Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1892, volume 3).djvu/581

Rh stitntion of Wisconsin, regent of the state uni- versity, and a member of the board of visitors to the U. S. military academy in 1849. lie was U. S. minister to Rome from 22 March till 5 Aug., 1861, but resigned, as he had offered his services in de- fence of the Union. He was made brigadier-gen- eral of volunteers, 17 May, 1861, and commanded a division at Fredericksburg, Groveton, Manassas, Yorktown, and Fairfax, remaining in the army un- til 1863, when he was reappointed minister to Rome, where he resided until 1867. During the next two years he acted as deputy comptroller of customs for the port of New York, but for some time before his death he had retired from public life on account of failing health. — Charles, soldier, son of Gen. Rufus, b. in Albany, N. Y., 12 Oct., 1844, was educated at Columbia and at the IT. S. military academy, where he was graduated in June, 1866, and assigned to the 1st artillery. He was transferred to the 5th cavalrv, 1 Jan., 1871. and from 4 Sept., 1869, till 24 Oct. 1871, was assistant instructor of tactics at the U. S. military academy. He served as aide-de-camp to Gen. William H. Emory from November, 1871, till January. 1874, and as acting judge-advocate. Department of the Gulf, for about the same period. He was princi- pally engaged on frontier duty from 1874 till 1877, and was severely wounded at Sunset Pass, Arizona, 1 Nov., 1874. He was regimental adjutant from 5 Oct., 1876, till 28 Jan., 1878. and was promoted captain, 1 May, 1879. On the 14th of the following month he was compelled to retire from active ser- vice on account of his wounds, and in 1880 he ac- cepted the chair of military science in the Uni- versity of Wisconsin. Capt. King is the author of "The Colonel's Daughter" (Philadelphia, 1882); "Famous and Decisive Battles" (1884); '"Marion's Faith" (1885); and "The Deserter" (1887).

KING, Rufus H., banker, b. in Ridgefield, Conn., in 1784; d. in Albany, N. Y., 9 July, 1867. He was the son of Joshua King, an officer of the Revolutionary army, to whom Andre first revealed his identity. The son removed to Albany when a j'oung man and engaged in business. He became afterward the director and president of the state bank in that city, and remained connected with it for nearly forty years. He was noted for his liberalitv. — His brother, Joshua Ingersoll, b. in Ridgefield, Conn., in 1801 ; d. there, 30 July. 1887, was at one time in business with his brother Rufus in Albany, but for nearly half a century before his death resided in the family homestead at Ridgefield. He was distinguished for his courteous manners, was a stanch Republican, and represented his district as senator in the Connecti- cut legislature of 1849. KING, Samuel, artist, b. in Newport, R. I., 24 Jan., 1749; d. there, 1 Jan., 1820. He derived de- scent from Daniel King, of Lynn, Mass., who was a settler there as early as 1647, and a large land- owner. Samuel was an artist of skill in his day, and many specimens of his work are extant, in- cluding a portrait of himself, which is now in pos- session of a descendant. Washington Allston was a lad at school in Newport for some ten years, and, during that time became acquainted with Mr. King, who, recognizing his talent, instructed him in the rudiments of art. The aid and encourage- men that Allston thus received were probably largely instrumental in deciding his career, and when in 1809 he returned from Europe, an accom- plished artist, he did not forget to acknowledge the friendly assistance he had received from Mr. King. Malbone, the portrait-painter, of Newport, and Miss Anne Hall, an accomplished artist, were also pupils of Mr. King. — His son, Samuel, be- came a successful East India merchant, and was senior partner of the firm of King and Olyphant as early as 1803. — The second Samuel's grand- son, Clarence, geologist, b. in Newport, R. I., 6 Jan., 1842, was graduated at the Sheffield scien- tific school of Yale in 1862, and during the fol- lowing year crossed the continent on horseback from the Missouri river to California, where he joined the geological survey of that state. His connection with this work continued until 1866, chiefly in the high Sierra, and he carefully studied the gold belt. His palaeontological discoveries furnished the evidence on which rests the determi- nation of the age of the gold-bearing rocks. On his return to the east, he originated an elaborate plan for a complete geological section of the west- ern Cordillera system at the widest expansion on the fortieth parallel. The Union and the Central Pacific railroads were projected to lie generally in the vicinity of that parallel, and the opening up of this territory to settlement was the economic rea- son urged for the initiation of the new expedition. The plans received the sanction of the chief of en- gineers and of the secretary of war, and in March, 1867, after the necessary legislation was secured, Mr. King was given charge of the expedition. Ac- companied by a large staff of his own selection, wholly civilian, he took the field in 1867. and until 1872 prosecuted the work in accordance with the original plans and instructions. The publication of his reports was begun in 1870 and completed in 1878. They are issued as " Professional Papers of the Engineer Department, U. S. Army," in ^excn quarto volumes and two atlases, of which vol. i., on " Systematic Geology " (Washington, 1878), was written by Mr. King. His exposure of the fraudulent diamond-field in 1872 was characteris- tic. Large quantities of precious stone, subse- quently shown to have been purchased in London, were carefully "salted" in the west, and the story of a discovery of new diamond-fields of unparal- leled richness was circulated throughout the United States. Mr. King hastened to the locality, which was within the jurisdiction of his survey, and promptly exposed the unnatural character of the alleged deposits. In 1878 the national surveys then in the field, organized under different depart- ments of the government, were at his suggestion consolidated into the U. S. geological survey, and the directorship was given to Mr. King, who ac- cepted the office with the understanding that he should remain at the head of the bureau only long enough to appoint its staff, to organize its work, and to guide its forces into full activity. This consolidation, effected very largely through Mr. King's personal efforts in obtaining the req- uisite acts of congress in the face of strong and bitter opposition, was one of the most important acts of his career. He resigned the office in 1881, and has since devoted himself to the pursuit of special geological investigations. Mr. King is a member of scientific societies in the United States and in Europe, and in 1876 was elected to the Na- tional academy of sciences. He has contributed to current literature, and is the author of " Moun- taineering in the Sierra Nevada" (Boston, 1871).

KING, Samuel Archer, aëronaut, b. near Philadelphia, Pa., 9 April, 1828. When a boy he was fond of climbing to the greatest heights possible, to satisfy his passion for viewing extended landscapes. Soon after attaining his majority he constructed a balloon. His first ascension was made on 25 Sept., 1851, from Philadelphia; but, in consequence of a scant supply of gas, it proved