Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 4).djvu/538

498 NEUVILLE, Philippe Buache de la, French geographer, b. in Neuville-en-Pont, 7 Feb., 1700; d. in Paris, 24 Jan., 1773. He was a pupil of Guillaume Delisle, and succeeded him in the Academy of sciences in 1730. He invented a new system of geography, which, although defective in many instances, contributed greatly toward the progress of that science, and popularized it. By a careful study of the map of the earth he became convinced that a connection existed in Bering strait between Asia and America, and he placed on his map the peninsula of Alaska and the Aleutian islands long before their discovery. After reading the narrative of Admiral de Fuente (q. v.) he drew a chart of the western coast of North America, then almost unknown, which was valuable to navigators. He affirmed also that a continent or large islands existed in the vicinity of the south pole. Among his works are &ldquo;Considérations géographiques et physiques sur les découvertes nouvelles dans la grande mer,&rdquo; which contains a chart of the western coast of North America (Paris, 1754); &ldquo;Le parallèle des fleuves des quatre parties du monde pour servir a déterminer la hauteur des montagnes&rdquo; (1757); &ldquo;Mémoire sur la traversée de la mer glaciale arctique,&rdquo; which contains his hypothesis of an Alaskan peninsula (1759); and &ldquo;Considérations géographiques sur les terres australes et antarctiques&rdquo; (1761). &mdash; His nephew, Jean Nicolas, b. in Neuville-en-Pont, 15 Feb., 1741; d. in Paris, 21 Nov., 1825, taught geography to Louis XVI., Louis XVIII., and Charles X., was afterward keeper of the marine charts and log-books in the navy department, and, being elected to the Academy of sciences in 1782, prepared the charts for the unfortunate expedition of La Pérouse (q. v.) to the South sea. Among his works are &ldquo;Mémoire sur la terre des Arsacides,&rdquo; in which he claims that Surville discovered the Salomon islands before Mendana de Neyra (Paris, 1781); and &ldquo;Considérations sur les limites méridionales de la Guiane Française&rdquo; (1797), in which he urged the government to claim a tract of land 150 miles large, which he affirmed belonged to Guiana. This work contained also a map of Guiana which provoked complications with Portugal, and the &ldquo;Directory&rdquo; was at one time on the eve of declaring war with the latter country. The difficulties that were raised by Buache de la Neuville's work were brought to an end only under the reign of Louis Philippe. He also wrote &ldquo;Mémoire sur les découvertes faites par la Pérouse&rdquo; (1798); &ldquo;Recherches sur l'ile Juan de Lisboa&rdquo; (1801); &ldquo;Recherches sur l'ile Antilla et sur l'époque de la découverte de l'Amérique&rdquo; (1806); and &ldquo;Observations sur quelques iles situées entre le Japon et la Californie&rdquo; (1809).

NEUVILLE, Chevalier de la, soldier, b. about 1740; d. about 1800. In 1777 he and his younger brother Normiont arrived in this country and offered their services to congress. He had been for more than twenty years an officer, brought letters that recommended him for his zeal, activity, and knowledge in the French service, and also bore high testimonials to Gen. Washington. On 14 May, 1778, he was appointed an inspector of the army under Gen. Horatio Gates, with the promise of rank according to his merit at the end of three months. He was a good officer but a strict disciplinarian, and was not popular with the army. Failing to receive promotion to the rank he expected after six months' service, he applied for permission to retire, which was granted, and on 4 Dec., 1778, congress passed an order that a certificate be given him by the president in these words: &ldquo;M. de la Neuville, having served with

fidelity and reputation in the army of the United States, in testimony of his merit, a brevet commission of brigadier has been granted him by congress, and, on his request, he is permitted to leave the service of the States and return to France.&rdquo; He formed a strong attachment for Gen. Gates while under his command, and corresponded with him after leaving the country. In one of his letters he says that he had applied for permission to return to America in vain, and announced his intention of doing so, &ldquo;not as a general but as a philosopher,&rdquo; and of purchasing a residence near that of Gen. Gates. He did not revisit this country, and his subsequent history is lost. &mdash; His brother, Normiont, served in two campaigns with credit, was appointed a major, and afterward lieutenant-colonel by brevet, and returned to France in 1779.

NEU-WIED, Alexander Maximilian (noy-veet), Prince of, b. in Neu-Wied, Germany, 23 Sept., 1782; d. there, 3 Feb., 1867. He served in the Prussian army until 1806, when he was retired as a major-general, and gave himself to the study of natural science. In 1815 he made a voyage to Rio Janeiro for the purpose of exploring the interior of Brazil. In 1816 he reached the Morro d'Arrara, and found the tribe of the Botocudos, about which he gave exact details for the first time. On account of the war among the different tribes of the country he was obliged to abandon his original route, and retired to Villaviçosa, remaining for some time near the ruins that he had discovered in Jonassoma. North of the river Belmonte he made his way through the woods, and after many difficulties arrived in the province of Minas-Geraes. His delicate health forced him to abandon his expedition, but on arriving at Nazareth he was detained by unfounded suspicions for three days, and robbed of a large part of his collection of insects and plants. After this he resolved to leave the country, and embarked for Germany on 10 May, 1817. In 1833 he travelled through the western part of North America to the Rocky mountains, collecting a large quantity of specimens in natural history, and having views taken by the artists that accompanied him. His zoölogical collection, embracing rare specimens of the South American fauna, is now in the American museum of natural history, New York. He wrote &ldquo;Reise nach Brasilien in den Jahren 1815-1817&rdquo; (Frankfort, 1819-'20); &ldquo;Abbildungen zur Naturgeschichte Brasiliens&rdquo; (Weimar, 1823); &ldquo;Beiträge zur Naturgeschichte Brasiliens&rdquo; (1824); and &ldquo;Reise durch Nordamerika&rdquo; (Coblentz, 1838; English translation, London, 1843).

NEVADA, Emma Wixom, singer, b. in Nevada City, Cal., in 1861. Her name is Wixom, but she has adopted that of her native city for her stage name. She was educated at Austin, Texas, and in San Francisco, and, after studying in Vienna under Mme. Marchesi, first appeared at Her Majesty's theatre, London, in 1880, and subsequently with success in the principal European cities. She has an extensive repertoire, including principally Italian operas, but she has also appeared in oratorio in England. She sang in &ldquo;La Sonnambula&rdquo; at her first appearance in New York in 1884.

NEVES, Jose Joaqnim de Andrade (nay-ves), Baron do Triumpho, Brazilian soldier, b. in Rio Pardo, 22 Jan., 1807 ; d. in Asuncion, Paraguay, 6 Jan., 1869. At the beginning of the revolution in 1835 he took up arms on the side of the government, and before 1843 participated in fourteen battles, finally accomplishing the pacification of his province. During the war with Juan Manuel de Rosas he served as commander of the 7th brigade of cavalry in Uruguay in 1851-'2, and was pro-