MORTON 



3960 



MOSBY 



MORTON, OLIVER PERRY (1823-1877), an 

 American political leader, who, as governor of 

 Indiana, rendered valuable service by his active 

 support of the Federal government, during the 

 trying period of the War of Secession. Born in 

 Wayne County, Indiana, he studied law and 

 was admitted to the bar in 1847. Owing to his 

 opposition to th- -Nebraska Hill (which 



see), he left the Democratic party and became 

 the first Republican candidate for governor of 

 Indiana. He wafl drtY-ated. but was elected 

 lieutenant-governor in 1860, succeeding to the 

 governorship the following year. He was re- 

 elected in 1864. Three years later he entered 

 the United States Senate. In 1876 he was a 

 candidate for the Republican nomination for 

 IIT. and the following year served on the 

 electoral commission which decided the contest 

 between Hayes and Tilden for the Presidency. 

 See ELECTORAL COMMISSION. 



MORTON, WILLIAM JAMES (1845- ), an 

 American physician who made a notable contri- 

 bution to the progress of medicine and surgery 

 by devising an electric current for producing 

 the X-ray (see ROENTGEN RAYS). He is the 

 son of William T. G. Morton, the physician 

 who brought ether into general use as an 

 anesthetic. Dr. Morton was graduated at Har- 

 vard University in 1867, and in 1872 received 

 his professional degree from Harvard Medical 

 School. Thereafter he practiced in Maine, at 

 Boston and at Kimberley, South Africa. Re- 

 turning finally to America, he became editor of 

 the New York Journal of Nervous and Mental 

 ' s, and in 1890 was appointed professor 

 of nervous diseases at the New York Post- 

 graduate Medical School. In January, 1913, he 

 and Julian Hawthorne were found guilty of 

 violating United States postal laws in connec- 

 tion with their exploitation of certain mines in 

 Canada. Dr. Morton, after a few months' im- 

 prisonment, was pardoned by President Wilson 

 and restored to full rights of citizenship. 



MORTON, WILLIAM THOMAS GREEN (1819- 

 1868), an American dentist, born in Charleton, 

 Mass., the first man to bring ether into general 

 use as an anesthetic. The first notable opera- 

 tion in which he made use of ether was per- 

 formed by him in 1846, in the Massachusetts 

 General Hospital. To him also is due the in- 

 vention of many improved and painless methods 

 in dentistry. After difficult, painstaking experi- 

 ments he made known his successful results, 

 only to have Doctor C. T. Jackson, a rival 

 dentist, also claim the honor of the discoveries. 

 Therefore the Montyon prize of the French 



Academy was awarded equally to the two. Dr. 

 Morton, however, refused to accept his share. 

 The American government utilized his inven- 

 tion, and he claimed a right to adequate pay- 

 ment. Thi< was denied him. and he spent 

 much of his later life in unsuccessful lawsuits 

 and contests. See KTIIKK; ANESTHETIC. 



MOSAIC, tnoza'ik, in its commonest appli- 

 cation, is a floor or wall decoration made by 

 fitting together in cement small pieces of hard 

 'substances, such as stone or glass. The mate- 

 rial used distinguishes mosaics from inl 



EXAMPLES OF MOSAICS 



wood, ivory and the like. For floors of rooms, 

 stone or cement shapes are commonly em- 

 ployed, usually in two or more colors. While 

 this art is practical for the above purposes, it 

 may also be used for decorative designs, col- 

 ored glass and artificial stones being used. The 

 workmanship in this branch of the art may be 

 so accurate as to imitate paintings, tapestries, 

 etc. Excellent reproductions of the paintings 

 of artists have been executed in mosaic. Some 

 of the finest effects in this art are to be seen in 

 Saint Paul's and Saint Peter's in Rome, in 

 Saint Mark's in Venice and in the Capitoline 

 Museum in Rome. A branch of the art, known 

 as Florentine mosaic, employs stones and shells 

 in their natural color to make such articles as 

 jewelry and personal ornaments. 

 MOSBY, mohz'bi, JOHN SINGLETON (1833- 

 ), an American public man, who, though 

 educated for the profession of law, won renown 

 in the War of Secession as leader of an inde- 

 pendent band of cavalry. He was born in Pow- 

 hatan County, Va., graduated from the Uni- 

 versity of Virginia in 1852 and admitted to the 

 bar three years later. At the outbreak of the 

 war he left his practice in Bristol, Va., and joined 

 the Confederate army. He served in the cam- 

 paign of General Joseph E. Johnston in the 

 Shenandoah Valley, and in 1862 became com- 

 mander of "Mosby's partisan rangers," a com- 

 pany of horsemen who caused great damage by 

 destroying supply trains and cutting communi- 



