WOOLMAN 411 WOOLWOETH in 1863. She graduated from Brown University in 1894. From 1886 to 1891 she was instructor at the Wheaton Sem- inary. In 1896 she was appointed as- sociate professor of Biblical history at Welleeley College, and after filling several posts on the faculty of that in- stitution, was appointed president of Mt. Holyoke College in 1900. She was a member of many learned and patriotic societies. WOOLMAN, JOHN, an American Quaker preacher and anti-slavery writer; born in Northampton, N. J., in August, 1720. His writings contain the earliest protest published in America against the slave trade. His works include: "Some Considerations on the Keeping of Ne- groes" (Philadelphia, 1753 and 1762) ; "Considerations on Pure Wisdom," etc. (1768) ; "Considerations on the True Harmony of Mankind," etc. (1770) ; "Epistles to Quarterly Meetings of Friends," etc. (1772). His "Journal of Life and Travels" was published in Phil- adelphia in 1775, and edited by Whittier, 1871. He died in York, England, Oct. 5, 1772, WOOLSACK, the name given to the seat of the Lord Chancellor of England in the House of Lords, whose essential portion is a large square bag of wool without either back or arms, and covered with red cloth, the whole forming a kind of cushioned ottoman, standing near the center of the chamber. It is believed that woolsacks were placed in the House of Lords in the time of Edward III. to remind the peers of the importance of England's staple trade. An Act of Eenry VIII. directs that the Lord Chan- cellor, Lord Treasurer, or other high offi- cer shall sit and be placed at the upper- most part of the sacks in the said Parlia- ment chamber, either there to sit on one form or on the uppermost sack. D'Ewes says the Lord Keeper sat on the wool- sack in 1559 when her majesty (Queen Elizabeth) was absent; the other wool- sacks being as now allotted to the other judges. In 1621 it was declared in the standing orders of the House of Lords that "the Lord Chancellor sitteth on the Woolsack as Speaker to the House" — i, e. not in his judicial capacity. WOOLSEY, THEODORE DWIGHT, an American educator; born in New York City, Oct. 31, 1801; was graduated at Yale College in 1820 ; studied law and later theology; was tutor at Yale in 1823-1825; licensed to preach in 1825; studied in Europe in 1827-1830; was Pro- fessor of Greek at Yale from 1831 to 1846; and then its president till 1871. It ^071-1881 he was president of the American company of revisers of the New Testament. Besides editions of Greek plays, etc., his works include an "Introduction to the Study of Interna- tional Law" (5th ed. 1879) ; "Essays on Divorce and Divorce Legislation" (1869); "Political Science; or the State, Theoretically and Practically Consid- ered" (2 vols. 1877) ; "Religion of the Past and of the Future" (1871) ; "Com- munism and Socialism" (1880) ; edited Lieber's "Civil Liberty and Self-Govern- ment" (1871) and a "Manual of Politi- cal Ethics" (1871). He died in New Haven, Conn., July 1, 1889. WOOLSON, CONSTANCE FENI- MORE, an American novelist and poet; born in Claremont, N. H., March 5, 1848. Her principal books are: "Castle No- where" (1875): "Rodman the Keeper" (1880) ; "Anne^' (1882) ; "For the Ma- jor" (1883) ; "East Angels" (1886) ; "Jupiter Lights" (1889); "Horace Chase" (1894); "The Front Yard, and Other Italian Stories" (1895). She died in Venice in January, 1894. WOOLWICH (wol'ich), a town and parliamentary borough of England, county of Kent, on the Thames, 8 miles below London Bridge. It stretches about 3 miles along the river, and owes its im- portance to the great arsenal, which has a circumference of 4 miles, and consists of gun and carriage factories, labora- tory, barracks, ordnance departments, etc. At North Woolwich, on the oppo- site side of the river, many houses and extensive factories have of late years sprung up. Pop. about 120,000. WOOLWORTH, FRANK W., an American merchant, born at Rodman, N. Y., in 1852. He received a public school education and also attended a business college. After serving an apprenticeship as clerk in stores in various cities in New York, he conceived the idea of establishing a store in New York in which no article should sell for more than 5c, He opened such a store in Utica, N. Y., in 1879, but removed to Lancas- ter, Pa., in the same year, where he opened a similar store. He opened stores in various cities, until before his death they numbered over 1,000 in the United States, and about 75 in Great Britain. These were controlled by the Woolworth corporation, of which he was president. The articles in his stores sold for either 5 or 10c. The stores were exceedingly profitable and he became the possessor of a large fortune. He built the Woolworth building, at the time of its construction the highest in the world, on lower Broadway, New York City. He died in 1919.
