Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 2).djvu/659

Rh Benjamin Lundy, and the author of " The Xapo- lead," descriptive of Napoleon's campaign in Rus- sia (privately printed, 183o). Young Genin was early apprenticed to the trade of hat-making, and in 1841 began business for himself. On 11 Sept.. 1850, he bought, for $225, the first seat sold for Jenny Lind's first concert in the United States. This was so universally commented upon by the press that it was estimated that, at current rates, he received over $80,000 worth of gratuitous ad- vertising. In the autumn of 1851 it was an- nounced that Louis Kossuth was on his way to this country, and Mr. Genin proposed that 100 wealthy citizens should contribute $1,000 each for the use of the Hungarian patriot, and gave that amount himself. He was. also an active promoter of the public reception, which inchided a military parade. Having on hand a lot of " dead stock," in the shape of black low-crowned soft hats, he fastened the left side of the brim to the crown, or- namented it with a black feather, and. boarding the vessel at Sandy Hook, presented all of the refugees, many of whom were ragged and shoeless, with " Kossuth " hats, which they wore on the march up Broadway. Low-crowned soft felt hats at once became popular, and the manufacturers subsequently recognized Mr. Genin's services in their behalf by presenting him with a silver service valued at $1,200. In 18o2, Miss Amelia Bloomer complained to Mr. Genin that she could not find a hat suited to her costume. The latter set himself to invent one, and produced the first round hat, not a bonnet, that was worn by young women. During 1853, the lower part of Broadway being in a filthy condition, he proposed to the city authori- ties to erect a bridge opposite his store at his own expense. The oflier was rejected, but the Leow bridge, which was subsequently built on nearly the same site, was a fac-simile of that designed by Mr. Genin. His most public-spirited enterprise was the cleaning, in the spring of 1854, of Broadway and other streets, which had been left in an almost impassable condition by the neglect of the city officials. He employed over 100 men and carts, the work being done at night, and continued to perform this self-imposed duty for one month, only discontinuing it on the promise of the street commissioner to sweep Broadway nightly. The labor cost $1,548.70. and $1,255.33 of this amount having been subscribed by the public, Mr. Genin again received a large amount of free advertising for the small expenditure of $288.37. Mr. Genin was the author of a book entitled " History of the Hat from the Earliest Ages to the Present Time " (1847). It was profusely illustrated, and subse- quently enriched with drawings of over one thou- sand different styles of ancient head-dresses. From these he had more than 500 fac-similes made, and exhibited them in connection with his business.

GENNES, Julien, Count de, French navigator, b. in Vitre in 1052; d. in Plymouth. England, in 1704. He entered the French navy under the aus- pices of the Marechal de Vivonne, and, being sent on several missions, acquitted himself with such credit that he was promoted captain and named chevalier of the Order of St. Louis in 1677. He was also granted large pensions and an extensive tract of land in Cayenne, which the king created a county under the name of Corate d'Oyac. Some filibus- ters, who had sailed to the Straits of Magellan, pro- posed to De Gennes. on their return to France, to found a colony there. De Gennes went to Paris and organized a company for this purpose, the king placing six vessels at its disposal. The expedition, under command of De Gennes, sailed from La Rochelle, 3 June, 1695, entered the Straits of Ma- gellan, 11 Feb., 1696. and, having doubled Cape Forward, a bay not down on the charts was dis- covered and named French bay, and the river emptying into it De Gennes. Soon afterward De Gennes decided to return to France, leaving be- hind a small colony. Afterward he was made governor of the French part of the island of St. Christopher, and had only about 160 men with which to defend himself when the English began hostilities without going through the formality of declaring war. The latter having gathered a force of over 2,000 men, De Gennes, after negotiating, signed articles of capitulation, acting under the advice of twelve out of seventeen members of a council of war which he had called together. This advice was not that of the king's lieutenant, Val- meinier, and his ineffectual protest was made the basis of charges subsequently brought against the governor. . After prolonged discussions and re- criminations, the English finally took possession, 16 July. 1702. After vainly attempting to return for a time to Cayenne until the French court should have been informed of the truth regarding his capitulation, he was captured by a Dutch cruiser, taken to St. Thomas, and finally landed, in April, 1703, in Martinique, the very place he wished to avoid. Capt. de Machault, governor-general of the French West India islands, insisted on putting him on trial. De Gennes defended himself ener- getically, and would doubtless have been acquit- ted, had he not been imprudent enough to bring charges against three of his judges. In August, 1704, he was declared to be guilty of cowardice, de- graded from the nobility, and deprived of the cross of St. Louis and of all the other honors that had been conferred upon him. From this judgment he appealed to the king, and was on his way to France in the " Thetis," when that vessel was captured by the English and taken into Plymouth, where De Gennes died without being able to establish his in- nocence. No sooner, however, had Louis XIV. learned of his death than he bestowed large pen- sions on his widow and children, and restored De Gennes's titles. De Gennes had a taste for mathe- matics and mechanics. Among his inventions were cannon and mortars, arrows designed to per- forate and damage the sails of vessels in battle, and watches without springs or weights — all made of ivory. He also invented " a peacock that could walk and digest food," and many other curious de- vices that are said to have greatly pleased the king. He wrote " Relation d'un voyage fait en 1695 a '97 aux cotes d'Afrique, detroit de Magellan, etc.," etc. (Paris, 1699), and " Des ties sous le vent, leurs res- sources et leur avenir " (1701).

GENTH, Frederick Augustus L. C. W., chemist, b. in Waechtersbach, Hesse-Cassel, 17 May, 1820; d. in Philadelphia, Pa., 2 Feb., 1893. He studied at the Hanau gymnasium and at the University of Heidelberg, under Liebig at Giessen, and finally under Bunsen at Marburg, where he received the degree of Ph. D. in 1846. For three years he acted as assistant to Prof. Bunsen, and soon afterward came to the United States, where he continued to reside. In 1872 he was called to the chair of chemistry and mineralogy in the University of Pennsylvania. He has also held the office of chemist to the geological survey of Pennsylvania and also to the board of agriculture of that state. Prof. Genth was a member of many scientific societies in the United States, and was elected in 1872 to membership in the National academy of sciences. Prof. Benjamin Silliman, Jr., alluded to Genth as having &ldquo;no superior in this country as an analytical