Memel
a Prussian seaport, defended by a citadel and two forts on the sea side; at the N. extremity of the Kurisches Haff, at its opening into the Baltic, 70 miles N. N. E. of Danzig; has a large harbor, and exports from Lithuania and Russia timber, flax and linseed, coal, manure, grain, and herrings; has also manufactories of brandy, soap and chemicals, sawmills, iron foundries, breweries, and shipbuilding yards. Memel was founded in 1252 by the Livonian order, who gave it to the Teutonic Knights, by whom it was fortified in 1404. It suffered severely in the Lithuanian wars (13th to 15th centuries). Here in 1807 Frederick-William III. of Prussia took refuge, and a treaty with England was signed. Having been almost wholly destroyed by fire in 1854, it was rebuilt in modern style. The city was captured by the Russians in 1914, but the German armies soon regained it and retained possession. Pop. about 25,000.
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Memnonia
temples in honor of Memnon, were erected, one at Susa in Persia, the other at Thebes in Egypt. Two colossal statues of Amenhotep III at Thebes during the first century A. D. became connected with the myth of Memnon. One of these statues is called "the vocal Memnon." It had the peculiar property of giving out a musical note when the sun's rays first struck it in the morning. The phenomenon, if true, is thought to have been due to the expanding effect of heat upon a cold, damp stone. The low, humming sound was popularly supposed to be the greeting of Memnon to his mother, the Dawn.
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Memorial Day
. See Decoration Day
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Memory
the mental faculty or power which causes the impressions of bygone events, at ordinary times latent in the mind, to affect it anew or to be reproduced by an effort for the purpose. The art which furnishes aid to memory is called MNEMONICS (q. v.). In physiology, memory is the property of the cerebral organs only, not of the organ of sense, and is never entirely lost except through disease or accident. It depends entirely on association, and is one of the first faculties aroused in the infant mind, traces of it also occurring in the lower animals.
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Memphis
an ancient city of Egypt. It was near the apex of the Nile delta, two miles south of Cairo. It rivaled Thebes in wealth and magnificence. After the fall of that city it became the capital of Egypt. It had a position of commanding commercial importance, being readily accessible from both the Mediterranean and the upper Nile. Extensive canals added to its commercial facilities. At present the site is occupied by squalid villages or strewn with blocks of granite half buried in sand. The remains are sufficient to show, however, quite independent of the accounts of the ancient geographers, that Memphis was a city of magnificent palaces and temples. There are colossal statues, variously described as from forty-five to seventy-five feet in height. One of the most striking features of the ancient city must have been an immense cemetery, known as the necropolis. In the center of the cemetery rose the pyramids of Memphis, in which the remains of kings were buried. The official nilometer of the ancients, a pillar on which the rising and falling waters of the Nile were recorded, stood in the river here. See Pyramids; Nile ; Cairo
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Memphis (Celebrated city of Egypt)
a celebrated city of Egypt, on the W. bank of the Nile, 10 miles S. of the modern city of Cairo. Herodotus ascribes the foundation of this place, the Moph of the Old Testament, to Menes, first king of Egypt; the dates have been assigned from 3892 B. C. to 2100 B. C. Memphis was taken by the Persians under Cambyses 525 B. c., when many of its temples and palaces were destroyed. Alexander III. (the Great), who wintered here 332 b. c., did it much injury by founding Alexandria. Memphis, made capital 272 B. c., was taken by Antiochus Epiphanes 171 B. c., and was visited and restored by Septimius Severus, in 202. In the 7th century it passed under the dominion of the Arabs, and gradually fell into decay, Cairo being built from its ruins. The Arabian traveler, Abd-allatif, visited it in the 12th century. The ruins were discovered and excavated by Mariette, between 1850 and 1854. The position of Memphis was such as to command the whole inland trade of Egypt, ascending or descending the Nile; it was the chief seat of learning and religion in Egypt. It ceased to be the metropolis of Egypt on the foundation of Alexandria, 332 B. c. It soon after fell into such obscurity and decay, that, till lately, even its site was disputed.
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Menahem
the 16th King of Israel, previously general of the army of Zachariah. He reigned in Samaria 10 years, 771-760 B. c., and was a tyrannical and cruel idolater.
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Menam
the chief river of Siam, rising in the Laos country, and flowing generally S. to enter the Gulf of Siam below Bangkok; length, about 900 miles.
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Menasha
a city of Winnebago co., Wis., 14 miles N. E. of Oshkosh, on Lake Winnebago, Chicago and Northwestern and other railroads. Is much frequented by visitors in summer. Has woolen mills, foundry, paper, woodenware, blinds, and cigar factories. City governed by mayor and council. Pop. (1910) 6,081; (1920) 7,214.
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Mencius
Latinized from MENGTSE (meng-tse'), a Chinese philosopher; born in Tsow-hien, in 372 He was a follower of Confucius B. C. , whose influence he revived. Twenty-nine years he spent in traveling about China preaching, but with small success; his last 15 years were passed with his disciples in retirement. His sayings are contained in the last of the Chinese "Four Books." He died about 289 b. c.
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Mendeleef
DMITRI IVANO- VITCH (men-del-ē'ef), a Russian chemist; born in Tobolsk, Siberia, Feb. 7, 1834. He studied at St. Petersburg, and, after having taught at Simferopol, Odessa, and St. Petersburg, became Professor of Chemistry in the University of St. Petersburg in 1866. He enriched every section of chemical science, but is especially distinguished for his contributions to physical chemistry and chemical philosophy. He died in 1907.
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