Charlemagne and his brother; but the latter died in 771, and then Charlemagne's great career began. He conquered Lombardy (774), took a large portion of Spain from the Saracens (778), and subdued the Saxons in the north (804). In the midst of his triumphs, the Pope crowned him Emperor of the West at Rome (800). He died at Aix-la-Chapelle in 814. Charles V., Emperor of Germany, who was also Charles I. of Spain, was born in 1500 A.D. From his father he inherited Austria and Burgundy, and from his mother nearly the whole of Spain. He was elected emperor in 1519. The earlier part of his reign was occupied by wars with Francis I. of France, in which he was generally successful. He spent the last few years of his life in a Spanish monastery, and died there in 1558. Cleopa'tra, Queen of Egypt, and last of the Greek dynasty there, was celebrated for her beauty and her crimes. She fascinated Julius Cæsar, and induced him to set her on the throne from which her brother had driven her. She lived at Rome till Cæsar's assassination, when she returned to Egypt. Antony charged her with helping Brutus, and summoned her before him; but she completely captivated him, and he married her. In the war which ensued between Augustus and Antony, she abandoned the latter, who was overthrown. Rather than grace a Roman triumph, she poisoned herself by applying an asp to her breast or arm. 30 B.C. He Clyde, Colin Campbell, Lord, a distinguished British general, was a native of Glasgow. He served in the Peninsular War. He achieved great distinction and popularity by his gallant conduct during the Crimean War, especially in the battles of the Alma and Balaclava. In 1857 he was sent to India to suppress the Mutiny; in which, by his wise and vigorous measures, he was completely successful. was born in 1792, and died in 1863. Coleridge, Samuel Taylor, one of the 'Lake Poets" (the others were Wordsworth and Southey), was born in Devonshire in 1772. His chief poems are The Ancient Mariner, and Christabel (a fragment). He also wrote a series of profound Lectures on Shakespeare; indeed, he was greater as a critic than as an original poet. Died 1834. Collingwood, Admiral Lord, Nelson's second in command at Trafalgar, was born in 1750. He commanded the Excellent at Cape St. Vincent (1797). After Nelson received his death wound, Collingwood took command of the fleet and completed the victory. He died on board his ship the Ville de Paris in 1810. Columbus, Christopher, the discoverer of the New World, was born at Genoa in 1445. After soliciting assistance in vain from the courts of Genoa and Portugal, he obtained three vessels from Ferdinand and Isabel of Spain. He discovered San Salvador in 1492, and the mainland of South America in 1498. He died at Valladolid, poor and neglected, in 1506. Con'stantine, Fla'vins Vale'rius, called the Great, was born in 274 A.D. When going to fight one of his rivals, the vision of a cross appeared to him in the sky, with a Greek legend signifying "In this conquer." He became a Christian after this, and always used the cross as his standard. He encouraged Sabbath observance, rebuilt Christian churches, and called the General Council of the Church at Nicæa (in Bithynia) in 325, when the Nicene Creed was adopted. His murder of Crispus, his son, in a fit of jealousy, casts a stain on his memory. He founded Constantinople in 328, and died in 337. Cowley, Abraham, poet and essayist, was born at London in 1618. He was a sparkling wit-poet, and in his own day was very popular. His odes, in imitation of classical poets Pindar, Horace, and Anacreon-are his best productions. He died in 1667. Cowper, William, an eminent English poet, author of The Task; John Gilpin, and other favourite English poems, was born in Hertfordshire in 1731. He contributed nearly seventy hymns to Newton's Olney collection. He suffered during the greater part of his life from fits of insanity. Southey, his biographer, calls him the best of English letter-writers." He died in 1800. Cyrus the Great, King of Persia, was also son-in-law of the King of Media. In 550 B.C. he deposed his father-in-law and restored the independence of Persia, which had long been under the domination of Media. He conquered Croesus, King of Lydia (west of Asia Minor), famous for his great riches; overran Assyria; and took Babylon, by turning aside the course of the Euphrates. His great conquests were completed about 536 B. C. He was afterwards taken prisoner in a war with the Scythians, and put to death, 529 B. C. Di'do was a Phoenician queen, who, disconsolate for the death of her husband, sailed to Africa and founded Carthage. Rather than marry the King of Mauritania (a neighbouring state) she stabbed herself on the top of a funeral pile which she had caused to be erected. 953 B.C. Emerson, Ralph Waldo, a distinguished American essayist and journalist, was born at Boston in 1803. He has been very successful as a lecturer both in America and in England; and most of his writings were originally produced as lectures-for example, his New England Reformers, and Representative Men. His style is original and vigorous. He has also published a volume of poems. Epicurus, the founder of the Epicurean philosophy, was born in 342 B. C. He lived chiefly at Athens. He led a strictly moral life, and taught that while pleasure was the highest good, virtue was the essence of pleasure. His system was grossly perverted by his followers. He died in 270 B. C. Ferdinand V., King of Aragon and Sicily, and the real founder of the greatness of Spain, was born in 1452 A.D. He married Isabel of Castile and Leon, and so united the greater part of Spain in one government. He conquered Grana'da, and abolished the kingdom of the Moors in Spain. He recovered Navarre from France; and he added Naples to his Italian possessions. He was induced to equip Columbus for his voyage of discovery, but he was ungrateful to him afterwards. He died in 1516, and was buried in the Alhambra. Franklin, Benjamin, an American patriot and distinguished philosopher, was born at Boston in 1706. He began life as a printer; but he soon made for himself a name as a philanthropist, both by his writings and by his personal labours. He began his electrical experiments in 1742. His greatest practical invention was the lightning conductor. He took a leading part in establishing the independence of the United States, and in framing their Constitution. He died in 1790. Gâma, Vasco de, the discoverer of the sea-route to the East Indies, was a native of Portugal. In 1497 he doubled the Cape of Good Hope, and sailing across the Indian Ocean, he arrived at Calicut in 1498. In 1524 he became viceroy of Portuguese India; but died in 1525. His exploits are celebrated in the Lusiad, the national epic of Portugal, written by Camoens about 1569. Han'nibal, the great Carthaginian hero, was born in 247 B.C., and died in 183 B. C. Scipio, who defeated him at Zama, called him the greatest general that ever lived. He gave the second rank to Pyrrhus of Epirus, and placed himself third. Harvey, William, a celebrated physician, who discovered the circulation of the blood, and published his discovery in a treatise in 1628. Born 1578; died 1657. Has'drubal, a distinguished Carthaginian general, was the son of Hamilcar, and younger brother of Hannibal. He attempted to hold Spain against the Romans. When he failed, he made a dash into Italy to reinforce Hannibal; but before a junction could be effected, he was defeated and slain at the Metaurus, 207 B.C. Havelock, Sir Henry, a gallant British soldier, who was as distinguished for his simple Christian earnestness as for his bravery. He was born in 1795. After 1823, he spent most of his life in India. He is chiefly famous for the great decision and courage with which he took steps to suppress the Indian Mutiny in 1857. In two months, he gained nine victories and relieved Lucknow; but died there after he had been joined by Sir Colin Campbell. Hemans, Felicia Dorothea, a distinguished English poetess, was born at Liverpool in 1793. Her father was a merchant named Browne. After the death of her husband, Captain Hemans, in Italy, she devoted her life to literature. She had published a volume of poetry when in her fifteenth year. Her finest poem is the Forest Sanctuary; but she is best known by her sweet and tender lyrics, such as The Graves of a Household; The Voice of Spring. &c. She died at Dublin in 1835. Herod'otus, a celebrated Greek historian, called "The Father of History." He was born B. C. 484. His great work treats of the internal history of Greece; but it contains sketches of the history of the Medes, Persians, and Egyptians. He travelled extensively in Europe, Asia, and Africa, collecting materials for his work. He died about 408 B. C. Ho'mer, the greatest of the Greek poets; but his birth-place, era, and indeed his individual existence, have been keenly disputed by scholars. He is the reputed author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, the most perfect epic poems in the world. The former recounts the story of the siege of Troy; the latter narrates the wanderings and adventures of Odysseus after Troy was destroyed. Homer is said to have flourished about 900 B. C. Hood, Thomas, a celebrated humorous and pathetic poet, was born at London in 1798. The titles of some of his collected works, as Whims and Oddities, and Whimsicalities, indicate the bent of his genius; but he touched a deeper chord in such tragic poems as The Song of the Shirt; The Bridge of Sighs, and The Dream of Eugene Aram. He died in 1845. His epitaph is, "He sang the Song of the Shirt." Horace, a celebrated Latin poet, was born in 65 B. C. He was educated at Rome and at Athens. Brutus made him a tribune; but at the Battle of Philippi he fled-for which his estate was confiscated. He was afterwards taken into favour by Augustus; and Mæcenas gave him a farm, where he spent the close of his life. His poems are lyrical, satirical, and philosophical, consisting mainly of odes, satires, and epistles. He died in 8 B. C. Hunt, James Henry Leigh, an English poet and essayist, was born in 1784. At school he was the companion of Charles Lamb and S. T. Coleridge. He and his brother John were, in 1811, sentenced to a fine and two years' imprisonment for an alleged libel on the Prince Regent. This gained him the sympathy of Byron, Moore, Shelley, Keats, and other men of letters, who often visited him in his cell. His chief works are, The Story of Rimini, in verse; A Legend of Florence, a drama; and prose Essays, Sketches, and Memoirs, characterized by refined literary taste. He died in 1859. Isabel, Queen of Castile and Leon, was born in 1450. In 1469 she married Ferdinand of Aragon; a union which led to the consolidation of the Spanish monarchy. It was chiefly through the favour and perseverance of Isabel that Columbus was equipped for his voyage of discovery; for she offered to pawn her crown jewels to pay for his outfit. She died in 1504, and was buried in the Alhambra. well, is the best biography in the English language. Died in 1784. Jose'phus, Fla'vius, a distinguished Jewish historian, was born at Jerusalem in 37 A.D. He completed his education at Rome. He held a town in Syria against Vespasian for seven weeks. He was taken into favour by Vespasian, and accompanied Titus to the siege of Jerusalem. He wrote a History of the Wars of the Jews; Antiquities of the Jews; and his own life. He died at Rome about the beginning of the second century. Ju'not, General, a distinguished general of the times of the French Revolution and Empire, was born in 1771. Having entered the army as a volunteer, he attracted the notice of Buonaparte, after which his rise was rapid. He served in Egypt, Portugal, Spain, and Russia. Portugal was the scene of his greatest success and his greatest failure. He rapidly overran the country in 1807, and established himself at Lisbon as governor. Next year he was defeated by Wellington at Vimiera, and had to sign the Convention of Cintra, by which his conquest was abandoned. He died in 1813. Kingsley, Rev. Charles, a distinguished living novelist and essayist, was born in Devonshire in 1819. He has for many years held the living of Eversley in Hampshire. From 1859 till 1870 he was Professor of Modern History at Cambridge. He is the author of Alton Locke, Tailor and Poet, a social and political novel; of Westward Ho! and Hypatia; also of Glaucus, or the Wonders of the Shore; and of several volumes of Sermons. Landon, Letitia Elizabeth, an English poetess, was born in 1802. She is generally known as L. E. L., the signature under which she contributed her poems to the Literary Gazette. Her chief poems are The Improvisatrice, The Troubadour, and The Golden Violet. In 1838 she married Mr. Maclean, Governor of Cape Coast Castle, and accompanied him to Africa. A few months after her arrival, she accidentally took an overdose of prussic acid, and was found lying dead on her bed-room floor, 1839. Johnson, Dr. Samuel, a learned English critic, was born at Lichfield (Staffordshire) in 1709. He spent some time as usher in a school; but after 1737 he devoted himself to literature, and resided chiefly in Livy, a celebrated Roman historian. London, where he was regarded as the His History of Rome began with the founliterary dictator of his time. He wrote, dation of the city, and ended with the year Lives of the Poets; Rasselas, a romance; 9 B. C. Much of it is lost. Much of what London, a poem; and a series of weekly survives had a legendary origin, and is essays entitled The Rambler. His famous more admired for the beauty of its style Dictionary was based on an earlier work by than trusted for the accuracy of its stateN. Bailey (1724). His Life, by James Bos-ments. Livy was born 59 B. C.; died 17 A. D. Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth, the most popular of American poets, both in and beyond America, was born in 1807. Since 1835 he has been Professor of Modern Languages and Belles-Lettres at Harvard College, Cambridge, United States. He is a very voluminous writer. The chief of his longer poems are, Evangeline; Hiawatha, and The Courtship of Miles Standish. Amongst his minor poems, the chief favourites are, A Psalm of Life; Excelsior; The Village Blacksmith, and The Wreck of the Hesperus. He has also written The Golden Legend, a medieval mystery play, and several prose romances and tales. Lytton, Edward Lytton Bulwer, Baron, a celebrated English novelist and poet, was born in 1805. He produced a series of the most brilliant novels in the English language, including Pelham; The Last Days of Pompeii; The Caxtons, &c. He also wrote The Lady of Lyons, the most popular play of modern times. He was made a baronet in 1835, and was raised to the peerage as Baron Lytton in 1866. He died in 1873. Macaulay, Thomas Babington, Lord, historian and essayist, born in Leicestershire in 1800; wrote a series of brilliant Essays, chiefly historical and political, in the "Edinburgh Review;" wrote also a History of England, which was left unfinished at his death; and Lays of Ancient Rome. For two and a half years he held a legal appointment in India. From 1839 till 1847 he represented Edinburgh in the House of Commons. He was made a peer in 1857, and died in 1859. Mackintosh, Sir James, an eminent lawyer and historical writer, was born in Inverness-shire in 1765. His defence of the French Revolution against Burke first brought him into public notice. He was for a time a judge in India, then Professor of Law in Haileybury College. He projected a History of England, but only a fragment of it was completed, which was published after his death, which took place in 1832. Maury, Matthew, a distinguished American astronomer and scientific writer, born 1806; author of The Physical Geography of the Sea, and other works. Captain Maury died in 1873. Miltiades, a celebrated general who commanded the Athenians in the Battle of Marathon 490 B.C. Afterwards he had the command of a naval squadron, but his expedition was unsuccessful, and he returned (394) wounded to Athens. He was charged with deception by a political foe, and was fined. Being unable to pay the fine, he went to prison, and there died of his wound, 489 B. C. Milton, John, the greatest of English epic poets, was born in 1608. In 1649, he became Latin (Foreign) Secretary to the Commonwealth. Besides Paradise Lost, he wrote Paradise Regained; Comus; Samson Agonistes, and Lycidas, and several great prose works on the liberty of the Press, and on political and religious freedom. He was blind during his later days, and dictated his works to his daughters. He died in 1674. Mohammed, the founder of the Mohammedan or Mussulman religion, was born in 570 A.D. of a noble Arabian family. He acted as camel-driver for his uncle till he was twenty-five. At forty he proclaimed himself a prophet at Mecca. A plot having been formed against him, he fled from Mecca to Medina, 16th July 622 (the Hegira, or flight of Mohammed, from which the Mohammedans reckon their time). He then spread his religion by means of the sword. His opinions gradually spread over Arabia, Syria, Persia, North Africa, and Spain. The chief strongholds of Mohammedanism now are the Turkish Empire and Persia. Mohammed died by poison, said to have been administered by a Jewess to test his divine character, 632 A.D. Montgomery, Rev. Robert, a popular religious poet of the present century, was born at Bath in 1807. His chief works are, Satan; A Vision of Heaven, and The Messiah, a poem in six books. He did not begin to study for the Church until after several of his poems had appeared. He was very popular as a preacher, and died at Brighton in 1855. Moore, Sir John, a distinguished British general, was born in 1761, and entered the army in his fifteenth year. He served with great distinction in the West Indies and in Egypt; but the achievement on which his fame rests was his skilful retreat, when commander-in-chief in Spain, with the whole of his army towards Coruña, with Soult on his rear. He was killed in the battle which had to be fought to cover the embarkation, 1809. Moore, Thomas, the most popular of Irish poets, was born at Dublin in 1779. He wrote the Life of Byron. His most famous poems are his Irish Melodies, and Lalla Rookh (Tulip-Cheek), an Eastern romance. He died in 1852. 24 Mortier, Marshal, Duke of Treviso, a distinguished French general, was born in 1768. He entered the army as a volunteer in 1791. He served with distinction in Germany and Spain; and in the expedition to Russia he exerted himself to save the remnants of the grand army. Along with seventeen others who surrounded Louis Philippe, he was killed by Fieschi's infernal machine in 1835. Motley, John Lothrop, an eminent living American historian, was born in Massachusetts in 1814. He completed his education in Germany, and spent some years in travelling in European countries. He was secretary of the American legation at St. Petersburg during the years 1841-42. In 1869, he became American ambassador to Great Britain. He published The Rise of the Dutch Republic in 1856, and the first portion of the History of the United Netherlands in 1860. His style is clear, forcible, and picturesque. Murat, Joachim, a celebrated French marshal, and King of the Two Sicilies, was born in 1767. His father was an innkeeper, and he for some time had charge of the inn stables. The outbreak of the French Revolution gave scope to his impetuous nature. Winning the favour of Buonaparte, his promotion was very rapid; and his marriage with Buonaparte's sister made their fortunes identical. He was made successively a marshal, a grand duke, and a prince of the empire. In 1808 he was proclaimed King of the Two Sicilies, and reigned till 1815, when the Austrians defeated him, and drove him from his throne. In an attempt to recover it, he was taken in Calabria, and mercilessly shot: | hanging gardens at Babylon; and a huge temple, which some suppose to occupy the site of the Tower of Babel. Nelson, Viscount Horatio, "the greatest sailor since the world began," was born in Norfolkshire in 1758. He entered the navy in his twelfth year; and three years later he sailed in an expedition to the Arctic Ocean. In 1793 he sailed to the Mediterranean as commander of the Agamemnon. He lost his right eye in 1794, and his right arm in 1798. His great victories of St. Vincent (1797), the Nile (1798), Copenhagen (1801), and Trafalgar (1805), shattered the naval power of France, and raised the glory of England to its highest pitch. He was killed on board the Victory, at Trafalgar, in 1805. Nero, Claudius Cæsar, the most infamous of the Roman emperors, was born in 37 A.D. He caused his own mother to be assassinated, and deluged Rome with the blood of her best citizens. He put his wife to death, and persecuted the Christians. His cruelties were accompanied with a spirit of disgusting levity. He caused Rome to be set on fire, and looked on the scene from a high tower, where he amused himself by singing to his lyre. He threw the blame on the Christians, to punish whom he held chariot races in his garden by night, the torches being Christian martyrs, whose clothes were smeared with pitch and set on fire. He was dethroned and put to death in 68. Norton, Hon. Mrs. Caroline, a living English poetess, was born in 1808. She is a daughter of Thomas Sheridan, son of Richard Brinsley Sheridan, the celebrated dramatist, actor, and orator. She began her career of authorship in 1829, and has published many narrative poems, songs, and ballads of great merit. Her principal poems are, Rosalie; The Undying One; The Child of the Islands, and The Lady of Garaye. Outram, Sir James, a distinguished Anglo-Indian general, was born in 1802, and went to India in 1819. He served in various capacities, both civil and military, and earned a high character for chivalry and promptitude. He took an active and heroic part in suppressing the Mutiny in 1857. He died in 1863. Paul, the great "apostle of the Gentiles," also called by his Hebrew name Saul, was born at Tarsus in Cilicia, and educated at Jerusalem in the school of Gamaliel; under whom he became learned in the law as well |