Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 04.djvu/347

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
GEORGIA
293
GEORGIA UNIVERSITY

and Mississippi. The first steamship that ever crossed the Atlantic Ocean left Savannah in 1819.

In November, 1860, a State convention was called to consider the subject of secession. On Jan. 21, 1861, an ordinance of secession was unanimously passed, and Georgia ratified the Constitution of the Confederate States and adopted a new State constitution. In January, 1861, Forts Pulaski and Jackson, below Savannah, were seized by State troops, and from the battle of Chickamauga, in September, 1863, to the winter of 1864-1865 the State was constantly the scene of conflict. Atlanta was captured by General Sherman, Sept. 2, 1864, and he began his famous march thence to the sea, Nov. 15, occupying Savannah Dec. 21. Columbus, West Point, and Macon were taken in April, 1865, by General Wilson, and on May 10, 1865, Jefferson Davis was captured at Irwinville. One of the most noted Confederate prisons was located at Andersonville in this State.

Georgia repealed the act of secession Oct. 30, 1865; adopted a new constitution; and ratified the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. Congress, dissatisfied with the new constitution, put the State under military rule till another constitution was ratified in 1868; and the State was restored to the Union on its ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment in 1869. On the refusal to ratify the Fifteenth Amendment the State was again placed under military rule, but reinstated on its compliance with this demand. The recent prosperity and development of Georgia's resources has been due in large measure to the Cotton Exposition, in 1881, the Piedmont Exposition, in 1887, and the Cotton States and International Exposition, in 1895, all at Atlanta.

GEORGIA (by the Russians called Grusia, by the natives Karthli), formerly a kingdom, then included in the Russian government of Tiflis. The natives are a fine-looking race, the Georgian women, like the Circassians, being celebrated for their beauty. The Georgian language, together with that of the Mingrelians, Lazes, and other Caucasian peoples, seems, according to the latest researches, to form a perfectly distinct linguistic family. It possesses a not unimportant literature, commencing with the introduction of Christianity into the country. The history of the Georgians first becomes truthworthy about the time of Alexander the Great, to whom they became subject. About 324 B. C. they gained their independence under Pharnavas. They became Christianized toward the end of the 4th century. After yielding for a time to the supremacy of the Arabian caliphs, Georgia regained its independence toward the end of the 10th century, which it retained till 1799, when Heraclius, successor of George XI., formally ceded his dominions to the Russian emperor Paul. When the Bolsheviks assumed power in Russia in November, 1917, the Georgians with Tartars and Armenians formed the Transcaucasian state. Independence was declared April 22, 1918. Out of this developed the independent state of Georgia, May 26, 1918. The Act of Independence was confirmed, and ratified by the National Council, March 12, 1919, and recognized by the Allies, Jan. 16, 1920. Georgia has an area of 35,500 square miles. It is bounded on the N. by the Caucasus, E. by Republic of Azerbaijan, S. by Armenia and S. W. by Turkey. Pop. about 3,200,000. Capital, Tiflis, pop. 347,000.

GEORGIA BARK, a small tree of the southern United States closely resembling the cinchona or Peruvian bark, and belonging to the natural order Cinchonaceæ. It has pretty, large white flowers, with longitudinal stripes of rose-color. The wood is soft and unfit for use in the arts. The inner bark is extremely bitter, and is employed with success in intermittent fevers.

GEORGIA, GULF OF, a large gulf of the North Pacific Ocean, between the continent of North America and Vancouver's Island; about 120 miles in length from N. to S.; the breadth varies greatly in its different parts, from 6 miles to 20. It communicates with the ocean on the N. by Queen Charlotte's Sound and on the S. by the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

GEORGIA SCHOOL OF TECHNOLOGY, an institution for higher education, at Atlanta, Ga., founded in 1888. There were in 1920 2,224 students and 100 members of the faculty. The school is supported by the State and has no endowment. The yearly income is $240,000. President, K. J. Matheson. LL. D.

GEORGIA, SOUTH, an island in the South Atlantic, lat. at its N. point, 53° 57′ S.; lon. 38° 13′ W. It is 90 miles long, and has high and rocky coasts, inaccessible from ice during a great part of the year. It abounds with seals and sea-fowl.

GEORGIA, UNIVERSITY OF, a nonsectarian State institution in Athens, Ga.; founded in 1801; reported at the close of 1920: Professors and instructors,