LINCEI, lē̇n-chā′ē̇, Accademia dei. A celebrated Italian learned society, founded at Rimini in 1603 by Federigo Cesi, son of the Duke of Acqua Sparta, for the purpose of fostering the study of the physical sciences. The name lincei or lynxes is supposed to have been adopted as an expression of the members' belief in the possibility of piercing the depths of scientific truth. Though it numbered among its members such men as Galileo and Stelluti, the society languished after 1630 and gradually died away. Restored in 1745 by Giovanni Branchi, it passed once more out of existence. It was revived for a second time toward the end of the eighteenth century, but was of little real importance till the occupation of Rome by the Italian troops in 1870, when it became what it has remained to the present day, one of the principal associations in Italy for the advancement of science and scholarship. As reorganized in 1870, it is divided into a royal and a Papal section.
LINCOLN, lĭṉ′con. The capital of Lincolnshire, England, a civic county, Parliamentary and municipal borough, and episcopal see, on the Witham, 130 miles northwest of London (Map: England, F 3). It is a junction of six railroads and has extensive canal communications.
Built on the slope of a hill, which is crowned by the cathedral, the city is imposing. It is irregularly laid out, and contains many interesting specimens of early architecture, such as the Roman Gate, the remains of the Norman castle and of the palace and stables of John of Gaunt, and the town hall. The cathedral, one of the finest in England, is the principal building. It is surmounted by three towers, two of which, 180 feet in height, were formerly continued by spires of 101 feet. The central tower, 53 feet square, is 300 feet high. The interior length of the cathedral is 482 feet, the width 80 feet. The famous bell called Tom of Lincoln, cast in 1610 and recast in 1834, hangs in the central tower; it is 5 tons 8 cwt. in weight. The style of the cathedral is chiefly early English. Lincoln has numerous schools and benevolent institutions. Its municipal administration is noteworthy. It owns remunerative real estate markets, a racecourse, water-works, and gas and electric lighting plants, and maintains a free library, technical instruction, an arboretum, recreation grounds, public baths, and a sewage farm. One member is returned to the House of Commons for the city. Several iron-foundries and manufactories of portable steam-engines and agricultural machines, as well as large steam flour-mills, are in operation here, and there is an active trade in corn and wool. Lincoln is an important livestock market, and horse and cattle fairs are annually held. It is also an important horse-racing centre. The town was called by the Romans Lindum, which, with Colonia, gives the modern name. Lincoln under the Romans was a place of some importance, and also under the Saxons and Danes. It was the seat of an extensive shipping trade at the time of the Norman Conquest, the river at that time being navigable for large vessels. Population, in 1861, 20,999; in 1881, 37,312; in 1901, 48,784. Consult: Allen, History of Lincoln (London, 1833); Kendrick, Lincoln Cathedral (London, 1898).
LINCOLN. A city and the county-seat of Logan County, Ill., 29 miles northeast of Springfield; on the Chicago and Alton, the Illinois Central, and the Peoria, Decatur and Evansville railroads (Map: Illinois, C 3). It is the seat of Lincoln University (Cumberland Presbyterian), opened in 1865, and of the State Institution for Feeble-Minded Children, and has a public library, for which a building has been given by Andrew Carnegie, Odd Fellows' Orphans' Home, Saint Clara's Hospital, and Deaconess Home and Hospital. In the old court-house Abraham Lincoln practiced as a lawyer. The surrounding region possesses vast deposits of coal; and among the industrial plants of the city are coal-mines, flouring-mills, and horse-collar, mattress, casket, excelsior, and cellulose factories. Settled in 1835, Lincoln was incorporated in 1854. Its present government is administered under a charter of 1865 which provides for a unicameral council and a mayor, biennially elected. Population, in 1890, 6725; in 1900, 8962.
LINCOLN. The second city of Nebraska, State capital and the county-seat of Lancaster County, 55 miles southwest of Omaha; on the Burlington Route, the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific, the Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley, the Union Pacific, and the Missouri Pacific railroads (Map: Nebraska, H 3). The attractive city, with its fine wide avenues and modern business blocks and homes, lies spread out on a level prairie. It is the seat of the University of Nebraska (q.v.), Nebraska Wesleyan University (Methodist Episcopal), Cotper University (Christian), Union College (Adventist). The State Asylum for the Insane and the State penitentiary are located here. The noteworthy buildings include, besides these already indicated, the State Capitol, built of white limestone at a cost of $500,000, United States Government buildings, county court-house, Saint Elizabeth's Hospital and Home for the Friendless, and the new public library, costing $75,000, the gift of Andrew Carnegie. In addition to the city library, there are the State State Historical, and State University libraries.
The central position of the city and its railroad facilities make it an important distributing point for the agricultural and mechanical productions of a large area. It has valuable quarries of limestone in the vicinity and deposits of excellent clay. There are numerous grain elevators, the city being the centre of an important grain trade, and manufactories of upholstered goods, mattresses, brooms, dusters, overalls and shirts, flour, bricks, creamery products, etc. The government is vested in a mayor, elected every two years, a unicameral municipal council, and administrative officials, many of whom are appointed by the executive with the consent of the council. The city clerk, treasurer, city attorney, city engineer, water commissioner, and police judge are chosen by popular election, and the library board is elected by the council. The water-works are owned and operated by the municipality. Lincoln spends annually in maintenance and operation about $350,000, the main items being $120,000 for schools, $25,000 for the water-works, $25,000 for the fire department, and $15,000 each for the police department and for municipal lighting. Population, in 1870, 2441; in 1880, 13,003; in 1890, 55,154; in 1900, 40,169.
In 1859 the site of Lincoln was chosen for the location of a city to be called Lancaster, but there were hardly a dozen settlers there in 1864,
