ITURBIDE 



3088 



IVORY 



construct the constitution which forms the 

 basis for the present government. He directed 

 Japan's foreign affairs during the war with 

 China in 1894, and soon after the outbreak of 

 the Russo-Japanese War went to Korea as 

 special adviser to the emperor, where he later 

 was stationed as resident-general, and as such 

 was practical ruler of the country, which later 

 became a Japanese province. In 1901, during 

 another visit to the United States, the degree 

 of LL.D. was conferred upon him by Yale 

 University. During the discharge of his duties 

 he was assassinated by a Korean at Harbin. 



ITURBIDE, eetoorbe'tha, AGUSTIN DE 

 (1783-1824), a Mexican revolutionist who after- 

 wards became emperor. He was noted as the 

 originator of the "Plan of Iguala" by which 

 he proposed to establish the independence of 

 Mexico under a Spanish Bourbon prince. He 

 was born at Valladolid, Spain, but early in 

 life went to Mexico, then a Spanish province. 

 In 1810 he served as lieutenant in a local regi- 

 ment, but in 1820, on the breaking out of an 

 insurrection, he joined the royalist forces in 

 which cause he displayed such valor and ability 

 that he was promoted to the command of the 

 northern army. The "Plan of Iguala" aroused 

 much opposition, which Iturbide quickly over- 

 came, with the result that in 1822 he was pro- 

 claimed emperor of Mexico under the name 

 of Agustin I. The Mexican Congress de- 

 clared the throne hereditary in his family, and 

 voted him a yearly allowance of $1,500,000. In 

 less than a year, however, the country was 

 torn by civil strife and insurrection, and in 

 1823 Iturbide was forced to abdicate. He was 

 allowed to retire to Europe with a generous 

 pension, on condition that he should not re- 

 turn. A year later he attempted to enter 

 Mexico, hoping to recover his crown, but was 

 arrested and shot. See MEXICO, subtitle His- 

 tory. 



IVAN, ee vahn' , the Russian word for John, 

 is the name of several rulers distinguished in 

 the history of Russia, the most noted being 

 the Grand Dukes Ivan III and Ivan IV, who 

 laid the foundations of the empire, which ex- 

 isted until 1917. 



Ivan III, the Great (1440-1505), was the real 

 founder of the Russian empire. His reign saw 

 the beginning of expansion and of important 

 diplomatic relations with Western Europe, re- 

 sulting in a strengthening of the idea of na- 

 tional unity. He conquered Novgorod in 1477, 

 increased the power of Moscow, assumed the 

 title of emperor, and after his marriage to 



Sophia, niece of the Byzantine emperor, added 

 the double eagle to the Russian coat of arms. 



Ivan IV, the Terrible (1530-1584), the first 

 ruler to assume the title of czar, was crowned 

 in 1547. His reign was a continual struggle 

 with the privileged members of the aristocracy, 

 who had controlled the government during his 

 youth. Under the guidance of his "chosen 

 council" and the Sobor, or National Assembly, 

 a new code of laws was formed which radically 

 reformed and improved local self-government 

 and administration. He invited learned men 

 and artists to Russia, established commercial 

 relations with England, and toward the end of 

 his reign conquered Siberia. Nevertheless, the 

 name Terrible was well earned, for in war and 

 dealing with insurrections, he was extremely 

 cruel. 



IVORY, i'vori, the substance of which the 

 tusks of elephants is composed. Ivory is char- 

 acterized by a beautiful white color, delicate 

 translucency, perfect elasticity, hardness of 

 texture and capability of receiving a high pol- 

 ish. Moreover, it is a substance which can be 

 readily used for the most delicate work which 

 the carver's or sculptor's art can produce. 



Sources of Supply. The best ivory comes 

 from equatorial Africa. The tusks of a male 

 elephant are larger than those of the female; 

 they vary in length from about eight feet 

 upward and weigh from about fifty to 150 

 pounds each; but sometimes specimens are 

 found which greatly exceed these dimensions. 

 The tusks of the Indian elephant are much 

 smaller. Great quantities of ivory come from 

 Siberia. These are the fossil remains of the 

 tusks of the mammoth and the mastodon, 

 great animals that existed in prehistoric times 

 (see MAMMOTH; MASTODON). The tusks of 

 these animals have been hidden and preserved 

 in the frozen ground for thousands of years, 

 and are now being extracted in some such way 

 as coal is taken from a coal mine. This is 

 known as dead ivory, and it is not of such 

 good quality as the ivory of present-day ele- 

 phants; however, some of these buried tusks 

 are remarkably well preserved. The chief mar- 

 kets for the sale of ivory are London, Antwerp 

 and Liverpool. 



Its Uses. To-day ivory is used for the manu- 

 facture of a great number of articles, and it 

 has in consequence a high commercial value. 

 Billiard balls, piano keys, knife and cutlery 

 handles, combs, toilet devices and ornamental 

 articles of various kinds are among the objects 

 made from ivory. The highest quality of ivory 



