie, noticed below, was the daughter of Dr Alderson, a physician in Norwich, and was born there in 1769. The circumstances of her early life gave the bent to her after-career. In her girlhood she beguiled the solitude of her father's summerhouse by composing songs and tragedies ; on her visits to London the superior society into which the accomplishments… Opium OPIUM (el7rtov, dim. from Oros, juice), a narcotic drug prepared from the juice ot the opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, L., a plant probably indigenous in the south of Europe and western Asia, but now so widely cultivated that its original habitat is uncertain. The medicinal properties of the juice have been recognized from a very early period. It was known to Theophrastus by the name of znawtov, … Opodeldoc OPODELDOC, a name now applied to a liniment composed of soap, camphor, the volatile oils of rosemary and origanurn, solution of ammonia, and spirit of wine. Oporto OPORTO (i.e., 0 _Porto, The Port), the second city of the kingdom of Portugal, the capital of Entre Douro e Minho, the best-cultivated and the most fruitful province of the country, is situated on both banks of the Douro, about 3 miles from its mouth, in 41? 9' N. lat. and 8? 37' W. long. The part south of the Douro is known as Villa Nova da Gaia. The mouth of the river is obstructed by a very dan… Opossum OPOSSUM. The animals to which this name is applied are the only non-Australian members of the Marsupials or pouched animals, being found throughout the greater part of the continent of America, from the United States to Patagonia, the number of species being largest in the more tropical parts (see MAMMALIA - Marsupialia, vol. xv. p. 380). They form the family Didelphyida,, distinguished from the o… Oppeln OPPELN (Polish, Oppolie), the chief town of a district of its own name and the seat of government for Upper Silesia, Prussia, lies on the right bank of the Oder, 50 miles to the south-east of Breslau. It contains the oldest Christian church in the district, founded at the close of the 10th century, and a ducal palace of the 15th century, on an island in the Oder. The most prominent among the other… Oppenheim OPPENHEIM, a small town in the grand-duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, is picturesquely situated on a hill on the left bank of the Rhine, 20' miles to the south of Mainz. It contains (1880) 3288 inhabitants, half Roman Catholics and half Protestants, who cultivate the vine and manufacture tacks, quinine, and leather. Oppenheim, which occupies the site of the Roman castle Banconica, was formerly m… Oppian OPPIAN. The literary history of the three Greek poems on fishing, hunting, and fowling respectively which have come down to us from antiquity under the name of Oppian involves several perplexing questions. According to Suidas,.Eusebius, and Syncellus, the author was a native of Anazarbus or Corycus in Cilicia, and flourished in the reign of Marcus Aurelius. Athenmus also, who almost certainly wrot… Oppius, Caiiis OPPIUS, CAIIIS, was an intimate friend and confidant of Julius Caesar. Optics, Geometrical OPTICS, GEOMETRICAL. The subject of optics is so extensive that some subdivision of it is convenient if not necessary. Under the head of LIGHT will be found a general sketch accompanied by certain developments. The wave theory and those branches of the subject which are best expounded in connexion with it are reserved for treatment in a later volume. The object of the present paper is to give some… Oracle ORACLE. It was a universal belief in the ancient world that there is a capacity in the human mind to divine the will of God 0.cavrucliv rc 757 Iiivx4, Plato, Pluedr., 242 C). This capacity is not equally developed in all men, and, practically, a very few persons, in whom it is strong, are distinguished from the mass as IhCf.VTE IS. These are able to understand the methods by which the gods reveal … Oran ORAN (Arabic, Wahrdn), the chief town of the department and military division which form the western part of the French colony of Algeria, lies at the head of a bay on the Mediterranean, in 35? 44' N. lat., and almost on the meridian of Greenwich. The population of the town in 1881 was 58,530; that of the commune, including town and suburbs, 59,377. In 1876, when the total for the town, besides 37… Orange ORANGE, a city of the United States, in Essex county, New Jersey, 16 miles west of New York by two lines of railway, and connected by tramway with Newark, 4 miles distant. Orange ORANGE (Citrus Aurantium.), the plant that produces the familiar fruit of commerce, is closely allied to the citron, tion must be regarded as somewhat doubtful and indefinite. Risso and Poiteau have described eighty kinds of orange (including the bergamots), chiefly differing in the external shape, size, and flavour of the fruit ; but all may probably be traced to two well-marked varieties - the S… Orange ORANGE, a city of France, the chief town of an arrondissement in the department of Vaucluse, is situated 18 miles north of Avignon on the railway from Lyons to Marseilles at some distance from the left bank of the Rhone, in the midst of meadows, orchards, and mulberry plantations, watered by a stream called the Meyne, and overlooked by the majestic summit of Mount Ventose, which lies 22 miles to t… Orangemen ORANGEMEN, an association of Irish Protestants, originating and chiefly flourishing in Ulster, but with ramifications in other parts of the United Kingdom, and in the British colonies. Orangemen derive their name from William III., but neglect the example of that tolerant prince. They are enrolled in lodges, and it is said that the initiated can always recognize each other. Much may be learned fro… Orange River Free State ORANGE RIVER FREE STATE, an independent republic adjoining the Cape Colony, South Africa (see vol. vi., Plate I.), is bounded on the N. by the Vaal river, S. by the Orange river, E. by the Caledon river and Drakensberg mountains, and W. by a line dividing it from Kimberley and the diamond fields of Griqualand West. The area is 70,000 square miles, and the population in 1880 was 133,518. Of this to… Oranienbaum ORANIENBAUM, a town of European Russia, with a resort for the inhabitants of St Petersburg, from which it is 24 miles distant by rail. Oratorio ORATORIO. See Music. ORCAGNA (c. 1316-c. 13761), whose full name was ANDREA DI CMS; called ARCAGNTIOL0,2 was the son of a very able Florentine goldsmith, Maestro Cione, said to vanni, the Florentine Baptistery. The result of Orcagna's early training in the use of the precious metals may be traced in the extreme delicacy and refined detail of his principal works in sculpture. He had at least three … Orchha, Or Tehri ORCHHA, or TEHRI, a native state in Bundelkhand, Central India, lies between 24? 26' and 25? 34' N. lat., and between 78? 28' 30" and 79? 23' E. long., to the south of the British district of Jhansf. Orchids ORCHIDS. The word Orchis is used in a special sense to denote a particular genus of the Orchid family (Orchidacex) ; very frequently, also, it is employed in a more general way to indicate any member of that large and very interesting group. It will be convenient here to use the word Orchis as applying to that particular genus which gives its name to the order or family, and to employ the term "or… Orchomenus ORCHOMENUS, the name borne by two cities of ancient Greece. I. A Rmotian city, situated in the angle between the Cephissus and its tributary the Melas, on a long narrow hill which projects south from Mount Aeontium. Its position is exceedingly strong, being defended on every side by precipice or marsh or river, and it was admirably suited to be the stronghold of an early kingdom. The acropolis is … Ordeal ORDEAL (Anglo-Saxon orcleil, ordeel, judgment) corresponds to modern German urtheil, but bears the special sense of the medimval Latin Deli judicium, a miraculous decision as to the truth of an accusation or claim. The word is adopted in the late Latin ordalium, French ordalie. The ordeal had existed for many ages before it was thus named in Europe. In principle, and often in the very forms used, … Ordericus Vitalis ORDERICUS VITALIS, the author of a History of considerable value in relation to England and Normandy in the 11th and 12th centuries, was born in the year 1075 at Atcham near Shrewsbury. His father, Odder of Orleans, was one of the followers of Roger Montgomery, a powerful baron who had accompanied William the Conqueror from Normandy, and in whom that monarch reposed especial confidence. Roger had … Order, Or Ordination ORDER, or ORDINATION (Ordo seu sacra ordinatio), one of the seven sacraments of the Roman Catholic Church (see SACRAMENT), is the rite by which the ministers of that church, in their respective ranks as priests, deacons, subdeacons, acolytes, exorcists, lectors, and doorkeepers (ostiarii), receive power and grace for the discharge of their several functions. The nature of these functions is stated… Ordinary ORDINARY is the legal name for a bishop or other person with original ecclesiastical jurisdiction when exercising the functions of his office. Orebro OREBRO, one of the most important cities in Sweden, the chief town of a province of its own name, lies on both sides of the Svartil, about a mile above its entrance into Lake Hjelmar, and 160 miles by rail west of Stockholm. In great part rebuilt since the fire of 1854, it has quite a modern appearance. Besides the principal church, dating from the close of the 14th or beginning of the 15th centur… Oregon OREGON, one of the Pacific States of the American Union, is bounded N. by Washington Territory, E. by Idaho Territory, S. by Nevada and California, and W. by the Pacific, and lies between 42? and 46? 15' N. lat. and 116? 45' and 124? 30' W. long. It has an area of 94,560 square miles, besides 1470 square miles of water-surface ; its average width from east to west is 345 miles, and from north to s… Orel, Or Orloff OREL, or ORLOFF, a government of central Russia, do not reach 900 feet, and none of the valleys are less than valleys, being concealed for the most part under thick beds of cretaceous chalk, marls, and sands. The Carboniferous limestones and clays (of the so-called Moscow basin) appear in the north-west only at a great depth. The Jurassic clays and marls are covered at several places with a stratu… Orenburg ORENBURG, capital of the above government, is situated on the right bank of the Ural river, 933 miles by rail south-east from Moscow. The fortress, which has eleven bastions and a circumference of 6300 yards, has lost its importance since the recent advances of Russia towards the south-east, and is falling into decay. The town, on the other hand, is rapidly increasing, and now includes the former … Orenburg ORENBURG, a government of south-eastern Russia, bounded on the N. by Ufa and Perm, on the S. and E. by the steppe of the Orenburg Kirghiz, and on the W. by Samara, has an area of 73,890 square miles. Situated at the southern extremity of the Urals and extending to the north-east on their eastern slope, Orenburg consists of a hilly tract bordered on both sides by steppes. The central ridge occasion… Orense ORENSE, an inland province of Spain, is bounded on the N. by Pontevedra and Lugo, on the E. by Leon and Zamora, on the S. by Portugal (Traz oz Mentes), and on the W. by Portugal (Entre Douro e Minho) and Pontevedra, and has an area of 2738 square miles. Orestes ORESTES, son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra. According to the legend in Homer, he was absent from Mycenas when his father returned from the Trojan War, and was murdered by 2Egistlins. Eight years later Orestes returned, and revenged his father's death by slaying his mother and her paramour. Pindar mentions that his nurse saved him and conveyed him out of the country when Clytemnestra wished to kill… Orfila ORFILA, if ATFIIELT JOSEPH BONAVENTURE (1787 -1853), the founder of modern toxicology, and one of the most eminent of the French school of medicine during its brightest period, was by birth a Spaniard, having been born at Mahon in Minorca on 24th April 1787. An island merchant's son looked naturally first to the sea for a profession; but a voyage at the age of fifteen to Sardinia, Sicily, and Egyp… Organ ORGAN. The notes of the organ are produced by pipes, which are blown by air under pressure, technically called first a series of pipes producing notes of similar quality, but differing in pitch. Such a series is called a stop. Each stop of the organ is in effect a musical instrument in itself. (2) The pipes of different stops differ, musically arrangement. The sounding of the pipes is determined b… Organ History ORGAN HISTORY - the early history of the organ is very obscure.3 As far back as classical times literary allusions occur occasionally to wind instruments involving the use of pipes and channels and reservoirs of air. Some form of bagpipe appears to have been alluded to in this way. Vitruvius has left a description of the hydraulicon, or hydraulic organ. It is clear that it must have been a machine… Orgies ORGIES is a name given to certain rites in the worship of Dionysus-Bacchus. The rites, which were restricted to women, were celebrated in the winter among the hills in spdts remote from city life. The women met in such places clad in fawn-skins (rOpts), with hair dishevelled, swinging the thyrsus and beating the cymbal ; they danced and worked themselves up to a state of mad excitement. The holies… Origen ORIGEN (c. 185-c. 254). Of all the theologians of the ancient church, with the possible exception of Augustine, Origen is the most distinguished and the most influential. He is the father of the church's science ; he is the founder of a theology which was brought to perfection in the 4th and 5th centuries, and which still retained the stamp of his genius when in the 6th century it disowned its aut… Orihuela ORIHUELA, a town and episcopal see of Spain, in the southern portion of the province of Alicante, 13 miles northeast from Murcia and about 15 from the sea, is situated in a beautiful and exceedingly fertile " huerta," at the foot of a limestone ridge of moderate height, and on both sides of the Segura, here crossed by two bridges. There are remains of an old fort on the hill commanding the town ; … Orinoco ORINOCO, a river in the north of South America, which falls into the Atlantic on the north-east seaboard between 60? 20' and 62? 30' W. long., after draining an area of at least 366,000 square miles (belonging to Venezuela and Colombia) in a course of about 1500 miles. Between the source of its westmost affluent, the Guaviare, and that of its eastmost, the Caroni, there is a difference of 14 degre… Oriole ORIOLE, from the Old French Oriol and that from the Latin aureolus, the name once applied to the bird, from its golden colouring, which is now generally admitted to be the Vireo or ICTERUS (vol. xii. p. 696) of classical authors - the Orioles galbula of LinimusL - but now commonly used in a much wider sense. The Golden Oriole, which is the type of the Family Oriotithe of modern ornithologists, is … Orissa ORISSA, a prOvince of British India, forming a division or commissionership under the jurisdiction of the lieutenant-governor of Bengal, situated between 19? 28' and 22? 34' 15" N. lat. and between 83? 36' 30" and 87? 31' 30" E. long. It forms the extreme south-western portion of Bengal, bounded on the N. and N.E. by Chutia Nfegpur and Lower Bengal proper, E. and S.E. by the Bay of Bengal, S. by M… Orizaba, Or Orizava ORIZABA, or ORIZAVA, a city of Mexico, in the state of Vera Cruz, is situated at a height of 3975 feet above the sea in a well-wooded valley 65 miles south-west of Vera Cruz, on one of the two high roads between that city and Mexico, and since 1872 on the Vera Cruz and Mexico Railway. It is a thriving place of 16,000 inhabitants, has a good exchange, a theatre, and two hospitals, spins cotton, and… Orkney And Shetland ORKNEY AND SHETLAND, a county of Scotland, formed of two separate groups of islands in the North Sea. The Orkneys are situated between 58? 41' and 59? 24' N. lat. and between 2? 22' and 3? 25' W. long., and are separated from the mainland of Scotland by the Pentland Firth, the breadth of which between Brough Ness in South R.onaldshay and Duncansby Head, Caithness, is about 7 miles. The Shetlands l… Orleans ORLEANS, a city of France, chief town of the department of Loiret, lies on the right bank of the Loire, 75 miles south-south-west of Paris. At Les Aubrais, a mile to the north, is one of the chief railway junctions in the country. Besides the Paris and Orleans Railway, which there divides into two main lines - a western to Nantes and Bordeaux via Tours, and a southern to Bourges and Toulouse via V… Orleans, Charles, Duke Of ORLEANS, CHARLES, DUKE OF (1391-1465), commonly called Charles d'Orleans, was the eldest son of Louis, duke of Orleans (brother of Charles VI. of France), and of Valentina Visconti, daughter of Galeaso of Milan. He was born on 26th May 1391. Although many minor details are preserved of his youth, nothing except his reception in 1403, from his uncle the king, of a pension of 12,000 livres d'or is w… Orleans, Dukes Of ORLEANS, DUKES OF. The title duke of Orleans was borne by three distinct dynasties of French princes of the blood. The first duke of Orleans was Loris (1371-1407), second son of King Charles V., who was born in 1371, and received the title from his brother Charles VI. in 1392. Both he and his son and heir played very important parts in the history of the Hundred Year,s' War with England (see FRANC… Orme, Robert ORME, ROBERT (1728-1801), author of a History of British India, was the son of John Orme, surgeon in Bombay, and was born at Anjengo, Travancore, in June 1728. He was sent to Harrow school in 1736, and in 1742 to a school near London to obtain an education preparing him for commercial pursuits. In 1744 he became a clerk in the East India Company's service in Calcutta, In 1752 he went to Madras, an… Ormonde, James Butler ORMONDE, JAMES BUTLER, TWELFTH EARL AND FIRST DUKE OF (1610-1688), was born at London on or about 19th October 1610. He was grandson of Walter, earl of Ormonde, and eldest son of Thomas, Viscount Thurles, and Elizabeth Poyntz.1 His father having been drowned (15th December 1619) during the lifetime of Earl Walter, he became heir to the title and estates. By some legal artifice the boy was made a r… Ormskirk ORMSKIRK, a market-town of Lancashire, is situated on the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway, 11 miles northeast of Liverpool. Part PART I I.-STATISTICS. The population of Norway on the 31st of December 1882 was 1,913,000, of whom 1,509,000 were living in the country districts, and 404,000 in the towns. Subjoined are the figures for each of the eighteen counties (amter) into which the kingdom is divided :- Smaalenene 114,000 Stavanger 118,000 Akershus 100,000 SOndre Bergenhus 121,000 Buskerud 104,000 Nordre Bergeuhus ........ … Poisons POISONS. Morphia differs slightly in its properties from longed lactation, and in convalescence from acute febrile and inflammatory diseases. Opium-eating. - Opium, like many other poisons, prodose be not taken at the usual time the symptoms of the chiefly practised in Asia Minor, Persia, and India. Opinions the mere licence fees for one year amounted to ?493,343, and that some of the opium dealer… Southern SOUTHERN : Dongolawi, throughout the province of Dongola from the second cataract to J. Deja near Meroe, on the northern frontier of the Arab district of Dar-Shaikfya (Sheghya). By the Mahasi people it is called Biderin Banuid, "language of the poor," or, collectively with the Kenz, Oshkiriu Bannid, "language of slaves." The northern and southern varieties are closely related to each other, differ… William Cavendish, Duke Of Newcastle WILLIAM CAVENDISH, DUKE OF NEWCASTLE (1592early years he showed little inclination for study, and able to the royal cause. For his victory over Fairfax at Adderton Heath, near Bradford, June 30, 1643, he was created marquis. The Parliamentary generals were step by step losing their hold on the north, and were reduced to the hardest straits, when they were relieved by a Scottish army under the earl… Volume 18 [ORN - PHT]: Animal Parasitism to Pathology Errors Of Metabolism [next] [back] Volume 16 [MEN - MOS] Copyright © 2013 Net Industries and its Licensors – All Rights Reserved – Terms of Use Share this page: Tweet More To Explore	Contact & About Privacy Policy