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 As a symbol the letter is used in various connexions and for various technical purposes, e.g. for a note in music, for the first of the seven dominical letters (this use is derived from its being the first of the litterae nundinales at Rome), and generally as a sign of priority.

In Logic, the letter A is used as a symbol for the universal affirmative proposition in the general form “all x is y.” The letters I, E, and O are used respectively for the particular affirmative “some x is y,” the universal negative “no x is y,” and the particular negative “some x is not y.” The use of these letters is generally derived from the vowels of the two Latin verbs AffIrmo (or AIo), “I assert,” and nEgO, “I deny.” The use of the symbols dates from the 13th century, though some authorities trace their origin to the Greek logicians. A is also used largely in s (q.v.).

In Shipping, A1 is a symbol used to denote quality of construction and material. In the various shipping registers ships are classed and given a rating after an official examination, and assigned a classification mark, which appears in addition to other particulars in those registers after the name of the ship. See. It is popularly used to indicate the highest degree of excellence.

 AA, the name of a large number of small European rivers. The word is derived from the Old German aha, cognate to the Latin aqua, water (cf. Ger. -ach; Scand. å, aa, pronounced ō). The following are the more important streams of this name:—Two rivers in the west of Russia, both falling into the Gulf of Riga, near Riga, which is situated between them; a river in the north of France, falling into the sea below Gravelines, and navigable as far as St Omer; and a river of Switzerland, in the cantons of Lucerne and Aargau, which carries the waters of Lakes Baldegger and Hallwiler into the Aar. In Germany there are the Westphalian Aa, rising in the Teutoburger Wald, and joining the Werre at Herford, the Münster Aa, a tributary of the Ems, and others.

 AAGESEN, ANDREW (1826–1879), Danish jurist, was educated for the 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. In 1870 he 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. Among his numerous juridical works may be mentioned: Bidrag til Laeren om Overdragelse af Ejendomsret, Bemaerkinger om Rettigheder over Ting (Copenhagen, 1866, 1871–1872); Fortegnelse over Retssamlinger, Retslitteratur i Danmark, Norge, Sverige (Copenhagen, 1876). Aagesen was Hall’s successor as lecturer on Roman law at the university, and in this department his researches were epoch-making. All his pupils were profoundly impressed by his exhaustive examination of the sources, his energetic demonstration of his subject and his stringent search after truth. His noble, imposing, and yet most amiable personality won for him, moreover, universal affection and respect.

 AAL, also known as, or , the Hindustani names for the Morinda tinctoria and Morinda citrifolia, plants extensively cultivated in India on account of the reddish dye-stuff which their roots contain. The name is also applied to the dye, but the common trade name is Suranji. Its properties are due to the presence of a glucoside known as Morindin, which is compounded from glucose and probably a trioxy-methyl-anthraquinone.

 AALBORG, a city and seaport of Denmark, the seat of a bishop, and chief town of the amt (county) of its name, on the south bank of the Limfjord, which connects the North Sea and the Cattegat. Pop. (1901) 31,457. The situation is typical of the north of Jutland. To the west the Limfjord broadens into an irregular lake, with low, marshy shores and many islands. North-west is the Store Vildmose, a swamp where the mirage is seen in summer. South-east lies the similar Lille Vildmose. A railway connects Aalborg with Hjörring, Frederikshavn and Skagen to the north, and with Aarhus and the lines from Germany to the south. The harbour is good and safe, though difficult of access. Aalborg is a growing industrial and commercial centre, exporting grain and fish. An old castle and some picturesque houses of the 17th century remain. The Budolphi church dates mostly from the middle of the 18th century, while the Frue church was partially burnt in 1894, but the foundation of both is of the 14th century or earlier. There are also an ancient hospital and a museum of art and antiquities. On the north side of the fjord is Nörre Sundby, connected with Aalborg by a pontoon and also by an iron railway bridge, one of the finest engineering works in the kingdom. Aalborg received town-privileges in 1342, and the bishopric dates from 1554.

 AALEN, a town of Germany, in the kingdom of Württemberg, pleasantly situated on the Kocher, at the foot of the Swabian Alps, about 50 m. E. of Stuttgart, and with direct railway communication with Ulm and Cannstatt. Pop. 10,000. Woollen and linen goods are manufactured, and there are ribbon looms and tanneries in the town, and large iron works in the neighbourhood. There are several schools and churches, and a statue of the poet Christian Schubart. Aalen was a free imperial city from 1360 to 1802, when it was annexed to Württemberg.

 AALESUND, a seaport of Norway, in Romsdal amt (county), 145 m. N. by E. from Bergen. Pop. (1900) 11,672. It occupies two of the outer islands of the west coast, Aspö and Nörvö, which enclose the picturesque harbour. Founded in 1824, it is the principal shipping-place of Söndmöre district, and one of the chief stations of the herring fishery. Aalesund is adjacent to the Jörund and Geiranger fjords, frequented by tourists. From Öje at the head of Jörund a driving-route strikes south to the Nordfjord, and from Merok on Geiranger another strikes inland to Otta, on the railway to Lillehammer and Christiania. Aalesund is a port of call for steamers between Bergen, Hull, Newcastle and Hamburg, and Trondhjem. A little to the south of the town are the ruins of the reputed castle of Rollo, the founder, in the 9th century, of the dynasty of the dukes of Normandy. On the 23rd of January 1904, Aalesund was the scene of one of the most terrible of the many conflagrations to which Norwegian towns, built largely of wood, have been subject. Practically the whole town was destroyed, a gale aiding the flames, and the population had to leave the place in the night at the notice of a few minutes. Hardly any lives were lost, but the sufferings of the people were so terrible that assistance was sent from all parts of the kingdom, and by the German government, while the British government also offered it.

 AALI, MEHEMET, Pasha (1815–1871), Turkish statesman, was born at Constantinople in 1815, the son of a government official. Entering the diplomatic service of his country soon after reaching manhood, he became successively secretary of the Embassy in Vienna, minister in London, and foreign minister under Reshid Pasha. In 1852 he was promoted to the post of grand vizier, but after a short time retired into private life. During the Crimean War he was recalled in order to take the portfolio of foreign affairs for a second time under Reshid Pasha, and in this capacity took part in 1855 in the conference of Vienna. Again becoming in that year grand vizier, an office he filled no less than five times, he represented Turkey at the congress of Paris in 1856. In 1867 he was appointed regent of Turkey during the sultan’s visit to the Paris Exhibition. Aali Pasha was one of the most zealous advocates of the introduction of Western reforms under the sultans Abdul Mejid and Abdul Aziz. A scholar and a linguist, he was a match for the diplomats of the Christian powers, against whom he successfully defended the interests of his country. He died at Erenkeni in Asia Minor on the 6th of September 1871.

<section end="Aali, Mehemet" /> <section begin="Aar" />AAR, or, the most considerable river which both rises and ends entirely within Switzerland. Its total length (including all bends) from its source to its junction with the Rhine is about 181 m., during which distance it descends 5135 ft., while its <section end="Aar" />