lated at once. Making a virtue of necessity, he immediately restored the Constitution he had abrogated in 1878. Great rejoicing prevailed, especially when, on 1 August the Sultan issued a Hatt-i-Humayun assuring to the people those elementary principles of freedom and justice they had never before enjoyed. The revived Turkish Parliament opened on 15 Jan. 1909. Kiamil Pasha, the aged grand vizier, referred to the "wise and prudent policy" of the Sultan "in putting himself at the head of the revolution. The Government soon resigned, however, owing to internal dissensions. Serious disturbances broke in the provinces; in Ardana, Asia Minor, thousands of Armenians and two American missionaries were massacred. The spirit of Abdul-Hamid inspired his followers to restore the old order of things, and there is no reason to doubt that he instigated the mutiny that broke out (14 April 1909) among the troops still loyal to him. They seized the Parliament House, telegraph offices and bridges of the city. Two members of the Committee were murdered and several others arrested. The minister of justice was killed and the minister of marine wounded. For the moment it seemed that Abdul-Hamid would emerge victorious from the crisis, but the Committee of Union and Progress promptly sent troops to Constantinople to crush the counter-revolution. On 24 April Gen. Mahmud Shefket Pasha entered the city with a "constitutional" army. Considerable street fighting developed with the "loyalists," who were easily overcome by the Young Turkey leaders. It was then decided to depose the Sultan and replace him by his younger brother Mohammed Reshad Effendi, who had for many years been kept in isolation to prevent the very event which was now to happen. (See MOHAMMED V). The ringleaders of the counter-revolution were court-martialled and 40 of them hanged in the principal public squares of the city. Abdul-Hamid was banished to Salonica with his dogs, birds, carpenter's tools, and a few members of his harem. An expert cabinet-maker, he frequently presented writing desks of his own make to foreign diplomatists. Many uncomplimentary epithets were applied to him during his dark reign, such as "The Great Assassin," "Abdul the Damned," and "The Unspeakable Turk." Consult Pears (Sir) E., Abdul Hamid' (in Makers of the Nineteenth Century Series, New York 1917).

ABDULLAHI. See KHALIFA, THE.

ABD-UL-MEDJID, äbd-ool-me-jid', 31st Sultan of the Ottoman Turks, son of Mahmud II; b. 23 April or 6 May 1823; acceded 1 July 1839; d. 25 June 1861. He received the usual enfeebling harem education, his father failing in his efforts to rescue his children from the system. On his accession Turkish affairs were critical. The great viceroy of Egypt, Mehemet Ali, had a second time revolted; 10 days previously the Turkish admiral had turned traitor and put the entire fleet in his hands; and three days afterward Mehemet's son Ibrahim, the greatest Moslem soldier of the century, had routed the Turkish army at Nizib, and was marching straight on Constantinople, where the orthodox party, enraged at Mahmud's reforms, had conspired to place Mehemet Ali on the throne. But the European powers interfered, and the treaties of 27 Nov. 1840 and July 1841

VOL. I-2

confined Mehemet to Egypt again. Abd-ulMedjid at once set about complying with his father's express instructions and carrying out his reforms: 3 Nov. 1839, he promulgated the "Hatti-sherif of Gulhané," placing all his subjects on full religious and civil equality, and providing for security of life and property to all, with just and equal taxation, administration of laws, and conscription; February 1856, after the Crimean War, it was supplemented by another to the same purport. But the Mussulman aristocracy and the educated classes (Ulema) regarded it as an anti-Mussulman revolution to no profit but that of the infidels, and fought it so furiously that it remained practically inoperative, and rather sharpened the edge of their illtreatment of the Christians; and repeated conspiracies were formed against his life, whose members however the kindly Sultan would not put to death. His right hand in reform work was the able and humane Reshid Pasha, a Mussulman educated in France: through him the army was reorganized 1843-44; a board of education instituted 1846; a university founded, with military, medical, and agricultural colleges; a hateful capitation tax abolished, slave-trading repressed, and commerce advanced. Nothing can better prove the intrinsic and hopeless rottenness of the Mussulman system under modern conditions than the fact that these measures were written in water and died almost with their birth; their main fruit was bloody insurrections in various parts of the empire, of which the great Syrian massacres of 1860 (see SYRIA) were the worst. In 1849 Abd-ul-Medjid honored himself by boldly refusing to surrender Kossuth and the other Hungarian refugees, after the failure of the Hungarian revolution, at the joint demand of Russia and Austria. For the Crimean War, and its antecedents and results, see that head. In later life he sank into extravagance and sensuality; but he was essentially a good-hearted and honorable man, powerless against fate. He was succeeded not by one of his seven sons, but by his brother Abd-ulAziz, the oldest living member of the house of Othman.

ABD-UR-RAHMAN, äbd-oor-rä'man, Sultan of Fez and Morocco: b. 1778; succeeded his uncle 1823; d. 1859. His first four years of rule were occupied in quelling insurrections. Next, Austria refused to pay the tribute for safety against pirates levied by Morocco on European ships in the Mediterranean: the Sultan wisely adjusted the dispute by relinquishing this blackmail. (See MOROCCO.) The religious war under Abd-el-Kader against the French in Algeria involved Morocco in its movements: the defeat by the French in 1844 compelled the Sultan to order Abd-el-Kader to quit the country, which, however, he did not for three years longer. The piratical habits of the Moroccans brought him to the brink of war with more than one European state. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Sidi-Mohammed (1859-73).

ABD-UR-RAHMAN-KHAN, äbd-oor-rä'man-Hän, amir of Afghanistan, son of Afzul (uf'-zool) Kahn, nephew of the amir Shere Ali, grandson of Dost Mohammed: b. Kabul, 1844; d. 3 Oct. 1901. During the civil war of 1864 in Afghanistan (q.v.) between Dost Mohammed's sons, he played a leading part on his father's

side against his uncle, won several battles,the important victories of Shaikhabad and Khelat-i-Ghilzai were mainly due to his ability, -and for a time his father seemed secure of the amirate; Abd-ur-Rahman was made governor of Balkh, and won great popularity by his moderation and by marrying the daughter of the chief of Badakh-shan. In 1868, however, Shere Ali gained the mastery, and the English government helped to put down further resistance for order's sake. Yakub-Khan drove out his cousin Abd-ur-Rahman, who after hunted wanderings reached Russian territory, and General Kaufman allowed him to live at Samarcand with a pension of 25,000 rubles a year. Here he remained till 1879, when Shere Ali's death, and the weakness of Yakub, whom the English had recognized as amir, gave him a chance to return to Balkh, where he was welcomed. The murder of the British Resident at Kabul and Yakub's deposition followed; Abd-ur-Rahman came forward once more, and was acknowledged amir by the principal chiefs and the English government, which gave him a subsidy of £160,000 a year, and large gifts of artillery, rifles, ammunition, etc. In 1893 the Indian government turned over to him Kafiristan, in the Hindu-Kush mountains, and he brought its savage tribes under control in 1896. The English government showed him great honor, as he deserved; and made him G.C.B. and G.C.S.I. He was succeeded by his eldest son, HabibullahKhan, who had been associated with him in the government for some time.

A BECKET, Thomas. See BECKET, THOMAS Á.

In

A'BECKETT, Arthur William, English novelist and dramatist, son of Gilbert Abbott A'Beckett: b. London, 25 Oct. 1844; d. 1909. From 1865 to 1868 he was editor of The Glowworm, after which he edited the Britannia Magazine until 1870. When the Franco-Prussian War broke out he was sent to the theatre of war as special correspondent by the London Standard and Globe. 1874 he became a member of the editorial staff of Punch, a position which he retained continuously until 1902, when he resigned to become editor of John Bull. Among his works are: Modern Arabian Nights' (1885); 'London at the End of a Century) (1900); The A'Becketts of Punch' (1903); Recollections of a Humorist' (1907).

A'BECKETT, Gilbert Abbott, English humorist: b. London, 9 Jan. 1811; d. Boulogne, 30 Aug. 1856. He began life as a lawyer and later became a police magistrate, but he became famous as a playwright, writing over 60 plays. In collaboration with Mark Lemon he dramatized 'The Chimes' and several other works by Dickens. He was the founder of Figaro in London, which was later transformed into Punch, of whose original staff A'Beckett was a member. Among his most important works are: Comic History of England (new ed. 1907); 'Comic History of Rome' (1852); 'Comic Blackstone' (1869).

ABEEL, David, American missionary: b. New Brunswick, N. J., 12 June 1804; d. Albany, N. Y., 4 Sept. 1846. He studied at Rutgers College and at the Theological Seminary of the Reformed Dutch Church and in 1827 was ordained to the ministry. For two years he

was pastor of a church at Athens, N. Y., leaving there in 1829 for Canton, China, as a missionary. While in that country and in Java, Singapore, and Siam he did much good work in spreading Christianity. He returned to America in 1845, broken down in health. His published works include: The Claims of the World to the Gospel, 'Residence in China,' and 'The Missionary Convention at Jerusalem. An account of his life has been written by G. R. Williamson.

ABEKEN, ä-be'ken, Heinrich, German divine and diplomat: b. Berlin, 8 Aug. 1809; d. 1872. He was chaplain to the Prussian embassy in Rome in 1834, and in 1841 visited England to arrange for the establishment of a Protestant bishopric at Jerusalem. He was attached to the Prussian ministry for foreign affairs in 1848, and in 1853 became privy councillor of legation. Associated officially with Bismarck and with King William II during the campaigns of 1866 and 1870-71. 'Heinrich Abeken, ein schlichtes Leben in bewegter zeit' (Berlin 1898) published by his widow, has much historic value. See EMS DISPATCH.

ABEL, second son of Adam and Eve, the first born being Cain. Abel became a shepherd, while Cain became an agriculturalist. At the end of the first season both offered up sacrifice to the Deity, Abel bringing the firstlings of his flock while Cain offered the first fruits of his labor. Abel's offerings were accepted but Cain's ignored, which so aroused the jealousy of the latter that he killed his brother Abel. It is not said in Genesis why Jehovah rejected the sacrifice of Cain and accepted that of Abel; but the Saviour, in the New Testament, speaks of "righteous Abel," from which it is concluded that there dwelt in him a spirit of righteousness, which was absent in his brother. The story is generally regarded as reflecting the ancient belief of the early nomadic tribes that the herding of animals is more pleasing to the Deity than the more settled life of the grower of food plants.

ABEL, Carl, German philologist: b. Berlin, 1837; d. 26 Nov. 1906. After finishing his studies at the universities of Berlin, Munich and Tübingen, he specialized in European and Oriental languages. He was, at various times, teacher of philosophical and comparative linguistics at the Humboldt Academy of Science, at Berlin, lecturer at Oxford and linguistic assistant in the German Foreign Office. Among his many works, published in German, French and English, are: Linguistic Essays (1880); (Slavic and Latin,' lectures on comparative lexicography, delivered at Oxford (1883); 'Russland und die Lage' (1888); 'Letters on International Relations before and during the War of 1870' (London 1871).

ABEL, John Jacob, American pharmacologist and physiological chemist: b. Cleveland, Ohio, 19 May 1857. He was graduated at the University of Michigan in 1883, took advanced work in physiology in the Johns Hopkins University 1883-84, studied chemistry and medicine at Leipzig, Strassburg, Heidelberg, Vienna, Berne, Wurzburg and Berlin 1884-91, taking the degree of M.D. at Strassburg in 1888. Has devoted himself to the study of chemical composition of animal tissues and fluids and to the toxic and therapeutical action of various substances and made numerous discoveries in these

fields. He has held the chair of pharmacology in the Medical School of the Johns Hopkins University at Baltimore, since 1893.

ABEL, SIR Frederick Augustus, English chemist: b. London, 17 July 1827; d. there 6 Sept. 1902. As a specialist in explosives he was consulting chemist in the British War Department, from 1854 until 1888, improving considerably the processes of manufacture of gun cotton and blasting gelatine. In collaboration with James Dewar he invented cordite. His most important works are: 'Gun Cotton' (1866); On Explosive Agents' (1872); 'Researches in Explosives (1875); Electricity Applied to Explosive Purposes' (1884); 'Handbook of Chemistry' (with Colonel Blexam, 1854).

ABEL, Karl Friedrich, German musician and composer: b. Göthen, 1723; d. London, 20 June 1787. He was a pupil of Sebastian Bach and for some years a member of the famous Dresden band of the Elector of Saxony, King of Poland. In 1758 he went to England in a state of great destitution and some years later was appointed chamber musician to Charlotte, the queen of George III. He and John Christian Bach, the son of his old teacher, directed the subscription concerts, known as the Bach-Abel Concerts, from 1765 until 1782.

His works include many symphonies, string

quartets, trios and piano sonatas.

ABEL, Niels Henrik, Norwegian mathematician: b. Findöe, 5 Aug. 1802; d. Arendal, 6 April 1829. Having finished his studies in the University of Christiania, in 1825, he spent two years in Paris and Berlin. In 1828 he was appointed instructor at the University and at the military school at Christiania. He demonstrated for the first time the impossibility of solving general equations of any degree higher than the fourth by the elementary processes of algebra. He was one of the originators of the theory of functions, an important class of transcendental functions being known as "Abelian," after him. The binominal theorem, proved by Newton and Euler, were more widely generalized by Abel, including the cases of irrational and imaginary exponents. The results of his labors, in two volumes, were published by the Norwegian government (Christiania 1839).

ABELARD, ǎb-e-lär (Fr. Abélard, ǎb-ālär), Pierre, pe-ar, a distinguished philosopher, and lover of Héloïse. His real name was Pierre de Palais, the other being a nickname spelled in many other ways, but originally Bajolardus, "bacon-licker," from a school joke, which he changed to Habelardus, "bacon-haver," as a retort: b. 1079 near Nantes, in the little village of Pallet, the property of his father Berengar; d. Châlon-sur-Saône, 21 April 1142. Full of intellectual enthusiasm, he gave up his patrimony to his younger brothers to devote himself to a life of study. Those studies were very wide, though the usual inclusion of Greek and Hebrew is an error; but his chief passion was philosophy, and its great implement, the scholastic logic, in which he soon became the most eminent master of his age. Having learned all that Brittany could teach him, he went to Paris, the university of which attracted students from all parts of Europe. Guillaume de Champeaux, a follower of Anselm and an extreme Realist, was the most skilful disputant

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of his time, and Abelard, profiting by his instructions, was often victorious over his master in contests of wit and logical acumen. The friendship of Champeaux was soon succeeded by enmity; and Abelard, who had not yet completed his 22d year, removed to Melun, whither he was soon followed by a multitude of young men, attracted from Paris by his great reputation. Hostility still pursued him, but he left Melun for Corbeil, nearer the capital, where he was still more admired and persecuted. Soon after he ceased teaching to recruit his strength, and after two years returned to Paris and found that his former teacher had removed to a monastery outside the city.

He again joined issue with him and gained so complete a triumph that he opened in Paris a school of rhetoric, the fame of which soon deprived all the others of their pupils. Shortly afterward he was appointed to his rival's chair in the cathedral school of Notre Dame, where he educated many distinguished scholars, among whom were the future Pope Celestin II, Peter of Lombardy, bishop of Paris, Berenger, bishop of Poictiers, Arnold of Brescia.

At this time there resided close to Notre Dame, a young lady, by name Héloïse, niece to the canon Fulbert, then of the age of 17, and remarkable for her beauty, genius, and varied accomplishments. Abelard became inspired with such violent love for Héloïse as to forget his duty, his lectures, and his fame. Héloïse was no less susceptible. Under the pretext of finishing her education he obtained Fulbert's permission to visit her, and finally became a resident in his house. His conduct in abusing the confidence which had been placed in him opened the eyes of Fulbert. He separated the lovers, but too late. Abelard fled with her to Brittany, where she was delivered of a son, who died early. Abelard now resolved to marry her secretly. Fulbert gave his consent, the marriage was performed, and in order to keep it secret Héloïse remained with her uncle, while Abelard retained his former lodgings and continued his lectures. Abelard, however, carried her off a second time and placed her in the convent of Argenteuil.

Fulbert erroneously believed it was intended to force her to take the veil, and under the influence of rage subjected Abelard to mutilation. He became, in consequence, a monk in the abbey of St. Denis, and Héloïse took the veil at St. Argenteuil. After time had somewhat moderated his grief he resumed teaching. At the Council of Soissons (1121), no defense being permitted him, his "Essay on the Trinity" was declared heretical, and he was condemned to burn it with his own hands. Continued persecutions obliged him at last to leave the abbey of St. Denis and to retire to a place near Nogent-sur-Seine, where he built a rude hut in which he determined to live a hermit's life. Even here, however, students flocked to him, and they built him an oratory, which he dedicated to the Holy Ghost and hence called Paraclete. Being subsequently appointed abbot of St. Gildas de Ruys, in Brittany, he invited Héloïse and her religious sisterhood, on the dissolution of their monastery at Argenteuil, to reside at the above oratory, and received them there. He lived for some 10 years at St. Gildas. Ultimately, however, he fled from it and lived for a time in other parts of Brittany.

Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, the leading opponent of the rationalistic school of Abelard, laid his doctrines before the Council of Sens in 1140, had them condemned by the Pope, and obtained an order for his imprisonment. Abelard appealed to the Pope, publishing his defense, and went to Rome. Passing through Cluny he visited Peter the Venerable, who was abbot there. This humane and enlightened divine effected a reconciliation between him and his enemies, but Abelard resolved to end his days in retirement. The severe penances which he imposed upon himself, together with the grief which never left his heart, gradually consumed his strength, and he died, a pattern of monastic discipline, in 1142, at the abbey of St. Marcel, near Châlonssur-Saône. Héloïse begged his body and had him buried in the Paraclete, of which she was at that time the abbess, with the view of reposing in death by his side. Héloïse died there 16 May 1164. In 1800 the ashes of both were carried to the Museum of French Monuments at Paris, and in November 1817 were deposited under a chapel within the precincts of the church of Monamy. The small chapel, in the form of a beautiful marble monument, in which the figures of the ill-fated pair are seen reposing side by side, is now one of the most interesting objects in the Parisian cemetery of Père la Chaise.

Abelard was distinguished as a grammarian, orator, logician, poet, musician, philosopher, theologian, and mathematician. As a philosopher he founded an eclectic system commonly but erroneously termed Conceptualism, which lay midway between the prevalent Realism, represented in its most advanced form by William of Champeaux, and extreme Nominalism, represented in the teaching of his other master, Roscellin, and largely approached the Aristotelian philosophy. In ethics Abelard placed much emphasis on the subjective intention, which he held to determine the moral value as well as the moral character of man's action. Along this line his work is notable, owing to the fact that his successors did little in connection with morals, for they did not regard the rules of human conduct as within the field of philosophic discussion. His love and his misfortunes have secured his name from oblivion; and the man whom his own century admired as a profound dialectician is now celebrated as the martyr of love. Abelard's works were all written in Latin. They were first printed at Paris in 1616, are to be found in Migne, 'Patrologia Latina' (Vol. CLXXVIII, Paris 1855). Other editions of special works are 'Ouvrages inédits d'Abélard, edited by Victor Cousin (ib., 1836); 'Opera (2 vols., 1849–59); 'Sic et Non,' edited by E. L. T. Henke and G. L. Lindenkohl (Marburg 1851); 'Planctus Virginum Israel super filia Jeptæ Galaditæ, edited by W. Meyer and W. Brambach (Munich 1886); Tractatus de Unitate et Trinitate,' discovered, edited, and published by R. Stölzle under the title, 'Abélards 1121 zu Soissons verurtheilter Tractatus, etc. (Freiburg-im-Breisgau 1891); 'Hymnarius Paraclitensius,' edited by G. M. Dreves (Paris 1891). The letters of Abélard and Héloïse have been often published in the original and translations. Pope's epistle 'Eloisa to Abelard is founded upon them. There is a complete English translation by J. Berington, with the Latin text, "The History of the Lives

of Abeillard and Héloïse' (Birmingham 1788), edited by H. Mills (London 1850). Consult also Wight, O. W., Lives and Letters of Abélard and Héloïse (New York 1861); Morton, H., 'Love Letters of Abélard and Héloïse' (ib., 1901); Richardson, A. S., 'Abélard and Héloïse' (ib., 1884). Consult also Compayré, G., Abelard and the Origin and Early History of Universities (New York 1893): Deutsch, S. M., 'Abalards Verurtheilung zu Sens, 1141, nach den Quellen kritisch dargestellt' (Berlin 1880); id., Peter Abälard, ein kritischer Theologe des zwölften Jahrhunderts' (Leipsic 1883); Hausrath, A., Peter Abälard' (ib., 1893); Hoyd, H., 'Abalard und seine Lehre in Verhältniss zur Kirche und ihrem Dogma' (Ratisbon 1863); McCabe, J., 'Peter Abélard' (New York 1901); Poole, R. L., Illustrations of the History of Mediæval Thought' (London 1884); Rashdall, Universities in the Middle Ages' (Oxford 1895); Rémusat, C. de, 'L vie re Pierre Abélard' (Paris 1855), the standard biography of Abélard; id., 'Abélard,' a drama (Paris 1877); Sauerland, H. V., Abalard und Héloïse' (Frankfort 1879); Thaner, F., Abälard und das canonische Recht' (Gratz 1900); Tiby, P., 'Deux convens au moyen âge, ou l'abbaye de Saint Gildas et le Paraclet au temps d'Abélard et d'Héloise' (Paris 1851); Vacandard, E., 'Abélard, sa lutte avec Saint Bernard, sa doctrine, sa méthode (Paris 1881); Wilkens, C. A., Peter Abélard' (Bremen 1851).

ABELIN, Johann Philipp, ä'be-lèn, German historian: d. about 1637 at Strasburg; was also known as JOHANN LUDWIG GOTTFRIED or GOTOFREDUS under which name he wrote Theatrum Europaeum,' a history of the world down to 1619, illustrated with Merian's beautiful copperplate engravings (21 vols., Frankfort 16331738); 'Historia Antipodum (Frankfort 1635); and other works.

ABEN ESRA, ä'běn ĕz'ra, or IBN ESRA, properly Abraham ben Meir ibn Esra, Jewish scholar: b. Toledo, Spain, between 1093 and 1097; d. 23 Jan. 1167. While still a young man he traveled extensively and visited Italy, France, England and Egypt, but spent his later life in Rome. He was a profound scholar of the Hebrew, Arabic and Aramaic languages, as well as of mathematics, medicine, astronomy and philosophy, besides being a poet of no mean order. His most important work is his 'Commentaries on the Old Testament,' but he also wrote extensively on astrology, some of his treatises on that subject being published in Latin. His 'Isaiah' has been translated into English (London 1873), while his Canticles? appear in Miscellany of Hebrew Literature' (Vol. II, London 1877).

ABENSBERG, ä'bens-běrk, Germany, town in Bavaria, situated on the Abends, a branch of the Danube, 18 miles southwest of Ratisbon, with a population of 2,300. Its warm mineral springs have made it a health resort to a limited extent. On 20 April 1809 it was the scene of a battle between the French under Napoleon and the Austrians, whereby the former gained such advantages as lead up to their final victory at Eckmühl.

ABEOKUTA, ä'bě-ö-koo'ta, city in Egbaland, a division of Yoruba, on the Slave Coast, north of Lagos, with which it is connected by rail. The population is estimated at consider

ably over a quarter of a million. It was founded some time in the third decade of last century by a combination of various local tribes as a mutual protection against the slavers, who raided this region extensively. The inhabitants are an industrious people, expert in various crafts, especially in building and textiles. A considerable trade is done between them and European traders, who exchange their goods for the products of the region, of which cotton is the most important.

ABERAVON, ǎb'èr-ǎ'von, Wales, seaport town of Glamorganshire, near the mouth of the Avon on Swansea Bay, 11 miles by rail southeast of Swansea. It is the seat of the important metal industry of the vale of Avon with iron, steel, tin-plate, copper melting and engineering works. Pop. 11,000.

ABERCARN, ǎb'er-kärn, England, a town of Monmouthshire, on the Great Western Ry. 10 miles northwest of Newport, with important coal and iron mines and allied manufactures. Pop. 17,000.

ABERCROMBIE, John, ǎb'èr-krŭm'bî, Scottish physician: b. Aberdeen, 10 Oct. 1780; d. 14 Nov. 1844. After graduating from the medical school in Edinburgh University, in 1803, he began a private practice in the city and soon was regarded as one of the leading consulting physicians of the country. His fame, however, rested mostly on his writings, and especially on his 'The Intellectual Powers and the Moral Feelings' (London 1833). Though possessed of no scientific value, his works were immensely popular on account of their readable qualities, their highly religious tone being especially acceptable to the people of his time. The estimation in which he was held by the nation may be judged by the many honors that were bestowed on him, among them being the degree of M.D. from Oxford, the rectorship of Marischal College, the vice-presidency of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and the office of physician in ordinary to the King for Scotland.

ABERCROMBIE, John William, American educator and congressman: b. Kelly's Creek, Ala., 17 May 1866. In 1886 he was graduated from Oxford College and, two years later, from the law school of the University of Alabama. He was appointed president of Ashland College after graduating from college and on completing his legal studies he became principal of Cleburne Institute, both Alabama institutions. For two years, from 1890 until 1892, he was president of Bowdon College, Georgia, after which he was for six years superintendent of schools in Anniston, Ala. For a while, during 1897, he was president of the Southern Female Seminary, now the Anniston College for Young Ladies, after which he was, for four years, superintendent of education for his native State. In 1902 he became president of the University of Alabama. From 1896 to 1898 he was a member of the State Senate, where he was chairman of the committee on education. From 1900 to 1904 he was a director of the National Education Association and from 1905 to 1906 he was president of the Southern Educational Association. In 1912 he was elected to Congress.

ABERCROMBY, David, Scottish philosopher: d. about 1702. His chief work is entitled

37

CA Discourse of Wit' (1686). He also wrote many treatises and his work is said to antedate the so-called Scottish School of Philosophy.

ABERCROMBY, or ABERCROMBIE, James, British soldier: b. Glasshaugh, Scotland, 1706; d. 1781. He is especially known as the commander of the 15,000 British troops who attacked Ticonderoga, 8 July 1758, being repulsed with a loss of 2,000 men. He obtained his commission in the British Army as major in 1742 and in 1756 was sent to America, being then a major-general. In September 1758, following his disastrous defeat at Ticonderoga, he was superceded in command by Sir Jeffery Amherst, whereupon he returned to England, became a member of Parliament and a firm supporter of the King's colonial policy. A full account of his career in America is given in Parkman's 'Montcalm and Wolfe (Boston 1884).

ABERCROMBY, SIR Ralph, distinguished British soldier: b. Menstry, Scotland, October 1734; d. 28 March 1801. He was designed for the bar by his father and studied from 1752 to 1755 at the University of Edinburgh and the University of Leipsic. His natural inclination, however, was toward a military career, so in 1758 a cornet's commission was procured for him in the 3rd Dragoon Guards, with which regiment he went to Germany and saw some active service, as well as gained his first experience. After peace was concluded he was stationed in Ireland for some years, but in 1767 he married and retired to private life. In 1793 he accompanied the Duke of York to Holland, in which unfortunate campaign he was one of the few to distinguish themselves. On his return to England he was appointed chiefin-command of an expedition to the West Indies, which he conducted with marked success, capturing Demerara, Grenada, Essequibo and Trinidad. Soon after he was made commander-in-chief of the British forces in Ireland, but so obviously was he not in sympathy with the Government's policy of repression in that country that he was transferred to Scotland. In 1799 he was appointed second in command to the Duke of York in the expedition to Holland, another ignominious campaign, where Abercromby was the only one to conduct himself with distinction. On his return he was appointed to command the expedition to the Mediterranean. The fleet anchored in Aboukir Bay, 2 March 1801. On the 7th Abercromby reconnoitered the shore in person. The next day a landing was effected in spite of a heavy fire and within a few days the enemy was driven within his lines around Alexandria. On 21 March Menou attempted to surprise the British camp; a terrible battle followed, in which the British forces were completely victorious, but Abercromby had been mortally wounded by a musket ball which caused his death some days later. The gratitude of the nation for his services took the form of a peerage, granted to his widow and afterwards enjoyed by his son, with the title of Baron Abercromby.

ABERDARE, ǎb'er-där', Wales, a town of Glamorganshire, at the junction of the rivers Cynon and Dar, and on the Great Western Railway, four miles southwest of Merthyr Tydril. It is an important coal-mining centre,