[Gosport] (25), a fortified port and market-town in Hants, on the W. side of Portsmouth harbour, opposite Portsmouth, with which it is connected by a floating bridge; its industries embrace flourishing iron-works, barracks, the Royal Clarence Victualling Yard, and Haslar shipyard for the repair of gunboats.
[Gosse, Edmund], poet, essayist, and critic, born in London, the son of the succeeding; author of "History of Eighteenth Century Literature," a collection of lyrics, and a series of monographs, in particular "Life of Gray"; b. 1849.
[Gosse, Philip Henry], naturalist, horn at Worcester, in business in Newfoundland, Canada, and the United States; spent his leisure hours in the study of natural history, chiefly insects; after a visit of two years to Jamaica wrote an account of its birds; compiled several works introductory to the study of animal life, and latterly devoted himself to the study of marine animals (1810-1888).
[Gotha] (30), northern capital of the duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and seat of the reigning prince, the present Duke of Edinburgh, situated on the Leine Canal, 6 m. from the northern border of the Thuringian Forest; is picturesquely laid out, and has considerable manufactures, the famous Perthes' geographical publishing-house; Friedenstein Castle, the ducal residence, built in 1643, has a library of 200,000 vols. and 6000 MSS.
[Gotham], a village of N. Nottinghamshire, the natives of which were made a laughing-stock of for their foolish sayings and doings, an instance of the latter being their alleged joining hand in hand round a bush to hedge in a cuckoo.
[Gothamites], American cockneys, New York being called Gotham.
[Gothard, St.], the central mountain mass (9850 ft. high) of the Middle Alps and core of the whole Alpine system; it forms a watershed for rivers flowing in four different directions, including the Rhône and the Rhine; the famous pass (6936 ft.) from Lake Lucerne to Lake Maggiore forms an excellent carriage-way, has two hotels and a hospice at its summit; on the lower slopes is the St. Gothard railway (opened 1882), with its celebrated tunnel (9¼ m.), the longest in the world.
[Gothenburg] (109), the second town of Sweden, at the mouth of the Gotha, 284 m. SW. of Stockholm, is a clean and modernly built town, intersected by several canals; it has a splendid harbour, and one of the finest botanical gardens in Europe; its industries include shipbuilding, iron-works, sugar-refining, and fisheries; its licensing system has become famous; all shops for the sale of liquor are in the hands of a company licensed by government; profits beyond a five per cent. dividend to the shareholders are handed over to the municipality.
[Gothic Architecture], a varied style of architecture distinguished by its high and sharply-pointed arches, clustered columns, which had its origin in the Middle Ages, and prevailed from the 12th to the 15th centuries, though the term Gothic was originally applied to it as indicating a barbarous degeneracy from the classic, which it superseded.
[Gothland]: 1 (2,595), the southernmost of the three old provinces of Sweden; chiefly mountainous, but with many fertile spaces; forest and lake scenery give a charm to the landscape; Gothenburg is the chief town. 2 (51), a Swedish island in the Baltic, 44 m. E. of the mainland, area 1217 sq. m.; forms, with other islands, the province of Gothland or Wisby; agriculture, fishing, and shipping are the main industries; Wisby is the chief town (also called Gottland).