Ex´eter, a city, river-port, parliamentary county, and municipal borough of England, county town of Devon, on the left bank of the Exe, 10 miles north-west of its outlet in the English Channel. It is pleasantly situated on the summit and slopes of an acclivity rising from the river, and has handsome squares, terraces, and streets. The chief architectural feature is the cathedral (founded in 1112), a long, low building with fine west front, unique in having two towers forming its transepts, and only these two. The city has remains of the old castle and old walls, Guildhall, Albert Memorial College, training college, and St. Michael's Church. There are iron-foundries, works for agricultural implements and paper, and 'Honiton' lace is made. By a canal vessels of 300 tons can reach the city. The largest vessels remain at Exmouth. Exeter is a place of remote antiquity, having been a British settlement long prior to the invasion of the Romans, by whom it was called Isca Damnoniorum. It was taken by William the Conqueror in 1068. It long returned two members to Parliament, but lost one of them in 1885. Pop. 59,608.
Exeter College, Oxford, a college, originally called Stapledon Hall, founded in 1314 by Walter de Stapledon, Bishop of Exeter, who made a foundation for a rector and twelve fellows. In 1404 Edmund Stafford, Bishop of Exeter, added two fellowships and obtained leave to give the college its present name.
Exeter Hall, a large building on the north side of the Strand, London, opened in 1831, and capable of containing over 3000 persons. In it the 'May Meetings' of the several religious societies were held. It was sold in 1907 by the Young Men's Christian Association to a firm of caterers, who demolished it in 1908. The Strand Palace Hotel now stands on its site.
Exfoliation is the scaling off of dead tissues; thus there may be exfoliation of the skin, of bone, or of other parts from their living surroundings.
Exhibition, a fixed sum given for a term of years from the funds of a school, college, or university, generally upon the result of a competitive examination. An exhibition, no matter what its pecuniary value, is less of a distinction than a scholarship. At Cambridge an exhibitioner has no standing in his college different from that of the ordinary 'pensioner', while a scholar is on the Foundation of his college.
Exhibitions. The earliest recorded 'exhibition', in the modern acceptation of the word, is that in which, for one hundred and eighty days, Ahasuerus "shewed the riches of his glorious kingdom" at Shushan (Esther, i, 2-4). The first European exhibition was held at Venice in 1268; while the great fairs of Leipzig and Nijni-Novgorod partook of the same nature. But the real forerunner of the modern exhibition was that held in London by the Society of Arts in 1756, when carpets, china, and similar artistic objects were displayed. This was followed in 1761 by an exhibition of agricultural machinery. In 1797 France held a display of objets d'art at St. Cloud; there was another two years later at the Louvre; while a third in 1802 is memorable for the first issue of an official catalogue, and for the presence of Montgolfier the aeronaut, and Jacquard the inventor of the loom that bears his name, among exhibitors. Besides the exhibition of Irish industries, held at Dublin (1829), and the Birmingham exhibition of metal-work (1849), numerous displays were held in both Europe and America before the first International or 'Great' Exhibition of 1851. This memorable display was under the active patronage of Prince Albert, and for its accommodation the Crystal Palace was erected in Hyde Park. Its success gave the exhibition movement an impetus which produced examples at New York and Dublin (1853), both of which proved financial failures; at Munich and Melbourne (1854); Paris (1855); and at South Kensington, where was held the second International Exhibition (1862). Five years later, after Constantinople, Oporto, and Agra had, among other places, held displays, came the great Paris Exhibition, planned on a colossal scale; though the main building in the Champ
de Mars was stigmatized as 'a gasometer' by Napoleon III. Vienna had a magnificent but financially disastrous exhibition in 1873, and in 1876 Philadelphia celebrated the centenary of the Independence of the United States by a display. In 1878 Paris held another exhibition, for which the Trocadero was built. A series held at South Kensington (1871-4) had only a moderate success, but great popularity was attained by the 'Fisheries', 'Health', 'Inventions', and Colonial Exhibitions held in the years 1883-6. Edinburgh was the scene of a forestry display in 1884, and at the same time New Orleans opened an exhibition which continued till the following year. The Paris Exhibition of 1889 was notable for the 'side-shows', which included the Eiffel Tower; while the financial result of that held in 1900, which covered 550 acres of ground and admitted thirty-nine million people, was far from satisfactory. Meanwhile Chicago had in 1893 celebrated the four hundredth anniversary of Columbus's discovery of America by a huge 'World's Fair'. The present century opened inauspiciously with the assassination of President McKinley at the Pan-American Exhibition at Buffalo (1901); Glasgow had a thoroughly successful exhibition the same year; St. Louis was the scene of another in 1904; while London organized the Franco-British Exhibition in 1908. This last owed much to the late Imre Kiralfy, who had directed many previous displays, and was the designer of the 'White City' at Shepherd's Bush, where in 1914 was held the Anglo-American Exposition. After the conclusion of the European War various plans for new exhibitions were put forward, such as the British Empire Exhibition, which is to be held in London in 1923, and which is intended to foster imperial interests.
Ex´ile, a punishment by which a person is compelled to leave the city, province, or the country where he has previously resided. It is a punishment for State criminals.
Exmoor´, a wild and hilly district of England, in the extreme south-west of Somersetshire, extending also into Devonshire, formerly a forest.
Ex´mouth, a town of England, in Devonshire, 10 miles S.S.E. of Exeter, at the mouth of the Exe. It is picturesquely situated, and is one of the best-known sea-bathing places on the Devonshire coast. The chief industries are lace-making and the fisheries. Pop. 13,614.