Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 5).djvu/641

SONTHONAX, Léger Félicité, French commissioner, b. in Oyonnax. Ain, 17 March, 1763: d. there, 28 July, 1813. He practised law at Bourg, and going to Paris at the beginning of the French revolution, to become a member of the noted club, " Les amis des noirs," lectured and issued pamphlets in advocacy of the enfranchisement of the slaves in the French dominions. The negroes having rebelled in Santo Domingo, Sonthonax, fitienne Polverel, and Jean Ailhaud were appoint- ed high commissioners to the Leeward islands. They sailed from La Rochclle in July, 1701, with an army of 6.000 men, and landed at Cape Français on 19 Sept. Ailhaud soon returned to France, and Sonthonax and Polverel, after a brilliant campaign, divided the colony into two governments. Gen. Galbaud arrived from France in June, 1793, to assume the command of the French forces, but was opposed by Sonthonax and removed from office. Galbaud then attacked Cape Francais, and, securing possession of the arsenal, compelled Son- thonax to take refuge in the interior. But the latter made his junction with Polverel, and, return- ing, issued his famous decree of 29 Aug., 1793, which enfranchised the slaves forever. Through the help of the negroes Galbaud was finally de- feated, and sailed for the United States. Sontho- nax's opposition to the whites continued meanwhile, and they asked succor from the authorities at Jamaica. An English expedition landed at Mole Saint Nicholas, and soon occupied the principal parts of the colony; Sonthonax retired to Jacmel, and sailed in 1794 for France, where he had been indicted for his conduct. But he easily justified himself before the convention, and was again ap- pointed in 1796 high commissioner to Santo Do- mingo. After removing Gen. Rochambeau he was compelled to appoint Toussaint L'Ouverture Com- mander-in-chief, and finally left the island in July, 1797, having been elected a deputy to the assembly of the five hundred by the colony. He was exiled after the coup d'etat of 1799, and again in 1803 for having criticised the appointment of Gen. Rocham- beau as commander-in-chief in Santo Domingo. Napoleon forbade him to remain in Paris after 1810, and he retired to his estate at Oyonnax.

SOPHOCLES, Evanrelineus Apostolides, scholar, b. in Tsangaranda. near Mount Pelion, Thessaly, Greece, 8 March, 1807; d. in Cambridge, Mass., i? Dec., 1883. He resided in Egypt during the Greek revolution, studied in the convent of the Greek church on Mount Sinai, and in 1829 came to this country under the patronage of the American board of commissioners for foreign missions. After studying in Monson, Mass., he entered Amherst, but did not complete his course. He then taught in schools in Amherst, Hartford, and New Haven, and in 1840-'o and 1847-'9 was tutor in Harvard. In the last year he became assistant professor, and in 1860 he was given the chair of ancient, modern, and Byzantine Greek, which he retained till his death. He received the degree of A. M. from Yale in 1837 and from Harvard in 1847, and that of LL. D. from Western Reserve in 1862 and from Harvard in 1868. He made two voyages to his native country, returning each time with valuable books. Prof. Sophocles published " Greek Gram- mar for the Use of Learners" (Hartford, Conn., 1838 ; 3d ed., entitled " Greek Grammar for the Use of Schools and Colleges." 1847) : " First Les- sons in Greek " (1839) ; * Greek Exercises " (1841) ; "Romaic Grammar" (1842; 2d ed., Boston, 1857; London, 1866); "Greek Lessons for Beginners" (Hartford. 1843); "Catalogue of Greek Verbs" (1844); "History of the Greek Alphabet, with Remarks on Greek Orthography and Pronuncia- tion " (Cambridge. 1848) : " Glossary of Later and Byzantine Greek" (Boston, 1860, forming vol. vii., new series, of " Memoirs of the American Acad- emy"); and “Greek Lexicon of the Roman and Byzantine Periods." his chief work (Boston. 1870).

SURIN. Edward. clergyman. b. near Paris. France. 6 Feb., 1814: d. in Notre Dame. Ind.. 31 Oct.. 1893. He was graduated at the University of Paris. afterward studied for the priesthood, and was ordained. 9 June. 1838. At the end of a year he felt a desire to become a missionary among the Indians of America. and, with the view of pre- paring himself for this work. he entered the new- ly founded order of the ' Holy Cross. He was shortly after- ward appointed bishop of Ben- gal,butdeclined. lle sailed from Havre, 5 Aug. 1841. reached New York on 14 Sept., and at once set out for Indiana. where be began his la— bors among the Indians. He was forced to aban-

don this field by

the superior of his order, who directed him to es- tablish schools wherever an opportunity offered. He arrived at the present site of Notre Dame. on 24 Nov.. 1842. with only five dollars to begin the work of erecting a school. The waste was cov- ered with snowfand the only building for miles around was a dilapidated log-hut. He began with energy. and spent five days in repairing the log- cabin and in fitting it up so that one half served as a chapel and the other as a dwelling for him- self and six brothers. He then began to build a college. which was chartered as a university in 1844 by the legislature of Indiana. From that day the University of Notre Dame progressed under his guidance until it is to—(lay the largest and most important Roman Catholic educational es— tablishment in the United States. In 1857 he was appointed provincial superior of the houses of the order of the Holy Cross in the United States. and in 1868 he was elected superior—general for life. He crossed the Atlantic forty-three times. and it has been computed that his journeys and voyages together would more than equal eight times the circumference of the earth. BeMdes the University of Notre Dame, he established flourish- ing colleges and schools in every part of the United States and Canada. He was likewise the founder and superior—general of the Sisters of the Holy Cross in the United States. of whom there are more than eight hundred. chiefiy engaged in con- ducting academies. and schools.

SOTHERAN. Charles. bibliographer. b. in Stoke Newington. Surrey. England. 8 July. 1847. He was educated at private Schools. and in 1862 -was apprenticed to a bookseller at Rugby by his uncle. Henry Sotheran. the London publisher. After making a reputation as a bibliographer and antiquary. he came to this country in 1874. and became editor and proprietor of the New York " Echo " in 1878, and literary editor of the " Star " in 1879. He has