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Nord′hoff, Charles, an American author, was born at Erwitte,, Aug. 31, 1830. He came to the United States with his parents when a child of five years, and was educated at. He entered the United States navy in 1844, and during a service of three years made a voyage around the world. He became a journalist, first at Philadelphia and later at. From 1861 to 1871 he was editorial writer for the New York Evening Post. The next two years he spent in travel through  and the. He then became Washington correspondent for the New York Herald. His principal works are A Man-of-War Life, The Merchant Vessel, Whaling and Fishing, Stories of an Island World, Cape Cod and All Along Shore, California, Politics for Young Americans and The Communistic Societies of the United States.

Nor′dica, Lillian, the stage name of Mrs. Zoltan F. Döme, an American prima donna, who was born at Farmington, Me., in 1859. Her musical education was pursued at the New England Conservatory, Boston, and her later studies at,. She made her début as an opera singer at Brescia, Italy, in La Traviata. In 1887 she appeared in  with marked success, following up her triumphs in  by others at  and various European capitals. Mme. Nordica has sung leading parts in forty operas and in all standard oratorios. She was married first to F. A. Gower; second (1896) to Herr Döme, whom she divorced in 1904.

Nor′folk, Va., a city and port, stands on the right bank of the Elizabeth River, about eight miles from Hampton Roads. It is built irregularly on low ground, but has a large, deep harbor, defended by Fort Calhoun and Fortress Monroe. The city contains a city hall, mechanics’ and masons’ hall, custom house, military academy and seminary; it has an excellent system of public schools and owns eighteen buildings. Norfolk ships cotton, oysters and early fruits, is the largest peanut market in the world, and is the fourth cotton port of the U. S. It is served by eleven railroads, which find their deep-water terminus here. The place was burned by the British in 1776, and was the scene of the battle between the Monitor and Merrimac. Population 67,452.

Nor′mal Schools. From time to time throughout the history of education, the need of special training for teachers has been emphasized. This training aimed, however, until comparatively modern times, at better mastery of subjects to be taught, and was not obtained in schools especially devoted to the science and art of teaching. The Jesuits were famous for the care with which their teachers were selected, for the thoroughness of their training in subject matter and for their system of apprenticeship in teaching. Mulcaster (1548–1611), an English schoolmaster, urged that the universities provide professional courses for teachers. In 1685 La Salle, the founder of the Institute of the Brethren of the Christian Schools, established at an institution for the training of elementary teachers, very likely the first of the kind. Special training of teachers was begun at by the educational reformer, Francke, in 1697. His plans were further developed by his pupil, Hecter, and fostered by Frederick the Great of. The present normal school system of Prussia was established in 1819. Elementary teachers in Prussia are to-day nearly all graduates of these normal schools. In the National Normal School was founded in 1795. Normal schools became general after 1832, and to-day about two thirds of the elementary teachers of France have graduated from them. In both Prussia and France students are supported while in attendance upon normal schools. After graduation they are required to teach. Both countries maintain two grades of schools for teachers. The lower one gives to graduates of the elementary schools a three years’ course that prepares them for elementary teaching. Upon graduation they are appointed, at first on probation, when, if successful, they receive permanent certificates. In Germany most of the secondary teachers are trained in the teachers’ seminaries, which are connected with gymnasiums or universities and as a rule give a course of one year’s teaching and one year of practice. France possesses two higher normal schools, giving courses of two and three years respectively, which prepare teachers for the primary normal and the superior normal schools. The normal schools in sprang out of an effort to improve the teaching done in the schools of the great charitable public school societies. In 1839 money was granted by the government to be used by them in establishing training colleges. From these are derived a large part of the teachers in the public elementary schools of England to-day. They still remain, as originally, under denominational control. In the United States the first public normal school was established at Lexington, Massachusetts, in 1839. It was the result of agitation in behalf of better training for teachers begun

Image: LILLIAN NORDICA