West Bromwich
West Bromwich, Town In Staffordshire, England, 6 M. North-west Of Birmingham. Pop. (1931) 81,281. Although Of Ancient Origin, The Appearance Of The Town, Like Its Growth As An Industrial Centre Of The Black Country, Is Modern. The Church Of All Saints, Formerly St. Clement, Was Given By Henry I. To ...
West Chester
West Chester, A Borough Of South-eastern Pennsyl Vania, U.s.a. Pop. (1920) 11,717 (78% Native White) ; 12,325 In 1930. It Is The Seat Of A State Normal School (1871) And Sev Eral Academies Of Long Standing. The Turk's Head Inn Dates From 1762. On The Outskirts Of The Town Are ...
West Ham
West Ham, A Borough Of Essex, England, Forming An East Ward Suburb Of London. Pop. (1931) 294,086. The Old Church Of All Saints Has A Good Perpendkular Tower, And In The Restoration Of 1866 Some Early Mural Painting Was Discovered, And A Tran Sitional Norman Clerestory, Remaining Above The Later ...
West Haven
West Haven, A Town Of Connecticut, U.s.a. Population Was 25,808 In 193o. It Is Mainly A Residential And Industrial Suburb Of New Haven. Savin Rock, Rising Out Of Long Island Sound, Is A Popular Pleasure Resort. West Haven Was Taken From New Haven In 1822 And United With North Milford ...
West Lothian Or Linlithgowshire
West Lothian Or Linlithgowshire, South Eastern County, Scotland, Has An Area Of 76,861 Ac. (excluding Water). The Surface Rises Gradually From The Firth To A Hilly District In The South, With Summits Up To 1,000 Feet. Near Bathgate Have Been Reopened Recently. Limestone, Freestone And Whinstone Are All Quarried. Paper ...
West New York
West New York, A Town Of New Jersey, U.s.a., On The Hudson River. Pop. (1920) 29,926 (3o% Foreign-born White) ; 1930 Federal Census 37,107. The Town Had 197 Factories In 1927, Producing Goods Valued At $16,098,602. It Was Incorporated In 1898. ...
West Orange
West Orange, A Town Of Essex County, New Jersey. Pop. (1920) In 1930 It Was 24,327. In Llewellyn Park Is. The Home Of Thomas A. Edison, Who Has Had His Labora Tories In West Orange Since 1887. ...
West Point
West Point, A National Military Post On A 3,500 Ac. Reserva Tion On The West Bank Of The Hudson River In Orange County, N.y., U.s.a., So M. N. Of New York City. The West Shore Railway, The Hudson River Day Line And The Storm King Highway All Serve West Point. ...
West Virginia
West Virginia, A State In The Appalachian Mountain Re Gion Of The Eastern United States, Lying Between Lat. 37° 10' And 4o' N., And Long. 77° 4o' And 82° 4o' W. The Boundaries Give The State An Oval Shape Except For Two Extensions, The One To The North Between Ohio ...
West Warwick
West Warwick, In Rhode Island, U.s.a. Pop. (192o) 15,461 (31% Foreign-born White) And 17,696 In 193o Federal Census . It Embraces Several Manufacturing Villages With Large Cotton Mills, And The Aggregate Factory Output In 1927 Was Valued At $12,177,157. West Warwick Was Organized In 1913. ...
Westborough
Westborough, A Town Of Massachusetts, U.s.a., Occu Pying 22 Sq.m. Pop. (1930) 6,409. It Was The Birthplace Of Eli Whitney, Inventor Of The Cotton Gin. It Was Settled About 1659. ...
Westbrook
Westbrook, A City Of Maine, U.s.a. Pop. (1920) 9,453 (8o% Native White) ; 1930 Federal Census 10,807. The River Provides Water-power, And The City Manufactures Paper, Silks And Cotton Goods. Westbrook Was Separated From Falmouth In 1814 And Incorporated As The Town Of Stroudwater, Adopting Its Present Name In 1815, ...
Westbury
Westbury, An Urban District Of Wiltshire, England. Pop. (1931) 4,044. All Saints' Church Is Norman And Later, With A Nhagnificent Nave. A Chained Black-letter Copy Of Erasmus' "paraphrase Of The New Testament" Is Preserved In The South Chapel. In The Suburb Of Westbury Leigh Is The "palace Garden," A Moated ...
Westerly
Westerly, A Town Of Rhode Island, U.s.a., Separated From Connecticut By The Pawcatuck River. Pop. (1920) 9,952 (26% Foreign-born White) ; 1930 Federal Census 10,997. It Em Braces The Villages Of Westerly And Bradford, And Watch Hill, A Seaside Resort With A Summer Population Of 5,000. Westerly Was Settled In ...
Western Asiatic Architecture
Western Asiatic Architecture From Egypt To Archaic Greece. Racially, As Well As Geographically, The Whole Mesopotamian Region Is One. The Chaldaeans Of The Earlier Settlements—a Mixture Of Sumerian And Semitic Elements—the Babylonians And The Assyrians, All Had The Same Broad Character Istics In Their Architecture As In Their Beliefs. The ...
Western Australia
Western Australia, The Largest Of The States, Occupying 975,920 Sq.m. The Length Is About 1,480 M. And The Breadth About I,000 M. While Over One-third Of The Total Area (37.3% =364,000 Sq.m.) Lies North Of The Tropic Of Capricorn. Its Distance From The Populous Eastern Parts Of The Continent Is ...
Western India States Agency
Western India States Agency, An Agency For Indian States In Kathiawar, Cutch And Palanpur, Formed In 1924 The States Included Are Bhavnagar, Cutch, Dhrangadhra, Dhrol, Gondal, Jafarabad, Junagadh, Demdi, Morvi, Nawanagar, Palan Pur, Palitana, Porbandar, Radhampur, Rajkot, 'wadhwan, Wan Kaner. Formerly Under Bombay, They Now Have Direct Relations With The ...
Westfield
Westfield, A City Of Massachusetts. Pop. (1920 18,604 (24% Foreign-born White) ; 1930 Federal Census 19,775. The Streets Of The City Are Arched With Fine Old Elms. It Is The Seat Of A State Normal School (1844). Its Manufactures (including Boilers And Radiators, Paper, Envelopes, Bicycles And Baby Carriages, Underwear, ...
Westgate On Sea
Westgate-on-sea, A Watering-place In The Isle Of Thanet. Pop. (1921) 5,096. There Are Gardens And Promenades Over I M. In Length, A Marine Drive Along The Cliffs, And Golf Links. Birchington, To The West (pop. 3,503), Is Also A Growing Resort. The Church Of All Saints Is Perpendicular, With An ...
Westinghouse Electric And Manufac
Westinghouse Electric And Manufac Turing Company, Situated At East Pittsburgh, Pa., U.s.a., Was Founded By George Westinghouse (q.v.). In 1882, Westinghouse Began The Manufacture Of Direct-current Electric Lighting Generators. After A Study Of Alternating Current Devel Opment And The Purchase Of Many Patent Rights, George Westing House Set Up, With ...
Westmeath
Westmeath, A County Of Ireland In The Province Of Leinster. The Area Is About 709 Sq. Miles. Pop. (1926) 56,796. Westmeath Is A County Of Carboniferous Limestone. The Only Heights Are Knocklayde (795 Ft.), Hill Of Ben (710 Ft.) And Knockayon (7o7 Feet). A Considerable System Of Eskers, Notably North ...
Westminster Bank Limited
Westminster Bank Limited. British Joint Stock Banking Company, One Of The "big Five" Of British Banking. The London And Westminster Bank, In Which It Had Its Begin Ning, Was The Pioneer Of Joint-stock Banking In London, And Was Founded, In The Face Of Strenuous Opposition, In 1834. Its Incep Tion ...
Westminster
Westminster, A Part Of London, England ; Strictly A City In The Administrative County Of London, Bounded East By "the City," South By The River Thames, West By The Boroughs Of Chel Sea And Kensington, And North By Paddington, St. Marylebone And Holborn. Westminster Was Formed Into A Borough By ...
Westmorland
Westmorland, A North-western County Of England. It Reaches The Sea In The Kent Estuary In Morecambe Bay. Area (exclusive Of Water) 775.7 Sq.m. Prof. Marr Recognizes Three Major And Three Minor Physical Divisions. The Largest, The Slate Tract, Is West Of A Line From The Foot Of Ullswater To Ravenstone ...
Weston Super Mare
Weston-super-mare, A Seaside Resort Of Somerset Shire, England, On The Bristol Channel, 1371 M. W. By S. Of Lon Don By The G.w.r. It Is Served Also By The Weston, Clevedon & Portishead Railway. Pop. Of Urban District (1931) 28,555. It Is Sheltered From The North And East By Worlebury ...
Weston
Weston, A City Of West Virginia, U.s.a., The County Seat Of Lewis County. Pop. 5,701 In 1920 (92% Native White) ; 8,646 In 1930 By The Federal Census. The City Lies 1,025 Ft. Above Sea Level, In A Rich Blue-grass Region, Containing Immense Coal De Posits, Oil And Gas Wells ...
Westphalia
Westphalia (ger. Westfalen), A Province Of Prussia. The Area Of The Province Is 7,806 Sq.m., Its Length Both From North To South And From East To West Is About 130 Miles. Nearly Half Of Westphalia Is An Extension Of The Great North German Plain, Which Is Broken By Outcrops Of ...
Wethersfield
Wethersfield, A Town Of Hartford County, Connecticut, U.s.a. Population (1920) 4349; 193o Federal Census 7,512. It Is A Beautiful Old Town, A Residential Suburb Of Hartford And The Seat Of The Connecticut State Prison. Among The Interesting Old Buildings Are The Webb House, In Which Washington And Count De Rochambeau ...
Wettin
Wettin, The Name Of A Family From Which Several Of The Royal Houses Of Europe Have Sprung. The Earliest Known An Cestor Is One Dietrich, Count Of Hassegau Or Hosgau, On The Left Bank Of The Saale, Who Was Killed In 982. His Sons Dedo I. (d. 1009) And Frederick ...
Wexford
Wexford, A County Of Ireland In The Province Of Leinster, Bounded North By Wicklow, East And South By St. George's Channel, And West By Waterford, Kilkenny And Carlow. The Area Is 5 76,75 7 Acres Or About 9o2 Sq. Miles. Pop. (1926) 95,812. Owing To The Number Of Sandbanks Navigation ...
Wexford_2
Wexford, A Seaport And The County Town Of Co. Wexford, Ireland. Pop. (1926) 11,870. Wexford Was An Early Colony Of The English, Having Been Taken By Fitzstephen. It Was The Second Town That Cromwell Besieged In 1649. It Was Garrisoned For William Iii. In 1690. In 1798 It Was Made ...
Weybridge
Weybridge, An Urban District In Surrey, England; Pop. (1930 7,359. It Lies In The Flat Valley Of The River Wey, 1 M. Above Its Junction With The Thames. The River Is Locked Up To Godalming, And Navigation Is Assisted By Cuts. The Roman Catho Lic Church Of St. Charles Borromeo ...
Weyler Y Nicolau
Weyler Y Nicolau, Valerian°, Marquess Of Tenerife (1839-1930), Spanish Soldier Of Prussian Descent, Born At Palma De Majorca. He Entered At Sixteen The Military College Of Infantry At Toledo, And When He Attained The Rank Of Lieutenant, Passed Into The Staff College, From Which He Came Out At The Head ...
Weymouth
Weymouth, A Town Of Massachusetts, U.s.a., Pop. (1920) 15,057 (82% Native White) ; 1930 Federal Census 20,882. The Town's Area Of 19 Sq.m. Includes Four Islands Besides The Peninsula Between The Weymouth Fore River And The Weymouth Back River. On The Latter, About 2 M. From Its Mouth, Is A ...
Weymouth_2
Weymouth And Melcombe Regis, A Seaport, Of Dorsetshire, England. Pop. (1931) 21,982. It Is Formed Of Weymouth, On The Wey, And Melcombe Regis On The North-east Of The River, The Two Towns Being Contiguous. The Situation Is Enclosed To The South By The Isle Of Portland. A Mile S.w. Of ...
Whale Fisheries
Whale Fisheries. The Dangerous Craft Of Whaling Undoubtedly Occurred In Times Too Early For Systematic Record. The Eskimos Traded The "bone" To The Greenland Whalers, Having Apparently Attacked The Whales When They Rose To Breathe In The Narrow Water-lanes Among The Ice—a Position The Great Whaling Fleets Of The Antarctic ...
Whale Oil
Whale Oil. The Oils Derived From Whales Fall Into Two Sharply Defined Classes : Sperm Oil, Obtained From The Head Cavity Of The Sperm Whale Or Cachalot, Physeter Catodon, And The Oils Obtained From The Right Whales (genus Balaena) And The Rorquals (genera Balaenoptera And Megaptera). Sperm Oil Is Not ...
Whalebone
Whalebone, The Inaccurate Name Under Which The Ba Leen Plates Of The Right Whale Are Popularly Known; The Trade-name Of Whale-fin, Which The Substance Receives In Commerce, Is Equally Misleading. Whalebone Is Formed In The Palate On The Roof Of The Mouth And Is An Exaggeration Of The Ridges, Often ...
Wharton Family
Wharton (family). The Whartons Of Wharton Were An Old North Of England Family, And In 1543 Thomas Wharton (1495-1568) Was Created A Baron. The Fifth Baron, Thomas Wharton (1648-1715), Was Created In 1706 Earl And In 1714 Marquess Of Wharton. The 1st Marquess Is Famous As The Author Of The ...
Wheat Production In America
Wheat Production In America Wheat Was Introduced To The Infant English Colonies In Vir Ginia And Massachusetts Soon After Their Settlement In 2607 And 1620, Respectively. It Had Been Introduced To Mexico By The Span Ish, However, Probably As Early As 1530. Strangely Enough, How Ever, It Was Not Wheat ...
Wheaton
Wheaton, A City Of Illinois, U.s.a. Pop. (1920) (88% Native White) ; 7,258 In 1930 By The Federal Census. The City Was Founded In 1837, And Incorporated In 1859. ...
Wheatstones Bridge
Wheatstone's Bridge, A Network Of Six Conduc Tors Of Which Four, Ab, Bc, Cd And Da Form A Closed Circuit While The Others, Ac And Bd, Contain A Battery And A Galva Nometer Respectively. When The Resistances Of The First Four Are So Adjusted That No Current From The Battery ...
Wheat
Wheat. Among The Three Or F Our Most Important Cereals Utilized As Food By Man Wheat (triticum) Occupies The First Place. It Is The Cereal Above All Others From Which Good Bread Can Be Made And In This Form Is Consumed By The Most Highly Civilized Nations Of The World. ...
Wheel
Wheel, A Circular Frame Or Solid Disc Revolving On An Axis, Of Which The Function Is To Transmit Or To Modify Motion. See Mechanics. Vehicular Wheels In The Earliest Times Were Circular Discs, Either Cut Out Of Solid Pieces Of Wood Or Formed Of Sep Arate Planks Of Wood Fastened ...
Wheeling
Wheeling, A City Of West Virginia, U.s.a. Pop. 56,208 In 1920, 87% Native White; And 61,659 In 1930 By The Federal Census. The City's Area Of 11.8 Sq.m. Comprises A Narrow Strip Of Bottomland (64o Ft. Above Sea-level), Hills Rising Behind It On The East And An Island Over A ...
Whelk
Whelk, The Name Given To A Large Number Of Marine Gas Tropod Molluscs (see Gastropoda, Mollusca) With Solid Spiral Shells, And In Particular To The Members Of The Genus Buccinum In Which The Common Whelk (buccinum Undatum) Is Placed. Fusus Antiquus, The "hard Whelk" Of British Fishermen, Is Another Common ...
Whichcote
Whichcote (or Whitchcote), Benjamin (1609 1683), English Divine And Philosopher, Was Born At Whichcote Hall, Stoke, Shropshire, And Educated At Emmanuel College, Cam Bridge, Where He Became Fellow In 1633. In 1644 He Became Provost Of King's College, Cambridge, In Place Of Samuel Collins Who Was Ejected. In 165o He ...
Whickham
Whickham, Urban District In Durham, England. Pop. (1931) 20,782. The Church Of St. Mary Has Norman And Transi Tional Portions, And In The Neighbourhood Is The Mansion Of Gibside (17th Century). ...
Whig Party
Whig Party, A Political Party Prominent In The United States From About 1824 To 1854. The Name Had Been In Use Immediately Before The Revolution And During That War To Desig Nate Those Who Favoured The Colonial Cause And Independence. The First National Party System Of The United States Came ...
Whig
Whig And Tory, The Names Used To Denote Two Opposing Political Parties In England, Were Nicknames Introduced In 1679 During The Heated Struggle Over The Bill To Exclude James, Duke Of York, From The Succession To The Crown. The Term "whig"— Whatever Be Its Origin In Scots Gaelic—was Used Of ...
Whinchat
Whinchat (saxicola Rubetra), A Bird Allied To The Wheatear (q.v.), And Stonechat (q.v.). The Whinchat Is A Summer Migrant, Somewhat Larger Than The Stonechat And Preferring Enclosed Land. It Ranges Over Europe And West Asia, Wintering In Africa. ...
Whip Poor Will
Whip-poor-will (antrostomus Vociferus), So Called From Its Cry, Is An American Bird About A Foot Long, Allied To The Nightjars (q.v.), Which It Resembles In Habits. It Is Common In The Eastern United States. ...
Whip
Whip, In English Parliamentary Usage, Denotes A Member, Chosen By The Leader Or Leaders Of A Political Party For The Special Duty Of Securing The Attendance Of The Other Members Of That Party On All Necessary Occasions, The Term Being Abbreviated From The Whipper-in Of A Hunt. The Name Is ...
Whisky Or Whiskey
Whisky Or Whiskey, A Potable Alcoholic Liquor Dis Tilled From Cereal Grains. The Term Is Derived From The Celtic Uisque-beatha Afterwards Contracted To Usquebaugh Meaning Water Of Life. The Distillation Of Alcoholic Beverages From Fermented Liquors Became General Throughout The Whole Of Europe During The 16th And I7th Centuries, But, ...
Whisky Production In The
Whisky Production In The U. S. A. Tures Are Called "blended Whiskies," And They May Contain Up To 21% By Volume Of Flavouring And Colouring Ingredients. ...
Whispering Bells
Whispering Bells (emmenantlie Penduliflora), A North American Herb Of The Water-leaf Family (hydrophyllaceae), Known Also As California Yellow Bells, Native To Mountain Slopes From Central California To Utah And Southward To Mexico. It Is A Low, Much-branched, Sticky-hairy Annual, Io In. To 20 In. High, With Deeply-cut Leaves And Bell-shaped, ...
Whist
Whist, A Game Of Cards Of English Origin Gradually Evolved From Several Older Games Which Succeeded Each Other Under The Name Of Triumph, Trump, Ruff An Honour4, Whist And Swabbers, And Finally Whist. Whist Was So Called Because Of Its Requiring Silence And Close Attention. It Is Believed That The ...
Whitchurch
Whitchurch, Urban District, North Shropshire, England. Pop. (7931) 6,016. Whitchurch Is Mentioned As A Borough In The 14th Century. The Parish Extends Into Cheshire. Whitchurch Was Famous For Its Turret Clocks, Many Of Those In The Churches Of N. Shropshire Having Been Made There. ...
White Mountains
White Mountains, The Portion Of The Appalachian Mountain System Which Traverses New Hampshire (u.s.a.), Be Tween The Androscoggin And Upper Ammonoosuc Rivers On The North And The Lake Country On The South. They Cover An Area Of About 1,3oom., Are Composed Of Somewhat Homogeneous Granite Rocks, And Represent The Remnants ...
White Plains
White Plains, A City Of New York, U.s.a., The County Seat Of Westchester County; 24 M. N.n.e. Of The Grand Central Station In New York City, On The Bronx River, Midway Between The Hudson And Long Island Sound. It Is Served By The New York Central And Electric Railways And ...
White Russia
White Russia, A Republic Of The Russian U.s.s.r. Area 125,703 Sq.km. Pop. (1933) Poland Lies To The West, The Ukrainian S.s.r. To The South, The Provinces Of Bryansk And Smolensk To The East And The Pskov District Of The Leningrad Area To The North. In The North And West There ...
White Slave Traffic
White Slave Traffic. The Movement For The Sup Pression Of The International Traffic In Women And Children For Im Moral Purposes May Be Said To Some Extent To Date From The At Tempt, In The Middle Of The 19th Century, To Introduce What May Be Described As A System Of ...
White Star Line
White Star Line, The Name By Which The World Knew The Ships Of The Oceanic Steam Navigation Company (the Shares Of Which Were Owned By The White Star Line, Limited), Founded By T. H. Ismay In 1869. Ismay's First Steamer, The "oceanic," Sailed From The Mersey For New York In ...
Whitebait
Whitebait (fr. Blanchaille), The Name Given To The Fry Of The Herring And Sprat, And Formerly Erroneously Thought To Be A Distinct Species, Clupea Alba. These Young Fish, Which Are Much Esteemed For The Table, Are Found In Large Numbers In Estuaries (firth Of Forth, Thames, Etc.) And At Certain ...
Whitefish
Whitefish, The Name Of Fishes Of The Genus Coregonus Of The Salmon Family. These Are Silvery Fishes With Rather Large Scales, And With A Small Toothless Or Feebly Toothed Mouth; They Feed On Minute Crustaceans. Marine Species, Entering Rivers To Breed, Are Chiefly Arctic, But A Number Of Fresh-water Species ...