Amadeus, Duke of Aosta, was for a short time King of Spain. He was born in 1845 and died in 1890. He was the second son of Victor Emanuel of Italy, and brother of Humbert I, King of Italy. He was chosen by the Cortes King of Spain in 1870, Queen Isabella having had to leave the country in 1868. He made his entrance into Madrid as king on January the 2nd, 1871, and took the oath to the constitution. His position was far from comfortable, however, and having little hope of becoming acceptable to all parties, he abdicated on the llth of February 1873. Research Amadeus
Amalasuntha was the daughter of Theodoric, king of the Ostrogoths, and after his death regent of Italy for her son Athalarich, whom Theodoric had designated as his successor. Athalarich died in 534, after which Amalasuntha married her cousin Theodahad, but retained the power in her own hands. Mainly on this account she was put to death by her second husband, in 535. Research Amalasuntha
The Amalekites were a nomadic Arab people, descendants of Amalek, grandson of Esau, brother of Jacob, who attacked the Israelites in 1491 BC when perpetual war was denounced against them. They were subdued by Saul about 1079 BC, by David in 1058 BC and 1056 BC and by the Simeonites about 715 BC. Research Amalekites
Amasa J Parker was an American jurist and politician. He was born in 1807 and died in 1890. He represented New York in the US Congress as a Democrat from 1837 to 1839. He was a Judge of the New York Supreme Court from 1847 to 1855. Research Amasa Parker
Amasa Walker was an American politician and economist. He was born in 1799 and died in 1875. He was a member of the Massachusetts Senate in 1849. He was Secretary of the State from 1851 to 1853. He represented Massachusetts in the US Congress as a Republican from 1863 to 1863. He was prominent in advocating new and reformatory measures, and was an authority on questions of finance. He published 'Nature and Uses of Money and Mixed Currency' and 'Science of Wealth, a Manual of Political economy'. Research Amasa Walker
Amasis was king of Egypt from 569 to 526 B.C. He obtained the throne by rebelling against his predecessor Apries, and is chiefly known from his friendship for the Greeks, and his wise government of the kingdom, which, under him, was in the most prosperous condition. Research Amasis
The Amatis were a family of celebrated violin makers of Cremona in the 16th and 17th centuries. Andrea Amati, who lived about 1540 until 1600, was the founder of the business, which was carried on by his sons Geronimo and Antonio, and by Niccolo the son of Geronimo. Most of the violins made by them are of comparatively small size and flat model, and the tone produced by the fourth or G string is somewhat thin and sharp. Many of Niccolo Amati's violins are, however, of a larger size and have all the fulness and intensity of tone characteristic of those manufactured by Stradivario and Guarnerio. Research Amati
Ambrose Everett Burnside was an American soldier, gunsmith and politician. He was born in 1824 and died in 1881. A graduate of West Point in 1847 he was commander of the Army of the Potomac, before inventing a breech-loading rifle and retiring from the army to engage in business before becoming a Republican governor of Rhode Island from 1866 until 1868 and a US Senator for Rhode Island from 1875 until 1881. During the American Civil War he led a brigade at the first battle of Bull Run and in 1862 was placed in command of an expedition to North Carolina. Research Ambrose E. Burnside
Ambrose P Hill was an American soldier. He was born in 1825 and died in 1865. He graduated from the US Military Academy in 1847 and served during the Mexican War. At the outbreak of the American Civil War he was appointed a colonel in the Virginia volunteers and fought at Bull Run. He was promoted brigadier-general for bravery and commanded at Williamsburg, and was afterward promoted major-general. He took a prominent and aggressive part in the battles around Richmond, had important commands at Antietam, Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, and was brevetted lieutenant-general. He led a corps at Gettysburg, and met his death in defence of Petersburg. Research Ambrose Hill
Ambrosio Spinola (Marquis de Los Balbasses) was a Spanish soldier. He was born in 1569 at Genoa and died in 1630. He entered the Spanish service in 1602, seized Ostend in 1603, and in 1604 became commander-inc-chief in Flanders, conducting a campaign which, though successful from a military point of view, ruined him financially. The capture of Breda in 1625 was his greatest exploit and marked the end of his military career. In 1629 he was sent to Italy, where he died the following year. Research Ambrosio Spinola
Amelia Elizabeth Caroline was the queen of George IV of England. She was born in 1768 and died in 1821. She was a daughter of Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick. After a defective education she was married in 1795 to the Prince of Wales, who forsook her immediately after the birth of their child in 1796. Research Amelia Caroline
Amelia Blandford Edwards was an English novelist and Egyptologist. She was born in 1831 at London and died in 1892. At a young age she began to contribute to periodicals. Among her best-known novels are Hand and Glove (1859); Barbara's History (1864); Half a Million of Money (1865); Debenham's Vow (1870); Lord Brackenbury (1880). Amelia Edwards also wrote ballads and books of travel, and latterly devoted herself to Egyptology, leaving funds to found a chair of Egyptology in University College, London. Research Amelia Edwards
Amenophis III (Amenhotep III) was a king of ancient Egypt about 1500 BC. He warred successfully against the Syrians and Ethiopians, built magnificent temples and palaces at Thebes, where the so-called Memnon statue is a statue of this king. Research Amenophis III
From 1688 on, there was in every American colony a party favourable to the English crown. When the Revolutionary movements began, this party became more active. In no colony was there an overwhelming majority in favour of revolution. In some the majority was unfavourable. The loyalists in New England and the Middle States comprised a large part of the most respectable and eminent men. It is now recognized that a large number of them were patriotic in their resistance to the efforts to overturn the existing government. As the Revolution progressed they were treated. with increasing harshness.
Tories were ostracized, and in some cases tarred and feathered. Acts banishing them and confiscating their property were passed by most of the colonial conventions and legislatures. During the British occupation of New York, Philadelphia and the Southern States, loyalist regiments and more irregular organizations were formed and took part in the war, often with great bitterness. Exasperation against them was so great that at the end of the war most of them felt obliged to go into exile when the British troops withdrew. Thousands from the North went to New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Canada. From the South many went to the Bahamas and West Indies. In the Treaty of 1783 the British endeavoured to have articles inserted which should provide compensation for the dispossessed loyalists, but no more was secured than a promise to recommend the matter to the States. The States refused to do anything in the matter, though subsequently some ameliorations of their hardships were secured. Research American Loyalists
The American Whigs were the first political party of America. They came into existence in the struggles preceding the American War Of Independence and resisted the arbitrary measures of George III and declared independence of him. They opposed the Tories who supported the English crown in America, and after independence confiscated the property of the banished Tories. Research American Whigs
Amerigo Vespucci was an Italian explorer. He was born in 1451 or 1454 at Florence and died in 1512. He discovered the Amazon River in 1499. The continent of America was named after him. Research Amerigo Vespucci
Ammianus Marcellimis was a Roman historian. He was born about 320 at Antioch in Syria and died about 390. He wrote in thirty-one books (of which the first thirteen are lost) a history of the Caesars, from Nerva to Valens, which was highly thought of by Gibbon for its fidelity. Research Ammianus Marcellimis
The Ammonites were an ancient people who lived in the area which is now southern Jordan in the Middle East. They were said to be descended from Lot, who appears in the Old Testament. They were infamous for their ritual sacrifice of their own children which took place by burning at Yophet, a place constructed for the purpose in the valley of Hinnom. Research Ammonite
Ammonius Saccas was a Greek philosopher who lived about 175-250. Originally a porter in Alexandria, he derived his epithet from the carrying of sacks of corn. The son of Christian parents, he abandoned their faith for the polytheistic philosophy of Greece. His teaching was historically a transition stage between Platonism and Neo-Platonism. Among his disciples were Plotinus, Longinus, Origen, etc. Research Ammonius Saccas
Amos Ellmaker was an American politician. He was born in 1787 and died in 1851. He served in the Pennsylvania Legislature from 1812 to 1814, was State Attorney-General from 1816 to 1819 and in 1833 was the Anti-Masonic candidate for Vice-President of the United States. Research Amos Ellmaker
Amos Kendall was an American politician. He was born in 1789 Massachusetts and died in 1869. He earnestly supported Andrew Jackson in 1834. In 1829 he was appointed an auditor in the Treasury Department. He was one of the chief men in Andrew Jackson's administration, guiding-the anti-bank policy, and advising and directing the President in all his duties. He was Postmaster-General of the United States from 1835 to 1840 in the Cabinets of Andrew Jackson and Van Buren. He was an ardent anti-slavery advocate and, though a Jackson Democrat, earnestly supported the administration during the American Civil War. Research Amos Kendall
Amru was originally an opponent, and subsequently a zealoussupporter of Mohammed, and one of the ablest of the Mohammedan warriors. He brought Egypt under the power of the Caliph Omar in 638, and governed it wisely until his death in 663. The burning of the famous Alexandrian Library has been generally attributed to him, though only on the authority of a writer who lived six centuries later. Research Amru
Amy Johnson was an English aviator. She was born in 1903 at Hull, Humberside and died in 1941. She became a pilot in 1929 and in 1930 flew solo from England to Australia in a second-hand De Havilland DH 60 Gipsy Moth aircraft (christened Jason Wanderer) which her father bought for her, setting a new speed record, breaking the record held by Bert Hinkler - despite losing two days after hitting a ditch while landing at Insein which caused considerable damage to the plane - for which she won a prize of £10,000 awarded by the London Daily Mailnewspaper. During the Second World War she was a pilot with the Air Transport Auxiliary and died after bailing out over the Thamesestuary. Research Amy Johnson
Anacreon was a Greek lyric poet. He was born in 569 BC and died in 475 B. A native of Teos, in Ionia, only a few fragments of his works have come down to us; the collection of odes that usually passes under the name of Anacreon is mostly the production of a later time. Research Anacreon
Anastasius I was Emperor of the East. He was born in 431 and died in 518. Hes ucceeded Zeno in A.D. 491. He was a member of the imperial life-guard, and owed his elevation to Ariadne, widow of Zeno, whom he married. He distinguished himself by suppressing the combats between men and wild beasts in the arena, abolishing the sale of offices, building the fortifications of Constantinople, etc. His support of the heretical Eutychians led to a dangerous rebellion and his anathematization by the pope. Research Anastasius I
Anatole France (real name Anatloe Francois Thibaut) was a French author. He was born in 1844 at Paris and died in 1924. He won the Nobel prize for literature in 1921. Research Anatole France
Anatoly Mikhailovitch Stossel was a Russian soldier. He was born in 1848 and died in 1915. He entered the army in 1866 and in 1899 was made a general. During the Russo-Japanese War of 1904 to 1905 he commanded the fortress of Port Arthur, and during the siege of the fort was praised for his heroism. However, after the fall of Port Arthur questions were asked about his leadership and in 1908 he was tried by court-martial, sentenced to death, but his sentence was commuted to ten years' imprisonment, and after fifteen months was released due to ill health. Research Anatoly Stossel
Anaxagoras was an Ionian philosopher. He was born in 488 BC at Clazomense and died in 428 BC. When only about twenty years of age he settled at Athens, and soon gained a high reputation, and gathered round him a circle of renowned pupils, including Pericles, Euripides, Socrates, etc. At the age of fifty he was publicly charged with impiety and condemned to death, but the sentence was commuted to perpetual banishment. Thereupon he went to Lampsacus, where he died. Anaxagoras belonged to the atomic school of Ionic philosophers. He held that there was an infinite number of different kinds of elementary atoms, and that these, in themselves motionless and originally existing in a state of chaos, were put in motion by an eternal, immaterial, spiritual, elementary being, Nous (Intelligence), from which motion the world was produced. The stars were, according to him, of earthy materials; the sun a glowing mass, about as large as the Peloponnesus;
the earth was flat; the moon a dark, inhabitable body, receiving its light from the sun; the comets wandering stars. Research Anaxagoras
Anaximander was an ancient Greek philosopher. He was born in 611 BC at Miletus and died 547. The fundamental principle of his philosophy is that the source of all things is an undefined substance infinite in quantity. The firmament is composed of heat and cold, the stars of air and fire. The sun occupies the highest place in the heavens, has a circumference twenty-eight times larger than the earth, and resembles a cylinder, from which streams of fire issue. The moon is likewise a cylinder, nineteen times larger than the earth. The earth has the shape of a cylinder, and is placed in the midst of the universe, where it remains suspended. Anaximander occupied himself a great deal with mathematics and geography. To him is credited the invention of geographical maps and the first application of the gnomon or style fixed on a horizontal plane to determine the solstices and equinoxes. Research Anaximander
Anaximenes was an ancient Greek philosopher. He lived about 550 BC. According to him, air was the first principle of all things. Finite things were formed from the infinite air by compression and rarefaction produced by eternally existent motion; and heat and cold resulted from varying degrees of density of the primal element. Research Anaximenes
Anchorites or Anchorets were, in the early church, a class of religious persons who generally passed their lives in cells, from which they never removed. Their habitations were, in many instances, entirely separated from the abodes of other men, sometimes in the depth of wildernesses, in pits or caverns; at other times several of these individuals fixed their habitations in the vicinity of each other, but they always lived personally separate. The continual prevalence of bloody wars, civil commotions, and persecutions at the beginning of the Christian era must have made retirement and religious meditation agreeable to men of quiet and contemplative minds. This spirit, however, as might have been expected, soon led to fanatical excesses; many anchorites went without proper clothing, wore heavy chains, and we find at the close of the fourth century Simeon Stylites passing thirty years on the top of a column without ever descending from it, and finally dying there. In Egypt and Syria, where Christianity became blended with the Grecian philosophy and strongly tinged with the peculiar notions of the East, the anchorets were most numerous; in Europe there were comparatively few, and on the development and establishment of the monastic system they disappeared completely. Research Anchorites
Ancus Marcius was the fourth king of Rome, reigning from 638 when he succeeded Tullus Hostilius until his death in 614 BC. He conquered many Latin towns and transplanted their inhabitants to Rome. He is reputed to be the founder of Ostia and to have built the wooden bridge across the Tiber known as the Sublician, and built the first Roman prison. Research Ancus Marcius
Anders Celsius was a Swedish astronomer. He was born in 1701 and died in 1744. After being appointed professor of astronomy at the University of Upsal he travelled in Germany, England, France, and Italy; and in 1736 he took part in the expedition of Maupertuis and others for the purpose of measuring a degree of the meridian in Lapland. He invented the centigrade scale for measuring temperature. Research Anders Celsius
Andocides was an Athenian orator. He was born in 467 BC and died about 393 BC. He took an active part in public affairs, and was four times exiled; the first time along with Alcibiades, for profaning the Eleusinian mysteries. Several of his orations are extant. Research Andocides
Andre Marie Ampere was a French scientist and the founder of the science of electrodynamics. He was born in 1775 at Lyons and died in 1836. A genius in mathematics, his best known work was in establishing the nature of the connexion between electricity and magnetism and working out the theory of electrodynamics. Research Andre Ampere
Andre Campra was a French composer. He was born in 1660 at Aix and died in 1744. From 1679 to 1694 he was conductor at the cathedrals of Toulon, then Arles and afterwards Toulouse before going to Paris in 1694 and becoming conductor at the Notre-Dame, a post he resigned in 1700 to devote himself to composition. He wrote some twenty operas including 'L'Europe Galante' and 'Le Carnaval de Venise'. Research Andre Campra
Andre Dacier was a French writer. He was born in 1651 and died in 1822. He studied at Saumur, and in 1672 he went to Paris, where the Duke of Montausier entrusted him with the editing of the Latinwriter Pompeius Festus ad usum Delphini. In 1683 he married Anne Lefevre, the daughter of his former teacher, afterwards became perpetual secretary of the French Academy and published many editions and translations of the ancient classics. Research Andre Dacier
Andre Hercule de Fleury was a French cardinal and prime minister. He was born in 1653 and died in 1743. In 1698 Louis XIV gave him the bishopric of Frejus, and shortly before his death appointed him instructor to Louis XV. After the death of the regent in 1723 he proposed the Duc de Borbon as first minister, but in 1726 he overturned the government which he himself had set up, and from then on directed affairs himself, in the same year being made a cardinal. Research Andre de Fleury
Abdre Duchesne (or Abdre Du Chesne) was a French historian. He was born in 1584 and died in 1640. His most important works are his collection of French historians - Historiae Francorum Scriptores; Historiae Normanorum Scriptores 838-1220; Histoire d'Angleterre, d'Ecosse et d'lrlande; Histoire des Papes. Research Andre Duchesne
Andre-Marie De Chenier was a French poet. He was born in 1762 at Constantinople (Istanbul) and died in 1794. He went to France when very young, and entered the army, but left shortly after his twentieth year to devote himself to literary pursuits. In 1790 he joined the moderate section of the Republicans, and made himself offensive alike to the Royalists and Jacobinical party. Being brought before the revolutionary tribunal he was condemned and guillotined on the 25th of July, 1794. The poems of Chenier give the author a high place amongst the poets of France, and include elegies, and some beautiful odes, of which La Jeune Captive, written in prison, is perhaps the best known. Research Andre-Marie De Chenier
Andrea Appiani was an Italian painter. He was born in 1754 at Milan and died in 1817. As a fresco-painter he excelled every contemporary painter in Italy. He displayed his skill particularly in the cupola of Santa Mariadi S. Celso at Milan, and in the paintings representing the legend of Cupid and Psyche, prepared for the walls and ceiling of the villa of the Archduke Ferdinand at Monza in 1795. Napoleon appointed him royal court painter, and portraits of almost the whole of the imperial family were painted by him. Research Andrea Appiani
Andrea Dandolo was Doge of Venice. He was born about 1310 of an illustrious Venetian family and died in 1354. He was and made doge in 1343 and carried on a war against the Turks with various success, and greatly extended Venetian commerce by opening a trading connection with Egypt. He wrote a chronicle of Venice, comprising the history of the republic from its commencement to 1342, which was published in Muratori's collection. Research Andrea Dandolo
Andrea Del Sarto (Andrea D'Agnolo) was a Florentine artist born in 1487, he died in 1531 of the plague. He was a pupil of Giovanni Barile and Piero di Cosimo and was influenced by Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo. He painted the picture 'Charity' which hangs in the Louvre. Research Andrea Del Sarto
Andrea di Cione (also known as Orcagna and Arcaonuolo) was an Italian painter, sculptor and architect. He was born in 1316 at Florence and died in 1376. He painted frescoes of Santa Maria Novella and was the architect of Or San Michele. Research Andrea di Cione
Andrea Palladio was an Italian architect. He was born in 1518 at Vicenza and died in 1580. He studied under Trissino and at Rome, and became the chief exponent of the new Roman as opposed to the Renaissancearchitecture. Research Andrea Palladio
Andrea Sansovino (properly Andrea Contucci) was an Italian sculptor and architect. He was born in 1460 near Montepulciano and died in 1529. After working at Florence and Portugal from 1491 to 1500 he was, in 1505, called by Pope Julius II to Rome where he executed the funeral monuments of Cardinals Basso and Sforza for Santa Maria del Popolo. From 1513 he was engaged on the decoration of the cathedralchurch of Santa Croce at Loreto. Research Andrea Sansovino
Andrea Solario was an Italian painter. He was born in 1460 at Milan and died in 1530. Among his works are the decoration of the Chateau Gaillon carried out for the Cardinal d'Amboise in 1507. Research Andrea Solario
Andreas Achenbach was a German painter. He was born in 1815 at Cassel and died in 1910. Educated at St Petersburg, he travelled extensively in the Netherlands, Scandinavia and Italy, where he produced many watercolours. His paintings of the North Sea coasts of Europe had a considerable influence in Germany, and he was regarded as the father of 19th-century German landscape painting. Research Andreas Achenbach
Andreas Caesalpinus was an Italian botanist. He was born in 1519 at Arezzo and died in 1603. He became professor of botany at Pisa and was the first to attempt a comprehensive classification of plants upon a natural system. Research Andreas Caesalpinus
Andreas Rudolf Carlstadt was a German reformer. He was born in 1480 and died in 1541. He was appointed professor of theology at Wittenberg in 1513. About 1517 he became one of Luther's warmest supporters. He was excommunicated by the bull against Luther, and was the first to appeal from the pope to a general council. Whilst Luther was at the Wartburg Andreas Carlstadt instigated the people and students to the destruction of the altars and the images of the saints, greatly to the displeasure of Luther. In 1524 he declared himself publicly the opponent of Luther, and commenced the controversy respecting the sacrament, denying the bodily presence of Christ in the sacramental elements. This controversy ended in the separation of the Calvinists and Lutherans. After many misfortunes he settled as vicar and professor of theology at Basel, where he died. Research Andreas Carlstadt
Andreas Hofer was a Tyrolese patriot. He was born in 1767 and died in 1810. In 1796 he led a rifle company against the French on Lake Garda, and after the Peace of Luneville took a prominent part in the organization of the Tyrol militia. In 1809 he took the lead in an insurrection of the Tyrolese for shaking off the yoke of Bavaria, to which their country had been transferred by the Treaty of Presburg. In a short time, with intermittent assistance from the Austrians, he defeated the French and Bavarian troops, and nearly the whole country was liberated. Andreas Hofer then carried on the military and civil administration, under the most singular circumstances, until the Peace of Vienna was proclaimed. Misled by false reports he commenced hostilities anew, and thus forfeited the protection of the amnesty. He remained concealed for some time, but was at last betrayed to the French, and carried to Mantua, where he was tried by a court-martial and shot, on February the 20th, 1810. His family was indemnified for the loss of their property by the Emperor of Austria in 1819, and his son ennobled. Research Andreas Hofer
Andreas Hudde was a Dutch colonial governor. He was born in 1600 and died in 1663. He went to America from Holland in 1629, and was employed in New Netherlands by the Dutch West India Company. He was Governor of the Dutch colony on the Delaware from 1645 to 1655. Research Andreas Hudde
Andreas Schluter was a German sculptor and architect. He was born in 1664 at Hamburg and died in 1714. He was for a time architect to the Sobieskis and worked at Warsaw. In 1694 he was appointed court architect at Berlin, and in 1695 co-director of the academy. Research Andreas Schluter
Andreas Vesalius was a Belgian physician and founder of the science of anatomy. He was born in 1514 and died in 1564. He wrote 'On the Fabric of The Human Body'. Research Andreas Vesalius
Andres Bello was a Venezuelan poet and polymath. He was born in 1781 and died in 1865. He is regarded as the intellectual father of LatinAmerica, a friend and teacher of the patriot Simon Bolivar, he translated the Romantics Byron and Hugo but defended Neo-Classicism in literature. In the service of the new republic of Chile he was an enormously influential educational and legal reformer; he also published an important grammar of the Spanish language in 1847 which is still in use. Research Andres Bello
Andrew Aagesen was a Danish jurist. He was born in 1826 and died in 1879. He studied law at Kristianshavn and Copenhagen, and interrupted his studies in 1848 to take part in the first Schleswig war, in which he served as the leader of a reserve battalion. In 1855 he became professor of jurisprudence at the university of Copenhagen and in 1870 was appointed a member of the commission for drawing up a maritime and commercial code, and the navigation law of 1882 is mainly his work. In 1879 he was elected a member of the Landsthing; but it is as a teacher at the university that he won his reputation. He also wrote numerous papers and conducted ground breaking research into Roman Law. Research Andrew Aagesen
Sir Andrew Bartholemew Balfour was a Scotch botanist and physician. He was born in 1630 at Fifeshire in 1630 and died in 1694. After completing his studies at St Andrews and London, and travelling on the Continent, he settled at Edinburgh, where he planned, with Sir Robert Sibbald, the Royal College of Physicians, and was elected its first president. He also laid the foundation of a hospital in Edinburgh, which expanded into the Royal Infirmary. His familiar letters were published in 1700. Research Andrew Balfour
Andrew Barton was a Scottish sailor. He was born abour 1470 and died in 1512. He was one of Scotland's first great naval commanders, and belonged to a family which for two generations had produced able and successful seamen. In 1497 he commanded the escort which accompanied Perkin Warbeck from Scotland. After doing considerable damage to English shipping he was killed in an engagement with two ships which had been specially fitted out against him in 1512. Research Andrew Barton
Andrew Bell was a Scottish clergyman. He was born in 1753 at St Andrews and died in 1832. He was the author of the mutual instruction or 'Madras' system of education. He took orders in the Church of England, and in 1789 went to India, where he became chaplain at FortSt George, Madras, and manager of the institution for the education of the orphan children of European soldiers. Failing to retain the services of properly qualified ushers, he resorted to the expedient of employing the scholars in mutual instruction; and after his return to Britain published a treatise on the monitorial or Madras system of education. Joseph Lancaster, a dissenter, began to work on the system, and a considerable amount of friction and rivalry ensued between the dissenters and the church party. Dr. Andrew Bell lived long enough to witness the introduction of his system into 12,973 national schools, educating 900,000 English children, and to know that it was employed extensively in almost every other civilized country. He latterly became a prebendary of Westminster, and was master of Sherborn Hospital, Durham. At his death he left 120,000 pounds for the erection and maintenance of schools on his favourite system, 60,000 pounds of which was set apart for his native town. Research Andrew Bell
Andrew Kennedy Hutchison Boyd was a Scottish clerical writer. He was born in 1825 and died in 1899. Educated at King's College, London, he entered the Middle Temple, and afterwards graduated at Glasgow University and entered the Scottish Church. He was parish minister from 1865 until his death, at St Andrews. He early made his name familiar, especially through his Recreations of a Country Parson, contributed to Fraser's Magazine, with his initials A. K. H. B. attached; and besides three series of these he wrote various collections of essays and papers, such as Graver Thoughts of a Country Parson; Leisure Hours in Town; Autumn Holidays of a Country Parson; Critical Essays of a Country Parson, etc. He also wrote rather full reminiscences in successive portions entitled Twenty-five Years of St Andrews; St Andrews and Elsewhere; and Last Years of St Andrews. Research Andrew Boyd
Andrew Carnegie was an American industrialist and philanthropist. He was born at Dunfermline in 1835 and died in 1919. In May 1848 his parents left Dunfermline for America, settling in Pittsburgh. His prosperity began with the formation of the Pullman Palace Car Company which received a large contract from the Union Pacific Railroad; while Carnegie himself became manager of the Pittsburgh division of the PennsylvaniaRailroad, a position he held until after the civil war. After a visit to Scotland in 1868 he broke new ground by founding the Union Mills, Pittsburgh, for the manufacture of steel rails, which he noted were being preferred to those of iron. He also acquired the Edgar Thomson Steel Works, and in 1875 all the concerns in which he was interested were amalgamated under the title of 'Carnegie Brothers and Co'. In 1883 the HomesteadSteel Works were acquired, and along with several other works, were formed into one concern under the title 'The CarnegieSteel Company Limited'. Carnegie became very popular through his
benevolence, assisting the establishment of local libraries and church organs, paying class fees for students at Scottish universities and making donations to other universities and technical schools. In April 1905 he presented two million pounds sterling to provide pensions for teachers in American universities and colleges. Research Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Combe was a Scottish physician. He was born in 1797 at Edinburgh and died in 1847. He was educated at the Edinburgh High School, and afterwards for the medical profession at the university there. In 1822 he commenced practice at Edinburgh, and had considerable success. In 1838 he was appointed one of the physicians extraordinary to the queen in Scotland. His chief works are: Observations on Mental Derangement (1831), Principles of Physiology (1834), Physiology of Digestion (1836), and A Treatise on the Physiological and Moral Management of Infancy (1840). Like his brother George Combe he was a zealous phrenologist. Research Andrew Combe
Andrew Crosse was an English physician and scientist. He was born in 1784 and died in 1855. He passed the greater part of his life experimenting in electricity. In 1816 he asserted that by electricity it was possible to communicate one's thoughts instantaneously to persons in the most distant parts of the earth, but he neverappears to have attempted to demonstrate the fact by actual experiment. Amongst other things he applied electricity in the production of crystals, discovered a process of purifying salt water by electricity, and also made some curious discoveries relative to the effects of positive and negative electricity on vegetation. Research Andrew Crosse
Andrew Jackson Donelson was an American politician. He was born in 1800 and died in 1871. A nephew of General Andrew Jackson, he was private secretary to his uncle during the latter's Presidency, Minister to Prussia and the German Confederation from 1846 to 1849, and in 1856 was nominated for the Vice-Presidency by the American party on the ticket with Fillmore. Research Andrew Donelson
Andrew Ellicott was an American surveyor. He was born in 1754 at Pennsylvania and died in 1820. He surveyed and laid out the city of Washington in 1790, and was surveyor-general of the United States in 1792. In 1796 he was appointed a commissioner to determine the boundary between the United States and the Spanish possessions on the south. Research Andrew Ellicott
Andrew Fletcher was a Scottish political writer. He was born in 1653 and died in 1716. The son of Sir Robert Fletcher, of Saltoun, he opposed the court in the Scottish parliament, and had to retire to Holland. In 1685 he joined the enterprise of the Duke of Monmouth. He afterwards took refuge in Spain and in Hungary, and returned to England at the Revolution. He brought forward measures to secure the religion and liberties of the nation on the death of the queen (Anne), and carried various limitations of the prerogative, forming part of the Act of Security, rendered nugatory by the Scottish union, which he vehemently opposed. Research Andrew Fletcher
Andrew H Foote was an American sailor. He was born in 1806 and died in 1863. He entered the navy in 1822, and from 1849 to 1852 was active in suppressing the African slave trade. At the beginning of the American Civil War he was placed in command of the western flotilla. In 1863, in connection with the army of General Grant, he compelled Fort Henry to surrender and aided in a combined attack upon Fort Donelson. He succeeded in capturing Island No. 10 from the Confederates, and in 1863 was promoted rear-admiral. Research Andrew Foote
Andrew Fuller was an English Baptist minister and theological and controversial writer. He was born in 1754 and died in 1815. In 1782 he accepted the pastoral charge of a Baptist church at Kettering, in Northamptonshire, in which office he continued until his death. His theology was a moderate Calvinism, and he devoted much of his energy to the subject of foreign missions. His works have been frequently reprinted. Research Andrew Fuller
Andrew Geddes was a Scottish etcher and painter. He was born in 1783 at Edinburgh and died in 1844. He settled in London in 1823, before moving to the continent in 1828 for two years before returning and being elected to the ARA in 1832. Research Andrew Geddes
Andrew H Reeder was an American politician. He was born in 1807 at Pennsylvania and died in 1864. He was appointed Governor of Kansas in 1854, but was removed in 1855 for not exerting official influence against the Free-State movement. When chosen US Senator under the Topekaconstitution in 1856 he was not allowed his seat. Research Andrew H Reeder
Andrew Hamilton was an American jurist. He was born in 1676 arScotland and died in 1741. He emigrated from Scotland to America in 1697, was Attorney-General of Pennsylvania from 1717 to 1724, an Assemblyman from 1729 to 1739, and in the 'Zenger' libel suit first advanced the doctrine that in such cases evidence of the truth of the libel might be presented in defence. Research Andrew Hamilton
Andrew A Humphreys was an American soldier. He was born in 1810 and died in 1883. He was assigned to the corps of topographical engineers in 1838 and engaged in the coast survey. He served on the staff of General McClellan in 1862. He commanded a division at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville and a corps at Gettysburg. In 1863 he became chief of staff to General George Meade. He was chief of engineers from 1866 to 1879, when he retired. Research Andrew Humphreys
Andrew I was king of Hungary from 1046 to 1058. He succeeded Peter the German and engaged in war with Germany until 1052. He attempted to introduce Christianity into his kingdom, but was dethroned and killed by his brother Bela in 1058. Research Andrew I
Andrew II was king of Hungary from 1205 to 1236. He conducted a crusade to the Holy Land at the instigation of the Pope in 1217. On his return in 1222 he issued his Golden Bull which became the basis of the Hungarian nobles. Research Andrew II
Andrew III was king of Hungary from 1290 to 1301. He succeeded to the throne after the murder of Ladislaus III, but was opposed by the Duke of Austria and by the Pope, who claimed Hungary as a fief of the church, and put forward Charles Martel, son of Charles II, king of Naples as his nominee. Andrew defeated them both in 1291. The son of Charles Martel later seized a portion of Hungary, and held it until the death of Andrew in 1301. Research Andrew III
Andrew Jackson was the seventh president of the USA. He was born in 1767 and died in 1845. He began his military career at the early age of thirteen at the Battle of Hanging Rock; occupations of a miscellaneous nature followed, and in 1788 he was public prosecutor in the western district of North Carolina, now Tennessee. He was in 1796-1797 the first Congressman from the State of Tennessee, and in 1797-1798 was US Senator. From 1798 to 1804 he was a Judge of the State Supreme Court. His life as a planter, not infrequently chequered with disputes and duels, was broken by the War of 1812. Jackson, 'Old Hickory', as he was called, commanded the Southwestern troops against the Creeks, whom he overwhelmed at the Horse-Shoe Bend of the Tallapoosa, on March the 27th, 1814. He was made a major-general, stormed Pensacola, and held New Orleans against Pakenham's invasion. The sweeping victory, on January the 8th, 1815, of his riflemen over the flower of the Peninsular army, made Jackson for all time an American hero of the country in general and of the Democratic party in particular. General Jackson's actions in Florida, the capture of St. Marks in 1818, and summary execution of two British subjects, led to considerable discussion.
He was appointed Governor of Florida in 1821, and became US Senator in 1823. In 1824 he received ninety-nine electoral votes for President, but was beaten in the House of Representatives. Elected in 1828 over the President, he entered office in 1829, the first Representative of the new West and of the masses. In his Cabinet, outside of Van Buren, there were few names of note; Jackson's real advisers were a coterie of practical politicians, Lewis, Amos Kendall and others of the so-called 'Kitchen Cabinet'. In 1831 he reorganized his Cabinet, and the next year was re-elected over Clay. The chief features of his eight years, 1829-1837, were his vigorous opposition to nullification and to the United States Bank, his censure by the Senate, his introduction of the " Spoils System," his settlement of the French spoliation dispute, and his 'Specie Circular' of 1836. After his retirement he continued to be regarded as the leader of the party, and died at the 'Hermitage', near Nashville. Jackson was of heroic character, but headstrong, arbitrary, vindictive and subject to the influence of politicians. Research Andrew Jackson
Andrew Johnson was the seventeenth president of the USA from 1865 to 1869. He was born in 1808 at Raleigh, North Carolina and died in 1875. Apprenticed as a tailor at the age of ten, and with no formal education,
Andrew Johnson taught himself to read before moving with his mother and stepfather to Tennessee in 1826 and there opening his own tailor's shop. In 1827 he married Eliza McCardle, who being comparatively well educated taught him how to write and also arithmetic. He then turned to politics and before the age of 21 had organised a working man's party. Between 1835 and 1843 he served two terms in the Tennessee house of representatives and one in the state senate, joining the Democrats and became a popular champion of public education and the rights of mountaineers and small farmers, supporting slavery but rejecting the South's secession from the Union, and refusing to join the Confederacy leading to him being appointed military Governor of Tennessee by President Abraham Lincoln in 1862. Following Abraham Lincoln's assassination, Andrew Johnson became president. Research Andrew Johnson
Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber is an English composer. He was born in 1948 at London. At an early age he learned to play various musical instruments at home and began composing. He continued his music studies at Westminster School, where his father was an organist. At the age of 9, he was able to play the organ and assisted his father during performances. In 1964 he went to Oxford University as a Queens Scholar of history, only to drop out a year later after meeting Tim Rice, and devoted his time to composing popular musicals and songs. He was knighted in 1992, and was created an honorary life peer in 1997 as Baron Lloyd-Webber, of Syndmonton in the County of Hampshire. Research Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Marvell was an English poet. He was born in 1621 at Winstead and died in 1678. In 1650 he was chosen to tutor Mary, daughter of LordFairfax. In 1653 he was introduced by Milton to Bradshaw, and became a member of the most enlightened and philosophic party in the politics of the commonwealth. After serving as tutor to a nephew of Oliver Cromwell he was chosen to assist Milton in the Latin secretaryship. In 1659 he was elected member for Hull, and succeeded in holding his seat until his death. He was thus able to protect Milton from royalist reprisals. In 1663 he accompanied LordCarlisle on an embassy to Russia, Sweden and Denmark. In 1667 he began to write his powerful satires against the king, the Duke of York, LordDanby, the Papists, and the high Churchmen. Research Andrew Marvell
Andrew Oliver was an American politician. He was born in 1706 and died in 1774. A loyalist, he was a member of the Massachusetts Council from 1746 to 1765, provincial secretary from 1756 to 1770 and Lieutenant-Governor from 1771 to 1774. Mob violence compelled him to resign the appointment as stamp officer in 1765. Research Andrew Oliver
Andrew P Peabody was an American journalist, philosopher and teacher. He was born in 1811 and died in 1893. He was editor of the North American Review from 1854 to 1863, and professor of Christian morals at Harvard from 1860 to 1881. He won esteem as a profound thinker, facilewriter and lovable teacher. Research Andrew Peabody
Andrew Pickens was an American soldier and politician. He was born in 1739 and died in 1817. He served in the Cherokee War in 1761. In 1779 he defeated the British under ColonelBoyd at Kettle Creek and was active at the Battle of Stono. He commanded the militia at Cowpens, captured Augusta and led the Carolina militia at Eutaw Springs. He served in the South Carolina legislature from 1783 to 1794, and was a US Congressman from 1793 to 1795. He was again in the South Carolina Legislature from 1801 to 1813. He negotiated numerous treaties with the Southern Indians. Research Andrew Pickens
Andrew Stevenson was an American politician. He was born in 1784 and died in 1857. He was a member of the Virginia Legislature from 1804 to 1820. He represented Virginia in the US Congress as a Democrat from 1823 to 1834, when he resigned. He served as Speaker of the House from 1827 to 1834. He was Minister to England from 1836 to 1841. Research Andrew Stevenson
Andrew Stoddart was an English cricketer and rugby union player. He was born in 1864 at South Shields and died in 1915. In 1885 he joined Hampstead CC and made his first appearance for Middlesex. Andrew Stoddart was renowned as a batsman, scoring 485 of the 814 total runs Hampstead scored against the Stoics on August the 4th 1886, as well as a batsman he was also a change bowler, though not of any merit. As a rugby union player, he was one of the finest of his time and played in ten international matches. Research Andrew Stoddart
Andonicus II was emperor of Constantinople. He was born in 1258 and died in 1332. His reign is celebrated for the invasion of the Turks. Research Andronicus II
The Androphagi were an ancient nation of cannibals living north of Scythia, probably in the forests between the upper waters of the Dnieper and the Don. They were most likely Finns and perhaps the ancestors of the Mordvinians. Research Androphagi
Aneurin was a Britsih poet and prince. He was prince of the Cambrian Britons who flourished about 600 A.D. He was the author of an epicpoem, the Gododin, relating the defeat of the Britons of Strathclyde by the Saxons at the battle of Cattraeth. Research Aneurin
Aneurin Bevan was a British socialist politician. He was born in 1897 and died in 1960. He devised the national health service which came into operation in 1948. Research Aneurin Bevan
Baroness Angela Burdett-Coutts was an English philanthropist. She was born in 1814 and died in 1906. Her name was taken for the London Cockney rhyming slang for boots - Burdett-Coutts. Research Angela Burdett-Coutts
Angelica Catalani was an Italian singer. She was born in 1779 at Sinigaglia and died in 1849. She made her debut as a soprano at Venice in 1795 and for some thirty years was almost unrivalled. Her voice was of great power, sweetness and flexibility with a compass which extended to G in altissimo. After singing at Lisbon from 1801 to 1806 she went to London and remained there until 1814 when she went to Paris and assumed the direction of the Italian Opera. In 1816 she made a tour through Europe. In 1822 she appeared again in London. Research Angelica Catalani
ANGELICA CATALANI
Angelica Catalani was an Italian singer. She was born in 1779, and died in 1849. Family misfortunes compelled her to turn her remarkable voice to employment as a singer, and when she was 16 she made her first appearance on the stage at Venice. After filling the chief soprano parts in the best opera-houses of Italy she visited successively Madrid, Paris, and London, enjoying everywhere great professional triumphs, as she continued to do in similar tours which she repeatedly made afterwards. In 1830 she retired. Research Angelica Catalani
Angelo Secchi was an Italian astronomer. He was born in 1818 at Reggio in the Emilia and died in 1878. He entered the Jesuit order in 1833 and was driven into exile by the revolution of 1848, to find refuge in Washington. On his return he was appointed director of the Roman College Observatory by Pius IX. He made an extensive series of double-star observations and successfully photographed the total eclipse of the sun in Spain in 1860. In 1863 he established the present system of classifying stellar spectra, which he completed by the discovery of carbon stars in 1867. Research Angelo Secchi
The Angles were a Low German tribe who in the earliest historical period had their seats in the district about Angein, in the duchy of Sleswig, and who in the fifth century and subsequently crossed over to Britain along with bands of Saxons and Jutes (and probably Frisians also), and colonized a great part of what from them has received the name of England, as well as a portion of the Lowlands of Scotland. The Angles formed the largest body among the Germanic settlers in Britain, and founded the three kingdoms of East Anglia, Mercia, and Northumbria. Research Angles
Anglo-Saxons is the name commonly given to the nation or people formed by the amalgamation of the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes, who settled in Britain in the fifth and sixth centuries, the Anglo-Saxons being simply the English people of the earlier period of English history. The tribes who were thus the ancestors of the bulk of the English-speaking nationalities came from north Germany, where they inhabited the parts about the mouths of the Elbe and Weser, and the first body of them who gained a footing in Britain are said to have landed in 449, and to have been led by Hengist and Horsa. From the preponderance of the Angles the whole country came to be called Engla-land, that is, the land of the Angles or English.
The whole Anglo-Saxon community was frequently spoken of as consisting of the eorls and the ceorls, or the nobles and common freemen. The former were the men of property and position, the latter were the small landholders, handicraftsmen, etc, who generally placed themselves under the protection of some nobleman, who was hence termed their hlaford or lord. Besides these there was the class of the serfs or slaves (theowas), who might be either born slaves or freemen who had forfeited their liberty by their crimes, or whom poverty or the fortune of war had brought into this position. They served as agricultural labourers on their masters' estates, and were merechattels, as absolutely the property of their master as his cattle.
The king (cyning, cyng) was at the head of the state; he was the highest of the nobles and the chief magistrate. He was not looked upon as ruling by any divine right, but by the will of the people, as represented by the witan (wise men) or great council of the nation. The new king was not always the direct and nearest heir of the late king, but one of the royal family whose abilities and character recommended him for the office. He had the right of maintaining a standing army of household troops, the duty of calling together the witan, and of laying before them public measures, with certain distinctions of dress, dwelling, etc, all his privileges being possessed and exercised by the advice and consent of the witenagemot or parliament (literally meaning meeting of the wise). Next in rank and dignity to the king were the ealdormen, who were the chief witan or counsellors, and without whose assent laws could not be made, altered, or abrogated. They were at the head of the administration of justice in the shires, possessing both judicial and executive authority, and had as their officers the scir-gerefan or sheriffs. The ealdormen led the fyrd or armed force of the county, and the ealdorman, as such, held possession of certain lands attached to the office, and was entitled to a share of fines and other moneys levied for the king's use and passing through his hands. The whole executive government may be considered as a great aristocratical association, of which the ealdormen were the members, and the king little more than the president. The ealdorman and the king were both surrounded by a number of followers called thegnas or thanes, who were bound by close ties to their superior. The king's thanes were the higher in rank, they possessed a certain quantity of land, smaller in amount than that of an ealdorman, and they filled offices connected with the personal service of the king or with the administration of justice. The scir-gerefa (shire-reeve or sheriff) was also
important functionary. He presided at the county-court along with the ealdorman and bishop, or alone in their absence; and he had to carry out the decisions of the court, levy fines, collect taxes, etc. The shires were divided into hundreds and tithings, the latter consisting of ten heads of families, who were jointly responsible to the state for the good conduct of any member of their body. Eor the trial and settlement of minor causes there was a hundred court held once a month. The place of the modern parliament was held by the witena-gemot. Its members, who were not elected, comprised the gethelings or princes of the blood royal, the bishops and abbots, the ealdormen, the thanes, the sheriffs, etc.
One of the peculiar features of Anglo-Saxon society was the wergyld, which was established for the settling of feuds. A sum, paid either in kind or in money, was placed upon the life of every freeman, according to his rank in the state, his birth, or his office. A corresponding sum was settled for every wound that could be inflicted upon his person; for nearly every injury that could be done to his civil rights, his honour, or his domestic peace, etc. From the operation of this principle no one from king to peasant was exempt.
Agriculture, including especially the raising of cattle, sheep, and swine, was the chief occupation of the Anglo-Saxons. Gardens and orchards are frequently mentioned, and vineyards were common in the southern counties. The forests were extensive, and valuable both from the mast they produced for the swine, and from the beasts of the chase which they harboured. Hunting was a favourite recreation among the higher ranks, both lay and clerical. Fishing was largely carried on, herrings and salmon being the principal fish caught; and the Anglo-Saxon whaling vessels used to go as far as Iceland. The manufactures were naturally of small moment. Iron was made to some extent, and some cloth, and salt works were numerous. In embroidery and working in gold the English were famous over Europe. There was a considerable trade at London, which was frequented by Normans, French, Flemings, and the merchants of the Hanse towns. Our Anglo-Saxon forefathers were notorious for their excess in eating and drinking, and in this respect formed a strong contrast to the Norman conquerors. Ale, mead, and cider were the common beverages, wine being limited to the higher classes. Pork and eels were favourite articles of food. The houses were rude structures, but were often richly furnished and hung with fine tapestry. The dress of the people was loose and flowing, composed chiefly of linen, and often adorned with embroidery. The men wore their hair long and flowing over their shoulders. Christianity was introduced among the Anglo-Saxons in the end of the sixth century by St Augustine, who was sent by Pope Gregory the Great, and became the first Archbishop of Canterbury. Kent, then under King Ethelred, was the first place where it took root, and thence it soon spread over the rest of the country. The Anglo-Saxon Church long remained independent of Rome, notwithstanding the continual efforts of the popes to bring it under their power. It was not until the tenth century that this result was
t about by Dunstan. Many Anglo-Saxon ecclesiastics were distinguished for learning and ability, but the VenerableBede holds the first place.
The Anglo-Saxon language, which is simply the earliest form of English, claims kinship with Dutch, Icelandic, Danish, Swedish, and German, especially with the Low German dialects (spoken in North Germany). It was not called Anglo-Saxon by those who spoke it, but Englisc (English), and many condemn the former name as a misnomer. The existing remains of Anglo-Saxon literature show different dialects, of which the northern and the southern were the principal. The former was the first to be cultivated as a literary language, but afterwards it was supplanted in this respect by the southern or that of Wessex. It is in the latter that the principal Anglo-Saxon works are written. The Anglo-Saxon alphabet was substantially the same as that which we still use, except that some of the letters were different in form, while it had two characters either of which represented the sounds of th in thy and in thing. Nouns and adjectives are declined much as in German or in Latin. The pronouns of the first and second person had a dual number, 'we tw' or 'us two' and 'you two', besides the plural for more than two. The infinitive of the verb is in -am, the participle in -ende, and there is a gerund somewhat similar in its usage to the Latingerund. The verb had four moods - indicative, subjunctive, imperative, and infinitive, but only two tenses, the present (often used as a future) and the past. Other tenses and the passive voice were formed by auxiliary verbs. Anglo-Saxon words terminated in a vowel much more frequently than the modern English, and altogether the language is so different that it has to be learned quite like a foreign tongue. Yet notwithstanding the large number of words of Latin or French origin that our language now contains, and the changes it has undergone, its framework, so to speak, is still Anglo-Saxon. Many chapters of the New Testament do not contain more than four per cent of non-Teutonic words, and as a whole it averages perhaps six or seven.
The existing remains of Anglo-Saxon literature include compositions in prose and poetry, some of which must be referred to a very early period, one or two perhaps to a time before the Angles and Saxons emigrated to England. The most important Anglo-Saxon poem is that called Beowulf, after its hero, extending to more than 6000 lines. Beowulf is a Scandinavian prince, who slays a fiendish cannibal, after encountering supernatural perils, and is at last slain in a contest with a frightful dragon. Its scene appears to be laid entirely in Scandinavia. Its date is uncertain; parts of it may have been brought over at the emigration from Germany, though in its present form it is much later than this. The poetical remains include a number of religious poems, or poems on sacred themes; ecclesiastical narratives, as lives of saints and versified chronicles; psalms and hymns; secular lyrics; allegories, gnomes, riddles, etc. The religious class of poems was the largest, and of these Caedmon's (about 660) are the most remarkable. His poems consist of loose versions of considerable portions of the Biblehistory, and treat of the creation, the temptation, the fall, the exodus of the Israelites, the story of Daniel, the incarnation, and the harrowing of hell, or release of the ransomed souls by Christ. Other most interesting poems are those ascribed to Cynewulf, the Christ, Elene, and Juliana, the subjects respectively being Christ, the finding of the cross by the EmpressHelena, and the life of Juliana. Rhyme was little used in Anglo-Saxon poetry, alliteration being employed instead, as in the older northern poetry generally. The style of the poetry is highly elliptical, and it is full of harsh inversions and obscure metaphors.
The Anglo-Saxon prose remains consist of translations of portions of the Bible, homilies, philosophical writings, history, biography, laws, leases, charters, popular treatises on science and medicine, grammars, etc. Many of these were translations from the Latin. The Anglo-Saxon versions of the Gospels, next to the Moeso-Gothic, are the earliest scriptural translations in any modern language. The Psalms are said to have been translated by Bishop Aldhelm (who died in 709), and also under Alfred's direction; and the Gospel of St John by Bede; but it is not known who were the authors of the extant versions. A translation of the first seven books of the Bible is believed to have been the work of Aelfric, who was Abbot of Ensham and lived in the beginning of the eleventh century. We have also eighty homilies from his pen, several theological treatises, a Latingrammar, etc. King Alfred was a diligent author, besides being a translator of Latin works. We have under his name translations of Boethius De Consolatione Philosophise, the Universal History of Orosius, Bede's Ecclesiastical History, the Pastoral Care of Gregory the Great, etc. The most valuable to us of the Anglo-Saxon prose writings is the Saxon Chronicle, as it is called, a collection of annals recording important events in the history of the country, and compiled in different religious houses. The latest text comes down to 1154. A considerable body of laws remains, as well as a large number of charters. Research Anglo-Saxons
The Angry Brigade were a British anarchist group of at least three men and two women who carried out anti-establishment bomb attacks in London, Birmingham and Manchester in 1970 and 1971. Three men and two women, believed to be responsible for the attacks were arrested in August 1971. Research Angry Brigade
Aniello Falcone was an Italian painter of the Neapolitan school, renowned as a painter of battle scenes. He was born in 1600 and died in 1665. Research Aniello Falcone
Ann Lee (known as Mother Ann) was the founder of the American Society of Shakers. She was born in 1736 at Manchester and died in 1784. Imprisoned for Sabbath breaking in 1770 she received a supposed vision of Christ and emigrated to America in 1774, founding the first American Shaker settlement at Niskenna in 1776. Research Ann Lee
Anna Letitia Barbauld was an English poet and general writer. Shewas born in 1743 at Leicestershire and died in 1825. She was the daughter of a Presbyterian minister named Aikin. She published a small volume of miscellaneous poems in 1772, and in 1773, in conjunction with her brother, Dr. John Aikin, a collection of pieces in prose. In 1774 she married the Reverend Rochemont Barbauld. Her Early Lessons and Hymns for Children, and various essays and poems, won considerable popularity. She edited a collection of English novels, with critical and biographical notices; a selection from the British essayists of the reign of Anne, and another from Richardson's correspondence. Her last long poem, Eighteen Hundred and Eleven, appeared in 1812. Research Anna Barbauld
Anna Comnena was the daughter of Alexius Comnenus I, Byzantine emperor. She was born in 1083 and died in 1148. After her father's death she endeavoured to secure the succession to her husband, Nicephorus Briennius, but was baffled by his want of energy and ambition. She wrote (in Greek) a life of her father Alexius, which, in the midst of much fulsome panegyric, contains some valuable and interesting information. She forms a character in Sir Walter Scott's Count Robert of Paris. Research Anna Comnena
Anna Ivanovna was Empress of Russia from 1730 to 1740. She was born in 1693 and died in 1740. She was the daughter of Ivan, the elder half-brother of Peter the Great. She was married in 1710 to the Duke of Courland, in the following year was left a widow, and on the death of Peter II in 1730 she succeeded to the throne on the condition proposed by the senate, that she would limit the absolute power of the czars, and do nothing without the advice of the council composed of the leading members of the Russian aristocracy. However she declared herself autocratic, and gave supreme power to her favourite, Biron, who ruled her empire with intolerable tyranny and oppression. Several of the leading nobles were executed, and many thousand men exiled to Siberia. On her death, Anna Ivanovna left the throne to Ivan, son of her niece, Anna Carlovna. Research Anna Ivanovna
Anna Pavlova was a Russian ballerina. She was born in 1881 and died in 1931 of pneumonia. After training at the Ballet School in St Petersburg she became prima ballerina with the Russian Imperial Ballet in 1906, danced with Diaghilev's company in 1909 and afterwards performed and toured independently with her own company. Research Anna Pavlova
Annaeus Florus was a Roman historian. He was probably a native of Spain or Gaul. He is variously styled in the manuscripts in some L, Annaeus Florus, in others A. Julius Florus, in others L. Annaeus Seneca, and in one simply L. Annaeus. He lived in the beginning of the second century after Christ, and wrote an epitome of Roman history in four books, from the foundation of the city to the first time of closing the temple of Janus, in the reign of Augustus. Research Annaeus Florus
Anne (known as Brandy Nan after her fondness for brandy) was Queen of Great Britain and Ireland from 1702 to 1714. She was born in 1664 at Twickenham and died in 1714. She was the second daughter of James II, then Duke of York and his wife Anne, daughter of the Earl of Clarendon. With her father's permission she was educated according to the principles of the English Church. In 1683 she was married to Prince George, brother to King Christian V. of Denmark. On the arrival of the Prince of Orange in 1688, Anne wished to remain with her father; but she was prevailed upon by LordChurchill (afterwards Duke of Marlborough) and his wife to join the triumphant party. She ascended the throne in 1702 following the death of William III. Her character was essentially weak, and she was governed first by Marlborough and his wife, and afterwards by Mrs. Masham. Most of the principal events of her reign are connected with the war of the Spanish Succession. The only important acquisition that England made by it was Gibraltar, which was captured in 1704. Another very important event of this reign was the union of England and Scotland under the name of Great Britain, which was accomplished in 1707. She seems to have long cherished the wish of securing the succession to her brother James, but this was frustrated by the internal dissensions of the cabinet. Grieved at the disappointment of her secret wishes, she fell into a state of weakness and lethargy, and died, on July the 20th, 1714. The reign of Anne was distinguished not only by the brilliant successes of the British arms, but also on account of the number of admirable and excellent writers who flourished at this time, among whom were Pope, Swift, and Addison. Anne bore her husband many children, all of whom died in infancy except one son, the Duke of Gloucester, who died at the age of twelve. Research Anne
Anne Askew was an English victim of religious persecution. She was born in 1521 and died in 1546. She was a daughter of Sir William Askew of Lincolnshire, and was married to a wealthy neighbour named Kyme, who, irritated by her Protestantism, drove her from his house. In London, whither she went probably to procure a divorce, she spoke against the dogmas of the old faith, and being tried was condemned to death as a heretic. Being put to the rack to extort a confession concerning those with whom she corresponded, she continued firm, and was then taken to Smithfield, chained to a stake, and burned. Research Anne Askew
Anne Boleyn (Anne Bullen) was the second wife of Henry VIII. She was born in 1501 or 1507 and died in 1536. She was the eldest daughter of Sir Thomas Boleyn and Elizabeth Howard, daughter of the Duke of Norfolk.
She attended Mary, sister of Henry, on her marriage with Louis XII., to France, as lady of honour, returning to England about 1522, and becoming lady of honour to Queen Catherine. The king, who soon grew passionately enamoured of her, without waiting for the official completion of his divorce from Catherine, married Anne in January, 1533, having previously created her Marchioness of Pembroke. When her pregnancy revealed the secret, Thomas Cranmer declared the first marriage void and the second valid, and Anne was crowned at Westminster with unparalleled splendour. On September the 7th, 1533, she gave birth to a baby girl who was to become Elizabeth I.
She was speedily, however, in turn supplanted by her own lady of honour, Jane Seymour. Suspicions of infidelity were alleged against her, and in 1536 the queen was brought before a jury of peers on a charge of treason and adultery. Smeaton, a musician, who was arrested with others, confessed that he had enjoyed her favours, and on May the 17th she was condemned to death. The clemency of Henry VIII went no further than the substitution of the scaffold for the stake, and she was beheaded on May the 19th, 1536. Whether she was guilty or not has never been decided; that she was exceedingly indiscreet is certain. Five hundred years later demands were made for her to be granted a royal pardon on the grounds that charges against her were obviously fabricated by the king who simply wanted to be rid of her. Research Anne Boleyn
Count Anne Claude Philippe de Tubiers Caylus was a French archaeologist. He was born in 1692 at Paris and died in 1765. After having served in the army, he travelled extensively in Europe and the East. He left numerous works, tales as well as antiquarian researches. Among the latter is his Recueil d'Antiquites Egyptiennes, Etrusques, Grecques, Romaines et Gauloises (published in Paris, 1752-67, in seven volumes.). Anne Caylus was also an industrious and skilful engraver, after the first masters. Research Anne Caylus
Anne Frank was a German-Jewish girl who wrote a vivid and tender diary while hiding from the Nazis during the Second World War. She was born in Frankfurt in 1929 and died in Belsen concentration camp in 1945. She and her family moved to the Netherlands in 1933 after the Nazis began to persecute Jews. In 1942, during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, the family hid in a secret annexe behind the Amsterdam office of her father's business. Two years later, the family was betrayed to the Nazis and arrested. Research Anne Frank
Anne Hilarin de Cotentin (Comte de Tourville) was a French sailor. He was born in 1642 and died in 1701. He entered the French navy in 1667. On the outbreak of the Dutch War he commanded a vessel attached to the English fleet, was present at the Battle of Sole Bay in 1672, and later fought against the Dutch in the Mediterranean, distinguishing himself at the Battle of Palermo in 1676. Commander-in-Chief of the French navy in 1689, he prosecuted the war against England and gained a barren victory over the earl of Torrington at the Battle of Beachy Head in June 1690.In 1692 he unsuccessfully engaged the English fleet at the Battle of La Hogue. In 1693 he was again serving in the Mediterranean, but crippled by a lack of resources he saw no further action. Research Anne Hilarin de Cotentin
Anne Hutchinson (born Anne Marbury) was an English colonist. She was born in 1600 and died in 1643. She went to America from England in 1634. She was expelled from the Massachusetts colony for preaching Antinomian doctrines and accusing the authorities of being under a 'covenant of works'. She had won a large following and founded Portsmouth, Rhode Island on the island of Aquidneck, which she purchased from the Indians. She was afterward murdered by the Indians near Manhattan, where she settled. Research Anne Hutchinson
Anne of Austria was Queen of France. She was born in 1602 at Madrid and died in 1666. She was the daughter of Philip III of Spain and in 1615 was married to Louis XIII of France. Richelieu, fearing the influence of her foreign connections, did everything he could to humble her. In 1643 her husband died, and she was left regent, but placed under the control of a council. But the Parliament overthrew this arrangement, and intrusted her with full sovereign rights during the minority of her son Louis XIV. She, however, brought upon herself the hatred of the nobles by her boundless confidence in Cardinal Mazarin, and was forced to flee from Paris during the wars of the Fronde. She ultimately quelled all opposition, and was able in 1661 to transmit to her son unimpaired the royal authority. She spent the remainder of her life in retirement, and died on January the 20th, 1666. Research Anne of Autria
Anne of Cleves was the fourth wife of Henry VIII. She was born in 1515 the daughter of John, Duke of Cleves and she died in 1557. She married Henry VIII in January 1540, however, Henry VIII finding her unattractive had the marriage declared null in the following July, and she was granted Richmond Palace and 3000 pounds a year until her death. Research Anne of Cleves
Anne Louise Germaine Stael (Baronne de Stael) was a French writer. She was born in 1766 at Paris and died in 1817. She left France during the French Revolution, she retired to her father's estate at Coppet near Geneva, only to return to Paris in 1797 and to be subsequently exiled by Napoleon, before returning to France upon the fall of the Empire. Research Anne Stael
Anne Joseph Theroigne de Mericourt was a French revolutionary. She was born in 1762 at Luxembourg and died in 1817. The daughter of a farmer, she was living in Paris at the time when the French Revolution occurred, and took part in the storming of the Bastille, and attended public meetings dressed in the costume of an Amazon. Following a speech she gave to an assembled crowd in the Tuileries gardens in 1793 she was attacked by a mob and publicly whipped. Towards the end of her life she supposedly became insane and was an inmate of the Saltpetriere until she died. Research Anne Theroigne de Mericourt
Annibale Caro was an Italian writer. He was born in 1507 and died in 1566. He was secretary to several members of the great Farnese family. He devoted himself to numismatics and the Tuscan language, and became famous for the elegance of his style. Among his works are Translations of the AEneid and of Aristotle's Rhetoric. Research Annibale Caro
Anotnia Escobar y Mendoza was a Spanish casuist and Jesuit. He was born in 1589 and died in 1669. His principal works are Summula Casuum Conscientiae and several scriptural commentaries. He was severely criticised by Pascal, and the extreme laxity of his moral principles was ridiculed by Boileau, Moliere, and La Fontaine. Research Anotnia Escobar y Mendoza
Ansel Adams was an American photographer. He was born in 1902 and died in 1984. He is known for his black and white landscape photographs of the American West and as a founder of the group F/64. Research Ansel Adams
Anselm Feuerbach was a German painter. He was born in 1829 and died in 1880. He worked at Paris under a pupil of Ingres, and later in Italy. Research Anselm Feuerbach
Ansgar, or Anshar, called the Apostle of the North, was a British missionary. He was born in 801 at Picardy and died in 864 or 865. He took the monastic vows while still in his boyhood. In the midst of many difficulties he laboured as a missionary in Denmark and Sweden;. He had the reputation of having undertaken, if not the first, the most successful attempts for the propagation of Christianity in the North. Research Ansgar
Anson Burlingame was an American lawyer and politician. He was born in 1820 and died in 1870. From 1855 until 1861 he was Republican Congressman for Massachusetts and in 1861 was sent as US Minister to China. His diplomatic services in China were so important that in 1868 he was appointed by the Chinese Government a special envoy to the USA and Europe. In 1868 he negotiated the Burlingame Treaty with China, and effected treaties with England, Prussia, Holland and other European countries. Research Anson Burlingame
Anson Jones was a Texan politician. He was born in 1798 and died in 1858. He was prominent in gaining the independence of Texas. He was Minister from Texas to the United States from 1837 to 1839. He was Secretary of State in Texas from 1841 to 1844 and President in 1845, at the time of the annexation. Research Anson Jones
Anson P Morrill was an American politician. He was born in 1803 and died in 1887. He was elected Governor of Maine by the Legislature in 1855. He represented Maine in the US Congress as a Republican from 1861 to 1863. Research Anson P. Morrill
Antar was an Arabian warrior and poet of the 6th century. He was author of one of the seven Moallakas (poems) hung up in the Kaaba at Mecca; hero of a romance analogous in Arabic literature to the Arthurian legend of the English. The romance of Antar, which has been called the Iliad of the Desert, is composed in rhythmic prose interspersed with fragments of verse, many of which are attributed to Antar himself, and has been generally ascribed to Asmai who lived between 740 and 830, preceptor to Harun-al-Rashid. Research Antar
Anthemius was a Greek mathematician and architect. He lived around the start of the 6th centyr and died in 534. Originally from Lydia he designed the church of St Sophia at Istanbul, and is credited with the invention of the dome. Research Anthemius
Anthony Bacon was an English politician. He was born in 1558 and died in 1601. He was a skilful politician, and much devoted to learned pursuits. He became personally acquainted with most of the foreign literati of the day, and gained the friendship of Henry IV of France. LordBacon dedicated to him the first edition of the Essays. Research Anthony Bacon
Anthony Collins was an English deistical writer. He was born in 1676 and died in 1729. He was a friend of Locke, who described him as a man who had 'an estate in the country, a library in town, and friends everywhere.' His chief works are Discourse of Free Thinking; Philosophical Inquiry Concerning Human Liberty; Discourse on the Grounds and Reasons of the Christian Religion; Literal Scheme of Prophecy Considered. Research Anthony Collins
Anthony Comstock was an American puritan. He was born in 1844 and died in 1915. One of fourteen children, and of little education, Anthony Comstock was opposed to pornography and birth control in all its forms and after vecoming involved with a YMCAcampaign to suprress pornography he helped to form the New York Society for the Supression of Vice. He was later appointed Special Agent of the Post Office in America to prevent what he deemed obscene material from being sent through the post. In this role he had many doctors arrested for sending their patients information about birth control, over 4000 people arrested - many of whom subsequently committed suicide. Research Anthony Comstock
Anthony Ashley Cooper (Earl of Shaftesbury) was an English colonist. He was born in 1621 and died in 1683. He was one of the nine proprietors who received a grant of Carolina in 1663, extending from the Virginiafrontier to the river St Mathias in Florida. He was prominent in the management of the colony, and secured for it the constitution drafted by Locke in 1667. It established a territorial aristocracy with the proprietors at the head, granting religious toleration. Shaftesbury was a famous party-leader in England, and was LordChancellor from 1672 to 1673.
Anthony Ashley Cooper (the Seventh Earl of Shaftesbury) was an English philanthropist. He was born in 1801 and died in 1885. He was member of parliament for Woodstock from 1826 to 1830, for Dorchester from 1830 to 1831, for Dorset from 1831 to 1846, for Bath from 1847 to 1851 and a lord of the Admiralty from 1834 to 1845 and a commissioner in lunacy from 1831 to 1885, affecting a complete reform of the Lunacy Acts. He also got the Factory acts amended and extended; obtaining the passing of an act in 1842 abolishing apprenticeships in collieries and mines and excluding women, and boys under thirteen, from employment underground. Research Anthony Cooper
Robert Anthony Eden (First Earl of Avon) was a British politician. He was born in 1897 at Windlestone hall, Durham and died in 1977. After serving in the Great War, where he became a Brigade Major and was awarded the military cross, he went to Oxford University and in 1923 entered Parliament as Conservative member for Warwick and Leamington, a constituency he represented for his entire political career. He was deputy to Churchill in the government during the Second World War, and succeeded Churchill as Prime Minister in 1955, resigning in 1957 following ill-health. Research Anthony Eden
Anthony Vandyke Copley Fielding was an English painter in water-colours. He was born about 1787 and died in 1855. He attracted attention at a young age by his water-colour landscapes, and for fourteen years before his death was president of the Society of Painters in Water-colours. His pictures are chiefly taken from English scenery, the various features of which, both in rich woodland and open plain, he has represented with great delicacy and truth, although latterly falling into mannerism and self-repetition. His oil-painting was not a success. Research Anthony Fielding
Count Anthony Hamilton was a Scottish poet, courtier, and man of letters. He was born in about 1646 at Ireland and died in 1720. Descended from a younger branch of the family of the dukes of Hamilton in Scotland, after the death of Charles I he went with his parents to France, but after the accession of Charles II made frequent visits to England, and was appointed governor of Limerick by James II. Afterwards, on the ruin of the royal cause, he accompanied the king to France. His talents and agreeable manners made him a favourite in the best circles. Count Anthony Hamilton is chiefly known by his Memoirs of Count Grammont (his brother-in-law), a lively and skilful picture of the frivolous life at the French and English courts of the time. The count's other works are Poems and Fairy Tales (burlesque), which, as well as the Memoirs, are in French, and are also remarkable for their fine wit and elegance of style. Research Anthony Hamilton
Sir Anthony Hoskins was a British admiral. He was born in 1828 and died in 1901. He took part in the capture of Canton and the Taku forts in China in 1857. He served as rear-admiral in the Egyptian war of 1882 and was commander-in-chief of the Mediterranean station from 1889 to 1891, and afterwards a lord of the Admiralty. Research Anthony Hoskins
Antony Van Leeuwenhoek was a Dutch scientist. He was born in 1632 and died in 1723. He was the first person to see and describe bacteria which he did using a self-made microscope. Research Anthony Leeuwenhoek
Anthony Trollope was an English novelist. He was born in 1815 at London and died in 1852. Educated at Winchester and Harrow He became a post-office clerk in 1834 and in 1841 was transferred to Ireland where his duties involved him in a great deal of travelling. Returning to England he was promoted to an inspector in the post office, a post which afforded him travel to foreign countries and British colonies. He retired from the post office in 1867. His works include Barchester Towers, published in 1857 and many other works of fiction and also travel guides and biographies and he edited the St Paul's Magazine for a while. Research Anthony Trollope
Sir Antony Van Dyck was a Dutch artist. He was born in 1599 at Antwerp and died in 1641. He studied under Hendrik van Balen, and in 1618 became a freeman of the guild of St Luke. About the latter date he entered Rubens' studio as an assistant, where he was employed in copying that master's pictures for the engravers, making large cartoons from his sketches, and painting historical pieces on the Rubens model. He had, however, embarked on portraiture with considerable success before his first visit to England in 1620. The artist returned to Antwerp early in 1621, and later in the same year went to Genoa, thence to Rome, Mantua, Palermo, and Brescia, and back to Genoa, where he remained until 1627.
After working at Antwerp and The Hague, he was induced by the offer of a pension to visit England, which he did in March, 1632. A few months later he was knighted.
Between 1635 and 1640 he was settled in England, engaged upon the many portraits of the court and its entourage, by which he is mainly remembered. His output was enormous; he is reputed to have painted Charles I 36 times. Handsome and agreeable in person, he lived, as he painted, magnificently and prodigally, his ambition ever growing with his success. The king married him to Mary Buthven of Montrose in order to check, if possible, his dissipated habits. In 1640, Rubens having died, Van Dyck hurried to Antwerp in order to secure the patronage of the Spanish king. His demands, however, were too high, and he went on to Paris, only to find that his objective, the decoration of the Louvre, had been given to Nicholas Poussin. He returned to London, seriously ill, and died on December the 9th, 1641, and was buried in St Paul's. His tomb was destroyed in the Great Fire. Research Anthony Van Dyck
Anthony Wayne (known as Mad Anthony) was an American insurgent. He was born in 1745 at Pennsylvania and died in 1796. A surveyor in early life, he became a member of the Legislature and Committee of Public Safety, and commanded a regiment in the Canadian invasion of 1775-1776. Later he had charge of the Ticonderoga forts. Being appointed brigadier-general he was in charge of a division at Brandywine and conducted a successful retreat. He was surprised at Paoli, commanded the right wing at Germantown, and was distinguished at Monmouth. His famous exploit was the storm of Stony Point, on July the 15th, 1779. General Wayne suppressed the mutiny of the troops at Morristown, in January, 1781, had an honourable part in Virginia the same year and in Georgia in 1783. He was a member of the Pennsylvania ratifying convention of 1787. When the Indian affairs required a decisive policy, he was made major-general, and inflicted an overwhelming blow at the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794, which led to an Indian treaty the following year. Research Anthony Wayne
Anthony Wedgwood Benn is a British labour MP. He was born in 1925. He is son of the first viscount of Stansgate. He was the first person to disclaim his title under the Peerage Act. Research Anthony Wedgwood Benn
Antigonus was one of the generals of Alexander the Great. He was born about 382 BC and died in 239 BC. In the division of the empire, after the death of Alexander, Antigonus obtained Greater Phrygia, Lycia, and Pamphylia as his dominion. Being a man of great ambition and ability lie soon managed to consolidate and extend his power, being assisted by his warlike son, Demetrius Poliorcetes. Ptolemy, Seleucus, and Lysimachus, who had also been generals of Alexander, alarmed by his ambition, united themselves against him; and a long series of contests ensued in Syria, Phoenicia, Asia Minor, and Greece, ending in 301 B.C. with the battle of Ipsus in Phrygia, in which Antigonus was defeated and slain, his dominions being divided among the conquerors. Antigonus Gon'atas, son of Demetrius Poliorcetes, and grandson of the above, succeeded his father in the Kingdom of Macedon and all his other European dominions, but did not obtain actual possession of them for some years. Research Antigonus
Antimachus was a Greek poet who lived about 400 B.C., and wrote an epic called the Thebais on the mythical history of Thebes, and a long elegy called Lyde, inspired by a mistress or wife of that name. Both works were full of mythological details. Only fragments of his writings remain, and from these it can be gathered that his style was rather laboured and artificial than inspired by true poetic feeling. Yet the Alexandrian grammarians ranked him next to Homer. Research Antimachus
Antipater was a general and friend of Philip of Macedon. He was the father of Alexander the Great. On the death of Alexander, in 323 BC., the regency of Macedonia was assigned to Antipater, who succeeded in establishing the Macedonian rule in Greece on a firm footing. He died in 317 BC at an advanced age. Research Antipater
Antiphon was a Greek orator. He was born near Athens. He was the founder of political oratory in Greece. His orations are the oldest extant, and he is said to have been the first who wrote speeches for hire. He was put to death for taking part in the revolution of 411 BC which established the oligarchic government of the Four Hundred. Research Antiphon
Antisthenes was a Greek philosopher and the founder of the school of Cynics. He was about 444 BC at Athens and died at an advanced age. He was first a disciple of Gorgias and then of Socrates, at whose death he was present. His philosophy was a one-sided development of the Socratic teaching. He held virtue to consist in complete self-denial and in disregard of riches, honour, or pleasure of every kind. He himself lived as a beggar. Research Antisthenes
Antoine Arnaud was a French advocate. He was born in 1560 and died in 1619. He distinguished himself as a zealousdefender of the cause of Henry IV, and for his powerful and successful defence of the University of Paris against the Jesuits in 1594. His family formed the nucleus of the sect of the Jansenists in France.
Antoine Arnaud (the Great Arnauld) was a French theologian. He was born in 1612 at Paris and died in 1694. A son of Antoine Arnaud, he devoted himself to theology, and was received in 1641 among the doctors of the Sorbonne. He engaged in all the quarrels of the French Jansenists with the Jesuits, the clergy, and the government, was the chief Jansenist writer, and was considered their head. Excluded from the Sorbonne, he retired to Port Royal, where he wrote, in conjunction with his friend Nicole, a celebrated system of logic (hence called the Port Royal Logic). On account of persecution he fled, in 1679, to the Netherlands. His works, which are mainly controversies with the Jesuits or the Calvinists, are very voluminous. Research Antoine Arnaud
Antoine Alexandre Barbier was a French bibliographer. He was born in 1765 and died in 1825. He was appointed keeper of the library of the Conseil d'Etat in 1798; Napoleon made him his librarian in 1807; and he was afterwards librarian to Louis XVIII. His Catalogue de la Bibliotheque du Conseil d'Etat (1801-1803), and a Dictionnaire des Ouvrages Anonymes et Pseudonymes (1806-1809), are both valuable works. Research Antoine Barbier
Antoine Pierre Joseph Marie Barnave was a French revolutionary. He was born in 1761 at Grenoble and died in 1793. After becoming a lawyer he won acclaim for his political writings. A member of the French revolution, he was a moderate and after planning a counter-revolution was arrested and executed. Research Antoine Barnave
Antoine Cesar Becquerel was a French physicist. He was born in 1788 and died in 1878. He served as an officer of engineers, and retired in 1815, after which he devoted himself to the study of electricity, especially electro-chemistry. He refuted the 'theory of contact' by which Volta explained the action of his pile or battery. Becquerel may be considered one of the creators of electro-chemistry. Research Antoine Becquerel
Antoine Pierre Nerryier was a French advocate and statesman. He was born in 1790 at Paris and died in 1868. In 1814 he proclaimed at Rennes the deposition of Napoleon, and remained until his death an avowed Legitimist. He assisted his father in the defence of Ney, secured the acquittal of General Cambronne, and defended Lamennais from a charge of atheism. His eloquence was compared with that of Mirabeau, and after the dethronement of Charles X in 1830 he remained in the Chamber as the sole Legitimist orator.
His political services won for him a public subscription of 400,000 francs in 1836 to meet his pecuniary difficulties. In 1840 he was one of the counsel for the defence of Louis Napoleon after the Boulogne fiasco. In 1843 he did homage to the Gomte de Chambord in London, adhering to him through the revolution of 1848, and voting for the deposition of the prince-president the morning after the coup d'etat. He gained additional reputation in 1858 by his defence of Montalembert, and was counsel for the Patterson-Bonapartes in the suit for the recognition of the Baltimore marriage. In 1863 he was re-elected to the Chamber with Thiers, and in 1864 received a flattering reception in England. Research Antoine Berryer
Antoine Eugene Alfred Chanzy was a French general. He was born in 1823 at Nouart and died in 1883. He commanded the second army of the Loire during the Franco-German war. Research Antoine Chanzy
Antoine Alphonse Chassepot was a French inventor. He was born in 1833 at Mutzig and died in 1886. He invented the breech-loading, centre-fire needle-gun (Chassepot) adopted by the French army in 1866 for which he received the Cross of the Legion of Honour and a gratuity of 30000 francs. Research Antoine Chassepot
Antoine Denis Chauder was a French sculptor. He was born in 1763 at Paris and died in 1810. His first work was a bas-relief under the peristyle of the Pantheon, representing the love of glory, an excellent work, the very simplicity and grandeur of which prevented it being justly estimated by the false taste of the age. In the museums of the Luxembourg and Trianon are several of Chaudet's finest works: La Sensibilite, the beautiful statue of Cyparissa, etc. Research Antoine Chaudet
Antoine Court de Gebelin was a French writer. He was born in 1725 and died in 1784. He published, from 1773 to 1774, Le Monde Primitif Analyse et Compare avec le Monde Moderne, which, after nine volumes had appeared, remained unfinished. Its vast plan embraces dissertations on mythology, grammar, origin of language, history, etc. He also published Lettres Historiques et Apologetiques en Faveur de la Religion Reformee. Research Antoine Court de Gebelin
Antoine Francis de Fourcroy was a French chemist. He was born in 1755 and died in 1809. Having adopted the profession of medicine he applied himself closely to the sciences connected with it, and especially to chemistry. In 1784 he was made professor of chemistry at the Jardin du Roi; and the next year he was chosen a member of the Academy of Sciences. At this period he became associated with Lavoisier, Guyton-Morveau, and Berthollet in researches which led to vast improvements and discoveries in chemistry. When the French Revolution took place he was chosen a deputy from Paris to the national convention, but did not take his seat in that assembly until after the fall of Robespierre. In September, 1794, he became a member of the committee of public safety. In December, 1799, Bonaparte gave him a place in the council of state, in the section of the interior, in which place he drew up a plan for a system of public instruction, which, with some alteration, was adopted. Research Antoine de Fourcroy
Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac was a French noble. He was born in 1660 and died in 1717. In 1694 Frontenac appointed him commander of the Michilimackinac. On the 24th of July 1701 with fifty soldiers and fifty settlers he founded Detroit. In 1707 he reduced the Miamis to subjection and in 1711 he was made governor of Louisiana and in 1714 he established a post in the Natchez country before returning to France in 1717. Research Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac
Antoine Louis Claude Destutt de Tracy was a French philosophical writer. He was born in 1754 and died in 1836. He was of a family of Scottish extraction. As a philosopher he belonged to the Sensationalist school, and considered all our knowledge to be derived originally from sensation. Among his chief works are Ideologic (1801), Logique (1805), Traite de la Volonte (1815). Research Antoine Destutt de Tracy
Antoine Fouquier-Tinville was a French revolutionary. He was born in 1747 and died in 1795. He was notorious for his ferocious cruelty in the first French Revolution. He was an attorney by profession, and having attracted the attention of Robespierre, was appointed public accuser before the revolutionary tribunal. His thirst for blood seems to have been increased by gratification, until it became a real insanity. He proposed the execution of Robespierre and alt the members of the revolutionary tribunal in 1794, but was himself arrested, and died under the guillotine. Research Antoine Fouquier-Tinville
Antoine Galland was a French oriental scholar. He was born in 1646 at Picardy and died in 1715. He is known principally for his translation of the Arabian Nights' Entertainments between 1704 and 1717, the first into any European language. Among his other writings are a Treatise on Medals and Coins; Tableau de l'Empire Ottoman; De l'Origine du Cafe; Paroles remarquablea, Bons Mots et Maximes des Orientaux; and the Contes et Eables Indiennes de Bidpai et de Lokman. In 1709 he was appointed professor of Arabic at the College Royal at Paris, and died in 1715 while engaged in translating the Koran. Research Antoine Galland
Antoine Laurent Lavoisier was a French scientist. He was born in 1743 at Paris and died in 1794. Educated at the Mazarin College he won a prize for the best method of lighting Paris and proved the modern theory of combustion. He was made a member of the Academy of Sciences in 1768 and in 1776 director of powder works. In 1794, owing to his position as fermier-general, he was condemned to the guillotine. The tribunal which condemned him answered the plea for sparing his life by 'We need no more scientists in France.'. Research Antoine Lavoisier
Antoine Perrenot, Cardinal de Granvella was a Spanish minister of state to Charles V and Philip II of Spain. He was born in 1517 near Besancon and died in 1586. He studied at Padua and at Louvain, abd at the age of twenty-three year was appointed Bishop of Arras, and was present at the diets at Worms and Ratisbon. In 1545 he was sent to the Council of Trent, and on the death of his father in 1550 was appointed by Charles V to succeed him in the office of chancellor. In 1552 he negotiated the Treaty of Passau, and in 1553 arranged the marriage of Don Philip with Mary Queen of England. Under Philip II he remained chief minister, and in 1559 negotiated the Peace of Cateau-Cambresis. Philip immediately after quit the Netherlands, leaving Margaret of Parma as governor, and Granvella as her minister. In 1560 he became Archbishop of Mechlin, and in 1561 was made a cardinal; but in 1564 he was obliged to yield to the growing discontent aroused by his tyranny in the Netherlands, resign his post, and retire to Besancon. In 1570 Philip sent him to Rome to conclude an alliance with the pope and the Venetians against the Turks, and afterwards to Naples as viceroy. In 1575 he was recalled to Spain, and placed at the head of the government with the title of President of the Supreme Council of Italy and Castile. In 1584 he was created Archbishop of Besancon. He preserved all letters and despatches addressed to him, nine volumes of which, published 1851-1862, are of value in illustrating the history of the 16th century. Research Antoine Perrenot
Antoine Joseph Santerre was a French brewer. He was born in 1752 and died in 1809. he assisted in the storming of the Bastille during the French revolution and commanded the National Guard at the execution of Louis XVI. He was placed in charge of the army sent against the royalists of Vendee, but was defeated near Cholet in 1793. He was arrested as a consequence and remained in prison until he was liberated by Robespierre's death. Research Antoine Santerre
BARON Antoine-Jean Gros was a French historical painter. He was born in 1771 at Paris and died in 1835 by committing suicide. He studied art under David, and subsequently became a staff officer in the French army. In this position he produced his picture of the Victor of Arcola, by which he secured the favour of Napoleon. In 1804 he produced his Plague at Jaffa, tvith Napoleon visiting the sick, a work which was crowned at the Louvre. He painted various battle scenes; but his chief work is probably the Cupola of St. Genevieve at Paris, exhibiting the saint protecting the throne of France, represented by Clovis, Charlemagne, St Louis, and Louis XVIII. The artist received for it 100,000 francs and the title of baron. The rise of the romantic school deprived him of his popularity, and he drowned himself in the Seine in 1835. Research Antoine-Jean Gros
Antoinette Du Ligier de Lagarde Du Deshoulieres was a French writer and celebrity of the 17th century. She was born in 1634 and died in 1694. She was the centre of attraction in the best circles of the period, and was elected a member of several learned societies. Among her works are odes, eclogues, idyls, and a tragedy, Genseric. Research Antoinette Du Ligier de Lagarde Du Deshoulieres
Antoinette Sterling was an American singer. She was born in 1850 at Sterlingville, New York and died in 1904. She studied singing at New York and under Marchesi, Viardot Garcia and Manuel Garcia. In 1871 she became known in New York as a leading contralto concert singer. She made her first London appearance in 1873, thereafter remaining in England except to tour the USA in 1875 and Australia in 1893. Research Antoinette Sterling
Anton Bajza was a Hungarian lyric poet, historian, and critic. He was born in 1804 and died in 1858. As contributor and editor of various periodicals he played an important part in the development of modern Hungarian literature and drama. A volume of his poems, of high merit, was published in 1835. He also translated a collection of foreign dramas, and edited a series of historical works. Research Anton Bajza
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian writer. He was born in 1860 at Taganrog and died in 1904. He studied medicine at Moscow University. In 1879 he began contributing humorous sketches to popular periodicals, and after graduating devoted his attention to writing novels and plays, mainly short stories. Research Anton Chekhov
Anton Grigorovich Rubinstein was a Russian composer and pianist. He was born in 1829 and died in 1894. He became a music teacher in Petrograd in 1848 where he founded the Russian Musical Society in 1861 and the Conservatoire in 1862. Research Anton Rubinstein
Anton Van Diemen was a Dutch administrator. He was born in 1593 and died in 1645. Having gone to India, he speedily rose to the highest dignities, and was at length, in 1636, made governor-general. He administered the government with much ability, and contributed much to the establishment of the Dutch commerce in India. Abel Tasman, whom he sent with a vessel to the South Seas in 1642, gave the name of Van Diemen's Land to the island now called Tasmania. Research Anton Van Diemen
Anton Von Schmerling was an Austrian politician. He was born in 1805 at Vienna and died in 1893. He entered parliament in 1847, allying himself with the Liberals and was one of the representatives of the people to the crown at the revolution of 1848. Successively minister of the interior and of foreign affairs in the first ministry of Archduke John, he was defeated over the question of the Malmoarmistice, and resigned, only to be recalled to quell the Frankfort riots of 1849. In 1849 he became minister of justice, and then for some years was judge in the Supreme Court of Appeal. But he was soon recalled to power, and promoted his new constitution, in which Austria was regarded as one distinctively German state as a solution to the racial animosities which existed within Austria. Although he failed owing to the jealousies of his colleagues, his constitution was later adopted. He resigned in 1865, only to be elected president of the Reichsrath in 1871. He resigned from that post in 1879 to take the leadership of the German Liberals in the Austrian Parliament against Count Taaffe. Research Anton Von Schmerling
Antonin Dvorak (Anton Dvorak) was a Czech composer. He was born in 1841 at Kralup and died in 1904. He studied at the Prague Conservatoire and became a member of the orchestra in the Bohemian Theatre at Prague, and in 1873 was appointed organist of Saint Aldbert's Church in Prague. From 1892 to 1899 he was director of the National Conservatory of Music in New York, and in 1901 was appointed director of the PragueConservatory. He composed several operas on national Bohemian subjects, songs, orchestral arrangements of Bohemian dances, several symphonies, a Stabat Mater, a cantata (The Spectre Bride), and an oratorio (St. Ludmilla). Research Antonin Dvorak
Antoninus Pius (real name Antoninus Titus Aurelius Fulvus) was a Roman emperor. He was born in 86 at Lavinium, near Rome and died in 161. In 120 he became consul, and he was one of the four persons of consular rank among whom Hadrian divided the supreme administration of Italy. He then went as proconsul to Asia, and after his return to Rome became more and more the object of Hadrian's confidence. In 138 he was selected by that emperor as his successor, and the same year he ascended the throne. The persecutions of the Christians he speedily abolished. He carried on but a few wars. In Britain he extended the Roman dominion, and by raising a new wall - Wall of Antonius - put a stop to the invasions of the Picts and Scots. The senate gave him the surname Pius, that is, dutiful or showing filial affection, because to keep alive the memory of Hadrian he had built a temple in his honour. He was succeeded by Marcus Aurelius, his adopted son. Research Antoninus Pius
Antonio Canaletto (real name Antonio Canale) was an Italian painter. He was born at Venice in 1697 and died in 1768. He received his earliest training from his father who was a painter of scenes. After studying in Rome he returned to Venice and devoted himself to painting the life and buildings of the city. In 1746 he visited England, and again in 1751. Research Antonio Canaletto
Antonio Canova was an Italian sculptor. He was born in 1757 at Possagno, in Venetian territory and died in 1822. He was first an apprentice to a statuary in Bassano, from whom he went to the Academy of Venice, where he had a brilliant career. In 1779 he was sent by the senate of Venice to Rome with a salary of 300 ducats, and there produced his Theseus and the Slain Minotaur. In 1783 Antonio Canova undertook the execution of the tomb of Pope Clement XIV in the Church of the Apostles, a work in the Bernini manner, and inferior to his second public monument the tomb of Pope Clement XIII (1792) in St Peter's.
From 1783 his fame rapidly increased. He established a school for the benefit of young Venetians, and amongst other works produced his group of Venus and Adonis, the Psyche and Butterfly, a Repentant Magdalene, the well-known Hebe, the colossalHerculeshurling Lichas into the Sea, the Pugilists, and the group of Cupid and Psyche. In 1796 and 1797 Antonio Canova finished the model of the celebrated tomb of the Archduchess Christina of Austria, and in 1797 made the colossal model of a statue of the King of Naples executed in marble in 1803. He afterwards executed in Rome his Perseus with the Head of Medusa, which, when the BelvidereApollo was carried to France, was thought not unworthy of its place and pedestal.
In 1802 he was invited by Bonaparte to Paris to make the model of his colossal statue. Among the later works of the artist are a colossalGeorge Washington, the tombs of the Cardinal of York and of Pius VII; a Venus Rising from the Bath; the colossal group of Theseus Killing the Minotaur; the tomb of Alfieri; the Graces Rising from the Bath; a Dancing Girl; a colossalHector; a Paris, etc. After the second fall of Napoleon, in 1815, Antonio Canova was commissioned by the pope to demand the restoration of the works of art carried from Rome. He went from Paris to London, and returned to Rome in 1816, where he was made Marquis of Ischia, with a pension of 3000 scudi. Research Antonio Canova
Antonio Carmona was a Portuguese soldier and politician. He was born in 1869 and died in 1951. He entered the army in 1888 and was made a general in 1922. After the military coup of 1926 he was made Prime Minister and Minister of War, with dictatorial powers. In 1928 he was elected President for life by the government and in 1932 appointed Antonio Salazar as Prime Minister. Research Antonio Carmona
Antonio Ferreira was a Portuguese poet. He was born in 1528 at Lisbon and died in 1569. He carried to perfection the elegiac and epistolary style, and added to Portuguese poetry the epithalamium, the epigram, ode, and tragedy. His tragedy of Ines de Castro has long been considered by the Portuguese as one of the finest monuments of their literature. Research Antonio Ferreira
Antonio Alcala Galiano was a Spanish orator and politician. He was born in 1789 at Cadiz and died in 1865. He was a Liberal leader from 1820 to 1824 in the struggle against the reaction under Ferdinand VII and was then from 1824 to 1830 in exile in London. Research Antonio Galiano
Antonio Rosmini-Serbati was an Italian philosopher. He was born at Rovereto in 1797 and died in 1855. He founded the Rosminians. Research Antonio Rosmini-Serbati
Antonio Rossellino (really Antonio Gamberelli) was an Italian sculptor. He was born in 1427 at Florence and died in 1479. He studied with Donatello and was employed by the Duke of Amalfi to produce a work in the church of Mote Oliverto in Naples in memory of his wife. Research Antonio Rossellino
Antonio Maria Sacchini was an Italian composer. He was born in 1734 at Pozzuoli and died in 1786. A pupil of Francesco Durante, he lived in Rome, then Venice, London and Paris. In London he met with a hostile reception. He principally wrote operas, including 'Il Gran Cid', 'Tamerlano', 'Lucio Vero' and ' Oedipe e Colone', the cold reception of the last in Paris indirectly causing his death. Research Antonio Sacchini
Antonio Lopez Santa-Anna was a Mexican general and politician. He was born in 1795 at Jalapa and died in 1876. He fought in the Spanish army against Mexico from 1810 to 1821 before seizing power in 1822 and defeating the Spanish at Zampico. He was then elected President, but preferred to rule by deputy. The policy of centralization which he adopted caused Texas to revolt and Join the USA. Research Antonio Santa-Anna
Antonio Scarpa was an Italian anatomist and surgeon. He was born in 1747 at La Motta and died in 1832. He became professor of anatomy at Modena in 1772, and at Pavia in 1784. He acquired a European reputation for his research and treatises on the anatomy of the ear, the organs of smell, and the nerves of the heart. In 1804 he was appointed surgeon to Napoleon. Research Antonio Scarpa
Antonio Stradivari was an Italian maker of violins. He was born at Cremona in 1644 and died in 1737. Apprenticed to Nicholas Amati, he first modelled his violins upon those made by his master, but around 1684 he adopted larger proportions and became more independent in his methods. He seems to have experimented for many years, but around 1700 he settled upon a design he was happy with, a set of proportions that produce a truly fine violin. His violins are the finest ever made, but he also made fine violas and violoncellos, and some of his early instruments were made with poor materials and are not of the same quality as his later instruments. Research Antonio Stradivari
Antonio Jose Sucre was a Venezuelan soldier. He was born in 1793 at Cumana and died in 1830. He served under Simon Bolivar during the war of independence, and was largely responsible for the victory at Pichincha, which freed Ecuador, and that of Ayacucho which freed Peru, from Spain. In 1826 he was chosen life president of the new republic of Bolivar, but resigned in 1828 and returned to a military career, leading the Columbians to victory over the Peruvians at Giron in February 1829. He was murdered on June the 4th 1830. Research Antonio Sucre
Antonio Vivaldi was an Italian composer. He was born in 1678 and died in 1741. He composed Concerto grossos (The Four Seasons). Research Antonio Vivaldi
Antonius Gordianus was the name of three Roman emperors, father, son, and grandson. The first was born in 158 AD, and had governed Africa for many years, when he was proclaimed emperor at the age of eighty. He associated his son with him in the empire, but six weeks later the son was killed in fighting against the rival emperor Maximinus, and his father, in an agony of grief, committed suicide. The grandson was proclaimed emperor by the soldiers in Rome in 238 AD, although he was not more than fifteen years of age. He reigned six years, when he was assassinated by his soldiers at the instigation of Philip, prefect of the Praetorian guard. Research Antonius Gordianus
The Apache are an Athabaskan people comprising several American Indian tribes that live in south-west USA. The seven tribes appear to have formerly been a single tribe that divided over the years and settled in separate parts of the south-west of the USA, mainly in Arizona and Texas where they resisted settlement by the Spanish, but were themselves reduced in numbers by invading Comanche peoples. Research Apache
Apelles was the most famous of the painters of ancient Greece and of antiquity. He lived in the fourth century BC, probably at Colophon. Ephorus of Ephesus was his first teacher, but attracted by the renown of the Sicyonian school he went and studied at Sicyon. In the time of Philip he went to Macedonia, and there a close friendship between him and Alexander the Great was established. The most admired of his pictures was that of Venus rising from the sea and wringing the water from her dripping locks. His portrait of Alexander with a thunderbolt in his hand was no less celebrated. His renown was at its height about 330 BC. Among the anecdotes told of Apelles is the one which gave rise to the Latin proverb, 'Ne sutor supra crepidam' -' Let not the shoemaker go beyond his shoe.' Having heard a cobbler point out an error in the drawing of a shoe in one of his pictures he corrected it, whereupon the cobbler took upon him to criticise the leg, and received from the artist the famous reply. Research Apelles
Aphra Behn (born Aphra Johnson) was an English writer of plays and novels. She was born in 1640 and died in 1689. As a child she went out to Surinam, where she became acquainted with the slave Oroonoko, whom she made the subject of a novel. On her return to England she married a Mr. Behn, a London merchant of Dutch extraction, but was probably a widow when sent by Charles II to serve as a spy at Antwerp during the Dutch war. She afterwards became fashionable among the men of wit and pleasure of the time as a prolific writer of plays, poems, and stories, now more notorious for their indecency than their ability. She was buried in Westminster Abbey. Research Aphra Behn
Apion was a Greek grammarian, born in Egypt, lived in the reigns of Tiberius, Caligula, and Claudius, A.D. 15-54, and went to Rome to teach grammar and rhetoric. Among his works, one or two fragments only of which remain, was one directed against the Jews, which was replied to by Josephus. Research Apion
The Apollinarians were a sect of Christians who maintained the doctrine that the Logos (the Word) holds in Christ the place of the rational soul, and consequently that God was united in him with the human body and the sensitive soul Apollinaris, the author of this opinion, was, from 362 until at least 382, Bishop of Laodicea, in Syria, and a zealous opposer of the Arians. As a man and a scholar he was highly esteemed, and was among the most popular authors of his time. He formed a congregation of his adherents at Antioch, and made Yitalis their bishop. The Apollinarians, or Vitalians, as their followers were called, soon spread their sentiments in Syria and the neighbouring countries, established several societies, with their own bishops, and one even in Istanbul but the sect was suppressed in 428 by imperial edict. Research Apollinarians
Apollodorus was a Greek writer who lived about 140 B.C. Among the numerous works he wrote on various subjects, the only one extant is his Bibliotheca, which contains a concise account of the mythology of Greece down to the heroic age. Research Apollodorus
Apollonius of Perga was a Greek mathematician, called the 'great geometer,' who lived about 240 B.C. He was the author of many works, only one of which, a treatise on Conic Sections, partly in Greek and partly in an Arabic translation, is now extant. Research Apollonius of Perga
Apollonius of Rhodes was a Greek rhetorician and poet. He lived about 230 B.C. Of his various works we have only the Argonautica, an epicpoem of moderate merit, though written with much care and labour, dealing with the story of the Argonautic expedition. Research Apollonius of Rhodes
Apollonius of Tyana, in Cappadocia, was a Pythagorean philosopher. He was born in the beginning of the Christian era, early adopted the Pythagorean doctrines, abstaining from animal food and maintaining a rigid silence for five years. He travelled extensively in Asia, professed to be endowed with miraculous powers, such as prophecy and the raising of the dead, and was on this account set up by some as a rival to Christ. His ascetic life, wise discourses, and wonderful deeds obtained for him almost universal reverence, and temples, altars, and statues were erected to him. He died at Ephesus about the end of the first century. A narrative of his strange career, containing many fables, with, perhaps, a kernel of truth, was written by Philostratus about a century later. Research Apollonius of Tyana
Apollos was a Jew of Alexandria, who learned the doctrines of Christianity at Ephesus from Aquila and Priscilla, became a preacher of the gospel in Achaia and Corinth, and an assistant of Paul in his missionary work. Some have regarded him as the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews. Research Apollos
The apostles were the twelve men whom Jesus supposedly selected to attend him during his ministry, and to promulgate his religion. Their names were as follows: Simon Peter, and Andrew his brother; James, and John his brother, sons of Zebedee; Philip; Bartholomew; Thomas; Matthew; James, the son of Alpheus; Lebbeus his brother, called Judas or Jude; Simon, the Canaanite; and Judas Iscariot. To these were subsequently added Matthias (chosen by lot in place of Judas Iscariot) and Paul. The Bible gives the name of apostle to Barnabas also, who accompanied Paul on his missions. In a wider sense those preachers who first taught Christianity in heathen countries are sometimes termed apostles; for example, St Denis, the apostle of the Gauls; St Boniface, the apostle of Germany; St Augustin, the apostle of England; Francis Xavier, the apostle of the Indies; Adalbert of Prague, apostle of Prussia Proper. Their subsequent history is only imperfectly known. According to one interpretation of Matthew XVI 18 Christ seems to appoint St Peter the first of the apostles; and the pope claims supreme authority from the power which Christ thus gave to St Peter, of whom all the popes, according to the Catholic dogma, are successors in an uninterrupted line. Research Apostles
Apostolics, Apostolici or Apostolic Bretheren were names given to certain sects who professed to imitate the manners and practice of the apostles. The last and most important of these sects was founded about 1260 by Gerhard Segarelli of Parma. They went barefooted, begging, preaching, and singing throughout Italy, Switzerland, and France; announced the coming of the kingdom of heaven and of purer times; denounced the papacy, and its corrupt and worldly church; and inculcated the complete renunciation of all worldly ties, of property, settled abode, marriage, etc. This society was formally abolished in 1286, by Honorius IV. In 1300 Segarelli was burned as a heretic, but another chief apostle appeared - Dolcino, a learned man of Milan. In self-defence they stationed themselves in fortified places whence they might resist attacks. After having devastated a large tract of country belonging to Milan they were subdued in 1307, by the troops of Bishop Raynerius, in their fortress Zebello, in Vercelli, and almost all destroyed. Dolcino was burned. The survivors afterwards appeared in Lombardy and in the south of France as late as 1368. Research Apostolics
Appian was a Roman historian of the second century. He was a native of Alexandria, was governor and manager of the imperial revenues under Hadrian, Trajan, and Antoninus Pius, in Rome. He compiled in Greek a Roman history, from the earliest times to those of Augustus, in twenty-four books, of which only eleven have come down to us. Research Appian
The Apple Tree Gang were five pioneer American golfers, who formed the St Andrew's Golf Club of Yonkers in 1888. They became known as the Apple Tree Gang when they laid out a six-hole golf course in an orchard. Research Apple Tree Gang
Apuleius, or Appuleius was a Greek writer. He was born at Madaura, in Numidia, in the early part of the second century AD, the time of his death unknown. He studied at Carthage, then at Athens, where he became warmly attached, in particular, to the Platonic philosophy, and finally at Rome. Returning to Carthage he married a rich widow, whose relatives accused him of gaining her consent by magic, and the speech by which he successfully defended himself is still extant. Besides his Golden Ass, with its fine episode of Cupid and Psyche, he was also the author of many works on philosophy and rhetoric, some of which are still extant. Research Apuleius
Lady Arabella Stuart was an English princess. She was born in 1575 and died in 1615. She was the daughter of Charles Stuart, earl of Lennox, who was himself the grandson of Margaret, sister of Henry VIII. When Elizabeth I died, Arabella Stuart was next in line to the throne after James. Kept a prisoner at Hardwick, she was made the figurehead of a conspiracy in 1603. In 1610 she secretly married William Seymour, afterwards the duke of Somerset, and together with her husband was arrested by James I. Both she and her husband escaped, but Arabella Stuart was recaptured near Calais and in 1611 was imprisoned in the Tower of London where she died insane in 1615. Research Arabella Stuart
The Arapaho are a North American Indian tribe of the Algonquin family. The Arapaho were a nomadic people who lived by huntingbison and raising horses. By 1905 they were all but extinct as a people, remnants still living near the head-waters of the Arkansas and Platte rivers. Research Arapaho
Aratus was a Greek poet. He was born at Soli in Cilicia and lived about 270 BC. He was a favourite of Ptolemy Philadelphus. His poem Phenomena is a version of a prose work on astronomy by Eudoxus; one verse of it is quoted by St Paul in his address to the Athenians (Acts chapter 17 verse 28). Research Aratus
Aratus of Sicyon was a statesman of ancient Greece. He was born in 272 BC. In 251 B.C. he overthrew the tyrant of Sicyon and joined it to the Achaean League, which he greatly extended. He accepted the aid of Antigonus Doson, king of Macedon, against the Spartans, and became in time little more than the adviser of the Macedonian king, who had now made the League dependent on himself. He is said to have been poisoned by Philip V of Macedon in 213 BC. Research Aratus of Sicyon
The Araucaians are a race of South American Indians occupting the southern part of Chili, in a territory stretching from about 37 degrees to 40 degrees of southern latitude. They were traditionally warlike and more developed than many of the native races of South America, and maintained an almost unceasing war with the Spaniards from 1537 to 1773, when their independence was recognized by Spain, though their territory was much curtailed. Their early contests with the Spaniards were celebrated in Ercilla's Spanish poemAraucana. With the republic of Chili they were long at feud, and towards the end of the 19th century had at their head a French adventurer named Tounens, who claimed the title of king. In 1882 they submitted to Chili. The Chilian province of Arauco receives its name from them. Research Araucaians
Arbaces was one of the generals of Sardanapalus, king of Assyria. He revolted and defeated his master, and became the founder of the Medianempire in 846 B.C. Research Arbaces
Archibald Alison was a Scottish theologian and writer on aesthetics. He was born in 1757 in Edinburgh and died in 1839. He studied at Glasgow and at Balliol College, Oxford, entered the English Church, and finally in 1800 settled as the minister of an Episcopal chapel at Edinburgh. He published two volumes of sermons, and a work entitled Essays on the Nature and Principles of Taste, published in 1790, in which he maintains that all the beauty of material objects depends upon the associations connected with them.
Sir Archibald Alison was an English lawyer and writer of history. He was born in 1792 at Shropshire and died in 1867. The son of Arbibald Alison, the theologian, hee was educated at the University of Edinburgh, and in 1814 was admitted to the Scottish bar. He spent the next eight years in continental travel. On his return he was appointed advocate-depute, which post he held until 1830. In 1832 he published Principles of the Criminal Law of Scotland, and in 1833 The Practice of the Criminal Law. He was appointed sheriff of Lanarkshire in 1834, and retained this post until his death. He was made a baronet in 1852. His chief work - The History of Europe, from 1789 to 1815 - was first issued in ten volumes between 1833 and 1842, the narrative being subsequently brought down to 1852, the beginning of the second French Empire. This work displays industry and research, and is generally accurate, but not very readable. It has been translated into French, German, Arabic, Hindustani, etc. Among Sir Archibald's other productions are Principles of Population; Free-trade and Protection ; England in 1815 and 1845; Life of the Duke of Marlborough, etc. Research Archibald Alison
Archibald Bower was a Scottish writer. He was born in 1686 and died in 1766. Born a Catholic, he wrote 'A History of The Popes' which was remarkable for its zeal against the Popery. He was employed by the booksellers in conducting the Historia Literaria, a monthly review of books, and in writing a part of the Universal History, in sixty volumes. Research Archibald Bower
Archibald Bulloch was an American politician. He was born in 1730 and died in 1777. He was president of the Georgia provincial congress in 1775 and 1776. He was a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1776 and president of Georgia from 1776 until 1777. Research Archibald Bulloch
Sir Archibald Campbell was a British soldier. He was born in 1739 and died in 1791. He went to Boston, USA as a lieutenant-colonel in 1775, and in 1778 led an expedition in 1778 against Savannah which he took; and took Augusta, Georgia, in January, 1779. He was afterward Governor of Jamaica. Research Archibald Campbell
Archibald Constable was a Scottish bookseller and publisher. He was born in 1774 and died in 1827. He was the original publisher of the Edinburgh Review, the poems of Sir Walter Scott, the Waverley Novels, the Supplement to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, and other valuable works. In 1825 he projected the well-known series of works, Constable's Miscellany. In 1826, however, the firm was compelled to stop payment with liabilities exceeding 250,000 pounds. Sir Walter Scott, who was heavily involved, practically sacrificed his life in the endeavour to meet his creditors, and Constable himself died in 1827. Research Archibald Constable
Archibald Forbes was a Scottish war correspondent. He was born in 1838 and died in 1900. He was present at the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, the Spanish Carlist War, the Russo-Turkish, the Afghanistan and Zululand campaigns. He published his memoirs and adventures in many books. Research Archibald Forbes
Sir Archibald Geikie was a Scottish geologist. He was born in 1835 at Edinburgh and died in 1924. He was appointed to the geological survey, and became director of the Scottish branch in 1867. He was professor of geology at Edinburgh from 1871 to 1882; director-general of the United Kingdom survey and head of the Museum of Practical Geology, London, from 1882 until 1901. He is the author of Text-book of Geology, Class-book of Geology, Field Geology, The Scenery of Scotland in connection with its Physical Geology, Ancient Volcanoes of Britain; Life of Sir R. I. Murchison, Memoir of Sir A. C. Ramsay, Scottish Reminiscences; etc. Research Archibald Geikie
Archibald Alexander Hodge was an American missionary. He was born in 1823 and died in 1886. The son of Charles Godge, he was a missionary in India, and afterwards professor of theology at Alleghany, Pennsylvania, and at Princeton in 1878. He wrote several theological works. Research Archibald Hodge
Archibald Campbell Tait was a Scottish prelate and teacher. He was born in 1811 at Edinburgh and died in 1882. Educated at Glasgow University and at Balliol College, Oxford he became a fellow and tutor at Balliol College and was ordained into the Church of England in 1836. In 1842 he became head teacher of Rugby school and in 1849 Dean of Carlisle and in 1856 bishop of London. In 1868 he was chosen archbishop of Canterbury. Research Archibald Tait
Archibald Percival Wavell was a British soldier. He was born in 1883 at Colchester and died in 1950. A British field marshall he was commander-in-chief of the Middle East during the Second World War from 1939 to 1941 and commander-inc-chief in India from 1941 to 1943 and viceroy of India from 1943 until 1947. Research Archibald Wavell
Archilochus of Paros was one of the earliest Ionian lyric poets, the first Greek poet who composed iambic verses according to fixed rules. He lived about 700 BC. His iambic poems were renowned for force of style, liveliness of metaphor, and a powerful but bitter spirit of satire. In other lyric poems of a higher character he was also considered as a model. All his works are lost but a few fragments. Research Archilochus
Archimedes was a great ancient Greek mathematician and physicist. He was born about 287 BC at Syracuse, in Sicily. He devoted himself entirely to science, and enriched mathematics with discoveries of the highest importance, upon which the moderns have founded their admeasurements of curvilinear surfaces and solids. Archimedes is the only one among the ancients who has left us anything satisfactory on the theory of mechanics and on hydrostatics. He first taught the hydrostatic principle to which his name is attached, that a body immersed in a fluid loses as much in weight as the weight of an equal volume of the fluid, and determined by means of it that an artist had fraudulently added too much alloy to a crown which King Hiero had ordered to be made of pure gold. He discovered the solution of this problem while bathing; and it is said to have caused him so much joy that he hastened home from the bath undressed, and crying out, Eureka! Eureka ! I have found it! I have found it! Practical mechanics also received a great deal of attention from Archimedes, who boasted that if he had a fulcrum or standpoint he could move the world. He is the inventor of the compoundpulley, probably of the endless screw, the archimedean screw, etc. During the siege of Syracuse by the Romans he is said to have constructed many wonderful machines with which he repelled their attacks, and he is stated to have set on fire their fleet by burning-glasses! At the moment when the Romans gained possession of the city by assault in 212 BC tradition relates that Archimedes was slain while sitting in the market-place contemplating some mathematical figures which he had drawn in the sand. Research Archimedes
Archytas was an ancient Greek mathematician, statesman, and general. He lived about 400 BC, and belonged to Tarentum in Southern Italy. The invention of the analytic method in mathematics is ascribed to him, as well as the solution of many geometrical and mechanical problems. He constructed various machines and automata, among the most celebrated of which was his flying pigeon. He was a Pythagorean in philosophy, and Plato and Aristotle are said to have been both deeply indebted to him. Only inconsiderable fragments of his works are extant. Research Archytas
Arendt Van Corlear was a Dutch colonist. He was born in 1600 and died in 1667. He went to America from Holland in 1630. He became superintendent of a colony having jurisdiction from the Hudson to the Mohawk Rivers. He founded the settlement at Schenectady, and had great influence with the Indians. Research Arendt Van Corlear
The Arians were the adherents of the Alexandrian bishop Arius, who, about AD 318, promulgated the doctrine that Christ was a created being inferior to God the Father in nature and dignity, though the first and noblest of all created beings; and also that the Holy Spirit is not God, but created by the power of the Son. These doctrines were condemned by the Council of Nicaea in 325. Arius died in 336, and after his death his party gained considerable accessions, including several emperors, and for a time held a strong position. Since the middle of the seventh century, however, the Arians have nowhere constituted a distinct sect, although similar opinions have been advanced by various theologians in modern times. Research Arians
Arion was an ancient Greek poet and musician. He was born at Methymna, in Lesbos, and lived about 625 BC. He lived at the court of Periander of Corinth, and afterwards visited Sicily and Italy. Returning from Tarentum to Corinth with rich treasures, the avaricious sailors resolved to murder him. Apollo, however, having informed him in a dream of the impending danger, Arion in vain endeavoured to soften the hearts of the crew by the power of his music. He then threw himself into the sea, when one of a shoal of dolphins, which had been attracted by his music, received him on his back and bore him to land. The sailors, having returned to Corinth, were confronted by Arion, and convicted of their crime. The lyre of Arion, and the dolphin which rescued him, became constellations in the heavens. A fragment of a hymn to Poseidon, ascribed to Arion, is extant. Research Arion
Aristarchus was an ancient Greek grammarian. He was born in 160 BC at Samothrace and died in 88 BC. He criticised Homer's poems with the greatest acuteness and ability, endeavouring to restore the text to its genuine state, and to clear it of all interpolations and corruptions; hence the phrase, Aristarchian criticism. His edition of Homer furnished the basis of all subsequent ones.
Aristarchus was an ancient Greek astronomer belonging to Samos. He lived between 280 and 264 BC, and first asserted the revolution of the earth about the sun. He is also regarded as the inventor of the sun-dial. Research Aristarchus
Aristides was an ancient Greek statesman. He died in 468 BC at an advanced age. For his strict integrity he was surnamed the Just. He was one of the ten generals of the Athenians when they fought with the Persians at Marathon, in 490 BC. Next year he was eponymous archon, and in this office enjoyed such popularity that he excited the jealousy of Themistocles, who succeeded in procuring his banishment by the ostracism (about 483). Three years after, when Xerxes invaded Greece with a large army, the Athenians hastened to recall him, and Themistocles now admitted him to his confidence and councils. In the battle of Plataea in 479 he commanded the Athenians, and had a great share in gaining the victory. To defray the expenses of the Persian war he persuaded the Greeks to impose a tax, which should be paid into the hands of an officer appointed by the states collectively, and deposited at Delos. The confidence which was felt in his integrity appeared in their intrusting him with the office of apportioning the contribution. When he died he was so poor that he was buried at the public expense. Research Aristides
Aristippus was a Greek philosopher. He lived about 380 BC. He was a disciple of Socrates, and founder of a philosophical school among the Greeks, which was called the Cyrenaic, from his native city Cyrene, in Africa. His moral philosophy differed widely from that of Socrates, and was a science of refined voluptuousness. His fundamental principles were: that all human sensations may be reduced to two, pleasure and pain. Pleasure is a gentle, and pain a violent emotion. All living beings seek the former and avoid the latter. Happiness is nothing but a continued pleasure, composed of separate gratifications; and as it is the object of all human exertions we should abstain from no kind of pleasure. Still we should always be governed by taste and reason in our enjoyments. His doctrines were taught only by his daughter, Arete, and by his grandson Aristippus the younger, by whom they were systematized. Other Cyrenaics compounded them into a particular doctrine of pleasure, and are hence called Hedonici. The time of his death is unknown. His writings are lost. Research Aristippus
Aristophanes was the greatest comic poet of ancient Greece. He was born probably about the year 444 BC at Athens and died not later than 380 BC. Little is known of his life. He appeared as a poet in 427 BC, and having indulged in some sarcasms on the powerful demagogue Cleon, was ineffectually accused by the latter of having unlawfully assumed the title of an Athenian citizen. He afterwards revenged himself on Cleon in his comedy of the Knights, in which he himself acted the part of Cleon, because no actor had the courage to do it. Of fifty-four comedies which he composed eleven only remain; believed to be the flower of the ancient comedy, and distinguished by wit, humour, and poetry, as also by grossness. In them there is constant reference to the manners, actions, and public characters of the day, the freedom of the old Greek comedy allowing an unbounded degree of personal and political satire. The names of his extant plays are Acharnians, Knights, Clouds, Wasps, Peace, Birds, Lysistrata, Thesmophoriazusse, Frogs, Ecclesiasuzse, and Plutus. Research Aristophanes
Aristotle was an ancient Greek philosopher and naturalist. He was born in 384 BC at Stagira, in Macedonia, died in 322 BC.. He was the founder of the Peripatetic school of philosophy, His father, Nicomachus, was physician to Amyntas II, king of Macedonia, and claimed to be descended from Aesculapius. Aristotle had lost his parents before he came, at about the age of seventeen, to Athens to study in the school of Plato. With that philosopher he remained for twenty years, became pre-eminent among his pupils, and was known as the Intellect of the School. Upon the death of Plato in 848 BC, he took up his residence at Atarneus, in Mysia, on the invitation of his former pupil Hermeias, the ruler of that city, on whose assassination by the Persians in 343 BC, he fled to Mitylene with his wife Pythia, the niece of Hermeias.
During his residence at Mitylene he received an invitation from Philip of Macedon to superintend the education of his son Alexander, then in his fourteenth year. This relationship between the great philosopher and the future conqueror continued for five or six years, during which the prince was instructed in grammar, rhetoric, poetry, logic, ethics, and politics, and in those branches of physics which had even then made some considerable progress. On Alexander succeeding to the throne Aristotle continued to live with him as his friend and councillor until he set out on his Asiatic campaign in 334 BC. He returned to Athens and established his school in the Lyceum, a gymnasium attached to the temple of Apollo Lyceius, which was assigned to him by the state. He delivered his lectures in the wooded walks of the Lyceum while walking up and down with his pupils. From the action itself, or more probably from the name of the walks (peripatoi), his school was called Peripatetic. Pupils gathered to him from all parts of Greece, and his school became by far the most popular in Athens. The statement that he had two circles of pupils, the exoteric and the esoteric has given rise to much controversy.
By some it has been held that Aristotle published during his lifetime popular discourses with a view to make way for his doctrines in Athenian society, then impregnated with Platonic theories, and that these are called exoteric in contradistinction to those in which are embodied his matured opinions. It was during the time of his teaching at Athens that Aristotle is believed to have composed the great bulk of his works. On the death of Alexander a revolution occurred in Athenshostile to the Macedonian interests with which Aristotle was identified. He therefore retired to Chalcis, where he soon after died.
According to Strabo he bequeathed all his works to Theophrastus, who, with other disciples of Aristotle, amended and continued them. They afterwards passed through various hands, until, about 50 BC, Andronicus of Rhodes put the various fragments together and classified them according to a systematic arrangement. Many of the books bearing his name are spurious, others are of doubtful genuineness. The whole are generally divided into logical, theoretical, and practical. The logical works are comprehended under the title Organon (instrument). The theoretical are divided into physics, mathematics, and metaphysics. The physical works (including those on natural history) are on the General Principles of Physical Science, The Heavens, Generation and Destruction, Meteorology, Natural History of Animals, On the Parts of Animals, On the Generation of Animals, On the Locomotion of Animals, On the Soul, On Memory, Sleep and Waking, Dreams, Divination. In mathematics there are two treatises, On Indivisible Lines and Mechanical Problems. The Metaphysics consist of fourteen books: the title (Tametata Physika, 'the things following the Physics') is the invention of an editor. The practical works embrace ethics, politics, economics, and treatises on art, and comprise the Nicomachaean Ethics (so called because dedicated to his son Nicomachus), the Politics, (Economics, Poetry, and Rhetoric). Among the lost works are the dialogues and others to which the term exoteric is applied, and which were published during Aristotle's lifetime. His style is devoid of grace and elegance. His works were first printed in a Latin translation, with the commentaries of Averroes, at Venice in 1489; the first Greek edition was that of Aldus Manutius (published in five volules between 1495 and 1498). Research Aristotle
Aristoxenus was an ancient Greek musician and philosopher. He was born about 324 BC at Tarentum. He studied music under his father Mnesias, and philosophy under Aristotle, whose successor he aspired to be. He endeavoured to apply his musical knowledge to philosophy, and especially to the science of mind, but it only appears to have furnished him with far-fetched analogies and led him into a kind of materialism. We have a work on the Elements of Harmony by him. Research Aristoxenus
The Armagnacs were a French political party, followers of the duke of Orleans. Some 3500 members of the party were massacred at Paris in June 1418 by their opponents, the followers of the duke of Burgundy. Research Armagnacs
Armand Carrel was a French republican writer. He was born in 1800 and died in 1836 in a duel. For some years he was an officer in the army, but latterly settled in Paris, and acquired a reputation as an essayist and contributor to the leading opposition papers. In 1827 he published a history of the English Revolution of 1688, and in 1830 united with Thiers and Mignet in editing the National, which soon rose to be the leading newspaper in opposition to the government of Charles X. After the revolution his colleagues joined the government of Louis Philippe, and he was left with the chief direction of the paper, which still continued in opposition. In 1832 the National became openly republican, and enjoyed great popularity. He was killed in 1836 in a duel with Emile de Girardin. Research Armand Carrel
Armand Duplessis Richelieu was a French churchman and statesman. He was born in 1585 in Paris and died in 1642. In 1624 he became minister of state to Louis XIII and dominated the weak King, ruling France himself. Research Armand Richelieu
The Arminians are a sect or party of Christians, so called from James Arminius or Harmensen, a Protestant divine of Leyden, who died in 1609. They were called also remonstrants, from their having presented a remonstrance to the States-general in 1610. The Arminian doctrines are: (1) Conditional election and reprobation, in opposition to absolute predestination. (2) Universal redemption, or that the atonement was made by Christ for all mankind, though none but believers can be partakers of the benefit. (3) That man, in order to exercise true faith, must be regenerated and renewed by the operation of the Holy Spirit, which is the gift of God; but that this grace is not irresistible and may be lost, so that men may relapse from a state of grace and die in their sins. These doctrines were vehemently attacked by the Calvinists of Holland, and were condemned by the Synod of Dort in 1619. The Arminians in consequence were treated with great severity; many of them fled to, and spread in, other countries, and though there is no longer any particular sect to which the name is exclusively applied, many bodies are classed as Arminians, as being opposed to the Calvinists on the question of predestination. Research Arminians
Arminius was an ancient German hero celebrated by his fellow-countrymen as their deliverer from the Roman yoke. He was born about 18-16 BC, and died in 19 AD. Having been sent as a hostage to Rome, he served in the Roman army, and was raised to the rank of eques. Returning home he found the Roman governor, Quintilius Varus, making efforts to Romanize the German tribes near the Rhine. Placing himself at the head of the discontented tribes he completely annihilated the army of Yarus, consisting of three legions, in a three days' battle fought in the Teutoburg forest. For some time he baffled the Roman general Germanicus, and after many years' resistance to the vast power of the empire he drew upon himself the hatred of his countrymen by aiming at the regal authority, and was assassinated. A national monument to his memory was inaugurated on the Grotenburg, near Detmold, in 1875. Research Arminius
Arminius Vambery was a Hungarian traveller and orientalist. He was born in 1832 and died in 1913. He travelled through Armenia and Persia between 1861 and 1864 and was the Professor of Oriental languages at the University of Budapest until 1905. Research Arminius Vambery
ARMINIUS VAMBERY
Arminius Vambery was a Hungarian traveller and Oriental scholar. He was born in 1832 and died in 1913. He studied at Vienna and Pest universities, and in 1854 went to Constantinople (Istanbul), where he taught French. After studying Arabic and Persian dialects he went to Turkistan in 1861, disguised as a dervish ; thence to Persia, where he joined a caravan of pilgrims returning from Mecca, and travelled with them to Khiva. Thence he passed to Bokhara and Samarkand, making his way back to Persia via Herat, in 1864. Returning to Budapest, he became professor of Turkish and other Oriental languages. His principal works include The Coming Struggle for India, 1885; and Western Culture in Eastern Lands, 1906. He published his Autobiography in 1884, and The Story of My Struggles in 1904. Research Arminius Vambery
Arnaud Berquin was a French writer. He was born in 1749 and died in 1791. He first attracted notice by his Idylles, and by several translations entitled Tableaux Anglais; but was best known by his Ami des Enfans, a series of narratives for children, for which, though plagiarized from Weisse's Kinderfreund, he received the prize of the French Academy in 1789. He was for some time the editor of the Moniteur. Research Arnaud Berquin
Arnobius was an early Christian writer. He was a teacher of rhetoric at Sicca Veneria, in Numidia, and in 303 became a Christian;
he died about 326. He wrote seven books of Disputationes adversus Gentes, in which he refuted the objections of the heathens against Christianity. This work betrays a defective knowledge of Christianity, but is rich in materials for the understanding of Greek and Roman mythology. Research Arnobius
Arnold Guyot was a Swiss geographer and meteorologist. He was born in 1807 and died in 1884. He studied theology at Berlin, then took up natural science, and became professor of history and physical geography in the Academy of Neufchatel. He shared in Agassiz's investigations of glacier phenomena of the Alps. He went to America from Switzerland in 1848, delivered lectures in Boston, which afterwards appeared under the title Earth and Man,.and was a professor at Princeton from 1854 to 1884, and became eminent as a promoter of geographical and meteorological science. Research Arnold Guyot
Arnold Hermann Ludwig Heeren was a German historian. He was born in 1760 and died in 1842. In 1776 he entered the gymnasium of Bremen, and in 1784 took his degree of PhD at Gottingen. In 1787, after returning from Italy, he became professor extraordinary of philosophy at the same university. In 1801 he was elected professor of history. His writings combine accuracy of statement with picturesqueness of style. They include Geschichte der classischen Liter. im Mittelalter; Handbuch der Geschichte der Staaten des Alterthums, etc. Research Arnold Heeren
Arnold of Brescia was an Italian religious and political reformer and martyr of the twelfth century. He was one of the disciples of Abelard, and attracted a considerable following by preaching against the corruption of the clergy. Excommunicated by pope Innocent II., he withdrew to Zurich, but soon reappearing in Rome he was arrested and burned in 1155. Research Arnold of Brescia
Arnold Palmer is an American golfer. He was born in 1929 at Youngstown, Pennsylvania. He became a professional golfer in 1955, winning the Masters in 1958, 1960, 1962 and 1964 and the US Open in 1960 as well as many other titles. Research Arnold Palmer
Arnold Ruge was a German democrat. He was born in 1802 at Bergen and died in 1880. He was imprisoned for six years as a political offender in connection with the Burschenschaften societies in 1824. He later became deputy for Breslau in the FrankfortParliament, and leader of the extreme Left in 1849. In consequence of the Leipzig disturbances he had to take refuge in England in 1850, when he started the Democratic Committee in conjunction with Mazzini and Ledru-Rollin. He afterwards maintained himself at Brighton by teaching and translating. Research Arnold Ruge
Arnold Schoenberg was an Austrian composer. He was born in 1874 and died in 1951. He composed Pelleas and Melisande, Pierrot Lunaire, Verklarte Nacht. Research Arnold Schoenberg
Arnold Toynbee was an English economist and social reformer. He was born in 1852 at London and died in 1883. The son of the distinguished surgeon, Joseph Toynbee, he was educated at Pembroke College and at Balliol College, Oxford. He is remembered for his attempts to ameliorate the conditions of the poor, especially of Whitechapel in East London where Toynbee Hall was erected in his memory. Research Arnold Toynbee
Arnulf was King of Germany. He was the great grandson of Charlemagne and was elected King of Germany in 887. He
invaded Italy, captured Rome, and was crowned emperor by the pope in 896. He died in 889. Research Arnulf
Arpad was the hero of Hungarian ballad and romance. He was born about 870 and died in 907. He was the founder of the kingdom of Hungary.
Arpad or Andrew I was a King of Hungary. He died in 1061. He was a cousin of King Stephen, and owed his accession in 1046 to his crushing of a pagan rebellion. Research Arpad
Arrigo Boito was an Italian composer and poet. He was born in 1842 at Padua and died in 1918. His chief works are operas influenced by Wilhelm Wagner. Research Arrigo Boito
Art Babbitt was an American animator. He was born in 1907 and died in 1992. He animated for Disney, working on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio and Fantasia as well as others, and also worked for Hanna-Barbera and Warner Brothers. Research Art Babbitt
Art (Arthur) Blakey was an American Black jazz drummer and leader of the Jazz Messengers band. He was born in 1919 and died in 1990. Research Art Blakey
Artemisia was Queen of Oaria, in Asia Minor. She lived about 352 to 350 BC. A sister and wife of Mausolus, to whom she erected in her capital, Halicarnassus, a monument, called the Mausoleum of Mausolus, which was reckoned among the seven wonders of the world. Research Artemisia
Artemus Ward was an American soldier. He was born in 1727 and died in 1800. He became a major in 1755, and served under General Abercrombie against the French and Indians. He was a prominent member of the Massachusetts legislature. He was made commander-in-chief of the Massachusetts forces in 1775. He was in nominal command at the Battle of Bunker Hill, but was not in the field. He commanded the forces besieging Boston until the arrival of George Washington, when he became second in command. He represented Massachusetts in the US Congress. as a Federalist from 1791 to 1795. Research Artemus Ward
King Arthur was the son of Uther Pendragon and the Princess Igerna, wife of Gorlois, duke of Cornwall, and ruled Britain around the 5th century. He married Guinevere or Ginevra; established the famous order of the Round Table; and reigned, surrounded by a splendid court, twelve years in peace. After this, as the poets relate, he conquered Denmark, Norway, and France, slew the giants of Spain, and went to Rome. From thence he is said to have hastened home on account of the faithlessness of his wife, and Modred, his nephew, who had stirred up his subjects to rebellion. He subdued the rebels, but died in consequence of his wounds, on the island of Avalon. The story of Arthur is supposed to have some foundation in fact, and has ever been a favourite subject with our romanticists and our poets. It is generally believed that Arthur was one of the last great Celtic chiefs who led his countrymen from the west of England to resist the settlement of the Saxons in the country. But many authorities regard him as a leader of the Cymry of Cumbria and Strath-Clyde against the Saxon invaders of the east coast and the Picts and Scots north of the Forth and the Clyde. Research Arthur
Sir Arthur Herbert Dyke Acland was an English politician, educational reformer and former clergyman. He was born in 1847 at Holnicote, Somerset and died in 1926. Educated at Rugby and Oxford he became a Liberal member of parliament for Rotherham in 1885, serving until 1899. Research Arthur Acland
Arthur Robert Ashe was an American LawnTennis player. He was born in 1943. He won the US Open and national titles in 1968 and was a semi-finalist at Wimbledon in 1968 and 1969. He was refused entry to the South African championships by the South African government on account of his skin colour. Research Arthur Ashe
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour, was a British politician. He was born in 1848 and died in 1930. Educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge, he represented Hertford in 1874 to 1885, and then was member for East Manchester representing the Conservative party. For a time he was private secretary to his uncle, LordSalisbury, under whom he was president of the Local Government Board, and afterwards secretary for Scotland (1886-87), with a seat in the cabinet. He showed much firmness and ability as chief secretary for Ireland during Lord Salisbury's administration in 1887-91. He succeeded Mr. W. H. Smith as leader of the House of Commons and first lord of the treasury in 1891-92, and held the position again from 1895 until 1900, and from that year until 1902. On the retirement of LordSalisbury in 1902 he became prime minister, a position which he retained until December 1905. Under him as premier were passed the new English Education Act (which owed much to his personal influence and exertions), that for London, and a new Licensing Act, and he advocated a change of fiscal policy, at least as far as having recourse to retaliation, denying that he in any way favours protection. He was given to studies bearing on philosophy and religion, and published a Defence of Philosophic Doubt (1879), Essays and Addresses (1893), and The Foundations of Belief (1895). He was president of the British Association in 1904. As foreign secretary from 1916 to 1919 he was responsible for the Balfopur declaration of 1917 which promissed Zionists a national home in Palestine. He resigned from parliament in 1922, was made an earl, and served again as Lord President from 1925 until 1929. Research Arthur Balfour
Lord Arthur Capel was a British soldier. He was born about 1600 and died in 1649. The son of Sir Henry Capel, he was raised to peerage by Charles I. During the English Civil War he fought bravely as one of the royalist generals in the west in the engagements at Bristol, Exeter, and Taunton. Having been at length forced to surrender at Colchester to General Fairfax he was imprisoned, and, after some vicissitudes, executed on March the 9th, 1649. His Daily Observations or Meditations was published posthumously with a memoir. Research Arthur Capel
Arthur Cayley was an English mathematician. He was born in 1821 at Richmond and died in 1895 at Cambridge. He entered Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1838, and in 1842 graduated as senior wrangler, gaining the Smith's prize in the following year. He was called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1849, and after fourteen years' practice as a conveyancer, was appointed, in 1863, to the newly established Sadlerian professorship of pure mathematics at Cambridge, a post which he held until his death. He was president of the British Association in 1883, and received many honours, both in his own country and from abroad. Arthur Cayley was a mathematician of marvellous power and range, and he created many new branches. His papers, more than nine hundred in number, have been published in thirteen volumes between 1889 and 1898. Research Arthur Cayley
Arthur Hugh Clough was an English poet. He was born in 1819 at Liverpool and died in 1861. He studied under Dr. Arnold at Rugby, and then at Oxford, where he highly distinguished himself. On his return from a tour in America in 1852 he was appointed an examiner attached to the educational branch of the privy-council office. His poems, of which the best known are Bothie of Tober-na-Vuolich, Amours de Voyage, and the Tragedy of Dipaychus, were published, along with a memoir, by Mr. F. T. Palgrave, in 1862. Research Arthur Clough
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a British author. He trained in medicine, but started writing to earn some money. He is best remembered for creating the character SherlockHolmes. Research Arthur Conan Doyle
Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington was a British astronomer and mathematician. He was born in 1882 at Kendal and died in 1944. He studied the internal constitution of stars. Research Arthur Eddington
Arthur Elphinstone, LordBalmerino was a Scottish Jacobite. He was born in 1688 and died in 1746. He took part in the Jacobite rebellion of 1715, and fought at Sheriffmuir. Having joined the young Pretender in 1745, he was taken prisoner at Culloden, tried at Westminster, found guilty, and beheaded. His title was from Balmerino in Fife. Research Arthur Elphinstone
Arthur Wentworth Gore (A W Gore) was a British lawntennis player. He was born in 1868 and died in 1928. A Wimbledon champion, he played at every Wimbledon competition between 1888 and 1927, winning the title in 1901. Research Arthur Gore
Sir Arthur Helps was an English historian. He was born in 1817 and died in 1875. He was educated at Cambridge, graduating in 1835, and from 1859 until his death in 1875 was clerk of the privy-council. His works, which are for the most part of a subjective type comprise an early volume of essays; Thoughts in the Cloister and the Crowd (1835); CatherineDouglas, a Tragedy (1839); Essays written during the Intervals of Business (1841); Claims of Labour (1844); the series entitled Friends in Council (1847-59); Companions of my Solitude (1851); Brevia (1871); Conversations on War (1871); Thoughts on Government (1872); Animals and Their Masters (1873); Social Pressure (1875); the Spanish Conquest of America (1855-61); Lives of Pizarro (1869) and Cortes (1871); Realmah, a Romance (1868); and Ivan de Brion, a Russian story (1874). He also edited the Prince Consort's Speeches (1862), and the Queen's Leaves from a Journal (1868), receiving a knighthood shortly before his death. Research Arthur Helps
Arthur Koestler was an Anglo-Hungarian author. He was born in 1905 at Budapest and died in 1983. After training in science at Vienna he became a journalist and after travelling joined the Communist party in 1931, but broke from it in 1938. He was imprisoned by the Nazis in France during the Second World War but escaped to England and after the Second World War became a British subject. Research Arthur Koestler
Arthur Lee was an American politician. He was born in 1740 at Virginia and died in 1793. The brother of R H Lee and Francis Lightfoot Lee, he was prominent as author of the 'Monitor's Letters', 'An Appeal to the English Nation' and 'Junius Americanus'. In 1770 he was appointed London agent of the Massachusetts colony. In 1776 he was appointed with Franklin and Deane to secure a treaty of alliance with France. In 1777 and 1778 he was commissioner to Spain and Prussia. From 1782 to 1785 he was a member of the Continental Congress. From 1784 to 1789 he was a member of the Board of Treasury of the Confederation. He opposed the adoption of the Constitution. Research Arthur Lee
Arthur Mee was an English editor and author. He was born in 1875 and died in 1943. In 1906 he produced the Harmsworth Self-Educator, and various other works followed, notably by 'The Children's Encyclopedia', which he edited from 1908 to 1933, and 'The Harmsworth History of the World' 1907. He also founded and edited the 'Children's Newspaper'. Research Arthur Mee
Arthur Philip was an English admiral and the first governor of New South Wales. He was born in 1738 and died in 1814. He served for some years in the Portuguese navy before in 1787 commanding the first settlers, mostly felons, to New South Wales where he served as governor until 1793. In 1814 he was promoted to admiral. Research Arthur Philip
Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch was a British critic and novelist. He was born in 1863 at Fowey and died in 1944. He wrote Dead Man's Rock. Research Arthur Quiller-Couch
Sir Arthur Thomas Sloggett was a British army surgeon. He was born in 1857. He entered the Royal Army Medical Corps in 1881, became a colonel in 1903, surgeon-general in 1908, and director-general of army medical services in 1914. He was one of the most successful organisers of army medical services - though dangerously ignorant of psychological disorders such as shock, describing sufferers as 'lunatics' - a reputation he enhanced during the Great War. He served in numerous campaigns, including the Dongola Expeditionary Force of 1896, as senior medical officer during the Sudancampaign of 1897 to 1898 when he was serious wounded; and in the South African War. He was knighted in 1914 and made KCB in 1915. During the Great War he resisted attempts to treat soldiers suffering from what was subsequently realised to be shock, describing them as 'lunatics'. Research Arthur Sloggett
Arthur St Clair was a British soldier and politician. He was born in 1734 and died in 1818. He went to America in 1758. He served under General Amherst at Louisbourg, and distinguished himself at Quebec. Joining the American cause, he accompanied General Sullivan in the expedition to Canada in 1776. He commanded a brigade at Trenton and Princeton. He was appointed major-general and succeeded General Gates at Ticonderoga, which he surrendered in 1777. He fought at Yorktown. He represented Pennsylvania in the Continental Congress from 1785 to 1787, and was Governor of the Northwest Territory from 1789 to 1802. Research Arthur St Clair
Arthur Henry Stanton was a British divine. He was born in 1839 at Stroud and died in 1913. Educated at Rugby and Trinity College, Oxford he was ordained in 1862 and became curate at St Alban's, Holborn, where he remained until his death. He earned a reputation as a friend of the poor and as a keen social worker. Research Arthur Stanton
Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan was an English composer. He was born in 1842 at London and died in 1900. He entered the Chapel Royal choir in 1854 and studied music at the Royal Academy of Music and at Leipzig between 1857 and 1861. He is best known as one half of the opera producing couple 'Gilbert and Sullivan', whose first joint work was the light opera 'Thespis' produced in 1871, and last work was 'Grand Duke' produced in 1896. Research Arthur Sullivan
Arthur Thistlewood was a British revolutionary. He was born in 1770 at Tupholme, Lincolnshire and died in 1820. After serving in the army abroad he returned to England, settled in London and joined other malcontents intent on revolution. In 1816 he was arrested for his part in an unsuccessful uprising, but was acquitted. Later he was imprisoned for challenging the home-secretary, Lord Sidmouth, to a duel. In 1820 he organised the Cato Street Conspiracy, was subsequently arrested, convicted and hanged for high-treason. Research Arthur Thistlewood
Arthur Bingham Walkley was an English author and journalist. He was born in 1855 and died in 1926. He was dramatic critic at the Times until 1819 when he retired. Research Arthur Walkley
Artur Rubinstein was a Polish-born American pianist. He was born in 1887 at Lodz and died in 1982. He appeared in Berlin at the age of twelve, and studied under Ignacy Paderewski before becoming a virtuoso, appearing in London and Paris in 1905 and in the USA in 1906. After the Second World War he settled in America, taking US citizenship in 1946. Research Artur Rubinstein
Artus Van der Neer (Arnold Van der Neer) was a Dutch painter. He was born in 1604 at Gorinchem and died in 1677. He worked at Amsterdam, where he kept a wineshop. He painted landscapes with figures, and views of towns, excelling in moonlight effects. There are landscapes by him in the National Gallery of London, and in the Wallace Collection. Research Artus Van der Neer
Arvid August Afzelius was a Swedish poet and pastor. He was born in 1785 and died in 1871. He was pastor of Enkoping from 1828 to 1871. Research Arvid Afzelius
Asa Gray was an American botanist. He was born in 1810 at New York and died in 1888. He was appointed Fisher professor of natural history in Harvard University in 1842, and held the chair until 1873, when he retired from its more active duties. His works include Elements of Botany (published in 1836), A Manual of Botany (1848), and other botanical textbooks; also portions of works on the flora of North America and the Genera Boreali-Americana, a Free Examination of Darwin's Treatise (1861), a volume entitled Darwiniana (1876), etc. Research Asa Gray
Ascetics was a name given in ancient times to those Christians who devoted themselves to severe exercises of piety and strove to distinguish themselves from the world by abstinence from sensual enjoyments and by voluntary penances. Ascetics and asceticism have played an important part in the Christian church, but the principle of striving after a higher and more spiritual life by subduing the animal appetites and passions has no necessary connection with Christianity. Thus there were ascetics among the Jews previous to Christ, and asceticism was inculcated by the Stoics, while in its most extreme form it may still be seen among the Brahmans and Buddhists. Monasticism was but one phase of asceticism. Research Ascetics
Asoka was an Indian emperor. He was born in 269 BC and died in 232 BC. He reigned from 255 to 223 BC over the whole of Northern Hindustan. He was a grandson of Chandragupta or Sandracottus. He embraced Buddhism, and forced his subjects also to become converts. Many temples and topes still remaining are attributed to him. Research Asoka
Aspasia was a celebrated lady of ancient Greece. She was born at Miletus, in Ionia, but passed a great part of her life at Athens, where her house was the general resort of the most distinguished men in Greece. She won the affection of Pericles, who united himself to Aspasia as closely as was permitted by the Athenian law, which declared marriage with a foreign woman illegal. Her power in the state has often been exaggerated, but it is beyond question that her genius left its mark upon the administration of Pericles. In 432-1 BC she was accused of impiety, and was only saved from condemnation by the eloquence and tears of Pericles. After his death in 429 BC Aspasia is said to have attached herself to a wealthy but obscure cattle-dealer of the name of Lysicles, whom she raised to a position of influence in Athens. Nothing more is known of her life. She had a son by Pericles, who was legitimated in 430 BC by a special decree of the people. Research Aspasia
The Assa are a native people of the central Masai Steppe in northern Tanzania. They are Hunter-gatherers, some live in settled villages others are nomadic. The Assa are becoming absorbed into the Masai people and other surrounding Bantu groups on whom they are economically dependent. In 1999 there were only about 350 true Assa still in existence. Research Assa
The Assassins were an Asiatic order or society having the practice of assassination as its most distinctive feature. The Assassins were founded by Hassan Ben Sabbah, a dai or missionary of the heterodox Muslim sect the Ismaelites. The society grew rapidly in numbers, and in 1090 the Persian fortress of Alamut fell into their hands. Other territories were added, and the order became a recognized military power. Its organization comprised seven ranks, at its head being the Sheikh-al-Jebal or Old man of the mountains. Upon a select band fell the work of assassination, to which they were stimulated by the intoxicating influence of hashish. From the epithet Hashishim (hemp-eaters) which was applied to the order, the European word assassin has been derived. For nearly two centuries they maintained their power under nine sheiks. Hassan, after a long and prosperous reigm, died in 1124. Most of his successors died violent deaths at the hands of relatives or dependents. After proving themselves strong enough to withstand the powerful sultans Noureddin and Saladin, and making themselves feared by the Crusaders, the Assassins were overcome by the Tatar leader Hulaku. The last chief, Rokneddin, was killed for an act of treachery subsequent to his capture, and his death was followed by a general massacre of the assassins, in which 12,000 perished. Dispersed bands led a roving life in the Syrian mountains, and it is alleged that in the Druses and other small existing tribes their descendants are still to be found. Research Assassins
The Assiniboine (Assinboins) are a North American Siouan Indian tribe of Canada and the USA. The Assiniboine separated from the YanktonSioux around the start of the 17th century and moved to Montana and Manitoba. During the 19th century, following decimation by smallpox, a group of Assiniboine moved to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains and became known as the Stoney. Research Assiniboine
The Associated Loyalists were a Tory society formed in New York in 1780 at the instance of the British government and independent of the orders of the British commander. The Associated Loyalists were a terrorist organisation led by the son of the Tory Governor of New Jersey, and conducted raids and piracy along the shores of New Jersey, Connecticut and Long Island. Research Associated Loyalists
Sir Astley Paston Cooper was an English surgeon and the author of medical text books. He was born in 1768 at Norfolk and died in 1841. He studied medicine in London, and attended the lectures of John Hunter. After visiting Paris in 1794 he was appointed professor of anatomy at Surgeon's Hall, and in 1800 head surgeon at Guy's Hospital. In 1822 his great work on Dislocations and Fractures was published. Shortly afterwards he became president of the Royal College of Surgeons. Research Astley Cooper
Atalmalpa was the last of the Incas. He succeeded his father in 1529 on the throne of Quito, whilst his brother Huascar obtained the Kingdom of Peru. They soon made war against each other, when the latter was defeated, and his kingdom fell into the hands of Atahualpa. The Spaniards, taking advantage of these internal disturbances, with Pizarro at their head, invaded Peru, and advanced to Atahualpa's camp. Here, while Pizarro's priest was telling the Inca how the pope had given Peru to the Spaniards, fire was opened on the unsuspecting Peruvians, Atahualpa was captured, and, despite the payment of a vast ransom in gold, was treacherously murdered by the Spanis in 1533. Research Atalmalpa
Athanasios Christopulos was a Greek lyric poet. He was born in 1772 at Kastoria, in Macedonia and died in 1847. His reputation as a poet rests on his Erotika and Bacchika, or Love and Drinking Songs, which have been several times collected and printed under the title of Lyrika. He is also the author of an AEolian- Doric grammar, and translated into modern Greek parts of the Iliad and of Herodotus. Research Athanasios Christopulos
The Athapaskans (Dena) are a tribe of Indians living along the Yukon and Koyukuk rivers in central-north Alaska since at least 1300 BC, when they are thought to have settled, coming from wandering Asian tribes. They are hunters, trappers and fishermen, typical of aboriginal people they live in harmony with the land and the animals and plants with which they feel they share it. Following the 1971 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act the Indians have become more westernised, and have had their subsistence existence damaged by western values of unemployment, alcoholism and land ownership - a concept previously alien and preposterous to the Indians. Research Athapaskan
Atheling was a title of honour among the Anglo-Saxons, meaning one who is of noble blood. The title was gradually confined to the princes of the blood royal, and in the ninth and tenth centuries is used exclusively for the sons or brothers of the reigning king. Research Atheling
Athelstan was an English king. He was born in 895 and died in 940. He succeeded his father, Edward the Elder, in 925 and extended his kingdom by defeats over the Welsh of Devon, Cornwall and Wales and defeating the Northumbrian Danes and their northern and Irish allies at the Battle of Brunanburh in 937.
Athelstan's law codes strengthened royal control over his large kingdom; currency was regulated to control silver's weight and to penalise fraudsters. Buying and selling was mostly confined to the burhs, encouraging town life; areas of settlement in the midlands and Danish towns were consolidated into shires. Overseas, Athelstan built alliances by marrying four of his half-sisters to various rulers in western Europe. He also had extensive cultural and religious contacts; as an enthusiastic and discriminating collector of works of art and religious relics, he gave away much of his collection to his followers and to churches and bishops in order to retain their support. Athelstan died at the height of his power and was buried at Malmesbury; a churchcharter of 934 described him as 'King of the English, elevated by the right hand of the Almighty ... to the Throne of the whole Kingdom of Britain'. Research Athelstan
Athenaeus was a Greek rhetorician and grammarian. He lived at the end of the second and beginning of the third century after Christ. He was the author of an encyclopaedic work, in the form of conversation, called the Feast of the Learned (Deipnosophistae), which is a rich but ill-arranged treasure of historical, antiquarian, philosophical, grammatical, etc, knowledge. Research Athenaeus
Athenagoras was a Platonic philosopher of Athens, a convert to Christianity, who wrote a Greek Apology for the Christians, addressed to the Emperor MarcusAurelius, in 177, one of the earliest that appeared. Research Athenagoras
Atticus (real name Titus Pomponius) was a Roman of great wealth and culture. He was born in 109 BC, and died in 32 BC. On the death of his father he removed to Athens to avoid participation in the civil war, to which his brother Sulpicius had fallen a victim. There he so identified himself with Greek life and literature as to receive the surname Atticus. It was his principle never to mix in politics, and he lived undisturbed amid the strife of factions. Sulla and the Marian party, Csesar and Pompey, Brutus and Antony, were alike friendly to him, and he was in favour with Augustus. Of his close friendship with Marcus Cicero proof is given in the series of letters addressed to him by Marcus Cicero. He married at the age of 53, and had one daughter, Pomponia, named by Marcus Cicero Atticula and Attica. He reached the age of seventy-seven years without sickness, but being then attacked by an incurable disease, ended his life by voluntary starvation. He was a type of the refined Epicurean, and an author of some contemporary repute, though none of his works have reached us. Research Atticus
Attila (Etzel) was King of the Huns. He was born in 406 and died in 453. The son of Mundzuk, and the successor, in conjunction with his brother Bleda, of his uncle Rhuas, he succeeded to the chieftainship in 434 when his people were masters of eastern Europe north of the Danube, and were terrorising western Europe as far as the Rhine and western Asia. They threatened the Eastern Empire, and twice compelled the weak Theodosius II to purchase an inglorious peace. Attila caused his brother Bleda to be murdered in 444, and in a short time extended his dominion over all the peoples of Germany and exacted tribute from the eastern and western emperors. The Vandals, the Ostrogoths, the Gepidse, and a part of the Franks united under his banners, and he speedily formed a pretext for leading them against the Empire of the East. He laid waste all the countries from the Black Sea to the Adriatic Sea, and in three encounters defeated the Emperor Theodoeius, but could not take Constantinople.
Thrace, Macedonia, and Greece all submitted to the invader, who destroyed seventy flourishing cities; and Theodosius was obliged to purchase a peace. Turning to the west, the 'scourge of God,' as the universal terror termed him, crossed with an immense army the Rhine, the Moselle, and the Seine, came to the Loire, and laid siege to Orleans. The inhabitants of this city repelled the first attack, and the united forces of the Romans under Aetius, and of the Visigoths under their king Theodoric, compelled Attila to raise the siege. He retreated to Champagne, and waited for the enemy in the plains of Chalons.
In apparent opposition to the prophecies of the soothsayers the ranks of the Romans and Goths were broken; but when the victory of Attila seemed assured the Gothic prince Thorismond, the son of Theodoric, poured down from the neighbouring height upon the Huns, who were defeated with great slaughter. Rather irritated more than discouraged, he sought in the following year a new opportunity to seize upon Italy, and demanded Honoria, the sister of Valentinian III, in marriage, with half the kingdom as a dowry. When this demand was refused he conquered and destroyed Aquileia, Padua, Vicenza, Verona, and Bergamo, laid waste the plains of Lombardy, and was marching on Rome when Pope Leo I went with the Roman ambassadors to his camp and succeeded in obtaining a peace. Attila went back to Hungary, and died on the night of his marriage with Hilda or Ildico in 453, either from the bursting of a blood-vessel or by her hand. The description that Jornandes has left us of him is in keeping with his Kalmuck-Tartar origin. He had a large head, a flat nose, broad shoulders, and a short and ill-formed body; but his eyes were brilliant, his walk stately, and his voice strong and well-toned. Research Attila
In England, an attorney is a person appointed to do something for and in the stead and name of another. An attorney may have general powers to act for another; or his power may be special, and limited to a particular act or acts. A special attorney is appointed by a deed called a power or letter of attorney, specifying the acts which he is authorized to do. An attorney at law is a person qualified to appear for another before a court of law to prosecute or defend any action on behalf of his client. The term in England was formerly applied especially to those practising before the supreme courts of common law at Westminster, and corresponded to the term solicitor used in courts of Chancery; but this distinction has been abolished, and solicitor is now the regular term for all such legal agents. In the United States the term is in common use, and is wide enough to include what in England would be called barristers (or counsel), in Scotland advocates, having indeed the general sense of lawyer. Research Attorney
In England and Ireland, the attorney-general is the first law-officer and legal adviser of the crown, acting on its behalf in its revenue and criminal proceedings, carrying on prosecutions in crimes that have a public character, guarding the interests of charitable endowments, and granting patents. He is ex officio the leader of the bar, and, as a member of Parliament, has charge of all government measures on legal questions. The solicitor-general holds a similar position, and may act in his place. There were also attorneys-general in the British colonies. In the United States the attorney-general is head of the department of justice. The individual states have also an attorney-general. Research Attorney-General
Aubrey Vincent Beardsley was a black-and-white decorative artist. He was born in 1872 and died in 1898 of tuberculosis. He took up art as a profession at the age of nineteen, and executed a large number of drawings for books and periodicals, showing great technical skill, originality, and disregard of conventionality, with sometimes a tendency towards the repulsive or morbid. Research Aubrey Beardsley
Aubrey Thomas De Vere was an Irish poet and general writer. He was born in 1814 and died in 1902. Educated at Trinity College, Dublin, he published his first volume of verse, The Waldenses, in 1842, and The Search after Proserpine in 1843. In 1851 he became a Roman Catholic. His subsequent books of verse include Poems, Miscellaneous and Sacred published in 1853; May Carols; The Sisters; The Infant Bridal; Irish Odes; The Legends of St Patrick ; Alexander the Great; Legends of the Saxon Saints; The Foray of Queen Meave, and other Legends of Ireland's Heroic Age, etc. His prose works include English Misrule and Irish Misdeeds (1848); Picturesque Sketches of Greece and Turkey; Ireland's Church Property and the Right Use of it; Essays, chiefly on Poetry; Essays, chiefly Literary and Ethical; and Recollections of Aubrey de Vere (1897). His collected poems were, issued between 1893 and 1894 in six volumes. Research Aubrey de Vere
The augurs were a board or college of diviners who, amongst the Romans, predicted future events and announced the will of the gods from the occurrence of certain signs. These consisted of signs in the sky, especially thunder and lightning; signs from the flight and cries of birds; from the feeding of the sacred chickens; from the course taken or sounds uttered by various quadrupeds or by serpents; from accidents or occurrences, such as spilling the salt, sneezing, etc. The answers of the augurs as well as the signs by which they were governed were called auguries, but bird-predictions were properly termed auspices. Nothing of consequence could be undertaken without consulting the augurs, and by the mere utterance of the words alio die ('meet on another day') they could dissolve the assembly of the people and annul all decrees passed at the meeting. Research Augurs
August Hermann Francke was a German theologian and philanthropist. He was born in 1663 at Lubeck and died in 1727. He was professor of Oriental literature and then of theology at Halle, but is chiefly known for his successful labours on behalf of poor orphans. In 1695 he founded the famous orphanage at Halle, still known by his name, which later included, besides the orphan asylum, a great variety of schools, a printing and publishing establishment, chemical laboratory, etc. Research August Francke
August Heinrich Hoffmann also known as Hoffmann Von Falleesleben was a German lyric poet and philologist. He was born in 1798 at Fallersleben in Hanover and died in 1874. Under the influence of the brothers Grimm he took to investigating old German literature, and became professor of German literature at Breslau in 1835. He also made special studies of Dutch and Silesian literature. He was dismissed in 1842 for the supposed revolutionary tendencies of his songs, and led a wandering life for some years. In 1860 he became librarian to the Duke of Ratibor. He published several volumes of songs, and works on the German Language and Literature. Research August Hoffman
August Friedrich Pott was a German philologist. He was born in 1802 and died in 1887 at Halle. He studied at Gottingen, and became a teacher at the gymnasium at Celle, and subsequently privat-docent in the University of Berlin in 1830. In 1833 he was appointed extraordinary professor of linguistic science at Halle, and ordinary professor in 1839. His greatest work is his Etymologische Forschungen. Research August Pott
August Senoa was a Croatianwriter. He was born in 1838 at Zagreb, and died in 1881. A novelist, critic, editor, poet, and dramatist, he was instrumental in the modernisation and improvement of Croatian literature leading to its transition from Romanticism to Realism. Research August Senoa
August Spies was a German anarchist. He was born in 1855 and died in 1887. He went to the United States from Germany in 1871. He was hanged as one of the instigators of the Hay market massacre in Chicago in 1886, when sixty-two policemen were wounded. Research August Spies
August Strindberg was a Swedish writer. He was born in 1849 at Stockholm and died in 1912. The son of a small tradesman, he studied at Upsala and became a teacher in an elementary school in Stockholm before turning to journalism and drama. His first play, 'Master Olof' was produced in 1872 and was unsuccessful. Later he acquired a post at the royal library in Stockholm and while there wrote his first novel, 'The Red Room' in 1879. Research August Strindberg
Auguste Francois Biard was a French genre painter. He was born in 1798 and died in 1882. He travelled extensively, visiting Spain, Greece, Syria, Egypt, Mexico, Brazil, etc. Among his best-known pictures are the Babes in the Wood (1828); the Beggar's Family (1836); the Combat with Polar Bears (1839); and the Strolling Players. A strong element of caricature runs through most of his works. Research Auguste Biard
Auguste Comte was a French philosopher and the founding father of sociology. He was born in 1798 at Montpellier and died in 1857. He studied at Paris and later wrote two works on his positivist philosophy which sought to establish Humanity itself as the object of religious reverence and love. Research Auguste Comte
Augustin Calmet was a French exegetical and historical writer. He was born in 1672 at Lorraine and died in 1757. He early entered the order of St Benedict, and became the head of several abbeys in succession. He was an industrious compiler of voluminous works, such as Commentaire sur tous les Livres de l'Ancien et du Nouveau Testament (Paris, 1707-16), Dictionnaire Historique et Critique de la Bible, Histoire Ecclesiastique et Civile de la Lorraine, etc. Research Augustin Calmet
Augustin Pyrame De Candolle was a Swiss botanist. He was born in 1778 at Geneva in 1778 and died in 1841. He took up the study of medicine at Geneva and Paris, where be attracted the notice of Cuvier and Lamarck, whom he aided in various scientific researches. After returning to his native city he again visited Paris, and took his medical degree, selecting as the subject of his thesis the medical properties of plants. In 1804 he lectured in the College of France on vegetablephysiology; and the following year published an outline of his course, under the title of Principes de Botanique, prefixed to the third edition of Lamarck's Flore Francaise. In this outline he laid the basis of the system of classification which he afterwards developed in larger and more celebrated works. In 1808 he obtained the chair of botany in the faculty of medicine at the University of Montpellier. In 1816 he returned to Geneva, where a chair of natural history was expressly created for him, and where he continued for many years to extend the boundaries of his favourite science by bis lectures and publications. His chief works are: L'Histoire des Plantes Grasses;
Regni Vegetabilis Systema Naturale (incomplete ); Theorie Elementaire de Botanique; Organographie Vegetale; Physiologie Vegetale; and Prodromus Systematis Naturalis, the latter completed by his son Alphone, also an eminent botanist and member of the French Institute. Research Augustin De Candolle
Augustin Jean Fresnel was a French physicist. He was born in 1788 and died in 1827. He did much to establish the undulatory theory of light, made several important discoveries in the polarizing of light, and greatly improved the apparatus for lighting lighthouses. Research Augustin Fresnel
Jacques Nicolas Augustin Thierry was a French historian. He was born in 1795 at Blois and died in 1856. Educated at the Ecole Normale Superieure he worked for three years as secretary to Saint-Simon, writing his first book 'De la Reorganisation de la Societe Europeene' in 1814. In 1826 he went blind, but continued to write. Research Augustin Thierry
Augustine Prevost was a British soldier. He was born in 1725 and died in 1786. He was captain of the Royal Americans under Wolfe at Quebec. He was brevetted major-general for the capture of the fort at Sunbury, Georgia, in 1778. He defeated General John Ashe at Brier Creek in 1779, and made an unsuccessful attack upon Charleston. He successfully defended Savannah against the Americans in 1779. Research Augustine Prevost
The Augustins were members of several monastic fraternities who follow rules framed by St Augustine, or deduced from his writings, of which the chief are the Canons Regular of St Augustine, or Austin Canons, and the Begging Hermits or Austin Friars. The Austin Canons were introduced into Britain about 1100, and had about 170 houses in England and about 25 in Scotland. They took the vows of chastity and poverty, and their habit was a long black cassock with a white rochet over it, having over that a black cloak and hood. The Austin Friars, originally hermits, were a much more austere body, went barefooted, and formed one of the four orders of mendicants. An order of nuns had also the name of Augustines. Their garments, at first black, were latterly violet. Research Augustins
Caius Julius Caesar Octavianus Augustus originally called Caius Octavius,was a Roman Emperor. He was born in63 BC and died in 14 AD. He was the son of Caius Octavius and Atia, a daughter of Julia, the sister of Julius Caesar. Octavius was at Apollonia, in Epirus, when he received news of the death of his uncle in 44 BC, who had previously adopted him as his son. He returned to Rome to claim Caesar's property and avenge his death, and now took, according to usage, his uncle's name with the surname Octavianus. He was aiming secretly at the chief power, but at first he joined the republican party, and assisted at the defeat of Antony at Mutina. He got himself chosen consul in 43. Soon after the first triumvirate was formed between him and Antony and Lepidus, and this was followed by the conscription and assassination of three hundred senators and two thousand knights of the party opposed to the triumvirate. Next year Octavianus and Antony defeated the republican army under Brutus and Cassius at Philippi.
The victors now divided the Roman world between them, Octavianus getting the West, Antony the East, and Lepidus Africa. Sextus Pompeius, who had made himself formidable at sea, had now to be put down; and Lepidus, who had hitherto retained an appearance of power, was deprived of all authority in 36 BC and retired into private life. Antony and Octavianus now shared the empire between them; but while the former, in the East, gave himself up to a life of luxury, and alienated the Romans by his alliance with Cleopatra and his adoption of Oriental manners, Octavianus skilfully cultivated popularity, and soon declared war ostensibly against the Queen of Egypt. The naval victory of Actium, in which the fleet of Antony and Cleopatra was defeated, made Octavianus master of the world, in 31 BC. He returned to Rome in 29 BC, celebrated a splendid triumph, and caused the temple of Janus to be closed in token of peace being restored. Gradually all the highest offices of state, civil and religious, were united in his hands, and the new title of Augustus was also assumed by him, being formally conferred by the senate in 27 BC. Great as was the power given to him, he exercised it with wise moderation, and kept up the show of a republican form of government.
Under him successful wars were carried on in Africa and Asia (against the Parthians), in Gaul and Spain, in Pannonia, Dalmatia, etc; but the defeat of Varus by the Germans under Armmius with the loss of three legions, in 9 AD, was a great blow to him in his old age. Many useful decrees proceeded from him, and various abuses were abolished. He gave a new form to the senate, employed himself in improving the morals of the people, enacted laws for the suppression of luxury, introduced discipline into the armies, and order into the games of the circus. He adorned Rome in such a manner that it was said, ' He found it of brick, and left it of marble.' The people erected altars to him, and, by a decree of the senate, the month Sextilis was called Augustus (our August). He was a patron of literature; Virgil and Horace were befriended by him, and their works and those of their contemporaries are the glory of the Augustan Age. His death, which took place at Nola, plunged the empire into the greatest grief. He was thrice married, but had no son, and was succeeded by his stepson Tiberius, whose mother Livia he had married after prevailing on her husband to divorce her. Research Augustus
Augustus de Morgan was an Indian mathematician and logician. He was was born in 1806 at Madura, in Southern India and died in 1871. He was educated at Cambridge, gaining the fourth place in the mathematical tripos in 1827. The following year he was appointed professor of mathematics in the University College, or, as it was then called, London University - a position which he held until 1866, with the exception of the five years from 1831 to 1836. His writings are very numerous, and include Elements of Arithmetic; Elements of Algebra; Elements of Trigonometry; Essay on Probabilities and on their Application to Life Contingencies and Insurance Offices; Formal Logic. Professor Augustus De Morgan was an extensive contributor to the Penny Cyclopaedia and to several leading periodicals of the time. Research Augustus De Morgan
Augustus C Hobart (Hobart Pasha) was a British sailor. He was born in 1822 and died in 1886. He entered the British navy in 1836. During the American Civil War he commanded the Don, a successful blockade runner off the coast of North Carolina. He was placed in command of the Turkish fleet in the war of Turkey against Russia in 1877. Research Augustus Hobart
Augustus II or Frederick-Augustus I was Elector of Saxony and King of Poland. He was born in 1670 at Dresden and died in 1733. He was the second son of John George III, elector of Saxony. He succeeded his brother in the electorate in 1694, and the Polish throne having become vacant, in 1696, by the death of John Sobieski, Augustus presented himself as a candidate for it and was successful. He joined with Peter the Great in the war against Charles XII of Sweden, invaded Livonia, but was defeated by Charles near Riga, and at Clissow, between Warsaw and Cracow. In 1704 he was deposed, and two years later formally resigned the crown to Stanislaus I, now devoting himself to his Saxon dominions. In 1709, after the defeat of Charles at Pultowa, the Poles recalled Augustus, who united himself anew with Peter. The two monarchs, in alliance with Denmark, sent troops into Pomerania, but the Swedish general Steinbock defeated the allies at Gadebusch, on December the 20th, 1712. The death of Charles XII put an end to the war, and Augustus concluded a peace with Sweden. A confederation was now formed in Poland against the Saxon troops, but through the mediation of Peter an arrangement was concluded by which the Saxon troops were removed from the kingdom. Augustus now gave himself wholly up to voluptuousness and a life of pleasure. His court was one of the most splendid and polished in Europe. The Poles yielded but too readily to the example of their king, and the last years of his reign were characterized by boundless luxury and corruption of manners. His wife left him one son. The Countess of Konigsmark bore him the celebrated commander Marshal Saxe (Maurice of Saxony). Research Augustus II
Augustus III or Frederick-Augustus II was Elector of Saxony and King of Poland. He was born in 1696 at Dresden and died in 1763. He was the son of Augustus II and succeeded his father as elector in 1733, and was chosen King of Poland through the influence of Austria and Russia. He closely followed the example of his father, distinguishing himself by the splendour of his feasts and the extravagance of his court. He preferred Dresden to Warsaw, and through his long absence from Poland the government sank into entire inactivity. During the first Silesian war he formed a secret alliance with Austria. The consequence was that during the second Silesian war Frederick the Great of Prussia pushed on into Saxony, and occupied the capital, from which Augustus fled. By the peace of Dresden, on December the 25th 1745, he was reinstated in the possession of Saxony. In 1756 he was involved anew in a war against Prussia. When Frederick declined his proposal of neutrality he left Dresden, and entered the camp at Pirna, where 17,000 Saxon troops were assembled. Frederick surrounded the Saxons, who were obliged to surrender, and Augustus fled to Poland. On the threat of invasion by Russia he returned to Dresden, where he died in 1763. His son, Frederick Christian, succeeded him as Elector of Saxony, and Stanislaus Poniatowski as King of Poland. Research Augustus III
Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin was an English architect. He was born in 1812 in London and died in 1852. Educated at Christ's Hospital and by his father, in his early days he was employed on stage scenery and other ventures before turning to architecture. Having embraced Roman Catholicism he designed many churches. When the new houses of parliament were projected, he was called upon by Barry to provide the whole of the detail drawings. His alleged responsibility for the general design was the subject of sharp controversy. An eccentric man, Augustus Pugin insisted that Gothic was the only Christian style of building, and published his critical 'Contrasts; or a Parallel between the Architecture of the 15th and 19th Centuries' in 1836 and 'The True Principles of Christian Architecture' in 1841. In 1851 his eccentricity overtook him and he was declared insane through overwork. Research Augustus Pugin
Augustus Schell was an American politician. He was born in 1813 and died in 1884. He was chairman of the New York Democratic Committee from 1853 to 1856, and of the National Committee in 1860 and 1873. After the overthrow of the Tweed ring he was active in reorganizing Tammany. Research Augustus Schell
Augustus Montague Toplady was an English hymn writer. He was born in 1740 at Farnham, Surrey and died in 1778. Educated at Westminster School and Trinity College, Dublin, he was ordained in 1762, and in 1768 he exchanged the living of Harpford with that of Broad Hembury, Devonshire. A convinced Calvinist, he embodied his views in 'The Historic Proof of the Doctrinal Calvinism of the Church of England', publsihed in1774, and engaged in bitter controversy on the subject with John Wesley. He also wrote a number of poems on sacred subjects. He is remembered, however, only for his hymns, these including the world-famous 'Rock of Ages' first published in 'The Gospel Magazine' in 1775, which was inspired while sheltering fromastorm in a cleft of limestone rock at Burrington Combe in the Mendips. Research Augustus Toplady
Sir Augustus Wall was an English painter. He was born in 1779 at Kensington and died in 1844. The brother of John Callcott the composer, he studied portrait-painting under Hoppner, but distinguished himself specially in landscape-painting. In 1837 he was knighted, and in 1843 was appointed keeper of the royal collections of pictures. Research Augustus Wall
Augustus Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Grafton, was an English statesman. He was born in 1736 and died in 1811. He was secretary of state under Bockingham, first lord of treasury under the elder Pitt, and premier during the illness of the latter. He subsequently held the privy seal under Lord North, and again under Rockingham, but ultimately gave up politics. He is chiefly remembered as the subject of some of the most brilliant of the letters of Junius. He opposed Townsend's policy of taxing the American colonies in 1766. He sought to prevent the war with the colonies, and opposed the measures of Lord North. Research Augustus Fitzroy
Aulus Gellius was a Roman author of the 2nd century. His Noctes Atticae, a book of selected passages from many ancient authors, is of great value, as the authors from which he drew his materials are in a great measure lost. Research Aulus Gellius
Sir Mark Aurel Stein was a Hungarian-born British archaeologist and explorer. He was born in 1862 at Budapest and died in 1943. Educated in Germany and England, as head of LahoreOriental College from 1888 to 1899 he made researches in Kashmir. After entering the Indian educational service and receiving British naturalisation, he conducted three expeditions principally to Chinese Turkistan from 1900 to 1901, from 1906 to 1908 and from 1913 until 1916, which resulted in valuable additions for the British Museum and the Delhi central museum. In 1912 he was knighted. Research Aurel Stein
Lucius Domitius Aurelianus was Emperor of Rome. He was born about 212 AD an died in 275 AD. He was of humble origin, but rose to the highest rank in the army, and on the death of Claudius II in 270 was chosen emperor. He delivered Italy from the barbarians (Alemanni and Marcomanni), and conquered the famous Zenobia, queen of Palmyra. He followed up his victories by the reformation of abuses, and the restoration throughout the empire of order and regularity. He was assassinated in 275 while heading an expedition against the Persians. Research Aurelian
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus often called simply Marcus Aurelius was Roman emperor and philosopher. He was born in 121 AD and died in 180 AD. He was the son-in-law, adopted son, and successor of Antoninus Pius. He succeeded to the throne in 161. His name originally was Marcus Annius Verus. He voluntarily shared the government with Lucius Verus, whom Antoninus Pius had also adopted. Brought up and instructed by Plutarch's nephew, Sextus, the orator Herodes Atticus, and Volusius Mecianus, the jurist, he had become acquainted with learned men, and formed a particular love for the Stoic philosophy. A war with Parthia broke out in the year of his accession, and did not terminate until 166.
A confederacy of the northern tribes now threatened Italy, while a frightful pestilence, brought from the East with the army, raged in Rome itself. Both emperors set out in person against the rebellious tribes. In 169 Verus died, and the sole command of the war devolved on Marcus Aurelius, who prosecuted it with the utmost rigour, and nearly exterminated the Marcomanni. His victory over the Quadi in 174 is connected with a famous legend. Dion Cassius tells us that the twelfthlegion of the Roman army was shut up in a defile, and reduced to great straits for want of water, when a body of Christians enrolled in the legion prayed for relief. Not only was rain sent, which enabled the Romans to quench their thirst, but a fierce storm of hail beat upon the enemy, accompanied by thunder and lightning, which so terrified them that a complete victory was obtained, and the legion was ever after called 'The Thundering Legion'. After this victory the Marcomanni, the Quadi, as well as the rest of the barbarians, sued for peace. The sedition of the Syrian governor Avidius Cassius, with whom Faustina, the empress, was in treasonable communication, called off the emperor from his conquests, but before he reached Asia the rebel was assassinated. Aurelius returned to Rome, after visiting Egypt and Greece, but soon new incursions of the Marcomanni compelled him once more to take the field. He defeated the enemy several times, but was taken sick at Sirmium, and died at Vindobona (Vienna) in 180.
His only extant work is the Meditations, written in Greek, and which has been translated into most modern languages. This may be regarded as a manual of practical morality, in which wisdom, gentleness, and benevolence are combined in the most fascinating manner. Many believe it to have been intended for the instruction of his son Commodus. Aurelius was one of the best emperors ever Rome saw, although his philosophy and the magnanimity of his character did not restrain him from the persecution of the Christians, whose religious doctrines he was led to believe - perhaps with good reason - were subversive of good government. Research Aurelius Antoninus
Aurelius Cornelius Celsus was a celebrated Latinwriter on medicine who lived, probably, under the Roman emperors Augustus and Tiberius, or in the beginning of the Christian era. He also wrote on rhetoric, the art of war, and agriculture. He is, however, best known by his De Medicina, long one of the chief manuals on medicine. Research Aurelius Celsus
Aurengzebe was a Mogul emperor of Hindustan. He was born in 1618 or 1619 and died in 1707. When he was nine years old his weak and unfortunate father, Shah Jehan, succeeded to the throne. Aurengzebewas distinguished, when a youth, for his serious look, his frequent prayers, his love of solitude, his profound hypocrisy, and his deep plans. In his twentieth year he raised a body of troops by his address and good fortune, and obtained the government of the Deccan. He stirred up dissensions between his brothers, made use of the assistance of one against the other, and finally shut his father up in his harem, where he kept him prisoner. He then murdered his relatives one after the other, and in 1659 ascended the throne. Notwithstanding the means by which he had got possession of power, he governed with much wisdom. Two of his sons, who endeavoured to form a party in their own favour, he caused to be arrested and put to death by slow poison. He carried on many wars, conquered Golconda and Bijapur, and drove out, by degrees, the Mahrattas from their country. After his death in 1707 the Mogul Empire declined. Research Aurengzebe
Decius Magnus Ausonius was a Roman poet. He was born about 310 at Burdigala (Bordeaux) and died about 392. Valentinian entrusted to him the education of his son Gratian, and appointed him afterwards quaestor and pretorian prefect. Gratian appointed him consul in Gaul, and after this emperor's death he lived upon an estate at Bordeaux, devoted to literary pursuits. He wrote epigrams, idyls, eclogues, letters in verse, etc, still extant. Research Ausonius
Sir Austen Chamberlain was a British politician. He was born in 1863 at Birmingham and he died in 1937. He initiated the Locarnopact in 1925 which sought to reconcile France and Germany. Neville Chamberlain was a British politician. He was born in 1869 and died in 1940. He became Prime Minister in 1937. Research Austen Chamberlain
The Avars were a nation, probably of Turanian Origin, who at an early period may have migrated from the region east of the Tobol in Siberia to that about the Don, the Caspian Sea, and the Volga. A part advanced to the Danube in 555 AD, and settled in Dacia. They served in Justinian's army, aided the Lombards in destroying the kingdom of the Gepidse, and in the sixth century conquered under their khan Bajan the region of Pannonia. They then won Dalmatia, pressed into Thuringia and Italy against the Franks and Lombards, and subdued the Slavs dwelling on the Danube, as well as the Bulgarians on the Black Sea. But they were ultimately limited to Pannonia, where they were overcome by Charlemagne, and nearly extirpated by the Slavs of Moravia. After 827 they disappear from history. Traces of their fortified settlements are found, and known as Avarian rings. Research Avars
Averroes was an Arabian philosopher. He was born probably between 1120 and 1149 at Cordova, in Spain and died sometime betrween 1198 and 1225. His ability procured him the succession to his father's office of chief magistrate, and the King of Morocco appointed him at the same time cadi in the province of Mauretania. Accused of being an infidel, he was, however, deprived of his offices, and banished to Spain; but, being persecuted there also, he fled to Fez, where he was condemned to recant and undergo public penance. Upon this he went back to his own country, where the Caliph Almansur finally restored him to his dignities. Averroes regarded Aristotle as the greatest of all philosophers, and devoted himself so largely to the exposition of his works as to be called among the Arabians The Interpreter. He wrote a compendium of medicine, and treatises in theology, philosophy, jurisprudence, etc. His commentaries upon Aristotle appeared before 1250 in a Latin translation attributed to Michael Scott and others. Research Averroes
Avicenna or Ebn-Sina, was an Arabian philosopher and physician. He was born in 980 near Bokhara and died in 1037. After practising as a physician he quitted Bokhara at the age of 22, and for a number of years led a wandering life, settling at last at Hamadan, latterly as vizier of the emir. On the death of his patron he lived in retirement at Hamadan, but having secretly offered his services to the Sultan of Ispahan he was imprisoned by the new emir. Escaping, he fled to Ispahan, was received with great honour by the sultan, and passed there in quietness the last fourteen years of his life, writing upon medicine, logic, metaphysics, astronomy, and geometry. He died leaving many writings, mostly commentaries on Aristotle. Of his 100 treatises the best known is the Canon Medicinse, which was still in use as a text-book at Louvain and Montpellier in the middle of the seventeenth century. Research Avicenna
RufusFestus Avienus was a Latin descriptive poet, who lived about the end of the fourth century, He wrote Descriptio Orbis Terrse, a general description of the earth; Ora Maritima, an account of the Mediterranean coasts, etc. Research Avienus
Awni Abd-al Hadi was a Palestinian politician. He was born in 1889 and died in 1970. He was active in the Arab nationalist movement against the Turks prior to the Great War, helping to organise the first Arab Congress in 1913 at Paris and later became involved in the Pan-Arab movement. Organising the Arab Rebellion of 1936 he was exiled from Palestine by the British in 1937 until 1941 and in 1945 helped to found the Arab League. From 1951 to 1955 he was Jordanian ambassador to Britain. Research Awni Abd-al Hadi
Ayn Rand was a Russian-born American novelist. She was born in 1905 at St Petersburg and died in 1982. Born into a wealthy Russian pharmaceutical family, early in life she learned about exploiting people, and after fleeing the Russian revolution with her family defected to the USA, a country she identified as suiting her own particular needs of greed, vanity and self publicity. It was while in the USA that she adopted the 19th century philosophy of 'objectivism' and claimed it be her own invention. Research Ayn Rand
Azariah C Flagg was an influential American politician. He was born in 1790 and died in 1873. He was appointed Secretary of State in 1826 by Governor Clinton, and served until 1833, was Controller of New York from 1834 to 1839 and 1842 to 1846, and was a member of the 'Albany Regency' and one of the founders of the Barnburner faction. Research Azariah Flagg
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