Wight
Wight names 2 different subjects across the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf. Each is set out below. 1 of them is described by more than one encyclopedia.
Wight ISLE OF, an island off the S
Described by 2 of the 6 encyclopedias.
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
ISLE OF, an island off the S. coast of England; in the county of Hants; separated from the mainland by Spithead and the Solent; 23 miles in length, 13 miles broad; area, 93,341 The main slope of the island is acres. to the N., as is shown by the course of its chief streams, the Medina, Yar, and Eastern Yar. A range of chalk downs, which cross the island from E. to W. and form excellent sheep walks, separate it into two districts somewhat different in character. The general appearance is picturesque, and the geology of the island is interesting. The air is remarkably mild, and the district known as the Undercliff, lying along the S. coast, and completely sheltered from the N., has long been a resort for invalids. The Isle of Wight is represented in Parliament by one member. The chief towns are Newport (the capital), Ryde, Cowes, Ventnor, Bembridge, Freshwater, Yarmouth, and the fashionable health resorts of Sandown and Shanklin. Near Cowes is Osborne House, which was a favorite residence of Queen Victoria. Carisbrooke Castle is an interesting ruin. Pop. about 85,000.
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
wit, an island in the English channel off the south coast of England. It has an area of about 146 square miles. The greater part of the interior is devoted to sheep pastures. The southern coast is noted for a mild, agreeable climate. There are several health resorts. Osborne, near the port of Cowes, was a favorite residence of Queen Victoria. At her death the grounds were presented to the public by her son King Edward VII. Among the antiquities of the island is Carisbrooke Castle, at one time the refuge of the Stuart king, Charles I. Tennyson had a home in the Isle of Wight. See England
Wight ISLE OF she studied the kindergarten system in Los Angeles
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
ISLE OF she studied the kindergarten system in Los Angeles; later, she taught a year in Santa Barbara College; then went to San Francisco, where she organized the first free kindergarten in the West. In 1880 she organized the California Kindergarten Training School, with her sister Nora A. Smith, and Mrs. S. B. Cooper. In 1880 she married S. B. Wiggin, a lawyer, and they moved to New York, where Mr. Wiggin died in 1889. In 1895 Mrs. Wiggin married George C. Riggs. She wrote many stories and kindergarten, books and forestkinderen among them being "The Story of Pa aristmas Carol," "Polly "The Birds' Christmas Oliver's Problem," "The Story Hour," and "Kindergarten Principles and Practice." Her novels, which attained wide popularity, include "Penelope's Progress," and "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm." She received the degree of Litt. D. from Bowdoin College.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
The island's shape, chalk downs and mild Undercliff climate are as Collier's described them in 1921, and there is still no bridge or tunnel to the mainland — only ferries and, from Ryde, the hovercraft. What has moved is political and demographic: the population Collier's put at "about 85,000" is now roughly 140,000, and the island's long-standing single seat in Parliament was finally split into two constituencies (Isle of Wight East and West) at the 2024 general election. Osborne House, which Aiton's noted in 1910 had been handed to the public by Edward VII, is today run as a visitor attraction by English Heritage, and Carisbrooke Castle remains open as a ruin. Neither account mentions what the island is now best known for internationally: its coastal cliffs are among Europe's richest dinosaur fossil grounds, and new species are still being named from them.
Written for this edition, 2026.