Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 14.djvu/910

OKLAHOMA CITY.  are owned and operated by the municipality. Population, in 1890, 4151; in 1900, 10,037.  O′KRA. See, and Plate of  OKUBO,, (1830-78). A Japanese statesman and reformer. A native of the warlike elan of Satsuma, he was one of the five leaders in the restoration of the Emperor to power in 1867-68. After the establishment of peace he was equally prominent as the advocate of progressive measures. He was vice-ambassador in the Japanese embassy of 1672-73 which traveled around the world. Going to Peking in 1874, he settled the Formosan difficulty, which threatened war between the two empires. For eight years he was in the Cabinet of the Emperor. In 1877 a portion of the Satsuma clan, led by his old friend and comrade in arms, Saigo, rebelled. But Okubo remained in the Cabinet, aiding in the suppression of the rebellion. In revenge six clansmen of Satsuma killed him while he was on the way to the Emperor's palace, May 14, 1878. He received high posthumous rank, and his sons were ennobled.  OKUMA,, (1837—). A Japanese statesman, born in the province of Hizen, Kiushiu, in 1837. Okuma was one of the younger leaders in the restoration of the Emperor (1867-68), and upon the conclusion of peace received prominent official positions, distinguishing himself especially by his work in putting the finances of the Empire on a sound basis. In 1881 Okuma seceded from the company of men who were governing Japan and established the Progressive Party, advocating a more rapid advance toward constitutional and parliamentary government. In addition to his work as statesman he established a large school for the teaching of law and political economy and literature, which exerts a wide and an increasing influence. After the establishment of the Parliament Okuma again held high office and continued to be a powerful factor in the public affairs of the nation.  OLAF I.,, (?-1000). King of Norway from 995 to 1000. He was a descendant of Harald Haarfagr, and in his early years was one of the Vikings who terrorized the coasts of the North Sea, and made descents upon England, Ireland, and France. In 995 he seized the Government of Norway. He had previously been baptized, and he now exerted himself to introduce Christianity among his subjects. Some of the nobles, who refused to acknowledge Olaf's authority, stirred up the rulers of Denmark and Sweden to make war upon him, and he was defeated and slain in a great naval battle in 1000.  OLAF II., surnamed the Saint or the Great (c.995-1030). King of Norway from about 1015 to 1028. He was a son of Harald Gränske, and at the age of fifteen he began his marauding expeditions, which extended to the coasts of Sweden, Germany, France, and Spain. At the age of about twenty he made himself master of Norway, where he completed the establishment of Christianity. (See .) In 1028 he was driven out by (q.v.) and fled to Russia. He was killed in 1030, in an attempt to recover his kingdom. Because of his zeal for Christianity, he was canonized in 1164 and became the patron saint of Norway.  ÖLAND,, or OELAND. An island in the Baltic Sea, lying off the southeast coast of Sweden, from which it is separated by Kalmar Sound, from 4 to 17 miles wide (Map:, G 8). It is included in the Swedish Län of Kalmar. The island is 80 miles in length, and from 4 to 10 miles in breadth, with an area of 510 square miles. It consists mainly of a sandstone ridge scantily covered with soil, but in some parts it is well wooded, and has good pastures, on which cattle and sheep are reared. In favorable seasons, barley, oats, and flax yield good crops. The fishing is excellent all round the coasts. There are large alum-works on the island, and an extensive line of windmills along the Alwar Hills, near which stands Borgholm (population, in 1900, 926). This town is famous for the magnificent ruins of Borgholm Castle. Oeland was often a battlefield in the wars between Denmark and Sweden. Population, in 1890, 37,519; in 1900, 30,408.  OLATHE,. A city and the county-seat of Johnson County, Kan., 21 miles southwest of Kansas City; on the Saint Louis and San Francisco, the Missouri, Kansas and Texas, and the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railroads (Map:, H 3). It is the seat of the State Institution for the Deaf and Dumb. The adjacent country is largely interested in farming and stock-raising; and the city manufactures flour, bricks, shoes, furniture, etc. There are municipal water-works. Population, in 1890, 3294; in 1900, 3451. <section end="Olathe" /><section begin="Olbers, Heinrich Wilhelm Matthäus" /> OLBERS,, (1758-1840). A German physician and astronomer, born at Arbergen, a small village near Bremen. He studied medicine at Göttingen from 1777 till 1780, and subsequently commenced to practice at Bremen. After 1779 all the leisure time that he could spare from professional occupations was devoted to the study of astronomy. He first became widely known through his calculation of the orbit of the comet of 1779, which was performed by him while watching by the bedside of a sick patient, and was found to be very accurate. In 1781 he rediscovered the planet Uranus, which had previously been supposed to be a comet, and in 1802 and 1807 respectively discovered the planetoids Pallas and Vesta. He also discovered five comets, in 1798, 1802, 1804, 1815, and 1824, all of which, with the exception of that of 1815, had been some days previously observed in Paris. His observations, calculations, and notices of various comets, which are of value to astronomers, were published in the Annuaire of Bode (1782-1829), in the Annuaire of Encke (1832), and in three collections by the Baron de Zach. Most of these calculations were made after a new method, discovered by himself, for determining the orbit of the comet from three observations. It is still employed by astronomers under the name ‘Olbers's method.’ The general equality of the elements of the planetoids led him to propound the theory that the planetoids are fragments of some large planet which formerly revolved round the sun at a distance equal to the mean of the distances of the planetoids from the same luminary. Olbers also made some important researches on the probable lunar origin of meteoric stones, and invented a method for calculating the velocity of falling stars.