Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VIII.djvu/151

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GRAHAM and in a course of lectures which he delivered at various places and published under the title " Graham Lectures of the Science of Human Life" (2 vols., Boston, 1839). He also pub- lished a "Lecture to Young Men on Chastity," which made a great sensation, and a treatise on " Bread and Bread Making." Bread made from unbolted flour still bears his name. A few years before his death he began a " Phi- losophy of Sacred History," intended to show the harmony between Scriptural teachings and his views on dietetics ; he finished only one vol- ume of it, which was published posthumously. GRAHAM, Thomas, a Scottish chemist, born in Glasgow, Dec. 20, 1805, died in London, Sept. 15, 1869. He studied at the universities of Glasgow and Edinburgh, and after graduating opened a laboratory in Glasgow and lectured on chemistry at the mechanics' institute. He was professor at the Andersonian university in Glasgow from 1830 to 1837, and at the uni- versity college in London from 1837 to 1855. Having, as a non-resident assayer, submitted all the specie in the mint to a uniform scien- tific standard, he became, in February, 1855, Sir John Herschel's successor as master of the mint, and held this office till his death. He was one of the founders and the first president of the chemical society of London, for many years president of the Cavendish society, and a fellow and twice vice president of the royal society, which gave him many medals. He conducted many physical and chemical inves- tigations for the government, including one of especial interest on the effect of hail storms in the Newcastle coal mines, reporting on the ventilation of the houses of parliament, and in 1851, with Professors Miller and Hoffmann, on ithe quality of the metropolitan water supply. He discovered the law of diffusion of gases and the polybasic character of phosphoric acid ; demonstrated the existence of a diffusive pow- er in liquids resembling that in gases, to which he applied the name of omosis, and determined its relation to endosmosis and exosmosis ; ex- pounded new theories on the composition of salts, and extended his researches to the tran- spirability of gases. His discoveries and oth- er labors are embraced in his u Elements of Chemistry" (London, 1842), edited with notes and additions by Dr. Robert Bridges (Philadelphia, 1852; new eds., 2 vols., Lon- don, 1856-'8, and 1865 ; German translation by Otto, 3d ed., Brunswick, 1857). He con- tributed important papers to the " Philosoph- ical Transactions," and the annals of the chem- ical and other scientific societies. His genius is highly appreciated in Germany, and A. "W. Hoffmann published in Berlin (1870) his Oe- ddchtnissrede auf Thomas Graham. A bronze statue of Graham was placed in George square, | Glasgow, in 1872. GRAHAM, William Alexander, an American statesman, born in Lincoln co., K C., Sept. 6, 1804. He was educated to the law, and in 1833 entered public life as a member of 370 VOL. vin. 10 GRAHAM ISLAND 143 the lower branch of the state legislature, of which he was several times elected speaker. He represented North Carolina in the United States senate between 1841 and 1843, and was governor of the state from January, 1845, to Jan- uary, 1849. On the accession of Mr. Fillmore to the presidency he was appointed secretary of the navy, an office which he filled until June, 1852, when, receiving from the whig national convention the nomination for vice president, he resigned the secretaryship. During the last year of the civil war he was a senator in the confederate congress, and in 1866 he was a del- egate to the union convention in Philadelphia. GRAHAM ISLAJVD, or Isle of Julia, a volcanic island, which appeared in the Mediterranean in July, 1831, and disappeared toward the close of October. The locality was about midway between Sciacca in Sicily and the island of Pantellaria, lat. 37 8' K, Ion. 12 42' E. The depth of water had been found, a few years before, to exceed 100 fathoms. An earthquake shock was felt over the spot three weeks before the appearance of the island ; and on July 10, a few days be- fore land was observed, a waterspout was seen by a Sicilian navigator, which was suc- ceeded by an immense column of steam rising to the estimated height of 1,800 feet. Fire was seen on the 17th by the master of the brig Adelaide of London. On the 18th the Sicilian captain, repassing the spot, found a small island, 12 ft. out of water, with a crater in its centre, ejecting volcanic matter and im- mense columns of vapor. About the same time Commander Swinburne, R. N., reported it to be 70 or 80 yards in external diameter, and its lip as thin as it could be consistent with its height, which might be 20 ft. above the sea at the highest point. On July 23, as reported and sketched by Mr. Russell of H. M. ship St. Vincent, the circumference of the island was three fourths of a mile, and its highest point 80 ft. above the water. At that time columns of water were ejected to the height of 800 to 1,000 ft., and scorise were thrown, it was sup- posed, twice as high. The first landing was effected on Aug. 3, by Capt. Senhouse of the St. Vincent, who hoisted the British flag, and called the island by the name which was after- ward adopted by the royal and geographical societies. The island was then from 1J to 1 m. in circumference, and its highest point was about 180 ft. above the surface. A deep cir- cular crater lay between two longitudinal hills, by which it was entirely shut in except for about 250 yards on its S. E. side, where a bank only 3 ft. high separated it from the sea. The crater was filled with boiling salt water of a dingy red color, from which rose a nauseous and oppressive vapor. The only gas evolved in large quantity was carbonic acid. Some authorities have made it about this time to be 3 m. in circumference, with a maximum height exceeding 200 ft. On Aug. 25 it was reduced to 2 m., and on Sept. 3 to