JELGAVA (German, Mitau), a town of Latvia, 29 m. by rail S.W. of Riga, on the river Aa, in a fertile plain only 12 ft.
above sea level. Pop. (1930) 33,048. Jelgava is supposed to have been founded in 1266 by Conrad Mandern, grand-master of the order of the Brethren of the Sword. In 1345, when plun dered by the Lithuanians, it was already an important town.
In 1561 it became the residence of the dukes of Courland. During the 17th century it was thrice taken by the Swedes. Russia an nexed it with Courland in 1795. At high water the plain and sometimes also the town are inundated. Jelgava is surrounded by a canal occupying the place of former fortifications. The old castle (1266) of the dukes of Courland was destroyed by Duke Biren, who erected in its place (1738-1772) a palace. Wax-cloth, linen, soap, ink and beer are the chief manufactures.
JELLAtiC, JOSEF, COUNT (1801-1859), Croatian soldier and statesman, was b orn at Peterwardein, in the Croatian Military Frontier, on Oct. 16, 1801. Entering the Austrian army (1819), he saw service in Bosnia (1845), but it was not his military capacities, but his strong legitimist sympathies that led the em peror Ferdinand, on the advice of Baron Josika, to appoint him ban of Croatia and promote him to lieutenant-general on March 19, 1848, in order to counteract the national movement in Hun gary. Jella6k took office on April 14, and immediately began the process of dissociating Croatia from Hungary, to place it directly under Austrian rule. The Hungarian Government, which was still in name loyal and constitutional, ordered Jellaele's meas ures to be annulled and himself to appear in Buda on a charge of high treason. Jellacic disregarded these orders; whereupon the
Hungarian Count Batthyani visited the Austrian court at Inns bruck and secured (it is said, by a trick) signature of a manifesto condemning the separatist movement in Croatia and depriving Jella6ic of all his deputies.
Jella66, who only a week after (June 19) himself appeared in Innsbruck and was hailed by the court as one of its chief pillars, disregarded the proclamation, and encouraged the sep aratist movement in the Croatian diet to run its course. On July 9, however, he prorogued it in view of the military situation, and as the movement in Hungary grew rapidly more extreme, the court grew more and more convinced that its salvation lay in the counter-movement led by Jella veiC and his Croats. On Sept. 4 he was officially reinstated in his dignities, with a warm testimonial to his loyalty; and on Sept. I i he crossed the Drave at the head of his troops, to attack Hungary. As a general, Jella6C was anything but talented, and was frequently defeated by the Magyar troops; but his regiments were largely instru mental in crushing the Magyars. Although the reorganization of Croatia carried through by the reaction was far from meeting his own wishes, he personally was loaded with honours. He was left in the post of civil and military governor of Croatia, and the military frontier, created count (1855) and given com mand of the military expedition against Montenegro. He died on May 20, 1859. He published a volume of Gedichte in 1851.