Austen, Jane, 1775-1817

Austen's major novels include Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814), Emma (1816), Northanger Abbey (1818), and Persuasion (1818). A minor novel, Lady Susan, was first published in the 1871 edition of James Edward Austen-Leigh's A Memoir of Jane Austen along with the fragment The Watsons and a synopsis of the unfinished Sanditon. Austen is also appreciated for her comic juvenilia, especially Love & Freindship (1922).

Aubrey, John, 1626-1697

English antiquary, biographer, and pioneer archaeologist. His notable works include Brief Lives (written between 1669 and 1696), Monumenta Britannica (written between 1663 and 1693), and Naturall Historie (written between 1659 and 1671), all published posthumously.

Athena (Greek deity)

Also known as Pallas Athene, Athena, the Greek personification of wisdom, is goddess of strategic warfare and arts and crafts such as spinning and weaving. She was born of Zeus and Metis after Zeus swallowed Metis, fearing she would have a son stronger than himself. The god Hephaestus struck Zeus on the forehead with an axe, and Athena sprang from the opening fully armed. Athena is often equated with the Roman goddess Minerva.

Astraea

Personification of virtue who, when the Golden Age ended and the earth became dominated by iniquity, ascended to the heavens and became the constellation Virgo.

Ashe, St. George, 1658?-1718

Irish philosopher and mathematician who held the positions of 15th Provost of Trinity College, Dublin; Church of Ireland Bishop of Cloyne, Clogher and Derry; and Donegall Lecturer in Mathematics at Trinity College, Dublin. In his career, Ashe taught such notable students as Jonathan Swift and William Congreve.

Ascham, Roger, 1515-1568

English humanist, scholar, and didactic writer who is best remembered for his prose style, theories on education, and promotion of the vernacular. Ascham served in the administrations of Edward VI, Mary I, and Elizabeth I after serving as Elizabeth's tutor in Greek and Latin from 1548 to 1550.