Allen, Ethan (b. Jan. 21, 1738, Litchfield, Conn.—d. Feb. 12, 1789, Burlington, Vt., U.S.) American soldier and frontiersman. After fighting in the French and Indian War (1754-63), he settled in what is now Ver¬ mont. At the outbreak of the American Revolution, his force of Green Mountain Boys (organized in 1770) helped defeat the British in the Battle of Ticonderoga (1775). As a volunteer with troops commanded by Gen. Philip Schuyler, he attempted to take Montreal but was captured by the British and held prisoner until 1778. He returned to Vermont, where he worked for statehood. Failing to achieve this, he attempted to negotiate the annexation of Vermont to Canada.
Allen, Mel orig. Melvin Allen Israel (b. Feb. 14, 1913, Birming¬ ham, Ala., U.S.—d. June 16, 1996, Greenwich, Conn.) U.S. sports broad¬ caster. As lead announcer for the New York Yankees baseball team (1940- 64), he was known for his congeniality and his catchphrase “How about
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50 I Allen ► alligator
that!” He hosted the television program This Week in Baseball (1977-95). In 1978 Allen and Red Barber became the first broadcasters elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Allen, Richard (b. Feb. 14, 1760, Philadelphia, Pa.—d. March 26, 1831, Philadelphia) U.S. religious leader. He was born to slave parents, and his family was sold to a Delaware farmer. A Methodist convert at 17, he was licensed to preach five years later. By 1786 he had purchased his freedom and settled in Philadelphia, where he joined St. George’s Meth¬ odist Episcopal Church. Racial discrimination prompted him to withdraw in 1787, and he turned an old blacksmith shop into the first black church in the U.S. Allen and his followers built the Bethel African Methodist Church, and in 1799 he was ordained as its minister. In 1816 he organized a conference of black leaders to form the African Methodist Episcopal Church, of which he was named the first bishop.
Allen, Steve orig. Stephen Valentine Patrick William Allen
(b. Dec. 26, 1921, New York, N.Y., U.S.—d. Oct. 30, 2000, Encino, Calif.) U.S. entertainer and songwriter. He appeared as a comedian on radio in the 1940s before moving to late-night television, where he created and hosted The Tonight Show (1954-57) and The Steve Allen Show (1956— 60). He hosted several other television shows, including Meeting of Minds (1977-81). He composed over 3,000 songs, including “Picnic” and “Impossible,” and appeared in films such as The Benny Goodman Story
(1955).
Allen, Woody orig. Allen Stewart Konigsberg (b. Dec. 1,1935, Brooklyn, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. film director, screenwriter, and actor. After writing routines for comedians and performing as a nightclub comic, he wrote the Broadway play Don’t Drink the Water (1966). His early films, such as Bananas (1971) and Sleeper (1973), combined highbrow comedy and slapstick. Later romantic comedies such as Annie Hall (1977), which won him two Academy Awards, and Manhattan (1979) offered a bitter¬ sweet view of New York life. He continued making films into the 21st century, most notably Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), Crimes and Mis¬ demeanors (1989), and Bullets over Broadway (1994).
Allenby (of Megiddo and of Felixstowe), Edmund Henry Hynman Allenby, 1st Viscount (b. April 23, 1861, Brackenhurst, near Southwell, Nottinghamshire, Eng.—d. May 14, 1936, London) Brit¬ ish field marshal. He fought in the South African War and served as inspector general of cavalry (1910-14). In World War I, he commanded with distinction in the Middle East. His victory over the Turks at Gaza (1917) led to the capture of Jerusalem, and his victory at Megiddo, along with his capture of Damascus and Aleppo, ended Ottoman power in Syria. His success was partly due to his innovative use of cavalry and other mobile forces, and he is remembered as the last great British leader of mounted cavalry. As high commissioner for Egypt (1919-25), he steered that country to recognition as a sovereign state (1922).
Allende \a-'yen-da\ (Gossens), Salvador (b. July 26, 1908, Val¬ paraiso, Chile—d. Sept. 11, 1973, Santiago) Socialist president of Chile (1970-73). Of upper-middle-class background, Allende took a degree in medicine and in 1933 helped found Chile’s Socialist Party. He ran for president unsuccessfully three times before winning narrowly in 1970. He attempted to restructure Chilean society along socialist lines while retain¬ ing democracy, civil liberties, and due process of law, but his efforts to redistribute wealth resulted in stagnant production, food shortages, rising inflation, and widespread strikes. His inability to control his radical sup¬ porters further alienated the middle class. His policies dried up foreign credit and led to a covert campaign by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency to destabilize the government. He was overthrown in a violent military coup, during which he died by gunshot, reportedly self-inflicted. He was replaced by Gen. Augusto Pinochet. See also Eduardo Frei.
Allentown City (pop., 2000: 106,632), eastern Pennsylvania, U.S. It was laid out along the Lehigh River in 1762 and named Northampton by William Allen, later the state’s chief justice; its name was changed in 1838 to honour Allen. During the American Revolution, the Liberty Bell was moved there for safekeeping. It is a major iron and mining centre.
allergy Exaggerated reaction by the body to foreign substances that are harmless to most people. Those substances, called allergens or antigens, may include pollens, drugs, dusts, foods, and other items. Immediate aller¬ gic reactions result from genetic predisposition or sensitization by previ¬ ous exposure. Blood vessels dilate and bronchial air passages constrict. A severe reaction (anaphylaxis) can obstruct breathing and may be fatal.
Delayed allergic responses (e.g., contact dermatitis) appear 12 hours or more after exposure. Avoiding allergens and taking antihistamines can pre¬ vent or treat allergies. When avoidance is not feasible and antihistamines do not relieve symptoms, desensitization can be attempted.
alliance In international politics, a union for joint action of various powers or states. Examples include the alliance of the European powers and the U.S. against Germany and its allies during World War II and the alliance of the NATO states against the Soviet Union and its allies dur¬ ing the Cold War. Many alliances rest on the principle of collective secu¬ rity, through which an attack on one member is considered an attack on all members. Major alliances formed after World War II include the ANZUS Pact, the Arab League, ASEAN, the Organization of American States, the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization, and the Warsaw Pact.
Alliance for Progress International development program. Initiated by the U.S. and joined by 22 Latin American countries in 1961, it aimed to strengthen democratic government and promote social and economic reforms in Latin America. The program, which provided loans and aid from the U.S. and the international financial community, built some schools and hospitals, but by the early 1970s it was widely viewed as a failure. Significant land reform was not achieved, population growth out¬ stripped gains in health and welfare, and the U.S. willingness to support military dictators to prevent communism from gaining a foothold sowed distrust and undermined the reforms the Alliance was intended to pro¬ mote.
Alliance Israelite Universelle Xal-'yaVis-ra-el-'et-il-ne-ver-'seL Political organization founded in France in 1860 for the purpose of pro¬ viding assistance to Jews. Its founders were a group of French Jews who had the resources to help those who were poor, offering political support, helping individuals emigrate, and eventually setting up Jewish education programs in eastern Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. In 1945 it expressed support for political Zionism (the establishment of a Jewish state), and in 1946 its diplomatic activities were taken over by the Con¬ sultative Council of Jewish Organizations in New York City.