Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 17.djvu/857

* SEMMERING. 779 SEMPER elevation of the pass is about 3300 feet. Theie was a bridle path over it as early as the beginning of the thirteenth century. The beauty of the scenery and the desirable- ness of liie climate make this one of the most frequented of the health resorts in the Austrian Alps. The railway, the first of the "ireat Con- tinental minintain railways, and still considered a remarkable engineering feat, was completed in 1854. It has 15 tunnels and 10 viaducts. SEMMES, semz, Raphael (1800-77). An American naval officer, bom in Charles County, ild. In 1832 he entered the United States naval service as a midshipman. He studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1S34, but remained in the navy. During the ilexican War he was the flag lieutenant under Commodore Connor of the Gulf Squadron, and commanded a shore bat- tery at Vera Cruz. After the war he was made inspector of lighthouses, became commander in 1855, and in 1858 was secretary of the Light- house Board. He resigned from the navy on Feb- ruary 15, 18G1, and soon afterwards was com- missioned by President Davis of the Confederate States to secure skilled mechanics and military supplies in the North. On April 18. 1801, he was commissioned commander in the Confederate Xavy, and soon went to New Orleans to fit out the >S'Hi»/er, which escaped from the port and captured seventeen prizes before she was block- aded in Tangier by two American ships in Janu- ary, 1802. Semmes then sold the Siimfcr, and in August, 1862, at the Azores, took command of the Alabama, which became the most noted of the Confederate 'commerce-destroyers.' (See Ala- bama Claims.) On .June in. 1804, the Alabama engaged the United States ship Kearsnrije off the coast of Cherbourg, France, and was sunk. Cap- tain Semmes was picked up by the English yacht Dccrhoiirul, was taken to England, and soon after- wards returned to the Confederate States. He Avas appointed rear-admiral and was placed in charge of the James River Squadron. When Richmond was evacuated, the ships were blown up. and Admiral Scnunes was conunissioned In-igadier-general and put in charge of the de- fenses of Danville, . Upon General Lee's surrender, he joined Gen. .Joseph E. Johnston, with wliom he surrendered. While practicing law at ilobile. Semmes was arrested December 15. 1865. by order of Secretary Welles, on charges of treason', but was released by the third anmesty proclamation of President .Johnson. He pub- lished i^ervice Afloat and Ashore Durinfi Ihc Mex- ican H'or (1851); Campaigns of General Hcott in the Valley of Mexico (1852) ; Cruise of the Alabama and Sumter (1804); and Memoirs of Service Afloat During the War Beticecn the States (186fl). SEMOLINA (It. semolino, grits, soup paste, small seed, diminutive of st'moln, bran, from Lat. simila. fine wheat flour), Semola, or Semoule. A by-product in wheat-flour making, especially from hard wheats, being the particles retained in the bolting machine and used for thickening soups, for puddings, etc. It is widely used in the manufacture of macaroni, etc. It is also manufactured in considerable quantity, as it is a favorite food in Italy and France. Its average percentage composition is: water, 13.1; protein, 9.4 ; fat, 0.9 ; nitrogen-free extract (chiefly starch). Vol. XVII — 5u. 70.2; and ash, 0.4. .See ".Mainifactun' of Semolina and Macaroni," United .S7(i(e,v iMpartmcnt of Agriculture, liurcau of I'lanI Induntry, liuUctin M (Washington, 1!I02). SEMPACH, zem'piici. A small town of Swit- zerland, .'-itMated t shore of the Lakeuf Sempacli, northwest of Lucerne. Population, iu 1900, 1,020. At Sempacli took place the second great conllict between the eonfeilerated Swis.s cantons and the House of Hapsburg. The re- newal of the stiife was due cliielly to the en- croachments of the Swiss upon llapsburg terri- tory. The Ilapsburg army, led by Duke Leopold in per.son, consisted of 4000 horse and 1400 foot, while the Swiss are said to have numbereil only 1,300 men. The latter won a complete victory, as is claimed, through the heroic self-sacrifice of Arnold von Winkelried (q.v. ). Duke Leopold and 1400 nobles were slain. A ehapel and a mon- ument mark tlu' battlefield. SEMPER, zem'per, Gottfried (1803-79). A German arcbiteil. lie was born at Hamburg, No- vember 29. 1803. and after devoting him-elf to the study of law at Giittingen. took up architecture, princijiallv under Gau at Paris. His travels in Italy, Sicily, and Greece led to his writings on the practice of polychromy by the Greeks, which aroused much discussion. In 1834, upon the reconunendation of .Schinkel, he was appointed professor of architecture in the Academy of Dresden. There he built the Royal Theatre, the new Synagogue, besides several private residences, and had .just begun the Xew Museum, when his participation in the Revolution of 184!1 comiu'lled him to leave the city. He first went to Paris, and in 1851 to London, where his advice was of great weight in the refcnin of indu.*trial art instruction, and in the organization of South Kensington .Mu- seum. In 1855 he accepted a call to the profes- sorship of architecture in the newly organized Polytechnicum at Zurich, for which he designed the building. It is one of his masterpieces, simple and stately in style, and beautifully dec- orated, after his design. While at Zurich he also designed the railroad station., the Kurliaus at Baden, and the town hall at Wintertbur. The theatre at Dresden, which had in the meanwhile been burned, was rebuilt after his plans in 1871- 78, with increased splendor, under supervision of his son :Manfred. In 1871 he was called to take part in the architectural reconstruction of Vienna, the Imperial Palace, the new theatre, and the two nniseums being allotted him. He died at Rome, Jlay 15. 1879. No architect of modern times was more thor- oughly versed in the forms of the Italian Kenais- sance," and understood how to adapt them so well to present-day needs. His buildings are as har- monious in design as they are careful and excel- lent in detail. He was also a distinguished writer upon architectural subjects. Among his chief works are: Vcber Poljichromie und ihren Ur- sprung (Braunsehweig.'ianI ) : Wissenschaft. In- dustrie und Kmist (ib., 1852); and his master- piece, Der Slil in den leclinischcn and lihlimi- schei'i Kiinsten (Stuttgart, 1878) . His plans and sketches were ])ulili>he(l after his death (Leipzig, 18S1). Consult bis biography by I-ipsius (Ber- lin, 1880). and Hans Semper (Dresden, 1880). SEMPER, Karl (1832-93). A German zoidogist, born at Altona. He studied at WUrz-