• AAHHOTEP - Name of two Egyptian queens.  Aahhotep I (c.  1580 B.C.)  was the mother of Aahmes I.

• AAHMES - Name of two Egyptian kings.  Aahmes I (c.  1600 B.  C.)  Drove out the Hyksos from Memphis, campaigned successfully in Syria, and developed the chariot for war.  He was known as the Liberator, and founded the 18th dynasty.
• Aahmes II (d.  526 B.C.)  Conquered Cyprus in 550 B.C..  He revolted against the Pharaoh  and seized the throne.  He contracted alliances with  Lydia and Samos when the  King of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar invaded Egypt.  He reigned for 44 years in which time Egypt prospered.

• AAHMES-NEFERTARI -(c.1600 B.C.).  Queen of Egypt, wife of, Aahmes I, mother of Amenhotep I.
• AALI PASHA (1815-71) - Turkish diplomat.  Served in Vienna and London, was twice foreign minister and 5 times grand vizier.  He took part in the Crimean war negotiations.  He was appointed Regent in 1867 when the Sultan was absent in Paris.   A skilled diplomat, he tried to introduce Western methods of Administration into Ottoman rule.

• A-ANNI-PADDA 9c.3100 B.C.) -  King of Ur.  Belonged to the first dynasty of kings of Ur.

•  AARESTRUP, Carl Ludwig Emil (1800-56) - Danish poet.  Though his work was almost unnoticed during his lifetime a collection of his poems were published posthumously in 1863 and 1877, leading to him being acclaimed as a great Danish lyrical poet.

• AARON.  High priest of Israel.  The older brother of Moses, he acted as spokesman for Moses before the elders of Israel and Pharaoh (Exodus 4 and 7).  He yielded to pressure from the people by having a golden calf fashioned for worship when Moses was absent on Mount Sinai.  (Exodus 32).  His sister Marion and himself rebelled against Moses (Numbers 12).  He was made high priest (Exodus 29 and Leviticus 8), his title was vindicated by the budding of his rod (Numbers 17).  He was denied entry along with Moses to the Promised Land due to their disobedience at Kadesh.  He died on Mount Hor in Edom and was succeeded by his third son (Numbers 20).
• AARSSENS, Francis van (1572-1641)-Dutch diplomat.  He entered political life as a young man.  In 1598 he represented the United Netherlands at the Court of France.  AARSSENS, conducted negotiations which led to the 12 years truce with Spain in 16 09.  Being recalled in 1616 he consented to being part of the establishment who condemned the statesman Barneveldt who had sponsored him years before.  He was counsellor in  foreign affairs to Maurice of Orange, and to Frederick Henry, and was entrusted  with diplomatic missions to foreign states.
• AASEN, Ivan Andreas (1813-96).Norwegian philologist.  He came from peasant stock.  He was a master of Norwegian dialects, constructing a folk language which was taught in schools and used in literature.  The Norwegian government gave him financial support while he complied his grammars and dictionary.
• ABAGTHA.  One of the seven Chamberlains of Ahasuerus (Esther 1).
• ABANCOURT,  Charles Xavier Joseph de Franquerville D' ( 1758-92).  French statesman.  Served with distinction in the Army and was made minister for war in June 1792, during the Revolution.  He refused to dismiss the Swiss guards on August 10, while in charge of the Tuileries , and was arrested for treason.  Revolutionaries murdered him on September 8, 1792.
• ABANO, Pietro Di (1246-1316). Italian physician.  Studied mathematics and medicine at Padua, Constantinople, and Paris.  Toured England in 13 03-04, and was appointed professor of medicine at Padua in 1305.  His interest in astrology, astronomy and magic involves him with the Inquisition.  He cleared himself of the charge of sorcery in 1306 but was accused again in 1314, but died before sentence was pronounced.  His body was burned.  Abano wrote several works on philosophy and medicine, and translated Arabic writers.
• ABASCAL, Jose Fernando   (1743-1827).  Spanish diplomat.  Entered the Army in 1762.  Sent to Cuba in 1796 as kings lieutenant defending Havana against the English.  Was captured by the English in 1804, while on the way to Peru as Viceroy but managed to escape.  ABASCAL founded schools endowed professorships, abolished the tribunal of the Inquisition, and kept the peace between Spaniards and Americans.  Recalled in 1815 to retirement.
• ABAUZIT, Firmin (1679-1767). French scientist.  He was sent to Geneva by his Protestant parents after the Edict Of Nantes  in 1685 for refuge.  Here he became a student of science and theology, gaining an international reputation.  He was the author of many theological treatises.
• ABBA ARIKA.  Babylonian rabbi.  He was a disciple  of  Judah I and founded a theological academy in the third century.  Ordained as a teacher he became famous for his knowledge of traditional lore and devoted himself to its study.  He laid the foundation for the babylonian talmud and much of his teaching is incorporated in it.  He was wealthy, an aristocrat , and respected by both Jew and Gentile.  His influence was such that he raised Babylonian Jews from insignificance to wide esteem.  He died in 247.
• ABBADIDES.  Spanish Moslem dynasty.
• ABBADIE, Antoine Thomson D' (1810-97).  French scientist.  In 1835 he traveled in Brazil, and published a report in 1873.  Traveled in Abyssinia between 1838 and 1848.  On his return to France he was involved in disputes about his observations and political activities while in Africa.  Later explorations confirmed his work.  He left his estate to the Academie des Sciences. Some of his published works are Geodesy of Ethiopia, Dictionary of the Amarinna Language, and Geography of Ethiopia.
• ABBADIE, Arnaud Michel D' (1815-93).  Younger brother des Antoine d'Abbadie.  He spent some time in Algeria, but joined his brother's expedition to Ethiopia, and accompanied him on all his travels.  He published a book in 1868 called Twelve Years In Upper Ethiopia , an account of their journey and discoveries.
• ABBADIE, Jacques  d' (F1654-1727). French theologian.  Protestant.  He came over to England with Marshal Schomberg in 1688 and was introduced to William III. From pastor of the French Huguenot Church at Savoy he became Dean of Killaloe. He was unpopular in this post because of his foregin origin and unsuitability for the position which he lost.  He died in poverty.
• ABBA MARI, Ben Moses Ben Joseph.  French rabbi.  Born at the end of the 12th century.  An Orthodox Jew who was alarmed by the growing liberality of thought among the Jewish followers of Maimonides, which he thought jeopardized the authority of the Old Testament.  He wrote a series of letters to Solomon Ben Adreb who was an influential Spanish rabbi who was moved to issue a decree forbidding the study of philosophy and science.  This caused a split in French jewry.  When Philip IV expelled the Jews from France in 1306 Abba Mari retired to Perpignan, where he collected and published his correspondence with Ben Adreb, under the title of Minhat Kenaot.
• ABBAS (566-652). Arabrian prince. The uncle of Mahomet.  He at first opposed his nephew's teaching, but was to become  his chief adherent.  He founded the dynasty of the Abbasids, the second line of the Bagdad caliphs as the heads of the Moslem World were called.
• ABBAS I (1813-54).  Viceroy of Egypt. Son of Tusun Pasha and grandson of Mehemet Ali. He fought in Syria under the command of  his uncle Ibrahim Pasha. He succeeded Ibrahim as regent in 1848, and one year later became viceroy of Egypt after the death of his grandfather.  A cruel ruler, he was murdered by two slaves in July, 1854.
• ABBAS I (C.1557-C.1628). Shah of Persia.  Was proclaimed Shah in 1584 during his father's short reign,( which was one of continuous civil war), when his eldest brother was assassinated.  His reign started with a series of wars which enlarged the Persian Empire. He improved the internal conditions of the country. All this earned him the title of Abbas the Great.  Though he could be cruel, he was also an enlightened administrator, a patron of the arts, and practised religious tolerance.
• ABBAS III (1732-36). Shah of Persia.  Crowned when 8 months old but died while still a child. He was the last of the Sophi dynasty.
• ABBASIDS. Arab dynasty, descendants of Mahomet's uncle Abbas.   The second line of the Bagdad caliphs. In 1258 Bagdad was lost to the Mongols, but the Abbasids ruled in Egypt until 1517.
• ABBAS MIRZA (1783-1833).  Persian soldier.  3rd son of Shah Feth Ali.  He won a high reputation as a soldier commanding the Persian armies in the war againt Russia in 1816-18 and 1826-28.
• ABBATE, Niccolo Dell' (1512-71). Italian painter.  Born at Modena.  Most of his works have perished.   His principal work, frescoes at Fontainebleau, occupied the last 20 years of his life.  Many of his drawings are in the Louvre, Paris.
• ABBE, Cleveland (1838-1916). American meteorologist.  Born in New York, Dec. 3, 1838, educated at Harvard, worked in an observatory in Russia returning to U.S.A. in 1867. Appointed director of the weather bureau in Washington in 1871.  Abbe established a system of daily weather forecasts, worked for the introduction of standard time and led expeditions to view solar eclipses, founded and edited The Monthly Weather Review, and lectured and wrote on meterology and kindred subjects.  Died October 28, 1916.
• ABBE, Ernst (1840-1905).  German Scientist.  Born at Eisenach on January 23, 1840.  Appointed professor at Jena University in 1870, and later, director of the observatory.  In 1866 became asociated with Carl Zeiss and by 1888 was the sole owner of the Zeiss optical works.  He is remembered by in his invention of the Abbe refractometer.  He died at Jena, January 14, 1905.
• ABBEY, Edwin Austin (1852-1911). American painter.  Born in Philadelphia, April 1, 1852.  Did black and white drawings for Harper's Magazine and other periodicals. Moved to London in 1878, becoming a member of the Royal Institute of Painers in Water Colours.  He was a regular exhibitor at the Royal Academy.  His chief oil paintings are Richard, duke of Gloucester and the Lady Anne, 1896, and the official picture of the coronation of Edward VII, 1904. His decorative works consist of The Holy Grail series of panels for the Boston municipal library, and pictures illustrative of the history of Pennsylvania for the Capitol in Philadelphia.  He was an illustrator of Herrick's poems and the comedies of Shakespeare.  He died at Chelsea, August 1, 1911.
• ABBON. French scholar.  Born about 945, becdame a monk and was made abbot of Romsey. In 983 made abbot of Fleury in France.  Twice, went to Rome on errands for Robert I, king of France.  Killed in 1004 while trying to quell a monkish revolt.  He wrote in Latin an epitome of the lives of the Roman pontiffs, and many treatises and letters.
• ABBOT, Ezra (1819-84).  American scholar.  Born at Jackson, Maine on April 28, 1819, achieving distinction as a biblical critic.  In 1872, appointed to the professorship of New Testament criticism at Harvard University. His chief work The Authorship of the Fourth Gospel, 1880.  He died March 21, 1884.
• ABBOT, George (1562-1633).  English divine.  Born at Guilford, October 29, 1562, a son of a cloth-worker.  Educated at Guildford grammar school and Oxford.    In 1609 appointed bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, 1610 bishop of London, 1611 archbishop of Canterbury.  Died at Croydon, August 4, 1633. Best known for establishing a hospital in Guildford.  Abbot was a strong puritan, treating harshly those who did not agree with him.
• ABBOT, Sir James (1807-96). English soldier. Famous for his ride (1839-40) from Hezat to the Caspian.  Served with the Bengal artillery. The first Englishman to enter Khiva and served with distinction in Hazara, 1846-53. Knighted in 1894 and died October 6, 1896.
• ABBOTT,  Robert (1560-1617). English divine.  Master of Oxford in 1582, famous preacher, chaplain to James I, regius professor of divinity at Oxford, made Bishop of Salisbury in 1615.  Abbot wrote in defence of the Reformation. Died March 2, 1617.
• ABBOTT, Edwin Abbott (1838-1926). English Scholar.  Senior classic in 1861 at Cambridge, then fellow of his college St. John's. Between 1865-89 headmaster of his old school City of London School. Wrote sermons, works on divinity, text-books for schools and a Shakespearean Grammar in 1870, his best know work. a fellow of the British Academy 1913, died October 12, 1926.
• ABBOTT, John Stevens Cabot (1806-77).  American writer.  Studied at the Andover Theological Seminary, associated with the Abbott Institute.  Famous preacher.  Wrote biographies and History of Napoleon Buonaparte, published in 1855.  Died June 17, 1877.
• ABBOTT, Lyman (1835-1922). American divine.  Graduated at New York university in 1853. Pastor at Terre Haute, Indiana, 1860, minister at Plymouth Church, Brooklyn 1888 on, chief editor of the Outlook, New York in 1893. Books include a Life of Henry Ward Beecher, 1903; What Christianity Menas to Me, 1921; Dictionary of Religious Knowledge; Life and Literature of the Ancient Hebrews, 1900.
• ABD AL-LATIF (1162-1231). Arabian anatomist.  Born in Bagdad. Did intensive research in medicine.Travelled a great deal.  Studied anatomy in Egypt.  While there wrote his famous Account of Egypt.   Taught philosophy and medicine at Cairo and Damascus, taught at Aleppo, was patronized by Saladin at Jerusalem. Wrote many medical works which are known only in the east.
• ABD-AL-QADIR IBN GHAIBI (d.1435).  Arabian musical theorist.  Wrote The Assembling of the Melodies which had an important effect on musical culture in the East.
• ABD-EL-KADER (c.1807-83).  Algerian patriot.  A descendant of Mahomet.  Ameer of Mascara in 1832 and submitted to the French after a long war against them.  Rendered service to the French in Syria and was decorated by Napoleon III with the grand cross of the Legion of Honour.
• ABD-EL-KRIM.  Moroccan chief. After a quarrel with Spaniards in 1919 he headed a revolt again them.  Had great success, attracting more to his cause.  The union of French and spanish power was too strong for him and he was forced to surrender in May 1926 and was exiled to the island of Reunion.
• ABD-ER-RAHMAN.  Name of several Arab rulers.  One, a follower of Mahomet, in 644, refused the caliphate to which he had been nominated.  Another led the Saracen hosts defeated by Charles Martel at tours in 732. Three members of the Ommiad family were rulers of Cordova.  the first founded this dynasty in Spain in 756 after his escape from Bagdad when it was taken by the Abbasids. The second encouraged architecture, music and literature.  Died 852. The third was the first Spanish Caliph.  Ruled from 912-961. He enlarged the boundaries of his kingdom, was a patron of the arts and science, his era being considered the most glorious of the Moslem domination of Spain.  Died Oct.16, 961.
• ABD-ER-RAHMAN (c.1844-1901).  Ameer of Afghanistan. Driven out the country when he first claimed succession. At the close of the second Afghan War he was the candidate acknowledged by the British.  Proved to be a strong and shrewd ruler, preserving the independence of his country from Russia and Great Britain.  Died Oct, 1, 1901.
• ABD-ER-RAHMAN (1778-1859). Sultan of Morocco.   Died in August, 1859.
• ABDON.  Biblical character.  Son of Hillel of Pirathon, he was among the last of the Ephraimite judges.  Judges 12.
• ABDUL AZIZ (1830-76). Sultan of Turkey. His incapacity and extravagance provoked discontent and he was deposed May 30, 1878.  Committed suicide on June 4, 1876.
• ABDUL HAMID I (1725-89).  Sultan of turkey.  Signed the treaty in July,1774, which surrendered the Crimea and other districts, when Turkey was defeated by Russia.
• ABDUL HAMID II.  (1842-1918). Sultan of Turkey.  His reign of 30 years was disastrous for his empire.  He lost territories in the Balkans after a war with Russia in 1877-78. In 1882 Egypt was lost by Britain and control of the country's finances was lost to foreign powers in return for a loan. The massacre of the Armenians won him the name of Abdul the Damned.    There was rebellion in Mesopotamia, Macedonia, and other districts.  Turkey went to war against Greece in 1897 over Crete.  In 1909 The Young Turks led by Enver Bey rose in revolt, and the National Assembly deposed him.  He then became a state captive.  However by playing off one country against another he managed to keep "the sick man of Europe" alive much longer than was thought possible.
• ABDUL MEJID (1823-61). Sultan of Turkey.  Succeeded to the throne in July, 1830 when the Turkish army and fleet surrendered to the Egyptian viceroy Mehemet Ali. However the great powers intervened to protect Turkey.  He continued his father Mahmud II's reforms. In November 1839 he proclaimed the rights of all subjects regardless of creed.  This improved the status of Christians in Turkey.   In 1850 he sheltered Kossuth and other Hungarian refugees.  He instituted a turkish order of knighthood, the Mejidieh.
• ABDUL UL LAITIF.  Another name for the Arabian anatomist better known as Abd al-Latif.
• a BECKETT, Arthur William (1844-1909)  English writer.  Had varied journalistic experience, becoming assistant editor of Punch in 1875, achieving popularity as a humorous writer.  His best known work is The a Becketts of Punch, published in 1903, containing the memoirs of his family.
• a BECKETT, Gilbert Abbott (1811-56). English humourist.  Lawyer.  Metropolitan police magistrate in 1849. Established Figaro in London in 1831.  Contributor to Punch. Principal works were The Comic Blackstone, comic History of England and Comic History of Rome.
• a BECKETT, Gilbert Arthur (1837-91). English dramatist.  Eldest son of the above.  Lawyer, comic dramatist. First play Diamonds and Hearts.  Wrote libretti for several operas and was a regular contributor to Punch.
• ABED-NEGO.  Name given in Babylon to the exiled Jew Azariah (Dan. 1-3), the friend of Daniel. Refusing to worship a golden image, he was thrown into a burning furnace.  Escaping uninjured he was restored to office.
• ABEL. Second son of Adam and Eve. He was killed by his brother Cain because Abel's sacrifice was more acceptable to God than was that of Cain (Gen.4).
• ABEL, Sir Frederick Augustus (1827-1902). English chemist.  Did research work in aniline derivatives and prepared one of the first specimens of gun-cotton made in England.  Professor of Chemistry at R.M.A. Woolwich, and chemist to the War Office. Most important work in conjunction with Sir James Dewar, invention of cordite. The Abel test for petroleum alos known as the closed test was devised by him. Also director of the Imperial Institute.
• ABEL, Karl Friedrich (1725-87). German musician.  Pupil of J.S. Bach.  Chamber musician to Queen Charlotte. Introduced Haydn's symphonies to England in a series of concerts. A popular composer for piano and strings.
• ABEL, Niels Henrik (1802-29).  Norwegian mathematician.  Granted a state pension to study at Christiania University where he became a lecturer and later visited France and Germany. Researched the theory of elliptical functions. He died at an early age.
• ABELARD, Pierre (1079-1142).  In 1115 appointed lecturer at the cathedral school of Notre Dame, Paris.  A brilliant teacher appealing to reason against tradition and blind faith.  Abelard was opposed to unreasoning dogma and emotionalism of the mystics.  St. Bernard became Abelard's bitterest critic and oponent.  Abelard fell in love with the 17 year old niece of Fulbert, a canon of Notre Dame, Heloise, to whom he was tutor.   Fulbert tried to separate the lovers, but they fled to Brittany where they were married and a son was born.  Heloise denied the marriage so that Abelard's career in the church could continue.  She then took refuge in a convent.  Fulbert in revenge had Abelard castrated, which debarred him from ecclesiastical preferment.  Abelard then retired to the abbey of St. Denis and induced Heloise to take the veil.   He was condemned by the synod of Soissons in 1121 for his views on the Trinity.  He build a hermitage at Nogent-sur-Seine and a chapel wheich he dedicated to the Holy Ghost.  Here he regained some of his former fame and developed a monastic school.   Appointed abbot of St. Gildas de Rhuys, Brittany, he founded at Nogent the abbey of the Paraclete, of which Heloise became the first abbess.  Here were written the famous letters to Heloise.  After 10 years he quit the abbey and devoted himself to the revision of his writings.  Once again St. Bernard and others persecuted  him and in 1141 he was condemned for heresy by the Council of Sens.  He was on the way to Rome to perform the prescribed penance when he won the friendship of Peter the Venerable, who reconciled him to St. Bernard and the Pope.  Broken in health he died at the priory of St. Marcel near Chalon-sur-Saone. He was buried at the Paraclete, as was Heloise twenty two years later.  In 1817 the remains of the lovers were interred in an imposing sepulchre at Pere-Lachaise, Paris.  He was known as the "morning star" of the Renaissance, though he was born more than 200 years before it began, though he is probably better known for his romantic love for Heloise.
• ABELL, Thomas (d.1540). English martyre.  Took a degree at Oxford and entered the service of Catherine of Aragon.  He carried a letter to Charles V from the Queen begging him not to give up a brief affecting the original bull of dispensation for her marriage with Henry VIII.  Abell was martyred at Smithfield in 1540 after a long imprisonment in the Tower of London.
• ABENCERRAGES.  Moorish family which settled in Spain in the 8th century.  They attained a position of influence, but in the 15th century were massacred by Boabdil in the Hall of the Abencerrages in the Alhambra.
• ABENDANA, Jacob (1630-95).  Jewish theologian.  Attended the rabbinical academy at rotterdam.  In 1655 became hakam of Amsterdam.  He became well known for his memorial address to two Jewish martyrs.  He and his brother Isaac published the biblical commentary Miklal Yoki of Solomon ben Melek.  His controversarial correspondence on theology with Professor Anton Hulsius was published in 1669. In 1669 he was called as hakim of the spanish Jews to London, where he completed his translation into Spanish of the Mishnah.  His greatest work was the transalation of the Cuzari of Judah Ha-Levi.
• ABEN EZRA.  Familiar name of the Jewish scholar Abraham ben Meir Ibn Ezra.
• ABERCONWAY, Charles Benjamin Bright  McLaren, 1st Baron (1850-1934). British politician.  Attended Edinburgh University and became a successful chancery barrister.  Turning his attention to commerce he became interested in colleries, ironworks, shipbuilding and railways.  In 1880 he entered Parliament as a Liberal.  He was made a baronet in 1902 and a baron in 1911.
• ABERCORN, Duke of.  Title held by the Hamilton family.
• ABERCROMBIE, John (1780-1844). Scottish physician.  Took his degree in medicine at Edinburgh in 1803.  Became famed as a physician both as consultant and teacher.  Author of Inquiries concerning the Intellectual Powers and the Investigation of Truth, and The Philosophy of the Moral Feelings.
• ABERCROMBY, David.  Scottish physician. Became prominent towards the end of the 17th century as a writer whose works on medicine were widely translated. Equally well known as a metaphysician.  Converted to Protestantism from Roman Catholicism he wrote a treatise on his conversion. In later life he practised as a physician in Amsterdam  Most notable book A Moral Discourse on the Power of Interest.
• ABERCROMBY, Patrick (1656-c.1716).  Scottish antiquary.  After practising medicine in Edinburgh he was appointed physician to James II.  Chief work was his Martial Achievments of the Scots Nation printed 1716.
• ABERCROMBY, Sir Ralph (1734-1801).  British soldier.  Son of a Scottish landowner, he abandoned law for the army in 1756. Gained experience in the Seven Years' War and in 1793 went with the duke of York to Flanders.  After distinguished service in the West Indies he was appointed to command the troops in Ireland in 1797.  In 1799 served under the duke of York in Holland. In 1801 commanded the Mediterranean expedition, landing his troops under heavy fire at Abukir Bay. Died as a result of wounds received in the battle following on March 28, 1801.  Abercromby did more than any other soldier of his time to restore the discipline of the British army.  After his death his wife was made a baroness.
• ABERDARE, Henry Austin Bruce, 1st Baron (1815-95).  British statesman.  Called to the bar in 1837.  Became Liberal M.P. for Merthyr Tydvil in 1852. Home secretary from 1869 to 1873, made lord president of the council and raised to the peerage. President of the Royal Geographical Society.  The Aberdare Mountains in East Africa were named after him.
• ABERDEEN, George Gordon, 1st Ear of (1637-1720).  Scottish lawyer. Graduated at King's College, Aberdeen, where he was a professor for 4 years. Succeeded to the baronetcy after the death of his older brother in 1667.  Made a judge as Lord Haddo, in 1680.  One year later became president of the court of session.  In 1682 became chancellor of Scotland and created earl of Aberdeen.  Dismissed in 1684 for toleration towards nonconformists.  He is supposed to be the hero of the old Scottish song Cauld Kail in Aberdeen.
• ABERDEEN, George Hamilton Gordon, 4th Earl of (1784-1860).  Educated at Harrow and St. John's College, Cambridge. Succeeded his grandfather as earl of Aberdeen in 1801.  Was ambassador to Vienna in 1813 and represented his country at the conference of Paris in 1814.  Was cabinet minister under Wellington in 1828 being foreign minister until the end of 1830, secretary for war and the colonies in 1834.  Appointed foreign minister when Peel returned to office in 1841.  Resigned with Peel in 1846 and after his leader's death became leader of the Tories, becoming Prime Minister in 1852.  He resigned in January, 1855 after a vote of censure on the government over the running of the Crimean War.
• ABERGAVENNY, Marquess of.  British title borne by the Neville family.
• ABERNETHY, John (1680-1740).  Irish divine.  Son of a conconformist minister he became a minister of the Presbyterian church and is remembered for his resistance to synod authority and for his repudiation of tests which excluded men of integrity and ability from serving their country.
• ABERNETHY, John (1764-1831).  British surgeon.   After serving as assistant surgeon and lecturer at S. Batholomew's Hospital, then surgeon from 1815-27, he was made professor of anatomy and surgery at the College of Surgeons in 1814. His most important work was The Constitutional Origin and Treatment of Local Diseases, 1809, in which he stated that local diseases are symptomatic, and that most of them arise from disordered digestive organs.
• ABERSHAW, Jeremiah (1773-95).  British highwayman.  He held up his victims mostly on the roads between London, Wimbledon and Kingston.  He made his headquarters at an inn called "The Bald-faced Stag". He was hanged on Kensington Common, August, 1795.
• ABETTI, Antonio (1846-1928).  Italian astronomer.   Studied at observatories at Pisa and Padua. Made director of the Arcetri Observatory, Florence, in 1804.  He published a number of papers on the minor planets.
• ABGAR.  Name or official title of 28 rulers of Edessa, in Mesopotamia c.136 B.C.-A.D. 217.
• ABGILLUS.  Name of the priest-king better known as Prester John.
• ABIATHAR.  Jewish high priest.  A son of Ahimelech who was killed by order of Saul for assisting David, he escaped his father's fate (1.Sam22) and became a firm friend to David. In Solomon's time he followed Adonijah in revolting, and was deprived of his office (1 Kings 1 and 2).
• ABICH, Otto William Herman von (1806-86).  German geologist. Educated in Berlin, he became professor at Dorpat and Fellow of the S. Petersburg Academy.  Travelled extensively and wrote on geological phenomena and volcanic formations.  His name was given to the mineral Abichite.
• ABIGAIL.  Biblical character.  She was the wife of Nabal, who refused food to David when he was in the wilderness of Paran.  She persuaded David not to punish her husband by taking him provisions so gaining his affection.  He married her after the death of her husband (1 Sam.25).   She was the mother of Chileab (2 Sam.3) or Daniel (1 Chron.3).  Abigail as a name for a waiting-maid is derived from Abigail's description of herself as David's handmaid.
• ABIHU. Jewish priest.  2nd son of Aaron, and was consecrated along with his brothers for the priesthood. Chiefly remembered for the fact that with his brother Nadab he offered strange fire to the Lord, with the result they were consumed by fire from heaven. (Lev.10).
• ABIJAH.  Name of several Old Testament characters.  Daughter of Zechariah (2 Chron.29; a son of Rehoboam who reigned for 3 years over Judah (1 Kings 15 and 2 Chron. 13); 2nd son of Samuel (1 Sam.8); a son of Jeroboam I who dies in childhood (1 Kings 14);  one of the descendants of Eleazar after whom was named the 8th of the 24 courses of priests at the Temple.   To this order John the Baptist's father belonged (1 Chron.24; Luke 1).
• ABILDGAARD, Nikolaj Abraham (1743-1809). Danish painter.  Studied in Copenhagan and Rome.  Was professor at the academy at Copenhagan. His pictures were based on the classical subjects in demand throughout Europe during his day.
• ABIMELECH.   Two Biblical characters.  The first is mentioned in connection with the Philistine king of Gerar in the days of Abraham (Gen.21 and 26).  The second was the son of Gideon, or Jerubbaal, by a woman of Shechemite nationality (Judges 8 & 9). He made himself  king by murdering all his brothers except Jotham, who escaped. He was killed at his own request by his armour bearer, after being fatally wounded by a woman at the siege of Thebes.
• ABINGDON.  Earl of.  English title borne since 1682 by the family of Bertie.
• ABINGDON, William Lepper Pilgrim (1859-1918).  English actor.   Won distinction as the villian of many melodramas.
• ABINGER, James Scarlett, 1st Baron (1769-1844).  English judge.  Chief baron of the exchequer from 1834 until his death. Was an M.P. 1819-35, first as a Whig, then as a Tory.  At one time attorney-general.  Made a peer in 1835.
• ABINGTON, Frances (1737-1815).  English actress. Born Frances Barton, she rose from flower seller, to street singer and reciter at taverns, to servant to a French milliner in Cockspur street, London.  Made her debut on stage in 1755 . Married her music master Abington in 1759.  Played in comedy at Drury Lane for 18 years.  Created the part of Lady Teazle in the original production of The School for Scandal in 1777.  Acclaimed as the greatest comedy actress of her times.  In 1782 went to Covent Garden.  Her last stage appearance was as Lady Racket in Three Weeks after Marriage in 1799.
• ABIRAM.  Israelite elder.  One of the leaders of the revolt against Moses (Num.16).  With the other chief conspirators he was swallowed up in the earth.
• ABISHAG. Biblical character. Of great beauty she was brought by the agents of the king to comfort King David in his old age.  Having 18 wives already David did not marry her but she was retained in his household.  After his death his son Adonijah who had conspired against his younger brother Solomon for the kingdom, asked for her in marriage.  Solomon, seeing evidence for a new conspiracy (under the law a dead king's wives and concubines passed with his inheritance) had Adonijah executed.
• ABISHAI.  Biblical character.  A nephew of King David, he went with him into the camp of Saul (1 Sam.26), and fought against Edom in the Valley of Salt (1 Chron. 18).  Risked his life with 2 others to get water for David from the well at Bethlehem (2 Sam.23), he also saved the king's life by killing the Philistine giant, Ishbibenob (2 Sam21).
• ABNER.  Biblical character.  Captain of Saul's army, he supported Ish-bosheth after Saul's death and then joined David. He was killed by Joab and David wrote an elegy to his memory (1 Sam. 14; 2nd Sam. 2 & 3).
• ABNEY, Sir Thomas (1640-1722).  British Merchant.  He rose to the highest office . As Lord Mayor he carried an adress of loyalty to William III.  President of St. Thomas Hospital.
• ABNEY, Sir William de Wive-Leslie (1844-1921).  English chemist.  Joined the military in 1861 becoming captain in 1873.  Instructor in chemistry at Chatham.  Knighted in 1900.  Adviser in science to the Board of Education after his retirement from the army. His work was connected with photography and spectrum analysis and he contributed largely to the progress made in colour photography and colour printing.
• ABOUT, Edmond Francois Valentin (1828-85).  French writer.  His attendance at the French School in Athens inspired his satire Contemporary Greece,  He wrote many successful novels and plays.   He was an anti-cleric which brought him many enemies.  His book on Alsace in 1872 involved him in trouble with the Germans and led to a week's imprisonment.  He was an editor and elected a member of the French Academy in 1884.
• ABRAHAM.  Founder of the Jewish nation. His life is found in Gen. 11-25.  With his wife Sarah and nephew Lot he moved from Ur to Haran where his father Terah died.  From there, under God's guidance he moved to the promised land Canaan, where he was promised that his descendants would possess the land.  In due time Sarah had a son Isaac.  His faith was severely tested when he was told by God to offer up his son as a sacrifice.   A ram was supplied in Isaac's place.  Though he had other sons the Jewish nation is descended from Isaac.  He is also the traditional ancestor of Arab tribes through Ishmael born to Hagar, Sarah's handmaid.
• ABRAHAM, a Sancta Clara (1644-1709).  German monk.  At 22 he joined the Augustinian order becoming in time provincial prior, attaining popularity as preacher and writer. He continually preached against the laxity of morals.  He became court preacher at Vienna.
• ABRAHAM, Ben Meir Ibn Ezra (1092-1167)  Jewish Scholar.   Born in Toledo.  Acquired a reputation as poet, philosopher and scientist.  Travelled extensively for 25 years.  Famous for his Yosod Mera, a treatise on the philosophy of religion.
• ABRAHAM, Ibn Daud (c.1110 - c.1180)  Jewish historiographer.  Famous as philosopher and scholar.  Born in Toldeo.  Most famous work, The Sublime Path.  Maimonides based his Jewish philosophy on this work. Abraham strove to preserve the harmony between religion and philosophy.
• ABRAHAMS Israel (1858-1925).  Jewish author.  Senior tutor at the Jews College, he became reader in Talmudic and Rabbinic Literature at Cambridge.  Also edited the Jewish Quarterly Review from 1880-1908.  Wrote on Jewish life and literature.
• ABRAVANEL Isaac (1437-1508).  Jewish author. Born in Lisbon.  Acquired a knowledge of Talmudic literature and Jewish religious philosophy.  A statesman in the service of  King Alfonso V of Portugal. of the house of Castile and the king of Naples.  His numerous writings  were referred to by Jewish and Christian commentators.
• ABRUZZI, Luigi Amadeo, Duke of the (1873-1933).  Italian explorer.  Served for a time in the navy.  He ascended Mt. S. Elias, Alaska on July 31, 1897, the first to do so.  Organised an Arctic expedition 1899-1900, from his ship sent out sledging parties, one reaching the furthest latitude then recorded.  His expedition determined the north coast of Franz-Josef land.  In Africa ascended Mt. Ruwenzori 1906, the first to do so, and climbed Mt Kenya 1909,  and established a record in mountain-climbing by ascending Mt. Godwin-Austen, Kashmir, to an altitude of 24,600 ft.   He served with distinction in the Italian navy as commander in chief in1915-17.  commanded a squadron during the Tripoli war 1911-12.  In 1920 he led an exploring expedition in Abyssinia.  His explorations and writings added greatly to scientific knowledge.
• ABSALOM.  Son of King David.  His story is found in 2 Sam. 13-18. He led a successful revolt against his father but was later killed.
• ABSALON (c.1128-1201)  Danish ecclesiastic.  Born in Zealand and studied in Paris.  Made bishop of Roskilde in 1158, archbishop of Lund and primate in 1178.  Minister to Waldemar I and Canute VI. he drove the Wendish pirates from the island of Rugen and inspired the Danish history of his secretary, Saxo Grammaticus.  The castle he built formed the nucleus from which developed the city of Copenhagen.
• ABSOLON, John (1815-95).  English painter.  His first works were portraits. Engaged in painting scenery for the London theatres, then worked in water colours. Began to exhibit about 1839 and had considerable success. His works include The Vicar of Wakefield in Prison,  the Courtship of Gainsborouhg, and Returning from Church.
• ABT, Franz (1819-85)  German musician.  Born in Prussian Saxony.  Chiefly known as a prolific composer of songs, one being the very popular When the Swallows Homeward Fly.  He was master of the chapel to two German rulers.
• ABU-BEKR (573-634)  First Mahomedan Caliph.  Born at Mecca, he was the only companion in Mahomet's flight from Medina to Mecca.  His daughter Ayesha married the Prophet.  He became Caliph on the Prophet's death but his claim was disputed by Mahomet's son-in-law Ali, and the followers of each became known as the Sunnites and Shiites respectively, which continues to this day.  Abn-Bekr did much to establish Islam in Arabia and neighbouring countries.
• ABU-L-'ALA UL-MA'ARRI (973-1057)  Arabian poet.  Born in Syria he visited Bagdad in 1007 where he acquired a reputation in literary and academic circles.  Upon his return to Syria he devoted his life to writing and teaching.  2 editions of his poems are Saqt us-Zand and the Luzumiyyat.
• ABU-L-ATAHIYA (748-828). Arabian poet.  Gained eminence as a poet and master of fmany forms of metre.  His poems were based on the background and incidents of contemporary life.
• ABULCASIS (d. c. 1013).  Arabian physician.  He was court physician to the caliph of Cordova.  He wrote his medical Vade Mecum, an encyclopedia in 30 sections, the last section being the most important dealing with surgery.  Though based on the 6th book of Paul of AEgina, it contained original additions  of practical value.  It became the standard textbook of surgery to Europe and did much to establish the foundations of modern surgical science.
• ABULFARAJ (1226-86). Armenian writer. Of Jewish descent he was distinguished by his knowledge of languages, philosophy, theology and medicine.  At 20 he was made bishop of Gubas and took the name of Gregorius, later becoming bishop of Aleppo.  He wrote Chronicle of Universal History and a commentary on the Syriac version of the Bible.
• ABUL FAZL (1551-1602).  Indian historian. He was a vizier of the Mogul emperor Akbar,  His most notable historical work was the Akbar Nameh, partly about Akbar's reign and partly about the national, religious institutions.  He was assassinated in 1602.
• ABULFEDA, Ismail-Ibn-Ali (1273-1331).  Arabian writer.  He distinguished himself as a military leader against the Crusaders.  He was made prince of Hamah in Syria in 1312.  His best known books are An Abridgment of the History of the Human Race from the Creation to 1320 and a Geography.
• ABUL GHAZI (1605-64).  Khan of Khiva. Presumed to be a descendant of Jenghiz Khan, he was the author of a genealogical history of the Mongols and Tartars from Adam to his own times.
• ABUL-WAFA (939-998).  Persian astronomer.  He made long and careful records of the planetary motions. He was the first to use the tangent in trigonometry as an independent function.
• ABU MANSIUR MUWAFFAQ (c.950).  Persian physician.  His works include nearly a thousand treatises on simple drugs and a pharmacopoeia entitled The foundations of the True Properties of Remedies, which describes 585 drugs and abounds in learning drawn from Greek and Syriac, as well as Persian, Arabic and Hindu sources.  It is the first medical book in modern Persian.
• ABU MA'SHAR (805-885).  Arabian astronomer.  The Latin renderings of his works include De Conjunctionibus et Annorum Revolutionibus, Introductorium in Astronomiam and flores Astrologici.  One of the most original of his theories was that the creation of the world took place when the seven planets were in conjunction at the first point of the zodiac, and that it will be dissolved upon the completion of a similar conjunction at its last point.
• ABU NUWAS (756-810)  Arabian poet.  The son of a Persian woman and a soldier of Damascus, he was a poet of the highest distinction. A favourite of Haroun al Raschid he wrote verses generally of a satirical character.
• ABU TAMMAM (807-846).  Arabian poet.  Known chiefly as a compiler of early poems, he was himself a poet of originality and distinction.
• ABU UBAIDA, (728-825).  Arabian scholar. Born of slave parents in Baera. he became one of the most profound scholars of his age.  He was unpopular through his unorthodox views of the religious status of the Arabian people and for his insistence that many Arabian customs were derived from the Persians.  He died unhonoured.
• ACCIUS, Lucius.  Roman poet.  [170 BC] only fragments of his poems remain.  He translated plays from the Greeks and wrote on themes drawn from the history of Rome.
• ACCOLTI.  Benedetto [1415-66] was chancellor of the Florentine republic in 1459 and a poet who  contributed to Tasso's later epic poem Jerusalem Liberata.
• ACCOLTI, Francesco (1418-83), brother of the above, was a notable jurist.
• ACCOLTI, Bernardo (C. 1465-C.1549) son of Benedetto, was a popular Italian poet
• ACCOLTI, Pietro  (1455-1549) also son of Bernardo was a cardinal concerned in drawing up the bill against Luther.
• ACCOLTI Benedetto, a grandson of Benedetto, was also a cardinal and poet.
• ACCORAMBONI, Vittoria (1557-85) Italian beauty.  Daughter of a family of the lesser nobility, she married first in 1573 Francesco Peretti, a nephew of Cardinal Montalto, after Pope Sixtus V.  She excited great admiration in Rome, one of her lovers being P.G. Orsini, duke of Bracciano.  Her husband Peretti was murdered, it is said at the instigation of her borther Marcello, and, being free, she married the duke.  He left her a fortune when he died and a quarrel with his surviving brother, Ludovici Orsini, over the division of this legacy, led to her own assassination in 1585.  Ludovici and most of his accomplices were executed for the crime.
• ACCORSO, Francesco D' (1225-93).  Italian jurist.  Son of an earlier Francesco Accorso, also a jurist of distinction, he was born and died at Bologna.  About 1275 he was lecturing on law at Oxford.  He is mentioned by Dante in The Inferno as one of "that wretched crowd," companions of Dante's illustrious Florentine friend Brunetto Latini, "clerks, and great scholars, and of great renown."
• ACCORSO, Mariangelo (c. 1490-1544). Italian author. He spent  a number of years at the court of Charles V, to whom he acted as emissary to foreign countries. He was an accomplished student of languages and collector of ancient MSS. His works include Ausonium Solinum et Ovidium, 1524, and he was editor of The Letters of Cassiodorus, 1538, and of Amianus Marcellinus, 1533.
• ACCUM Friedrich (1769-1838). German chemist. From 1810 to 1820 he promoted the adoption of gas lighting in England. He became professor in a Technical Institute in Berlin in 1822 and his most important work on chemistry was his Practical Treatise on Gas Light.
• ACHAEMENES, Greek name for Akhamanish, was the founder of the royal house of Persia, the Achaemenids, the dynasty which produced, amongst others, Cyrus, Darius, Xerxes and Artaxerxes.  He was the reputed great-grandfather of Cyrus.  He is mentioned in the Behistun inscription of Darius, and must therefore not be regarded as only a mythical hero of legend.
• ACHAN. Biblical character.  The son of Carmi of the tribe of Judah, he committed sacrilege during the capture of Jericho by the Israelites when he stole part of the spoil which had been set aside for dedication to the Lord.  He and his family were stoned to death and burnt with all his possessions (Joshua 7). 
• ACHARD, Franz Karl (c. 1753-1821). German scientist.  He became famous in connection with his improvements in the methods of extracting sugar from beetroot.  He was supported in his experiments by the king of Prussia, who gave him a farm in Lower Lusatia, where he set up a sugar factory.  He was thus the founder of the German beet sugar industry.  Later, in Berlin, he held an appointment as director of the physical class in the Academy of Sciences and conducted important experiments on the electrical behaviour of metals and alloys.
• ACHARIUS, Erik (1757-1819).  Swedish botanist.  Chiefly known for his studies of lichens, he was a pupil of the celebrated botanist Linnaeus at Upsala University.  His most notable contribution to botanical science Lichenographia Universalis, was published in Gottingen, 1804.
• ACHENWALL, Gottfried (1719-72).  German economist.  He attained eminence as an economist, and as a pioneer in the science of statistics.  He was a professor at the University of Gottingen.  His most important works are Elements of Statistics of the Chief Countries of Europe, 1749, and, Principles of Political Economy, 1761.
• ACHESON, Edward Goodrich (1856-1931).American chemist.  He was educated at Bellefonte At Academy, Pennsylvania.  In 1866, he discovered the artificial abrasive caraborundum, which he  prepared by submitting a mixture of clay and coal to the intense heat of an electric arc. Afterwards he prepared artificial graphite from which electrodes and lubricants aquadag and oildage are made.   Another product of the electric furnace which he invented is siloxicon, from which crucibles are made.  He was the recipient of the Rumford Medal of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1908, and the Acheson Medal of the electro-Chemical Society, 1929, as well as of numerous foreign orders and distinctions.
• ACHILLES, Tatius.  Greek writer.  A native of Alexandria, where he attained popularity as an author and rhetorician during the first half of the 4th centure A.D., he wrote an erotic romance, The Adventures of Leucippe and Cleitophon. 
• ACHILLINI, Alessandro (1463-1512).  Italian philosopher.  Born in Bologna, in later life he lectured there on medicine and philosophy; he was also a pioneer of the sciences of anatomy and dissection of the human body.  He wrote Corporis Humani Anatomia, 1516, and Anatomicae Annotationes, 1520.  His brother Giovanni Filoteo Achillini (1466-1533) was a writer of both verse and prose.
• ACHISH.  Biblical character.   He was a king of the Philistines and lived at Gath.  With him David twice found refuge when fleeing from Saul (1 Sam 21 and 27-29).  On the first occasion David feigned madness to avoid recognition.
• ACHITOPHEL.  Variant spelling of Ahithophel one of the chief counselors of King David.
• ACHSAH.  Biblical character.  She was the daughter of Caleb, the friend and companion of Joshua.  She was given in marriage to Othniel as a reward for his valor in taking the Canaanite city of Debir, and on her wedding day secured from her father certain springs of water in addition to her dowry. (Joshua 15 and Judges 1).  
• ACHURCH, Janet (1864-1916).  English actress.  Her full name was Janet Achurch Sharp.  She first played at the old Olympic Theater, London, under Miss Genevieve Ward, 1883, and later in the F.R. Benson company.  In 1889 she joined Charles Charrington, whom she married, in the production of Ibsen's plays.  As Nora in The Doll's House she won particular distinction, and Mr. and Mrs. Charrington toured the world with this play, interpreting Ibsen for the first time in English in many lands. In 1911, Janet Achurch played Mrs. Linden in the revival of The Doll's House at the Kingsway Theatre, London. 
• ACKERMAN, Francis (c. 1335-87)  Flemish soldier.  During the struggle between the burghers of Ghent and the count of Flanders, Louis II (de Male), he helped to secure the support of Philip van Artevelde as captain of the city.  He became admiral of the Flemish fleet and was highly successful as a diplomatist, enlisting the support of other cities-Brussels, Louvain and Liege.  He visited England and secured a promise of help from Richard II.  After peace had been signed between Ghent and Philip the Bold, duke of Burgundy, who succeeded Louis II, Ackerman was murdered in Ghent.
• ACKERMANN, Johann Christian Gottlieb (1756-1801).     German physician.  He was educated at the universities of Jena, Gottingen and Halle.  He practised as a doctor for 12 years at Stendal and from 1786 to 1801 was a professor in the University of Attdorf.  He wrote textbooks of great value to medical men.