HOXJDIN. 255 HOUGHTON. (1857); Con/idances (1S59); Les trickeries des (Jrccs dcvoikes (18til) ; Hecrets de la prestidigi- tation et de la mayie (1808), which was re- printed ten years later as Comment on devient sorcier. This work and Magie et physique amu- sante (1877) were translated into English by Hoffmann. HOUDON, oo'doN', Jean A>'toixe (1741- 1828). One of the foremost French sculptors of the eighteenth century. He was bom at Ver- sailles, France, March 20, 1741, the son of a domestic attached to the house of De la llotte, a courtier. His first impulse toward art came from the splendid decorative sculpture of the park at Versailles, and as a boy of ten or twelve he haunted the ateliers of the Royal School of Sculpture. In the catalogue of the Salon of 1795 he calls himself a pupil of Slodtz, but he was really much more inlluenced bj- Pigalle and tlie younger Lemoyne. In 1761 Houdon won the Prix de Rome, but was not influenced greatly by tlie treasures of art in Rome. His personality was too healthy and powerful to follow the lead of any other master, and could only be satisfied by its own direct and intelligent interpretation of nature. His stay in Rome is marked by two characteristic and important productions : the superb "Ecorche," an anatomical model, which has served as a guide to all artists since his day. and the statue of Saint Bruno in the Church of Santa JIaria degli Angeli in Rome — a work of very powerful characterization. After ten years' stay in Rome Houdon returned to Paris, and soon became one of the foremost French sculptors : he was admitted to the Acad- emy April 23. 1769. In 1785 he visited America in company with Benjamin Franklin, in order to make the statue of Washington which had been ordered by the Legislature of Virginia. He vis- ited Washington at Mount Vernon, and the marl)le statue which followed now adorns the capitol at Richmond. During the French Revo- lution Houdon was in danger before the Tribunal for executing a statue of Saint Scholastica, but succeeded in convincing the judges that his saint was in reality a statue of Philosophy. Houdon died .Tuly 16,' 1828, in Paris. Houdon was a perfectly trained and competent technician, producing easily and abundantly, with equal success both in marble and bronze. His knowledge of anatomy was marvelous, and he was a thorough naturalist who succeeded best in "portraiture. His name is principally con- nected with a fine series of more than two hun- dred portrait busts, which form one of the chief monuments of French sculpture. Among these were those of Diderot (about 1769). Benjamin Franklin (1778), and of Gluck (1777) : on the death of Rousseau in 1778 he made two busts in bronze and terra-cotta from a east of his face. One of the most characteristic of his busts is that of Moli&re in the Theatre Francais, Paris. Among his statues arc those of "Jlorpheus." in the Ecole des Beaux-Arts; "Diana the Huntress." the best of his nude female figures ; and especially the portrait statue of Voltaire (1781), in the Thr^atre Francais, one of the finest in modern art. HOtJGH, hiif. George Wa.shixgton (1836 — ). An American astronomer, bom in Mont- gnmery County, N. Y. He graduated at Union College in 1856, and three years afterwards was appointed assistant astronomer at the Cincin- nati Observatory. The next year he became astronomer and director of the Dudley Observa- torj' in Albany, and in 1879 went West to become director of the Dearborn Observatory and profes- sor of astronomy in Chicago University ; but in 1887 he gave up the latter position to accept a similar one in the Northwestern University. He discovered more than 600 double stars, and in- vented a number of astronomical instruments. His chief publication is Annals of the Dudley Observatory (1866-71). HOUGH, Walteb (1859—). An American ethnologist, born at Jlorgantown, W. Va. He was educated at Jlonongalia Academy, West Vir- ginia Agricultural College, and the University of West Virginia. He entered the employ of the Smithsonian Institution in 1886, and soon became assistant curator of its ethnological department. In 1892 he went with the United States Com- mission to Madrid, and was made Knight of the Order of Isabella. He was a member of Dr. J. Walter Fewkes's expedition to Arizona ( 1896-97 ) , and went to Jlexico with Dr. J. W. Rose (1899). He became a corresponding member of the An- thropological Society of Paris in 1899, and two years later was chosen secretarj' of the Anthropo- logical Society of Washington. HOUGHTOlSr, ho'ton. A village and the coun- ty-seat of Houghton County, Mich., 94 miles north- west of Marquette ; on Portage Lake, near Lake Superior, with which it is connected by a canal, and on the Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic and the Copper Range railroads (Map: Michigan, E 1). It is the centre of a rich mineral district, cop- per being mined and exported in great quan- tities. The Michigan College of Mines, estab- lished here in 1885, occupies a fine building, which, with the high school and county court- house and jail, is among the finest structures of the village. The water-works are owned by the municipality. Population, in 1890, 2062 ; in 1900, 3359. HOUGHTON, George Hendrick ( 1820-97 ) . An American Episcopal clergyman. He was bom in Deerfield, Mass. ; graduated at New York University in 1842. and at the General Theologi- cal Seminary in 1845. In 1848 he organized, and until his death was rector of the Church of the Transfiguration, better known as 'The Little Church Around the Corner.' in Xew York City. The story which explains the origin of this name is that a certain actor having died, his friends requested one of the city pastors to conduct the funeral services. The latter refused, but advised them to try the 'little church around the comer.' Dr. Houghton was distinguished for his activity in benevolent work. At his death he was suc- ceeded by his nephew, George Clarke Houghton. HOUGHTON, Hexrt Oscar (1823-93). .
American publisher, born at Sutton. Vt. He graduated in 1846 at the L'niversity of Vermont, and worked in Boston as compositor and news- paper reporter. In 1849 he entered the Cam- bridge firm of Messrs. Bolles & Houghton, and in 18.')2, upon Mr. Bolles's retirement, transferred the office in its present site, and est,ablished the well-known Riverside Press. In 1872 he was elected Mayor of Cambridge. In 1878. by ac- quiring control of the larce list of the old firm of Messrs. Ticknor & Fields, the Houghton house secured exclusive publication rights for the works
