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STEVENS. 565 STEVENSON. struction of steamships and marine engines. In 1S42 he was comniissionecl by the Government to build the first iron-clad warship ever con- structed, generally known as the Stevens Floating Battery : but, owing to improvements in ordnance and the consequent changes in specifications, he died without completing it. See Stevens, Ed- win Augustus. STEVENS, Thaddeus (1792-1868). An Anieritan statesman and Congressional leader, born at Danville, Vt., April 4, 1792. He gradu- ated at Dartmouth College in 1814; taught school in Vork, Pa., and studied law; began to prac- tice in Ciettysburg, and removed to Lancaster, Pa., in 1S42, In 1833 he became a member of the State Legislature, in which he sat for a niuuber of years, serving with credit. In 1830 he was a delegate to the State Constitutional Convention, winning notoriety by his advocacy of negro suf- frage. Stevens affiliated with the Anti-Masonic Part}- (see ANTi-ilA.soNS) , and was an active member of its Baltimore convention in 1831; but from the time of his election to the Legis- lature he acted with the Whigs. His career in the Legislature was varied, but indicative of his energj' and ability, and although his business in- terests suftered severely, he conquered the 'ma- chine' in his own party, and in December, 1849, took his seat in Congress. During two terms that he filled there he opposed not only the Fugitive Slave Law, but also every form of concession to the South. After an interval of six years devoted to the practice of law he returned to Congress in 1859, and from then imtil his death was the recognized leader of the House of Representatives, being chairman of the Com- mittee on Ways and Means throughout the war. and later chairman of what was then the equally important Committee on Reconstruc- tion. He was regarded as the most radical anti- slavery advocate in Congress. He was one of the authors of the so-called Wade-Davis Recon- struction Bill of 1865 and reported the Re- constrviction Act of 1867 from the committee of which he was chairman. (See Reconstruction.) He was chairman of the House committee in charge of the impeachment of President Johnson (q.v.). He died at Washington, August 11, 1868. Biographies have been written bv E. B. Callender (Boston, 1882), and by S. W.' McCall (Boston. 1899), the latter being one of the "American Statesmen Series." STEVENS, Walter le Conte (1847—). An American physicist. He was born in Gordon County, Georgia, and graduated from the Uni- versity of South Carolina in 18G8. He was pro- fessor at Oglethorpe College, Atlanta, Ga. ; Chatham Academy, Savannah, Ga. ; Packer Col- legiate Institute, Brooklyn, N. Y. ; Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, N. Y. ; and in 1903 occupied the chair of physics at Washington and Lee L'niversity, Lexington, Va. STEVENS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOL- OGY. A schnnl of mechanical engineering, in Hoboken, N. .J., established in 1870, and named for its founder, Edwin A. Stevens, who be- queathed to it a block of land and $650,000. The school was opened in 1871 with Henry Morton as its first president. The curriculum embraces thorough training in applied mathematics, in the theory of machine construction with a study of existing systems, mechanical drawing and de- signing, shop practice and experimental iiiclIuiu- ico, pliysics. chemistry, and applied electricity, with English branches and the modern languages. Admission is by examination solely ; the only de- gree conferred is that of mechanical engineer. The institute has been the recipient of many bene- factions, the most notable being those of Henry Alorton, who, during his presidency of thirty years, gave to the institute about )fl50,000, and those of Andrew Carnegie, whose gifts amounted to .$290,000 in 1903, in which year the endowment was .$820,000, with an income of $91,000. The grounds and buildings were valued at $390,000, with a total estimated value of $1,250,000 for the property luider its control. Tiu> Institute had in that year an attendance of 296, with 22 instruc- tors, and the academic department an enrollment of 254, with 15 instructors. The librar.y con- tained about 8000 volumes. In 1901 Alexander C. Humphreys became president of the Institute. STE'VENSON, Adlai Ewing (1835—). An American pdlitirian, Vice-President of the United States in 1893-97. He was born in Christian County, Ky.. and was educated at Centre College, Danville, Ky., but removed with his parents to Bloomington, 111., before graduating. At Bloom- ington he studied law and in 1857 was admitted to the bar. He was a master in chancery from 1860 to 1864, became prominent in Democratic local politics, and was a member of the 44th Congress (1875-77), and of the 46th Congress (1879-81). As First Assistant Postmaster-Gen- eral during President Cleveland's first adminis- tration he antagonized civil-service reformers by his sweeping removal of Republican post- masters. In 1892 he was chairman of the Illinois delegation to the Democratic National Conven- tion, by which he was nominated for Vice-Presi- dent on the Cleveland ticket, which was elected. In 1897 he was appointed by President McKinley a member of the commission sent to Europe to inquire into the feelings of Eurojjean Powers in regard to the possible establishment of interna- tional bimetallism. In 1900 he was again the candidate of the Democratic party for Vice- President. STEVENSON, George John (1818-88). An English hymnologist, educated at Saint John's College, Battersea, London. In 1846 he became head master of the Philanthropic Institute, a re- formatory at Southwark; and in 1848, head mas- ter of the parochial school at Lambeth Green. Resigning his position in 1855. he started as a London bookseller and publisher, and continued this business until a short time before his death. In 1831 he became a Methodist, and thereafter gave much time to the histoi-v and the literature of his sect. From 1861 to 1867 he edited the Weshyan Times. His Methodist Hymn Book and Its Associntioits (1869; enlarged with slightly changed title, 1883) is a valuable work. Among other publications are books on Spurgeon ( 1857 and 1867), Memorials of the Wesley Family (1876), and Methodist Worthies (1884). Con- sult .Julian's Dictionary of Hymnology (London, 1892). STEVENSON. John James (1841-). An American geologist, horn in New York City. He graduated at New York L^niversity in 1863. He became professor of chemistry at West