ered his connection with the navy to assume the presidency of the newly reorganized Russian American company. He was always opposed to the cession of Alaska to the United States, and wrote several memoirs upon the subject. In 1854 he re-entered active service and was made chief director of the hydrographical department of the navy, chief assistant in 1855 to the high admiral, Grand Duke Constantine, member of the counsel of the empire in 1858, and in 1859 admiral and general aide-de-camp to the czar, Alexander II. The continent that Wrangell sought was discovered in 1855 by the English navigator, Capt. Thomas Long, and is named Wrangell Land. An account of the physical observations during his first journey was published in German (Berlin, 1827), and also in German extracts from Wrangell's journals, “Reise laengs der Nordküste von Sibirien und auf dem Eismeere in den Jahren 1820-'4” (2 vols., Berlin, 1839), which was translated into English as “Wrangell's Expedition to the Polar Sea” (2 vols., London, 1840), but the complete report of the expedition appeared two years later: “Otceschewie do Sjewernym beregam Sibiri, po Ledowitomm More” (2 vols., St. Petersburg, 1841), and was immediately translated into French with notes by Prince Galitzin, under the title “Voyage sur les côtes septentrionales de la Sibérie et de la mer glaciale” (2 vols., 1841). From the French version an English one was made under the title “A Journey on the Northern Coast of Siberia and the Icy Sea” (2 vols., London, 1841). He also published “Otscherk puti is Sitchi w' S. Petersburg” (1836; French translation under the title “Journal de voyage de Sitka à Saint Pétersbourg” (Paris, 1836; English version from the French, entitled “Journal of a Voyage from Sitka to St. Petersburg,” London, 1837)); and “Nachrichten über die Russischen Besitzungen an der Nordwestküste America's” (2 vols., St. Petersburg, 1839), better known by the French version, “Renseignements statistiques et ethnographiques sur les possessions Russes de la côte Nord-Ouest de l'Amérique” (Paris, 1839), which was translated into English under the title “Statistical and Ethnographical Notices on the Russian Possessions in North America” (London, 1841).
WRIGHT, Adam Henry, Canadian physician,
b. in Brampton, Ont., 6 April, 1846. He was gradu-
ated at the Universty college, Toronto, in 1866,
and received the degree of M. B. there in 1873,
and from the Royal college of surgeons in England
in 1877. He was demonstrator of normal his-
tology in the Toronto school of medicine from
1879 till 1887, surgeon-general of the Toronto hos-
pital in 1882-'3, lecturer in the Woman's medical
college in 1883-'6, and since 1887 has been pro-
fessor of obstetrics in the University of Toronto,
which gave him the degree of M. D. in 1888.
WRIGHT, Alonzo, Canadian member of par-
liament, b. in Hull, Lower Canada, 26 Feb., 1825.
He is a grandson of Philemon Wright, of Wo-
burn, Mass., who removed to Canada in 1797,
founded the village of Hull, and was the first repre-
sentative of the county of Ottawa in the Lower
Canada assembly. The grandson was educated at
Potsdam academy, N. Y., became a farmer, and is
lieutenant - colonel of the Ottawa county reserve
militia. He was a representative in the Canada
assembly from 1862 till 1867, when he was elected
to the Dominion parliament by acclamation, re-
elected by acclamation in 1872, and again returned
in 1874, 1878, and in 1887.
WRIGHT, Ambrose Ransom, soldier, b. in
Louisville, Jefferson co., Ga., 26 April, 1826 ; d.
21 Dec, 1872. He studied law, was admitted to
the bar, and entered politics as a Democrat, but
subsequently joined the Know-Nothing party. He
supported the Bell and Everett ticket in 1860, and
after its defeat espoused the cause of secession.
He was sent by the convention of Georgia as com-
missioner to Maryland to induce that state to join
the movement. He enlisted as a private soldier
in the Confederate army early in 1861, became
colonel of the 3d Georgia regiment of infantry.
8 May, 1861, colonel of the 38th Georgia infantry,
15 Oct., 1861, brigadier-general, 3 June, 1862, and
major-general, 26 Nov.. 1864. After the close of
the war he was editor of the " Chronicle and Sen-
tinel " newspaper. He was elected in 1872 a repre-
sentative in congress as a Democrat, but died be-
fore taking his seat.
WRIGHT, Arthur Williams, physicist, b. in Lebanon, Conn., 8 Sept., 1836. He was graduated at Yale in 1859, and received the degree of Ph. D. there in 1861. Subsequently he studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1866, but did not practise. In 1863-'8 he was a tutor at Yale, and in 1868-'9 he studied physical science in Heidelberg and Berlin. In 1869 he became professor of physics and chemistry in Williams, but he returned to Yale in 1872 as professor of molecular physics and chemistry. The title of his chair was changed in 1887 to that of experimental physics. Since 1885 he has had charge of the Sloane physical laboratory at Yale, which was constructed under his supervision. Prof. Wright was the first to observe and describe the electric shadow in 1870-'l, devised a new apparatus for the production of ozone, and investigated its action upon alcohol and ether in 1872-'4 ; also in 1874 determined the polarization of the zodiacal light, measuring its amount, and investigated its spectrum. He was the first to discover gases in stony meteorites, to extract them and determine their composition, obtaining their spectra in vacuum tubes, and pointing out their relation to the spectra of comets as affording a probable explanation of the latter. In 1877 he devised a method of applying the discharge of electricity in a vacuum to deposit the metal of the electrode upon glass or other surfaces, so as to form brilliant transparent metallic films. He was a member of the party that was stationed at La Junta, Col., to observe the total solar eclipse of 1878, when he determined the character and degree of polarization of the light of the corona with a special form of polarimeter. The same instrument was employed in the detection and measurement of the polarization of the light of several comets and of the moon in 1881-'3. He has devised a novel standard barometer and a simple apparatus for distilling mercury in vacuo, which has been adopted by the U. S. signal service. In 1881-'6 he was consulting specialist to the U. S. signal service
