marriage with Count Niemcewicz it again became the centre of attraction for scholars and statesmen. After the invasion of Poland by Napoleon in 1807, he returned to Warsaw and was made secretary of the senate. On the annexation of his native country to Russia he became president of the committee on the new constitution. He took an active part in the revolution of 1831, and in his capacity of secretary drew up the resolution that expelled the Romanoff family from the throne of Poland. After the fall of Warsaw he visited England, and thence went to Paris, where he remained until his death. Besides being a patriot and statesman, Niemcewicz was a poet and historian. A complete edition of his works was issued in twelve volumes in Leipsic in 1840. His “Historical Songs of the Poles” (Warsaw, 1816; German translation, Leipsic, 1833), set to music, with historical sketches, attained great popularity. He also published “History of the Reign of Sigismund III. of Poland” (3 vols.; new ed., Breslau, 1836); “Collection of Memoirs relating to Old Polish History” (5 vols.; new ed., Leipsic, 1840); and “John of Tenczyn,” a romance. In addition to the foregoing he wrote a series of fables and tales in the style of La Fontaine, several dramas that were produced successfully on the stage, and translated from the English poets. In “Leb and Sarah, or Letters of Polish Jews,” he described the moral and intellectual condition of the Hebrew race in Poland. His eulogy on Kosciusko is considered his masterpiece.
NIEMEYER, Conrade Jacob de (ne-mire),
Brazilian engineer, b. in Lisbon, Portugal, 28 Oct.,
1788; d. in Rio Janeiro in 1862. He entered the
regiment of artillery at Lisbon as a cadet in
February, 1803, but in 1833 obtained his retirement
with the rank of colonel and gave himself entirely
to geographical studies. In 1846 Niemeyer
published and dedicated to the Historical and
geographical society of Rio Janeiro, of which he had
been a member since 1839, his “General Chart of
the Empire,” which gained him the diploma of
honorary fellow of that society and of the
Geographical society of Berlin. In 1856 he was charged
with preparing a chorographic chart of the
empire, and, notwithstanding his advanced age, he
finished his difficult task to the full satisfaction of
the provincial governments. The chart was
published in Rio Janeiro in 1860.
NIEMEYER, John Henry (ne-mire), artist, b. in
Bremen, Germany, 25 June, 1839. He came to the
United States in 1846, residing in Cincinnati, and
studied in Paris in 1866-'70 under Jean Léon Gérôme
and Adolphe Yvon at the École des beaux arts, in
the studio of Louis Jacquesson de la Chevreuse, and
also, for some time, in that of Sebastian Cornu.
He received three medals in the government schools
of Paris. After his studies in Europe he was
appointed in 1871 professor of drawing in the Yale
school of fine arts. He has painted various genre
pictures and portraits, among the best of which
are “Gutenberg inventing Movable Type” (1862);
a portrait of Theodore D. Woolsey (1876); “The
Braid,” “Where?” “Why?” (1880); and “Sancta
Simplicitas” (1882). He has also executed some
bas-reliefs, among them a large medallion
portrait of William M. Hunt (1883) and “Lilith
tempting Eve” (1883).
NIETO, José Apolinario (nyay'-to), Mexican
naturalist, b. in San Miguel, Hiloxochitlan, in
1810; d. in Cordova, 21 Dec., 1873. At the age of
nine years he lost his father, and, being left in
great poverty, he learned the trade of a tailor. He
obtained the protection of a gentleman of Orizaba,
Jose Maria Aguilar, who employed him in his
house and gave him opportunity to continue his
studies. At that time the French naturalist,
Alexandre Leseur, arrived in Orizaba, commissioned to
form a Mexican entomological collection. Nieto
aided Leseur in his work, and very soon acquired
a knowledge of the French language. After
several years he obtained the whole confidence of his
protector, who at his death confided to Nieto the
administration of his property. In 1838 Nieto
moved his residence to Cordova, where he bought
a country-seat, tried to acclimatize the silk-worm,
and fostered the cultivation of mulberry-trees. In
1845 he returned to Orizaba and there propagated
the cinchona-tree, which has since become common
in the republic. He contributed to the establishment
of the railroad and the telegraph lines that
unite the state of Vera Cruz with the capital.
Notwithstanding that he was deprived by an accident
in 1850 of part of his physical faculties, he
continued his scientific work, and contributed to “La
Naturaleza,” the paper of the Mexican society of
natural history. He was an honorary member of
many scientific societies in Europe and America.
NIETO, Vicente, Spanish soldier, b. in Aranjuez
in 1753; d. in Potosi, Bolivia, 15 Dec., 1810.
He entered the army as a lieutenant and served in
New Spain, becoming in 1795 brevet brigadier-general
and honorary colonel of the Pueblo
regiment. He returned to Spain in 1806, was in
several encounters with the French, commanded a
division at the battle of Rio Seco in 1808, and,
being promoted major-general at the end of the same
year, was sent to serve in Buenos Ayres. In
August, 1809, he was appointed by the viceroy,
Hidalgo de Cisneros, commander of a division to
operate against Chuquisaca, and in November
following, by the junta central, president of the
audiencia de Charcas. When, in May, 1810, the
independence of Buenos Ayres was declared and a
patriot army marched against upper Peru, Nieto
joined Gen. Jose de Cordova and Francisco de
Paula Sanz, intendant of Potosi. The campaign
was short, but decisive. The independents were at
first defeated at Cotagaita on 27 Oct. and at Tupiza
on 29 Oct., but collected their forces, and at
Suipacha on 7 Nov. they gained a complete victory,
the three royalist generals being made prisoners.
Soon all the provinces of upper Peru pronounced
for independence, and in the next month, by order
of Juan Jose Castelli, member of the junta
gubernativa, the Spanish chiefs were shot in Potosi.
NIEUWHOF, Johann Jacob (nyoy-hoff), German
navigator, b. in Usen, Westphalia, in 1610; d.
on the coast of Malabar, 29 Sept., 1672. He
entered the service of the Dutch West India
company as supercargo and made several voyages to
South America. The Dutch under Prince Maurice
of Nassau-Siegen (q. v.) having conquered northern
Brazil, Nieuwhof went to that country about 1640,
and, being employed to explore the regions
between Maranham and San Francisco rivers, made
a particular study of the neighborhood of
Pernambuco. He left Brazil in 1649 when the Portuguese
captured Rio Grande, and passed to the
service of the East Indian company. He resided
several years in Batavia, was appointed in 1654
steward of the mission to China under Peter van
Goyer and Jacob van Keyser, remained in the latter
country till 1657, when he became governor of
Ceylon. Returning in 1672 to the Indies from
Holland, he landed to trade on the Malabar coast,
and was not seen again. He was probably
murdered by the natives. He left several manuscripts,
which were published after his death, including
“Zonderlinge reis naar Brazilie over zee en over
