HAMSTER (Cricetus), a genus of rodent mammals belonging to the Wuride or mice family, and characterized by the possession of large cheek pouches. The common hamster (Cricetus vulgaris) is somewhat larger and stouter than the Norway rat, but with a much shorter tail. Its fur, which varies somewhat in colour, is generally of a reddish-brown above and black beneath, with several white spots on the sides. Itis found throughout the dry regions of central Europe and Asia, from the Rhine eastward to the river Obi and southward to Persia and the Caucasus. It is a burrowing animal, its subterranean dwelling consist- ing of several vaults, most of which are used as storehouses for the grain and seeds which the hamster lays up in autumn for consumption during winter and spring. In collecting this store it makes use of its cheek pouches, which are said to be large enough to contain a quarter of an English pint, while the hoard of a single individual will sometimes contain about two bushels of grain. It is thus specially obnoxious to the farmer, who loses no opportunity of destroying the creature and of ransacking its stores. Like many other rodents, the hamster is exceedingly prolific, the female producing several broods in the year, each con- sisting of over a dozen young, and these when not more than three weeks ol:d are turned out of the parental burrow to form underground homes for themselves. The burrow of the young hamster is only about a foot in depth, while that of the adult descends 4 or 5 feet beneath the surface. On the approach of winter the hamster retires to its sub- terranean abode, the various entrances to which it carefully closes, and there it remains until the advent of milder con- ditions, feeding for a while on its well-garnered store, but becoming torpid during the coldest period of winter. Although feeding chiefly on roots, fruits, and grain, it 1s also to some extent carnivorous, attacking and feeding upon small quadrupeds, lizards, and birds. It is exceedingly fierce and pugnacious, the males especially fighting with eich other for possession of the females. The numbers of those destructive vermin are kept in check by their raany natural enemies, the foxes, dogs, cats, and polecats, which feed upon them. The skin of the hamster is of some value, and its flesh is used as food. Its burrows are sought after in the countries where it abounds, both for capturing the animal and for rifing its store.
HANAU, a town of Prussia, capital of a circle in the government district of Cassel, province of Hesse-Nassau, is situated at the confluence of the rivers Kinzig and Main, 12 miles E. of Frankfort. It consists of what are called an old and anewtown. The streets of the former are narrow and irregular, but the latter, founded at the end of the 16th century by refugee Walloons and Netherlanders, is built in the form of a pentagon with broad streets crossing at right angles, and possesses several fine squares, among which may be mentioned the market-place, adorned with handsome fountains at the four corners, The town is the seat of a circle court, a head tax-office, a chamber of commerce, and a branch of the imperial bank. Among the principal build- ings are the ancient castle, formerly the residence of the counts of Hanau; the church of St John, dating from the 17th century, with a rather imposing tower; the old church of St Mary, formerly a collegiate church, and containing the tomb of the counts of Hanau; the church of the new town, built in the beginning of the 17th century, whose ground plan is in the form of two circles intersecting each other ; the beautiful new Catholic church, the synagogue, the theatre, the barracks, the arsenal, the orphanage, and the infirmary. Its educational establishments include a gymnasium, a school of design, a real-school, and a higher girls’ school. There is a Wetteravian society of natural history and an historical society, both of which possess considerable libraries and collections connected with their respective branches of knowledge. Hanau is the birthplace of the brothers Grimm, and the house in which they were born is now adorned with a medallion. In the neighbour- hood of the town are the electoral palace, with an extensive park and large orangeries, and the watering-place of Withelmsbad. Hanan is the principal commercial and manufacturing town in the province, and stands next to Cassel in point of population. Its staples are ornaments of various kinds, cigars, leather, paper, playing cards, silver and platina wares, chocolate, soap, woollen cloth, hats, silk, gloves, stockings, ropes, and matches. It has also three large foundries and a number of breweries, and in the neighbourhood there are extensive powder-mills. It carries on a large trade in wood, wine, and corn, in addition to its articles of manufacture. The population of the town in 1875 was 22,269.
From the number of urns, coins, and other antiquities found near Hanau it would appear that it owes its origin to a Roman settlement. It was raised to the rank of a town in 1393, and in 1528 it was fortified by Count Philip, who rebuilt the castle. At the end of the 16th century its prosperity received considerable impulse from the accession of the Walloons and Netherlanders. During the Thirty Years’ War it was in 1631 taken by the Swedes, and in 1636 it was besieged by the imperial troops, but was relieved on the 18th June by Landgrave William Y. of Cassel, on account of which the day is still commemorated by the inhabitants. Napoleon on his retreat from Leipsie defeated the Germans under Marshal Wrede at Hanau, October 30, 1818; and on the following day the allies vacated the town, when it was entered by the French. In 1429 Hanau became the capital of a province of the empire, which on the death of Count Reinhard IT. was in 1451 partitioned between the Hanau-Miinzenberg and Hanan-Lichtenberg lines, but was reunited in 1692 when the elder line became extinct. The younger line received princely rank in 1696, but, as it also became extinct, Hanau-Miinzenberg in 1736 was joined to Hesse-Cassel and Hanau- Lichtenberg to Hesse-Darmstadt. In 1785 the whole province was united to Hesse-Cassel, and in 1803 it became an independent prin- cipality. In 1813 it again came into the possession of Hesse-Cassel, and in 1866 it was joined to Prussia,
HANCOCK, John (1737–1793), American revolutionary statesman, was born at Quincy, Massachusetts, January 12, 1737. Having taken his degree at Harvard university in 1754, he began a mercantile career, and on the death of an uncle in 1764 succeeded to a large fortune and a pros- perous business. In 1768, two years after his election to the Massachusetts house of representatives by the city of Boston, his sloop “ Liberty ” was seized for contravention of the commercial laws, and in the riot which followed the royal customs commissioners barely escaped with their lives. After the “ massacre ” cf Boston in 1770, Hancock inveighed with such spirit and bitterness against the troops and their officers, demanding their removal from the town, that he became obnoxious to the Government ; and five years atter- wards the attempt to seize his person led to the first revolu- tionary battle at Concord, Massachusetts. In 1774 Hancock was president of the provincial congress, and from 1775 tv 1777 of the general congress at Philadelphia, where he was the first to sign the declaration of independ2nce. Teturn- ing to Massachusetts he assisted in framing its constitution, and in 1780 was chosen first governor. He was annually elected to this dignity till 1785, and again from 1787 to 1793, sitting as an ordinary member of the legislature in the interval. He received the degree of LL.D. from Harvard university in 1792. He died at Quincy, &th October 1793.
