The Nuttall Encyclopaedia Part 455

WILLIS, PARKER, American writer and journalist; had travelled much abroad, and published his experiences; among his writings "Pencillings by the Way," "Inklings of Adventure," "People I have Met," &c. (1806-1867)

WILLOUGHBY, SIR HUGH, early Arctic voyager; was sent out in 1553 with three vessels by a company of London merchants on a voyage of discovery, but the vessels were separated by a storm in the North Seas, and not one of them returned, only Richard Challoner, the captain of one of them, found his way to Moscow, and opened up a trade with Russia and this country; the s.h.i.+ps, with the dead bodies of their crews, and the journal of their commander, were found by some fishermen the year after.

WILLS, WILLIAM JOHN, Australian explorer, born at Totnes; accompanied O'Hara Burke from the extreme S. to the extreme N. of the continent, but died from starvation on the return journey two days before his leader (1834-1860).

WILMINGTON (61), a large and handsome city and port in Delaware, 25 m. SW. of Philadelphia, with extensive manufactures; also the name of the largest city (20) in North Carolina, with considerable manufactures and trade; was a chief Confederate port during the Civil War.

WILSON, ALEXANDER, ornithologist, born at Paisley; son of a weaver, bred to the loom; began his literary career as a poet; imprisoned for a lampoon on a Paisley notability, went on his release to America unfriended, with only his fowling-piece in his hand, and a few s.h.i.+llings in his pocket; led an unsettled life for a time; acquired the arts of drawing, colouring, and etching, and, so accomplished, commenced his studies on the ornithology of America, and prevailed upon a publisher in Philadelphia to undertake an exhaustive work which he engaged to produce on the subject; the first volume appeared in 1808, and the seventh in 1813, on the publication of which he met his death from a cold he caught from swimming a river in pursuit of a certain rare bird (1766-1813).

WILSON, SIR DANIEL, archaeologist, was born in Edinburgh, became in 1853 professor of English Literature at Toronto; wrote "Memorials of Edinburgh," "Prehistoric Annals of Scotland," "Prehistoric Man," &c.

(1816-1892).

WILSON, SIR ERASMUS, English surgeon, a great authority on skin diseases, and devoted much time to the study of Egyptian antiquities; it was at his instance that the famous Cleopatra's Needle was brought to England; he was liberal in endowments for the advance of medical science (1809-1884).

WILSON, GEORGE, chemist, born in Edinburgh, younger brother of Sir Daniel; was appointed professor of Technology in Edinburgh University; was eminent as a popular lecturer on science, and an enthusiast in whatever subject he took up (1819-1859).

WILSON, HORACE HAYMAN, Orientalist, born in London; studied medicine; went to India as a surgeon; mastered Sanskrit, and became Boden professor at Oxford (1786-1860).

WILSON, JOHN, Indian missionary, born near Lauder, educated at Edinburgh; missionary at Bombay from 1828 to his death--from 1843 in connection with the Free Church of Scotland; from his knowledge of the languages and religions of India, and his sagacity, was held in high regard (1804-1875).

WILSON, JOHN, the well-known "Christopher North," born in Paisley, son of a manufacturer, who left him a fortune of 50,000; studied at Glasgow and Oxford; a man of powerful physique, and distinguished as an athlete as well as a poet; took up his abode in the Lake District, and enjoyed the society of Wordsworth, Coleridge, and Southey; wrote two poems, the "Isle of Palms," and the "City of the Plague"; lost his fortune, and came to settle in Edinburgh; was called to the Scottish bar, but never practised; became editor of _Blackwood's Magazine_, and was in 1820 elected over Sir William Hamilton professor of moral philosophy in Edinburgh University; his health began to fail in 1840; resigned his professors.h.i.+p in 1851, and received a pension from the Crown of 300; he is described by Carlyle as "a tall, ruddy, broad-shouldered figure, with plenteous blonde hair, and bright blue flas.h.i.+ng eyes, and as he walked strode rapidly along; had much n.o.bleness of heart, and many traits of n.o.ble genius, but the central _tie-beam_ seemed always wanting; a good, grand ruined soul, that never would be great, or indeed _be_ anything"

(1785-1854).

WILTON, market-town in Wilts.h.i.+re, 3 m. NW. of Salisbury; was the ancient capital of Wess.e.x, and gave name to the county; its church, erected by Lord Herbert of Lea in 1844, is a rich Lombardic structure, with a campanile 108 ft. high.

WILTs.h.i.+RE or WILTS (264), an inland county in SW. of England, with Gloucesters.h.i.+re on the N. and Dorset on the S., 54 m. from N. to S.

and 37 m. from E. to W.; is largely an agricultural and pastoral county; is flat, rising into hills in the N., and is broken by downs and rich valleys in the S., except on Salisbury Plain; sheep-breeding and dairy-farming are the chief industries, and it is famous for cheese and bacon.

WIMBLEDON (25), a suburb of London, 7 m. to the SW., on a common used by the volunteers from 1860 to 1889 for rifle practice.

WINCHESTER (19), an ancient city of Hamps.h.i.+re, and the county town, 60 m. SW. of London, on the right bank of the Itchen; is a cathedral city, with a noted large public school; was at one time the capital of England; the cathedral dates from the 11th century, but it has subsequently undergone considerable extensions and alterations; the school was founded by William of Wykeham in 1387.

WINCKELMANN, JOHANN JOACHIM, great art critic, born at Stendal, in Prussian Saxony, of poor parents; was a student from his boyhood, and early devoted especially to archaeology and the study of the antique; became a Roman Catholic on the promise of an appointment in Rome, where he would have full scope to indulge his predilections, and became librarian to Cardinal Albani there; his great work was "Geschichte der Kunst des Alterthums" (the "History of Ancient Art"), in particular that of Greece, which proved epoch-making, and the beginning of a new era in the study of art in general; he was a.s.sa.s.sinated in a hotel at Trieste on his way to Vienna by a fellow-traveller to whom he had shown some of his valuables, and the German world was shocked (1717-1768).

WINDERMERE, a lake on the borders of Westmorland and Lancas.h.i.+re, the largest in England, 10 m. long from N. to S., and 1 m. broad; is 240 ft.

deep and 134 ft. above sea-level; is amid beautiful scenery, and near it is Rydal Mount, long the residence of Wordsworth.

WINDHAM, WILLIAM, English statesman, born of an ancient Norfolk family; was opposed to the American War; took part in the impeachment of Warren Hastings; was Secretary at War under Pitt; advocated the removal of Catholic disabilities, but was opposed to Parliamentary reform; has been described by his contemporaries as the model both physically and mentally of an English gentleman, able and high minded (1780-1810).

WINDISCHGRaTZ, PRINCE, Austrian field-marshal; took part in the campaigns against Napoleon, and in 1848 suppressed the revolution at Prague and Vienna; failed against the Hungarians, and was superseded (1787-1862).

WINDSOR (12), a town in Berks.h.i.+re, on the right bank of the Thames, opposite Eton, and about 22 m. W. of London, with a castle which from early Plantagenet times has been the princ.i.p.al residence of the kings of England.

WINDWARD ISLANDS (150), a group of the West Indies, the Lesser Antilles, belonging to Britain, extending from Martinique to Trinidad.

WINDWARD Pa.s.sAGE, a channel leading into the Caribbean Sea, between the islands of Cuba and Hayti.

WINER, GEORGE BENEDICT, New Testament scholar, born at Leipzig, and professor there; best known for his work on the New Testament Greek idioms (1789-1858).

WINIFRED, ST., a British maiden who was decapitated by Prince Caradoc in 650; where her head rolled off tradition says a spring instantly gushed forth, the famous Holywell in Flints.h.i.+re; is represented in art carrying her head.

WINKELRIED, ARNOLD VON, a brave Swiss who, on the field of Sempach, on 9th June 1386, rushed on the lances of the opposing Austrians, and so opened a way for his compatriots to dash through and win the day.

WINKLE. See RIP VAN WINKLE.

WINNIPEG (25), formerly Fort Garry, the capital of Manitoba, at the junction of the a.s.siniboine with the Red River, over 1400 m. NW. of Montreal; is a well-built town, with several public buildings and all modern appliances; stands on the Pacific Railway; is a busy trading centre, and is growing rapidly.

WINNIPEG, LAKE, a lake in Manitoba, 40 m. N. of the city, 280 m.

long, 57 m. broad, and covering an area of over 8000 sq. m.; it drains an area twice as large as France; the Saskatchewan flows into it, and the Nelson flows out.

WINSTANLEY, HENRY, English engineer; erected a lighthouse on the Eddystone Rock in 1696, and completed it in four years; it was built of timber, and had not much strength; he perished in it in a storm in 1703.

WINT, PETER DE, water-colourist, born in Staffords.h.i.+re, of Dutch descent; famed for paintings of English scenery and rustic life (1784-1849).

WINTER KING, name given by the Germans to Frederick V., husband of Elizabeth, daughter of James I., his Winter Queen, who was elected king of Bohemia by the Protestants in 1619, and compelled to resign in 1620.