- Industry: Library & information science
- Number of terms: 49473
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Project Gutenberg (PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, to encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks. It was founded in 1971 by Michael S. Hart and is the oldest digital library. Most of the items in its collection are the full texts of public domain books. The ...
Astronomer, born at Rugby; became clerk in the War Office in 1857, was secretary to the Royal Commission on Scientific Instruction in 1870, and was transferred to the Science and Art Department in 1875; he directed Government eclipse expeditions to Sicily, India, Egypt, and the West Indies; in 1860 he became F.R.S., received the Society's Rumford medal in 1874, next year was appointed corresponding Member of the Institute of France and received the Janssen medal in 1891; he was knighted in 1897; he made important discoveries in spectrum analysis, and has written several astronomical works; born 1836.
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Astronomer-royal, born in London; determined the method of finding longitude at sea, and the density of the earth by experiments at Schiehallion, and commenced the "National Almanack," and produced the first volume of "Astronomical Observations at Greenwich" (1732-1811).
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Austrian diplomatist, born at Coblenz; served as ambassador successively at the courts of Dresden, Berlin, and Paris, and became first Minister of State in 1809, exercising for 40 years from that date the supreme control of affairs in Austria; one of his first acts as such was to effectuate a marriage between Napoleon and the Archduchess Maria Theresa, himself escorting her to Paris; he presided at the Congress of Vienna in 1815, and from that date dominated in foreign affairs in the interest of the rights of kings and the repression of popular insurrection; he had to flee from Vienna in 1848, but returned in 1851, after which, though not called back to office, he continued to influence affairs by his advice (1773-1859).
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Austrian general, born in Franconia; notorious for his military incapacity and defeats; confronted by Napoleon at Ulm in 1805, he surrendered with 28,000 men without striking a blow; for this he was tried by court-martial, and sentenced to death, which was commuted to imprisonment for life, from which he was released at the end of a year (1752-1826).
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Author, born in Devonshire, educated at Oxford; published "The New Republic," 1876, a masterly satire on prominent contemporaries, which none of his subsequent work has excelled; born 1849.
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Authoress, born at Geneva; married a Swiss doctor settled in London; wrote elementary text-books on chemistry (from which Faraday gained his first knowledge), political economy, natural philosophy, etc., under the title "Conversations," and her best work, "Stories for very Little Children" (1769-1858).
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Baltic seaport at the mouth of the Kurisches Haff, in the extreme NE. of Prussia; ships great quantities of Russian and Lithuanian timber, and has some chemical works and shipbuilding yards.
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Belgian dramatist, born at Ghent; earned his fame by "La Princesse Maleine," produced in Paris 1890, and followed by "L'Intruse," "Les Aveugles," and several other plays; his essays show religious sympathies; born 1864.
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Bien-Aimé (i. e. Well-Beloved), great-grandson of the preceding, and only five at his death, the country during his minority being under the regency of Philip, Duke of Orleans; the regency was rendered disastrous by the failure of the Mississippi Scheme of Law and a war with Spain, caused by the rejection of a Spanish princess for Louis, and by his marriage to Maria Lesczynski, the daughter of Stanislas of Poland; Louis was crowned king in 1722 and declared of age the following year; in 1726 Cardinal Fleury, who had been his tutor, became his minister, and under him occurred the war of the succession to Poland, concluded by the treaty of Vienna, and the war of the Austrian succession, concluded by the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle; with the death of his minister Louis gave way to his licentious propensities, and in all matters of state allowed himself to be swayed by unworthy favourites who pandered to his lusts, the most conspicuous among them being Madame de Pompadour and Dame de Barry, her successor in crime; under them, and the corrupt court they presided over, the country went step by step to ruin, and she was powerless to withstand the military ascendency of England, which deprived her of all her colonies both in the East and in the West; though Choiseul, his last "substantial" minister, tried hard by a family compact of the Bourbons to collect her scattered strength; the situation did not trouble Louis; "it will last all my time," he said, and he let things go; suffering from a disease contracted by vice, he was seized with confluent smallpox, and died in misery, to the relief of the nation, which could not restrain its joy (1710-1774).
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Birmingham manufacturer and philanthropist, born at Kidderminster; made his fortune by split rings, steel pens, electro-plating; founded an orphanage at Erdington at the cost of nearly £300,000, and the college at Birmingham which bears his name (1795-1881).
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