- SABATIER, Paul (1858-1928). French scholar. He was expelled as pastor of a
Protestant church in Strasbourg in 1889 for refusing to abandon his French
citizenship. From that time until 1893 he was pastor at St. Cierge in the
Cevennes. His best known work is Life of St. Francis, 1893.
- SABATIER, Louis Auguste (1839-1901). Brother to the above. Professor of dogmatics at
Strasbourg 1868-72. He wrote The Apostle Paul 1896, and many other religious works.
- SABELLIUS. Libyan theologian. (3rd century) Head of the Modalist sect,
his doctrine of the Trinity (Sabellianism) being widely accepted in the Eastern
Church. A Unitarian, he still upheld the divinity of Christ, and asserted that
the Father, Son and Holy Spirit were three different manifestations of God, and that the
Father was equal to the other two. The Augustinian doctrine was effected by these
thoughts.
- SABINE, Sir Edward (1788-1883). British astronomer. He acted as astronomer
in Parry's and Ross's Arctic expeditions. in 1818-19. He then studied terrestrial
magnetism, helping to found magnetic observatories throughout the British Empire. He
observed the relationship between sunspots and magnetic storms in 1852. He was
knighted in 1869.
- SACHINI, Antonio Maria Gaspere (1734-86). Italian composer. First opera was
Semiramide, in 1764. Travelled through Germany and lived in London from
1772-82. He composed 41 operas and is best known for OEdipe a Colone, 1786 and
Alessandro nelle Indie, 1768.
- SACCO, Nicola (1891-1927). American anarchist. A Socialist and later
anarchist agitator. Arrrested with Bartolomeo Vanzetti in 1920, and charged with the
murder of the paymaster of a shoe factory and his Italian guard, with the motive of
robbery. The trial caused much controversary throughout the world and they were not
executed until 1927 after many appeals for a re-trial.
- SACHER-MASOCH, Leopold Count von (1835-95) German writer. He was a lawyer
but made his name with his studies of Polish-Jewish life and the manners of small towns.
His later works were marked by the form of sexual perversion called masochism after their
author. they include Love Stories of Four Centuries, the Messalinas of Vienna, and
the Legacy of Cain.
- SACHEVERELL, Henry (c.1674-1724). English divine. Chaplain at St. Saviour's,
Southwark, 1705. He achieved notoriety with violently worded sermons in support of the
High Church and Tory cases. He was impeached in 1709 and was not allow to preach for 3
years. However the riots and attacks on meeting-houses which took place during his
trial led to the fall of the government. He was given the living of St. Anddrew's,
Holborn in 1713.
- SACHS, Hans (1494-1576). German poet and dramatist.He was taught the art of the
Meistersingers when young, and later became their leader in Nuremberg. He completed
his apprenticeship as shoemaker in 1511, then travelled through Germany, living by
shoemaking and indulging in his art as a singer. He returned to Nuremberg in
1516. His poetry was inspired by the Reformation, and several of his best-known
poems were addressed to Luther, notably Die Wittenbergisch Nachtigall.
He left thousands of songs and poems.
- SACKVILLE, George Sackville, lst Viscount (1716-85). British soldier and
politician. Known as Lord George Sackville, he was the younger son of the lst duke
of Dorset and entered the army in 1737. Made commander-in-chief of the British force
serving in Germany, he commanded at Minden, but was court-martialled for refusing to obey
the orders of Ferdinand of Brunswick. During his retirement he took part in
political intrigue. In 1775 he was made secretary of state, and had a good deal deal
to do with directing the war in America. He was made a viscount on his retirement in
1782, and took the name of Germain in 1770 after inheriting estates under the will of Lady
Betty Germain.
- SACY, Antoine Isaac, Silvestre De (1758-1838) French scholar. Professor of
Arabic in the Institute of Oriental Studies, 1795, and was one of the foremost authorities
on Oriental languages and literature. Made a baron and a peer of France. Chief
books were translations and editions of Arabic and Persian works and an Arabic grammar.
- SADE, Donatien Alphonse Francois, Marquis De (1740-1814). French writer. He
served in the Seven Years' War. Sentenced to death for immoral practices in 1722 he
took flight, but later was imprisoned at Vincennes and in the Bastille. He wrote
several disreputable romances, among them Juliette, 1792, and Les Crimes de l'Amour,
1800. He died insane. The word sadism is derived from his surname and was used
by psychologists to describe the perversion from which he suffered.
- SA DE MIRANDA, Francisco de (d. 1558). Portuguese poet. He travelled in Italy
between 1520-25. He introduced new metres into Spanish and Portuguese poetry.
He wrote the first Portuguese comedy in prose and the first classical tragedy in the
language. In poetry he pioneered the Renaissance in Portuguese literature with his
sonnets and pastoral eclogues.
- SA'DI Musharrif ud din ibn Muslih ud din Abdullah (c.1184-1291). Persian
poet. Educated at Bagdad he wandered for 30 years through India and Abyssinia.
In 1256 he adopted the principles of Sufism in Shiraz. He excelled in didactic poems and
wrote the most popular verse in the language: the Fruit Garden, a book of religious
and ethical verse; and Rose Garden, his most famous work.
- SADLER, Michael Thomas (1780-1835) English social reformer. He entered
Parliament in 1829, becoming a leading member of the group who sought to better the
condition of the working classes by factory Acts and other legislation. He was a
philanthropist and a Tory politician. He introduced a bill in 1831 to limit the
labour of children of 9 to 18 years in factories and mills to 10 hours daily. The
Sadler committee of inquiry provided the basis of Lord Shaftesbury's factory legislation.
- SADLER, Sir Ralph (1507-87). English diplomatist. He entered the service of
Henry VIII, in 1536, who employed him on various diplomatic missions. He lived in
retirement during Mary's reign, but became Elizabeth's trusted agent in Scottish
matters. He arranged the Leith treaty in 1560, was sent on various errands to Mary
Queen of Scots and eventually was to serve as her gaoler in 1584-85.
- SAGE, russell (1816-1906) American financier. He became a retail
grocer in 1837. In 1863 he moved to New York and went on the Stock Exchange,
where he made a large fortune in railway dealings. At his death he left everything
to his widow Margaret Olivia Slocum Sage (1826-1918). She gave money to the
Russell Sage Foundation to improve the social and living conditions of the U.S.A.
1907; money for educational purposes and money to the Sage Institute of
Pathology. When she died she left the rest to charities, hospitals and educational
institutions.
- ST. ALDEGONDE, Philip van Marnix, Lord of (1536-98). Dutch statesman.
He became a leader of the Protestants in the Netherlands and composed a metrical
translation of the Psalms. In 1583 he was made burgomaster of Antwerp, a post he held
through the siege of that city by the spaniards in 1584-85.
- ST. ALDWYN, Michael Edward Hicks-Beach, Earl (1837-1916). English statesman.
He succeeded his father as 9th baronet in 1854, and in 1864 entered the House of Commons
as a Conservative. He was chief secretary for Ireland, 1874-78, secretary for the
colonies, 1878-80, and chancellor of the exchequer, and leader of the House of Commons,
1885-86. He was again Irish secretary, 1886-87, and was president of the board of
trade, 1888-92. Chancellor of the exchequer, 1895-1902, he resigned office owing to
his dislike of Chamberlain's tariff reform proposals. In 1906 he ws made a viscount,
and in 1915, an earl.
- ST. ARNAUD, Jacques Leroy De (1801-1854). French soldier. He entered the
army in 1817 and, making his reputation as an officer in the foreign legion in Algeria,
became a brigadier in 1848 and defeated the Kabyles, 1851. In the same year he was
made minister for war, taking charge of the military in Napoleon III's coup d'etat.
He was made marshall of France, 1852, and on the outbreak of the Crimean War was appointed
to the command of the French forces. He died a few days after the battle of the Alma
in 1854.
- ST. AUDRIES, Alexander Fuller Acland-Hood, 1st Baron [1853-1917]. British
politician. He succeeded his father as 4th baronet in 1892. Entering
Parliament he was parliamentary secretary to the Treasury, 1902-05, and chief whip of the
Unionist party from 1902 until he was made a peer in 1911.
- ST. CYRAN, Jean Du Vergier De Hauranne, Abbe De [1581-1643]. French
theologian. In 1620 he became Abbe of St. Cyran, and in 1633 director of Port
Royal. Arrested at the order of Richelieu in 1638 he was a prisoner in
Vincennes until 1642, when he published his Theologie Familiere. His Lettres
Chretiennes et Spirituelles appeared in 1649. He was one of the chief figures in the
history Jansenism.
- SAINTE-BEUVE, Charles Augustus [1804-69]. French critic. He was educated at
the Lycee Charlemagne, College Bourbon, and the School of Medicine, Paris. He became
a contributor to a new liberal paper Le Globe, started in 1824. His articles
reflect enthusiasm for the romantic school which resulted from his friendship with
Victor Hugo,. He was at first influenced by Roman Catholicism and Saint-Simonism in
turn but finally abandoned both, and having become the lover of Mme. Hugo broke with
Victor Hugo in 1834. He now finally abandoned original writing for the work of
historian and critic, the semi-autobiographical novel Volunte, 1834, being his last
fictional publication. His lectures at Lausanne,1837, on Port Royal formed the
nucleus of his first important work, L'Histoire de Port royal, 1840-48.
Appointed historian of the Mazarin Library, 1840, he relinquished the post in 1848 and
went to Leige University, his lectures here being published 1860. Meanwhile, he
began to contribute his famous Monday critical articles to the Constitutionnel and later
to the Moniteurand Le Tempo. Sainte-Beuve was professor to the College de France, 1854,
and at the Ecole Normale, 1857-61. He was made a senator in 1865.
- SAINTE-CLAIRE DEVILLE, Etienne Henri (1818-81). French chemist. He was
professor of chemistry at Besancon, 1845-51. at the Ecole Normale, 1851-59, and at the
Sorbonne from 1859. His researches on inorganic chemistry resulted in his disocery
of nitrogen pentoxide, and in valuable work on the commercial preparation of aluminium and
platinum. The hot and cold tube known by his name was invented by him to aid his
study of reversible reactions.
- SAINT-EVREMOND, Charles de Marguetel de Saint-Denis, Seigneur de (1610-1703).
French author. He had a distinguished careeer in the Thirty Years' War and in the
Fronde, but fell into disgrace in 1661 and fled to England, where he passed the rest of
his life. His wit is shown to advantage in his Comedie des Academiciens, 1650, while his
Sur les Poemes des Anciens is remarkable for its modern tone.
- SAINT-GAUDENS, Augustus (1848-1907). American sculptor. He was taken to New York
from Dublin while still a baby, and began his career as a cameo cutter. After
studying at the Cooper Institute, the National Academy and the Beaux Arts, Paris, he
returned to New York in 1873 and soon became the most popular sculptor of memorials,
statues, portraits and bas-reliefs. Most of the chief American heroes were
sculptured by him and his works adorn all the large American towns. His best-known
works are the Farragut statue in New York, the Lincoln at Chicago, the Puritan at
Springfield, and the General Sherman in New York. He was assisted in many of his
works by his brother Louis (1854-1913).
- ST. GERMAIN, Comte De (d. c. 1784). European adventurer. Believed to be the
natural son of the queen of Charles II of Spain, he came to the French court from Germany
in 1748, claiming extraordinary powers of alchemy, and declaring that he had lived 2,000
years. He lived in London, 1760-62, and was in St. Petersbury, 1762. A teacher
of Cagliostro, he probably died in Schleswig-Holstein.
- SAINTINE, Xavier Boniface (1798-1865). French author. Real name Joseph Xavier
Boniface. He published a volume of romantic poems in 1823, but was best known for
his sentimental story, Picciola, 1836. He was also a dramatist, frequently
collaborating with Scribe.
- ST. JUST, Louis Antoine Leon de Richebourg (1767-94). French politician. He
became a friend of Robespierre and was elected to the assembly in September, 1792.
He was a member of the committee of public safety, 1793, and dispatched to strengthen
discipline in the Rhine armies, organized the wholesale execution of soldiers suspected of
treason. President of the Convention, 1794, he secured the success of the Northern
army by threatening its commanders with the guillotine if they failed, and formed a corps
of murderers to kill all fugitives. A fanatical tyrant, he caused the final outburst
against himself and Robespierre by his dictatorial attitude on the 9th Thermidor in the
Convention, and arrested with Robespierrre, he was guillotined.
- SAINT-LAMBERT, Jean Francois, Marquis de (1716-1803). French poet. He became
an official at the court of Stanislaus Leeszinski, duke of Lorraine, where in 1748 he
became the lover of the mistress of Voltaire, the marquise de Chatelet. From 1756
onwards he was a prominent figure in the literary circles of Paris, and contributor to the
Encyclopedie, and the lover of Mme. d'Houdetot, the Sophie beloved by Rousseau. His
descriptive poem, Les Saisons, , won him admission to the Academy in 1770.
- ST. LEONARDS, Edward Burtenshaw Sugden, 1st Baron (1781-1875). English
lawyer. He became a barrister in 1807, took silk in 1822, and was appointed
solicitor-general 1829, and lord chancellor of Ireland, 1834 and 1841, and of Great
Britain, 1852. A leading reformer of the law of property, he was made a baron in
1852.
- SAINT-PIERRE, Jacques Henri Bernardin De (1737-1814). French author. He
became a soldier and then an engineer, spending five years in travel through Europe, and
three years in Mauritius as a government official. He returned in 1771 to France,
where he became a friend of Rousseau, under who influence he wrote his Voyage a l'Ile de
France, 1773, and Etudes de la Nature, 1784. His chief work was his famous idyll,
Paul et Virginie, published in 1789, a sentimental romance which marks the beginning of
the return to Nature in French literature. With its companion volume, La Chaumiere
Indienne, 1790, it inspired Chateaubriand and other French writers to abandon the frigid
mannerisms of the classical school.
- SAINT-SAENS, Charles Camille (1835-1921). French composer. He studied at the
Conservatoire and was organist of S. Merri, 1835-58, and of the Madeleine, 1861-77.
His first works, operas of which La Priancesse Jaune, 1872, is the best known, attracted
little attention. But his name was made by his dramatic orchestral symphonic poems,
Le Rouet d'Omphale, the Danse Macabre and La Jeunesse d'Hercule. His next operas
received greater praise and Samson and Delilah produced at Weimar, 1877, at the Opera,
Paris, 1892, and at Covent Garden, 1909, became immensely popular. Henry VIII, 1883,
Ascanio, 1890, and Les Barbares, 1901, the best of his other operas are little
known. As a famous solo pianist he also wrote a number of oratorios, piano pieces
and songs, chamber music, and concertos for piano and for violin. He also published
several volumes of criticism, essays and poems.
- SAINTSBURY, George Edward Bateman (1845-1933). English scholar and critic.
He became a master at Manchester grammar school, in Guernsey and elsewhere, but in 1876
entered journalism in London. He contributed vast numbers of articles to a wide
range of periodicals, and was for long connected with the Saturday Review, where he found
an outlet for his Conservative political views. He began his critical work with the
Life of Dryden in the English Men of Letters series, 1881, and in 1895 he was made
professor of rhetoric and English literature at Edinburgh, a post which he held until
1915. He is chiefly famous for his series of critical works, and his greatest
achievement was probably his contribution of 21 chapters to the Cambridge history of
English literature. His numerous other works include A Short History of French
Literature 1882; Essays in English literature, 1890; A Short History of English
lLterature, 1898; A History of Criticism, 1900-04; Loci Critici, 1903; A History of
English Prosody, 1906-10; A History of English Criticism, 1911; The English Novel, 1913; A
History of the French Novel, volume 1, 1917; volume 2, 1919; Notes on a Cellar Book,
a 1920; three Scrapbooks, the last appearing in 1924; and Prefaces and Essays, which
appeared after his death.
- SAINT-SIMON, Claude Henri, comte De (1760-1825). French economist. He fought
as a volunteer against the British in the American war of Independence, and was imprisoned
as an aristocrat during the French Revolution. Released at the end of the reign of
terror, he spent the rest of his life in extreme poverty. His socialist theories are
expounded chiefly in The Industrial System, 1823; and best known of all his writings
The New Christianity, 1825. The cornerstone of the internationalist, socialist and
utilitarian community which he advocated and described in outline, was to be an
aristocracy of intellect, a body of experts conducting the business of society in
the most scientific way. Capitalists were to take the place of politicians and
scientists that of the clergy. His doctrine enjoyed a wide vogue soon after his
death and a society of Saint-Simonians was formed, who put his principles into practice in
a community living at Menilmontant until 1832.
- SAINT-SIMON, Louis de Rouvroy, Duc De (1675-1755). French write fought at Namur,
1692, and Nerwinden, 1694, and succeeded to his father's dukedom in 1693. Two years
later he married Gabriel de Durfort and in 1702 he left the army. He was appointed
ambassador to Rome in 1705, and he then became an adherent of the Duke of Orleans.
On the death of Louis XIV he became a member of the Council of Regency, and in 1721 went
to Spain to arrange the projected marriage of Louis XV with the Infanta.
Shortly after his return he retired to La Ferte-Vidame, where he devoted a great part of
his time to the writings of his memoirs. These were not published in full until
1839. He was a tireless collector of materials of all kinds, from official
documents to gossip, and his memoirs unmatched for their pen- portraits of people whom the
writer had met are invaluable for the light they throw on the life of his period.
- ST. VINCENT, John Jervis, Earl of (1735-1823). British sailor. He went to
sea at the age of 14, and by 1760 had risen to the rank of post-captain, having
taken part in the capture of Québec, 1759. He then served with distinction in the
Mediterranean, holding a command at the Battle of Ushant, 1778, in the relief of
Gibraltar, and in the Battle off Cape Spartel, 1782. Elected Whig MP in 1783, and
promoted rear Admiral in 1787, and vice Admiral in 1793, he had a share in capturing
Martinique and Guadeloupe, 1793-95. In 1795 he was appointed commander in chief in
the Mediterranean, and in this capacity he gained a brilliant victory after the Spanish
fleet off Cape St. Vincent, Feb., 1797, receiving an earldom as a reward. In command
of the Channel Fleet 1799-1801, he introduced many reforms and incurred much enmity for
his strict discipline. His methods bordered on brutality, but were partly justified
by the efficiency displayed by his command. He became first Lord of the Admiralty in
1801, devoting himself to reform of the dockyards, an essential but unpopular measure.
Opposed by Pitt he left office in 1803 and after a brief period in command of the
fleet, 1806-07, he retired.
- SALA, George Augustus Henry (1828-95). English journalist. He became a
contributor to Household Words, 1851-56, and in 1857 began his long connection with the
Daily Telegraph. He acted as special correspondent during the American Civil War, in
the Franco-Prussian war, in Russia 1876, in Australia, 1885, and elsewhere. He was
later associated with the Sunday Times, 1886-94, and edited Sala's Journal 1892-94, which
was a failure. He also wrote several novels, including Captain Dangerous, 1864.
His autobiography, Life and Adventures appeared in 1895.
- SALADIN (1138-93) Sultan of Egypt. The son of a Kurdish general, who was
made governor of Damascus in 1154 and was the center of Islamic culture. In 1164 he
was sent to Egypt, and there spent 10 years in warfare with the Christians. he was
uniformly successful and was appointed vizier in 1170. Nur-ed-din died in 1174, and
Saladin hastening northwards, entered Damascus with little delay. He suppressed all
reference to Nur-ed-din's rightful successor, and had himself declared Sultan, 1175; he
then conquered northern Syria, defeating the ruler of Mosul and securing Aleppo,
thus surrounding the Christian Kingdom of Jerusalem by Moslem territory. Profiting
by the incursions of a Christian brigand Saladin advanced through Palestine, by Tiberias
and Hittin, where he won decisive victories, upon Jerusalem, which after a month's siege,
he entered in October 1197. Satisfied with his swift victory, he neglected to reduce
the Christian stronghold at Tyre, whence his enemies marched and laid siege to Acre in
1189; he immediately hastened to Acre and surrounded the besieging Christian force.
The famous two-year siege of Acre was the chief event in his career. Having
no fleet he was unable to prevent crusading reinforcements arriving by se and in g June
1191, Raichard Coeur de Lion landed. Within a month Acre surrendered to the
Crusaders, and in the same year the Moslems were defeated by Richard at Arsuf, and in 1192
at Jaffa. Internal dissensions of which Saladin took full advantage, forced the
Crusaders to abandon their task in 1192, however, and in September of that year Saladin
secured from them highly advantageous treaty by which he received the whole of Palestine,
except Jerusalem and the coastline. He returned to Damascus where he died.
- SALANDRA, Antonio (1853-1931). Italian statesman. He was elected to
Parliament as a conservative, 1886, and having been a member of four governments, was
premier 1914-15. One of Italy's representatives at the Paris peace conference, 1919,
he was at first a supporter but later an opponent of Fascism. He turned later still,
towards it, and in 1928 was nominated Senator by Mussolini. He took no further part
in politics.
- SALDANHA OLIVEIRA E DAUN, Joa DARLOS, DUKE OF (1791-1876) Portuguese soldier and
statesman. He fought through the Peninsula War under Wellington, and after the
revolution of 1820 joined the party of John VI. Minister of war 1826, he was exiled
by the Miguelists until 1834, when he returned and forced Dom Miguel to capitulate.
Prime minister in 1835 and 1846-47, Saldanha established a ministry of
reconciliation, 1851-54, and carried through many necessary reforms. He later
represented Portugal at the Vatican, in Paris, and finally in London.
- SALE, George c.1697-1736). British scholar. He studied Arabic and in 1726
revised the Arabic New Testament brought out by the S.P.C.K. He also helped to found
the Society for the Encouragement of Learning, but is best remembered by his translation
of the Koran, 1734, in which he wrote an invaluable Preliminary Discourse.