I. Aegldins (Gilles)

Aegldins (Gilles), a Swiss historian, born in Glarus in 1505, died there, Feb. 28, 1572. He served in the French army from 1536 to 1544, held several important offices in his canton both before and afterward, and in 1559 went as Swiss envoy to the imperial court of Ferdinand I. at Augsburg. He was banished in 1562 for inducing the Catholic delegates to attend the council of Trent, but was recalled in 1564 to settle the conflict between the see and the city of St. Gall. He wrote many works, of which the best known is his Ghronicon Helveticum (in German), embracing the history of Switzerland from 1000 to 1470 (2 vols., Basel, 1734-'6).

II. Johann Jakob Von

Johann Jakob Von, a Swiss naturalist, a descendant of the preceding and grandson of a historian of the same name, born in Glarus, July 25, 1818. He completed his studies in Paris, and explored Peru from 1838 to 1843, and Brazil and other South American states in 1857-'9, and subsequent to his appointment as Swiss minister to Brazil in 1860. In 1866 he became minister at Vienna. His works include Peru: Reiseskizzen aus den Jahren 1838-'42 (2 vols., St. Gall, 1846; translated into English in 1847 by T. Ross); Unter-suchungen über die Fauna Peruana (St. Gall, 1844-'7); Die Ketschuasprache (2 vols., Vienna, 1853), with a Peruvian grammar and dictionary; Reise durch die Andes von Südame-rika (Gotha, 1860); Die orasilische Provinz Minas-Geraes (Gotha, 1863); and Reisen durch Südameriha (5 vols., Leipsic, 1866-9). He has also edited, in conjunction with Don Mariano Eduardo de Rivera, the Antiguëdades Peruanas (Vienna, 1851; translated by the Rev. F. L. Hawks, 8vo, New York, 1854).

III. Friedrieh Von

Friedrieh Von, a naturalist, brother of the pre-•ceding, born in 1820. He became president of the council of education of the canton and great councillor of the city of St. Gall, and wrote a popular manual of agriculture and other works. His Thierleoen der Alpenwelt (Leipsic, 1852; 9th ed., 1872) has been translated into several languages.