WARD'S BOOK OF EPONYMS Who gave their names to what
If you have ever wondered who gave their names to things and places, you will find the answer here. You can read about John Sandwich, George Dallas, Gustave Eiffel, James of York (New York), Clarence Birds-Eye, Charles Baltimore and many many others.
This is Ward's Book of Eponyms where you will find a large list of people who had things named after them. This page is devoted to things named after people whose name begins with the letter:
N
Narcissus Narcissistic In Greek mythology, Narcissus was a hunter from Thespiae, noted for his good looks. Echo fell in love with him but he was not interested. He was only interested in himself and fell in love with his own reflection in a pool. He wasted away until he turned into a flower, which grows by the waterside.
nemesis In the Greek classics, Nemesis, daughter of Nox the night, was the goddess of justice. She travelled the earth, rewarding good and punishing evil, but it seems that there was more evil than good, so she became known as the goddess of retribution. She is depicted in a chariot pursuing scoundrels with a sword in one hand and a scourge in the other.
Nepotism is the appointment of a relative to a without regard to merit. The word comes from the Latin word ‘nepos’, a nephew. Nepotism gained its name from the practice of Medieval popes, who gave their nephews, often their illegitimate sons, positions as cardinals. Pope Callixtus III, head of the Borgia family, installed two of his nephews as Cardinals. One of them, Rodrigo Borgia, later became Pope Alexander VI. He in turn elevated Alessandro Farnese, his mistress's brother, to the College of Cardinals.
Nestlé (Nescafé) The company was founded by Henri Nestlé (1814-1890), a German pharmacist living in Vevey, Switzerland. Nestlé tried to find a substitute for mother’s milk in order to combat the excessive rate of infant mortality. He experimented with cow’s milk mixed with meal and tested it on an infant who had rejected his mother’s milk. His product proved effective and he started producing it in large quantities. Later he moved on to condensed milk production. He sold the business to a Geneva group in 1875. In 1890, they started producing chocolate and Nescafé was invented in 1937.
New York was originally a Dutch colony called New Amsterdam. Some district names still bear the names of Dutch towns particularly Flushing (Vlissingen), Harlem (Haarlem) and Brooklyn (Breukelen). The English captured the area in 1664 and renamed it ‘New York’ in honour of James, Duke of York, later to be King James II of England, James VII of Scots. James became king in 1685 but was deposed after a four-year reign due to his flagrant disregard of the wishes of Parliament.Other letters