Page:Imperial Dictionary of Universal Biography Volume 1.pdf/286

ASP and not with Tiziano Aspetti, the latter being but three years old when Vasari published the second edition of his Lives.—(Vasari's Lives of the Painters, vol. iii. p. 442, and note.)—A. M.  ASPILCUETA, P., surnamed , a Spanish missionary, born in the kingdom of Navarre, died at Bahia 1555. He belonged to the families of Xavier and Loyola, and entered the order of the jesuits in 1544. In 1549 he proceeded to Brazil in company with Nobrega, and is said to have surpassed all the missionaries in the art of subduing the natives. He was the first to acquire their language correctly, and preached and composed prayers and hymns in the Brazilian. He made many important discoveries in the geography of the country.—G. M.  ASPILCUETA,, surnamed the "Doctor of Navarre," a Spanish jurisconsult of great reputation, born 13th December, 1493, died 22nd June, 1586.  ASPLUND,, a distinguished Swedish ecclesiastic, and author of a great number of sermons, was born at Stockholm, 26th September, 1736, and died 12th January, 1815.  ASPRE or ASPER,, a Belgian by birth, but a major in the Austrian army, in which he signalized himself by his bravery and military skill on various important occasions. He was born at Ghent in 1724, and died in 1802.  ASPRUCK,, a painter, engraver, and bronze and silver founder, lived at Augsburg in the early part of the seventeenth century.  ASPULL,, a celebrated pianist, born at Manchester in 1813, displayed from his infancy the most extraordinary talents for music. At nine years of age, he made his appearance at a concert given by his brother, and excited in the public mind the astonishment and admiration which attended him throughout his short but brilliant career. Rossini, to whom he played, pronounced him the most extraordinary creature in Europe. He died at Leamington in 1832. A volume of his compositions was published by his brother.—J. S., G.  ASQUINI,, an Italian writer, author of "Memoirs of the Illustrious Men of Friuli," and of numerous other biographical works, the greater part of which remain in MS., was professor of rhetoric, and afterwards rector of a college, in his native town of Udine. Died in 1745. <section end="286H" /> <section begin="286I" />ASQUINI,, of Friuli, in Italy, celebrated as an agriculturist, was born at Udine in 1726. He was the first to introduce mulberry trees and silkworms into his native province, and he successfully exerted himself throughout Italy to recommend potatoes as food, and turf as fuel. He founded at Udine, a society of agriculture, commerce, and the arts, the success of which led to the institution of many similar societies. He died in 1818.—J. S., G. <section end="286I" /> <section begin="286J" />ASSAFADI, an Arabian biographer, and commentator on the Koran, so named from the place of his birth, Safadah, in Syria, was born in 1296, and died in 1362. His name in full was. <section end="286J" /> <section begin="286K" />ASSAID,, twelfth sultan of Western Africa of the dynasty of the Almohades, succeeded his brother Al-rashid in 1242. Defending his dominions against rival chiefs, he was killed in besieging the castle of Abu-Zeyyan. <section end="286K" /> <section begin="286L" />ASSALINI, an Italian physician, born at Modena in 1765, held an appointment in the French army during the campaign in Egypt, and earned the favour of Napoleon by his humane exertions to stay the ravages of the plague which broke out at Jaffa. During the time of the empire, he enjoyed the rank of first surgeon to the court, and surgeon in ordinary to the Italian viceroy. He accompanied the emperor into Russia, and on his return settled in Italy. Died in 1840. His works are "Observations sur la peste," 1803, and a work on diseases of the eye, published in 1811.—J. S., G. <section end="286L" /> <section begin="286M" />AS-SAMAANI,, surnamed (the pillar of the faith), a celebrated Mohammedan writer, author of a history of Bagdad, a history of Meru, and a work on genealogy. Born at Meru 1113; died 1166. <section end="286M" /> <section begin="286N" />AS-SAMH,, sixth governor of Mohammedan Spain under the caliphs, succeeded Al-horr about the year 719. After dividing Spain into five military districts, he led an expedition into France, where, laying siege to Toulouse, he was defeated and slain in 721. <section end="286N" /> <section begin="286O" />ASSANDRO,, an Italian priest of the early part of the seventeenth century, lived at Cremona. He published a work entitled "Dela Economia, ovvero disciplina domestica." <section end="286O" /> <section begin="286P" />ASSARACCO, SARRACCO,, an Italian historian of the early part of the sixteenth century, was a native of Bespolato. He wrote a history of the Franks, Milan 1516. <section end="286P" /> <section begin="286Q" />ASSARACUS, an ancient Trojan king, the great-grandfather of Æneas, from whom Virgil names the Romans "Domus Assaraci."—(Æneid I.) <section end="286Q" /> <section begin="286R" />ASSARINO,, an Italian miscellaneous writer, was born of Genoese parentage at Seville in 1607, resided a number of years at the court of the duke of Mantua, and died at Turin in 1672. He wrote histories and romances, some of which attained considerable popularity. <section end="286R" /> <section begin="286S" />ASSAROTTI,, the founder of the institution for deaf mutes in his native town of Genoa, was born in 1753, and entered at an early age an order of ecclesiastics devoted to charitable education. His benevolent labours among deaf and dumb children, which for some years attracted little attention, were begun in 1801, and continued with untiring zeal till the year of his death, 1829. The esteem in which his memory is held among his countrymen, and the noble institution which arose out of his labours, are the memorials of a true philanthropist.—J. S., G. <section end="286S" /> <section begin="286T" />ASSAS, ', celebrated for an act of patriotism which cost him his life, was captain in the regiment of Auvergne when the French army was stationed near Gueldres in 1760. On the 15th October, while engaged in reconnoitring, he was taken prisoner by a division of the enemy advancing to surprise the French camp, and was threatened with death if a word escaped him. He shouted "A Moi, Auvergne, voila les ennemis," and was instantly struck down. An annual pension is allowed to his descendants.—J. S., G. <section end="286T" /> <section begin="286U" />ASSCHERADES,, a Swedish diplomatist and historian, was for many years minister at the court of Berlin. Died at Stockholm in 1799. <section end="286U" /> <section begin="286V" />ASSELINE,, a French litterateur, proviseur of the college of Harcourt, enjoyed some celebrity as a poet in the early part of his career. He was born in 1682, and died at Issy, near Paris, in 1767. <section end="286V" /> <section begin="286W" />ASSELINE,, a French ecclesiastic, born at Paris in 1742, became professor of Hebrew in the Sorbonne; was appointed bishop of Boulogne in 1790, and afterwards succeeded the Abbé Edgeworth as confessor to Louis XVIII. He died in 1813. <section end="286W" /> <section begin="286X" />ASSELYN,, a historical and landscape painter of some celebrity, lived at Amsterdam in the first half of the seventeenth century. The transparency of his colour, and the excellence of his animal figures, especially horses, are frequently remarked. Died in 1660. <section end="286X" /> <section begin="286Y" />ASSEMANI, or, son of a brother of Giuseppe Simone. Assemani was born at Tripoli in 1710. He remained at Rome after completing his studies, and was appointed in 1737 professor of Syriac in the university of Sapienza. He died in 1782. Of the gigantic work which he projected, "Codex Liturgicus Ecclesiæ Universæ," a third part was published, which extended to thirteen volumes, 1749-1766. His other works, especially a history of the Nestorian and Chaldean patriarchs, are of considerable importance to the student of ecclesiastical history.—J. S., G. <section end="286Y" /> <section begin="286Zcontin" />ASSEMANI,, a celebrated Orientalist, was born at Tripoli, in Syria, in 1687. In his eighth year he was sent to pursue his studies at the Maronite college of Rome, and rapidly acquired a name for talent and industry. He was on the point of returning to his family, when he received a commission from Clement XI. to arrange and catalogue some Syriac MSS. which had just been brought from Egypt, and the satisfactory accomplishment of this task led to his being appointed secretary for Oriental languages in the library of the Vatican. In 1715 he was sent to the East in search of MSS., and, on his return, was appointed under-keeper of the Vatican. He was raised to the dignity of keeper on the death of Maielli, and, somewhat later, was created archbishop of Tyre. He died in 1768. His labours in collecting and deciphering Oriental MSS., and his researches into Oriental institutions, customs, and traditions, especially those connected with sacred literature, are represented by an immense mass of MSS., and by a number of publications, any one of which might have been considered the labour of a lifetime. The most important of these is an <section end="286Zcontin" />