The Nuttall Encyclopaedia Part 222

GRAND MONARQUE, THE, LOUIS XIV. (q. v.) of France, so called.

GRAND PENSIONARY, a state official in the Dutch Republic; in earlier times the Grand Pensionary was Secretary and also Advocate-General of the province of Holland; later his duties embraced the care of foreign affairs; held office for five years, but was generally re-elected; the office was abolished in 1795.

GRANDISON, SIR CHARLES, the hero of one of Richardson's novels, a character representative of an ideal Christian and gentleman.

GRANDVILLE, the pseudonym of JEAN IGNACE ISIDORE GeRARD, a French caricaturist, born at Nancy; his fame was first established by the "Metamorphoses du Jour," a series of satirical sketches representing men with animal faces characteristic of them; his subsequent work embraced political cartoons and ill.u.s.trations for "Gulliver's Travels," "Don Quixote," "Robinson Crusoe," La Fontaine's "Fables," &c. (1803-1847).

GRANGEMOUTH (6), a busy port in Stirlings.h.i.+re, on the Forth, 3 m.

NE. of Falkirk; exports iron-ware and coal; has excellent docks, and does some s.h.i.+pbuilding.

GRANI'CUS, a river in Asia Minor, flowing from the slopes of Mount Ida and falling into the Sea of Marmora, where Alexander gained, 334 B.C., the first of the three victories which ended in the overthrow of the Persian empire.

GRANT, SIR ALEXANDER, of Dalvey, born at New York; graduated at Oxford, and became a Fellow of Oriel College; in 1856 he succeeded to the baronetcy; was appointed Inspector of Schools at Madras; two years later was appointed professor of History and Princ.i.p.al in Elphinstone College there; at Bombay he became Vice-Chancellor of Elgin College, and in 1868 succeeded Sir David Brewster as Princ.i.p.al of Edinburgh University; wrote "The Story of Edinburgh University," various essays, and edited Aristotle's Ethics; was married to a daughter of Professor Ferrier of St.

Andrews (1826-1884).

GRANT, MRS. ANNE, _nee_ M'VICAR, auth.o.r.ess, born in Glasgow; took to literature as a means of livelihood after the death of her husband, and produced several volumes descriptive of the Highlands of Scotland and the character of the people; "Letters from the Mountains"

enjoyed a wide popularity, and first gave to the public some adequate conception of the charm and character of the Highlands (1755-1838).

GRANT, SIR FRANCIS, artist, born in Edinburgh; was educated for the Scottish bar, but took to painting, and became celebrated for his hunting pictures, into which portraits of well-known sportsmen were introduced; also executed portraits of the Queen and Prince Consort on horseback, of Palmerston, Macaulay, and others, and became President of the Royal Academy (1803-1878).

GRANT, JAMES, novelist, born in Edinburgh; joined the army as an ensign at 17, but after a few years resigned and adopted literature as his profession; "The Romance of War" (1846), his first book, was followed by a series of stirring novels which are yet in repute, and have most of them been translated into Danish, German, and French; he turned Catholic in 1875 (1822-1887).

GRANT, SIR JAMES HOPE, General, brother of Sir Francis Grant, born at Kilgraston, Perths.h.i.+re; first distinguished himself in the Sikh Wars, and took a leading part in the suppression of the Indian Mutiny; in 1859 he commanded the British forces in China, and captured Pekin; was created a G.C.B. in 1860 and a general in 1872; he published several works bearing upon the wars in which he had been engaged (1808-1875).

GRANT, ULYSSES SIMPSON, General, born at Mount Pleasant, Ohio; bred to the military profession, served in Mexico, and held several appointments in the army; retired to civic life in 1854, but on the outbreak of the Civil War he entered the army and fought on the side of the North with such success that in 1864 he was appointed general-in-chief; he was eventually raised to the Presidency in 1868, and re-elected in 1872; on the expiry of this second term he made a tour round the world, and was everywhere received with the distinction he deserved (1822-1885).

GRANTHAM (17), a market-town in Lincolns.h.i.+re, on the Witham, 25 m.

SW. of Lincoln, and has a fine 13th-century church; in the grammar-school Newton was educated, and in 1643 Cromwell won his first victory here; its industries embrace agricultural-implement making, malting, &c.; a 30 m.

ca.n.a.l connects it with the Trent.

GRANVILLE, GEORGE LEVESON-GOWER, second Earl, statesman; entered Parliament as a Liberal in 1836, and became a supporter of free trade; in 1846 succeeded to the peerage, and in 1851 became Foreign Minister under Lord John Russell; four years later became leader of the Lords; figured in every Liberal cabinet till 1886, usually as Colonial or Foreign Secretary; in 1859 he failed to form a ministry of his own; was a staunch supporter of Mr. Gladstone's Home Rule policy (1815-1891).

GRATIAN, a celebrated canonist of the 12th century, born at Chiusi, Tuscany; was a Benedictine monk at Bologna, and compiled the "Decretum Gratiani" between 1139 and 1142.

GRATIa.n.u.s, AUGUSTUS, Roman emperor from 375 to 383, eldest son of Valentinian I., born in Pannonia; at 16, in conjunction with his four-year-old brother, Valentinian II., became ruler over the Western Empire, and three years later found himself, by the death of his uncle Valens, head also of the Eastern Empire, a year after which he summoned Theodosius to be his colleague; his reign is noted for the stern repression of the remains of the heathen wors.h.i.+p; in 383, while endeavouring to combat the usurper Maximus, he was captured at Lyons and there put to death (359-383).

GRATTAN, HENRY, great Irish patriot and orator, born in Dublin, and by birth a Protestant; studied at Trinity College, where he stood high in cla.s.sics; was called to the Irish bar in 1772, and entered the Irish Parliament three years after, where he distinguished himself as the champion of legislative freedom, by maintaining that the crown had no right to legislate on matters affecting Irish interests, and particularly Irish commercial interests, without consulting the Irish Parliament, and by securing thereby in a measure the legislative independence of Ireland; on the question of Irish Parliamentary reform he quarrelled with his compatriots, and he confined his own efforts to Catholic emanc.i.p.ation; in 1798 he retired from public life, but came forth as an opponent of the Union in 1800, though, on its accomplishment, he represented first Malton in Yorks.h.i.+re, and then Dublin in the United Parliament, devoting the rest of his life to the political emanc.i.p.ation of his Catholic fellow-subjects; before the rupture referred to fell out, he received a grant of 50,000 from the Irish Parliament; in private as in public life, he was a man of irreproachable character, while as an orator he ranks among the foremost of his time (1746-1820).

GRATZ or GRaTZ (112), capital of Styria, in Austria, picturesquely situated on the Mur, 141 m. SW. of Vienna; its many old and interesting buildings include a cathedral (1462), four monasteries, and the Landhaus, an ancient ducal residence; there is a flouris.h.i.+ng university, with upwards of 1100 students; its industries embrace iron and steel works, sugar-refining, soap and candle factories, &c.

GRAVELOTTE, a village in Lorraine, 7 m. W. of Metz; was the scene of a German victory over the French in 1870.

GRAVESEND (35), a thriving river-port and watering-place in Kent, on the Thames, opposite Tilbury Fort, 24 m. SE. of London; the new town rises amid picturesque surroundings above the old town; it is the chief pilot station for the river; there is a busy trade in s.h.i.+pbuilding, iron-founding, brewing, &c.

GRAY, ASA, a distinguished American botanist, born at Paris, Oneida County, New York; graduated in medicine in 1842; became Fisher professor of Natural History at Harvard, and in 1874 succeeded Aga.s.siz as Regent of the Smithsonian Inst.i.tution; his writings did much to promote the study of botany in America on a sound scientific basis, and also to forward the theories of Darwin; in conjunction with Dr. Torrey he wrote "The Flora of North America," and by himself various manuals of botany and "Natural Science and Religion" (1810-1888).

GRAY, AULD ROBIN, the t.i.tle of a ballad by Lady Anne Lindsay, from the name of its hero, a good old man who married a young girl whose lover is thought to be dead, but who turns up to claim her a month after.

GRAY, JOHN EDWARD, English naturalist, born at Walsall; studied medicine, and at 24 entered the British Museum as an a.s.sistant in the Natural History department; in 1840 he became keeper of the Zoological Collections, of which he made a complete catalogue, enriched with most valuable notes; is the author of books and papers to the number of 500, and was an active promoter of scientific societies in London (1800-1875).

GRAY, THOMAS, English poet, born in Cornhill, London, for whom Horace Walpole conceived a warm attachment, which, after a brief rupture, lasted with life; gave himself up to the study of Greek literature, and began to cultivate the muse of poetry; produced in 1747 "Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College," and in 1750 his well-known "Elegy written in a Country Churchyard"; these were followed by the "Pindaric Odes," the "Progress of Poesy," and the "Bard," which was finished in 1757; in 1760 he was presented by the Duke of Grafton with the professors.h.i.+p of Modern History in Cambridge, a sinecure office with 400 a year. "All is clear light," says Stopford Brooke, "in Gray's work. Out of the love of Greek he drew his fine lucidity.... He moved with easy power over many forms of poetry, but there is naturalness and no rudeness in the power. It was adorned by high ornament and finish.... The 'Elegy' will always remain one of the beloved poems of Englishmen; it is not only a piece of exquisite work; it is steeped in England" (1716-1771).

GREAT COMMONER, WILLIAM PITT, who became Earl Chatham (q. v.).

GREAT DUKE, DUKE OF WELLINGTON (q. v.).

GREAT EASTERN, the name of the largest s.h.i.+p ever built; was designed by Brunel and Scott Russell; laid down at Milwall in 1854, and launched in 1858, having cost 732,000; it did not prove a successful venture; was latterly used for laying the Atlantic cables; subsequently became a coal-hulk at Gibraltar, and in the end was sold in 1888 for old iron.

GREAT ELECTOR, Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg (1620-1683).

GREAT HARRY, a man-of-war built by Henry VII., the first of any size built in England.

GREAT MAGICIAN, Sir Walter Scott.

GREAT MORALIST, SAMUEL JOHNSON (q. v.), from the character of his writings.

GREAT SALT LAKE, in N. of Utah, U.S., stretches upwards of 80 m.