Alden, John
al'den, John (1599-1687), one of the Pilgrim fathers. In England he was a cooper and resided at Southampton. He came to Plymouth in the Mayflower in 1620, and was a man of importance in Plymouth colony for fifty years. He is the suitor of "Priscilla" in Longfellow's The Courtship of Miles Standish. As a matter of history, John Alden was the confidential assistant of Captain Standish and lived in his family. His marriage with Priscilla was the third wedding in the colony. He held various positions of public trust. He served as a member of the council of war. He was for three years the treasurer of the colony and served more than once as its agent. John and Priscilla settled on a farm in Duxbury, where they reared a family of four sons and four daughters. John died in 1687, the last surviving signer of the Mayflower compact. The old Alden farmhouse now standing was built by a grandson of John and Priscilla. See Plymouth ; Standish
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Aldenhoven
a town of Prussia, Rhine province; 12 miles N. E. of Aixla-Chapelle. Here the French, in 1793, under Dumouriez, were defeated by 50,000 Austrians, under Prince Josias of Coburg, and were prevented from making their contemplated invasion of Holland. 1794 the French under Jourdon, numbering 35,000, conquered the Austrians under Clerfayt.
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Alderney
. See Channel Islands
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Aldershot
al'der-shot, a military camp about thirty-five miles from London. It was established in 1855 as a training camp for soldiers. The British government has expended $20,000,000 there. Large barracks and other conveniences enable the military authorities to train troops in the manual of arms and in field manoeuvers, before they are sent away on garrison duty or to the scene of actual war. The presence of a permanent garrison and of large bodies of troops at other times has fostered the growth of a well built town of the same name. Hotels provide for the wants of visitors. Tradesmen of all sorts relieve the soldiers of their spare coin. Population, 30,000.
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Aldinach
An Egyptian demon, whom the demonologists picture as presiding over the tempests, earthquakes, rainstorms, hail-storms, etc. It is he, also, who sinks ships. When he appears in visible form he takes the shape of a woman.
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Aldine
al'din, a name given to editions of classics issued by Aldus and his descendants in Venice between 1490 and 1597. The Aldine printing office existed for 107 years. In addition to Greek and Roman classics, the works of Dante, Petrarch, and Boccacio came from the Aldine press,--in all 908 different works. An "Aldine" is prized for the accuracy of the text, and for its beautiful printing and binding. Genuine copies bring fabulous prices. To an engraver in the employ of the house we owe the graceful form of type known as Italics. The elder Aldus introduced the custom of printing a few copies of each edition on fine paper. The Aldine trademark is an anchor entwined by a dolphin. It appeared for the first time in 1502. The anchor was intended to symbolize tenacity of purpose; the dolphin swiftness of execution. The entire trademark was an emblem of speed with caution. Aldus held that one ought "to make haste slowly." To quote his own words: "I can surely affirm that I have as my constant companions the dolphin and the anchor. I have accomplished much by holding fast, and much by pressing on."
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Aldrich William Sleeper
an American educator, born in Philadelphia in 1863. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1883, and in the following year received a degree in engineering from the Stevens Institute of Technology. After teaching for several years in high schools he became a member of the staff of Johns Hopkins University. From 1893 to 1899 he was professor of mechanical engineering and director of mechanical arts at West Virginia University. From 1899 to 1901 he was professor and head of the Department of Electrical Engineering at the University of Illinois. From 1901 to 1911 he was director of the Thomas S. Clarkson School of Technology. He was a member of many scientific societies. He wrote much on building construction and architecture and manuals for electrical engineering laboratories.
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Alectorius
This stone is about the size of a bean, clear as crystal, sometimes with veins the colour of flesh. It is said to be taken from the cock's stomach. It renders its owner courageous and invincible, brings him wealth, assuages thirst, and makes the husband love his wife, or, as another author has it, "makes the woman agreeable to her husband." But its most wonderful property is, that it helps to regain a lost kingdom and acquire a foreign one. “
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Alembert
a-lon-ber', Jean d', written also D'Alembert (1717-1783), a noted French scholar. He was a native of Paris. His mother, a court beauty, but an unmarried woman of fashion and lax morals, left him when a babe on the steps of a church. He was found by the police and given to a glasscutter's wife. When he became famous, his real mother made herself known; but Alembert repulsed her with the words, "I know but one mother, the glazier's wife." Alembert wrote the mathematical articles, the introduction, and many biographical sketches for the famous French encyclopedia. In 1722 he was made secretary of the French Academy. He represented the views of Voltaire and his friends. Among investigations of popular interest conducted by Alembert are those which relate to the theory of winds and the precession of the equinoxes .
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Aleppo
a city of Turkey in Asia, in northern Syria, on the Koeik river, 71 miles E. of the Mediterranean. The ALEPPO foundation of Aleppo dates back to about 2,000 years B. C. Its first name was Khaleb, which the Greeks called Chlybon. After the fall of Palmyra, it became of great importance. Seleucos Nikator beautified the city city and called it Beroyia, which name it bore till its conquest by the Arabs; then the name was Haleb, which the Italians called Aleppo. It was conquered by the Saracens in 636; was the seat of a Seljuk sultanate in the 11th and 12th centuries; was plundered by Timur in 1402; in the 15th century became the great emporium of trade between Europe and Asia; was taken by the Turks in 1517; and was nearly destroyed by an earthquake in 1822, when it lost two-thirds of its 250,000 inhabitants. The present inhabitants are Turks, Greeks, Armenians, and Jews. In spite of the earthquakes and insurrections, which devastated the city, there is now a great trade there. The chief exports are apples, dyestuffs, cotton, tobacco, wheat, nuts, oil, etc. Pop. about 250,000. It was occupied by British forces in 1918.
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