Aigues Mortes (āg mort; Lat. Aquæ Mortuæ, 'dead waters'), a small town of Southern France, near the mouths of the Rhone, department of Gard; with ancient walls and castle; near it are lagoons, from which great quantities of salt are extracted. Pop. 4000.
Aiguille (ā′gwil; Fr., lit. a needle), a name given in the Alps to the needle-like points or tops
of granite, gneiss, quartz, and other crystalline rocks and mountain masses; also applied to sharp-pointed masses of ice on glaciers and elsewhere.—It is also the name given to a peculiarly-shaped French mountain in Isère, 6500 feet high.
Aigun (ī-gu¨n′), a town of China, in Manchuria, on the Amur, with a good trade. Pop. 15,000.
Ai′kin, John, M.D., an English miscellaneous writer, born 1747, died 1822. He practised as physician at Chester, Warrington (where he taught physiology and chemistry at the Dissenters' Academy), and London; turned his attention to literature and published various works of a miscellaneous description, some in conjunction with his sister Mrs. Barbauld, including the popular Evenings at Home (1792-5), written with the view of popularizing scientific subjects. His General Biographical Dictionary (in 10 vols.) was begun in 1799 and finished in 1815. He was editor of the Monthly Magazine from 1796 till 1807.
Ai′kin, Lucy, daughter of the preceding, was born in 1781, and died 1864. In 1810 she published Poetical Epistles on Women, which was followed by a number of books for the young and a novel Lorimer (1814). In 1818 appeared her Memoirs of the Court of Queen Elizabeth, a very popular work. She afterwards produced similar works on the reigns of James I (1822) and Charles I (1833), and a Life of Addison (1843). In 1824 she had published the literary remains and biography of her father. She carried on an interesting correspondence with Dr. Channing from 1826-42, which was published in 1874.
Aikman, William, an eminent Scottish portrait-painter, born in Forfarshire in 1682, died in 1731. He studied at Edinburgh and in Italy, visited Turkey, and spent the later portion of his life in London, where he enjoyed the friendship of most of the distinguished men of Queen Anne's time. The portrait of President Duncan Forbes (1685-1747) in the National Gallery is attributed to him.
Ailan′to, or Ailanthus (meaning tree of the gods), a tree, genus Ailantus, nat. ord. Simarubaceæ. The A. glandulōsa, a large and handsome tree, with pinnate leaves 1 or 2 feet long, is a native of China, but has been introduced into Europe and North America. A species of silk-worm, the ailanthus silk-worm (Saturnia cynthia), feeds on its leaves, and the material produced, though wanting the fineness and gloss of mulberry silk, is produced at less cost, and is more durable. The wood is hard, heavy, yellowish-white, and will take a fine polish. The tree has been in cultivation in England since 1751.
Aileron. See Aeronautics, Aeroplane.
Ail′red (contracted form of Ethelred), a religious and historical writer, supposed to have been born in 1097, but whether in Scotland or in England is not known, died 1166; abbot of Rievaulx, in the North Riding of Yorkshire. Wrote lives of Edward the Confessor and St. Margaret, Queen of Scotland, Genealogy of the Kings of England, The Battle of the Standard, &c.