da ou Nouvelle France du Nord sur le système agraire” (1667). The Jesuits replied bitterly to his attacks, accusing Father Michel of having become imbued with Protestant doctrines, and entered a formal accusation of heresy against him, but his sudden death saved him from the effects of their resentment. Michel's letters have not been reprinted in book-form, owing, probably, to the opposition of the Jesuits. They are very interesting, as they give details regarding both the Indians and the internal dissensions among the Jesuits and Recollets in Canada.
MICHEL, Jacques Léonard, surnamed Le
Basque (me-shell), French buccaneer, b. in Orthez
in 1620; d. in Tortugas in 1677. He served in the
French army, rose to the rank of captain, and afterward
entered the service of the Company of the
West Indies. In 1654 he was lieutenant-governor
of Tortugas, but resigned and armed a ship, with
which he made war against the Spaniards. Either
alone, or in association with other privateers, he
pillaged the coasts of Santo Domingo, Cuba, Porto
Rico, Venezuela, and of the Gulf of Darien, and
became such a terror to the Spanish that they
surnamed him the Dreadful. Uniting his forces in
1666 with those of L'Olonnais, they stormed and
plundered Cape Leogane on the western coast of
Santo Domingo, and afterward took Maracaibo and
San Antonio de Gibraltar in Venezuela, where they
secured a booty of $1,600,000. Michel afterward
devastated the coasts of Honduras and pillaged
the city of Porto Caballo in 1673, but was so severely
wounded during that expedition that he was no
longer able to continue his war against the
Spaniards. He died with the reputation of being the
most humane buccaneer of his time.
MICHEL, William Middleton, physician, b.
in Charleston, S. C, 22 Jan., 1822. He was edu-
cated in his native city and in Paris, France, and
was graduated at the Medical college of South
Carolina in 1847. In 1848 he founded at Charles-
ton the Summer medical institute, which he con-
ducted till 1861. He was editor of the "Confed-
erate States Medical and Surgical Journal " in
18G3-'4, has been president of the State medical
society, and now (1888) holds the chair of physi-
ology and histology in South Carolina medical
college. Dr. Michel is a member of various medi-
cal societies in the United States and abroad, and
has contributed largely to the literature of his pro-
fession, and has made several valuable discoveries
in embryology. He also theoretically predicted
the functions of the rod and cone layer of the
retina before they were demonstrated in Germany.
He has made researches on the " Development of
the Opossum," his report of which to the American
assiici;itii)ii for the advancement of science led to a
disciis>i(in between him and, Louis Agassiz.
MICHELIN, Henry Etienne (meesh-lang).
West Indian historian, b. in Jeremie, Ilayti, in
1726 ; d. in Cape Fran9ais in 1795. He received
his early education in Santo Domingo, but finished
his studies in Paris, and obtained an appointment
in the colonial administration at Cape Fran9ais,
•devoting his leisure time to historical researches.
He published " Histoire des bouccaniers ou fli-
bustiers de Tile de la Tortue " (2 vols., Paris, 1769) ;
"Histoire des conquetes et de la domination des
Prangais en Amerique"(2 vols., 1774); "Histoire
de I'ile de Saint Domingue" (1776); "Tableau
statistique de la population, du commerce et des
industries dans la partie Frangaise de File de Saint
Domingue, compare avec les releves ofliciels pour
la partie Espagnole " (2 vols., 1785) ; and several
less important works.
MICHELSON, Albert Abraham, physicist,
b. in Strelno, Poland. 19 Dec, 1852. He was
graduated at San P'rancisco high-school in 1869,
and at the U. S. naval academy in 1873, and held
the rank of ensign until 1877, when he was pro-
moted master. In September, 1881, he resigned
from the navy to become professor of physics at
the Case school of applied science in Cleveland.
Ohio. Prof. Michelson's reputation depends large-
ly upon his series of investigations on the velocity
of light. His researches at the U. S. naval acade-
my during 1878-'80 resulted in his experimental
determination of that velocity as 186,305 miles a
second. His later investigations have been pub-
lished as " The Relative Motion of the Earth and
Luminiferous Ether" (1881); "A New Sensitive
Thermometer" (1882): "Interference Phenomena
in a New Form of Refractometer " (1882) ; " A
Method for Determining the Rate of Tuning-
Forks " (1883) : " Velocity of Light in Carbon Di-
sulphide and of Red and Blue Light in Same "
(1885) ; " Influence of Motion of this Medium on the
Velocity of Light " (1886) ; " On a IMethod for mak-
ing the Wave Lengths of Sodium Light the Abso-
lute and Practical Standard of Length " (1887). The
degree of Ph. D. was conferred on him by Western
Reserve imiversity in 1885, and by Stevens institute
of technology in 1886. He is a member of various
scientific societies, was elected vice-president of
the American association for the advancement of
science in 1887, and will have charge of the section
on physics at the Cleveland meeting in 1888.
MICHIE, Peter Smith (my'-key), engineer, b.
in Brechin, Scotland, 24 March, 1839. He came to
this country in early life, and was graduated at
Woodward high-school, Cincinnati, in 1857, and at
the U. S. military academy in 1863, where he stood
second in his class. He was assigned to the en-
gineer corps as 1st lieutenant, and served as assist-
ant engineer in the operations against Charleston,
S. C, in 1863-'4, as chief engineer of districts in
the Department of the South, and as assistant and
then chief engineer of the Army of the James. He
was brevetted captain and major, 28 Oct., 1864,
for services in the campaign of that year against
Richmond, brigadier-general of volunteers, 1 Jan.,
1865, " for meritorious services in 1864," and lieu-
tenant-colonel, 9 April, 1865, for the campaign
that ended in Lee's surrender. He was promoted
captain, 23 Nov., 1865, and since 1867 has served
on the staff of instruction at the U. S. military
academy, first as assistant in the departments of
engineering and chemistry, and after 14 Feb.,
1871, as professor of natural and experimental
philosophy. From June till November, 1870, he
served on a commission that visited Europe to
collect information on the fabrication of iron for
defensive purposes. Prof. Michie has been a mem-
ber of the board of overseers of the Thayer school
of civil engineering of Dartmouth since 1871.
Princeton gave him the degree of Ph. D. in 1871,
and Dartmouth that of M. A. in 1873. He has
published " Wave Motion, relating to Sound and
Light" (New York, 1882); "Life and Letters of
Emerj' Upton" (1885); "Analytical Mechanics"
(1886) ; and " Ilvdromeehanics " (West Point, 1887).
MICHLEE, Nathaniel, soldier, b. in Easton, Pa„ 13 Sept., 1827; d. in Saratoga Springs. N. Y., 17 July, 1881. His great-grandfather, John Wolf- gang, a Moravian minister, came to this country in 1743. Nathaniel, after studying at Lafayette, was graduated at the U. S. military academy in 1848, assigned to the corps of topographical engineers, and served on the Mexican boundary survey
in 1851-'7. He was promoted 1st lieutenant, 19
