Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 12.djvu/19

LAUDONNIEKE. /■rrtHfais, translated in Hakluyt's f riHCipoi A'am'- yations (1589), and in French's Historical C'ollec- tiuns of houisiuna. The last-named book also contains other original documents relating to this episode, which is fully treated in Parkman, Pioneers of France in the Sew World (Boston, 1865). See JIexe.vdez de Avil£s; Ribaut. LAUENBTJRG, lou'en-botirK. A circle in the Province of Schleswig-Holstein, Prussia. Its area is 455 square miles; its population, in I'JOO, 61,833. The district is productive and well forested. Agriculture and cattle-raising are the chief industries. There are numerous lakes. I.auenburg was inhabited by Slavic tribes wiien Charles the Great conquered it in 804. It formed part of the Duchy of Sa.xony, and in the thir- teenth century became a separate State, ruled by the dukes of Saxe-Lauenburg. This line be- came e.xtinct in 1G89, when a number of princes contested the .succession. Finally, in 1702, Lauenburg acknowledged the dominion of the Elector of Hanover. In the course of the Napo- leonic wars it passed to France. In 1815 Den- ma:rk obtained possession of it, but had to cede it to Prussia and Austria after the War of 1864. By the Convention of Gastein of 1865. Austria gave full possession to. Prussia, and the latter has possessed it since that time. In 1890, when Bismarck retired from ollice. William II. con- ferred upon him the title of Duke of Lauenburg. Bismarck's main .estate ( Friedrichsruh) is with- in the limits of the old duch.v. The town of Lauenburg. founded in 1811. is situated on the Elbe, 25 miles southea.st of Hamburg. Its popu- lation, in 1900, was 5346. LATJENBUIIG. A town in the Province of Ponierania. Prussia, situated on the Leba, 38 miles west-northwest of Danzig (Map: Prussia, G 1). There are manufactures of woolen and linen cloth, and of white and common leather, matches, machinery, and spirits. Population, in 1900, 10,436. LAXJGEE, lo'zha', Desire Francois (1823- 96). A French painter, born at Maromme. Seine- Inferieure, pupil of Picot and of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. After a visit to Belgium and Eng- land, he began to exhibit portraits and historical genre scenes, turned from romantic sul>iects to delineations of popular life, and subsequentl.v produced a number of religious paintings for churches. Among his most noteworthy works arc: "Assassination of Rizzio" (1849, Amiens Museum); "Death of Zurbaran" (1850); "Le- sueur with the Carthusian Monks" ( 1855, Lux- embourg Museum) ; "Saint Louis Washing the Feet of the Poor" (1863, Ministry of State); "Baptism of Clovis," and "Saint Clotilde Help- ing the Poor" (1870).' mural paintings in the Church of Saint Clotilde, Paris; "Candle of the Madonna" ( 1S77, Luxembourg) ; "Triumph of Flora" (1879), decorative painting in the Hotel Continental, Paris; "The Servant of the Poor" (1880, Lille Jluseum) ; "Victor Huso on His Deathbed" (1886); "Palm Sunday" (1892); "Martyrdom of Saint Denis," mural painting in the Church of the Trinity; besides several deco- rative works in other churches and in the Ex- change in Paris. He was awarded medals in 1850," 1855. 1859, 1861, and 1863. and decorated with the Legion of Honor in 1865.- — His son and pupil. Georges (1853 — ). is a genre painter, who studied also under Pils and Henri Lehmann, and r LAUGHLIN. whose works include such subjects as "Repast of the Mowers" (1877), "Poor Blind Man" (1881), and "The First-Born" (1883). LATTGEL, lu'zhel', Auguste (1830—). A French author, born in Strassburg. For sev- eral years he was a mining engineer, and after- wards became secretary to the Due d'Auniale. His works, on scientitie, historical, and philo- sophical subjects, include: Etudes scientifiques (1859); Hcicncc ct philosophic (1862); Les Etats-Unis pendant la yuerre (1801-65) ; L'Anyle- terre politique et sociale (1873) ; Grandes figures historiques (1875); Lord Palmerston ct Lord Russell (1876); Louis de Colif/ny (1877); La France jwlitique et sociale (1877) ; and Henri de Rohan, son role politique ct militaire sous Louis XI n. (1889). LAUGERIE BASSE, hizh're' has. A famous prehistoric station in the valley of the Vez&re, Dordogne. France. From this station came the human remains forming the type of the Laugerie Basse race, a long-headed people living in France in the Magdalenian epoch, near the close of the Quaternary. Consult: Deniker, Races of Man (London, 1900) ; Mortillet, Le prchistorique (Paris, 1900). LAXJGHING-GAS. See Nitrogex; An.es- TIIETICS. LAUGHING GULL. A rather small Ameri- can gull (Larus atricilla) , so called from its hallooing cr.y. It is gray on the back and white beneath, with the head black in mature summer plumage, and the feet reddish. Its home is in the tropics, from the Amazon northward ; but in summer it strays u]) both coasts of America to Maine and central California. It is very numer- ous on the South Atlantic and Gulf coasts, breeds on sandv islets and beaches from the Carolinas southward, and rarely goes inland. Consult Coues. Birds of the Northwest (Washington, 1874). LAUGHING-JACKASS, or Giant King- hunter. The great brown kingfisher (Dacilo gigas) of Australia, about 17 inches long, and mostly brown in color. It represents the sub- famil.v Halc.yoninsp. which diflfers from the true kingfishers most niarkedl.v in that it does not frccjuent waters or feed on fish, but preys on beetles, reptiles, and small mammals, and is of great use in preventing the excessive multiplica- tion of reptiles and other pests. . It is a common bird in Australia, and has received its English name from the colonists on account of its pe- culiar cr.y. It lavs its eggs, which .are pure white, in a cayit.y in an old tree, which it defends with great courage. See Kingfisher; and Plate of Kingfishers, jNIotmots. etc. LAUGHING PHILOSOPHER, The. A title given to Domocritus (q.v.). LAUGHLIN, laf'lin. James Laurence (1850 — ). An American economist, horn at Deerfield, Ohio. He was graduated at Harvard with high honors in 1873; taught in Boston scliools. .and became instructor in political economy at Har- vard in 1878. and assistant professor (1883). holding this chair until 1SS7, Avlien he became president of the Manufacturers' Mutual Insur- ance Company of Philadelpliia. In 1800 he was appointed professor of political economy at Cor- nell University, and in 1892 he became head of the department of political economy at the Uni-