Page:The Biographical Dictionary of America, vol. 01.djvu/310

 BIDDLE.

BIDDLE.

years, and as a member of the constitutional con ventiou of Indiana in lS."i. Heat t lie same time carried on a line of studies in philosophy, science and literature. In January, 1881, he retired from - --»^,_>^ «11 active participa-

tion in the current affairs of life to his ' ■ Island Home, ■* in the Wabash river, where, amitlst his library, which he playfully called his "eight thou- sand friends," he de- voted himself to liter- ary pursuits. During I he first year of his retirement he pub- lished: " Elements of Knowledge," " Bid- Pf /3^c:„g.^>£<^ die's Poems," " American Boyhood,"' " GLincesat the World," •' Last Poems," and *' Prose Miscellany .' ' " Musi- cal Scale " and his first book of poems, had been published in 18.'}'2 and in 1858, respectively. Mr. Biddle constantly experimented in matters of sci- ence, particularly in reference to music. He had around him the entire viol family, from the double ba.ss to the kit. He invented a new in- strument of the viol kind, which he named '• Tetrachord " — a method of stringing and tun- ing applicable to viols of all kinds and sizes, and to any pitch. He also invented the double action Eureka, an instrument of the harp kind, by which he presents, with forty-three strings, a consecutive chromatic scale of six octaves, having seventy-three notes, without any pedals or stops. H" died at Lopransport. Ind., May 16. 1900.

BIDDLE, James, naval officer, was born in Phikidelphia, Pa., Feb. 18, 1783. At the age of seventeen he joined the United States navy, and three years later was serving as midshipman in the frigate Philadelphia when she was wrecked and captured near Tripoli, and all on board held as prisoners, during the war with the Barbary states. Upon his release he was assigned to ordinary duty until 1812, when he entered active 8er\-iceonlx)ardthe.sloop-of-war Wasj). and when that vas.sel captured the Frolic he was given com- mand of the prize. Both ships were badly dam- aged, and before they were able to get under sail they were captured by the British seventy-four pounder, Poictiers. After his exchange, in 1813, he wa.s promoted master-commandant, given com- mand of the gunbf)at flotilla in the Delaware, but subsequently transferred to the Hornet, with which he ran the blockade at New London, Conn., and sailed to Tristan d'Acunha. On March 23, 1815, he met the Pemjuin an<l succeeded in captur- ing and destroying the British brig, being him-

self severely wounded. Ujwn repairing damages lie soon enct)Uiitered an English line-of-battle ship, and only escaped by throwing overboard all his guns. He reached New York after peace had been declared, and found a promotion to post- captain, a gold medal from Congress, and a silver service from Philadelphia awaiting him. A state dinner was also given in his honor by New York. After the close of the war lie remained in active service, being commander of squadrons in several foreign ports, and negotiated commercial treaties with Turkey and with China. In 1817 he was sent by the U. S. government to take formal pos- session of Oregon. From 1838 to 1842 he was gov- ernor of the Philadelphia naval asylum, and dur- ing his term of office there he introduced a course of instruction to unassigned midshipmen, and was the first naval officer to propose a naval school. He died in Philadelphia, Oct. 1, 1848.

BIDDLE, Nicholas, naval officer, was born in Philadelphia, Pa., Sept. 10, 1750; the sixth son of William Biddle, a reputable merchant. He early imbibed a passion for the sea, and at the age of thirteen he entered the merchant service and made a voyage to Quebec, returning from which he sailed again for Jamaica and the Bay of Hon- duras. Having accomiilished its business, the vessel set sail for Antigua, but on the night of Jan. 2, 1766, it struck on a rock and went to pieces, the crew escaping by a boat to a desolate island some ten miles distant. They were desti- tute of subsistence, and the boat was unfit to carrj^ them all to a place of safety. Four must be left behind. Lots were cast, and one of these lots fell upon the boy Biddle. There for sixty days he, with his three companions, underwent all the horrors of starvation before a passing ves- sel took them off, and he was conveyed to his native city. He again reshipped in the merchant service, and so continued till 1770, when he secured a midshipman's warrant in the royal navy, where in two years he had gained the rank of lieutenant, when, throwing away his rank and position, he shipped as a coxswain on the Carcase, sent out b}" the Royal society for exploration to the north pole. There he had as a messmate Horatio Nelson, afterwards the renowned British admiral. Returning home at the end of two years, young Biddle found the colonies at war with Great Britain, and he at once offered his services to the Continental Congress. They had no navy — not a single frigate, sloop-of-war, or gunboat— and a solitary armed galley was the sole protection for the commerce of Philadelphia. Captain Biddle was made fleet captain and given command of the Andre(t Doria. a brig of fourteen guns, with a crew of a hundred and thirty men. His vessel was one of a fleet fitted out for an ex- pedition against New Providence under Commo-