Porter

Porter, Anna Maria: see Porter, Jane.

Porter, Arthur Kingsley, 1883-1933, American art historian. Interested primarily in medieval and ancient art, Porter revolutionized the understanding of the chronology and diffusion of Romanesque sculpture. His works include Lombard Architecture (4 vol., 1915-17), Romanesque Sculpture of the Pilgrimage Roads (10 vol., 1923), and Spanish Romanesque Sculpture (2 vol., 1928).

Porter, Cole, 1891-1964, American composer and lyricist, b. Peru, Ind., grad. Yale, 1913. Porter's witty, sophisticated lyrics and his affecting melodies place him high in the ranks of American composers of popular music. He was an elegant and debonair man, in spite of a riding accident (1937) that left him crippled. He studied music at Harvard and with D'Indy at the Schola Cantorum in Paris. After one early failure, most of his musicals were vastly successful. They include Greenwich Village Follies (1924); Gay Divorce (1932); Anything Goes (1934); Jubilee (1935); Red, Hot and Blue (1936); Du Barry Was a Lady (1939); Panama Hattie (1940); Something for the Boys (1943); Kiss Me, Kate (1948); Can-Can (1953); and Silk Stockings (1955). Among Porter's film scores are Born to Dance (1936) and High Society (1956). His most popular songs include "Night and Day," "Begin the Beguine," "Let's Do It," and "In the Still of the Night."

Porter, David, 1780-1843, American naval officer, b. Boston. Appointed a midshipman in 1798, he served in the West Indies and in the war with Tripoli. In 1803 his ship, the Philadelphia, was captured off the coast of Tripoli, and Porter was a prisoner until peace was declared in 1805. He achieved his greatest success as commander of the Essex in the War of 1812. In that year he captured several British ships carrying troops to Halifax and the British war vessel Alert. Then, accompanied by young David Farragut, he sailed the Essex around the Horn and cruised in the Pacific, warring on British commercial vessels. He took formal possession of Nuku Hiva, one of the Marquesas Islands, in Nov., 1813, but this act was not recognized by the U.S. government. In 1814 the Essex was blockaded by British ships in the harbor of Valparaiso, Chile. Porter escaped to sea, but a squall disabled his ship, forcing him back to the coast. He was attacked by two British warships and after a hard-fought battle was forced to surrender. While in the West Indies in 1824 on an expedition for suppressing piracy, Porter forced the officials of the town of Foxardo (Fajardo), Puerto Rico, to apologize for jailing an officer from his fleet. The government did not sanction Porter's act, and he was court-martialed and suspended for six months. Porter resigned and in 1826 entered the Mexican navy as its head. Disgusted with the jealous intrigues of the Mexican officers, he resigned in 1829. After his return to the United States, he became (1831) chargé d'affaires and later (1839) minister at Constantinople and held this post until his death.

Porter, David Dixon, 1813-91, American admiral, b. Chester, Pa.; son of David Porter. He served under his father in the Mexican navy before he was appointed (1829) midshipman in the U.S. navy. He held his first command, the Spitfire, in the Mexican War. From 1850 to 1854, Porter, on leave, commanded passenger and mail ships. In the Civil War he led the mortar flotilla of the Union fleet commanded by David Farragut in the successful assault on New Orleans (1862) and contributed to Ulysses S. Grant's success in the Vicksburg campaign (1863). For these services on the Mississippi River he was made rear admiral. He cooperated (1864) with Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks in the Red River expedition and later was given command of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron. In the joint land-sea expedition against Fort Fisher (1864-65), the naval forces were under his direction. Next to Farragut, Porter was the outstanding Union naval commander. As superintendent (1865-69) of the U.S. Naval Academy he proved himself an able organizer and administrator. Porter was promoted to vice admiral in 1866; in 1870, on Farragut's death, he became full admiral.

Porter, Fitz-John, 1822-1901, Union general in the American Civil War, b. Portsmouth, N.H.; nephew of David Porter. He saw service in the Mexican War and was an instructor at West Point (1849-55). At the outbreak of the Civil War, Porter was made a brigadier general of volunteers. In 1862 he distinguished himself as a corps commander in the Peninsular campaign, especially in the Seven Days battles. Later that year, however, John Pope alleged that the Union defeat in the second battle of Bull Run was due to Porter's disobedience. At his court-martial Porter declared that it was impossible to carry out Pope's orders, but he was, nevertheless, cashiered. A review of the case in 1879 vindicated him. In 1886 he was reappointed colonel of infantry and retired.

Porter, George, Baron Porter of Luddenham, 1920-2002, British chemist, b. Stainforth, England, grad. Leeds Univ., Ph.D. Cambridge, 1949. After serving as a radar officer during World War II, he did postgraduate research with R. G. W. Norrish at Cambridge. His first problem involved the study, using flow techniques, of free radicals produced in gaseous photochemical reactions. Drawing upon his wartime experience, Porter subsequently conceived the idea of using pulses of light of shorter duration than the lifetime of the free radicals to study those molecules, and constructed an apparatus that he and Norrish applied to the study of gaseous free radicals and of combustion. Their collaboration continued until 1954 when Porter left Cambridge for the Univ. Porter and Norrish shared the 1967 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with German physical chemist Manfred Eigen for their studies of extremely fast chemical reactions. Porter was cited in particular for his work on photochemistry (chemical reactions triggered by light) and flash photolysis (photographing the behavior of molecules during chemical reactions). Porter also excelled presenting complex scientific subjects to the general public, and his BBC broadcasts in the 1960s on "The Laws of Disorder" were very popular. From 1985 to 1990 he was president of the Royal Society. He was knighted in 1972 and was created a life peer in 1990.

Porter, Horace, 1837-1921, American soldier and diplomat, b. Huntingdon, Pa. In the Civil War he saw varied service, mostly as an ordnance officer, before becoming (1864) aide-de-camp to Gen. U. S. Grant. After the war, Porter was briefly Assistant Secretary of War when Grant was Secretary of War. During Grant's presidency Porter served as one of his executive secretaries until 1872. He was ambassador to France (1897-1905), where, at his own personal expense, he recovered the body of John Paul Jones for reburial in the United States. As delegate to the Hague Conference of 1907, he amended the Drago Doctrine (see under Drago, Luis María) with his Porter Proposition, which provided that strong nations whose nationals had contract-debt claims against weaker nations should submit the claims to arbitration before trying to collect them by force. He wrote West Point Life (1866; verse) and Campaigning with Grant (1897).

Porter, Jane, 1776-1850, Scottish novelist. Her historical novels, particularly Thaddeus of Warsaw (4 vol., 1803) and Scottish Chiefs (5 vol., 1810), were exceptionally popular in their day. Anna Maria Porter, 1780-1832, her sister, wrote The Hungarian Brothers (3 vol., 1807) and other novels.

Porter, Katherine Anne, 1890-1980, American author, b. Indian Creek, Tex., as Callie Russell Porter. Although she published infrequently, she is regarded as a master of the short story. Her first book of stories, Flowering Judas (1930), received immediate recognition and critical acclaim. It was followed by Pale Horse, Pale Rider (1939), which includes the superb novella Noon Wine, and The Leaning Tower (1944). Her stories have been praised for their technical accomplishments in matters of style, form, and language. A collection of her essays and occasional pieces appeared as The Days Before (1952). Her only long novel, the bestselling Ship of Fools, was published in 1962 and made into a film three years later. Set aboard a German ship shortly before Hitler's accession to power, the novel is a moral allegory that attempts to recreate the atmosphere of a world on the brink of disaster.

Porter, Noah, 1811-92, American educator and philosopher, b. Farmington, Conn., grad. Yale, 1831. He entered the ministry in 1836. In 1846 he became professor of moral philosophy and metaphysics at Yale and from 1871 to 1886 was 12th president of the university. As president he steadfastly opposed modern tendencies in education, urging the retention of Greek and Latin as the basis for the liberal arts course, the subordination of science to the humanities, and a prescribed curriculum rather than an elective system. He edited (1864, 1890) revised editions of Noah Webster's dictionary and wrote a number of educational and philosophical works, the most popular of which was The Human Intellect (1868).

Porter, Rodney Robert, 1917-85, British biochemist, Ph.D. Cambridge, 1948. He was a researcher at the National Institute of Medical Research, England (1949-1960), and a professor at St. Mary's Hospital Medical School-Univ. of London (1960-1967) before becoming a professor at Oxford in 1967. In 1972 Porter and Gerald M. Edelman received the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine for discoveries concerning the chemical structure of antibodies. Using different techniques and working independently, the two constructed a complete model of the giant antibody molecule, which consists of some 1,300 amino acids. The findings of Edelman and Porter provided the groundwork for much of the research that followed in immunology and led to further breakthroughs in the diagnosis and treatment of disease.

Porter, William Sydney: see O. Henry.

porter: see beer.

orig. William Sydney Porter

(born Sept. 11, 1862, Greensboro, N.C., U.S.—died June 5, 1910, New York, N.Y.) U.S. short-story writer. He wrote for newspapers and later worked as a bank teller in Texas, where he was convicted of embezzlement; he began writing stories in prison as O. Henry. He moved to New York, where his tales romanticizing the commonplace, particularly the life of ordinary New Yorkers, and often using coincidence and surprise endings, became highly popular. His collections include Cabbages and Kings (1904); The Four Million (1906), including “The Gift of the Magi”; The Trimmed Lamp (1907), including “The Last Leaf”; and Whirligigs (1910), including “The Ransom of Red Chief.”

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(born May 15, 1890, Indian Creek, Texas, U.S.—died Sept. 18, 1980, Silver Spring, Md.) U.S. writer. She worked as a journalist in Chicago and Denver, Colo., before leaving in 1920 for Mexico, the setting of several of her stories. Her collections include Flowering Judas (1930), her first and most popular; Pale Horse, Pale Rider (1939), a set of three novellas; and Collected Short Stories (1965, Pulitzer Prize, National Book Award). Her stories have a richness of texture and complexity of character delineation usually achieved only in the novel. Ship of Fools (1962) is her only novel.

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(born Aug. 31, 1822, Portsmouth, N.H., U.S.—died May 21, 1901, Morristown, N.J.) U.S. army officer. He graduated from West Point and later taught there (1849–55). In the American Civil War he was made a brigadier general of volunteers. In the Second Battle of Bull Run he served under Gen. John Pope, who blamed Porter for the Union's defeat. At his court-martial, Porter claimed that Pope's orders were confusing and impossible to execute, but he was found guilty and cashiered. In 1879 he won a review of his case, which supported his claim of innocence. In 1886 he was reappointed an army officer and placed, at his own request, on the retired list.

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(born June 8, 1813, Chester, Pa., U.S.—died Feb. 13, 1891, Washington, D.C.) U.S. naval officer. He served under his father, David Porter, in the West Indies and in the Mexican navy before joining the U.S. Navy in 1829. Promoted to commander in the American Civil War, he served under his foster brother, David Farragut, to help win the Battle of New Orleans. In 1863 he succeeded in running his fleet past the Confederate fort at Vicksburg to meet Ulysses S. Grant's troops and complete the effort to open the Mississippi River to Union forces. After the war he served as superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy (1865–69) and was promoted to admiral (1870).

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(born Feb. 1, 1780, Boston, Mass., U.S.—died March 3, 1843, Pera, Tur.) U.S. naval officer. He joined the navy (1798) and served in the Tripolitan War. In the War of 1812 he commanded the Essex, the first U.S. warship to operate in the Pacific Ocean; he captured several British whaling vessels and took possession of Nuku Hiva, the largest of the Marquesas Islands (1813). He was blockaded by British frigates in Valparaíso, Chile, where he surrendered (1814). He served on the board of naval commissioners (1815–23) and commanded a squadron to suppress piracy in the West Indies (1823–25). For unauthorized action against Spanish authorities in Puerto Rico, he was court-martialed and suspended from duty. He resigned in 1826 and became commander of the Mexican navy (1826–29).

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(born May 15, 1890, Indian Creek, Texas, U.S.—died Sept. 18, 1980, Silver Spring, Md.) U.S. writer. She worked as a journalist in Chicago and Denver, Colo., before leaving in 1920 for Mexico, the setting of several of her stories. Her collections include Flowering Judas (1930), her first and most popular; Pale Horse, Pale Rider (1939), a set of three novellas; and Collected Short Stories (1965, Pulitzer Prize, National Book Award). Her stories have a richness of texture and complexity of character delineation usually achieved only in the novel. Ship of Fools (1962) is her only novel.

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(born Aug. 31, 1822, Portsmouth, N.H., U.S.—died May 21, 1901, Morristown, N.J.) U.S. army officer. He graduated from West Point and later taught there (1849–55). In the American Civil War he was made a brigadier general of volunteers. In the Second Battle of Bull Run he served under Gen. John Pope, who blamed Porter for the Union's defeat. At his court-martial, Porter claimed that Pope's orders were confusing and impossible to execute, but he was found guilty and cashiered. In 1879 he won a review of his case, which supported his claim of innocence. In 1886 he was reappointed an army officer and placed, at his own request, on the retired list.

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(born Feb. 1, 1780, Boston, Mass., U.S.—died March 3, 1843, Pera, Tur.) U.S. naval officer. He joined the navy (1798) and served in the Tripolitan War. In the War of 1812 he commanded the Essex, the first U.S. warship to operate in the Pacific Ocean; he captured several British whaling vessels and took possession of Nuku Hiva, the largest of the Marquesas Islands (1813). He was blockaded by British frigates in Valparaíso, Chile, where he surrendered (1814). He served on the board of naval commissioners (1815–23) and commanded a squadron to suppress piracy in the West Indies (1823–25). For unauthorized action against Spanish authorities in Puerto Rico, he was court-martialed and suspended from duty. He resigned in 1826 and became commander of the Mexican navy (1826–29).

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(born June 8, 1813, Chester, Pa., U.S.—died Feb. 13, 1891, Washington, D.C.) U.S. naval officer. He served under his father, David Porter, in the West Indies and in the Mexican navy before joining the U.S. Navy in 1829. Promoted to commander in the American Civil War, he served under his foster brother, David Farragut, to help win the Battle of New Orleans. In 1863 he succeeded in running his fleet past the Confederate fort at Vicksburg to meet Ulysses S. Grant's troops and complete the effort to open the Mississippi River to Union forces. After the war he served as superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy (1865–69) and was promoted to admiral (1870).

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Porter is a town in Westchester Township, Porter County, Indiana, United States. The population was 4,972 at the 2000 census.

Porter is noted for its proximity to the Indiana Dunes State Park and for its railroad heritage. Porter was the southern terminus for the Chicago and West Michigan Railway.

Geography

Porter is located at (41.626005, -87.071798).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 6.6 square miles (17.1 km²), of which, 6.3 square miles (16.3 km²) of it is land and 0.3 square miles (0.8 km²) of it (4.54%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 4,972 people, 1,844 households, and 1,300 families residing in the town. The population density was 788.8 people per square mile (304.7/km²). There were 1,966 housing units at an average density of 311.9/sq mi (120.5/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 96.14% White, 0.82% African American, 0.22% Native American, 0.58% Asian, 0.62% from other races, and 1.61% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.69% of the population.

There were 1,844 households out of which 38.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.8% were married couples living together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.5% were non-families. 23.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.12.

In the town the population was spread out with 28.3% under the age of 18, 9.9% from 18 to 24, 32.6% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 7.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 95.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.7 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $50,625, and the median income for a family was $60,254. Males had a median income of $50,799 versus $26,055 for females. The per capita income for the town was $24,615. About 4.9% of families and 6.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.7% of those under age 18 and 1.4% of those age 65 or over.

Historic Sites

The Joseph Bailly Homestead is located in Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore on Howe Road, just north of U.S. 20. It is the residence of three generations of the Bailly family. Joseph and Marie Bailly arrived here in 1822 from the St. Joseph River in Michigan. He had been a fur trader on Lake Michigan for nearly 30 years when he set up his family home along the Little Calumet River.

The Chellberg Farm is also a three generation home, but of the family of Anders Kjellburg (Chellberg). He brought his family to this Swedish community in 1869, purchaisng 80 acres from the Bailly descendents. The farm is located on Mineral Springs Road, north of U.S. 20.

References

External links