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Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 1).djvu/799

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COURT DE GEBBLIN
COVELL
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the celebrated proclamation of Gen. Dix, and the Canadian authorities, by the re-arrest of Young and others, having shown their disapproval of Judge Coursol's action, mutual concessions ensued, result- ing in restoring the former peaceful relationship of the two countries. During the " Trent " difficulty in November, 1861, Mr. Coursol raised a regiment known as the " chasseurs Canadiens," and in 1866, when there was fear of a Fenian invasion, he headed his battalion and marched to the frontier to repel the invaders. In September, 1878, he re- signed his judgeship to contest Montreal, east, in the house of commons, and was elected. He was president of St. Jean Baptiste society, a powerful politico-religious French-Canadian organization, and received various official appointments. In 1872 he was created a knight of the order of Charles II., of Spain.


COURT DE GEBELIN, Antoine (l^oor deh zhay blan), French author, b. in Nimes in 1725 ; d. in Paris, 10 May, 1784. He was a preacher early in life, and afterward devoted himself to the study of antiquity, mythology, the filiation of languages, and similar subjects, in which he became very learned. He went to Paris in 176o, and published there his great work " Le monde primitive," the fruit of twenty years' labor (9 vols., 1775-'84). The completion of this book, which was to have in- cluded several more volumes, was prevented by the author's death. He sympathized deeply with the Americans in the war for independence, and co- operated with Benjamin Franklin and others in publishing a work entitled " Affaires de I'Angle- terre et de I'Amerique," advocating the patriot cause (15 vols., Paris, 1776 et seq.). Besides these, he was the author of a variety of works in history, philosophy, and politics.


COURTENAY, Edward Henry, mathematician, b. in Maryland in 1803 ; d. in Charlottesville, Va., 21 Dec, 1853. He was graduated first in his class at the U. S. military academy in 1821, and was assigned to the engineer corps. He served as assistant professor of natural and experimental philosophy, and afterward of engineering, at West Point from 1821 to 1824. He assisted in the construction of Fort Adams, R. I., in 1824-'6, and on 1 Sept., 1828, returned to the military academy, where he was given the chair of natural and experimental philosophy, 16 Feb., 1829, and held it till his resignation, 31 Dec, 1834. He was professor of mathematics in the University of Pennsylvania in 1834-'6, division engineer on the Erie railway in 1836-'7, and then again entered the gov- ernment service as civil engineer. He was em- ployed in the construction of Fort Independence, Boston harbor, in 1837-41, and was chief engineer of the dry dock at the Brooklyn navy-yard in 1841-'2. He then accepted the chair of mathematics in the University of Virginia, and held it till his death. The University of Pennsylvania gave him the degree of A. M. in 1834, and Hampden Sidney college that of LL. D. in 1846. He translated and edited Boucharlat's " Elementary Treatise on Me- chanics," for the use of the cadets at the U. S. mili- tary academy (New York, 1833), and wrote a " Trea- tise on the Differential and Integral Calculus, and the Calculus of Variations " (1855).


COURTENAY, Reginald, clergyman, b. in England in 1813. In 1835 he was graduated at Ox- ford, and in 1853 received the degree of D. D. He was rector of Thornton Watlass, Yorkshire, from 1842 till 1853, and was appointed archdeacon of Middlesex, Jamaica, in 1853. In 1856 he was con- secrated bishop of Kingston, and coadjutor to the bishop of Jamaica. He retained his archdeaconry, and had jurisdiction over the entire diocese, which includes British Honduras. He resigned in 1879. His published works are " The Future States, their Nature and Evidences " (1857) ; " Account of the Church of England " (published in English, Italian, and Spanish) ; and " Three Pastoral Charges."


COUTINHO, Aureliano de Sousa e Oliveira (coo-teen-yo), Viscount de Sepitiba,- Brazilian states- man, b. in the province of Rio Janeiro, 21 June, 1800 ; d. 25 Sept., 1855. He studied at the Uni- versity of Coimbra, Portugal, where he was gradu- ated as a lawyer, and then spent two years at the military academy of Lisbon. On his return to Brazil, he was chamberlain of the emperor, mem- ber of the imperial council, and senator. In 1833, while filling the office of minister of justice, he brought about a pacific settlement of serious diffi- culties in the court, and also the elevation of young Dom Pedro II. to the throne. He discovei'ed a conspiracy against the prince and in favor of Dom Pedro I. Coutinho rendered important ser- vices to Brazil in several departments, and has left works relative to internal affairs.


COVARRUBIAS, Francisco Diaz (co-var- roo'-be-as), Mexican astronomer, b. in Jalapa in 1833. He distinguished himself as a student in the mining-school, where he was graduated in 1854, and became assistant professor of mathemat- ics there. President Cominfort appointed him chief engineer for the topographical suiwey of the valley of Mexico, and the final results of his com- mission were the topographical map of the Federal district, the hydrographic map of the valley of Mexico, and the accurate ascertainment of the geographic position of the city of Mexico. He re- tired to private life for some time, and President Juarez gave him the office of chief engineer and superintendent of public roads. He was also chief asti'onomer of the National observatory of Chapul- tepec. He resigned this office at the time of the French invasion, but Juarez appointed him assist- ant secretary of public works in 1867, and Presi- dent Lerdo sent him to Japan to observe the tran- sit of Venus, 8 Dec, 1874. He went to Paris in 1875, and represented the Mexican geographical society at the geographical congress, then being made a member of the German astronomical society. On his return to Mexico he published a book relating to his observations of the transit of Venus, and President Diaz sent him as Mexican minister to the five Central American republics, where he remained for two years, aiding Diaz in the persecutions against the refugees from Mexico, and almost bringing about serious international complications. On account of this and of an unfortunate incident, he left Guatemala in haste. He went to Europe in 1881, and repre- sented Mexico at the Geographical congress in Venice, and also at that of electricians in Paris, and was appointed consul-general of Mexico. He has been professor of mathematics, geodesy, and astronomy in the National school of engineers, and also filled the chair of natural philosophy in the National preparatory school. He has published scientific works, the principal ones being "La posicion geografica de Mejico," " Tablas geodesicas para las latitudes de la Republica Slejicana," " Tratado de topografia, geodesia y astronomia," " Nuevos metodos astronomicos," and " Elementos de analisis trascendente."


COVELL, James, clergyman, b. in Marblehead, Mass., 4 Sept., 1796 ; d. In Troy, N. Y., 15 May, 1845. His parents removed to Maine, and then to Poughkeepsie, N. Y., where, in June, 1815, James was licensed as a travelling preacher in the Meth-