JOPLIN 278 JORDAN" with life. On being released from con- finement he married, and recommenced writing for the stage, to which he was encouraged by Shakespeare, who per- formed in one of his pieces. In 1598 he produced his comedy of "Every Man in His Humor," which was followed by a new play every year, till the reign of James I., when he was employed in the masques and entertainments at court. He joined Chapman and Marston in writing the comedy of "Eastward Hoe," which so grossly libelled the Scotch na- tion that the authors were committed to orison. He soon regained the favor of che king, and for the remainder of that reign he continued in high favor as a kind of superintendent of the court revels. In 1619 he was appointed poet- laureate, with a salary of $500, and a butt of canary wine yearly from the king's cellars. Want of economy, how- ever, kept him constantly poor, though he had a pension from the city. His principal plays are "Sejanus," "Vol- pone," "Epicjene," and "The Alchemist.' He died Aug. 16, 1637, and was buried in Westminster Abbey, where a tablet has been erected to his memory in Poet's Corner, with the inscription, "0 Rare Ben Jonson." JOPLIN", a city in Jasper co.. Mo., on the Missouri Pacific and other railroads; 14 miles S. W. of Carthage and 168 miles S. of Kansas City. It is the commercial trade center of the Southwest Missouri lead and zinc mining district ;_ princi- pally engaged in mining, smelting, and the manufacture of white lead; has elec- tric lights and street railroads; Holly system of waterworks ; 2 National banks, and daily, weekly, and monthly period- icals. Pop. (1910) 32,073; (1920) 29,902. JOPPA. See Jaffa. JORAM, or JEHORAM (-ho'ram), son of Ahab, King of Israel; successor of his older brother Ahaziah, 896 B. C. During his reign of 12 years the Moab- ites revolted. Joram secured the aid of Jehoshaphat, King of Judah, and de- feated the Moabites with great slaughter. He was involved in war with Ben-hadad, King of Syria, and Hazael his successor; and at this time occurred the miraculous deliverance of Samaria from siege and famine, and also various miracles of Elisha, including the healing of Naaman. Joram was wounded in a battle with Hazael, and met his death, in the sub- urbs of Ramoth-gilead, by the hand of Jehu his general. His body was thrown into the field of Naboth, at Jezreel, and with him perished the race of Ahab. JORAM, or JEHORAM, the son and successor of Jehoshaphat, King of Judah. He reigned with his father, from 889 B. C, four years, and four years alone. He was married to Athaliah, daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, whose evil influence made his reign a curse to the land. He slew his own brothers, five in number, and seized their possessions. He also introduced Phoenician idols and theirwor- ship into Judah. A successful revolt of the Edomites, and repeated invasions of the Philistines and Arabians made of his reign a calamity. JORDAN ("descending"), the princi- pal river of Palestine, the bed of which forms a great valley stretching from N. to S., in the E. part of the country. It is formed by the junction of three streams. The highest source of the Jor- dan is the Hasbany, which rises near the Druse town of Hasbeiya, on the W. side of Mount Hermon. There is another spring on the S. side of the same moun- tain at Banias (Paneas or Caesarea Philippi), and the Leddan at Dan. The Jordan flows S., and after a course of a little over 100 miles, having passed through the small Huleh Lake (The Waters of Merom) and the Lake of Tiberius (Sea of Galilee), 682 feet below the Mediterranean, it falls into the N. ex- tremity of the Dead Sea (g. v.), 1,292 feet below the Mediterranean. Besides smaller affluents, it receives four streams, the Wady Far'ah and Wady Kelt from the W., the Hieromax and Jabbok from the E. The source is 1,700 feet above the Mediterranean, making a total fall when it reaches the Dead Sea of 3,000 feet. The Upper Jordan was first ex- plored by John McGregor in his Rob Roy canoe in 1869. JORDAN, DAVID STARR, an Amer- ican educator; born in Gainesville, N. Y., Jan. 19, 1851. He studied at Cornell and Harvard. After holding important pro- fessorships, he served as president of the University of Indiana from 1885 to 1891, In the latter year he was made president of Leland Stanford Jr. Uni- versity. He served in this capacity until 1913, and as chancellor from 1913-1916, when he became chancellor emeritus. He wrote "Science Sketches," "Care and Culture of Men," "Footnotes to Evolu- tion," etc., and served on a number of important government commissions, since 1909 Director of World Peace Founda- tion, author of 400 scientific monographs, "The Way of Lasting Peace"(1916) , etc., president California Academy of Science, 1896 and 1909, chairman U. S. Fish- eries Commission (1901-1904) and Alas- ka Salmon Investigation (1903-1904.)
