GAY, JOHN, an English poet, born at Barnstaple the same year as Pope, a friend of his, to whom he dedicated his “Rural Sports”; was the author of a series of “Fables” and the “Beggar’s Opera,” a piece which was received with great enthusiasm, and had a run of 63 nights, but which gave offence at Court, though it brought him the patronage of the Duke and Duchess of Queensberry, with whom he went to reside, and tinder whose roof he died; was buried in Westminster (1688-1732).

GAYA (80), chief town of a district of the same name in Bengal, on the Phalgu, 57 m.  S. of Patna; it is a great centre of pilgrimage for Hindus, and has associations with Buddha; 100,000 pilgrims visit it annually.

GAY-LUSSAC, LOUIS JOSEPH, French chemist and physicist, born at St. Leonard, Haute-Vienne; at the Polytechnic School, Paris, his abilities attracted the attention of BERTHOLLET (q. v.), who appointed him his assistant in the government chemical works at Arcueil; here he assiduously employed himself in chemical and physical research, in connection with which he made two balloon ascents; in 1809 he became professor of Chemistry at the Paris Polytechnic School; in 1832 was elected to a similar chair at the Jardin des Plantes; seven years later was created a peer of France, while in 1829 he became chief assayer to the Mint; his name is associated with many notable discoveries in chemistry and physics, e. g. the law of volumes, isolation of cyanogen, &c. (1778-1850).

GAZA, a Philistine town, the gates of which Samson carried off by night; situated on a mound at the edge of the desert, 5 m. from the sea, a considerable place to this day.

GAZETTE THE, an official newspaper in which government and legal notices are published, issued on Tuesdays and Fridays; originally a Venetian newspaper, the first of the kind so called as issued for a farthing.

GEBIR or GEBER, the name under which several works on alchemy and chemistry were written by Jabir ihn Haijan, an Arabic alchemist of the 8th century; his birthplace is unknown, but he is said to have lived at Damascus and Kufa.

GED, WILLIAM, the inventor of stereotyping, born in Edinburgh, where he carried on business as a goldsmith; he endeavoured to push his new process of printing in London by joining in partnership with a capitalist, but, disappointed in his workmen and his partner, he returned despondent to Edinburgh; an edition of Sallust and two prayer-books (for Cambridge) were stereotyped by him (1699-1749).

GEDDES, ALEXANDER, biblical scholar, born at Arradowl, Banffshire; was trained for the Catholic Church, and after prosecuting his studies at Paris was appointed to the charge of a Catholic congregation at Auchinhalrig; ten years later he was deposed for heresy, and removing to London took to literary work; his most notable performance is his unfinished translation of the Scriptures, and the notes appended, in which he reveals a very pronounced rationalistic conception of holy writ; this work, which anticipated the views of such men as Eichhorn and Paulus, lost him his status as a priest, although to the end he professed a sincere belief in Christianity; he was the author of volumes of poems, &c. (1737-1802).