Froebel, Friedrich, a devoted German educationist on the principles of Pestalozzi, which combined physical, moral, and intellectual training, commencing with the years of childhood; was the founder of the famous Kindergarten system (1782-1852).
Frogmore, a royal palace and mausoleum in Windsor Park, the burial-place of Prince Albert.
Froissart, Jean, a French chronicler and poet, born at Valenciennes; visited England in the reign of Edward III., at whose Court, and particularly with the Queen, he became a great favourite for his tales of chivalry, and whence he was sent to Scotland to collect more materials for his chronicles, where he became the guest of the king and the Earl of Douglas; after this he wandered from place to place, ranging as far as Venice and Rome, to add to his store; he died in Flanders, and his chronicles, which extend from 1322 to 1400, are written without order, but with grace and naïveté (1337-1410).
Fromentin, Eugène, an eminent French painter and author, born at Rochelle; was the author of two travel-sketches, and a brilliant novel "Dominique" (1820-1876).
Fronde, a name given to a revolt in France opposed to the Court of Anne of Austria and Mazarin during the minority of Louis XIV. The war which arose, and which was due to the despotism of Mazarin, passed through two phases: it was first a war on the part of the people and the parlement, called the Old Fronde, which lasted from 1648 till 1649, and then a war on the part of the nobles, called the New Fronde, which lasted till 1652, when the revolt was crushed by Turenne to the triumph of the royal power. The name is derived from the mimic fights with slings in which the boys of Paris indulged themselves, and which even went so far as to beat back at times the civic guard sent to suppress them.
Froude, Hurrell, elder brother of the succeeding, a leader in the Tractarian movement; author of Tracts IX. and LXIII. (1803-1836).
Froude, James Anthony, an English historian and man of letters, born at Totnes, Devon; trained originally for the Church, he gave himself to literature, his chief work being the "History of England from the Fall of Wolsey to the Defeat of the Spanish Armada," in 12 vols., of which the first appeared in 1854 and the last in 1870, but it is with Carlyle and his "Life of Carlyle" that his name has of late been most intimately associated, and in connection with which he will ere long honourably figure in the history of the literature of England, though he has other claims to regard as the author of the "Nemesis of Faith," "Short Studies on Great Subjects," a "Life of Cæsar," a "Life of Bunyan," "The English in Ireland in the Eighteenth Century," and "English Seamen in the Sixteenth Century"; he ranks as one of the masters of English prose, and as a man of penetration, insight, and enlarged views, if somewhat careless about minor details (1818-1894).
Froude, William, another brother, a civil engineer, assistant to Brunel; made important discoveries in hydro-dynamics of great practical avail (1810-1879).
Fry, Mrs. Elizabeth, philanthropist, born at Norwich, third daughter of John Gurney, the Quaker banker; married Joseph Fry of Plashet, Essex; devoted her life to prison reform and the reform of criminals, as well as other benevolent enterprises; she has been called "the female Howard" (1780-1845).
Fuad-Mahmed, Pasha, a Turkish statesman, diplomatist, and man of letters; studied medicine, but soon turned himself to politics; was much esteemed and honoured at foreign courts, at which he represented Turkey, for his skill, sagacity, and finesse; became Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1852; was hostile to the pretensions of Russia, and gave umbrage to the Czar; published a Turkish grammar, which is received with favour (1814-1869).
Fudge Family, The, a satiric piece by Thomas Moore, published in 1818.
Fuentes, Count, a Spanish general and statesman, eminent both in war and diplomacy; commanded the Spanish infantry at the siege of Rocroi when he was eighty-two, borne on a litter in the midst of the fight, and perished by the sword, the Great Condé having attacked the besiegers (1560-1643).
Fuero-Fuego, a Wisigoth Spanish law of the 7th century, a curious monument of the legislation of the Middle Ages.
Fugger, the name of a family of Augsburg who rose from the loom by way of commerce to great wealth and eminence in Germany, particularly under the Emperors Maximilian and Charles V., the real founder of the wealth being Jacob, who died 1409.
Fulham, a suburb of London, on the Middlesex bank of the Thames, opposite Putney, with the palace and burying-place of the bishops of London.
Fullah, a people of the Upper Soudan whose territory extends between Senegal and Darfur, a race of superior physique and intelligence, and of a certain polish of manners, and with Caucasian type of feature.
Fuller, Andrew, an eminent Baptist minister, born in Cambridgeshire, was settled at Kettering, and a zealous controversialist in defence of the gospel against hyper-Calvinism on the one hand and Socinianism on the other, but he is chiefly distinguished in connection with the foundation of the Baptist Missionary Society, to which he for most part devoted the energies of his life (1754-1815).
Fuller, Margaret, an American authoress, born at Cambridgepont, Mass., a woman of speculative ability and high aims, a friend of Emerson, and much esteemed by Carlyle, though he thought her enthusiasm extravagant and beyond the range of accomplishment; she was one of the leaders of the transcendental movement in America; visited Europe, and Italy in particular; engaged there in the struggle for political independence; married the young Marquis of Ossoli; sailed for New York, and was drowned with her husband and child on the sand-bars of Long Island (1810-1850).
Fuller, Thomas, historian, divine, and wit, born in Northamptonshire, son of the rector of Sarum; entering into holy orders, he held in succession several benefices in the Church of England, and was a prebend in Salisbury Cathedral; taking sides with the king, he lost favour under the Commonwealth; wrote a number of works, in which one finds combined gaiety and piety, good sense and whimsical fancy; composed among other works the "History of the Holy War," a "History of the Crusades," "The Holy and the Profane States," the "Church History of Great Britain," and the "Worthies of England," the last his principal work, and published posthumously; he was a man of great shrewdness, broad sympathies, and a kindly nature; was an author much admired by Charles Lamb (1608-1661).
Fulton, Robert, an American engineer, born in Pennsylvania; began life as a miniature portrait and landscape painter, in which he made some progress, but soon turned to engineering; he was one of the first to apply steam to the propulsion of vessels, and devoted much attention to the invention of submarine boats and torpedoes; he built a steamboat to navigate the Hudson River, with a very slow rate of progress however, making only five miles an hour (1615-1765).
Fum, a grotesque animal figure, six cubits high, one of four presumed to preside over the destinies of China.
Funchal (19), the capital of Madeira, at the head of a bay on the S. coast, and the base of a mountain 4000 ft. high, extends a mile along the shore, and slopes up the sides of the mountain; famous as a health resort, more at one time than now.
Fundy Bay, an arm of the sea between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia; it is of difficult navigation owing to the strong and rapid rush of the tides.
Fünen (221), the second in size of the Danish islands, separated from Zealand on the E. by the Great Belt and from Jutland on the W. by the Little Belt; is flat except on S. and W., fertile, well cultivated, and yields crops of cereals.
Furnivall, Frederick James, English barrister, born at Egham, in Surrey; devoted to the study of Early and Middle English Literature; founder and director of numerous societies for promoting the study of special works, such as the Early English Text, Chaucer, Ballad, and New Shakespeare Societies, and editor of publications in connection with them; was in his early days a great authority on boating and boat-building; b. 1825.
Fürst, Julius, a distinguished German Orientalist, born in Posen, of Jewish descent; a specialist in Hebrew and Aramaic; author of a Hebrew and Chaldee Manual (1805-1873).
Fürst, Walter, of Uri, a Swiss patriot, who, along with William Tell, contributed to establish the liberty and independence of Switzerland; d. 1317.
Fuseli, Henry, properly Fusoli, a famous portrait-painter, born at Zurich; coming to England at the age of 22, he became acquainted with Sir Joshua Reynolds, who advised him to go to Rome; after eight years spent in study of the Italian masters, and Michael Angelo in particular, he returned to England and became an R.A.; he painted a series of pictures, afterwards exhibited as the "Milton Gallery" (1741-1825).
Fust Johann, a rich burgher of Mainz, associated with Gutenberg and Schöffer, to whom along with them the invention of printing has been ascribed; d. 1466.
Fyne, Loch, an Argyllshire arm of the sea, extending N. from Bute to Inveraray, and from 1 m. to 5 m. broad; famed for its herrings.
Fyzabad (78), capital of Oudh, in India, at one time, 78 m. E. of Lucknow; much decayed.
G
Gabelentz, Hans Conon von der, a distinguished German philologist, born at Altenburg: was master, it is said, of 80 languages, contributed treatises on several of them, his most important work being on the Melanesian (1807-1874).
Gabelle, an indirect tax, specially one on salt, the term applied to a State monopoly in France in that article, and the exaction in connection with which was a source of much discontent; the people were obliged to purchase it at government warehouses and at extravagant, often very unequal, rates; the impost dates from 1286; was abolished in 1789.
Gabelsberger, Franz Xavier, inventor of the shorthand in use in German countries as well as elsewhere (1789-1849).
Gaberlunzie, a licensed beggar, or any of the mendicant class, so called from the wallet he carried.
Gabinus, a Roman tribune in 66 B.C., afterwards consul; party to the banishment of Cicero, 57 B.C.
Gaboon and French Congo (5,000), a French Colony in W. Africa fronting the Atlantic, between the Cameroon country and the Congo State, and stretching inland as far as the head-waters of the Congo River; in the NW. is the great Gaboon estuary, 40 m. long and 10 broad at its mouth, with Libreville on its N. bank; along the coast the climate is hot and unhealthy, but it improves inland; the natives belong to the Bantu stock; the French settled in it first in 1842, but only since the explorations of De Brazza in 1876-86 have they begun to extend and colonise it.
Gabriel, an angel, one of the seven archangels, "the power of God," who is represented in the traditions of both the Jews and the Moslems as discharging the highest functions, and in Christian tradition as announcing to the Virgin Mary her election of God to be the mother of the Messiah; he ranks fully higher among Moslems than Jews.
Gabriel, a French architect, born in Paris (1710-1782).
Gabrielles d'Estrées, the mistress of Henry IV. of France, who for State reasons was not allowed to marry her (1571-1599).
Gad, one of the Jewish tribes inhabiting the E. of the Jordan.
Gadames or Ghadames (7 to 10), an oasis and town in Africa, situated in the SW. corner of Tripoli, on the N. border of the Sahara; the fertility of the oasis is due to hot springs, from which the place takes its name; high walls protect the soil and the fruit of it, which is abundant, from sand-storms; it is an entrepôt for trade with the interior; the inhabitants are Berber Mohammedans.
Gaddi, Gaddo, a Florentine painter and worker in mosaic, friend of Cimabue and Giotto (1239-1312).
Gaddi, Taddeo, son of the preceding, and pupil of Giotto both in architecture and fresco-painting (1300-1366).
Gaddi, Agnolo, son of the preceding, and a painter of frescoes (1350-1396).
Gades, the ancient name of Cadiz (q. v.).
Gadshill, an eminence in Kent, 3 m. NW. of Rochester, associated with the name of Falstaff, also of Dickens, who resided here from 1856 to 1870, and where he died.
Gaeta (17), a fortified seaport of S. Italy, finely situated on a steep promontory 50 m. NW. of Naples; it was a favourite watering-place of the ancient Roman nobility, and the beauty of its bay is celebrated by Virgil and Horace; it is rich in classic remains, and in its day has witnessed many sieges; the inhabitants are chiefly employed with fishing and a light coast trade.
Gage, Thomas, English general, son of Viscount Gage; he served in the Seven Years' War, and took part in 1755 in Braddock's disastrous expedition in America; in 1760 he became military governor of Montreal, and three years later commander-in-chief of the British forces in America; as governor of Massachusetts he precipitated the revolution by his ill-timed severity, and after the battle of Bunker's Hill was recalled to England (1721-1787).
Gaia or Ge, in the Greek mythology the primeval goddess of the earth, the alma mater of living things, both in heaven and on earth, called subsequently Demeter, i. e. Gemeter, Earth-mother.
Gaillard, French historian, born at Amiens; devoted his life to history (1726-1806).
Gainsborough, Thomas, one of England's greatest artists in portrait and landscape painting, born at Sudbury, Suffolk; he early displayed a talent for drawing, and at 14 was sent to London to study art; when 19 he started as a portrait-painter at Ipswich, having by this time married Margaret Burr, a young lady with £200 a year; patronised by Sir Philip Thicknesse, he removed in 1760 to Bath, where he rose into high favour, and in 1774 he sought a wider field in London; he shared the honours of painting portraits with Reynolds and of landscape with Wilson; his portraits have more of grace, if less of genius, than Reynolds, while his landscapes inaugurated a freer and more genial manner of dealing with nature, while as a colourist Ruskin declares him the greatest since Rubens; among his most famous pictures are portraits of Mrs. Siddons, the Duchess of Devonshire, and the Hon. Mrs. Graham, "Shepherd Boy in the Shower," "The Seashore," &c. (1727-1788).
Gaius, a Roman jurist of the 2nd century, whose "Institutes" served for the basis of Justinian's.
Galahad, Sir, son of Lancelot, one of the Knights of the Round Table; distinguished for the immaculate purity of his character and life; was successful in his search for the Holy Graal.
Galaor, a hero of Spanish romance, brother of Amadis de Gaul, the model of a courtly paladin, and always ready with his sword to avenge the wrongs of the widow and the orphan.
Galapágos, a sparsely populated group of islands (13 in number), barren on the N., but well wooded on the S., situated on the equator, 600 m. W. of Ecuador, and which, although belonging to Ecuador, all bear English names, bestowed upon them, it would appear, by the buccaneers of the 17th century; Albemarle Island makes up more than half of their area; they are volcanic in formation, and some of their 2000 craters are not yet inactive; their fauna is of peculiar scientific interest as exhibiting many species unknown elsewhere; besides the islands proper there is a vast number of islets and rocks.
Galata, a faubourg of Constantinople where the European merchants reside.
Galatea, a nymph whom Polyphemus made love to, but who preferred Acis to him, whom therefore he made away with by crushing him under a rock, in consequence of which the nymph threw herself into the sea.
Galatia, a high-lying Roman province in Asia Minor that had been invaded and taken possession of by a horde of Gauls in the 3rd century B.C., whence the name.
Galatians, Epistle to the, an epistle of St. Paul to the churches in Galatia, which was an especial favourite with Luther, as, with its doctrine of spiritual freedom in Christ, it might well be, for it corroborated the great revelation first made to him by a neighbour monk; "man is not saved by singing masses, but by the grace of God"; it is a didactic epistle, in assertion, on the one hand, of freedom from the law, and, on the other, of the power of the spirit.
Galatz or Galacz (59), the great river-port of Roumania, on the Danube, 8 m. above the Sulina mouth of the river and 166 m. NE. of Bucharest; the new town is well laid out, and contains some fine buildings; its harbour is one of the finest on the Danube; a great export trade is carried on in cereals, while textiles and metals are the chief imports.
Galaxy, the Milky Way, a band of light seen after sunset across the heavens, consisting of an innumerable multitude of stars, or suns rather, stretching away into the depths of space.
Galba, a Roman emperor from June 68 to January 69, elected at the age of 70 by the Gallic legions to succeed Nero, but for his severity and avarice was slain by the Prætorian guard, who proclaimed Otho emperor in his stead.
Gale, Theophilus, a Nonconformist divine; author of the "Court of the Gentiles," in which he attempts to prove that the theology and philosophy of the Gentiles was borrowed from the Scriptures (1628-1678).
Gale, Thomas, dean of York; edited classics, wrote on early English history (1636-1702).
Galen, or Claudius Galenus, a famous Greek physician, born at Pergamus, in Illyria, where, after studying in various cities, he settled in 158; subsequently he went to Rome, and eventually became physician to the emperors M. Aurelius, L. Verus, and Severus; of his voluminous writings 83 treatises are still extant, and these treat on a varied array of subjects, philosophical as well as professional; for centuries after his death his works were accepted as authoritative in the matter of medicine (131-201).
Gale`rius, Valerius Maximus, Roman emperor, born in Dacia, of lowly parentage; rose from a common soldier to be the son-in-law of the Emperor Diocletian, who in 292 raised him to the dignity of a Cæsar; in 305, on the death of Diocletian, he became head of the Eastern Empire, which he continued to be till his death in 311; his name is associated with a cruel persecution of the Christians under Diocletian.
Galgacus, a Caledonian chief defeated by Agricola at the battle of the Grampians in 85, after a desperate resistance.
Galia`ni, Ferdinando, an Italian political economist, man of letters, and a wit; held with honour several important offices under the Neapolitan Government; was attaché to the embassy at Paris, and the associate of Grimm and Diderot (1728-1787).
Galicia, 1, an old province (1,919) of Spain, formerly a kingdom in the NW. corner of it, fronting the Bay of Biscay and the Atlantic; now divided into the four minor provinces, Coruña, Lugo, Orense, Pontevedra; the county is hilly, well watered, fertile, and favoured with a fine climate, but cultivated only very partially; some mining is carried on. 2, A crownland (6,607) in the NE. of Austria, between Russia and the Carpathians; the inhabitants are mainly Slavs, but there is a goodly number of Jews, Germans, Poles, &c.; the land is fertile, consists chiefly of extensive plains, well watered by the Dneister and other large rivers, and yields abundance of cereals, while one-fourth is covered with forest; timber is largely exported, and salt; many of the useful metals are found, and productive petroleum wells; it has an independent Diet, but an Austrian governor; Austria annexed it in 1772.
Galilæans, a fanatical sect, followers of one Judas of Galilee, who fiercely resented the taxation of the Romans, and whose violence contributed to induce the latter to vow the extermination of the whole race.
Galilee, the northern division of Palestine, divided into Upper, hilly, Lower, level, about 60 m. long and 30 broad.
Galilee, Sea of, an expansion of the Jordan, 12½ m. long, and at the most 8 m. broad, enclosed by steep mountains, except on NW.
Galileo, an illustrious Italian mathematician, physicist, and astronomer, born at Pisa, demonstrated the isochronism of the pendulum, invented the thermometer and the hydrostatic balance, propounded the law of falling bodies, constructed the first astronomical telescope, and by means of it satisfied himself of, and proved, the truth of the Copernican doctrine, that the sun and not the earth is the centre of the planetary system, and that the earth revolves round it like the other planets which reflect its light; his insistence on this truth provoked the hostility of the Church, and an ecclesiastical decree which pronounced the Copernican theory heresy; for the profession of it he was brought to the bar of the Inquisition, where he was compelled to forswear it by oath, concluding his recantation, it is said, with the exclamation, "still, it moves"; before his end he became blind, and died in Florence at 78, the year Newton was born (1564-1642).
Galitzin, the name of a Russian family distinguished for their ability and success in both war and peace from the 16th century onwards.
Gall, Franz Joseph, the founder of phrenology, born at Tiefenbronn, on the borders of Baden and Würtemberg; in 1785 he established himself as a physician in Vienna, where for many years he carried on a series of elaborate investigations on the nature of the brain and its relation to the outer cranium, visiting with that view lunatic asylums, &c.; in 1796 he gave publicity to his views in a series of lectures in Vienna, which were, however, condemned as subversive of morality and religion; being joined by Spurzheim, who adopted his theories, he undertook a lecturing tour through a large part of Europe, and eventually settled at Paris, where he published his phrenological work "Fonctions du Cerveau"; it is a curious fact that on his death his skull was found to be twice the usual thickness, and that there was a tumour in the cerebellum (1758-1828).
Gall, St., an Irish monk who, about 585, accompanied St. Columban to France in his missionary labours, banished from which he went to Switzerland, and founded a monastery on the Lake of Constance, which bore his name; d. about 646.
Galland, Antoine, French Orientalist, born in Picardy, professor of Arabic in the College of France; was the first to translate the "Arabian Nights" into any European tongue (1646-1715).
Gallas, an Ethiopian race occupying the S. and E. of Abyssinia, energetic, intelligent, and warlike; follow mostly pastoral occupations; number over four millions, and are mostly heathens.
Galle or Point de Galle (33), fortified seaport town, prettily situated on a rocky promontory in the SW. of Ceylon; there is a good harbour, but the shipping, which at one time was extensive, has declined since the rise of Colombo.
Gallican Church, the Catholic Church in France which, while sincerely devoted to the Catholic faith and the Holy See, resolutely refused to concede certain rights and privileges which belonged to it from the earliest times; it steadfastly contended that infallibility was vested not in the Pope alone, but in the entire episcopal body under him as its head; maintained the supreme authority of general councils and that of the holy canons in the government of the Church, and insisted that there was a distinction between the temporal and the spiritual power; contentions summed up in a declaration of the French clergy in 1682, the body of whom opposed to which are known by the name of "Ultramontanists."
Gallicanism, the name given to the contention of the Gallican Church (q. v.).
Gallienus, Publius Licinius, Roman Emperor from 260 to 268, and for seven years (253-260) associated in the government with his father, the Emperor Valerian; under his lax rule the empire was subjected to hostile inroads on all sides, while in the provinces a succession of usurpers, known as the Thirty Tyrants, sprang up, disowning allegiance, and aspiring to the title of Cæsar; in his later years he roused himself to vigorous resistance, but in 268 was murdered by his own soldiers whilst pressing the rebel Aureolus at the siege of Milan.
Galligantua, the wizard giant slain by Jack the Giant-killer.
Gallio, the Roman proconsul of Achaia in the days of St. Paul, before whom the Jews of Corinth brought an appeal against the latter, but which he treated with careless indifference as no affair of his, in consequence of which his name has become the synonym of an easy-going ruler or prince.
Gallipoli, 1, a fortified seaport town (8) in Southern Italy, 59 m. S. of Brindisi; stands on a rocky islet in the Gulf of Taranto, close to the mainland, with which it is connected by a bridge of 12 arches; a fine cathedral and huge tanks hewn out of the solid rock for the storage of olive-oil are objects of interest. 2, A seaport (15) of Turkey in Europe, stands on a peninsula of the same name at the western end of the Sea of Marmora, at the mouth of the Dardanelles, 90 m. S. of Adrianople; it was the first city captured by the Turks in Europe (1356), and is now the naval arsenal of Turkey and head-quarters of the Turkish navy.
Galloway, a district in the SW. of Scotland, co-extensive with Wigtown and Kirkcudbright, though formerly of considerably greater extent; the lack of mineral wealth has retarded its development, and the industry of the population is limited chiefly to agriculture, the rearing of sheep and cattle, and fishing, and it is still noted for a small but hardy breed of horses called Galloways; the province derives its name from Gall-Gael, or foreign Gaels, as the early inhabitants were called, who up to the time of the Reformation maintained the characteristics, language, &c., of a distinct people; in 1455 Galloway ceased to exist as a separate lordship; in the extreme S. of Wigtown is the bold and rocky promontory, the Mull of Galloway, the extremity of the peninsula called the Rhinns of Galloway; the Mull, which is the most southerly point in Scotland, rises to a height of 210 ft., and is crowned by a powerful lighthouse.
Galswinthe, the sister of Brunhilda and the second wife of Chilpéric I.; was strangled to death in 568.
Galt, John, Scotch novelist, born at Irvine; educated at Greenock, where he held a post in the Custom-house for a time; essayed literature, wrote "The Ayrshire Legatees," "The Annals of the Parish," "Sir Andrew Wylie," "The Entail," and "The Provost"; died of paralysis at Greenock; Carlyle, who met him in London in 1832, says, "He had the air of a broad, gaucie, Greenock burgher; mouth indicating sly humour and self-satisfaction; eyes, old and without lashes, gave me a wae interest for him; says little, but that little peaceable, clear, and gutmüthig" (1779-1839).
Galvanised Iron, plate-iron coated with zinc, which renders it less liable to be affected by moisture and subject to corrosion.
Galvanism, the mere contact with two dissimilar metals, the science of what is now called Voltaic or current electricity, produced, as in the above instance, from the contact of dissimilar metals, especially that of acids on metals.
Galvani, Luigi, an Italian physician, born at Bologna; celebrated for his discoveries in animal magnetism called after him Galvanism, due to an observation he made of the convulsive motion produced in the leg of a recently-killed frog (1737-1798).
Galveston (38), the chief seaport of Texas, situated on a low island of the same name at the entrance of Galveston Bay into the Gulf of Mexico; it has a splendid harbour, and is an important centre of the cotton trade, ranking as the third cotton port of the world; the city is well laid out, and is the see of a Roman Catholic bishop; it has a medical college and several foundries.
Galway (215), a maritime county in the W. of Ireland, in the province of Connaught; Lough Corrib (25 m. long) and Lough Mask (12 m. long), stretching N. and S., divide the county into East and West districts; the former is boggy, yet arable; the latter, including the picturesque district known as Connemara, is wild and hilly, and chiefly consists of bleak morass and bogland; its rocky and indented coast affords excellent harbourage in many places; the Suck, Shannon, and Corrib are the chief rivers; the Slieve Boughta Mountains in the S. and in the W. the Twelve Pins (2395 ft.) are the principal mountains; fishing, some agriculture, and cattle-rearing are the chief employments; it contains many interesting cromlechs and ruins.
Galway (14), the capital of Connaught and of the county of that name; is situated on the N. side of Galway Bay, at the mouth of the Corrib River, 50 m. NW. of Limerick; it is divided into the old and new town, and contains several interesting ecclesiastical buildings, e. g. the cruciform church of St. Nicholas (1320), and is the seat of a Queen's College; fishing is an important industry, while wool and black marble are exported.
Gama, Vasco da, a famous Portuguese navigator, the discoverer of the route to India round the Cape of Good Hope, born at Sines, in Portugal, of good family; he seems to have won the favour of King Emmanuel at an early age, and already an experienced mariner, was in 1497 despatched on his celebrated voyage, in which he rounded the Cape; on that occasion he made his way to Calicut, in India, where he had to contend with the enmity of the natives, stirred against him by jealous Arabian merchants; in 1499 he returned to Lisbon, was received with great honour, and had conferred on him an array of high-sounding titles; three years later he was appointed to the command of an expedition to Calicut to avenge the massacre of a small Portuguese settlement founded there a year previous by Cabrat; in connection with this expedition he founded the colonies of Mozambique and Sofala, and after inflicting a cruel punishment upon the natives of Calicut, he returned to Lisbon in 1503; the following 20 years of his life were spent in retirement at Evora, but in 1524 he was appointed viceroy of Portuguese India, a position he held only for a short time, but sufficiently long to re-establish Portuguese power in India; he died at Cochin; the incidents of his famous first voyage round the Cape are celebrated in Camoëns' memorable poem "The Lusiad" (1469-1525).
Gamaliel, a Jewish rabbi, the instructor of St. Paul in the knowledge of the law, and distinguished for his tolerant spirit and forbearance in dealing with the Apostles in their seeming departure from the Jewish faith.
Gambetta, Léon Michel, a French republican leader, born at Cahors, of Italian descent; intended for the Church, to which he evinced no proclivity; he early showed a penchant for politics and adopted the profession of law, in the prosecution of which he delivered a speech which marked him out as the coming man of the French republic, from the spirit of hostility it manifested against the Empire; at the fall of the Empire he stood high in public regard, assumed the direction of affairs, and made desperate attempts to repel the invading Germans; though he failed in this, he never ceased to feel the shame of the loss of Alsace and Lorraine, and strove hard to recover them, but all his efforts proved ineffectual, and he died in Dec. 31, to the grief of the nation (1838-1882).
Gambia, 1, a river of W. Africa, that flows through Senegambia and discharges itself into the Atlantic at Bathurst after a course of more than 1400 m. into a splendid estuary which, in some parts, has a breadth of 27 m. but contracts to 2 m. at the seaward end; light craft can ascend as far as Barraconda, 400 m. from the mouth. 2. A British settlement (15) lying along the banks of the Gambia as far as Georgetown, with a protectorate to Barraconda (pop. 50); it enjoys a separate government under a British administrator, and produces hides, cotton, rice, &c.
Gambier, James, Lord, British admiral, born in the Bahamas; at 22 he was created a post-captain; in 1781 distinguished himself in an engagement against the French at Jersey; and again under Lord Howe in 1794 he rendered material service in repulsing the French off Ushant; in the following year he was made rear-admiral, and in 1799 vice-admiral; for his gallant conduct as commander of the English fleet at the bombardment of Copenhagen he was made a baron; a dispute with Lord Cochrane at the battle of Aix Roads against the French led to his being court-martialled, but he was honourably acquitted; on the accession of William IV. he was made admiral of the fleet (1756-1833).
Gamp, Sarah, a nurse in "Martin Chuzzlewit," famous for her bulky umbrella, and for confirming her opinions of things by a constant reference to the authority of an imaginary Mrs. Harris.
Gando (5,000), a native State traversed by the Niger in Western Soudan, lying upon the NW. border of Sokoto, of which it is a dependency; like Sokoto it has been brought within the sphere of influence of the British Royal Niger Company; the inhabitants belong to the Fulah race, and profess the Mohammedan religion; Gando is also the name of the capital, an active centre of the cotton trade.
Ganega, the Hindu god with an elephant's head and four arms; the inspirer of cunning devices and good counsel, afterwards the patron of letters and learned men.
Ganelon, a count of Mayence, one of Charlemagne's paladins; trusted by him but faithless, and a traitor to his cause; is placed by Dante in the lowest hell.
Ganges, the great sacred river of India, which, though somewhat shorter than the Indus, drains a larger area and traverses a more fertile basin; it has its source in an ice-cave on the southern side of the Himalayas, 8 m. above Gangotri, at an elevation of 13,800 ft. above the sea-level; at this its first stage it is known as the Bhagirathi, and not until 133 m. from its source does it assume the name of Ganges, having already received two tributaries; issuing from the Himalayas at Sukhi, it flows in a more or less southerly course to Allahabad, where it receives the Jumna, and thence makes its way by the plains of Behar and past Benares to Goalanda, where it is joined by the Brahmaputra; the united stream, lessened by innumerable offshoots, pursues a SE. course till joined by the Meghna, and under that name enters the Bay of Bengal; its most noted offshoot is the Hooghly (q. v.), which pursues a course to the S. of the Meghna; between these lies the Great Delta, which begins to take shape 220 m. inland from the Bay of Bengal; the Ganges is 1557 m. in length, and offers for the greater part an excellent waterway; it is held in great reverence as a sacred stream whose waters have power to cleanse from all sin, while burial on its banks is believed to ensure eternal happiness.