[Gunpowder Plot], an attempt on the part of a conspiracy to blow up the Parliament of England on Nov. 5, 1605, on the day of the opening, when it was expected the King, Lords, and Commons would be all assembled; the conspirators were a small section of Roman Catholics dissatisfied with King James's government, and were headed by Robert Catesby, the contriver of the plot; the plot was discovered, and Guy Fawkes was arrested as he was proceeding to carry it into execution, while the rest, who fled, were pursued, taken prisoners, and the chief of them put to death.
[Gunter, Edmund], mathematician, born in Hertfordshire; was educated at Oxford for the Church, but his natural bent was towards mathematical science, and in 1619 he became professor of Astronomy in Gresham College, London, a position he held till his death; his "Canon Triangulorum" (1620) was the first table of logarithmic sines and tangents drawn up on Briggs's system; amongst other of his inventions was the surveying chain, a quadrant, Gunter's scale, and he was the first to observe the variations of the compass (1581-1626).
[Gunther], king of Burgundy and brother of Chriemhild; his ambition was to wed [Brunhilda] (q. v.), who could only be won by one who surpassed her in three trials of skill and strength; by the help of Siegfried, who veiled himself in a cloak of darkness, he succeeded not only in winning her hand, but in reducing her to wifely subjection after she was wed.
[Guppy], the name of a pert, conceited lawyer's clerk who figures in Dickens's "Bleak House."
[Gurney, Joseph John], a Quaker philanthropist and writer, born at Earlham Hall, near Norwich; in 1818 he became a Quaker minister; he energetically co-operated with his sister, Mrs. Elizabeth Fry, in bringing about a reform of the prison system, and otherwise spent his life in philanthropic work; his works include "Prison Discipline," 1819, "Religious Peculiarities of the Society of Friends," 1824 (1788-1847).
[Gustavus (I.) Vasa] or Gustavus Ericssen, king of Sweden from 1523 to 1560, born at Lindholm, in Upland; having conceived the idea of freeing his country from the yoke of Denmark, under which it had fallen in 1519, and his early efforts to infuse a spirit of patriotic rebellion into the Swedes proving ineffectual, he was captured by the Danes; escaping from captivity, he became a wanderer in his own land, working in mines and enduring great privations, but at last, in 1520, the Swedes were goaded to rebellion, and under him eventually drove the Danes from their land in 1523; during his long reign Gustavus gradually brought his at first disorganised empire into a peaceful and united realm (1496-1560).
[Gustavus (II.) Adolphus], king of Sweden from 1611 to 1632, born at Stockholm, grandson of preceding and son of Charles IX.; successful territorial wars with Denmark and Russia occupied him during the early years of his reign, and in 1629 he concluded an advantageous truce for six years with Poland; next he espoused the Protestant cause in Germany against the Catholic League; victory crowned his efforts at every step, but in the great battle of Lützen (near Leipzig), whilst facing [Wallenstein] (q. v.), his most powerful opponent, he fell in the act of rallying his forces, and in the hour of success, not without suspicion of having been assassinated; he ranks amongst the greatest of champions (1594-1632).
[Gustavus III.], king of Sweden from 1771 to 1792; succeeded his father Adolphus Frederick; he found himself early at conflict with his nobles, and in 1772, supported by popular feeling, imposed a new constitution on the country greatly diminishing their power; Gustavus was an enlightened ruler, but somewhat alienated his people from him by his extravagance and fondness for French modes of life; in 1788 he became embroiled in a purposeless war with Russia; he was assassinated when about to take up arms in behalf of the Bourbon cause against the French Republicans (1746-1792).
[Gustavus IV.], king of Sweden from 1792 to 1809, son of preceding; his incompetency and stubbornness made him an ill ruler; territory was lost to the French, and Finland to Russia, while an attack on Norway proved a failure; popular indignation rose to a height in 1809; he was deposed, and the crown given to his uncle, Charles XIII.; after this he lived on the Continent (1778-1837).