438 



THE STANDARD DICTIONARY OF FACTS 



is Left of the Old Doctrines," "Straight Shots at Young 

 Men," "Social Salvation," "The Practice of Immor- 

 tality," "Where Does the Sky Begin?" "Christianity 

 and Socialism." 



Gladstone, William Ewart (gl&d'stun), statesman, 

 orator, and scholar; born in Liverpool in 1809, son of 

 a Liverpool merchant, sometime of Leith, and of Ann. 

 daughter of Andrew Robertson. Stornoway; was edu- 

 cated at Eton and Oxford, and entered parliament in 

 1832, as member for Newark in the Tory interest. 

 Gladstone delivered his maiden speech on slavery eman- 

 cipation. May 17, 1833; accepted office under Sir Robert 

 Peel in 1834. and again in 1841 and 1846; and as mem- 

 ber for Oxford, separating from the Tory party, took 

 office under Lord Aberdeen, and, in 1859, under Lord 

 Palmerston, became chancellor of the exchequer; 

 elected member for South Lancashire in 1865, he became 

 leader of the Commons under Lord John Russell; 

 elected for Greenwich, he became premier for the first 

 time in 1869, holding office until 1875; after a brilliant 

 campaign in Midlothian, he was returned for that 

 county in 1880, and became premier for the second 

 time; became premier a third time in 1886, and a fourth 

 time in 1892. During his tenure of office, he intro- 

 duced and carried a great number of important meas- 

 ures, but failed from desertion in the Liberal ranks to 

 carry" his pet measure of home rule for Ireland, so he 

 retired from office into private life in 1895, and spent 

 his last days chiefly in literary work, the fruit of which, 

 added to earlier works, gives evidence of the breadth 

 of his sympathies and the extent of his scholarly attain- 

 ments; but, being seized by a fatal malady, his strong 

 constitution gradually sank under it, and he died at 

 Ha warden, May 19, 1898, and was buried in Westmin- 

 ster Abbey. 



Glasgow, Ellen Anderson Gholson, novelist; born 

 in Richmond, Va., April 22, 1874; private education. 

 Author: "The Descendant," "Phases of an Inferior 

 Planet," "The Voice of the People," "The Freeman 

 and Other Poems," "The Battle Ground," "The Deliv- 

 erance." 



Glenn, Robert Brodnax, governor, lawyer; born 

 in Rockingham County, N. C., August 11, 1854; edu- 

 cated by tutor at home, high school, Leaksyille, N. C., 

 Davidson College, N. C., University of Virginia, and 

 Pearson's Law School, Richwo^d Hill, N. C. Engaged 

 in general practice of law at Winston, N. C., since 1878, 

 of firm of Glenn, Moody & Hendren; was assistant 

 director for Southern Railway, attorney for Western 

 Union Telegraph Company, etc. Was member of legis- 

 lature, 1881; solicitor for State, 1886; elector for 

 Cleveland. 1884, 1892; district attorney for United 

 States, 1893-97; governor of North Carolina, 1905-09. 



Godfrey de Bouillon, crusader, King of Jerusalem; 

 set out in 1096; took Nicsea and Antioch in 1097; 

 defeated the Saracens next year, and, in 1099, after a 

 month's siege, took Jerusalem and slaughtered the 

 inhabitants. In the same year he was elected king, 

 but refused to assume the title, and won the battle of 

 Ascalon, dying, probably by poison, in 1100. 



Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von, German poet, 

 philosopher, and romance writer; was born in Frank- 

 fort-on-the-Main in 1749, of noble family, and received 

 a liberal education. At sixteen, he went to Leipzig to 

 study law, to which, however, he did not confine him- 

 self. After about two years' study of alchemy and 

 mystical writers, he went to Strasburg in 1769, where 

 he came under the influence of Herder and met Wagner. 

 On his return to Frankfort, two years later, he published 

 "Goetz vori Berlichingen " and " Lieder der Werther," 

 the latter of which was immensely popular. In 1775, 

 he went to Weimar, where the grand duke gave him 

 the office of chamberlain; and, in 1786, to Italy, where 

 he traveled for two years, and conceived some of his 

 greatest works. The dramas of " Iphigenia," " Egmont," 

 and "Torquato Tasso" were produced between 1786 

 and 1790, in which year also the first fragments of 

 "Faust" were published. In 1794, Goethe's botanical 

 researches brought him into connection with Schiller, 

 and in the same year he produced " Wilhelm Meister." 

 The results of his scientific studies were, besides "The 

 Metamorphosis of Plants," the " Beitrage zur Optik" 

 (1791-92), and a b9ok on the theory of color, " Farben- 

 lehre," published in 1810, in opposition to Newton's 

 theories. Meanwhile "Hermann und Dorothea" had 

 appeared in 1797, and the greater part of "Faust" in 

 1807, the latter not being finished till the year before 

 his death. Next year he accompanied the Grand Duke 

 of Weimar to Erfurt, and had an interview with Napo- 

 leon. During his last years he was occupied with his 

 autobiography. Died, 1832. 



Goldsmith, Oliver, born in 1728; English poet and 

 romance writer; son of a poor Irish clergyman of Pallas, 



Lohgford, went as sizar, in 1744, to Trinity College, 

 Dublin, where he led a miserable life till he took his 

 degree five years later. After this having failed to 

 obtain ordination, took pupils for a time, and lost his 

 money by extravagance he went to Edinburgh in 

 17.")L'. and from thence to Leyden; but, after staying 

 there a year, found himself penniless, and traveled to 

 London through France, Switzerland, and Northern 

 Italy, supporting himself by flute-playing. After a 

 precarious existence as a surgeon, an author, and a 

 literary hack, he produced, in 1759, his "Inquiry into 

 the Present State of Polite Learning in Europe." This 

 sold well, and gained for the author the acquaintance 

 of Dr. Johnson. Soon after he was engaged to contrib- 

 ute to the "Public Ledger," and the "Citizen of the 

 World," and among other contributions wrote the 

 "Letters from a Nobleman to His Son." "The Traveler" 

 followed in 1765, and "The Vicar of Wakefield" (sold 

 for fifty guineas only) in 1766, but Goldsmith was im- 

 provident as ever. As a dramatist he became known 

 as the writer of the " Good-Natured Man," brought out 

 at Covent Garden in 1768, and "She Stoops to Con<iuer " 

 in 1773, and as a poet by "The Deserted Village" 

 (1770), and his last work, "The Retaliation." lie 

 wrote numerous other works, among which may be 

 mentioned "Animated Nature." Died, 1774. 



Gompers, Samuel, president of American Federation 

 of Labor; born in England, January 27, 1850; cigar- 

 maker by trade; has been advocate of the rights of 

 labor, and connected with the efforts to organize the 

 working people since his 15th year; one of the founders 

 of American Federation of Labor and editor of its official 

 magazine; has written a number of pamphlets on the 

 labor question and the labor movement; with an inter- 

 mission of one year, has been president of American 

 Federation of Labor, since 1882. 



Goodwin, Nathaniel C., actor; born in Boston in 

 1857; studied under Wyzeman Marshall, then manager 

 of Boston Theater; went to New York and played in 

 "Law of New York," 1876, and later as Captain Cross- 

 tree in "Black-eyed Susan" (burlesque); starred in 

 Rice's "Evangeline," "Hobbies," "The Member from 

 Slocum," "InMizoura," "Nathan Hale," and other plays. 



Goodwin, William Watson, educator; born in 

 Concord, Mass., May 9, 1831; graduate of Harvard, 

 1851; studied at universities of Gottingen, Berlin, and 

 Bonn (Ph. D., Gottingen, 1855; LL. D., Amherst, 1881; 

 Cambridge, Eng., 1883; Columbia, 1887; Edinburgh 

 1890; Harvard, 1891; Chicago, 1901; Yale, 1901; 

 D. C. L., Oxford, Eng., 1890). Tutor at Harvard, 

 1856-60; first director of American School of Classical 

 Studies, Athens, Greece, 1882-83; knight of Greek Order 

 of the Redeemer; professor of Greek literature, Har- 

 vard, 1860-1901; professor emeritus since 1901; over- 

 seer of Harvard, 1903. Author: "Syntax of the Moods 

 and Tenses of the Greek Verb," "Greek Grammar." 

 Editor: "Demosthenes on the Crown." 



Goodyear, Charles, the inventor of vulcanized 

 rubber, was born in New Haven, Conn., in 1800. His 

 career was a troubled one; he failed as an iron-founder, 

 and when, after ten years' labor, amidst every disad- 

 vantage of poverty and privation, he, in 1844, produced 

 his new method of hardening rubber by means of sul- 

 phur, he became involved in a fresh series of troubles, 

 as well as poverty, consequent on the infringement of 

 his inventions. His patents latterly amounted to sixty, 

 and both medals and honors were awarded him in Lon- 

 don and Paris. Died, 1860. 



Gordon, George Angler, Congregational clergyman; 

 born in Scotland, January 2, 1853; educated in common 

 schools, Insch, Scotland; graduate of Harvard, 1881 

 (D. D., Bowdoin and Yale, 1893, Harvard, 1895); 

 Minister of Old South Church, Boston, since 1884; 

 lecturer in Lowell Institute Course, 1900; Lyman 

 Beecher lecturer, Yale, 1901. Author: "The Witness 

 to Immortality," "The Christ of To-day," "Immortality 

 and the New Theodicy," "The New Epoch for Faith/' 

 University preacher to Harvard, 1886-90; Yale, 

 1888-1901; 'Harvard overseer. 



Gordon, MaJor-General George Charles, born in 

 Woolwich, January 23, 1833; a distinguished military 

 commander and administrator, who was killed while 

 defending Khartoum against the forces of the Mahdi 

 during the expedition to the Soudan in 1884-85. He 

 had already distinguished himself in the course of the 

 Crimean War, and, subsequently, in China and in India. 

 From 1865 to 1871, he lived quietly at Gravesend, 

 devoting himself chiefly to works of philanthropy; but 

 in the latter year he was appointed British representa- 

 tive on the European Commission of the Danube, and, 

 two years later, governor of the equatorial provinces of 

 Egypt. He held this position, with marvelous success, 

 till the close of 1874, when he returned to England; 



