Peter F Rothermel

Peter F Rothermel, an American painter, born in Luzerne co., Pa., July 8, 1817. He was educated as a land surveyor, studied painting, and about 1840 commenced practice as a portrait painter. In 1856-'7 he visited France, Germany, and Italy, and painted his "St. Agnes," now in St. Petersburg, and "The Foscari." Some of his best known paintings are "De Soto discovering the Mississippi," "Columbus before Isabella the Catholic," the "Noche Triste," from Prescott's "Conquest of Mexico," "Patrick Henry before the Virginia House of Burgesses," "Christian Martyrs in the Colosseum," and "The Battle of Gettysburg," in the state capital at Harrisburg.

Peter Gnthric Tait

Peter Gnthric Tait, a British mathematician, born about 1825. He graduated at Cambridge, was fellow of St. Peter's college, became professor of mathematics in Queen's college, Belfast, and in 1862 was elected professor of natural philosophy in the university of Edinburgh. He has published "A Treatise on Dynamics of a Particle," in conjunction with William J. Steele (8vo, Cambridge, 1856); "Value of the Edinburgh Degree, an Address" (8vo, Edinburgh, 1866); "Elementary Treatise on Quaternions" (8vo, Cambridge, 1867); and "Thermodynamics " (8vo, Edinburgh, 1868). He has also, in conjunction with Sir William Thomson, published an " Elementary Treatise on Natural Philosophy" (8vo, London, vol. i., 1867).

Peter Hamilton Biters

Peter Hamilton Biters, an American novelist, born in Herkimer, N. Y., in August, 1812. He has published " The First of the Knickerbockers, a Tale of 1673 " (New York, 1848); "The Young Patroon, or Christmas in 1690 " (1849); "The King of the Hurons " (1850), republished in England under the title of "Blanche Montaigne;" and "The Prisoner of the Border, a Tale of 1838" (1857). He has also written several tales, and "Ensenore, a Romance of Owasco Lake," and other poems. He now (1875) resides in Auburn, N. Y.

Peter Heylin

Peter Heylin, an English theologian, born in Burford, Oxfordshire, in 1600, died in London, May 8, 1662. He was educated at Oxford, read lectures on history and geography, was made D. D., and in 1629 was nominated, at the request of Laud, one of the chaplains in ordinary to the king. He was a zealous royalist, and in the time of the rebellion his property was confiscated by the parliament, and he himself was obliged to fly to Oxford, where he edited the journal called Mercurius Aulicus till 1645. On the restoration he was appointed sub-dean of Westminster by Charles II. His writings comprise about 37 works, chiefly on church history and polemics. Some of them passed through several editions, and his "Ec-clesia Restaurata, History of the Reformation of the Church of England," with his life by his son-in-law John Barnard, D. I)., was reprinted in 1849 (2 vols. 8vo, Cambridge).

Peter II

Peter II, emperor of Russia, born Oct. 23, 1715, died Feb. 9, 1730. His father, Alexis, was the eldest son of Peter the Great by Eu-doxia Lapukhin. The empress Catharine I. named him in her will as her successor on the throne, mainly through the influence of Men-shikoff, who seized the control of affairs on the death of the empress in 1727 and the accession of Peter II., then only 12 years old. He designed to perpetuate the influence of his house by intermarriages with the imperial family; but the Dolgoruki family frustrated his ambition and caused him to be banished to Siberia. The young emperor was about to marry a princess Dolgoruki when he died suddenly, and was succeeded by Anna, the widow of the duke of Courland and daughter of Ivan, half brother of Peter the Great, who recalled the Menshikoffs and exiled the Dol-gorukis. The male line of Romanoff became extinct on the death of Peter II.