Essay on Pope," contributed to the "Adventurer," translated the "Eclogues and Georgies;" and edited the works of Dryden and Pope.-THOMAS, a poet, critic, and iniscellaneous writer, brother of the foregoing, was b. in 1728, at Bassingstoke and was educated at Winchester school, and at Trinity college, Oxford. His first poetical work was "The Triumph of Isis," the next, "The Progress of Discontent." As a poet he was much superior to his brother. In 1757 he was chosen poetry professor at Oxford, in 1771 obtained the living of Kiddington, in 1781 that of Hill Farrance; and in 1785 was appointed Camden professor of history and poet laureate. His principal works are, poems, "Observations on the Faerie Queen," and "The History of English Poetry." Of the last work an elegant and enlarged edition was published a few years since by Mr. Price. D. 1790. WASHINGTON, GEORGE, the illustrious founder of American independence, was b. 1732, in the county of Fairfax, in Virginia, where his father was possessed of great landed property. He was educated under the care of a private tutor, and paid much attention to the study of mathematics and engineering. He was first employed officially by General Dinwiddie, in 1735, in remonstrating to the French commander on the Ohio for the infraction of the treaty between the two nations. He subsequently negotiated a treaty of amity with the Indians on the back settlements, and for his honorable services received the thanks of the British governinent. In the unfortunate expedition of General Braddock he served as aidde-camp, and on the fall of that brave but rash commander, he conducted the retreat to the corps under Colonel Dunbar in a manner that displayed great military talent. He retired from the service with the rank of colonel; but while engaged in agriculture at his favorite seat of Mount Vernon, he was elected senator in the national council for Frederic county, and afterwards for Fairfax. At the commencement of the revolutionary war, he was selected as the most proper person to take the chief command of the provincial troops. From the moment of taking upon hinself this important office, in June, 1775, he employed the great powers of his mind to his favorite object, and by his prudence, his valor, and presence of mind he deserved and obtained the confidence and gratitude of his country, and finally triumphed over all opposition. The record of his services is the history of the whole war. He joined the army at Cambridge in July, 1755. On the evacuation of Boston in March, 1776, he proceeded to New York. The battle of Long Island was fought on the 27th of August, and the battle of White-plains on the 28th of October. On the 25th of December he crossed the Delaware, and soon gained the victories at Trenton and Princeton. The battle of Brandywine was fought on September 11th, 1777; of Germantown, October 4th; of Monmouth, February 28th, 1778. In 1779 and 1780 he continued in the vicinity of New York, and closed the important military operations of the war by the capture of Cornwallis, at Yorktown, in 1781. When the independence of his country was established by the treaty of peace, Washington resigned his high office to the congress, and followed by the applause and the grateful admiration of his fellow-citizens, retired into private life. His high character and services naturally entitled him to the highest gifts his country could bestow, and on the organization of the government he was called upon to be the first president of the states which he had preserved and established. It was a period of great difficulty and danger. The unsubdued spirit of liberty had been roused and kindled by the revolution of France, and many Americans were eager that the freedom and equality which they themselves enjoyed should be extended to the subjects of the French monarch. Washington anticipated the plans of the factions, and by prudence and firmness subdued insurrection, and silenced discontent, till the parties, which the intrigues of Genet, the French envoy, had roused to rebellion, were convinced of the wildness of their measures and of the wisdom of their governor. president completed, in 1795, the business of his office by signing a commercial treaty with Great Britain, and then voluntarily resigned his power at a moment when all hands and all hearts were united again to confer upon him the sovereignty of the country. Restored to the peaceful retirement of Mount Vernon, he devoted himself to the pursuits of agriculture; and though he accepted the command of the army in 1798, it was merely to unite the affections of his fellow-citizens to the general good, and was one more sacrifice to his high sense of duty. D. after a The his " Apology for Christianity," in answer to Gibbon. In 1782 he was made bishop of Llandaff; but George III. having imbibed a prejudice against him, he obtained no further promotion. Among his other works are, Chemical Essays," "Apology for the Bible," and his own "Memoirs." D. 1816. short illness on the 14th of December, 1 eral school, and he made a full avowal of 1799.-BUSHROD, an eminent judge, was his opinions in a sermon, called "The b. in Westmoreland county, Virginia, Principles of the Revolution vindicated," and was educated at William and Mary's which he preached before the university college. He pursued the study of the in 1776, and which excited much comlaw in the office of Mr. Wilson, of Phil-ment. In the same year he published adelphia, and commenced its practice with great success in his native county. In 1781 he was a member of the house of delegates of Virginia. He afterwards removed to Alexandria, and thence to Richmond, where he published two volumes of the decisions of the supreme court of Virginia. In 1798 he was appointed an associate justice of the supreme court of the United States, and continued to hold this situation till his death in November, 1829. He was the favorite nephew of President Washington, and was the devisee of Mount Vernon. master. WATERLAND, DANIEL, a learned divine and controversialist, was b. 1683, at Wasely, in Lincolnshire, and was educated at Lincoln free school, and at Magdalen college, Cambridge, of the last of which seminaries he became He was also chancellor of York, archdeacon of Middlesex, canon of Windsor, and vicar of Twickenham. Among his works are, 66 A History of the Athanasian Creed," "Scripture Vindicated," "A Defence of Christ's Divinity," A Review of the Doctrine of the Eucharist," and "Remarks on Dr. Clarke's Exposition of the Church Catechism." D. 1740. WATT, JAMES, a celebrated natural philosopher and engineer, the son of a tradesman, was b. 1786, at Greenock, in Scotland, and began life as a mathematical instrument maker. In that capacity he was employed by the university of his native place from 1757 to 1763. It was, in 1764, while he was engaged in repairing the model of a steam-engine, that the idea of improving the construc tion arose in his mind. His first discovery was that of the mode of avoiding the enormous loss of power occasioned by cooling the cylinder; his next was the substitution of the expansive power of steam instead of the atmospheric pressure. To these he subsequently added many others, which brought the steam engine to its present state of perfection. In 1774 he entered into partnership with Mr. Bolton, of Birmingham. His subsequent life was cheered by extensive fame and ample fortune. Among his other inventions are a micrometer, a copying machine, and a machine for making drawings in perspective. Watt possessed an extraordinary memory, a more than superficial acquaintance with many sciences and arts, and a knowledge of several modern languages. Some of his chemical papers are printed in the "Philosophical Transactions." D. 1819. He WATSON, HENRY, a celebrated engineer, the son of a grazier, was b. about 1737, at Holbeach, in Lincolnshire; was one of the most remarkable mathematical contributors to the "Lady's Diary" at the age of 16; completed his education at the royal academy at Woolwich; and obtained a commission in the corps of engineers. He so much distinguished himself at the sieges of Belleisle and the Havanna, that Lord Clive took him to Bengal, as chief engineer. Among the works which Watson executed are the fortifications of Fort William, and those at Budge Budge and Melancholy Point. D. 1786.-RICHARD, an eminent prelate and writer, was b. 1737, at Haversham, in Westmoreland. He commenced his education under his father, who was master of the free grammar school at his native place, and he completed it at Trinity college, Cambridge, where he studied with unremitting application. In 1764 he was chosen professor of chem- WATTS, ISAAC, a nonconformist diistry, and, in 1771, regius professor of vine, b. 1674, at Southampton, and was divinity. In politics he was of the lib-educated at the free school there, and WATTEAU, ANTHONY, a French artist, was b. 1684, at Valenciennes. received little instruction, and began by being a scene-painter at Paris, but his admirable genius soon raised him above that humble occupation. He gained the prize of the Academy for a picture, and thenceforth continued to increase in fame. The engravings from his compositions, to the number of 568, form three volumes. Comie conversations, movements of armies, landscapes, and grotesques, are his principal subjects. D 1721. also at a dissenting academy in London. | in 1801, a system of mathematics, in- WAYNE, ANTHONY, major-general in In WEBBE, SAMUEL, an eminent musi- WEBBER, SAMUEL, president of Har- WEBER, HENRY WILLIAM, an archæ- WEBSTER, NOAH, was b. in West orate and he puo isned the "First Part of a | Among his works are, "A New Theory Grainmatical Institute," "Sketches of of Veins," with its application to the American Policy," and several other art of working mines; "Classification works, and also established and con- and Distribution of Mountains," and a ducted a daily paper in New York. But translation of "Cronstadt's Mineraloall these labors are comparatively insig-gy." His system is now very generally nificant when contrasted with his elab- received. D. 1817.-FREDERIC LOUIS "English Dictionary," which, ZACHARIAH, a German poet and dramanotwithstanding it contains some very tist, was b. 1868, at Koenigsberg, in serious mistakes on the subjects of ety- Prussia; held for some years an emmology and the analogy of languages, is ployment under the Prussian governa stupendous monument of industry. inent; abjured Protestantism, and went to Vienna, where he became a popular preacher, and d. 1823. Among his works are, Confessions, Poems, and Tragedies. D. 1843. WEDGEWOOD, JOSIAH, an eminent manufacturer of pottery, was b. 1780. He succeeded to the business of his father, and, in 1760, began his improvements in porcelain and earthenware, which have changed the current of trade in those articles, and rendered England an extensive exporting instead of an importing country. He invented the ware which bears the name of the queen, and various other kinds. Wedgewood was also the inventor of the pyrometer, and the projector of the Grand Trunk canal. D. 1795. WEISSE, CHRISTIAN FELIX, a German poet and dramatist, was b. 1726, at Annaberg, in Saxony; was educated at Altenberg and Leipsic; established and conducted two periodicals named the "Library of Elegant Literature," and "The Children's Friend," from which latter work Berquin borrowed his plan and part of his materials; succeeded in 1790 to a good estate; and d. 1804. WESLEY, SAMUEL, a divine and poet, was b. 1662, at Whitchurch, in Dorsetshire; was educated at Exeter college, Oxford; obtained the living of South Ormesby, and subsequently the rectories of Epworth and Wroot. He wrote a volume of poems, with the title of "Maggots;""The Life of Christ," in The Histories of the Old and verse; New Testament," in verse; "Elegies on Queen Mary and Archbishop Tillotson;" and "Dissertations on the Book of Job." D. 1735.-JOHN, second son of the foregoing, the founder of the sect of the Methodists, was b. June 17, 1703, at Epworth. He was educated at the Charter house, and Christ-church, Oxford, and was ordained in 1725. Naturally of a serious disposition, he was rendered still more so by the reading of devotional treatises; and, in conjunction WELLS, WILLIAM CHARLES, a physi- with his brother Charles and some cian, was b. 1753, at Charleston, in South friends, he formed a religious society; Carolina. His parents were Scotch, and to the members of which, with reference he was educated at Dumfries and Edin- to a sect of Roman physicians, his gay burgh, after which he returned to his fellow-collegians gave the name of native province. Being a loyalist, he Methodists. In 1785, with Charles Wesquitted America at the close of the war, ley and other missionaries, he went to and settled in London, where he d. in Georgia to convert the Indians; but, 1817. He is the author of "An Essay after a residence of less than two years on Single Vision with Two Eyes," and in the colony, during which he was exof some valuable papers on the forma-tremely unpopular, he returned to Ention of dew, for which he received the gold and silver medals of the Royal Society. WERNER, ABRAHAM GOTTLEIB, one of the most eminent of modern mineralogists, was b. in 1750, at Wehlau, in Upper Lusatia. He studied at the mineralogical school of Freyberg, in Saxony, and at Leipsic; and, in his 24th year, he published an excellent treatise on theCharacters of Minerals." In 1775 he was appointed lecturer on mineralogy at Freyberg, and inspector of the cabinet of mines. His lectures soon extended his reputation throughout Europe. gland. In 1738 he began those public labors which ultimately produced such a mighty effect, and in 1739 the first meeting-house was built at Bristol. For some time he acted in conjunction with Whitefield, but the radical difference in their tenets at length produced a separation. Over the sect which he had founded, Wesley obtained an unbounded influence; and it must be owned that he earned it by his zeal and his unwenried and astonishing exertions. Two sermons he usually preached every day, and often four or five. In the course of his peregrinations he is said to have preached more than forty thousand sermons, and to have travelled three hundred thousand miles, or nearly fifteen times the circumference of the globe! On the 17th of February, 1791, he took cold, after preaching at Lambeth. For some days he struggled against an increasing fever, and continued to preach until the Wednesday following, when he delivered his last sermon. From that time he became daily weaker and more lethargic. He d. on the 2d of March, 1791, being in the 88th year of his age, and the 65th of his ministry. He published the "Christian Library; or, Extracts and Abridgments, &c., from various Writers ;" The Arminian Magazine;" a monthly publication, now continued under the title of "The Methodist Magazine," &c., &c.-CHARLES, his brother and fellow-laborer, was b. in 1708, at Epworth; was educated at Westminster school and at Christ-church; and d. 1788. He wrote hymns, poems, and sermons.-SAMUEL, a son of the latter, was a distinguished musician. D. 1837. WEST, GILBERT, a poet and miscellaneous writer, was b. in 1706; was educated at Eton and at Christ-church, Oxford; obtained, through the influence of his friend Mr. Pitt, the offices of clerk to the privy council, and treasurer of Chelsea college; and d. 1756. He wrote poems; and "Observations on the Resurrection;" and translated Pindar. -BENJAMIN, an eminent painter, was b. in 1738, at Springfield, near Philadelphia, of Quaker parents. At the age of seven years he began to manifest his pictorial talents by sketching with pen and ink an infant sleeping in a cradle. From some Indians he obtained red and yellow, and his mother gave him a piece of indigo; and as camel's-hair pencils were wanting, he supplied the want by clipping the fur of the cat. Improving, as he advanced in years, he became a portrait painter of considerable repute, and produced some meritorious historical pictures. In his 22d year he visited Italy, where he remained for some time. In 1763 he settled in England, where he soon acquired reputation. Among his patrons was Archbishop Drummond of York, by whose means he was introduced to George III., who immediately gave him a commission to paint "The Death of Regulus," and continued ever afterwards to employ him. In 1791 he was chosen president of the Royal Academy. Among his last, and perhaps his best works, are, "Death on the Pale Horse," and "Christ healing the Sick." He d. March 18, 1820. WESTALL, RICHARD, a draughtsman and designer, b. 1765, was apprenticed to an engraver in heraldry on silver, &c.; but his genius soared higher than this humble department of the arts, and having studied at the Royal Academy, in 1786 he commenced his splendid career, imparting to his water-color paintings a brilliance and vigor before unknown. About this time he formed a friendly intercourse with Sir Thomas Lawrence, which continued through life. Mr. Westall produced many excellent historical paintings; but he is best known as the designer of Boydell's superb editions of Milton and Shakspeare, and as the illustrator of numerous other works. D. 1836.-WILLIAM, a younger brother of the preceding, and like him an eminent artist, was b. 1782. In early life he accompanied Captain Flinders in his voyage round the world, on his return from which he illustrated Captain Flinders' work, and opened an exhibition in Brook-street, consisting of representations of the chief objects he had witnessed when abroad. In 1818 he was elected an associate of the Royal Academy. Among many works which he published may be mentioned, "A Series of Views of Picturesque and Romantic Scenery in Madeira, the Cape of Good Hope," &c., "Views of the Caves near Ingleton, &c., in Yorkshire," "Britannia delineata," "Views in London and its Environs" "Picturesque Tour of the Thames," &c. D. 1850. WETSTEIN, JOHN JAMES, a learned Swiss, was b. in 1693, at Basle; was a pupil of the younger Bernouilli; entered the church, but was compelled by persecution to quit his country; settled in Holland, where he became professor of theology and ecclesiastical history at Amsterdam; and d. there in 1754. Among his works is an edition of the New Testament, with the various readings which he collected from numerous manuscripts. WETHERELL, Sir CHARLES, a distinguished chancery lawyer, was the son of the learned dean of Hereford, who for more than half a century was master of University college, Oxford. He was b. 1770, received his education at Magdalen college, and in 1794 was called to the bar. In 1818 he obtained a seat in parliament as member for Shaftesbury; and though he displayed much talent and energy in debate, "his slovenly attire, uncouth gestures, patchwork |