Port Arthur
Port Arthur names 3 different subjects across the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf. Each is set out below. 1 of them is described by more than one encyclopedia.
Port Arthur a seaport at the southern extremity of Manchuria
Described by 2 of the 6 encyclopedias.
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
a seaport at the southern extremity of Manchuria. The port is situated at the end of a peninsula, and is guarded by fortified heights that command the entrance from the Yellow Sea to the Gulf of Pe-chi-li. Outside ships, bound for Tien-tsin, the port of Peking, must pass under the guns of Port Arthur. The Japanese captured Port Arthur from the Chinese during the War of 1894. The Russians prevailed on their allies, German and French, to force Japan to return the port to China. Four years later Russia leased Port Arthur from the Chinese. The Russians proceeded to improve the fort and strengthen its fortifications. During the war with Russia, the Japanese blockaded the fort and proceeded to reduce the fortifications. The siege is one of the most memorable in history. It began in May, 1904. The fort surrendered in January, 1905. A fleet blockaded the fort and a force of 60,000 Japanese invaded the fortifications by land. The Russians surrendered 50 forts, 48,000 men, including 8 generals, 4 battleships, 2 cruisers, 14 torpedo boats, and 546 large guns. The total Russian loss included 50,000 lives and $300,000,000 worth of property. The Japanese loss of life was as great. The siege cost the Japanese about $25,000,000. The town and port were little injured. Port Arthur remains in possession of the Japanese. See Manchuria
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
LUSHWANKAU, or LUSHUNKU, a former naval station of China, with a fine narrow-mouthed harbor at the end and on the E. side of the peninsula jutting S. W. from Manchuria, opposite Shifu, strongly fortified; formerly the headquarters of the N. fleet of China. It was taken by the Japanese in 1894, and was restored to China by coercion of European powers. On Dec. 19, 1897, a Russian fleet occupied Port Arthur with China's consent. On Jan. 28, 1898, the city was ceded to Russia. It was captured by the Japanese, January, 1905, after nearly a year's siege.
Port Arthur a city of Texas
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a city of Texas, in Jefferson co. It is on the Kansas City Southern and the Texas and New Orleans railroads. It is situated on several steamship lines and on several canals. It is the port of entry of the Sabine district. It is the center of the oil-producing and refining industry, and its other industries include rice milling and horticulture. There are several parks, pleasure piers, Port Arthur College, hospitals, and a Federal building. Pop. (1910) 7,663; (1920) 22,251.
Port Arthur the terminus of the E
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
the terminus of the E. division of the Canadian Pacific railway, on Thunder Bay, an arm of Lake Superior, 993 miles W. N. W. of Montreal.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
Aiton's 1910 note that "Port Arthur remains in possession of the Japanese" held only until 1945, when Soviet forces took the base; it was returned to China in stages and fully handed over in 1955, and the once-famous fortress is now Lushunkou district of the city of Dalian, its 1904-05 siege works preserved as a war memorial site. The Canadian Port Arthur that Collier's called the terminus of the CPR's eastern division ceased to exist as a separate city in 1970, when it amalgamated with Fort William as Thunder Bay. Port Arthur, Texas, then a town of 22,251, grew into a city of roughly 55,000 that is home to one of the largest oil refineries in the United States; it was also the birthplace, in 1943, of Janis Joplin, and was severely flooded by Hurricane Harvey in 2017.
Written for this edition, 2026.