Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 2).djvu/619

Rh 1808 he was appointed to command the channel fleet, and prepared a code of signals and general instructions tor the discipline of the navy. lie attacked the French squadron in Aix roads in 1809 and burned five of its ships. In consequence of a disagreement with Lord Cochrane, who had charge of the British fire-ships, Lord Gambler requested a court-martial, by which he was acquitted. In 1814 he was placed at the head of the commissioners to negotiate a treaty with the LTnited States, which was concluded at Ghent, 24 Dec, 1814. Subse- quently he lived in retirement, received the grand cross of the Bath in 1815, and was made admiral of the fleet on the accession of William IV.

GAMBLE, Hamilton Rowan, governor of Mis- souri, b. in Winchester, Va., 29 Nov., 1798 ; d. in Jefferson City, Mo., 31 Jan., 1864. His education was received principally at Hampden Sidney, and when about eighteen years of age he was admitted to the bar of Virginia. In 1818 he went to Missou- ri, and resided several years in Franklin, Howard CO. He was elected secretary of state in 1824, which oflice he held one year. He then became a successful lawyer in St. Louis, served on the bench from 1851 till 1855, and was presiding judge of the supreme court of Missouri. At one time he was a member of the state house of representatives. In 1861 he was elected to the State constitutional convention, which body appointed him provisional governor of Missouri, the regular governor, Claiborne F. Jackson, having joined the secession party. He held this office until his death. In the State con- vention of 1861, as chairman of the committee on Federal relations. Gov. Gamble made a report expressing a hope for an amicable adjustment of the existing difficulties without civil war. He pro- nounced the president's call for troops unconsti- tutional, and appealed to the legislature to unite for the preservation of the state. Later the gov- ernor was authorized to receive a loan of $500,000 and to purchase ammunition, and the state mili- tary was put under his command, On 12 June, 1861, he issued a proclamation calling into service 50,000 of the state militia "for the purpose of re- pelling invasion, and for the protection of the lives, liberty, and property of the citizens." On 12 June, 1862, the State convention passed a resolution ex- pressing confidence in the integrity and patriotism of the governor and state officers. On 13 June he submitted a message to the convention, declaring that he would furnish aid to any state that would adopt a measure of emancipation. On 23 July. Gov. Gamble summoned the militia to defend the state against Confederate guerillas. He called the adjourned State convention to reassemble in June, 1863, to consult and act on the subject of emanci- pation, and, after expressing a desire for peace, oft'ered his resignation, which was not accepted. Gov. Gamble in 1838 organized the 2d Presbyte- rian church in St. Louis.

GAMBLE, James, jurist, b. in Lycoming countv. Pa., 28 Jan., 1809 ; d. in Williamspirt, Pa., 22 Feb., 1882. He received a public-school education, stud- ied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1832. He was elected to the legislature in 1841, and re-elect- ed in the following year, serving as chairman of the committee of ways and means, when the ap- propriation for the Portage railroad over the Alle- ghany mountains was made. He was then elected to congress as a Democrat, serving from 1851 till 1855. He was made president-judge of the district composed of Clinton, Centre, and Clearfield coun- ties in 1859, but retired to private life in the fol- lowing year. He was elected px'esident-judge of Lycoming district in 1868, and served ten years.

GAMBLE, Thomas, naval officer, d. 10 Oct., 1818. He was the son of Maj. William Gamble, an officer of the Revolution. The son was ap- pointed midshipman in 1804, lieutenant in 1810, and commander in 1816. He died while command- ing the "Erie " in the Mediterranean.— His brother, John M., b. about 1791 ; d. in Brooklyn, N. Y., 11 Sept., 1836, was appointed midshipman, and 2d lieutenant of the marine corps in 1809. He be- came 1st lieutenant in 1811, captain in 1814, ma- jor by brevet in 1816, major in 1834, and lieuten- ant-colonel by brevet, 3 March, 1827. — Another brother, Peter, d. 11 Sept., 1814, was appointed midshipman in 1809 and became lieutenant in 1814. He was killed in the battle of Lake Cham- plain, while acting 1st lieutenant of the flag-ship. — Another brother, Francis Gr., an officer in the U. S. navy, died in the West Indies, 29 Se[)t., 1824.

GAMBOA, Erancisco Javier (gam-bo'-ah), Mexican lawyer, b. in Guadalajara, 17 Dec, 1717; d. in the city of Mexico, 4 June, 1794. He came of a rich family, but was left an orphan in his early youth, and his fortune was squandered by the executors. He began his studies at the College of San Juan, in his native city, continued at that of San Ildefonso, Mexico, and finished them in the university of that city in 1739. He then entered the practice of law, and soon became famous by his successful defence of a complicated suit. In May, 1755, he was sent by the tribunal of commerce on a commission to Madrid, to arrange some intricate questions at court, and there studied mining engi- neering, afterward writing a treatise on subterra- nean geometry, which appeared as part of his work on law. He was treated with distinction by Charles III., and commissioned president of the supreme court of Santo Domingo, where he ar- ranged the ordinances of the court, and composed the famous " Black Code " for the government of the slaves. On being promoted to the presidency of the supreme court of Mexico, he reformed the forensic practice, introduced a clear style of plead- ing, and was the founder of a new school of jurists. To simplify the proceedings still further, he la- bored for many years on a codification of the min- ing laws, which appeared under the title of " Com- entarios a las ordenanzas de minas, dedicadas al Rey Don Carlos III." (Madrid, 17G1), accompanied by an aljiluiljetieal list of mines, their distance from the capital, and of the most common mining terms of the province, that difl'er from those used in Spain. The arguments in two of the most fa- mous lawsuits that he defended were pi'inted (Mexico, 1753 and 1754), and he left many manu- scripts, which are preserved in the National librarv.

GAMMELL, William, educator, b. in Medfield. Mass., 10 Feb., 1812; d. in Providence, K. I., 3 April, 1889. He was graduated at Brown in 1831, and was a tutor there. He was chosen professor of rhetoric and English literature in 1835, and in 1880 was transferred to the chair of history and political economy. In 1859 Rochester university gave him the degree of LL. D. Prof. Gammell's service in Brown university covered a term of thirty years. After his retirement from the university in 1864 he devoted much attention to the affairs of various educational and charitable institutions. He was the author of a life of Roger Williams (Boston, 1846), and one of Gov. Samuel Ward, for Sparks's " American Biographies " ; also a " History of American Baptist Missions," at the request of the American Baptist missionary union. For a time he was one of the editors of the "Christian Review," and he also contributed extensively to that and various other periodicals.