WILLIAM, a celebrated physician, chemist, and philosopher, was the son of a Saxon gentleman, and born in Batavia, in the East Indies, in 1652. His father afterwards settling at Amsterdam, William there prosecuted his studies; and from thence removed to Jena, and afterwards to Leipzig, where he studied the law. In 1612, he was made advocate at Magdeburg, and there applied himself to the study of experimental philosophy. Some time after he travelled into Italy; and applied himself to the study of medicine, anatomy, and botany, at Padua. He afterwards studied at Bologna; and at Rome learned optics, painting, sculpture, and music. He at length travelled into France, England, and Holland; obtained the degree of doctor of physic at Wirtemberg; travelled into Germany and the North; visited the mines of Saxony, Bohemia, Hungary, and Sweden; and returned to France, where he acquired the esteem of the learned. He was on the point of returning into Germany, when M. Colbert being informed of his merit, made him such advantageous offers, as induced him to fix his residence at Paris. M. Homberg, who was already well known for his phosphorus, for a pneumatic machine of his own invention more perfect than that of Guericke, for his microscopes, for his discoveries in chemistry, and for the great number and variety of his curious observations, was received into the academy of sciences in 1691, and had the laboratory of that academy, of which he was one of the principal ornaments. The duke of Orleans, afterwards regent of the kingdom, at length made him his chemist, settled upon him a pension, gave him a most superb laboratory, and in 1704 made him his first physician. He had abjured the Protestant religion in 1682, and died in 1715. The memoirs of the academy of sciences, and other journals, contain many curious and learned disquisitions of this author. He had begun to give the elements of chemistry in the memoirs of the academy, and the rest were found among his papers fit for printing.

a town of Germany, in the circle of the Upper Rhine, and landgraviate of Hesse, seated ten miles north of Frankfort, and gives title to one of the branches of the house of Hesse, who is its sovereign. E. Long. 8. 32. N. Lat. 50. 15.

a town of France, in the department of Mont Tonnerre, and chief place of a canton, which contains above 4000 inhabitants. E. Long. 7. 21. N. Lat. 49. 11.