J. H. Poincare, 

 French scientist 



POINCARE 



appointed professor of mathe- 

 matical physics in the Faculty of 

 Sciences, Paris, and in 1896 he 

 -- became pro- 

 fessor of celes- 

 tial mechanics. 

 He died July 

 17, 1912. 



Poincare was 

 one of the most 

 brilliant ma- 

 thematicians 

 of the 19th 

 century, not 

 only carrying 

 out a series of remarkable investi- 

 gations into the problem of three 

 bodies, and the theory of functions, 

 in which he introduced an entirely 

 new mathematical weapon, but 

 also investigating the theory of 

 non-Euclidean geometry, the 

 higher algebraic functions, etc. He 

 was honoured by many societies 

 for his work, receiving the gold 

 medal of the Royal Astronomical 

 Society, the Sylvester medal of the 

 Royal Society, the gold medal of 

 the French Association for the Ad- 

 vancement of Science, etc. He 

 wrote many books, the chief of 

 which are Le9ons sur la theorie 

 mathematique de la lumiere, 2 

 vols., 1889-92 ; Electricite et 

 optique, 2 vols., 1890-91 ; Les 

 methodes nouvelles de la me- 

 chanique celeste, 3 vols., 1892- 

 99 ; Calcul des probabilites, 1896 ; 

 Cours de physique, 13 vols., 1890, 

 in addition to contributing many 

 scientific and mathematical papers. 

 See Problem. 



Poincare, RAYMOND NICOLAS 

 LANDRY (b. 1860). French states- 

 man. Born Aug. 20, 1860, at Bar- 

 le-Duc, he was educated at Nancy 

 and Paris, and called to the Paris 

 bar. For some time he contributed 

 law court reports to Le Voltaire. 

 In 1886, while secretary to the 

 minister of agriculture, he was 

 elected councillor-general for Pierre- 

 fitte-sur-Aire, and in 1887, deputy 

 for the Commercy division of the 

 Meuse department. He was re- 

 elected time after time until 1903, 

 when he became senator for the 

 Meuse, encountering no opposition 

 in 1893 and 1898, and defeating a 

 nationalist coalition in 1902. 

 i In 1890 Poincare was elected a 

 member of the Budget committee, 

 becoming its chairman in 1892. In 

 1893 he was appointed minister of 

 finance in the first Dupuy cabinet, 

 and in the second Dupuy cabinet 

 (May ; 1894-Jan., 1895), his term 

 of office being characterised by a 

 policy of rigid economy. When the 

 Dupuy cabinet fell, he remained in 

 the ensuing Ribot cabinet as minis- 

 ter of public instruction and hi that 

 capacity frequently debated in the 

 assembly with Jean Jaures (q.v.). 



621 1 



During this period Poincare de- 

 livered many speeches which made 

 his name popular among the public, 

 and prepared the bill on university 

 reform, which became law in Jan., 

 1896. On leaving office he was 

 chosen as vice-president of the 

 chamber, Nov., 1895, being re- 

 elected during the two following 

 years. During the same period he 

 resumed his legal practice. After 

 his election to the senate he be- 

 came president of its Budget com- 

 mittee. In March, 1906, he waa 

 minister of finance under Sarrien. 



On the fall of the Caillaux (q.v.) 

 cabinet in Jan., 1912, Poincare 

 became prime minister and, with 



Raymond Poincare, French statesman 



the premiership, took the ministry 

 of foreign affairs. He was still 

 premier when elected president of 

 the Republic on Jan. 17, 1913, 

 his chief opponent being Jules 

 Paras, and his elevation to the 

 highest office was undoubtedly due 

 to the qualities he manifested as 

 premier. In his inaugural message 

 to parliament he dwelt on the 

 urgency of social reforms and the 

 necessity of strengthening the 

 army and navy. Shortly after- 

 wards the law ordaining three 

 years' military service was passed. 

 In June, 1913, he visited King 

 George, the purpose of his journey 

 to England being to consolidate the 

 Franco-British entente. Return- 

 ing hastily from a visit to Russia 

 with Rene Viviani, the premier, 

 when the war-clouds were thicken- 

 ing, Poincare, on Aug. 1, 1914, 

 issued his proclamation to the 

 French nation, countersigned by 

 all the cabinet ministers, dwelling 

 on the gravity of the international 

 situation and emphasising the fact 

 that France had always affirmed 

 her pacific intentions. During the 

 course of the Great War he fre- 

 quently visited the front. 



POINT 



Poincare" retired from the presi- 

 dency in Jan., 1920, being suc- 

 ceeded by Paul Deschanel (q.v.). 

 He was re-elected senator for the 

 Meuse, and was president of the 

 reparations commission for a 

 short time, but resigned in May, 

 1920, owing to lack of sympathy 

 with the general Allied policy on 

 that question. In Feb., 1921, he 

 was elected president of the 

 foreign affairs commission of the 

 senate. In that capacity and as 

 foreign editor of La Revue des 

 Deux Mondes, to which post he 

 was appointed on retiring from 

 the presidency of the Republic, 

 Poinca.re .stood for a strongly 

 nationalist policy. He was again 

 premier and minister for foreign 

 affairs 1922-1924. Poincare be- 

 came a member of the French 

 Academy in 1909, his principal 

 literary works consisting of his 

 speeches, e.g. Messages, Discours, 

 Allocutions, Lettres et Telegram- 

 mes, 2 vols., 1920. See Casket; 

 consult also Raymond Poincare, 

 H. Girard, 1913. 



John Parslow 



Poinding (A.S. pyndan, to 

 pound). In Scots law, the taking of 

 goods in execution or by way of 

 distress. It is either real, called 

 poinding of the ground, meaning 

 removal of effects on the land for 

 payment of a debt attaching to the 

 land, debitum fundi ; or personal, 

 seizure of movables for rent or 

 debt. The word is also applied to 

 the impounding of stray cattle. 



Poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcher- 

 rima). Shrub of the natural 

 order Euphorbiaceae, native of 

 Mexico. It has oval-elliptical leaves 

 and small greenish-yellow flowers. 

 There are a number of large leaf- 

 like bracts around the flowers, 

 coloured a brilliant vermilion. 



Point. Word used in a number 

 of senses. It is the tapering end 

 of any object, e.g. needle, pencil, 

 knife, and often merely the end, 

 e.g. the point of the nose. A stone- 

 cutter's tool used for smoothing 

 down rough surfaces is called a 

 point. In heraldry, it is a pile- 

 shaped charge, usually in the base 

 of a shield, formerly used as an 

 abatement. In railways, points are 

 the tapering ends of rails. 



The full stop in printing is 

 called a point or period. In 

 geometry, a point is defined as that 

 which has position but no magni- 

 tude. In games, points are units of 

 scoring, e.g. at billiards, cribbage ; 

 in stock exchange quotations they 

 are units in price quotations of 

 shares ; hi cricket and certain other 

 games point is the name given to 

 a player who stands in a certain 

 position on the field of play. In 

 hunting, point to point means 



