Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 11.djvu/832

* LANGHORNE. 754 LANGLEY. himself to private teacliiiig, having among his pupils Kdniund Caitwrighl ; tooli orders, and went to Cambridge, but did not graduate. He was curate at Uagenliam, Essex (1761); then went to London, became curate of Saint .John'.s, ClerkenwcU, and attained some fame by his sen- timental poems and romances. A short poem in 1705. entitled "Genius and Valor." defending the Scottish nation against the invective of Church- ill's "Prophecj' of Famine," is said to have ob- tained for him the degree of D.D. from Edin- burgh. He translated from Bion (1759); pub- lished Poetical Works (1700); and, with his brother, translated I'luturch's Lives (1771), his best-known work. LANGIEWICZ, langye'vich. Maryan (1827- 87). A Polish revolutionist, born at Krotosehin. He studied mathematics at Breslau; traveled through Europe; and in 1800 accompanied Gari- baldi in the expedition for the liberation of Sicily and Xaples. In 1S0:5 he was leader of the insur- gents in the District of Sandomir, and was named Dictator of Poland by his troops: but. in scarcely more than a week after taking this office, was twice defeated by the Russians, at Chrobrze and Busk. He retired to Austria, whei-e he was im- prisoned for nearly two years. In 1805 he went to Switzerland; then to Pari.s. where he called himself Langle ; and finally to Turkey, where, after service in the artillery, he died at Constan- tinople. LANGLADE, laN'glad'. Charles Michel DE (1729-18001. A Erench-Canadian trader and partisan leader, born at Micliilimackinac. Both liis mother and his wife were Indians, and he had therefore gi-eat intUience with (be Ottawa. Ojib- wa, Potawatami and other Western tribes, of whom he led the party that took such an im- portant part in the defeat of General Braddock in his advance upon Fort Duquesne (1755). His following also apjjcared at the massacre of Fort William Henry (1757), and he laid an ambus- cade around Wolfe's camp at Montmorenci (1759), which failed for want of sujiport. He fought under Jlontcalm on the Plains of Abra- ham, September 1.'5. 1759. and iinder Levis the following spring at Sainte Foye. After the war he was as faithful to the British as he had been to the French, warned the frontier forts of Por.- tiae's plans (1703). and joined Burgoyne's army with a large company of Indians (1777). For his services during the Revolutionary War, the English Government gave him a pension and made him Indian siperintendent, with headquar- ters at Green Bay. where he iv still revered as a man of upright and amiable character, 'the found- er and father of Wisconsin.' LANG'LAND, William (c. 1.3.32- 1400?). An English poet, born probably about 1332 at Cleo- bury Moitimer, South Shropshire. Tie seems to liave studied with the Benedictine monks at Great Malvern. He became a tonsured clerk, and early drifted to London, where he lived in per- petual poverty, exercising minor functions in the Church. Toward the end of his life he probably returned to the west. He died about 1400. Very little, however, is known about him beyond what may be inferred from his great poem Pirif: PJrnr- innn. The poem opens beautifully with the plow- man falling asleep among the Malvern hills, and seeing in vision a field full of folk engaged in various occupations. The poem is thus an alle- gory of life. It contains much vigorous satire on abuses in Church aud State. Unlike most of the jjoenis of the time, it is written in the alliterative measure that characterized English verse before the Norman Conque.st. Into this poem Langland put all his best thought, laboring U[)on it throughout his life, as is shown by the many variations in the existing manuscripts, number- ing forty-five or more. These manuscripts fall into three groups, known as the A, B. and C texts, which are assigned respectively to 1302, 1377, and 1392. This poem should not be confounded with the Creed of Piers Plowman, written about 1394 by another hand. Excepting Chaucer, Langland was the greatest English poet of the fourteenth centujy. His was one of the earliest and most eloquent cries from an oppressed people. Con- sult: SkeaCs edition of the three texts of Piers Plowman (Oxford. 1880), and his edition of the B text for school use (Oxford, 1888) : The Vision and Creed of Piers Plowman, edited by Wright (new ed. London. 1897) ; Jusserand, Piers Plow- man, A Contrihution to the History of English Mysticism (trans. New York, 1894) ; id.. .1 Lit- erary Histori/ of the English People (New York, 189.5). LANGLES, lii.N'gles', Loi'is Mathieu (1763- 1824 J. A French Orientalist. He was born at Peronne. Sommc. studied Oriental languages at Paris, and in 1787 translated Tamerlane's In- stitutes from the Persian. In 1789-90 he edited the Manohu-Frcncb dictionary of Father Amyiit (q.v. ), and in 1795 was appointed first admin- istrator and professor of Persian in the School of Oriental Languages, founded by the Govern- ment as a result of his etforts. He was the founder of the Geographical Society of Paris, and wrote a nimber of works on Oriental literature. LANG^EY, John Newport (1852—). An English phjsiologist, born at Newbury, Berk- .shire. He was educated at Exeter Grammar School and Saint .lohn's. Cambridge; became a fellow of Trinity ( 1877), and science lecturer at South Kensington ( 1878), and at Trinity College, ('anibri<lge (1884). A member of French and Russian scientific associations, he received a medal (1892) from the London Royal Society, in ' wliosc Proeeedinqs many of his papers were pub- lished, such as "On the"Liver" (1882 and 1885) ; "On the Salivary Glands" ( 1886) ; and "Arrange- ment of the Sympathetic System"' (1893). LANGLEY, Samuel PiERPONT (1834-). An American astronomer, born at Roxbury. Mass. He was educated at the Boston Latin School, and, after studying in Europe, became professor of mathematics in the ("nited States Naval Academy at Annapolis, in 1865. Later he became profes- sor of astronomy at the Western LTniversity of Pennsylvania (1807) and secretary of the Smithsonian Institution (1887). His solar ob- servations, made at Pike's Peak in 1878, at Mount Etna in 1878-79, and at Mount Whitney, Cal.. in 1881, added greatly to our knowledge of the phenomena of solar heat. He also invented the bolometer, a very delicate instrument for the measurement of radiant heat. He established the Astrnphysical Observatory and National Zoologi- cal Park at Washington. In 1880 he became president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and in 1894 received the degree of D.C.L. from Oxford University. He is also a member of the Royal Society of London,