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GABELENTZ, Hans Conon von Der (1807-74). German linguist. He had a knowledge of 80 languages. Publications include Elements de la grammaire mandchoue, 1832; Syrian, Dyak, Dakota and Kiriri grammars; and Die Melanesischen Sprachen, 1860-73, an account of the languages of the South Sea islanders.
GABORIAU, Emile (1833-73). French novelist. Famous for his detective novels L'Affaire Lerouge, 1866 and many others including Le Crime d'Orcival, 1867, and L'Argent des autres, 1874.
GABRIELI, Andrea (c. 1510-1586). Venetian composer. First organist at S. Mark's, Venice, 1566-86. Broke away from the contemporary Dutch tradition in music. He composed the first canzone for the organ in 1571 and developed the toccata.
GADDI. Name of a Florentine family. Taddeo Gaddi (c.1300-1366), a pupil of Giotto. His works include two alterpieces of the Madonna and a painting of The Last Supper, in the church of Santa Croce, in Florence. His sons, Aganolo (d.1396) and Giovanni (d.1383), were both painters of note. Zanobi Gaddi (d.1400), ammassed wealth in banking and was Florentine ambasador at Venice.
GADE, Niels Wilhelm (1817-90). Danish composer. First known through his overture Nachklinge aus Ossian, 1840. Conductor of the Musik-Verein at Copenhagen, 1848 and conductor to the Danish court, 1861. Many of his orchestral and chamber music, and cantatas enjoyed popularity in England.
GADOW. Hans Friedrich (1855-1928). Anglo-German zoologist. A naturalised British subject he was made Strickland curator and lecturer on zoology at Cambridge university. His works include Amphibia and Reptiles in The Cambridge Natural History, 1901, and with A. Newton, A Dictionary of Brids, 1893-96.
GADSDEN, James (1788-1858). American diplomat. After a long and distinguished military career he was appointed minister to Mexico and in 1853 negotiated the Gadsden Purchase, by which 45,500 sq. miles of territory were ceded to the U.S.A by Mexico.
GAGE, Viscount. Irish title born since 1720 by the English family of Gage.
GAGE, Lyman Judson (1836-1927). American financier. President of the first national bank of Chicago in 1891. Secretary of the U.S. treasury (1897-1902, ) and president of the U.S. Trust company in New York, 1902-06.
GAGE, Thomas (1721-87). English administrator. Governor of Montreal 1760, governor of Massachusetts 1774.His tactlessness led to the collision between his troops and the colonists at Lexington on April 18, 1775, followed by the battle of Bunker's Hill on June 17. Though commander of the forces in America in 1775 he shortly resigned.
GAGERN, Hans Christoph Ernst, Baron von (1766-1852). German statesman. As prime minister of the Netherlands, he obtained territorial gains for the latter at the Congress of vienna, in 1815. He then acted as envoy for Luxembourg at the German diet, 1816-18.
GAGERN, Friedrich Balduin (1794-1848) son of the above, gained eminence as a soldier in the dutch service.
GAGERN, Heinrich Wilhelm, bother of the above, first president of the German national parliament at Frankfort, 1848, and leader of a united Germany to include Austria in 1848-49.
GAGERN, Maximilian (1810-89), supported his brother (above) in 1848-49, entered the Austrian foreign office and became a life member of the Austrianupper chamber inf 1881.
GAILLARD, Claude Ferdinand (1834-87). French engraver. He won the Prix de Rome in 1856. His engravings were distinguished by their minute accuracy. He was also a painter of merit.
GAINSBOROUGH, Thomas. (1727-1788) British portrait painter. The youngest of 9 children, he showed artistic ability from his earliest years. He was sent to London in 1741 to study engraving and learn to etch. He tried to make a living as a portrait painter and painting landscapes for dealers, but failing at this returned to his home town of Sudbury, where he concentrated on the painting of landscapes. In 1746 he married Margaret Burr who had a private income. They lived in Ipswich, where his most important contact was governor Thicknesse of Landguard fort, who became his patron. It was at his suggestion that they moved to Bath in 1760. Here he attracted many sitters. His fame spread to London where he exhibited at the Society of Artists 1761-1768, and was made one of the original members of the Royal Academy. After quarrelling with Thicknesse, he moved to London in 1774. Shortly after his arrival he was appointed painter to the king, and his prosperity was assured. Unfortunately he was jealous of Reynolds and quarrelled with him, and finally with the Academy, withdrawing his pictures and never exhibiting there again. He was reconciled with Reynolds before he died of cancer of the neck. Since his death his works have time and time again broken sale-room records.
GAIRDNER, James (1828-1912). British historian. He worked with the Public Record Office in London in 1846, rising to assistant keeper of the public records in 1859. His researches were mainly concerned with the early Tudor period. He edited the Letters and Papers of the Reign of Henry VIII, volumes 5 to 21, 1880-1910; and the Paston Letters, 1872-75. He wrote Henry VIII, 1889; History of Richard III, 1898; and Lollardy and the Reformation in England 1908-11.
GAISERIC (c.395-477). Vandal king. He became king of the Vandals in Spain in 428, later setting up a Vandal kingdom in North Africa, its capital being Carthage. He conquered Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica, sacked Rome in 455, and penetrated into Asia.
GAISFORD, Thomas (1779-1855) English scholar. Dean of Christ church, Oxford from 1831 until his death. He made a reputation as a Greek scholar by his editions of many of the Greek writers. He was principal delegate of the Oxford University Press.
GAIUS. Roman jurist. He lived in the 2nd century and was author of the famous Insititutes, 4 books covering the whole field of law. Other writings included the Edicts of the Magistrates and the Lex Pupia Poppaea, and were widely consulted by later jurists.
GALBA, Servius Sulpicius (3 B.C.-A.D. 69) Roman emperor. He had held several provincial governorships with credit when in June A.D. 68 he was proclaimed emperor by the legions in Gaul who had risen in revolt against Nero. His reign lasted only until December of the same year, when his harshness and parsimony making him extremely unpopular, caused his murder by the soldiers.
GALEN, Claudius. Greek physician. He went to Rome in 169, becoming famous for his wonderful cures. He was a favourite of Marcus Aurelius and body physician to his son Commodus. He ws the author of some 500 treatises on medical and philosophical subjects. As a physician he was second only to Hippocrates; was a great practical anatomist, but as a physiologist erred on the side of theory. He co-ordinated all known medical knowledge of that time. His writings and teachings provided the basis for the development of modern medicine.
GALERIUS, Valerius Maximianus (d.311). Roman emperor.When Diocletian divided the Roman empire into four in 293, Galerius became one of the Caesars, with control of the Danube provinces and the Balkans from Sirmium, and on the abdication of Diocletian in 305 he became senior emperor with Constantine as his colleague. After attempting unscuccessfully to gain sole control of the empire he relinguished his power in Licinius in 307. He is also known as Maximianus II.
GALIANI, Ferdinando (1728-87). Italian economist. He wrote Trattato della moneta, which upheld the mercantile theory of exchange, which he further developed in his Dialogues sur le commerce des bles, which because of its wit gained the praise of voltaire. He became minister of the royal domains at Naples in 1777.
GALILEO, Galilei (15/2/1564-8/1/1642) Italian astronomer. Though born at Pisa he was educated at Vallombrosa, near Florence. He was sent to Pisa in 1581 to study medicine. Through his observations of a swinging lamp and overhearing a lesson in geometry he was so enthusiastic about studying science and mathematics that his father gave way. He returned to Florence without a degree in 1585, becoming a lecturer. His first important invention, of hydrostatic balance was announced in 1586. His treatise on the centre of gravity in solids appeared in 1588 earning for him the post of lecturer in mathematics at Pisa. There he laid the foundations of the science of dynamics in a series of experiments. From the leaning tower of Pisa he demonstrated to the entire university that bodies of different weight fell with identical velocities. He resigned in 1591, returning to Florence but was then given the chair of mathematics at Padua and remained there from 1592-1610. Hearing of the discovery of Hans Lippersheym. of a glass which made remote objects appear near led to his inventing a series of telescopes which he sold all over Europe. In 1610 he published Sidereus Nuncius on his observations of the stars. His discovery of the satellites of Jupiter confirmed the planetary theory of Copernicus. Moving to Florence he became mathematician to the duke of Tuscany and made valuable observations on sun-spots, the formation of Saturn and the phases of Venue. In 1611 he exhibited his telescope to the court of the Vatican. In 1613 in his letters on the Solar Spots, he supported the theories of Copernicus. This aroused opposition from the Church, and he promised to abandon his doctrines. In 1623 he published the Saggiatore, a discourse on comets founded on an erroneous idea which was acclaimed by all his former opponents. He could however no longer keep quiet and Dialogo dei due massimi sistemi del mondo was published in 1632, being hailed by scientists and condemned by the church. Called to Rome, Galileo was forced under threat of torture to recant his confirmation of the Copernican doctrine that the sun was the centre of the world and that the earth moved around it. From Rome he went to Siena, then in 1633 to Florence where he passed the rest of his life in seclusion. The Dialoghi delle nuove scienze, a summary of his work in mechanics was finished in 1636 and printed two years later. He became blind in 1638 shortly after his discovery of the librations of the moon. One of his last ideas was the application of the pendulum to the regulation of clocks, put into practice by Huygens many years later. He died of a slow fever.
GALLAND, Antoine [1646-1715] French orientalist. He traveled extensively in Syria and the Levant, copying ancient inscriptions. He was made "antiquary to the King". He was the first European to make a translation of the Arabian Nights published in 12 volumes, 1704-17.
GALLAS, Matthias [1584-1647] Austrian soldier. He was won of Wallenstein's chief lieutenants in the Thirty years War, taking command after the latter's murder, in which he was one of the main conspirators. He won the great victory at Nordlingen over the Swedes in 1634. He died wealthy from much plundering. His titles included count of the empire and duke of Lucera.
GALLATIN or GALLANTIN, Albert (1761-1849). Swiss-American statesman. He emigrated to America in 1780. Elected to the Senate of the U.S.A. in 1793, after being at first declared ineligible, he took his seat in 1795. He became prominent among the opponents of the Federalists who controlled the Government, and won fame as a financial authority, becoming in 1801 secretary to the treasury in which capacity he reduced the national debt, and did much to improve the country's financial position. He was a commissioner for the treaty of Ghent, 1814, and minister to France 1816-23, and to Great Britain 1826-27.
GALLAUDET, Thomas Hopkins (1787-1851). American educationist. He founded at Hartford, Connecticut, in 1816, the first American school for deaf-mutes. His son Thomas (1922-1902) founded the Gallaudet home for deaf-mutes at Poughkeepsie, New York, and another son, Edward Miner (1837-1917), organized the Columbia institution for the deaf and dumb.
GALLE, Johann Gottfried (1812-1910). German astronomer. He was professor of astronomy, and director of the Breslau observatory, 1851-97. He discovered three comets, and was the first actually to detect the planet Neptune.
GALLIENI, Joseph Simon (1849-1916). French soldier. He was governor of Madagascar from 1896 to 1905', organising the island as a French colony. He became a member of the Conseil Superieur du Guerre in 1908. During World War I he was appointed military governor of Paris, August 26, 1914, saw to its fortifications, and rendered substantial assistance to the French Sixth Army. He was named "the Saviour of Paris," as his plans and general initiative were important factors in the victory of the Marne, Sept., 1914. He was made minister of war in Briand's cabinet Oct. 1915. After his death he was posthumously created a marshal of France in 1921.
GALLIENUS, Publius Licinius Egnatius (c. 218-268.)Roman emperor. He became associated with his father, Valerian, in the government in 253, and succeeded him on his capture by the Persians in 260. His reign was marked by debauchery, incompetence, insurrection, and invasion by the Goths. Gallienus was murdered while attempting to quell the insurrection of Aureolus.
GALLIFFET, Gaston Alexandre Auguste, Marquis De (1830-1909). French soldier. He achieved notoriety , by his vigorous suppression of the Communards after the siege of Paris, 1871, and for the skill with which he subdued the revolting Algerian tribes, 1872-73. War minister, 1899-1900.
GALLIO. Roman administrator. A brother of the philosopher Seneca, he lived in the 1st century A.D. As proconsul of Achaia he dismissed the charge brought by the Jews against Paul at Corinth. His impartiality is shown by the phrase in Acts xviii, 17 "he cared for none of these things."
GALLOWAY, George (1861-1933). Scottish theologian. He became a Presbyterian minister in 1888, and principal of S. Mary's college, St. Andrews, in 1915. He wrote much on theology and philosophy including Principles of Religious Development, 1909; and The Philosophy of Religion, 1914.
GALLUS, Gaius Cornelius (d. 26 B.C.) Roman poet. He became under Augustus governor of Egypt, but later was disgraced and committed suicide. His works, four books of love poems are lost, but there is no doubt of his eminence in Latin literature.
GALSWORTHY, John (1867-1933). English author. He was educated at Harrow and Oxford, graduating with a law degree. He then taravelled much. His first works were published under the pseudonym of John Sinjohn, From the Four Winds, Jocelyn, Villa Rubein (1900, and A Man of Devon (1901. He published under his own name The Island Pharisees 1904. In 1906 he published the first of the Forsyte novels, The Man of Property and produced his first play The Silver Box. The Forsyte novels continued with In Chancery, 1920, To Let 1921, The White Monkey, 1924; The Silver Spoon, 1926; Swan Song, 1928; Maid in Waiting, 1931; Flowering Wilderness, 1932; and posthumously Over the River, 1933. Indian Summer of a Forsyte. Other novels were The Country House, 1907; Fraternity,1909; The Patrician, 1911; and The Dark Flower, 1913. There were also volumes of short stories and some poems. Following his first play there came Strife, in 1909, Justice, 1910; The Pigeon, 1912; and The Mob, 1914. After World War I, he produced The Skin Game, 1920; Loyalties, 1922; and Escape, 1926; and The Roof, 1930. He refused a knighthood and was awarded the Order of Merit in 1929.
GALT, John (1779-1839). Scottish novelist. he became a prolific and successful writer, his best-known work, being the famous Annals of the Parish, 1821. There followed The Entile, 1823; and Lawrie Todd, 1830. The latter, the story of a Canadian settler, was inspired bya period, 1826-29, spent in Canada as agent for the Canada Company. The town of Galt (Ontario) is named after him. His son. Sir Alexander Tilloch Galt (1817-93), emigrated to Canada in 1835. He was finance minister in the Canadian Parliament, 1858-62 and 1864-67, introducing the decimal system of money, and was also the finance minister in the first Dominion parliament, 1867. He was high commissioner to Great Britain, 1880-83.
GALTON, Sir Francis (1822-1911). British anthropologist. he formulated the theory of anti-cyclones and new methods of weather charting, embodied in Meteorographica, 1863. By his anthropological works, Hereditary Genius, 1869, and Inquiries into Human Faculty, 1883, he established the principles of the new science which he named eugenics, in furtherance of which he founded a laboratory, 1904. He devised composite portraiture and systematized fingerprint methods. He was knighted in 1909.
GALUPPI, Baldassare (1706-85). Italian composer. he became famous as a composer of light operas, frequently in collaboration with Goldoni. His works enjoyed great popularity in England, particularly through his pasticcio, Alexander in Persia, performed in 1741, and his opera, Il filosofo di compagna, preformed as theGuardian Trick'd in 1761. Master of music at St. Mark's, Venice in 1762.
GALVANI, Luigi (1737-98) Italian physiologist. He was a professor of anatomy at Bologona University, 1762-97. By experiment, largely on frogs, he discovered animal electricity, and his investigations are commemorated in the words galvanism and galvanic current. His work On the Force of Electricity in Muscular Movement was published in 1791. His collected works were published 1841-42.
GAMA, Vasco Da (c.1460-1524). Portuguese navigator. Gaining early experience in fighting both on land and sea, he was placed in 1497 in command of an expedition intended to follow up the discoveries of Bartolomeu Dias. Rounding the Cape of Good Hope, he crossed the Indian Ocean, naming the island of St. Helena and the land of Natal on the way, and arrived at Calicut, May 20, 1498, after a voyage of 11 months. The hostility of Moslem traders prevented the foundation of any permanent settlement, and he returned home, Sept., 1499. A settlement made by Cabral in 1500 having been destroyed by the natives, da Gama was sent on a punitive expedition to Calicut in 1502. Singularly successful in a ruthless suppression of the offenders, he sailed onwards to Cochin, made favourable trading agreements at various posts, and was once more in Lisbon by Sept., 1503. He then retired from active service, though continuing to act in an advisory capacity to Emanuel I and his successor, John III; but in 1524 he was recalled to become viceroy of India. Making his headquarters at Goa, he began the task of reorganizing the now large settlements, but died on a visit to Cochin, Dec. 24, 1524. By his one voyage da Gama began the Portuguese age of prosperity.
GAMAGE, Albert Walter (1855-1930). English merchant. He founded A.W. Gamage, Ltd., in 1878, an important firm of London athletic outfitters of which he was for many years chairman. His son Eric succeeded him as head of the firm.
GAMALIEL (d. c.52). Jewish rabbi. An important member of the Sanhedrin, he taught in Jerusalem, St Paul being among his pupils. Famed for his learning, he urged that the early preachers of Christianity should not be interfered with, but the legend of his conversion to Christianity has no foundation.
GAMBETTA, Leon (1838-82). French statesman. He studied law in Paris, and was called to the bar in 1859. I elected to the Chamber in 1869 he became a leader of the party which opposed Napoleon III. a speech attacking the Ollivier ministry in 1870 helped to bring about the May plebiscite on the proposed constitutional changes. When the news of Sedan arrived he proclaimed publicly the establishment of the Republic, and became Minister of the Interior 1870. In October he escaped from the capital in a balloon and joined the government at Tours as minister of war as well as of the interior. At Tours, and later at Bordeaux, he showed a astounding energy in most adverse circumstances, levying and equipping fresh armies and organizing plans of national defence. Elected to the national assembly in 1871 he resigned the office on the surrender of Alsace and retired to Spain until the summer. Founding the newspaper La Republique Francaise in November 1871, he devoted his energies towards consolidating the new republic against monarchist influences, being a determined opponent of MacMahon Gambetta was elected president of the chamber of deputies in 1879 and under Garevy's presidency was premier from Nov., 1881 to Jan., 1882, resigning on the defeat of his proposals for electoral reform. He died as a result of an accident. In 1920 to mark the Jubilee of the third French Republic Gambetta's heart was buried in the Pantheon, Paris.
GAMBIER, James Gambier, Baron (1756-1833) British sailor. He entered the Navy at the age of 11. Captured by the French in 1778, he was released after a few months, and served at the capture of Charleston, 1780. He commanded the Defence in the battle of June 1, 1794, and in 1805 he became Admiral. For his part in the command of the fleet which bombarded Copenhagen and captured the Danish fleet, 1807, he was raised to the peerage. In command of the Channel fleet when Lord Cochrane attempted to destroy the French fleet by fire ships, by his refusal to help Cochrane he prevented their total destruction, but was acquitted by a favorable court-martial. He was promoted admiral of the fleet in 1830.
GANIVET, Angel (1865-98). Spanish writer. He became known through his finally descriptive novels, including La Conquista del reino de Maya, 1897, and through his essays, such as the Idearium Espano., 1897.