LA PELTRIE, Marie Madeleine de, educator, b. in Alencon, Prance, in 1603 ; d. in Quebec, Canada, in 1671. She married at the age of seventeen, and was left a widow at twenty-two. Having seen an appeal in the first Jesuit relation from Father Le Jeune for help to educate the Indian girls, she decided to spend her fortune in founding an institution to take charge of this work. Several obstacles interposed, so that it was not until 1639 that she was able to sail for Quebec, accompanied by Mother Mary of the Incarnation, two other Ursuline nuns, and several hospital sisters. She visited the Indian village in the neighborhood, and kissed every little girl in it, "unmindful of much that might have created disgust." She then proceeded to found the Ursuline convent of Quebec, the pioneer school of Canada for the instruction of girls. After the founding of the convent she stripped herself of all she had retained for her own use in order to clothe the children, who were brought to her almost naked. She was present at the foundation of Montreal, and decorated its first altar. During the rest of her life she shared the labors of the nuns.
LA PÉROUSE, Jean François de Galaup,
French navigator, b. in Ohio, near Albi, Languedoc, France, 22 Aug., 1741; d. at sea in 1788. He entered the navy at the age of fifteen, and in 1759 was wounded and taken prisoner in an engagement with Sir Edward Hawke off Belle Isle. After a short captivity he was returned to France, and
having served in various campaigns became an ensign, 1 Oct., 1764, and lieutenant de vaisseau, 4 April, 1775. From 1764 till 1778 he made several expeditions, after which he fought in the war of American independence, in command of the frigate
“L'Amazone” of Count 'Estaing's flotilla. In 1780 he was promoted to the grade of capitaine de vaisseau, and he assisted in the capture of a frigate and five vessels of inferior rank on the coast of New England. In 1782 he entered Hudson bay with a small fleet and destroyed the British trading establishments there. On the conclusion of the war, Louis XVI., with a view of securing to the French people a share in the glory that the English were reaping from the discoveries of navigators like Capt. Cook, caused the frigates
“L'Astrolabe” and “La Boussole” to be fitted out under
command of La Pérouse for explorations in the Pacific and along the coasts of America, China, Japan, and Tartary. He sailed from Brest. 1 Aug., 1785, doubled Cape Horn, and went to the northwest
coast of America, which he explored from
Mount St. Elias to Monterey, Cal., discovering a bay in latitude 58°, which he named Port des Français. He afterward explored the coast of Asia, discovering the straits between Saghalien
and Yezo that bear his name, and sent to France from Petropavlovsk copies of his journals and charts and other data, from which an account of his voyage was subsequently prepared. On 7 Feb.,
1788, he wrote a letter to the French minister of marine from Botany bay, announcing his intention of going to the Isle of France by way of Van Diemen's Land, the Friendly isles, and New Guinea,
which was the last intelligence that was received from this expedition. In 1791 a squadron was sent in search of La Pérouse under the command of Admiral D'Entrecasteaux, who failed in tracing
him. In 1826, while navigating the New Hebrides, Peter Dillon found near the island of Vanikoro débris that had evidently belonged to La Pérouse's
expedition, and in 1828 Dumont d'Urville visited Vanikoro and ascertained that many years previous two ships had foundered on a reef off the west coast of the island, and that the surviving crew
had sailed in a small vessel which they built and had never been heard of afterward.
LAPHAM, Elbridge Gerry, senator, b. in Farraington, Ontario co., N. Y., 18 Oct., 1814; d. in Canandaigua, N. Y., 8 Jan., 1890. He received a common-school education, working in the summer to aid in supporting his family. After completing his studies at the Canandaigua academy, where he was a classmate of Stephen A. Douglas, he studied civil engineering and followed his profession on the Michigan Southern railroad. He then studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1844, and practised in
Canandaigua. He was elected to the Constitutional convention of New York in 1867, and in 1874 he was chosen to congress as a Republican, serving till 1881. In that year he was elected to the United States senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Roscoe Conkling, for the term ending in 1885.
LAPHAM, Increase Allen, naturalist, b. in Palmyra, N. Y., 7 March, 1811 ; d. in Oconomewoc, Wis., 14 Sept., 1875. He began life by cutting stones for canal-locks, his father being a contractor on the Erie canal, then became a rodman, and for ten years was employed as an engineer in various works. In 1836 he settled in Milwaukee, Wis., where he was made register of claims and dealt in real estate. Meanwhile he showed great activity in various branches of natural science. In 1838 he prepared a "Catalogue of Plants and Shells found in the Vicinity of Milwaukee." Ultimately his herbarium contained over 8,000 specimens, and at the time of his death was considered the best collection of the flora of Wisconsin. Soon afterward he published " A Geographical and Topographical Description of Wisconsin" (Milwaukee, 1844; 2d ed., 1846). His study of the "Grasses of Wisconsin " (1853), and of other states, led to his suggestion to the commissioner of patents concerning the desirability and utility of a descriptive catalogue of all the native, naturalized, and cultivated grasses of the United States. In 1867 he was appointed by the legislature of Wisconsin to investigate the disastrous effects of the destruction of forest-trees, and subsequently made a report on the subject. His work on the fluctuations in the level of Lake Michigan began as early as 1836, and was continued until 1849, when he announced the existence of " a slight lunar tide in Lake Michigan," and communicated a description of his investigation to the Smithsonian institution. Mr. Lapham was probably best known by his "Antiquities of Wisconsin." published by the Smithsonian institution in 1855. It gave the results of a systematic and thorough investigation of the remains of a prehistoric people who once inhabited that state, and was undertaken at the request of the American antiquarian society. Mr. Lapham was one of the first to point out the value of storm indications, especially on the great lakes, and, in concert with Henry E. Paine, framed the law of 1870, which established the signal-office in Washington. He gave valuable aid to Gen. Albert J. Myer, the chief signal-officer, and the place of meteorologist, now held by Cleveland Abbe, was offered to him, but he declined it on account of the night labor, although for a short time after November, 1871, he held the office of assistant in Chicago. The geology of Wisconsin was the subject of his investigations from the beginning of his residence in that state, and he contributed to Foster and Whitney's " Report on the Geology of Lake Superior" (1852) a chapter on the "Geology of Southeastern Wisconsin," and in 1855 made a "Geological Map of Wisconsin," also in 1869 a
