Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VIII.djvu/823

 HOOK p, to adopt his own words, "done up in mrse, in mind, and in body." In 1849 appear- the " Life and Remains of Theodore Hook," ay the Rev. Mr. Barham (2 vols. 8vo). HOOK, Walter Farqnbar, an English clergy- nephew of Theodore Hook, born in Lon- >n in 1798. He graduated at Christchurch, >xford, in 1821, and was successively curate Whippingham, Isle of Wight, and in Bir- lingham, and vicar of Trinity church, Coven- ry, till 1837, when he was made vicar of Leeds. Here, during his incumbency of 22 years, 21 new churches, 32 parsonages, and more than 60 schools were erected in his parish, chiefly through his instrumentality. He was especially popular among the working classes. In 1859 he became dean of Chichester, and in 1862 a fellow of the royal society. He was appointed chaplain in ordinary to George IV. in 1827, and retained the office under William IV. and Victoria, preaching on the accession of the latter, from the text "Hear the church," a sermon of which more than 100,000 copies were sold in a month. He has published " An Ecclesiastical Biography" (8 vols., London, 1845-'52); "A Church Dictionary" (8th ed., 1859) ; " Sermons Suggested by the Miracles of our Lord" (2 vols., 1847); "Lives of the Archbishops of Canterbury " (9 vols. published, 1860 et seq.) ; and numerous pamphlets. HOOKE, Nathaniel, a British historian, born in Ireland about 1690, died July 19, 1763. He lost his fortune in the South sea speculation, and was then engaged by the duchess of Marl- borough to assist in writing her memoirs (1742), for 5,000. Being a zealous Catholic, he attempted her conversion, and a quarrel was the consequence. He was a friend of Pope, and brought a priest to hear the confes- sion of the poet in his last hours. He wrote "The Roman History, from the Building of Rome to the Ruin of the Commonwealth " (4 vols. 4to, 1757-'71). HOOKE, Robert, an English mathematician, horn at Freshwater, Isle of Wight, July 18, 1635, died at Gresham college, London, March 3, 1703. His father, a clergyman, destined him for the church ; but his health being too feeble for study, he devoted his leisure to in- vention. In 1655 he was appointed assistant in chemistry to Dr. Thomas Willis at Oxford, and in 1664 he became professor of geometry in Gresham college, and first Cutlerian profes- sor of mechanics in the royal society. In 1666, having produced a model for the rebuilding of London after the great fire, he was appointed city surveyor; but his plan was not carried into execution. In 1677 he succeeded Olden- burg as secretary of the royal society. In 1691 he was made a doctor of physic by a warrant from Archbishop Tillotson. He made a prac- tical improvement in the pendulum attached to clocks, causing it to swing in small arcs by the application of the recoil escapement. (See CLOCKS AND WATCHES, vol. iv., p. 698.) He also applied himself to devise means to regulate HOOKER 805 watches, and when Huygens had some watches constructed, the balances of which were regu- lated by a spiral spring, Hooke accused Olden- burg, secretary to the royal society, of having communicated to strangers discoveries depos- ited in the society registers. But that the ap- plication is due to Huygens, is not only appa- rent from a perusal of the latter's description in his Machince qucedam et Mechanicam pub- lished in 1675, but is proved by other evi- dence. On the publication of Newton's Prin- cipia, he also claimed the previous discovery of the principle of gravitation. He was jealous of all other inventors, and was involved in con- tinual disputes concerning different inventions, generally pretending that they were all taken from ideas of his own. He left numerous works, among which is his " Micrographia, or Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies made by Magnifying Glasses" (London, 1665). His " Posthumous Works, containing his Cut- lerian Lectures and other Philosophical Dis- courses," was published in London in 1705. HOOKER, Joseph, an American soldier, born at Hadley, Mass., in 1815. He graduated at West Point in 1837, served in the Florida war and in the war with Mexico, and was succes- sively brevetted as captain, major, and lieuten- ant colonel for gallant and meritorious con- duct in the battles of Monterey, the National Bridge, and Chapultepec. He was on leave of absence from 1851 to 1853, when he re- signed his commission and became a farmer in California, serving also in 1858-'9 as superin- tendent of military roads in Oregon. He re- entered the service at the beginning of the civil war, was appointed brigadier general of volunteers March 17, 1861, and was employed in the neighborhood of Washington till March, 1862, when he was placed in command of a division of the army of the Potomac. He was made major general of volunteers May 5, and took an active part in McClellan's pen- insular campaign, especially at the battles of Williamsburg, Fair Oaks, Frazier's Farm, and Malvern Hill, and in the subsequent campaign at Bristoe Station, the second battle of Bull Run, Chantilly, South Mountain, and Antie- tam, where he was wounded. He was made brigadier general of the United States army Sept. 20, and at the battle of Fredericksburg commanded a grand division under Burnside. He succeeded Burnside in command of the army of the Potomac Jan. 26, 1863, and fought the battle of Chancellorsville in the beginning of May. On June 27 he resigned his command because Gen. Halleck would not consent to the evacuation of Harper's Ferry and the placing of the 10,000 men there under Hooker s or- ders, for a demonstration on Lee's rear, who was then invading Pennsylvania. He was suc- ceeded by Gen. Meade. In September he was placed in command of the 12th and 13th army corps, which were concentrated about Chatta- nooga, and took a leading part in the series of battles fought there in November, commanding