AIRDRIE (19), a town in Lanarkshire, 11 m.  E. of Glasgow, in a district rich in iron and coal; is of rapid growth; has cotton-mills, foundries, etc.

AIRDS MOSS, a moor in Ayrshire, between the rivers Ayr and Lugar.

AIRE, a Yorkshire river which flows into the Ouse; also a French river, affluent of the Aisne.

AIRY, SIR G. B., an eminent English astronomer, mathematician, and man of science, astronomer-royal from 1836 to 1881, retired on a pension; was the first to enunciate the complete theory of the rainbow.

AISNE, a French river which, after a course of 150 m., falls into the Oise near Compiegne; also a department in the N. of France.

AISSE, MLLE., a Circassienne brought to France about 1700; left letters on French society in the eighteenth century, sparkling with wit and full of interest.

AITON, WM., a botanist, born in Lanarkshire, the first director of the Royal Gardens at Kew (1731-1793).

AITZEMA, LEO, historian of Friesland (1600-1669).

AIX (22), a town, the ancient capital of Provence, 20 m.  N. of Marseilles, the seat of an archbishop and a university; founded by the Romans 123 B.C.; near it Marius defeated the Teutons.

AIX, ISLE OF, island in the Atlantic, at the mouth of the Charente.

AIX-LA-CHAPELLE` (103), in Rhenish Prussia, one of the oldest cities in Germany, made capital of the German empire by Charlemagne; derives its name from its mineral springs; is a centre of manufacturing industries and an important trade; is celebrated for its octagonal cathedral (in the middle of which is a stone marking the burial-place of Charlemagne), for treaties of peace in 1668 and 1748, and for a European congress in 1818.

AIX-LES-BAINS`, a small town near Chambery, in the dep. of Savoy, and much frequented by invalids for its waters and baths.

AJAC`CIO (18), the capital of Corsica, the birthplace of the Bonaparte family, of Cardinal Fesch, and Bacciochi.

AJALON, VALLEY OF, in Palestine, scene of a battle between Joshua and five Canaanitish kings, during which the sun and moon stood still at the prayer of Joshua, to enable him to finish his victory.

A`JAN COAST, a district on the E. coast of Africa, from Cape Guardafui to the mouth of the Juba, under the protectorate of Germany.

A`JAX the name of two Greek heroes in the Trojan war, and the synonym of a fiery and impetuous warrior:  AJAX, the son of Telamon of Sparta, one of the bravest of the Greeks, who, on the death of Achilles, contended with Ulysses for his arms, but was defeated, in consequence of which he lost his reason and put an end to his life; and AJAX, the son of Oileus, swift of foot, like Achilles, who suffered shipwreck on his homeward voyage, as a judgment for an outrage he perpetrated on the person of Cassandra in the temple of Athena in Troy.

AJMERE` (68), a city in a small territory in the heart of Rajputana, under the rule of the Viceroy; well built, and contains some famous edifices.