Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 03.djvu/270

CURRIE 226 CURTIS in streams, canals, or rivers. The veloc- ity of a stream is usually measured to determine the amount of flow. The mod- ern current meter, which is an evolution of the type introduced in 1790 by Wolt- mann, a German hydraulic engineer, con- sists essentially of a vertical metal rod, weighted at the bottom. A tail is fast- ened to this rod, which keeps the appa- ratus in the proper position. Attached to the rod, and at right angles to it is a device consisting of a wheel with cupped vanes, and a rudder which keeps the wheel facing the current. This wheel is connected with a device which records its revolutions. From a known relation be- tween the number of revolutions in a given time and the speed of the water, the rate of flow of any stream can be de- termined. The instrument is calibrated by drawing it at various known speeds through still water. CURRIE, SIR ARTHUR WILLIAM, a British soldier. He was born in 1875 and, after receiving his preliminary edu- cation, entered the army. After a period of military training in England he went to Canada and was gradually promoted until he became Inspector-General. He served in the World War, 1914-1918. In 1915 he was made C. B.; in 1917 K. C. M. G.; in 1918 K. C. B.; and in 1919 G. C. M. G. In 1917-1919 he commanded a Canadian corps in France and was mentioned in dispatches. He also re- ceived the cross of the Legion of Honor, 3d class. CURTIN, ANDREW GREGG, an American politician; born in Belief onte, Pa., April 22, 1815. He studied law at Dickinson College, and was admitted to the bar in 1839. Entering politics, he be- came secretary of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1854, governor in 1860, and again in 1863, being one of the most noted "war governors." In 1869 he was appointed minister to Russia. In 1873 he left the Republican party, and from 1881 to 1887 sat in Congress as a Democrat. He died in Bellefonte, Pa., Oct. 7, 1894. ^ CURTIN, JEREMIAH, an American linguist and antiquarian; bom in Mil- waukee, Wis., in 1838. He has virritten: "Myths and Folk-Lore of Ireland"; "Tales of the Fairies and the Ghost World"; "Myths and Folk-Tales of the Russians, Western Slavs, and Magyars"; etc. He was a proficient in the Slavic tongues; made addresses in Czech, and translated much from Russian and Polish, He died in 1906. CURTIS, CHARLES, an American public official, born in 1860 in Topeka, Kan., of an Indian family. He was edu- •cated in the public schools, and admitted to the bar in 1881, served two terms as district attorney of Shawnee county, and from 1893 to 1897 represented the Fourth Kansas district in Congress. From 1897 to 1907 he represented the First Kansas district in the National legislature. When Senator Burton resigned from the Senate in 1907, Curtis was elected to fill out his unexpired term. Although he was again a candidate on the Republican ticket for the term 1913 to 1920, he was defeated by the Democratic sweep of 1912. In 1915, when the Republicans re- gained control of the State, he vi^as elected to the Senate for the term 1915 to 1921. CURTIS, CYRUS HERMANN KOTZ- SCHMAR, an American newspaper owner and publisher. Born in Maine in 1850, he was educated in the public schools of that State. In the Centennial year he moved to Philadelphia where he began the publication of a magazine en- titled "The Tribune and Farmer." A few years later he published the "Ladies' Home Journal," which became one of the most successful magazines in the United States. The Curtis Publishing Company, of which he is the head, publish also the "Country Gentleman" and the "Saturday Evening Post." In 1913 Mr. Curtis took over the Philadelphia "Public Ledger." CURTIS, GEORGE TICKNOR, an American lawyer; born in Watertown, Mass., Nov. 28, 1912. In addition to his eminence at the New York bar, he was noted as the author of an authoritative "History of the Constitution of the United States"; he published likewise: "Digest of English and American Admi- ralty Decisions," "American Convey- ancer," "Life of James Buchanan," "Life of Daniel Webster," "Creation or Evolu- tion," and "John Charaxes," a novel. H( died in New York, March 28, 1894. CURTIS, GEORGE WILLIAM, an American author; born in Providence, R. I., Feb. 24, 1824. He was an early aboli- tionist, and a leader in the Republican party from the first; for many years the editor of "Harper's Weekly," and the writer of the "Editor's Easy Chair" in "Harper's Monthly," besides the "Man- ners Upon the Road" series for "Har- per's Bazar" (1867-1873) ) . He was also a lecturer of great popularity. His works include: "Nile Notes of a Howadji" (1851) ; "The Howadji in Syria" (1852) ; "Lotus Eating" (1852); "Potiphar Pa- pers" (1853) ; "Prue and I" (1856) ; "Trumps" (1862) ; and others. He died on Staten Island, N. Y., Aug. 31, 1892. CURTIS, WILLIAM ELEROY, an American journalist; born in Akron, O., Nov. 5, 1850. He has written : "Capitals of Spanish America" (1888) ; "The Lan4