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Atomic absorption spectroscopy

Atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) and atomic emission spectroscopy (AES) is a spectroanalytical procedure for the quantitative determination of chemical elements by free atoms in the gaseous state. Atomic absorption spectroscopy is based on absorption of light by free metallic ions.

In analytical chemistry the technique is used for determining the concentration of a particular element (the analyte) in a sample to be analyzed. AAS can be used to determine over 70 different elements in solution, or directly in solid samples via electrothermal vaporization, and is used in pharmacology, biophysics, archaeology and toxicology research.

Atomic emission spectroscopy (AAS) was first used as an analytical technique, and the underlying principles were established in the second half of the 19th century by Robert Wilhelm Bunsen and Gustav Robert Kirchhoff, both professors at the University of Heidelberg, Germany.

The modern form of AAS was largely developed during the 1950s by a team of Australian chemists. They were led by Sir Alan Walsh at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Division of Chemical Physics, in Melbourne, Australia.

Atomic absorption spectrometry has many uses in different areas of chemistry such as clinical analysis of metals in biological fluids and tissues such as whole blood, plasma, urine, saliva, brain tissue, liver, hair, muscle tissue. Atomic absorption spectrometry can be used in qualitative and quantitative analysis.

Principles
The technique makes use of the atomic absorption spectrum of a sample in order to assess the concentration of specific analytes within it. It requires standards with known analyte content to establish the relation between the measured absorbance and the analyte concentration and relies therefore on the Beer–Lambert law. Analyzing Samples with Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS)

Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS) measures the concentration of specific elements in a sample by analyzing their unique "fingerprint" in the form of an atomic absorption spectrum. Here's how it works:

 * Step 1: Sample Preparation:**

 * The sample is typically dissolved in a suitable solvent (acids, water) to create a liquid solution. This ensures the analytes are present as free atoms, ready for absorption.
 * For solid samples like ores or minerals, additional steps like grinding and digestion may be required to break down the matrix and liberate the analytes.
 * Step 2: Atomization:**

 * The prepared solution is nebulized into a fine mist and introduced into a high-temperature flame (air-acetylene or nitrous oxide-acetylene mix).
 * The intense heat in the flame excites the electrons in the analyte atoms, promoting them to higher energy levels.
 * Step 3: Absorption:**

 * Simultaneously, a hollow cathode lamp containing the same element as the analyte emits a specific wavelength of light that corresponds to the energy difference between the excited and ground state of the analyte atoms.
 * As the emitted light passes through the atomized sample, some photons are absorbed by the excited analyte atoms, causing them to return to their ground state. This absorption decreases the intensity of the light at the specific wavelength.
 * Step 4: Measurement and Analysis:**

 * The light intensity before and after passing through the sample is measured by a detector.
 * The difference in intensity is directly proportional to the concentration of the analyte in the sample, following the Beer-Lambert law:

* **A = εcl**, where: * A is the absorbance measured. * ε is the molar absorptivity (constant specific to the element and wavelength). * c is the concentration of the analyte. * l is the path length of the light through the sample.

 * Step 5: Calibration and Quantification:**

 * To determine the actual concentration of the analyte, the instrument is calibrated using standard solutions containing known concentrations of the element.
 * By comparing the measured absorbance of the sample to the calibration curve, the concentration of the analyte in the original sample can be calculated.
 * Feedback Mechanism:**

The measured absorbance directly provides feedback on the concentration of the analyte in the sample. This feedback loop allows the AAS to analyze various samples efficiently and determine their elemental composition with high accuracy.

In summary, AAS utilizes the unique absorption properties of elements to accurately quantify their concentration in samples. By preparing the sample, atomizing the analytes, measuring their absorption of specific light, and applying the Beer-Lambert law, this powerful technique helps us understand the elemental makeup of diverse materials across various scientific and industrial fields.

Instrumentation

In order to analyze a sample for its atomic constituents, it has to be atomized. The atomizers most commonly used nowadays are flames and electrothermal (graphite tube) atomizers. The atoms should then be irradiated by optical radiation, and the radiation source could be an element-specific line radiation source or a continuum radiation source. The radiation then passes through a monochromator in order to separate the element-specific radiation from any other radiation emitted by the radiation source, which is finally measured by a detector.

Atomizers
The used nowadays are spectroscopic flames and electrothermal atomizers. Other atomizers, such as glow-discharge atomization, hydride atomization, or cold-vapor atomization, might be used for special purposes.

Flame atomizers
The oldest and most commonly used atomizers in AAS are flames, principally the air-acetylene flame with a temperature of about 2300 °C and the nitrous oxide system (N2O)-acetylene flame with a temperature of about 2700 °C. The latter flame, in addition, offers a more reducing environment, being ideally suited for analytes with high affinity to oxygen.

Liquid or dissolved samples are typically used with flame atomizers. The sample solution is aspirated by a pneumatic analytical nebulizer, transformed into an aerosol, which is introduced into a spray chamber, where it is mixed with the flame gases and conditioned in a way that only the finest aerosol droplets (< 10 μm) enter the flame. This conditioning process reduces interference, but only about 5% of the aerosolized solution reaches the flame because of it.

On top of the spray chamber is a burner head that produces a flame that is laterally long (usually 5–10 cm) and only a few mm deep. The radiation beam passes through this flame at its longest axis, and the flame gas flow-rates may be adjusted to produce the highest concentration of free atoms. The burner height may also be adjusted, so that the radiation beam passes through the zone of highest atom cloud density in the flame, resulting in the highest sensitivity.

The processes in a flame include the stages of desolvation (drying) in which the solvent is evaporated and the dry sample nano-particles remain, vaporization (transfer to the gaseous phase) in which the solid particles are converted into gaseous molecule, atomization in which the molecules are dissociated into free atoms, and ionization where (depending on the ionization potential of the analyte atoms and the energy available in a particular flame) atoms may be in part converted to gaseous ions.

Each of these stages includes the risk of interference in case the degree of phase transfer is different for the analyte in the calibration standard and in the sample. Ionization is generally undesirable, as it reduces the number of atoms that are available for measurement, i.e., the sensitivity.

In flame AAS a steady-state signal is generated during the time period when the sample is aspirated. This technique is typically used for determinations in the mg L−1 range, and may be extended down to a few μg L−1 for some elements.

Electrothermal atomizers

Electrothermal AAS (ET AAS) using graphite tube atomizers was pioneered by Boris V. L’vov at the Saint Petersburg Polytechnical Institute, Russia, since the late 1950s, and investigated in parallel by Hans Massmann at the Institute of Spectrochemistry and Applied Spectroscopy (ISAS) in Dortmund, Germany.

Although a wide variety of graphite tube designs have been used over the years, the dimensions nowadays are typically 20–25 mm in length and 5–6 mm inner diameter. With this technique liquid/dissolved, solid and gaseous samples may be analyzed directly. A measured volume (typically 10–50 μL) or a weighed mass (typically around 1 mg) of a solid sample are introduced into the graphite tube and subject to a temperature program. This typically consists of stages, such as drying – the solvent is evaporated; pyrolysis – the majority of the matrix constituents are removed; atomization – the analyte element is released to the gaseous phase; and cleaning – eventual residues in the graphite tube are removed at high temperature.

The graphite tubes are heated via their ohmic resistance using a low-voltage high-current power supply; the temperature in the individual stages can be controlled very closely, and temperature ramps between the individual stages facilitate separation of sample components. Tubes may be heated transversely or longitudinally, where the former ones have the advantage of a more homogeneous temperature distribution over their length. The so-called stabilized temperature platform furnace (STPF) concept, proposed by Walter Slavin, based on research of Boris L’vov, makes ET AAS essentially free from interference. The major components of this concept are atomization of the sample from a graphite platform inserted into the graphite tube (L’vov platform) instead of from the tube wall in order to delay atomization until the gas phase in the atomizer has reached a stable temperature; use of a chemical modifier in order to stabilize the analyte to a pyrolysis temperature that is sufficient to remove the majority of the matrix components; and integration of the absorbance over the time of the transient absorption signal instead of using peak height absorbance for quantification.

In ET AAS a transient signal is generated, the area of which is directly proportional to the mass of analyte (not its concentration) introduced into the graphite tube. This technique has the advantage that any kind of sample, solid, liquid or gaseous, can be analyzed directly. Its sensitivity is 2–3 orders of magnitude higher than that of flame AAS, so that determinations in the low μg L−1 range (for a typical sample volume of 20 μL) and ng g−1 range (for a typical sample mass of 1 mg) can be carried out. It shows a very high degree of freedom from interferences, so that ET AAS might be considered the most robust technique available nowadays for the determination of trace elements in complex matrices.

Specialized atomization techniques
While flame and electrothermal vaporizers are the most common atomization techniques, several other atomization methods are utilized for specialized use.

Glow-discharge atomization
A glow-discharge device (GD) serves as a versatile source, as it can simultaneously introduce and atomize the sample. The glow discharge occurs in a low-pressure argon gas atmosphere between 1 and 10 torr. In this atmosphere lies a pair of electrodes applying a DC voltage of 250 to 1000 V to break down the argon gas into positively charged ions and electrons. These ions, under the influence of the electric field, are accelerated into the cathode surface containing the sample, bombarding the sample and causing neutral sample atom ejection through the process known as sputtering. The atomic vapor produced by this discharge is composed of ions, ground state atoms, and fraction of excited atoms. When the excited atoms relax back into their ground state, a low-intensity glow is emitted, giving the technique its name.

The requirement for samples of glow discharge atomizers is that they are electrical conductors. Consequently, atomizers are most commonly used in the analysis of metals and other conducting samples. However, with proper modifications, it can be utilized to analyze liquid samples as well as nonconducting materials by mixing them with a conductor (e.g. graphite).

Hydride atomization
Hydride generation techniques are specialized in solutions of specific elements. The technique provides a means of introducing samples containing arsenic, antimony, selenium, bismuth, and lead into an atomizer in the gas phase. With these elements, hydride atomization enhances detection limits by a factor of 10 to 100 compared to alternative methods. Hydride generation occurs by adding an acidified aqueous solution of the sample to a 1% aqueous solution of sodium borohydride, all of which is contained in a glass vessel. The volatile hydride generated by the reaction that occurs is swept into the atomization chamber by an inert gas, where it undergoes decomposition. This process forms an atomized form of the analyte, which can then be measured by absorption or emission spectrometry.

Cold-vapor atomization
The cold-vapor technique is an atomization method limited only for the determination of mercury, due to it being the only metallic element to have a large vapor pressure at ambient temperature. Because of this, it has an important use in determining organic mercury compounds in samples and their distribution in the environment. The method initiates by converting mercury into Hg2+ by oxidation from nitric and sulfuric acids, followed by a reduction of Hg2+ with tin(II) chloride. The mercury, is then swept into a long-pass absorption tube by bubbling a stream of inert gas through the reaction mixture. The concentration is determined by measuring the absorbance of this gas at 253.7 nm. Detection limits for this technique are in the parts-per-billion range making it an excellent mercury detection atomization method.

Radiation sources
We have to distinguish between line source AAS (LS AAS) and continuum source AAS (CS AAS). In classical LS AAS, as it has been proposed by Alan Walsh, the high spectral resolution required for AAS measurements is provided by the radiation source itself that emits the spectrum of the analyte in the form of lines that are narrower than the absorption lines. Continuum sources, such as deuterium lamps, are only used for background correction purposes. The advantage of this technique is that only a medium-resolution monochromator is necessary for measuring AAS; however, it has the disadvantage that usually a separate lamp is required for each element that has to be determined. In CS AAS, in contrast, a single lamp, emitting a continuum spectrum over the entire spectral range of interest is used for all elements. Obviously, a high-resolution monochromator is required for this technique, as will be discussed later.

Hollow cathode lamps
Hollow cathode lamps (HCL) are the most common radiation source in LS AAS. Inside the sealed lamp, filled with argon or neon gas at low pressure, is a cylindrical metal cathode containing the element of interest and an anode. A high voltage is applied across the anode and cathode, resulting in an ionization of the fill gas. The gas ions are accelerated towards the cathode and, upon impact on the cathode, sputter cathode material that is excited in the glow discharge to emit the radiation of the sputtered material, i.e., the element of interest. In the majority of cases single element lamps are used, where the cathode is pressed out of predominantly compounds of the target element. Multi-element lamps are available with combinations of compounds of the target elements pressed in the cathode. Multi element lamps produce slightly less sensitivity than single element lamps and the combinations of elements have to be selected carefully to avoid spectral interferences. Most multi-element lamps combine a handful of elements, e.g.: 2 - 8. Atomic Absorption Spectrometers can feature as few as 1-2 hollow cathode lamp positions or in automated multi-element spectrometers, a 8-12 lamp positions may be typically available.

Electrodeless discharge lamps
Electrodeless discharge lamps (EDL) contain a small quantity of the analyte as a metal or a salt in a quartz bulb together with an inert gas, typically argon gas, at low pressure. The bulb is inserted into a coil that is generating an electromagnetic radio frequency field, resulting in a low-pressure inductively coupled discharge in the lamp. The emission from an EDL is higher than that from an HCL, and the line width is generally narrower, but EDLs need a separate power supply and might need a longer time to stabilize.

Deuterium lamps
Deuterium HCL or even hydrogen HCL and deuterium discharge lamps are used in LS AAS for background correction purposes. The radiation intensity emitted by these lamps decreases significantly with increasing wavelength, so that they can be only used in the wavelength range between 190 and about 320 nm.

Continuum sources
When a continuum radiation source is used for AAS, it is necessary to use a high-resolution monochromator, as will be discussed later. In addition, it is necessary that the lamp emits radiation of intensity at least an order of magnitude above that of a typical HCL over the entire wavelength range from 190 nm to 900 nm. A special high-pressure xenon short arc lamp, operating in a hot-spot mode has been developed to fulfill these requirements.

Spectrometer
As already pointed out above, there is a difference between medium-resolution spectrometers that are used for LS AAS and high-resolution spectrometers that are designed for CS AAS. The spectrometer includes the spectral sorting device (monochromator) and the detector.

Spectrometers for LS AAS
In LS AAS the high resolution that is required for the measurement of atomic absorption is provided by the narrow line emission of the radiation source, and the monochromator simply has to resolve the analytical line from other radiation emitted by the lamp. This can usually be accomplished with a band pass between 0.2 and 2 nm, i.e., a medium-resolution monochromator. Another feature to make LS AAS element-specific is modulation of the primary radiation and the use of a selective amplifier that is tuned to the same modulation frequency, as already postulated by Alan Walsh. This way any (unmodulated) radiation emitted for example by the atomizer can be excluded, which is imperative for LS AAS. Simple monochromators of the Littrow or (better) the Czerny-Turner design are typically used for LS AAS. Photomultiplier tubes are the most frequently used detectors in LS AAS, although solid state detectors might be preferred because of their better signal-to-noise ratio.

Spectrometers for CS AAS
When a continuum radiation source is used for AAS measurement it is indispensable to work with a high-resolution monochromator. The resolution has to be equal to or better than the half-width of an atomic absorption line (about 2 pm) in order to avoid losses of sensitivity and linearity of the calibration graph. The research with high-resolution (HR) CS AAS was pioneered by the groups of O’Haver and Harnly in the US, who also developed the (up until now) only simultaneous multi-element spectrometer for this technique. The breakthrough, however, came when the group of Becker-Ross in Berlin, Germany, built a spectrometer entirely designed for HR-CS AAS. The first commercial equipment for HR-CS AAS was introduced by Analytik Jena (Jena, Germany) at the beginning of the 21st century, based on the design proposed by Becker-Ross and Florek. These spectrometers use a compact double monochromator with a prism pre-monochromator and an echelle grating monochromator for high resolution. A linear charge-coupled device (CCD) array with 200 pixels is used as the detector. The second monochromator does not have an exit slit; hence the spectral environment at both sides of the analytical line becomes visible at high resolution. As typically only 3–5 pixels are used to measure the atomic absorption, the other pixels are available for correction purposes. One of these corrections is that for lamp flicker noise, which is independent of wavelength, resulting in measurements with very low noise level; other corrections are those for background absorption, as will be discussed later.

Background absorption and background correction
The relatively small number of atomic absorption lines (compared to atomic emission lines) and their narrow width (a few pm) make spectral overlap rare; there are only few examples known that an absorption line from one element will overlap with another. Molecular absorption, in contrast, is much broader, so that it is more likely that some molecular absorption band will overlap with an atomic line. This kind of absorption might be caused by un-dissociated molecules of concomitant elements of the sample or by flame gases. We have to distinguish between the spectra of di-atomic molecules, which exhibit a pronounced fine structure, and those of larger (usually tri-atomic) molecules that don't show such fine structure. Another source of background absorption, particularly in ET AAS, is scattering of the primary radiation at particles that are generated in the atomization stage, when the matrix could not be removed sufficiently in the pyrolysis stage.

All these phenomena, molecular absorption and radiation scattering, can result in artificially high absorption and an improperly high (erroneous) calculation for the concentration or mass of the analyte in the sample. There are several techniques available to correct for background absorption, and they are significantly different for LS AAS and HR-CS AAS.

Background correction techniques in LS AAS
In LS AAS background absorption can only be corrected using instrumental techniques, and all of them are based on two sequential measurements: firstly, total absorption (atomic plus background), secondly, background absorption only. The difference of the two measurements gives the net atomic absorption. Because of this, and because of the use of additional devices in the spectrometer, the signal-to-noise ratio of background-corrected signals is always significantly inferior compared to uncorrected signals. It should also be pointed out that in LS AAS there is no way to correct for (the rare case of) a direct overlap of two atomic lines. In essence there are three techniques used for background correction in LS AAS:

Deuterium background correction
This is the oldest and still most commonly used technique, particularly for flame AAS. In this case, a separate source (a deuterium lamp) with broad emission is used to measure the background absorption over the entire width of the exit slit of the spectrometer. The use of a separate lamp makes this technique the least accurate one, as it cannot correct for any structured background. It also cannot be used at wavelengths above about 320 nm, as the emission intensity of the deuterium lamp becomes very weak. The use of deuterium HCL is preferable compared to an arc lamp due to the better fit of the image of the former lamp with that of the analyte HCL.

Smith-Hieftje background correction
This technique (named after their inventors) is based on the line-broadening and self-reversal of emission lines from HCL when high current is applied. Total absorption is measured with normal lamp current, i.e., with a narrow emission line, and background absorption after application of a high-current pulse with the profile of the self-reversed line, which has little emission at the original wavelength, but strong emission on both sides of the analytical line. The advantage of this technique is that only one radiation source is used; among the disadvantages are that the high-current pulses reduce lamp lifetime, and that the technique can only be used for relatively volatile elements, as only those exhibit sufficient self-reversal to avoid dramatic loss of sensitivity. Another problem is that background is not measured at the same wavelength as total absorption, making the technique unsuitable for correcting structured background.

Zeeman-effect background correction
An alternating magnetic field is applied at the atomizer (graphite furnace) to split the absorption line into three components, the π component, which remains at the same position as the original absorption line, and two σ components, which are moved to higher and lower wavelengths, respectively. Total absorption is measured without magnetic field and background absorption with the magnetic field on. The π component has to be removed in this case, e.g. using a polarizer, and the σ components do not overlap with the emission profile of the lamp, so that only the background absorption is measured. The advantages of this technique are that total and background absorption are measured with the same emission profile of the same lamp, so that any kind of background, including background with fine structure can be corrected accurately, unless the molecule responsible for the background is also affected by the magnetic field and using a chopper as a polariser reduces the signal to noise ratio. While the disadvantages are the increased complexity of the spectrometer and power supply needed for running the powerful magnet needed to split the absorption line.

Background correction techniques in HR-CS AAS
In HR-CS AAS background correction is carried out mathematically in the software using information from detector pixels that are not used for measuring atomic absorption; hence, in contrast to LS AAS, no additional components are required for background correction.

Background correction using correction pixels
It has already been mentioned that in HR-CS AAS lamp flicker noise is eliminated using correction pixels. In fact, any increase or decrease in radiation intensity that is observed to the same extent at all pixels chosen for correction is eliminated by the correction algorithm. This obviously also includes a reduction of the measured intensity due to radiation scattering or molecular absorption, which is corrected in the same way. As measurement of total and background absorption, and correction for the latter, are strictly simultaneous (in contrast to LS AAS), even the fastest changes of background absorption, as they may be observed in ET AAS, do not cause any problem. In addition, as the same algorithm is used for background correction and elimination of lamp noise, the background corrected signals show a much better signal-to-noise ratio compared to the uncorrected signals, which is also in contrast to LS AAS.

Background correction using a least-squares algorithm
The above technique can obviously not correct for a background with fine structure, as in this case the absorbance will be different at each of the correction pixels. In this case HR-CS AAS is offering the possibility to measure correction spectra of the molecule(s) that is (are) responsible for the background and store them in the computer. These spectra are then multiplied with a factor to match the intensity of the sample spectrum and subtracted pixel by pixel and spectrum by spectrum from the sample spectrum using a least-squares algorithm. This might sound complex, but first of all the number of di-atomic molecules that can exist at the temperatures of the atomizers used in AAS is relatively small, and second, the correction is performed by the computer within a few seconds. The same algorithm can actually also be used to correct for direct line overlap of two atomic absorption lines, making HR-CS AAS the only AAS technique that can correct for this kind of spectral interference.

title: Atomic absorption spectroscopy


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Arthur St. Clair

Major General Arthur St. Clair ( – August 31, 1818) was a Scottish-American soldier and politician. Born in Thurso, Scotland, he served in the British Army during the French and Indian War before settling in Pennsylvania, where he held local office. During the American Revolutionary War, he rose to the rank of major general in the Continental Army, but lost his command after a controversial retreat from Fort Ticonderoga.

After the war, he served as President of the Continental Congress, which during his term passed the Northwest Ordinance. He was then made governor of the Northwest Territory in 1788, and then the portion that would become Ohio in 1800. In 1791, St. Clair commanded the American forces in what was the United States' worst-ever defeat by the Native Americans, which became known as St. Clair's defeat. Politically out-of-step with the Jefferson administration, he was replaced as governor in 1802.

Early life and career
St. Clair was born in Thurso, Caithness, Scotland. Little is known of his early life. Early biographers estimated his year of birth as 1734, but subsequent historians uncovered a birth date of March 23, 1736, which in the modern calendar system means that he was born in 1737. His parents, unknown to early biographers, were probably William Sinclair, a merchant, and Elizabeth Balfour. He reportedly attended the University of Edinburgh before being apprenticed to the renowned physician William Hunter.

In 1757, St. Clair purchased a commission in the British Army, Royal American Regiment, and came to America with Admiral Edward Boscawen's fleet for the French and Indian War. He served under General Jeffery Amherst at the capture of Louisburg, Nova Scotia, on July 26, 1758. On April 17, 1759, he received a lieutenant's commission and was assigned under the command of General James Wolfe, under whom he served at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham which resulted in the capture of Quebec City.

Settler in America
On April 16, 1762, he resigned his commission, and, in 1764, he settled in Ligonier Valley, Pennsylvania, where he purchased land and erected mills. He was the largest landowner in Western Pennsylvania.

In 1770, St. Clair became a justice of the court, of quarter sessions and of common pleas, a member of the proprietary council, a justice, recorder, and clerk of the orphans' court, and prothonotary of Bedford and Westmoreland counties.

In 1774, during Lord Dunmore's War, the colony of Virginia took claim of the area around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and some residents of Western Pennsylvania took up arms to eject them. St. Clair issued an order for the arrest of the officer leading the Virginia troops. The boundary dispute between Virginia and Pennsylvania wasn’t settled until 1780 when both sides agreed to extend the Mason-Dixon line westward from Maryland to 80° 31′ west, the current western border of Pennsylvania (see: District of West Augusta)

Revolutionary War
By the mid-1770s, St. Clair considered himself more of an American than a British subject. In January 1776, he accepted a commission in the Continental Army as a colonel of the 3rd Pennsylvania Regiment. He first saw service in the later days of the Quebec invasion, where he saw action in the Battle of Trois-Rivières. He was appointed a brigadier general in August 1776, and was sent by Gen. George Washington to help organize the New Jersey militia. He took part in George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River on the night of December 25–26, 1776, before the Battle of Trenton on the morning of December 26. Many biographers credit St. Clair with the strategy that led to Washington's capture of Princeton, New Jersey, on January 3, 1777. St. Clair was promoted to major general in February 1777.

In April 1777, St. Clair was sent to defend Fort Ticonderoga. His outnumbered garrison could not resist British General John Burgoyne's larger force in the Saratoga campaign. St. Clair was forced to retreat at the Siege of Fort Ticonderoga on July 5, 1777. He withdrew his forces and played no further part in the campaign. In 1778 he was court-martialed for the loss of Ticonderoga. The court exonerated him and he returned to duty, although he was no longer given any battlefield commands. He still saw action, however, as an aide-de-camp to General Washington, who retained a high opinion of him. St. Clair was at Yorktown when Lord Cornwallis surrendered his army. During his military service, St. Clair was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society in 1780.

President of the United States in Congress Assembled
St. Clair was a member of the Pennsylvania Council of Censors in 1783 and was elected a delegate to the Confederation Congress, serving from November 2, 1785, until November 28, 1787. Chaos ruled the day in early 1787 with Shays's Rebellion in full force and the states refusing to settle land disputes or contribute to the now six-year-old federal government. On February 2, 1787, the delegates finally gathered into a quorum and elected St. Clair to a one-year term as President of the Continental Congress. Congress enacted its most important piece of legislation, the Northwest Ordinance, during St. Clair's tenure as president. Time was running out for the Confederation Congress, however; during St. Clair's presidency, the Philadelphia Convention was drafting a new United States Constitution, which would abolish the old Congress.

Northwest Territory
Under the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, which created the Northwest Territory, General St. Clair was appointed governor of what is now Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, along with parts of Wisconsin and Minnesota. He named Cincinnati, Ohio, after the Society of the Cincinnati, and it was there that he established his home.

As Governor, he formulated Maxwell's Code (named after its printer, William Maxwell), the first written laws of the territory. He also sought to end Native American claims to Ohio land and clear the way for white settlement. In 1789, he succeeded in getting certain Native Americans to sign the Treaty of Fort Harmar, but many native leaders had not been invited to participate in the negotiations, or had refused to do so. Rather than settling the Native Americans' claims, the treaty provoked them to further resistance in what is also sometimes known as the "Northwest Indian War" (or "Little Turtle's War"). Mutual hostilities led to a campaign by General Josiah Harmar, whose 1,500 militiamen were defeated by the Native Americans in October 1790.

In March 1791, St. Clair succeeded Harmar as commander of the United States Army and was commissioned as a major general. He personally led a punitive expedition involving two Regular Army regiments and some militia. In October 1791 as an advance post for his campaign, Fort Jefferson (Ohio) was built under the direction of General Arthur St. Clair. Located in present-day Darke County in far western Ohio, the fort was built of wood and intended primarily as a supply depot; accordingly, it was originally named Fort Deposit.

One month later, near modern-day Fort Recovery, his force advanced to the location of Native American settlements near the headwaters of the Wabash River, but on November 4 they were routed in battle by a tribal confederation led by Miami Chief Little Turtle and Shawnee chief Blue Jacket. They were aided by British collaborators Alexander McKee and Simon Girty. More than 600 soldiers and scores of women and children were killed in the battle, which has since borne the name "St. Clair's Defeat", also known as the "Battle of the Wabash", the "Columbia Massacre," or the "Battle of a Thousand Slain". It remains the greatest defeat of a US Army by Native Americans in history, with about 623 American soldiers killed in action and about 50 Native Americans killed. The wounded were many, including St. Clair and Capt. Robert Benham.

Although an investigation exonerated him, St. Clair resigned his army commission in March 1792 at the request of President Washington, but he continued to serve as Governor of the Northwest Territory.

A Federalist, St. Clair hoped to see two states made of the Ohio Territory in order to increase Federalist power in Congress. However, he was opposed by Ohio Democratic-Republicans for what were perceived as his partisanship, high-handedness, and arrogance in office. In 1802, St. Clair remarked the U.S. Congress had no power to interfere in the affairs of those in the Ohio Territory. He also stated the people of the territory "are no more bound by an act of Congress than we would be bound by an edict of the first consul of France." This led President Thomas Jefferson to remove him from office as territorial governor. He thus played no part in the organizing of the state of Ohio in 1803.

The first Ohio Constitution provided for a weak governor and a strong legislature, in part as a reaction to St. Clair's method of governance.

Family life
St. Clair met Phoebe Bayard, a member of one of the most prominent families in Boston, and they were married in 1760. Miss Bayard's mother's maiden name was Bowdoin and she was the sister of James Bowdoin, colonial governor of Massachusetts. His eldest daughter was Louisa St. Clair Robb, a mounted messenger and scout, and known as a beautiful huntress.

Like many of his Revolutionary era peers, St. Clair suffered from gout as noted in correspondence with John Adams.

Death
In retirement St. Clair lived with his daughter, Louisa St. Clair Robb, and her family on the ridge between Ligonier and Greensburg.

Arthur St. Clair died in poverty in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, on August 31, 1818, at the age of 81. His remains are buried under a Masonic monument in St. Clair Park in downtown Greensburg. St. Clair had been a petitioner for a Charter for Nova Caesarea Lodge #10 in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1791. This Lodge exists today, as Nova Caesarea Harmony #2. His wife Phoebe died shortly after and is buried beside him.

Legacy
A portion of the Hermitage, St. Clair's home in Oak Grove, Pennsylvania (north of Ligonier), was later moved to Ligonier, Pennsylvania, where it is now preserved, along with St. Clair artifacts and memorabilia at the Fort Ligonier Museum.

An American Civil War steamer was named USS St. Clair.

Lydia Sigourney included a poem in his honor, in her first poetry collection of 1815.

The site of Clair's inauguration as Governor of the Northwest Territory is now occupied by the National Start Westward Memorial of The United States, commemorating the settlement of the territory.

Places named in honor of Arthur St. Clair include:

In Pennsylvania:
 * Upper St. Clair, Pennsylvania
 * St. Clairsville, Pennsylvania
 * St. Clair Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania
 * St. Clair Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania
 * East St. Clair Township, Bedford County, Pennsylvania
 * West St. Clair Township, Bedford County, Pennsylvania
 * The St. Clair neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
 * St. Clair Hospital, Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania

In Ohio: Other States:
 * St. Clair Township in Butler County, Ohio
 * St. Clair Township in Columbiana County, Ohio,
 * St. Clairsville, Ohio
 * St. Clair Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio
 * St. Clair Street in Dayton, Ohio
 * St. Clair Street in Toledo, Ohio
 * St. Clair Street in Marietta, Ohio
 * Fort St. Clair in Eaton, Ohio
 * St. Clair County, Illinois
 * St. Clair Street in Indianapolis, Indiana
 * St. Clair County, Missouri
 * St. Clair County, Alabama
 * St. Clair Street in Frankfort, Kentucky, was named for the St. Clair by Gen. James Wilkinson, who laid out the town that became the state capital. The street's north end is at the Old Capitol, and near its south end is the Franklin County Court House; both were designed by Gideon Shryock.

In Scotland:
 * The three-star St Clair Hotel in Sinclair St, Thurso, Caithness, is named after him.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Arthur St. Clair


text:
Ajaccio

Ajaccio (,, ; French: ; Aiaccio or Ajaccio ; Aiacciu , locally: Aghjacciu ; Adiacium) is the capital and largest city of Corsica, France. It forms a French commune, prefecture of the department of Corse-du-Sud, and head office of the Collectivité territoriale de Corse (capital city of Corsica). It is also the largest settlement on the island. Ajaccio is located on the west coast of the island of Corsica, 210 nmi southeast of Marseille.

The original city went into decline in the Middle Ages, but began to prosper again after the Genoese built a citadel in 1492, to the south of the earlier settlement. After the Corsican Republic was declared in 1755, the Genoese continued to hold several citadels, including Ajaccio, until the French took control of the island.

The inhabitants of the commune are known as Ajacciens (men) or Ajacciennes (women). The most famous of these is Napoleon Bonaparte, who was born in Ajaccio in 1769, and whose ancestral home, the Maison Bonaparte, is now a museum. Other dedications to him in the city include Ajaccio Napoleon Bonaparte Airport.

Toponymy
Several hypotheses have been advanced as to the etymology of the name Ajaccio (Aiacciu in Corsican, Addiazzo on old documents). Among these, the most prestigious suggests that the city was founded by the Greek legendary hero Ajax and named after him. Other more realistic explanations are, for example, that the name could be related to the Tuscan agghiacciu meaning "sheep pens". Another explanation, supported by Byzantine sources from around the year 600 AD called the city Agiation which suggests a possible Greek origin for the word, agathè could mean "good luck" or "good mooring" (this was also the root of the name of the city of Agde).

Location
Ajaccio is located on the west coast of the island of Corsica, 210 nmi southeast of Marseille. The commune occupies a sheltered position at the foot of wooded hills on the northern shore of the Gulf of Ajaccio between Gravona and the pointe de la Parata and includes the îles Sanguinaires (Bloody Islands). The harbour lies to the east of the original citadel below a hill overlooking a peninsula which protects the harbour in the south where the Quai de la Citadelle and the Jettée de la Citadelle are. The modern city not only encloses the entire harbour but takes up the better part of the Gulf of Ajaccio and in suburban form extends for some miles up the valley of the river Gravona. The flow from that river is nearly entirely consumed as the city's water supply. Many beaches and coves border its territory and the terrain is particularly rugged in the west where the highest point is 790 m.

Urbanism
Although the commune of Ajaccio has a large area (82.03 km2), only a small portion of this is urbanized. Therefore, the urban area of Ajaccio is located in the east of the commune on a narrow coastal strip forming a densely populated arc. The rest of the territory is natural with habitation of little importance and spread thinly. Suburbanization occurs north and east of the main urban area.

The original urban core, close to the old marshy plain of Cannes was abandoned in favour of the current city which was built near the Punta della Lechia. It has undergone various improvements, particularly under Napoleon, who originated the two current major structural arteries (the Cours Napoleon oriented north–south and the Cours Grandval oriented east–west).

Ajaccio experienced a demographic boom in the 1960s, which explains why 85% of dwellings are post-1949. This is reflected in the layout of the city which is marked by very large areas of low-rise buildings and concrete towers, especially on the heights (Les Jardins de l'Empereur) and in the north of the city - e.g. the waterfront, Les Cannes, and Les Salines. A dichotomy appears in the landscape between the old city and the imposing modern buildings. Ajaccio gives the image of a city built on two different levels.

Climate
The city has a Mediterranean climate which is Csa in the Köppen climate classification. The average annual sunshine is 2,726 hours.

There are important local climatic variations, especially with wind exposure and total precipitation, between the city centre, the airport, and the îles Sanguinaires. The annual average rainfall is 645.6 mm at the Campo dell'Oro weather station (as per the chart) and 523.9 mm at the Parata: the third-driest place in metropolitan France. The heat and dryness of summer are somewhat tempered by the proximity of the Mediterranean Sea except when the sirocco is blowing. In autumn and spring, heavy rain-storm episodes may occur. Winters are mild and snow is rare. Ajaccio is the French city which holds the record for the number of thunderstorms in the reference period 1971–2000 with an average of 39 thunderstorm days per year.

On 14 September 2009, the city was hit by a tornado with an intensity of F1 on the Fujita scale. There was little damage except torn billboards, flying tiles, overturned cars, and broken windows but no casualties.

Weather Data for Ajaccio

Antiquity
The city was not mentioned by the Greek geographer Ptolemy of Alexandria in the 2nd century AD despite the presence of a place called Ourkinion in the Cinarca area. It is likely that the city of Ajaccio had its first development at this time. The 2nd century was a period of prosperity in the Mediterranean basin (the Pax Romana) and there was a need for a proper port at the head of the several valleys that lead to the Gulf able to accommodate large ships. Some important underwater archaeological discoveries recently made of Roman ships tend to confirm this.

Further excavations conducted recently led to the discovery of important early Christian remains suggest that an upwards reevaluation might be necessary of the size of Ajaccio city in Late Antiquity and the beginning of the Middle Ages. The city was in any case already significant enough to be the seat of a diocese, mentioned by Pope Gregory the Great in 591. The city was then further north than the location chosen later by the Genoese - in the location of the existing quarters of Castel Vecchio and Sainte-Lucie.

The earliest certain written record of a settlement at Ajaccio with a name ancestral to its name was the exhortation in Epistle 77 written in 601AD by Gregory the great to the Defensor Boniface, one of two known rectors of the early Corsican church, to tell him not to leave Aléria and Adjacium without bishops. There is no earlier use of the term and Adjacium is not an attested Latin word, which probably means that it is a Latinization of a word in some other language. The Ravenna Cosmography of about 700 AD cites Agiation, which sometimes is taken as evidence of a prior Greek city, as -ion appears to be a Greek ending. There is, however, no evidence at all of a Greek presence on the west coast and the Ionians at Aléria on the east coast had been expelled by the Etruscans long before Roman domination.

Ptolemy, who must come the closest to representing indigenous names, lists the Lochra River just south of a feature he calls the "sandy shore" on the southwest coast. If the shore is the Campo dell'Oro (Place of Gold) the Lochra would seem to be the combined mouth of the Gravona and Prunelli Rivers, neither one of which sounds like Lochra.

North of there was a Roman city, Ourchinion. The western coastline was so distorted, however, that it is impossible to say where Adjacium was; certainly, he would have known its name and location if he had had any first-hand knowledge of the island and if in fact it was there. Ptolemy's Ourchinion is further north than Ajaccio and does not have the same name. It could be Sagone. The lack of correspondence between Ptolemaic and historical names known to be ancient has no defense except in the case of the two Roman colonies, Aleria and Mariana. In any case the population of the region must belong to Ptolemy's Tarabeni or Titiani people, neither of which are ever heard about again.

Archaeological evidence
The population of the city throughout the centuries maintained an oral tradition that it had originally been Roman. Travellers of the 19th century could point to the Hill of San Giovanni on the northwest shore of the Gulf of Ajaccio, which still had a cathedral said to have been the 6th-century seat of the Bishop of Ajaccio. The Castello Vecchio ("old castle"), a ruined citadel, was believed to be Roman but turned out to have Gothic features. The hill was planted with vines. The farmers kept turning up artifacts and terracotta funerary urns that seemed to be Roman.

In the 20th century, the hill was covered over with buildings and became a part of downtown Ajaccio. In 2005 construction plans for a lot on the hill offered the opportunity to the Institut national de recherches archéologiques preventatives (Inrap) to excavate. They found the baptistry of a 6th-century cathedral and large amounts of pottery dated to the 6th and 7th centuries AD; in other words, an early Christian town. A cemetery had been placed over the old church. In it was a single Roman grave covered over with roof tiles bearing short indecipherable inscriptions. The finds of the previous century had included Roman coins. This is the only evidence so far of a Roman city continuous with the early Christian one.

Medieval Genoese period
It has been established that after the 8th century the city, like most other Corsican coastal communities, strongly declined and disappeared almost completely. Nevertheless, a castle and a cathedral were still in place in 1492 which last was not demolished until 1748.

Towards the end of the 15th century, the Genoese were eager to assert their dominance in the south of the island and decided to rebuild the city of Ajaccio. Several sites were considered: the Pointe de la Parata (not chosen because it was too exposed to the wind), the ancient city (finally considered unsafe because of the proximity of the salt ponds), and finally the Punta della Lechia which was finally selected.

Work began on the town on 21 April 1492 south of the Christian village by the Bank of Saint George at Genoa, who sent Cristoforo of Gandini, an architect, to build it. He began with a castle on Capo di Bolo, around which he constructed residences for several hundred people.

The new city was essentially a colony of Genoa. The Corsicans were restricted from the city for some years.

Nevertheless, the town grew rapidly and became the administrative capital of the province of Au Delà Des Monts (more or less the current Corse-du-Sud). Bastia remained the capital of the entire island.

Although at first populated exclusively by the Genoese, the city slowly opened to the Corsicans while the Ajaccians, almost to the French conquest, were legally citizens of the Republic of Genoa and were happy to distinguish themselves from the insular paesani who lived mainly in Borgu, a suburb outside the city walls (the current rue Fesch was the main street).

Attachment to France
Ajaccio was occupied from 1553 to 1559 by the French, but it again fell to the Genoese after the Treaty of Cateau Cambresis in the latter year.

Subsequently, the Republic of Genoa was strong enough to keep Corsica until 1755, the year Pasquale Paoli proclaimed the Corsican Republic. Paoli took most of the island for the republic, but he was unable to force Genoese troops out of the citadels of Saint-Florent, Calvi, Ajaccio, Bastia and Algajola. Leaving them there, he went on to build the nation, while the Republic of Genoa was left to ponder prospects and solutions. Their ultimate solution was to sell Corsica to France in 1768 and French troops of the Ancien Régime replaced Genoese ones in the citadels, including Ajaccio's.

Corsica was formally annexed to France in 1780.

Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte (born as Napoleone di Buonaparte) was born at Ajaccio in the same year as the Battle of Ponte Novu, 1769. The Buonaparte family at the time had a huge four-story home in town (now a museum known as Maison Bonaparte) and a rarely used country home in the hills north of the city (now site of the Arboretum des Milelli). The father of the family, attorney Carlo di Buonaparte, was secretary to Pasquale Paoli during the Corsican Republic.

After the defeat of Paoli, the Comte de Marbeuf began to meet with some leading Corsicans to outline the shape of the future and enlist their assistance. The Comte was among a delegation from Ajaccio in 1769, offered his loyalty and was appointed assessor.

Marbeuf also offered Carlo di Buonaparte an appointment for one of his sons to the Military College of Brienne, but Napoleone did not speak French which was a requirement and he had to be at least ten years of age. There is a dispute concerning Napoleon's age because of this requirement; the emperor is known to have altered the civic records at Ajaccio concerning himself and it is possible that he was born in Corte in 1768 when his father was there on business. In any case Napoleon was sent to a school in Autun to learn basic French, then after a year went to Brienne from 1779 to 1784.

At Brienne Napoleon concentrated on studies. He wrote a boyish history of Corsica. He did not share his father's views but held Pasquale Paoli in high esteem and was at heart a Corsican nationalist. The top students were encouraged to go into the artillery. After graduation and a brief sojourn at the Military School of Paris Napoleon applied for a second-lieutenancy in the artillery regiment of La Fère at Valence and after a time was given the position. Meanwhile, his father died and his mother was cast into poverty in Corsica, still having four children to support. Her only income was Napoleon's meager salary.

The regiment was in Auxonne when the revolution broke out in the summer of 1789. Napoleon returned on leave to Ajaccio in October, became a Jacobin and began to work for the revolution. The National Assembly in Paris united Corsica to France and pardoned its exiles. Paoli returned in 1790 after 21 years and kissed the soil on which he stood. He and Napoleon met and toured the battlefield of Paoli's defeat. A national assembly at Orezza created the department of Corsica and Paoli was subsequently elected president. He commanded the national guard raised by Napoleon. After a brief return to his regiment Napoleon was promoted to first lieutenant and came home again on leave in 1791. All officers were recalled from leave in 1792, intervention threatened and war with Austria (Marie-Antoinette's homeland) began. Napoleon returned to Paris for review, was exonerated, then promoted to captain and given leave to escort his sister, a schoolgirl, back to Corsica at state expense. His family was prospering; his estate increased.

Napoleon became a lieutenant-colonel in the Corsican National Guard. Paoli sent him off on an expedition to Sardinia, ordered by France, under Paolis's nephew but the nephew had secret orders from Paoli to make sure the expedition failed. Paoli was now a conservative, opposing the execution of the king and supporting an alliance with Great Britain. Returning from Sardinia Napoleon with his family and all his supporters were instrumental in getting Paoli denounced at the National Convention in Paris in 1793. Napoleon earned the hatred of the Paolists by pretending to support Paoli and then turning against him (payment, one supposes, for Sardinia).

Paoli was convicted in absentia, a warrant was issued for his arrest (which could not be served) and Napoleon was dispatched to Corsica as Inspector General of Artillery to take the citadel of Ajaccio from the royalists who had held it since 1789. The Paolists combining with the royalists defeated the French in two pitched battles and Napoleon and his family went on the run, hiding by day, while the Paolists burned their estate. Napoleon and his mother, Laetitia, were taken out by ship in June 1793, by friends while two of the girls found refuge with other friends. They landed in Toulon with only Napoleon's pay for their support. The Bonapartes moved to Marseille but in August Toulon offered itself to the British and received the protection of a fleet under Admiral Hood. The Siege of Toulon began in September under revolutionary officers mainly untrained in the art of war. Napoleon happened to present socially one evening and during a casual conversation over a misplaced 24-pounder explained the value of artillery. Taken seriously he was allowed to bring up over 100 guns from coastal emplacements but his plan for the taking of Toulon was set aside as one incompetent officer superseded another. By December they decided to try his plan and made him a Colonel. Placing the guns at close range he used them to keep the British fleet away while he battered down the walls of Toulon. As soon as the Committee of Public Safety heard of the victory Napoleon became a brigadier general, the start of his meteoric rise to power.

The Bonapartes were back in Ajaccio in 1797 under the protection of General Napoleon. Soon after Napoleon became First Consul and then emperor, using his office to spread revolution throughout Europe. In 1811 he made Ajaccio the capital of the new Department of Corsica. Despite his subsequent defeat by the Prussians, Russians, and British, his exile and his death, no victorious power reversed that decision or tried to remove Corsica from France. Among the natives, though Corsican nationalism is strong, and feeling often runs high in favour of a union with Italy; loyalty to France, however, as evidenced by elections, remains stronger.

19th and 20th centuries
In the 19th century Ajaccio became a winter resort of the high society of the time, especially for the English, in the same way as Monaco, Cannes, and Nice. An Anglican Church was even built.

The first prison in France for children was built in Ajaccio in 1855: the Horticultural colony of Saint Anthony. It was a correctional colony for juvenile delinquents (from 8 to 20 years old), established under Article 10 of the Act of 5 August 1850. Nearly 1,200 children from all over France stayed there until 1866, when it was closed. Sixty percent of them perished, the victims of poor sanitation and malaria which infested the unhealthy areas that they were responsible to clean.

Contemporary history

On 9 September 1943, the people of Ajaccio rose up against the Nazi occupiers and became the first French town to be liberated from the domination of the Germans. General Charles de Gaulle went to Ajaccio on 8 October 1943 and said: "We owe it to the field of battle the lesson of the page of history that was written in French Corsica. Corsica to her fortune and honour is the first morsel of France to be liberated; which was done intentionally and willingly, in the light of its liberation, this demonstrates that these are the intentions and the will of the whole nation."

Throughout this period, no Jew was executed or deported from Corsica through the protection afforded by its people and its government. This event now allows Corsica to aspire to the title "Righteous Among the Nations", as no French region except for the commune Le Chambon-sur-Lignon in Haute-Loire carries this title. Their case is being investigated.

Since the middle of the 20th century, Ajaccio has seen significant development. The city has seen population growth and considerable urban sprawl. Today Ajaccio is the capital of Corsica and the main town of the island and seeks to establish itself as a true regional centre.

Ajaccio was a hotspot for violence during the violent unrest in March 2022.

Economy

The city is, with Bastia, the economic, commercial and administrative centre of Corsica. Its urban area of nearly 90,000 inhabitants is spread over a large part of the Corse-du-Sud, on either side of the Gulf of Ajaccio and up the valley of the Gravona. Its business is primarily oriented towards the services sector.

The services sector is by far the main source of employment in the city. Ajaccio is an administrative centre comprising communal, intercommunal, departmental, regional, and prefectural services.

It is also a shopping centre with the commercial streets of the city centre and the areas of peripheral activities such as that of Mezzavia (hypermarket Géant Casino) and along the ring road (hypermarket Carrefour and E. Leclerc).

Tourism is one of the most vital aspects of the economy, split between the seaside tourism of summer, cultural tourism, and fishing. A number of hotels, varying from one star to five star, are present across the commune.

Ajaccio is the seat of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Ajaccio and Corsica South. It manages the ports of Ajaccio, Bonifacio, Porto-Vecchio, Propriano and the Tino Rossi marina. It also manages Ajaccio airport and Figari airport as well as the convention centre and the Centre of Ricanto.

Secondary industry is underdeveloped, apart from the aeronautical company Corsica Aerospace Composites CCA, the largest company on the island with 135 employees at two sites. The storage sites of GDF Suez (formerly Gaz de France) and Antargaz in the district of Vazzio are classified as high risk.

Energy
The Centrale EDF du Vazzio, a heavy oil power station, provides the south of the island with electricity. The Gravona Canal delivers water for consumption by the city.

Road access

By road, the city is accessible from National Route NR194 from Bastia and NR193 via NR196 from Bonifacio.

These two main axes, as well as the roads leading to suburban villages, connect Ajaccio from the north - the site of Ajaccio forming a dead end blocked by the sea to the south. Only the Cours Napoleon and the Boulevard du Roi Jerome cross the city.

Along with the high urban density, this explains the major traffic and parking problems especially during peak hours and during the summer tourist season. A bypass through several neighbourhoods is nearing completion.

Communal bus services
The Muvistrada provide services on 21 urban routes, one "city" route for local links and 20 suburban lines. The frequency varies according to demand with intervals of 30 minutes for the most important routes:

A park and ride with 300 spaces was built at Mezzana in the neighbouring commune of Sarrola-Carcopino in order to promote intermodality between cars and public transport. It was inaugurated on 12 July 2010.

Airport
The city is served by an Ajaccio Napoleon Bonaparte Airport which is the headquarters of Air Corsica, a Corsican airline. It connects Ajaccio to a number of cities in mainland France (including Paris, Marseille, Nice, and Brive) and to places in Europe to serve the tourist industry.

The airline CCM Airlines also has its head office on the grounds of the Airport.

Port
The port of Ajaccio is connected to the French mainland on an almost daily basis (Marseille, Toulon, Nice). There are also occasional links to the Italian mainland (Livorno) and to Sardinia, as well as a seasonal service serving Calvi and Propriano. The two major shipping companies providing these links are Corsica Linea and Corsica Ferries.

Ajaccio has also become a stopover for cruises with a total of 418,086 passengers in 2007—by far the largest in Corsica and the second-largest in France (after Marseille, but ahead of Nice/Villefranche-sur-Mer and Cannes). The goal is for Ajaccio to eventually become the premier French port for cruises as well as being a main departure point.

The Port function of the city is also served by the commercial, pleasure craft, and artisanal fisheries (3 ports).

Railways
The railway station in Ajaccio belongs to Chemins de fer de la Corse and is located near the port at the Square Pierre Griffi. It connects Ajaccio to Corte, Bastia (3 h 25 min) and Calvi.

There are two optional stops: In addition, the municipality has introduced an additional commuter service between Mezzana station in the suburbs and Ajaccio station located in the centre.
 * Salines Halt north of the city in the district of the same name
 * Campo dell'Oro Halt near the airport

Administration

Ajaccio was successively:
 * Capital of the district of the department of Corsica in 1790 to 1793
 * Capital of the department of Liamone from 1793 to 1811
 * Capital of the department of Corsica from 1811 to 1975
 * Capital of the region and the collectivité territoriale de Corse since 1970 and the department of Corse-du-Sud since 1976

Policy
Ajaccio remained (with some interruptions) an electoral stronghold of the Bonapartist (CCB) party until the municipal elections of 2001. The outgoing municipality was then beaten by a left-wing coalition led by Simon Renucci which gathered Social Democrats, Communists, and Charles Napoleon - the pretender to the imperial throne.

List of Successive Mayors of Ajaccio

Quarters
10 Quarters are recognized by the municipality.
 * Cannes-Binda: an area north of the city, consisting of Housing estates, classed as a Sensitive urban zone (ZUS) with Les Salines, subject to a policy of urban renewal
 * Centre Ville: The tourist heart of the city consisting of shopping streets and major thoroughfares
 * Casone: a bourgeois neighbourhood with an affluent population located in the former winter resort on the heights of the southern city.
 * Les Jardins de l'Empereur: a neighbourhood classified as a Sensitive urban zone (ZUS) on the heights of the city, consisting of housing estates overlooking the city
 * Mezzavia: northern quarter of the town with several subdivisions and areas of business and economic activities
 * Octroi-Sainte Lucie: constitutes the northern part of the city centre near the port and the railway station
 * Pietralba: quarter northeast of the city, classified ZUS
 * Résidence des Îles: quarter to the south of the city near the tourist route of Sanguinaires in a quality environment
 * Saint-Jean: collection of buildings for a population with low incomes, close to the historic urban core of the city, classified as a Sensitive urban zone (ZUS)
 * Saline: quarter north of the city, consisting of large apartment blocks, classed as a Sensitive urban zone (ZUS) with Les Cannes, subject to a policy of urban renewal
 * Vazzio: quarter northeast of the city, near the airport, the EDF Central, and the Francois Coty stadium.

Intercommunality
Since December 2001, Ajaccio has been part of the Communauté d'agglomération du Pays Ajaccien with nine other communes: Afa, Alata, Appietto, Cuttoli-Corticchiato, Peri, Sarrola-Carcopino, Tavaco, Valle-di-Mezzana, and Villanova.

Origins
The geopolitical arrangements of the commune are slightly different from those typical of Corsica and France. Usually an arrondissement includes cantons and a canton includes one to several communes including the chef-lieu, "chief place", from which the canton takes its name. The city of Ajaccio is one commune, but it contains four cantons, Cantons 1–4, and a fraction of Canton 5. The latter contains three other communes: Bastelicaccia, Alata and Villanova, making a total of four communes for the five cantons of Ajaccio.

Each canton contains a certain number of quartiers, "quarters". Cantons 1, 2, 3, 4 are located along the Gulf of Ajaccio from west to east, while 5 is a little further up the valleys of the Gravona and the Prunelli Rivers. These political divisions subdivide the population of Ajaccio into units that can be more democratically served but they do not give a true picture of the size of Ajaccio. In general language, "greater Ajaccio" includes about 100,000 people with all the medical, educational, utility and transportational facilities of a big city. Up until World War II it was still possible to regard the city as being a settlement of narrow streets localized to a part of the harbour or the Gulf of Ajaccio: such bucolic descriptions do not fit the city of today, and travelogues intended for mountain or coastal recreational areas do not generally apply to Corsica's few big cities.

The arrondissement contains other cantons that extend generally up the two rivers into central Corsica.

Twin towns – sister cities
Ajaccio is twinned with:
 * 🇮🇹 La Maddalena, Italy (1991)

Population
The population of Ajaccio increased sharply after 1960 due to migration from rural areas and the coming of "Pied-Noirs" (French Algerians), immigrants from the Maghreb and French from mainland France.

Health
Ajaccio has three hospital sites:
 * the Misericordia Hospital, built in 1950, is located on the heights of the city centre. This is the main medical facility in the region.
 * The Annex Eugenie.
 * the Psychiatric Hospital of Castelluccio is 5 km west of the city centre and is also home of cancer services and long-stay patients.

Education
Ajaccio is the headquarters of the Academy of Corsica.

The city of Ajaccio has:
 * 18 nursery schools (16 public and 2 private)
 * 17 primary schools (15 public and 2 private)
 * 6 colleges
 * 5 Public Schools:
 * Collège Arthur-Giovoni
 * Collège des Padule
 * Collège Laetitia Bonaparte
 * Collège Fesch
 * EREA
 * 1 Private School: Institution Saint Paul
 * 3 sixth-form colleges/senior high schools
 * 2 public schools:
 * Lycée Laetitia Bonaparte
 * Lycée Fesch
 * 1 private: Institution Saint Paul
 * 2 LEP (vocational high schools)
 * Lycée Finosello
 * Lycée Jules Antonini

Higher education is undeveloped except for a few BTS and IFSI, the University of Corsica Pascal Paoli is located in Corte. A research facility of INRA is also located on Ajaccio.

Culture and heritage
Ajaccio has a varied tourism potential, with both a cultural framework in the centre of the city and a natural heritage around the coves and beaches of the Mediterranean Sea, as well as the Natura 2000 reserve of the îles Sanguinaires.

Civil heritage
The commune has many buildings and structures that are registered as historical monuments:
 * The Monument to General Abbatucci in the Place Abbatucci (1854)
 * The Monument to Napoleon I in the Place d'Austerlitz (20th century)
 * The Baciocchi Family Mansion at 9 Rue Bonaparte (18th century)
 * The Fesch Palace at 48 bis Rue Cardinal-Fesch (1827)
 * The Monument to the First Consul in the Place Foch (1850)
 * The Peraldi House at 18 Rue Forcioli-Conti (1820)
 * The Grand Hotel at Cours Grandval (1869)
 * The old Château Conti at Cours Grandval (19th century)
 * The Monument to Napoleon and his brothers in the Place du General de Gaulle (1864)
 * The Monument to Cardinal Fesch at the Cour du Musée Fesch (1856)
 * The old Alban Factory at 89 Cours Napoleon (1913)
 * The Milelli House in the Saint-Antoine Quarter (17th century)
 * The Hotel Palace-Cyrnos (1880), an old Luxury Hotel from the 19th century and a famous palace of the old days in the quarter "for foreigners" now converted into housing.
 * The Lantivy Palace (1837), an Italian palace now headquarters of the prefecture of Corsica.
 * The Hotel de Ville (1836)
 * Napoleon Bonaparte's House (17th century) now a national museum: the Maison Bonaparte
 * The old Lazaretto of Aspretto (1843)
 * The Citadel (1554)
 * The Sawmill at Les Salines (1944)
 * The Lighthouse on the Sanguinaires Islands (1844)

 * Other sites of interest
 * The Monument in the Place du Casone
 * The old town and the Borgu are typically Mediterranean with their narrow streets and picturesque buildings
 * The Place Bonaparte, a quarter frequented chiefly by winter visitors attracted by the mild climate of the town
 * The Musée Fesch houses a large collection of Italian Renaissance paintings
 * The Bandera Museum, a History Museum of Mediterranean Corsica
 * The Municipal library, in the north wing of Musée Fesch, has early printed books from as early as the 14th century
 * The area known as the Foreigners' Quarter has a number of old palaces, villas, and buildings once built for the wintering British in the Belle Époque such as the Anglican Church and the Grand Hotel Continental. Some of the buildings are in bad condition and very degraded, others were destroyed for the construction of modern buildings.
 * The Genoese towers: Torra di Capu di Fenu, Torra di a Parata, and Torra di Castelluchju in the Îles Sanguinaires archipelago
 * The Square Pierre Griffi (in front of the railway station), named after a hero of the Corsican Resistance and one of the members of the Pearl Harbour secret mission, the first operation launched in occupied Corsica to coordinate resistance
 * The Statue of Commandant Jean L'Herminier (in front of the ferry terminal), commander of the French submarine Casabianca (1935) which actively participated in the struggle for the liberation of Corsica in September 1943

Religious heritage

The town is the seat of a bishopric dating at least from the 7th century. It has tribunals of first instance and of commerce, training colleges, a communal college, a museum and a library; the three latter are established in the Palais Fesch, founded by Cardinal Fesch, who was born at Ajaccio in 1763.

The commune has several religious buildings and structures that are registered as historical monuments:
 * The former Episcopal Palace at 24 Rue Bonaparte (1622)
 * The Oratory of Saint Roch at Rue Cardinal-Fesch (1599)
 * The Chapel of Saint Erasme or Sant'Erasmu at 22 Rue Forcioli-Conti (17th century)
 * The Oratory of Saint John the Baptist at Rue du Roi-de-Dome (1565)
 * The Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta at Rue Saint-Charles (1582) from the Renaissance which depended on the diocese of Ajaccio and where Napoleon was baptized with its organ from Cavaillé-Coll.
 * The Chapel of the Greeks on the Route des Sanguiunaires (1619)
 * The Early Christian Baptistery of Saint John (6th century)
 * The Imperial Chapel (1857) houses the graves of Napoleon's parents and his brothers and sisters.

 * Other religious sites of interest
 * The Church of Saint Roch, Neoclassical architecture by Ajaccien project architect Barthélémy Maglioli (1885)

Environmental heritage

 * Sanguinaires Archipelago:
 * The Route des Sanguinaires runs along the southern coast of the city after the Saint François Beach. It is lined with villas and coves and beaches. Along the road is the Ajaccio cemetery with the grave of Corsican singer Tino Rossi.
 * At the mouth of the Route des Sanguinaires is the Pointe de la Parata near the archipelago and the lighthouse.

 * The Sentier des Crêtes (Crest Trail) starts from the city centre and is an easy hike offering splendid views of the Gulf of Ajaccio. The shores of the Gulf are dotted with a multitude of small coves and beaches ideal for swimming and scuba diving.
 * Many small paths traversing the maquis (high ground covered in thick vegetation) in the commune from which the Maquis resistance network was named.

Interests

 * The city has two marinas and a casino.
 * The main activities are concentrated in the city centre on the Route des Sanguinaires (cinemas, bars, clubs etc.).

In popular culture
Films made in Ajaccio include:
 * Napoléon, one of the last successful French silent films by Abel Gance in 1927.
 * Les Radonneurs, a French film directed by Philippe Harel in 1997.
 * Les Sanguinaires, a film by Laurent Cantet in 1998.
 * The Amazing Race, an American TV series by Elise Doganieri and Bertram van Munster in 2001 (season 6 episode 9).
 * L'Enquête Corse, directed by Alain Berberian in 2004.
 * Trois petites filles, a French film directed by Jean-Loup Hubert in 2004.
 * Joueuse (Queen to Play), a French film directed by Caroline Bottaro in 2009.

Sports
There are various sports facilities developed throughout the city.

 * AC Ajaccio is a French Ligue 2 football club which plays at the Stade François Coty (13,500 seats) in the north-east of the city
 * Gazélec Football Club Ajaccio, in Championnat National, football club which plays at the Stade Ange Casanova located at Mezzavia, 2,900 seats.
 * GFCO Ajaccio handball
 * GFCO Ajaccio Volleyball
 * GFCO Ajaccio Basketball
 * Vignetta Racecourse

Notable people

 * Carlo Buonaparte (1746–1785), politician, father of Napoleon Bonaparte
 * Felice Pasquale Baciocchi (1762–1841), general of the armies of the Revolution and the Empire, brother in law of the Emperor Napoleon 1st, Grand Duke of Tuscany
 * Joseph Fesch (1763–1839), cardinal
 * Joseph Bonaparte (1768-1844), French statesman, King of Naples, King of Spain
 * Napoleon Bonaparte (1769–1821), Emperor of France
 * Lucien Bonaparte (1775–1840), Prince of Canino and Musignano, Interior Minister of France
 * Elisa Bonaparte (1777–1820), Grand Duchess of Tuscany
 * Louis Bonaparte (1778–1846), King of Holland
 * Pauline Bonaparte (1780-1825), Duchess of Guastalla, Princess Consort of Sulmona and Rossano
 * Caroline Bonaparte (1782–1839), Queen Consort of Naples and Sicily
 * Jérôme Bonaparte (1784–1860), King of Westphalia
 * François Coty (1874–1934), perfumer, businessman, newspaper publisher and politician
 * Irène Bordoni (1895–1953), singer and actress
 * Tino Rossi (1907–1983), singer and actor
 * Michel Giacometti (1929–1990), ethnomusicologist
 * François Duprat (1941–1978), writer
 * Michel Ferracci-Porri (born 1949), writer
 * Jean-Michel Cavalli (born 1959), football player and manager
 * Alizée (born 1984), singer

Military
Units that were stationed in Ajaccio:
 * 163rd Infantry Regiment, 1906
 * 173rd Infantry Regiment
 * The Aspretto naval airbase for seaplanes 1938–1993

title: Ajaccio


text:
Ajaigarh

Ajaigarh or Ajaygarh is a town and a nagar panchayat in the Panna District of Madhya Pradesh state in central India.

Ajaigarh State was one of the princely states of India during the period of the British Raj. The state was founded in 1785, and its capital was in Ajaigarh.

History
Ajaigarh was the capital of a princely state of the same name during the British Raj. Ajaigarh was founded in 1765 by Guman Singh, a Bundela Rajput who was the nephew of Raja Pahar Singh of Jaitpur. After Ajaigarh was captured by the British in 1809, it became a princely state in the Bundelkhand Agency of the Central India Agency. It had an area of 771 sqmi, and a population of 78,236 in 1901. The rulers bore the title of sawai maharaja. He commanded an estimated annual revenue of about £15,000/-, and paid a tribute of £460/-. The chief resided at the town of Nowgong, at the foot of the hill-fortress of Ajaigarh, from which the state took its name. This fort, situated on a steep hill, towers more than 800 ft above the eponymous township, and contains the ruins of several temples adorned with elaborately carved sculptures. The town was often afflicted by malaria, and suffered severely from famine in 1868–69 and 1896–97.

The state acceded to the Government of India on 1 January 1950; the ruling chief was granted a privy purse of Rs. 74,700/-, and the courtesy use of his styles and titles. All of these were revoked by the government of India in 1971, at the time when these privileges were revoked from all erstwhile princes. The former princely state became part of the new Indian state of Vindhya Pradesh, and most of the territory of the former state, including the town of Ajaigarh, became part of Panna District, with a smaller portion going to Chhatarpur District. Vindhya Pradesh was merged into Madhya Pradesh on 1 November 1956.

Rulers of Ajaygarh
Maharajadhiraja Chhatrasal   : 1649–1731 (founder ruler of many kingdoms) ___________________________|______________________________ Hirdeshah                  Jagatraj                   Bhartichandra (Panna)                   (Jaitpur)                     (Jaso) ____________________________|______________________________ Vir Singh                  Kirat Singh                  Pahar Singh (1758–1765) ____________________________|______________________________ Khuman Singh          Guman Singh (1765–1792)             Durg Singh (Charkari)              (Banda)(No issues)                   | |__________________Son of______| Bhakhat Singh        :b. 1792-d. 1837                     (Founder ruler of Ajaigarh) _____________________________|_______________________________                        Madho Singh (r. 1837–1849)   Mahipat Singh (r. 1849–1853) (No male issue)                    | |                        Ranjore Singh (K.C.I.E)__________Vijay Singh (R. 1853–1855) (born 1844; died 1919)        (died early, fell from horse) _____________________________|________________________________                                                                                Jaipal Singh           Bhopal Singh (K.C.I.E.)           Pakshpal Singh (born 1866; died 1942)                 | |                       Col. Deshpal Singh : (1914 -     ) Punyapratap Singh:                     |                    | (born 1884; died 1958)          Ajaiveer Singh        Ashit Varn Singh (1953-2017) |                     (No Male Issue)               | Devendra Vijay Singh                                          | (born 1913; died 1984)             Hraday Shah ---| (Privy Purses, titles abolished) _____________________________|_________________________________           Mahipendra Singh      Kaushalendra Singh            Surendra Singh |              (born 1934; died 1982)                 | |                         |                           |    Shailendra Singh         Ajayraj Singh              Tarunendra Singh

Ajaigarh Fort
Ajaigarh or Ajaygarh Fort is among the top attractions of the region. It stands alone on a hilltop in the district of Panna and is easily accessible from Khajuraho. The fort is bordered by the Vindhya Hills and provides views of the Ken River. This fort is noted for its rich historical past and its architecture, which dates to the Chandela dynasty.

The fort is visited by both history and art lovers. This fort has two gates (earlier there were five), two temples and two rock-cut tanks, close to the northern gate. These tanks have been named as Ganga and Yamuna.

Demographics
As of the 2001 India census, Ajaigarh had a population of 13,979. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Ajaigarh has an average literacy rate of 59%, which is lower than the national average of 59.5%; with 61% of the males and 39% of females literate. 16% of the population is under 6 years of age.

title: Ajaigarh