Lyons
Lyons names 4 different subjects across the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf. Each is set out below.
Lyons or Lyon, a city of France
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
or Lyon, a city of France. It is situated on a tongue of land at the junction of the Saone and the Rhone, about 170 miles from the Mediterranean. Thirteen bridges span the Saone westward, and nine bridges connect Lyons with the east bank of the Rhone. A circle of forts surrounds the city, converting it into one of the strongest inland positions of France. In size and importance Lyons is the third city of France, ranking next to Marseilles and Paris. It is the greatest center of silk manufacture in the world. Two hundred thousand persons are said to be engaged directly or indirectly in the manufacture of thread, ribbons, watered silks, poplins, velvets, satins, shawls, and other silk goods. The valley of the Rhone is particularly favorable to the growth of the mulberry tree and the rearing of silkworms. There are other industries, such as dye works, foundries, potteries, tanneries, and breweries. Hats, boots and shoes , jewelry, chemicals, and stained glass are manufactured. The city is in the direct line of communication between Italy, Switzerland, and France. The upper waters of the Rhone are united to the Rhine by canals. The city is therefore admirably situated to import breadstuffs and to export the agricultural and manufacturing productions of the region in which it is situated. Immense quantities of the best chestnuts in Europe are shipped from Lyons. Parts of the city are dirty and irregular, but the chief portion is well laid out and imposing in appearance. The city hall is considered one of the finest in France. There are thirteen miles of quays, along which handsome residences, business blocks, warehouses, and railroad stations have been built. Lyons has a long history. A Greek colony was founded here 560 B. C. The Romans planted a colony here in 43 B. C. Trajan, Adrian, and successive emperors built up the city. In 478 it became the capital of the kingdom of the Burgundians. It suffered severely from the Saracens, but was fostered by Charlemagne. After the death of Charles the Bold it was the capital of the kingdom of Provence, the home of the troubadours. The city has been the scene of much religious disturbance. The Romans massacred many thousand early Christians here. Two ecclesiatical councils were held here by the Western Church. The second, held in 1274, was attended by 500 bishops. The popes resided here for a short time. Lyons was a Huguenot center, and was punished severely in 1572. In 1793 the city held out against the French revolutionists, but was chastised unmercifully after a siege of seven weeks. It is said that the revolutionists huddled crowds together and mowed them down with grapeshot. Later, after the fall of Robespierre, the citizens laid hands on as many Terrorists as they could find and drowned them in the Rhone. Four Roman emperors were born at Lyons. Ampere, Jussieu, and Jacquard, the inventor of the figure loom, were also natives. Population, 472,000.
Lyons a city of France
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a city of France, second of the republic in population and capital of the department Rhône, and the commercial importance, situated chiefly and Saône, and on the Paris and Maron a peninsula between the rivers Rhône seilles and other railroads, 275 miles E. N. E. of Bordeaux, 172 miles N. N. W. of Marseilles, and 245 miles S. E. of Paris; lat. 45 ° 45′ 44″ N., lon. 4° 49′ 34″ E.; is the great warehouse of the S. of France and of Switzerland; principal manufacture silk stuffs, giving employment directly or indirectly to 100,000 hands. It is the seat of an archbishop, and is the chef-lieu of the 7th military division. The cathedral and Church of St. Nizier, the Hotel de Ville (town hall), the finest edifice of the kind in the country, the volumes, and the Palais des Beaux Arts, hospital , the public library with 130,000 are perhaps the most notable among numerous and important institutions. There are also a university-academy, the country-schools for agriculture, a veterinary school-the first founded in medicine , the fine arts, etc. The two rivers are crossed by 24 bridges: 12 over the Saône , 11 over the Rhône, and one at the confluence . The quays, 28 in number, are said to be the most remarkable in Europe. There are several large and important suburbs-La Guillotière, Les Vol. VI-Cyc-D
Lyons GULF OF Brotteaux
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
GULF OF Brotteaux, La Croix-Rousse, etc.; several fine squares, of which the Place Bellecour is one of the largest in Europe. The fortifications extend in a circle of 13 miles round the city. Lyons, the ancient Lugdunum, was founded about 42 years before the Christian era, and suffered greatly during the Revolution from the conflicts of hostile parties. It is the birthplace of Germanicus, the emperors Claudius, M. Aurelius, and Caracalla; of Jussieu, Jacquard, and Camille Jourdan. Pop. about 525,000.
Lyons GULF OF, a bay of the Medi-
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
GULF OF, a bay of the Medi-. terranean, on the S. E. coast of France; principal ports Toulon, Marseilles, and Cette.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
Aiton's 1910 account calls Lyons "the greatest center of silk manufacture in the world," with some 200,000 people living off thread, ribbons and velvets; that trade has all but vanished, and the Croix-Rousse weavers' lofts now hold flats rather than looms, while the city's economy rests on chemicals, pharmaceuticals and vaccines, banking and a celebrated restaurant culture. The "circle of forts" that both accounts describe as making Lyons one of the strongest inland positions in France was militarily obsolete within a generation; the city was instead a centre of the wartime Resistance under German occupation, and the Gestapo officer Klaus Barbie was tried there in 1987. Since 1981 the Paris–Lyon TGV has cut the 245-mile journey Collier's lists to about two hours, Interpol moved its headquarters to Lyon in 1989, and in 1998 UNESCO listed the historic city, including the Roman remains on Fourvière, as a World Heritage site. Aiton's Greek colony of 560 B.C. has not survived scholarly scrutiny: the city is dated to the Roman foundation of Lugdunum in 43 B.C., which Collier's gives as "about 42 years before the Christian era."
Written for this edition, 2026.