Algebra is a method of solving mathematical problems by the use if symbols (letters and signs) when figures are inadequate. More advanced algebra is used to work out general problems such as the equations derived by Albert Einstein.
Early forms of algebra were developed by the Babylonians.
The tradition of Babylonian algebra was revived by the Greeks in Alexandria, where Diophantus wrote a treatise called Arithmetica in about AD 200. He used a special sign for minus, and adopted the letter s for the unknown quantity.
Greek algebra in its turn spread to India, China and Japan. But it achieved its widest influence through the Arabic transmission of Greek culture.
Algebra comes from the Arabic word al-jabr, an ancient medical term meaning "the reunion of broken parts."
‘Algebra’ was originally the name given to the study of equations. In the 9th century, the Arab mathematician Muhammad ibn-Musa al-Khwarizmi used the term al-jabr for the process of adding equal quantities to both sides of an equation. When his treatise was later translated into Latin, al-jabr became ‘algebra’ and the word was adopted as the name for the whole subject.
Al-Khwarizmi’s name was Latinized as Algorithmi (the word algorithm is his name). Summa de arithmetica, thought to be the first printed work on algebra, was written by Luca Pacioli and first published in 1494. It contains a comprehensive summary of Renaissance mathematics, including practical arithmetic, basic algebra, basic geometry and accounting, written for use as a textbook and reference work.
1994 Italian stamp commemorating the 500th anniversary of Summa
Welsh mathematician Robert Recorde invented the equal sign in 1557 as he was fed up with writing “is equal to” in his equations. He chose the two lines (“=”) because “no two things can be more equal”. Recorde' introduced the equal sign in his book The Whetstone of Witte, whiche is the seconde parte of Arithmeteke: containing the extraction of rootes; the cossike practise, with the rule of equation; and the workes of Surde Nombers .With the publication of this book Recorde is credited with introducing algebra into England. In the 16th century, prestigious mathematics professorships could be "won" by defeating the current professor in a public algebra competition.
Rene Descartes's system of mathematical co-ordinates (using numbers to locate a point on a surface) meant that geometrical problems could be solved by using algebra. He was also the first to use the last letters of the alphabet to designate unknown quantities and first letters to designate known ones. (As in a(b+c) ).
Queen Victoria was so charmed with Alice in Wonderland that she requested something else by the same author be brought for her perusal. She was not amused when she received a copy of Lewis Carroll's Syllabus of Plane Algebraical Geometry.
As a child Albert Einstein spent his evenings with his Uncle Jakob working through algebraic problems. Uncle Jakob compared algebra to hunting a little animal. You didn't know the name of the animal, so you called it "x". When you finally caught the animal you gave it the correct name. When he published his equations of general relativity Einstein failed to notice that his theory predicted an expanding universe. Alexander Friedmann, a Russian mathematician, found to his amazement Einstein had made an elementary algebraic error that caused him to overlook a solution to his own equations. Einstein had divided by zero at one point in his calculations, a mathematical impossibility.
People in Madagascar perform algebra on treeseeds in order to tell the future. The centuries-old practice, called Sikidy, derives from Islamic influence brought to the island by medieval Arab traders.
Alfred the Great was born at Wantage, Berkshire, in 849 AD, the fifth son of the West Saxon King Ethelwulf.
He was King of Wessex from 871 to 899. Alfred was the first monarch from the British Isles to style himself as 'King of the Anglo-Saxons' and so he is sometimes considered the first English king.
EARLY LIFE
His real name was Aelfred meaning "Elf Counsel."
As a young boy, despite not being able to read, Alfred seems to have been a child of singular attractiveness and promise. It is said he desired to own a particular manuscript of Anglo Saxon poems. Alfred managed to borrow it and he promptly gave the manuscript to someone else who read it to him. The young prince had a natural retentive memory and he repeated the whole thing ad verbatim to his mother, who gave him the book.
When Alfred learnt to read at the age of twelve, he fell in love with books. He learnt off by heart, the daily services of the church, Psalms and prayers.
REIGN
Three of Alfred's brothers, Ethelbald, Ethelbert and Ethelred became King of Wessex before him but all died young, leaving Alfred to become king in 871 AD.
As a king, Alfred gained a reputation as a patron of education. He ordered that as an anti Viking strategy, all Wessex youth should be taught to read in English and later in Latin. He believed this would make his subjects holy and wise and stop the Viking raids which were divine punishment for sin.
Throughout his reign Alfred attempted to encourage his people to live by the Word of God. To help with this he had many churches and monasteries, which had been destroyed by the Vikings, rebuilt and the Gospels and many Psalms translated from Latin into English.
Alfred promulgated the first laws in more than a century in England, and rewrote them in common speech. It was said that the king instilled throughout England such respect for the law that it was commonly said that in his day one might leave precious jewels hanging on a roadside bush and no one would venture to take them.
Alfred's laws were the first to make no distinction between the English and Welsh people.
Under the laws of Alfred anyone caught fighting in the presence of a bishop had to pay 100 shillings in compensation. The fine rose to 150 shillings if an archbishop was present.
Alfred was the first king of the Western Saxons to refer to himself as "King of the English."
King Alfred's statue at Winchester. Hamo Thornycroft's bronze statue erected in 1899.. By Odejea,
Alfred was the first Englishman to provide horses for his troops.
In 896, Alfred ordered the construction of a small fleet, perhaps a dozen or so longships that, at 60 oars, were twice the size of Viking warships.
He was the only English ruler to resist Danish invasions successfully. Alfred's successes against the Vikings can be attributed to his revamped army, the newly founded navy and the fortified towns. He reorganized military service so that half the home guard were farming and the other half were in the field against invaders.
PERSONAL LIFE
Alfred was clean-shaven, barrel chinned, rather ordinary looking but with a kindly countenance. A weathered and tanned face, it was tanned by the smoke from the central hearths in the places he stayed.
In 868 Alfred married Ealhswith, daughter of a Mercian nobleman, Æthelred Mucel, Ealdorman of the Gaini, which is thought to be an old Mercian tribal group.
Together they had several children, two sons and three daughters of whom survived to adulthood.
Alfred spent most of his time wandering between his 29 burhs. He would spend a few days in each, the king and his retinue being fed and entertained by the locals.
A keen scientist, in an Anglo Saxon sort of way, Alfred invented a candleclock, which was a candle that was marked to tell the time. He used it to divide his day into equal portions of royal duties, study and prayer and rest.
Doing a period of peace between 887-92, Alfred learnt Latin. He then set out with the help of scholars from Mercia to translate The Anglo-Saxon equivalent of best-sellers. They were the first prose to be written in old English; previously all literature had been written in Latin. These included. They included, Bede's History of the English People, Boethus' Consolation of Philosophy, and was working on Pope Gregory the Great's Pastoral Care when he died.
DEATH AND LEGACY
Alfred passed away on October 26, 899. It is unclear what he died of but Crohn’s disease or hemorrhoids seem the most likely.
He was buried, with his wife and son, in a Winchester monastery that was closed during the Reformation. Alfred's resting-place remains a mystery but his bones are believed to have been moved as much as four times since he died. In 2014 a pelvic bone was found that may have been his.
The legend of King Alfred burning a villager’s cakes when in disguise dates only from the 12th century, some 300 years after he lived.
A Victorian portrayal of the 12th-century legend of Alfred burning the cakes
The "Great" was bestowed upon King Alfred in the 17th century. He earned the moniker by defending the kingdom from Viking invasions
Alexander the Great conquered Egypt in 332 BC and immediately set about founding a great new city named in his honor - Alexandria - at the mouth of the River Nile in 332BC. The coastal city was designed to handle Mediterranean shipping between Greece, which was the center of Alexander's empire, and his new Egyptian province.
The world's first state-funded scientific institution was founded in 330 BC in Alexandria by Ptolemy I. It comprised a library, teaching facilities, and a museum. The Library, which was further expanded by Ptolemy II was once the largest library in the world. At one time it contained up to 700,000 scrolls but parts of the collection, were destroyed by fire and in 642 AD the remainder were destroyed by Arab invaders.
Soon after the city was founded, the population, consisting chiefly of Greeks, Jews, and Egyptians, numbered 300,000 free citizens, exclusive of slaves and strangers.
In 305 BC, Ptolemy declared himself Pharaoh as Ptolemy I Soter ("Savior") and moved his capital to Alexandria.
A lighthouse, which was a tower built between 280 and 247 BC on the island of Pharos at Alexandria was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. With a height variously estimated at somewhere in-between 393 and 450 ft, it was for many centuries among the tallest man made structures on Earth.
The ancient city was about 6.4 km (about 4 mi) long, and regularly built, with streets crossing at right angles and colonnades adorning the principal streets.
By Philg883
The first college of technology was founded in Alexandria in 105 BC.
The Battle of Alexandria was fought on July 31, 30 BC between the forces of Octavian (later known as Augustus) and Mark Antony during the Final War of the Roman Republic. Though Antony managed to narrowly defeat the Roman forces, he was plagued by desertions and the following day. Octavian launched a second, ultimately successful, invasion of Egypt. He entered Alexandria on August 1, 30 bringing it under the control of the Roman Republic. Antony committed suicide following the desertion of his fleet, as did Egypt's last Pharaoh, Cleopatra nine days after the battle.
The North East quarter of Alexandria was occupied by the Jews. In Alexandria the Jews came into contact with Greek learning, which profoundly influenced the later religious thought of the world; here the Greek translation of the Old Testament, called the Septuagint, was made before 10 AD. Later philosophers attempted to fuse the doctrines of Christianity with the ideals of Greek philosophy.
In 215 the Roman emperor Caracalla ordered a massacre of the prominent citizens of Alexandria. Caracalla, who had succeeded his father, Septimius Severus, to the throne, was deeply offended by a satirical play performed in Alexandria that mocked his legitimacy. The play, which was likely performed during the festival of Anthesteria, made fun of Caracalla's physical appearance, his mother's Syrian origins, and his usurpation of his brother Geta's power.
Incensed by the insult, Caracalla sent his troops to Alexandria. The city was subjected to a brutal siege, and when it finally fell, Caracalla ordered a massacre of the city's inhabitants. Many prominent citizens, including scholars, philosophers, and artists, were killed. The city's libraries and temples were also plundered.
The destruction of Alexandria was a major cultural loss for the Roman Empire. The city had been a center of learning and commerce for centuries, and its destruction had a devastating impact on the intellectual and economic life of the empire.
A tsunami devastated Alexandria on July 21, 365 AD. The tsunami was caused by the Creteearthquake estimated to be 8.0 on the Richter scale. Five thousand people perished in Alexandria, and 45,000 more died outside the city.
Side view of The Temple of Taposiris Magna. By Aymantarek24 - Wikipedia
The Muslims, under the general Amr ibn-al-As (c. 594–663), besieged, captured, and almost destroyed Alexandria in 641. A new Egyptian capital was founded at Fustat (later absorbed into Cairo).
Under Muslim rule the city declined, particularly after the rise of Cairo after about 968 and the opening of the sea route to India in the 15th century.
The modern city of Alexandria is situated mainly on a peninsula about the mole, reaching to and including the island of Pharos, and on the portion of the mainland immediately South of the East harbor.
The current library at Alexandria has a recorded memory of the all the web pages on every website on the Internet since it started in 1996.
With a population of 5.2 million (2018), Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt and the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast.
An 1863 exhibition of their wedding presents at the Victoria and Albert Museum attracted an average of 13,500 visitors a day during it’s 17-day run.
Princess Alexandra of Denmark and the Prince of Wales, 1863
Alexandra bore Edward six children, three sons Albert Duke of Clarence, a weak minded fool who died in 1892 before he could become King of England, George who succeeded his father on the throne and the third son died in infancy. Their three daughters were the Louise, Princess Royal and Duchess of Fife, Princess Victoria and Princess Maud, later the Queen of Norway.
Alexandra suffered from rheumatic fever during the birth of Louise, Princess Royal on February 10, 1867. The illness combined with labor almost killed Alexandra, and although she recovered, the rheumatic fever left her with a permanent pronounced limp. Her gait was later emulated by young women to whom she was a style and fashion icon. They went around fake limping, dubbed the "Alexandra Limp." Shopkeepers at the time sold pairs of shoes with one high heel and one low.
Alexandra's style of dress and bearing were copied by fashion-conscious women. She launched the high dog collar of pearls held in place by diamond bars and also the curled fringe. In addition she introduced the first practical day coat suited to the English weather.
Alexandra had a pet goat. It had originally been destined to be slaughtered for dinner on a cruise but it slipped its tether and put its head on her lap so she adopted it.
She was Princess of Wales from 1863 to 1901, the longest anyone has ever held that title.
In 1910, Alexandra became the first queen consort to visit the British House of Commons during a debate. For two hours she sat in the Ladies' Gallery overlooking the chamber while the Parliament Bill, a bill to reform the role of the House of Lords, was debated.
On Edward's death, Alexandra moved out of Buckingham Palace to Marlborough House and received a salary of £70,000 PA.
Queen Alexandra, 1923
Alexandria died on November 20, 1925 at Sandringham after suffering a heart attack, and was buried in an elaborate tomb next to her husband in St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.
The Irish daughter of a Major, Cecil Frances Humphreys (b April 1818 in Dublin, Ireland) began writing poetry at the age of nine. Fearing that her stern father would disapprove, she hid the poems under the carpet in her bedroom. But one day he discovered them. To her surprise and delight, he gave her a box, with a large slit in the top, for her poems. On Saturday evenings, he opened the box and bought out the new poems, read them aloud, and made helpful and encouraging comments.
By the 1840s she was already known as a hymn writer and her compositions were included in Church of Ireland hymnbooks
Humphreys book, Hymns for Little Children, which was published in 1848 was intended to make the articles of the Apostles’ Creed more understandable to children by using poetry and picture language. Among the hymns included were "There is a Green Hill Far Away," which was written for a sick child, "Once in Royal David’s City" about Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus and "All Things Bright and Beautiful," which was based on the phrase “maker of Heaven and Earth” in the Apostle’s Creed. Her collection was a major success reaching its 69th edition before the close of the nineteenth century.
In 1850 Cecil Frances married William Alexander, an Anglican clergyman. They newlyweds began their married life serving together in a church in an impoverished rural area of Ireland. William Alexander went on to become a Bishop and then Archbishop of Ireland.
After her marriage, Mrs Alexander continued her poetry and hymn writing but also devoted much of her time to visiting the poor and the sick in their parish. She gave the profits of her successful hymnbook to support handicapped children in the north of Ireland.
Photograph of Cecil F. H. Alexander
Cecil Frances Alexander died at the age of 77 on October 12 1895 and is buried in the Londonderry cathedral in Ireland. When her husband died 16 years later, the congregation sang at his funeral "There is a Green Hill Far Away."
In the 20th century, James Herriot, a country vet, used words from the refrain of Mrs Alexander’s "All Things Bright and Beautiful," as the titles to his four very popular semi-autobiographical books. His first work, All Creatures Great and Small, was recognized immediately as a classic.
Alexander the Great (356-323BC) was actually Alexander III, or in Greek "ΜΕΓΑΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΣ" ("Megas Alexandros"). He was born on the sixth day of the ancient Greek month of Hekatombaion, which is thought to correspond to July 20, 356 BC, in Pella, the capital of the Kingdom of Macedon.
Alexander's father was Philip II, King of Macedon, who was known as Philopotes (drink lover). Philip conquered the newly unified Greece but was stabbed by Pausances, a royal bodyguard, whilst attending the unveiling of a statute of him depicting him as an Olympian god.
His mother was Olympias, the hot tempered princess of Epirus. According to Plutarch (Alexander 3.1,3), Olympias was impregnated not by Philip, who was afraid of her and her affinity for sleeping in the company of snakes, but by Zeus.
Between the ages of 13 and 16, Alexander came under the tuition of the philosopher Aristotle. From him he learnt art, rhetoric, medicine, geometry, literature and music.
APPEARANCE AND CHARACTER
Alexander was handsome, with the physique of an athlete but had a feeble straggly beard. As a consequence of his feeble whiskers, the Macedonian king started a trend for Greek men to crop their hair short and shave their faces. Alexander was obsessed with shaving. He even shaved during wartime, and would not allow himself to be seen going into battle with a five o’clock shadow.
Plutarch reported that sculptures by Lysippos were the most faithful. He wrote.
"The outward appearance of Alexander is best represented by the statues of him which Lysippus made, and it was by this artist alone that Alexander himself thought it fit that he should be modeled. ² For those peculiarities which many of his successors and friends afterwards tried to imitate, namely, the poise of the neck, which was bent slightly to the left, and the melting glance of his eyes, this artist has accurately observed."
Roman copy of a herma by Lysippos, Louvre Museum. Wikipedia Commons
Alexander was charming except when drunk then he became arrogant and boastful and too receptive to flatterers. Success led him to believe he was divinely blessed which gave him the confidence he would not fail.
CONQUESTS
King of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon, Alexander was renowned as one of history's most successful military commanders as he went undefeated in battle. He'd created one of the largest empires of the ancient world by his early thirties.
The rise of Alexander was prophesied 250 years before he was born in the Old Testament Book of Daniel (Daniel 8 v5-8 and 20-22). It predicted the kingdom of Medo Persia being overthrown by King of Greece. Then his kingdom is divided on his death between his four generals but they don't have the same power.
Alexander became king of Macedonia in 336 BC when his father was assassinated. A meeting was held between the Greek cities, who made him strategos (General or supreme commander). He used this authority to continue his father's military expansion plans. In 334 BC, Alexander invaded Persian-ruled Asia Minor
On setting off for Asia, Alexander distributed nearly all his crown estates and revenues amongst his soldiers' dependents to ensure they would not be troubled over their welfare.
Alexander ordered his armorers to make helmets much larger than those worn by his troops. These were left for the enemy to find in the hope that they would be afraid to fight the "giant" soldiers.
Alexander introduced using 20ft long pikes which soldiers held with both hands and established the light infantry as a link between infantry and cavalry.
Alexander had a faithful dog, Peritas, named after the Macedonian equivalent of the month of January. It is thought that Peritas, who Alexander raised from a puppy, was one of the now-extinct Mollosian breed, a sort of giant Rottweiler. When the conqueror was fighting the army of Darius III of Persia , Peritas leapt forward and bit the lip of an elephant charging his master. The loyal mutt was rewarded by having a city named after him.
At Gordium in modern day Turkey, a wagon was fastened to the yoke with knots. It was so ingeniously tied that no ends were visible. The oracle said that the Empire of the World should fall to the man who untied it. When Alexander conquered Gordium he came across the famous puzzle, but unable to untie it he cut it with his sword.
Alexander threatened Jerusalem but it was saved by the boldness of High Priest Jaddua. Originally he was going to set up statue of himself in Jerusalem's temple. The outraged Jews protested and the open minded Alexander agreed to forgo this privilege if Jews agreed to name their first born son, Alexander instead. The conqueror went on to grant the Jews many privileges.
When Alexander the Great was a boy, his tutor chastised him for burning too much incense at Gods' altars. After conquering Gaza, a major frankincense producer then, Alexander sent 500 talents of frankincense back to the old man in Macedonia, with the message: "Now you can stop short-changing the gods."
Alexander attempted to civilize and wipe out the oriental civilization by encouraging and subsidizing marriages between Greek men and Asian women, even bribing some of his officers to do this. For instance, after his wedding to Statira, who was one of Darius III of Persia's daughters in 324BC, Alexander obliged his officers and friends to marry the daughters of Persian nobles. 10,000 of his soldiers followed his example and married Persian women.
The detail of the Alexander Mosaic showing Alexander the Great fighting king Darius III of Persia
Alexander adopted oriental usages among which was the demand that all who approached him on official occasions should bow down to the earth and kiss his feet. In 323 he also sent notification to all the Greek cities that he was henceforth to be officially numbered among the gods of each city and that such he was to receive the offerings which each city presented. Thus was introduced into Europe absolute monarchy and the divine right of Kings.
Alexander got as far as North India. In the space of eight years he'd penetrated Syria and Egypt and the whole of Middle East as far as India, which he believed was the edge of the world so his men persuaded him to turn back. (They were all fed up with the tropical rain and were exhausted).
PERSONAL LIFE
Alexander took a Persian wife, the beautiful Princess Roxana (died c. 311 BC), the daughter of Oxyartes of Sogdiana, a chieftain in the Hindu Kush. They had one child, a son, also called Alexander. Both were murdered in the struggle for power after Alexander's death in 311. He also married Darius' eldest daughter, Barsine. She died in 323BC
Alexander's greatest emotional attachment is generally considered to have been to his companion, cavalry commander and possibly lover, Hephaestion. The Roman historian Curtius reported that "He scorned [feminine] sensual pleasures to such an extent that his mother was anxious lest he be unable to beget offspring."
A bookworm as a young man, Alexander always kept a copy of Homer's Iliad under his pillow at night. He founded the Alexandria library at Alexandria in Egypt, which at one time contained 40,000 volumes.
Like most Macedonians, Alexander was a heavy drinker and was particularly fond of chilled wines and other iced beverages. Famed for his marathon drinking sessions he drunk "Hercules", 12 pints of undiluted wine. During one of his notorious drinking contests 35 men died.
Alexander organised a drinking Olympics in India. Instead of running around and throwing things, athletes had to imbibe enormous amounts of wine. 41 contestants died and the winner lived for just four days after his victory.
Alexander was an early Zoologist. He shipped home to Aristotle specimens of animals, flowers and minerals from the new areas he invaded. The Macedonian warrior uniquely included scientists, engineers and historians as well as soldiers in his army.
Alexander reported on the cultivation of sugar cane in India. From this reed a raw, dark brown sugar was extracted from the cane by chewing and sucking. His troop bought this “sweet reed” back to Athens.
BUCEPHALUS
From his boyhood days, Alexander had a beautiful dark colored horse called Bucephalus whom he loved riding. Bucephalus was a stallion of high temper that no one could tame, until the ten-year-old prince succeeded by turning the horse's head into the sun as he'd noticed the stallion's own shadow was upsetting it.
Alexander went on to teach the great horse to kneel so that his master could mount him in full armor. Bucephalus served him until his death after the Battle of the Hydaspes in what is now Pakistan in 326BC.
Alexander The Great statue in Skopje
DEATH AND LEGACY
On an expedition seeking a potion guaranteeing immortal life, Alexander came across some apples which supposedly prolonged the lives of priests who fed on them and nothing else up to 400 years. It didn't work for him. The Macedonian conqueror died probably of typhoid fever in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar II, in Babylon, aged 32 on June 10, 323BC.
Some modern historians believe that Alexander the Great may have been accidentally buried alive up to six days before his death, after succumbing to Guillain-Barré Syndrome. This would have left him unable to speak or move, and his breath so shallow that he was pronounced dead.
Alexander's body was laid in a gold anthropoid sarcophagus that was filled with honey, which was in turn placed in a gold casket. While Alexander's funeral cortege was on its way to Macedon, Ptolemy seized it and took it temporarily to Memphis. His successor, Ptolemy II Philadelphus, transferred the sarcophagus to Alexandria, where it remained until at least late Antiquity. Its whereabouts now is unknown.
19th century depiction of Alexander's funeral procession based on the description of Diodorus
Pompey, Julius Caesar and Augustus all visited the tomb in Alexandria. Augustus, allegedly, clumsily knocked the nose off the dead ruler’s golden sarcophagus.
In the first centuries after Alexander's death, many of the stories that people told about the Macedonian conqueror were combined into a text known as the Alexander Romance. Some believe that, excepting certain religious texts, it was the most widely-read work of pre-modern times.
One of the cities he founded, Alexandria, became within 50 years became the center of western learning. Alexander originally built it as a naval base for his war against Persia.
About 285BC the Old Testament was translated into Greek. This version called the "Septuagint" meaning "70" as 70 noted Hebrew scholars worked on it. Alexander's conquests had its flip side as it resulted in the spread of Greek culture into Jewish society with all its aberrations.
When Colin Farrell played him in the 2004 biopic Alexander, Angelina Jolie was cast as his mother, despite just being a year older than Farrell.
The King of Clubs in a deck of cards represents Alexander.
Czar Alexander II was the emperor of Russia from 1855 until 1881. He was also the king of Poland and the grand duke of Finland.
He was born Alexander Nikolaevich in Moscow on April 29, 1818.
He was the eldest son of Nicholas I of Russia and Charlotte of Prussia (daughter of Frederick William III of Prussia and of Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz)
Czar Alexander II succeeded to the Russian throne upon the death of his father, Nicholas I, on March 2, 1855.
Alexander ascended the throne during the Crimean War and in 1856 signed the Treaty of Paris, which brought the hostilities to an end.
Czar Alexander II was motivated by Christian principles and a desire for modernization and progress in Russia
The serfs were the largest group of unfree peasants in Russia. They were tied to the land and bound to their lords, or nobles. The serfs were not free to leave their villages or work for anyone else, and they were subject to various forms of exploitation and abuse by their masters. The serfdom system had been in place in Russia for centuries, and it was a major obstacle to progress and modernization.
Czar Alexander II recognized that the serfs were a major impediment to Russia's development, and he was also motivated by his Christian beliefs to free them from bondage. On March 3, 1861, he announced the emancipation of the serfs. The emancipation was a significant reform that marked the beginning of a new era in Russian history.
During Czar Alexander II's reign there was a revival in the Russian church helped by the wide availability to all Russians from the 1860s of the Scriptures in their native language.
He also abolished corporal punishment, established local self-government, initiated judicial reform, revised the educational system, and developed a system of universal military service.
Under Alexander's rule military operations in Central Asia and in a war with Turkey (1877–78) were highly successful.
Alexander II had a special crystal bottle of Roederer champagne made for the Three Emperors Dinner in 1867. He feared assassination so the Tsar ordered the bottles to be made clear instead of regular dark green so that he could see the bubbles and prevent an explosive being hidden inside.
Alexander was assassinated on March 13, 1881 by bombs thrown beneath his carriage in St Petersburg by a member of a revolutionary group, the Narodnaya Volya (People’s Will).
His dying words were "I am sweeping through the gates, washed in the blood of the Lamb."
Alexander I was the Emperor of Russia (Tsar) between 1801 and 1825.
He was born Aleksandr Pavlovich on December 23, 1777 in Saint Petersburg. Alexander was the eldest son of Paul I and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg.
He and his younger brother Constantine were raised by their grandmother, Catherine the Great.
Portrait of Grand Duke Alexander Pavlovich, 1800, by Vladimir Borovikovsky
Alexander became Emperor of Russia when his father was assassinated on March 23, 1801. Alexander, then 23 years old, was in the palace at the moment of the assassination and his accession was announced by General Nicholas Zubov, one of the assassins.
He abolished many barbarous and cruel punishments then practiced and in 1802 introduced a more orderly administration of government by the creation of eight ministries.
Alexander improved the condition of the serfs and promoted education, doubling the number of Russian universities by establishing those at Saint Petersburg, Kharkov, and Kazan.
Alexander's greatest achievement was his victory over Napoleon, who had invaded Russia in 1812, only to lose his army in a disastrous retreat from Moscow. As part of the winning coalition against Napoleon, he gained territory in Finland and Poland.
Alexander married Louise of Baden, known as Elisabeth Alexeyevna on October 9, 1793 at the Winter Palace when he was fifteen and she was fourteen.
Initially the union was happy. Elisabeth was beautiful, but shy and withdrawn. Alexander later told his friend Frederick William III that the marriage, a political match devised by his grandmother, Catherine the Great, had regrettably proved to be a misfortune for him and his wife.
They had two daughters, both of whom died in early childhood.
Despite being the father of several illegitimate children, Czar Alexander I was a devout Christian who was behind in 1812 the founding of the Russian Bible Society, which translated the Bible into Russian. During the Napoleonic Wars he corresponded with several evangelical European leaders and as Napoleon’s campaign reached a critical stage the tsar found solace in a mystical pietism and regularly held prayer meetings.
In 1815 Alexander instituted the Holy Alliance of Austria, Russia, and Prussia. The purpose of the alliance, as it was conceived, was to achieve the realization of high Christian ideals among the nations of Europe, but it soon ceased to have any real importance.
Portrait of Emperor Alexander I
The last years of Alexander’s life and reign were reactionary and despotic. Fearful of plots against him; as a result he ended many of the reforms he made earlier.
In the autumn of 1825 Tsar Alexander I undertook a voyage to the south of Russia due to the increasing illness of his wife. During his trip he himself caught a cold, which developed into typhus from which he died in the southern city of Taganrog on December 1, 1825.
Death of Alexander I in Taganrog (19th century lithograph)
Alexander's sudden death in Taganrog, under allegedly suspicious circumstances, caused the spread of the rumors that Alexander did not actually die, but disappeared to live the rest of his life in anonymity.
He left no legitimate children, as his two daughters died in childhood, so he was succeeded by his younger brother Nicholas I.
Edwin "Buzz" Eugene Aldrin, Jr.was born on January 20, 1930 in Montclair, New Jersey.
His "Buzz" name originated from one of his sisters, Fay Ann, pronouncing brother as "buzzer," which was later shortened to "Buzz."Aldrin made it his legal first name in 1988.
His father had his own plane and Buzz was two-years-old when he first flew with him.
"Buzz" Aldrin set a then world record in 1966 by walking in space for 5 h 37 min during the Gemini XII mission. He recalled to The Daily Mail; "Secured by a tether, I had no sense of our actual speed, which was 17,500 miles per hour. But I could sense the curvature of the Earth as we orbited every 90 minutes. My five-and-a-half-hour spacewalk was thrilling and set a world record. Coping with zero gravity was made easier by the fact that I was the first astronaut to have trained underwater using scuba gear."
During NASA's Gemini XII flight, the computer docking system failed and Buzz Aldrin successfully calculated the docking trajectory using a sextant and a slide rule.
On July 21, 1969, American astronautsNeil Armstrong and "Buzz" Aldrin became the first humans to step on the surface of the moon. He recalled: "After Neil Armstrong had been on the rough lunar surface for about 20 minutes, it was time for me to ease out of the hatch and back down the ladder, carrying my cumbersome 13-stone life-support backpack. Looking up into the black, starless sky, I could see our marble-sized planet, no bigger than my thumb. Then there we were, two guys walking on the Moon, our every move being watched by more people than had ever before viewed one single event, while further from home than any two human beings had ever been."
Aldrin in April 1969
Buzz Aldrin's first words on the Moon were, "Beautiful view. Magnificent desolation."
There is only one photograph of Neil Armstrong on the surface of the moon during the Apollo 11 mission but his back is to the camera, rendering it unusable. As a result, all of the iconic photos of an Apollo 11 astronaut on the moon are actually of Buzz Aldrin.
After Buzz Aldrin landed on the Moon, he claimed $34 (£22.50) from NASA in travel expenses — the cost of his return trip from home.
Buzz Aldrin's mother shot herself before his lunar flight because she didn't know if she could cope with his impending fame. He then fell into depression and alcoholism after his flight.
Buzz Aldrin once punched a conspiracy theorist on the jaw for accusing him of never having landed on the moon.
After Buzz Aldrin came back from the Moon, he got divorced and worked at a car dealership, where he failed to sell one car in six months.
The Toy Story character Buzz Lightyear was named after Buzz Aldrin.
Aldrin competed in the reality television seriesDancing With The Stars in 2010. He competed well, but was voted off the show after only a few weeks.
Buzz Aldrin became the oldest person to ever reach the South Pole, when he visited it in November 2016 at the age of 86.
Buzz Aldrin wears three watches. He does this in case one of the watches stops working. As an astronaut, Aldrin knows that it is important to have a backup plan in case something goes wrong. Wearing three watches gives him peace of mind knowing that he will always have a way to tell time.
He also does this to keep track of different time zones. Aldrin often travels between different time zones, so he needs to be able to keep track of the time in different places. Wearing three watches allows him to do this easily.
Alcuin was born in Yorkshire, England, sometime in the 730s. Virtually nothing is known of his parents, family background, or origins.
He was educated at the cathedral school of York and became the head of the school in 778.
During a mission to Rome in 780, Alcuin became acquainted with Charlemagne. He took up residence at Charlemagne's court in Aachen two years later.
Alcuin conceived new forms of education reconciling the classical studies of antiquity with those of religious texts. The reforms that he initiated led to the opening of schools throughout the Holy Roman Empire. After a brief visit back home to England in 790, Alcuin returned to Charlemagne's court. In 794 at the Council of Frankfurt Alcuin led the successful fight against adoptionism, a heretical belief then dividing the Catholic church. Alcuin was appointed abbot of Marmoutier Abbey near Tours in 796. The appointment was made with the understanding that Alcuin should be available if Charlemagne ever needed his counsel. He remained there until his death.
As abbot of Marmoutier Abbey, Alcuin encouraged the work of the monks on the beautiful Carolingian minuscule script, ancestor of modern Roman typefaces.
Alcuin had a reputation for holiness, yet he is not included in the canon of saints and never advanced to holy orders beyond those of deacon.
He wrote many letters, works on rhetoric, and poems. Alcuin's letters are among the most valuable sources of information about the social life and humanistic learning of 8th-century France. Picture below shows Raban Maur (left), supported by Alcuin (middle), dedicating his work to Archbishop Otgar of Mainz (Right)
A Carolingian manuscript, c. 831
One phrase of Alcuin is frequently quoted, from a letter to Charlemagne in 800: Vox populi, vox Dei (the voice of the people is the voice of God). In isolation it sounds like an early call for democracy, but this was precisely the opposite of Alcuin's meaning. He urges the emperor that "those people should not be listened to who keep saying Vox populi, vox Dei, since the riotousness of the crowd is always very close to madness."
His words “Lord, open our lips. And our mouth shall proclaim your praise,” begin many Anglican services.
Alcuin died on May 19, 804, some ten years before the emperor, and was buried at St. Martin's Church, Tours.
Alcuin produced the epitaph for his own gravestone, which reads “My name was Alchuine, and wisdom was always dear to me.” The impetus given to humanistic studies by Alcuin and his successors led not only to a revival of learning but also to the development of the Carolingian minuscule, a script that influenced the handwriting of the Renaissance in Italy and, indirectly, the Roman letters of the early Italian typesetters, from which modern type is derived.
