Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 09.djvu/393

THAYES 331 THEATER or THEATRE 1896. His publications include: "The Duties of Citizenship"; "The Battle of Germantown"; "The Philippines"; "What Is Demanded of the United States by the Obligations of Duty and National Honor"; and many essays, speeches, re- views, etc. He died in 1906. THAYER, SYLVANUS, an American military officer; born in Braintree, Mass., June 9, 1785; was graduated at Dart- mouth College in 1807; and the United States Military Academy in 1808; and assigned to the Engineer Corps. He was employed on engineer duty on the E. coast, and as an instructor of mathe- t matics at the Military Academy; was promoted to 1st lieutenant, July 1, 1812; took part in the War of 1812-1815; was chief engineer on the Niagara frontier, at Lake Champlain, and in the defense of Norfolk, Va.; was promoted captain of engineers In 1813, and brevetted major in 1815 for distinguished services. In 1815 he was sent to Europe to examine military works and schools, and to study the operations of the allied armies before Paris; was recalled in 1817 on being appointed superintendent of the United States Military Academy, which post he held till 1833, when he resigned. During his administration he organized the in- stitution on its present basis. He was brevetted major in 1823, lieutenant-col- onel in 1828, and colonel in 1833. In 1838-1863 he was engaged in the con- struction of defenses in and about Bos- ton harbor. He was promoted lieutenant- co'ionel of engineers in 1838, colonel in ' 1863, and brevet brigadier-general May 31, 1863, and was retired the following day. He was a member of various scien- tific associations; gave $70,000 to found the Thayer School of Civil Engineering at Dartmouth College; $10,000 to Brain- tree for a public library ; and bequeathed $300,000 for the endowment of an acad- emy in Braintree. He was the author of "Papers on Practical Engineering" (1844). He died in South Braintree, Mass., Sept. 7, 1872. His body was re- interred in West Point, Nov. 8, 1877, where a statue was raised to his honor, which bears the inscription, "Colonel Thayer, Father of the United States Military Academy." THAYER, WILLIAM MAKEPEACE, an American clergyman; born in Frank- lin, Mass., Feb. 23, 1820. His books at- tained great popularity, several being reprinted abroad in German, French, Italian, Greek, Swedish, etc. Among his works are: "The Bobbin Boy" (1859); "The Pioneer Boy" (1863); a Series of Biographers (10 vols. 1859-1863); "Youth's History of the Rebellion" (1863-1865); "White House Stories" (1880-1885) ; "Marvels of the New West" (1887); "Life of Garfield"; "Men Who Win"; "Women Who Win"; "From the Tannery to the White House"; "In the Meshes"; "Ethics of Success"; etc. He died in Franklin, Mass., April 7, 1898. • THAYER, WILLIAM ROSCOE, an American author; born in Boston, Mass., Jan. 16, 1859; studied in Europe, and was graduated at Harvard University in 1881; became editor of the "Harvard Graduates' Magazine" (1892-1915). His publications include "Confessions of Hermes" (1884) ; "The Best Elizabethan Plays" (1890); "The Dawn of Italian Independence" (1893) ; "Poems, New and Old" (1894); "History and Customs of Harvard University" (1898) ; "Throne- Makers" (1899) ; "Short History of Ven- ice" (1903) ; "Life and Times of Cavour" (1911) ; "Life and Letters of John Hay" (1915); "Germany Against Civilization" (1916); "Letters of John Holmes" (1917); "Theodore Roosevelt" (1919). He is an overseer of Harvard, vice-presi- dent American Historical Assoc, mem- ber Academy of Arts and Letters, etc. THEATER, or THEATRE, a building devoted to the representation of dramatic spectacles; a playhouse. Among the Greeks and Romans theaters were the chief public edifices next to the temples. The theater of Marcellus at Rome, the external walls of which are still in exist- ence, contained seats for 30,000 specta- tors. The Greek theaters were semi- circular; that part in which the chorus danced and sang was called the orches- tra ; behind this, and facing the audience, was the stage for the performers who took part in the drama; the back of the stage being filled in by a permanent architecturally decorated scene. Roman theaters also formed semi-circles, with seats rising in the form of an amphi- theater for the spectators, at the chord of which was the stage (scena), with its permanent decorations. The orchestra, which was the space between the stage and the lowest tier of spectators, was employed by the Greeks for theatrical purposes, whereas the Romans turned it into seats for the senators. The topmost tier was generally crowned with a cov- ered portico. The theaters were either open or were protected against the sun and rain by an awning stretched over them. The scena consisted of the scena in a restricted sense, answering to the modern scene, and the pulpitum or stage. The scene itself, in accordance with a critical canon observed with much soli- tude by the Grecian dramatists, was very rarely changed during the course of the