Alton

Alton
/awl"tn/, n.
1. a city in SW Illinois. 34,171.
2. a male given name.

* * *

(as used in expressions)
Miller Alton Glenn
Parker Alton Brooks
Walcott Derek Alton

* * *

      town (parish), East Hampshire district, administrative and historic county of Hampshire, England. It lies among the downs on the River Wey, about 18 miles (29 km) northeast of Winchester by road. The Church of St. Lawrence is in the Perpendicular style with a Norman tower. Eggar's Grammar School was founded in 1642, and there are many Georgian buildings. William Curtis, the botanist, was born at Alton in 1746, and the Curtis Museum was founded in 1855. Within the area are the Lord Mayor Treloar Orthopaedic Hospital, the 20th-century abbey of the Order of St. Paul, and the village of Holybourne, where the novelist and biographer Elizabeth Gaskell died in 1865. During 1809–17 the novelist Jane Austen lived at Chawton, 1 mile (1.6 km) south. Hops are grown in the area, and among the chief industries is brewing. Pop. (2001) 16,051.

      city, Madison county, southwestern Illinois, U.S. Part of the St. Louis (Saint Louis), Missouri, metropolitan area, Alton lies on the Mississippi River (bridged) near its confluence with the Missouri River.

      The city was named for a son of Colonel Rufus Easton, a St. Louis land speculator who laid out the community in 1818 as a ferry site. It quickly developed into a busy river port. Illinois's first state penitentiary (the building is now gone) opened there in 1833; the prison housed Confederate soldiers during the American Civil War. Ammunition manufacture began in Alton in the 1890s and remains an important part of the city's economy. Other manufactures include steel, petroleum products, and machinery for producing glass. Grain, coal, and petroleum products are shipped from the port. Casino gambling also contributes to the economy.

      The Southern Illinois University School of Dental Medicine is located in Alton; Lewis and Clark Community College was established (1970) on the campus of the former Monticello College (founded 1838) in nearby Godfrey. Alton features a museum of local history and art (founded 1971). A monument memorializes the abolitionist newspaper editor Elijah P. Lovejoy (Lovejoy, Elijah P.), who was killed in Alton by a proslavery mob in 1837. The site of the final Lincoln-Douglas debate (Lincoln-Douglas debates) in 1858 is commemorated by life-size bronze statues of Abraham Lincoln (Lincoln, Abraham) and Stephen A. Douglas (Douglas, Stephen A). There is also a life-size statue of Alton native Robert Pershing Wadlow (1918–40), who, at nearly 9 feet (2.7 metres) tall, was the world's tallest man. The Piasa bird, described by Jacques Marquette (Marquette, Jacques) in 1673 as a birdlike monster etched in the bluffs on the Mississippi, is a famous local legend; a depiction has been repainted on the bluffs. Located nearby are Two Rivers National Wildlife Refuge (part of the Mark Twain National Wildlife Refuge Complex) and Pere Marquette State Park. Inc. town, 1833; city, 1837. Pop. (1990) 32,905; (2000) 30,496.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Alton — steht für: Alton Towers, einen Themenpark in Großbritannien Bistum Alton, ein Bistum in den USA Vertrag von Alton, eine Übereinkunft im Jahre 1101 zwischen König Heinrich I. von England und seinem Bruder Robert II., Herzog der Normandie Alton ist …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Alton — is the name of several places:Canada*Alton, Ontario *Altona, Ontario *Alton, Nova Scotia *North Alton, Nova Scotia *South Alton, Nova Scotia *Altona, British Columbia *Altona, Manitoba *Old Altona, Manitoba *Alton, QuebecNew Zealand*Alton, New… …   Wikipedia

  • Alton — Alton, IL U.S. city in Illinois Population (2000): 30496 Housing Units (2000): 13894 Land area (2000): 15.644983 sq. miles (40.520319 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.960782 sq. miles (2.488413 sq. km) Total area (2000): 16.605765 sq. miles… …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • Alton — (Прага,Чехия) Категория отеля: 3 звездочный отель Адрес: Legerova 62, Прага, 120 00, Чехия …   Каталог отелей

  • Alton, IA — U.S. city in Iowa Population (2000): 1095 Housing Units (2000): 466 Land area (2000): 1.489213 sq. miles (3.857044 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km) Total area (2000): 1.489213 sq. miles (3.857044 sq. km) FIPS code:… …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • Alton, IL — U.S. city in Illinois Population (2000): 30496 Housing Units (2000): 13894 Land area (2000): 15.644983 sq. miles (40.520319 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.960782 sq. miles (2.488413 sq. km) Total area (2000): 16.605765 sq. miles (43.008732 sq. km)… …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • Alton, IN — U.S. town in Indiana Population (2000): 53 Housing Units (2000): 65 Land area (2000): 0.169694 sq. miles (0.439506 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.024508 sq. miles (0.063475 sq. km) Total area (2000): 0.194202 sq. miles (0.502981 sq. km) FIPS code:… …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • Alton, KS — U.S. city in Kansas Population (2000): 117 Housing Units (2000): 79 Land area (2000): 0.313065 sq. miles (0.810835 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km) Total area (2000): 0.313065 sq. miles (0.810835 sq. km) FIPS code:… …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • Alton, MO — U.S. city in Missouri Population (2000): 668 Housing Units (2000): 364 Land area (2000): 0.837898 sq. miles (2.170147 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km) Total area (2000): 0.837898 sq. miles (2.170147 sq. km) FIPS… …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • Alton, TX — U.S. city in Texas Population (2000): 4384 Housing Units (2000): 1175 Land area (2000): 2.112273 sq. miles (5.470761 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km) Total area (2000): 2.112273 sq. miles (5.470761 sq. km) FIPS code …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • Alton, UT — U.S. town in Utah Population (2000): 134 Housing Units (2000): 49 Land area (2000): 0.369286 sq. miles (0.956446 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.000158 sq. miles (0.000410 sq. km) Total area (2000): 0.369444 sq. miles (0.956856 sq. km) FIPS code:… …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”