Britannica Student Encyclopedia - 2010

Alchemists experimented with metals,

salts, acids, and other chemicals. They

also developed many nonscientific and

magical beliefs about the world. For

instance, alchemists thought that the

positions of the stars in the sky could

affect their chemical experiments. Today

scientists do not recognize alchemy as a

science. However, some scientists believe

that alchemists helped to lay the

foundations for the modern science of

chemistry.

In ancient times people practiced various

forms of alchemy in China, India,

Greece, and the Middle East. In about

the 1100s people in Europe learned

about some of these ancient practices.

Some of them began their own experiments.

They tried to change lead into

gold by heating it and mixing it with

many other substances. They kept most

of their procedures secret.

Alchemists were never able to make gold

or to make people live forever. However,

they made some useful discoveries. They

figured out how to produce chemicals

called mineral acids from other chemicals.

They also learned how some chemicals

react when mixed together.

#More to explore

Chemistry • Metals

Alcott,

Louisa May

U.S. author Louisa May Alcott is best

known for her novel LittleWomen. The

book was based on her own experience

growing up in a close-knit New England

A painting shows three alchemists at work.

Louisa May Alcott

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Alcott, Louisa May 71

 

family. It is one of several of her stories

that are still cherished by young readers.

Alcott was born in Germantown,

Pennsylvania, on November 29, 1832.

She grew up in Boston and Concord,

Massachusetts. Louisa received most of

her schooling from her father, who was

a teacher and philosopher. She began

writing at a young age. By the 1860s

her poems and stories were being

published in The Atlantic Monthly

magazine.

Alcott published LittleWomen in 1868.

The book was instantly popular with

younger readers, and it remains a favorite

today. Alcott’s other books for young

readers include Little Men (1871) and

Jo’s Boys (1886).

Alcott spent most of the last 20 years of

her life in Boston and Concord. She

spent her time writing and caring for her

sick parents. Alcott died in Boston on

March 6, 1888.

Aleut

The Aleut are a native people of the

Aleutian Islands, which are part of

Alaska. They also live on the western

portion of the Alaska Peninsula, a piece

of land in southwestern Alaska that

extends into the Pacific Ocean. The

name Alaska comes from an Aleut word

meaning “mainland.” The Aleut are

closely related to the Eskimo (Inuit).

The Aleut’s early ancestors, the Paleo-

Aleut, arrived in the Aleutian Islands

from the Alaskan mainland about 4,000

years ago. Traditionally, the Aleut lived

off the sea. They fished and hunted animals

such as seals, sea otters, whales, sea

lions, and walruses.

The Aleut kept their traditional way of

life until Russian settlers arrived in the

1700s. Conditions were harsh under

Russian control, and many Aleuts died

from disease or warfare. At the end of

the 20th century fewer than 12,000

Aleuts lived in the United States.

#More to explore

Alaska • Eskimo

Alexander the

Great

Alexander III, king of Macedonia, is

known as Alexander the Great. In his

The Aleut call

themselves the

Unanax.

A young girl is one of the Aleut

who still live on the islands off

Alaska.

72 Aleut BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

 

short life he conquered almost all parts

of the world that were known to his

people.

Alexander was born in 356 BC in Pella,

the capital of Macedonia, a kingdom to

the north of Greece. The Greek philosopher

Aristotle gave him lessons. But

Alexander’s chief interest was war. In

338 BC Alexander’s father, Philip II,

brought all the Greek city-states except

Sparta under his rule. Young Alexander

commanded one part of the Macedonian

army.

In 336 BC Philip II was killed and Alexander

became king. He soon won the

loyalty of nearly all of Greece. In 334 BC

he brought together a large army and

invaded the empire controlled by Persia.

He freed the Greek settlements in Asia

Minor (now Turkey) from Persian rule

and made them his allies.

In 333 BC Alexander defeated King

Darius III of Persia, at Issus. Alexander

then marched southward along the coast

of Phoenicia (present-day Lebanon).

Late in 332 BC Alexander took Egypt

from the Persians and became pharaoh,

or king. He then controlled the whole

A painting shows Alexander the

Great dressed for battle.

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Alexander the Great 73

 

eastern Mediterranean. Near the Nile

River he founded the city of Alexandria.

In 331 BC Alexander went back into

Asia and again defeated Darius. Then he

was called king of Asia. Soon afterward

he captured Babylon, in what is now

Iraq, and Susa, the Persian capital.

Many of Alexander’s men wanted to go

home, but instead he had them advance

further into Asia. In 327 BC Alexander

went to India. There he fought his last

great battle. He defeated the Indians and

founded two cities. At this point Alexander’s

men refused to go farther. In

324 BC Alexander returned to Susa.

The next year Alexander went to Babylon.

Weakened by his travels and battles,

he died there of a fever. His body was