Secret Societies
Secret Societies, Organizations That In Some Form Or Other Have Existed In All Ages Of The World's History. In The Ancient World Many Of The More Influen Tial Religions Had Their Mysteries, The Ceremonies Connected With Which Were Generally Performed In Secret And Only In The Presence Of Those Who ...
Secretion
Secretion, In Physiology, The Proc Ess By Which Materials Are Separated From The Blood, And From The Organs In Which They Are Formed, For The Purpose Either Of Serving Some Ulterior Office In The Animal Economy, Or Being Discharged From The Body As Excrement. Secretion Is One Of The Natural ...
Seleucia
Seleucia, The Name Of Several An Cient Cities Of Asia, Situated In Assyria, Margiana, Syria, Mesopotamia, Cilicia, Pamphylia, Pisidia, Caria, And Other Countries, Of Which The Following Are The Most Important. (1) Seleucia On The Tigris Was Founded By Seleucus I. Of Syria, On The Left Bank Of That River, ...
Seljuks
Seljuks, A Division Of The Ghuzz Con Federacy Of The Turkish Tribes, Who Were Settled On The Jaxartes And In Transox Iana In The 11th Century, When They Be Came Converts To Islam. Togrul Beg, Grandson Of A Chief Named Seljuk (whence The Name Of The Several Succes Sive Dynasties), ...
Semites
Semites, A Name Given By J. G. Eichhorn In 1787 To A Group Of Nations Closely Allied In Language, Religion, Man Ners, And Physical Features, Who Are Rep Resented In Gen. X. As Descended Chiefly From Shem, A Son Of Noah. Their Habitat Was Abyssinia, Arabia, Palestine, Phoeni Cia, Syria, ...
Semitic Languages
Semitic Languages, The Languages Spoken By The Semitic Nations. One Char Acteristic Feature Of Them Is Triconsonan Tal Roots From Which By Prefixed Or Af Fixed Letters, But Mostly By Internal Vowel Changes, The Other Words Are Formed. Thus In Arabic Kcitabci="he Wrote," Bdtib ="a Scribe," Kitetb="a Book," Rnaktfib "an ...
Senate
Senate, In Ancient History, The De Liberative Assembly Of The Roman People; But The Term Has Been Applied To Very Different Powers And Constitutions In Dif Ferent Countries. In The Greek Republics, As Well As Among The Romans, The Num Ber Of Senators Was Regulated By The Number Of Tribes ...
Senegal
Senegal, A Colony Of French West Africa; Between The Sahara And The Gam Bia River; Extends From The Atlantic On The W. To The French Sudan On The E.; Area, 74,112 Square Miles. The Name Senegambia, Which Is Not Used By The French, Has Been Applied To This Region, Being ...
Sensation
Sensation, The Change In Conscious Ness Which Results From The Transmission Of Nervous Impulses To The Brain. Such Impulses May Be Generated Within The Nerves Themselves (but Only In Diseased Conditions), Or May Be Produced By Stimuli Applied To Such Parts Of The Body As Are Provided With Nerves. Such ...
Septuagint
Septuagint, A Greek Version Of The Hebrew Or Old Testament Scriptures, The Oldest One Made Into Any Language. A Still Extant Letter Referred To By Jo Sephus, Jerome, And Eusebius, Purports To Be From A Certain Aristeas, Officer At The Court Of Ptolemy Philadelphus. It States That After The King ...
Serbia
Serbia (jugoslavia), Formerly An Independent Kingdom Of Eastern Europe; Bounded N. By Austria-hungary, From Which It Is Separated By The Save And The Danube; E. By Bulgaria; W. By Albania And Montenegro; S. By Greece; Area, 42,098 Square Miles; Pop. About 5,000,000. Capital, Belgrade; Pop. (1919) 120,000. The Surface Of ...
Serpent
Serpent, In Zoology, The Ophidia, An Order Of Reptiles Popularly Distinguished From The Rest Of The Class By Having A Very Elongated Body And No External Limbs. They Are Very Widely Distributed, Abounding In The Tropics, Where They At Tain Their Greatest Size, Absent Only From The Arctic And Antarctic ...
Serum Therapy
Serum Therapy, The Practice Of Treating Diseases By Injecting Into The Blood, Fluid Obtained From Animals Pre Viously Rendered Immune Against These Diseases. This System Of Treatment Is Based Upon The Theory That Bacteria Pro Duce Disease By The Formation In The Blood, Of Poisonous Bodies Known As Tox Ins. ...
Service Medals
Service Medals And Decora Tions. The Most Important Decora Tions And Service Medals Issued To Those Who Served In The Army Of The United States, Are The Following: Civil War Cam Paign Medal, Indian Campaign Medal, Spanish Campaign Medal, Philippines Campaign Medal, China Campaign Medal, Cuban Occupation Medal, Cuban Pacifica ...
Seven Sages Of Greece
Sages Of Greece, Seven, Solon, Chilo, Pittacus, Bias, Periander, Cleobu Lus, And Thales Are Those Most .generally Named As The Seven Wise Men Of Greece, And They Were The Authors Of The Cele Brated Mottoes Inscribed In More Recent Times In The Delphian Temple. Solon, Through The Imprudent Course Of ...
Seven Years War
Seven Years' War, A Famous European War Which Lasted From 1756 To 1763. As The Result Of A War With Prus. Sia (q. V.) Maria Theresa Of Austria Had To Cede Silesia To Frederick The Great. With A View To Recover Her Lost Territory She Concluded An Alliance With Russia, ...
Seventeen Year Locust
Seventeen-year Locust, The Cicada Septendecim. There Is No Insect Known To Science Which Affords Such An Interesting Study As Does The Seventeen Year Locust. He Begins And Ends Life In The Bright Sunshine, But Spends 17 Years In The Dark, Cold Earth. Safely Hidden From Sight He Gnaws Away At ...
Seville
Seville (spanish, Sevilla), A Fa Mous City Of Spain; Capital Of The Prov Ince Of The Same Name; On The Left Bank Of The Guadalquivir, 80 Miles From Its Mouth, And 353% Miles S. S. W. Of Ma Drid. The River Is Crossed By A Fine Iron Bridge Connecting Seville ...
Sewage
Sewage, The Matter Which Passes Through The Drains, Conduits, Or Sewers Leading Away From Human Habitations Singly, Or From Houses Collected Into Vil Lages, Towns, And Cities. It Is Made Up Of Excreted Matter, Solid And Liquid, The Water Necessary To Carry Such Away, And The Waste Water Of Domestic ...
Sewage Disposal
Sewage Disposal. The Problem Of The Disposal Of Sewage Becomes One Of Immense Importance In All Thickly Populated Districts. In The Country, A Properly Constructed Cesspool In Favorable Soil Forms A Simple And Satisfactory Means Of Disposing Of Domestic Waste, But In Cities The Cesspool Becomes Utterly Inade Quate And ...
Sewing Machine
Sewing Machine, A Machine Fot Sewing Or Stitching Cloth, Leather, Etc. The Various Forms Of This Now Well-known And Almost Universally Used Machine Are All Of Quite Recent Introduction. The In Vention Of The Double-pointed Needle With An Eye In The Center, In The Year 1755, Marked A Distinct Advance ...
Sextant
Sextant, An Instrument For Measur Ing The Angular Distance Of Objects By Means Of Reflection. The Principle Of Its Construction Depends On The Theorem That If A Ray Of Light Suffer Double Reflection The Angle Between The Original Ray And Its Direction After The Second Reflection Is Double The Angle ...
Sexual Selection
Sexual Selection, A Term Applied By Darwin To The Process Of Favoring And Eliminating Which To Some Extent Occurs In The Mating Of Many Animals. It Is A Special Case Of Natural Selection, Depend Ing On A Competition Between Rival Males, In Which A Premium Is Set On Those Quali ...
Seymour
Seymour, An Historic Family, Origi Nally Settled In Normandy At St. Maur— Whence The Name. Going Over To Eng Land, They Obtained Lands In Monmouth Shire As Early As The 13th Century, And In The 14th At Hatch Beauchamp, Somer Setshire, By Marriage With An Heiress Of The Beauchamps. In ...
Shakers
Shakers, A Name Given To An Ameri Can Sect Of Celibates Of Both Sexes, Founded By Ann Lee, An English Emi Grant, About 1776, From Their Using A Kind Of Dance In Their Religious Exercises, But Who Call Themselves The United So Ciety Of Believers In Christ's Second Ap Pearing. ...
Shakespeare Bacon Contro Versy
Shakespeare-bacon Contro Versy, A Controversy Resulting From The Contention That William Shakespeare (q. V.) Did Not Write The Plays Which Are At Tributed To Him. The Beginning Of This Controversy Dates Back To 1848, And Since That Time There Have Appeared A Compara Tively Large Number Of Books, Articles, And ...
Sheep
Sheep, The Common Name Of The Genus Belonging To The Cavicornia, Or Hollow-horned Ruminant Family. Nat Uralists Are By No Means Agreed As To What Was The Original Breed Of This In Valuable Animal. Of The Several Varieties Of Wild Sheep Which Have By Naturalists Been Considered Entitled To The ...
Sheffield
Sheffield, A Municipal And Parlia Mentary Borough Of England, County Of York (west Riding) ; On Hilly Ground At The Junction Of The Sheaf And Don, About 160 Miles N. Of London. The Site Of The Town Was Originally Confined To The Angle Formed By The Sheaf And Don, But ...
Shell
Shell, In Zoology, The Hard Calcareous Substance Which Either Protects The Testa Ceous Mollusca Externally, Or Supports Certain Species Of Them Internally. Though Shells, Properly So Called, Which Form The Habitation Of Testaceous Animals Are Sometimes Confounded With The Shelly Coverings Which Protect The Crustacea (crabs And Their Numerous Allies), ...
Shelter And Housing
Shelter And Housing, A Term Which Includes Not Only Housebuilding It Self, But The Production Of Housebuilding Materials, Plumbing, Ventilation, Gas And Electrical Fittings, House Decoration And Sanitation. During And After The World War, However, It Suddenly Began To Ac Quire A Social Significance Which Hitherto Had Not Been Appreciated. ...
Shiites
Shiites (also Sheeahs; "sectaries," From The Arabian Shiah, "a Party"), The Name Given By Orthodox Muslims Or Sun Nites To Ali's Followers, Who Call Them Selves Al-adeliyyah, "the Right People." They Were The Champions Of Ali's Right To Be Mohammed's Successor As Being His Cousin And Son-in-law; And After Ali's ...
Ship
Ship, In The Most General Sense, A Vessel Intended For Navigating The Ocean. In Contradistinction To Boat, Which Is The Most General Term For A Navigable Ves Sel, It Signifies A Vessel Intended For Dis Tant Voyages. Ships Are Of Various Sizes, And Fitted For Various Uses, And Receive Various ...
Shipbuilding
Shipbuilding. The Development Of Shipbuilding Is Represented In Its Main Stages By The Evolution Of The Hull And The Introduction Of The Machinery Of Pro Pulsion. The First Carries Us Back Almost To The Prehistoric Period And To An Idea As Simple As The Floating Log. The Line Of Development ...
Shipping
Shipping. The Use Of Ships And Shipping, Using The Words In The Large Sense, Goes Back Very Early In The History Of Civilization. Ships Figure In The Earli Est Records Of The Egyptians, Chaldeans, Chinese And Hindus. The Inhabitants Of The Nile Valley Constructed Vessels Capa Ble Of Carrying Large ...
Shipping Subsidies
Shipping Subsidies, Financial Aid To Shipping By Public Authority. Great Britain Appears To Have Led The Way In This Manner Of Promoting Shipping Ser Vice, Parliament In 1730 Providing For A Bounty Of 20 Shillings Per Ton On Ves Sels Of 20 Tons And More Employed In The White-herring Fisheries. ...
Shorthand
Shorthand, An Art By Which Writ Ing Is Abbreviated, So As To Keep Pace With Speaking. Its Great And General Utility Has Been Recognized In Every Age, And Numberless Systems Have Been Devised To Facilitate Its Acquirement. It Was Prac Ticed By The Ancients For Its Secrecy As Well As ...
Siam
Siam, A Kingdom Embracing A Great Part Of The Indo-chinese Peninsula And Part Of The Malay Peninsula, And Lying Between Burma On The W., And Annam And Cambodia On The E. And S. E. Its Boundaries Are Ill Defined On The N. And N. E., But Its Area Is Estimated ...
Siberia
Siberia, A Great Division Of The Russian Dominions; Occupies All North Asia, Stretching Uninterruptedly E. From The Ural Mountains To The Pacific Ocean, And S. From The Arctic Ocean To The Chi Nese Dominions And Russian Central Asia; Total Area, 4,831,882 Square Miles; Pop. About 10,378,000. It Is Divided Into ...
Sibyl
Sibyl, The Name By Which Certain Prophetic Women Were Designated In. An Cient Times. Their Number Is Variously Stated. Jelian Mentions Four—the Ery Thrman, The Samian, The Egyptian, And The Sardian; But It Was Popularly Believed That There Were 10 In All. Of These The Most Famous Is The Cumxan, ...
Sicily
Sicily, An Island Belonging To The Kingdom Of Italy, In The Mediterranean, The Largest And The Finest In That Sea, Ly Ing At The S. W. Extremity Of Italy, From Which It Is Parted By The Narrow Strait Of Messina. Area, 9,936 Square Miles; Pop. About 3,793,500. Sicily Is Of ...
Siege
Siege, Literally A Sitting Down. When The Assault Of A Fortified Place Would Be Too Hazardous And Costly And Its Reduction By Blockade Too Slow, Recourse Is Had To The "regular Siege Or Systematic Attack." In Order To Cross The Open Ground Swept By The Fire Of The Fortress With ...
Sight
Sight, In Physiology, One Of The Five Human Senses, Having For Its Organ The Eye (q. V.). In This Organ, Then, We Have The Retina, An Expansion Of The Optic Nerve, To Receive And Transmit To The Brain The Impressions Of Light; Certain Refract Ing Media For So Disposing The ...
Sign
Sign, In Astronomy, A Portion Of The Ecliptic Or Zodiac, Containing 30 Degrees, Or A 12th Part Of The Complete Circle. The First Commences At The Point Of The Equator Through Which The Sun Passes At The Time Of The Vernal Equinox; And They Are Counted Onward, Proceeding From W. ...
Sikhs
Sikhs, A Religious Sect In Hindustan, Which Worships One Only And Invisible. God. Its Founder Was Nanak Shah, Born In 1469 In The Province Of Lahore. He Labored To Lead The People To A Practical Religion, To A Pure Worship Of God And Love To Mankind. He Died About 1540. ...
Silesia
Silesia (german, Schlesien), A Ter Ritory Of Central Europe, Formerly Di Vided Politically Between Prussia And Austria. Prussian Silesia, The Largest Of The Prussian Provinces, Was Bounded E. By Posen And Poland, S. By The Austrian Territories, W. And N. By Saxony And Brandenburg; Area, 15,566 Square Miles. The Province ...
Silk
Silk, The Peculiar Glossy Thread Spun By The Caterpillars Or Larva Of Certain Species Of Moths, And A Well-known Kind Of Fabric Manufactured From It. The Chief Silk-producing Larvae Belong To The Family Of The Bombycidie, Of Which Group The Common Silk Moth, Bambyx Marl, Is The Most Familiar Species, ...
Silurian System
Silurian System, In Geology, A Term Made Public By Sir Roderick Murchi Son In 1839, Though He Had Begun To Use It As Early As 1835. It Implied That, Speaking Broadly, The Rocks So Described Were Well Developed In The Country Of The Old Silures. The Term Has Been Univer ...
Silver
Silver, A Precious Metal. It Appears To Have Been Known Almost As Early As Gold, And, Without Doubt, For The Same Reason, Because It Occurs Very Frequently In A State Of Purity In The Earth And Requires But An Ordinary Heat For Its Fu Sion. Pure Silver Is Of A ...
Sinai
Sinai, A Mountain, Or Mountain Range In Arabia Petrwa, In The Peninsula Formed By The Two Arms Of The Red Sea, And Rendered Memorable As The Spot Where, According To The Pentateuch, The Law Was Given To Israel Through Moses. This Mountain Pass Is Divisible Into Three Groups: A N. ...
Singapore
Singapore, The Capital Of The De Pendency Of The Same Name, Is The Only Town On The Island. It Occupies A Pleas Ant Site On The S. E. Coast, On The Strait Of Singapore, The Principal Waterway For Vessels Trading Between Eastern Asia And India And Europe. This City Was ...
Sir Joshua Reynolds
Reynolds, Sir Joshua, An Eng Lish Portrait And Subject Painter; Born In Plympton Earls, Near Plymouth, July 16, 1723. His Father, A Clergyman And Master Of Plympton Grammar School, In Tended Him For The Medical Profession; But He Developed A Strong Aptitude For Painting, Was Continually Studying The Plates In ...
Sir Philip Sidney
Sidney, Sir Philip, An English Writer, Soldier And Man Of Affairs, Born In 1554, The Eldest Son Of Sir Henry And Lady Mary Sidney. As A Child, He Im Pressed All Who Knew Him For Such "lovely And Familiar Gravity As Carried Grace And Reverence Above Greater Years." He At ...
Sir Walter Scott
Scott, Sir Walter, A British Author. He Was Born In Edinburgh On August 15, 1771, The Son Of Walter Scott, Writer Of The Signet, And Anne Ruther Ford, Daughter Of A Professor In The Uni Versity Of Edinburgh. His Family Be Longed To The Border Country Between England And Scotland, ...
Sisterhoods
Sisterhoods, Societies Or Communi Ties Of Women Living Together Under A Re Ligious Rule, Binding Upon All, And With A Common Object For Their United Life. But In Common Use The Word Denotes Those Communities Which Are Not Enclosed, And Whose Life Is One Of Active Labor. An Account Of ...
Sixtus V
Sixtus V. (felice Peretti), Pope; Born Near Montalto, Dec. 13, 1521. He Entered The Convent Of The Cordeliers At Ascoli, And By His Natural Good Abilities And His Popularity As A Preacher Made His Way Rapidly, Notwithstanding A Petulant Tem Per And Frequent Contentions With His As Sociates. He Was ...
Skeleton
Skeleton, A General Term For The More Or Less Hard Parts Of Animals, Whether Forming An Internal Supporting Framework—an Endoskeleton, Or An Exter Nal Exoskeleton, Often Useful As Armor. Skeleton Of Invertebrates.—many Of The Protozoa Have Shells Of Lime, Or Of Flint, Or Of Some Organic Substance, Such As Acanthin. ...
Skin
Skin, That Membrane Of Variable Thickness Which Covers The Whole Body Externally And Extends Inward Into All The Natural Openings, Where It Changes Its Properties, Becoming Soft And Moist, And Hence Known As Mucous Membrane. The Skin Is Generally Described As Composed Of Three Layers: The Cuticle, The Rete Mu ...
Skull
Skull. The Skull Is Divided Into Two Parts, The Cranium And The Face. In Human Anatomy It Is Customary To De Scribe The Former As Consisting Of Eight And The Latter 14 Bones; The Eight Cranial Bones, Which Constitute The Brain Case, Being The Occipital, Two Parietal, Frontal, Two Temporal ...
Skye
Skye, After Lewis, The Largest Of The Scotch Islands, And The Most N. Of The Inner Hebrides, Is Included In Inverness Shire ; Area, 547 Square Miles. Separated From Ross-shire In The N. W. By The Sound Of Rona, And From Inverness In The S. W. By The Sound Of ...
Slate
Slate, A Very Remarkable Form Of Clay Rock, Frequently Fossiliferous And Not Confined To One Geological Period. Consisting Essentially Of Clay, The Par Tides Of Slate Are So Mechanically Ar Ranged That The Rock Splits With Perfect Facility Into Almost Indefinitely Thin Layers In One Direction Only, And In All ...
Slavery
Slavery, The State Or Condition Of A Slave, Bondage. Slavery In The Full Sense Of The Term Implies That The Slave Is The Property Or At The Disposal Of Another, Who Has A Right To Employ Or Treat Him As He Pleases; But The System Has Been Subjected To Innumerable ...
Sleeping Sickness
Sleeping Sickness, Sleeping Dropsy, Negro Lethargy. A Term Applied To Several Distinct Diseases. The First Is A Tropical Disease Caused By A Parasite, Trypanosome Ya?nbiense, Carried By A Tsetse Fly Glossina Palpalis. This Discovery Was Made In 1903. It Is Now Considered Possible That Rat Fleas Play A Part In ...
Smelting
Smelting, The Act Or Process Of Obtaining Metal From Ore By The Combined Action Of Heat, Air, And Fluxes. The Oper Ation Varies According To The Different Metallic Ores To Be Operated On. In Smelt Ing Iron The Ore Is First Roasted In A Kiln In Order To Drive Off ...
Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution, A Literary, Scientific, And Philosophical In Stitution, Organized At Washington, D. C., By Act Of Congress In 1846, Pursuant To The Will Of James Smithson. The Man Agement Of The Institution Is In The Hands Of Regents Appointed By The United States Government, And A Spacious Structure, Containing ...
Smuggling
Smuggling, Originally And Strictly A Crime Of Commerce, A Violation Of Cus Toms Laws, To Be Distinguished From Such A Crime Of Manufacture As Illicit Distilla Tion, Which Violates Excise Laws. But The Term Is Commonly Applied Also To The Eva Sive Manufacture And Disposal Of Com Modities Liable To ...
Smyrna
Smyrna (turkish, Izmer), An An Cient City And Seaport Of Asiatic Turkey, On The W. Coast Of Asia Minor, At The Head Of The Gulf Of The Same Name. The Appearance Of The City From The Sea Is Extremely Attractive, But A Closer Inspec Tion Dissipates The Illusion. The Houses, ...
Snow
Snow, In Meteorology, Water Solidified In Stellate Crystals, Variously Modified, And Floating In The Atmosphere. These Crystals Arise From The Congelation Of The Minute Vesicles Which Constitute The Clouds, When The Temperature Of The Latter Is Below Zero. They Are More Reg Ular When Formed In A Calm Atmosphere. Their ...
Soap
Soap, Strictly Speaking, A Salt Con Sisting Of A Fatty Acid In Combination With A Metallic Base. In Common Par Lance, However, The Term Is Applied To The Soluble Salts Formed By The Union Of The Fatty Acids With The Alkalies. If Oil And Water Be Shaken Together Mechanical Union ...
Social Insurance
Social Insurance, One Of Three Distinct Branches Of Insurance In Gen Eral, The Other Two Of Which Are Cornfner Cial Insurance And Mutual Insurance. Both Of These Are Voluntary In Nature, And Protect Those Who Have The Initiative To Take Proper Precautions Against The Misfortunes Which Insurance Covers. So Cial ...
Social Settlements
Social Settlements, Groups Of Social Workers Who Live Among The Lower Classes In The Slum Districts, First, To Ob Tain First Hand Information Of Conditions Which Create Poverty, And, Second, To Of Fer Relief And Educational Assistance At First Hand. The Idea Of Obtaining Such Close Contact With The Sources ...
Social War
Social War, The Name Of A Noted Struggle In Roman History. M. Livius Drusus Proposed A Law For Investing The Italian Allies With The Privileges Of Ro Man Citizens; But It Was Strongly Opposed By The Senators, The Knights, And The People, And Drusus Was Assassinated 91 B. C. The ...
Socialism
Socialism, In Its Broader Meaning, Is The Conception That The Production And Distribution Of All Those Commodities Which Satisfy The Wants Of The People Should Be Under The Collective, Democratic Control Of The People As A Whole, With The Result That Use Would Be The Only In Centive To Industry, ...
Society Islands
Society Islands, An Archipelago In The South Pacific, Lying Between Lat. 16°-18° S., And Lon. W. There Are 13 Principal Islands, Besides Numer Ous Islets, And The Total Area Of The Group Is Estimated At 734 Square Miles. The Chief Islands Are Tahiti And Moorea. The First Has An Area ...
Society For Psychical Re
Society For Psychical Re Search, A Society Founded In England In 1882 Under The Presidency Of Prof. H. Sedgwick, Of Cambridge University, For The Purpose Of "making An Organized At Tempt To Investigate That Large Group Of Debatable Phenomena Designated By Such Terms As Mesmeric, Psychical, And Spiri Tualistic." Six ...
Socrates
Socrates, A Great Athenian Philoso Pher, The Son Of Sophroniscus And Phm Narete; Born Near Athens In 469 B. C. He Was Brought Up To His Father's Call Ing, That Of A Sculptor, And For A Time Gained His Living By It. He Was, However, Naturally An Eager Student, And ...
Soil
Soil, That Part Of The Disintegrated Surface Of The Earth's Crust In Which The Roots Of Plants Ramify, And From Which Growing Plants Derive The Mineral Sub Stances Necessary For Their Proper Devel Opment. Soils Are Formed By The Disinte Gration Of The Rocks Through The Continued Action Of Water ...
Soissons
Soissons, A Town And Fortress Of France, In The Denartment Of Aisne; On The Aisne River; 65 Miles N. E. Of Paris, It Is The Key Of Paris For An Army Invade Ing France From The Netherlands, And Is The Meeting Point Of Several Military Roads. The Principal Building Is ...
Solar System
Solar System, The Sun And All The Bodies, By Whatever Name They May Be Called, Which Periodically Revolve Round The Sun As A Center. Visible To Us Are Seven Distinct Orders Or Systems Of Re Volving Worlds. They Are The Zodiacal Light, Whatever That May Be, The Planet Ary, The ...
Solomon
Solomon (hebrew, Shelomoh, The Prince Of Peace), Son Of David, King Of Israel, By Bathsheba, Formerly The Wife Of Uriah, Was Appointed By David To Be His Successor In Preference To His Elder Brothers. By His Remarkable Judicial De Cisions And His Completion Of The Political Institutions Of David Solomon ...
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands, A Group In The South Pacific; Lying S. E. Of New Britain And E. Of New Guinea; Extending In A S. E. Direction Between Lat. 5° And 11° S., And Long. 154° To 162° E. These Islands Were First Discovered And Explored By The Spanish Navigator Mendana In ...
Sophocles
Sophocles, A Greek Tragic Poet; Born In The Attic Demus Or Village Of Colonus, 495 B. C., 30 Years Later Than Leschylus. He Received A Good Education, And At An Early Age Gained The Prize In Music And Gymnastics. He Was 15 When Pr_ The Battle Of Salamis Was Fought, ...
South Australia
South Australia, A State Of The Commonwealth Of Australia, Situated Be Tween 26° And S. Lat., And 129° And 141° E. Long. Area, 380,070 Square Miles. Population (1920) 472,432. The Eastern Portion Of The State Is Divided Longitudinally By The Flinders Range, Which Extends From The Eastern Side Of The ...
South Carolina
South Carolina, A State In The South Atlantic Division Of The North American Union; Bounded By North Caro Lina, Tennessee, Georgia, And The Atlan Tic Ocean; One Of The Original 13 States; Number Of Counties, 40; Capital, Colum Bia; Area, 30,170 Square Miles; Popula Tion (1910) 1,515,400; (1920) 1,683,724. Topography.—the ...
South Dakota
South Dakota, A State In The North Central Division Of The North American Union; Bounded By North Da Kota, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyo Ming, And Montana; Admitted To The Union, Nov. 2, 1889; Number Of Counties, 78; Capital, Pierre; Area, 76,850 Square Miles; Pop. (1910) 583,888; (1920) 636, 547. Topography.—the ...
Southampton
Southampton, A Borough And Sea Port Town Of England, In The County Of Hants, On A Peninsula At The Mouth Of The Itchen, Near The Head Of Southamp Ton Water, 18 Miles N. W. Of Ports Mouth, And 79 Miles S. W. Of London. It Is Built On Rising Ground, ...
St Andrews
St. Andrews, A Town Of Scotland; On A Rocky Plateau At The Edge Of St. An Drews Bay, 42 Miles N. N. E. Of Edin Burgh. From The Number And Nature Of The Remains Of Ancient Burials Found In And Around The City There Can Be Little Doubt That There ...
St Gall
St. Gall, The Capital Of The Swiss Canton Of The Same Name; On The Stein Ach ; 2,196 Feet Above Sea-level (the High Est Town In Europe), 53 Miles E. Of Zu Rich, And 9 From Rorschach On The Lake Of Constance. The Buildings Of Its Famous Benedictine Monastery Are ...