Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 01.djvu/144

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ALDENHOVEN
102
ALDINE EDITIONS

soe" (1888), etc; London correspondent "New York Times," 1900. He died Jan. 14. 1908.

ALDENHOVEN, a town of Prussia, Rhine province; 12 miles N. E. of Aix-la-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. In 1794 the French under Jourdon, numbering 35,000, conquered the Austrians under Clerfayt.

ALDER, the common name for a genus of plants (alnus), of the order cupiliferæ (oak family). In the eastern United States it is a very common shrub. On the W. coast it often attains a height of from 40 to 60 feet in favorable locations. It is found in temperate and cold regions. The species familiar in England has a wood soft and light, but very durable in the water, and therefore well adapted to mill work, sluices, piles of bridges, etc. Its bark and shoots are used for dye, and its branches for the charcoal employed in making gunpowder.

ALDERMAN, a title pertaining to an office in the municipal corporations of Great Britain and the United States. In early Saxon times the term was indefinitely applied, and was generally given to a person possessed of an office of rank or dignity. In the court of the corporation of London the aldermen have legislative and judicial authority, and are elected for life. In the United States the powers and duties of aldermen differ in the various States and cities. As a rule they are elected by popular vote and constitute the source of municipal legislation.

ALDERMAN, EDWIN ANDERSON, an American educator, born in Wilmington, N. C, May 15, 1861; was graduated at the University of North Carolina in 1882; was superintendent of the Goldboro city schools in 1884-1887; Assistant State Superintendent of Public Instruction in 1889-1892; Professor of English in the State Normal College in 1892; and Professor of Pedagogy in the University of North Carolina in 1892-1896. In the last year he was chosen President of the University of North Carolina, and in April, 1900, was elected President of Tulane University in New Orleans. He was chosen President of the University of Virginia in 1904. His publications include "Life of William Cooper," a signer of the Declaration of Independence; "School History of North Carolina"; "The Growing South"; etc.

ALDERNEY (French, Aurigny; Latin, Riduna), a British island in the English channel, 55 miles S. by E. of Portland Bill, 15 N. E. of Guernsey, 31 N. of Jersey, and 10 W. of Cape La Hague. The length of the island is 4¼ miles; its extreme breath, 1½ miles; and its area is 1,962 acres, or three square miles. The highest point is 281 feet above sea-level. To the S. the coast is bold and lofty; to the N. it descends, forming numerous small bays. The Caskets are a small cluster of dangerous rocks, 6¾ miles to the W., on which are three lighthouses. The soil in the center of the island is highly productive; and the Alderney cattle, a small but handsome breed, have always been celebrated. The population was originally French, but half the inhabitants now speak English, and all understand it. Protestantism has prevailed here since the Reformation. Alderney is a dependency of Guernsey, and subject to the British crown. The civil power is vested in a judge appointed by the crown, and six jurats who are chosen by the people. These, with 12 popular representatives or douzeniers (who do not vote), constitute the local legislature. Pop. about 3,000.

ALDINE EDITIONS, the books printed by Aldus Manutius and his family, in Venice (1490-1597). They comprise the first editions of Greek and Roman classics; others contain corrected texts of modern classic writers, as of Petrarch, Dante, or Boccaccio, carefully collated with the MSS. All of them are distinguished for the remarkable correctness of the typography. The editions published by Aldo Manuzio (1450-1515), the father, form an epoch in the annals of printing. No one had ever before used such beautiful Greek types, of which he got nine different kinds made, and of Latin as many as 14. It is to him, or rather to the engraver, Francesco of Bologna, that we owe the types called by the Italians Corsivi, and known to us as italics, which he used for the first time in the octavo edition of ancient and modern classics, commencing with Vergil (1501). From 1515 to 1533 the business was carried on by his father and brother-in-law, Andrea Torresano of Asola, and his two sons—the three Asolani. Paolo Manuzio (1512-1574), Aldo's son, was succeeded by his son, the younger Aldo (1547-1597). The printing establishment founded by Aldo continued in active operation for 100 years, and during this time printed 908 different works. The distinguishing mark is an anchor, entwined by a dolphin, with the motto either