Greek alphabet
Αα	Alpha	Νν	Nu
Ββ	Beta	Ξξ	Xi
Γγ	Gamma	Οο	Omicron
Δδ	Delta	Ππ	Pi
Εε	Epsilon	Ρρ	Rho
Ζζ	Zeta	Σσς	Sigma
Ηη	Eta	Ττ	Tau
Θθ	Theta	Υυ	Upsilon
Ιι	Iota	Φφ	Phi
Κκ	Kappa	Χχ	Chi
Λλ	Lambda	Ψψ	Psi
Μμ	Mu	Ωω	Omega
History
Archaic local variants
Ligatures (ϛ, ȣ, ϗ) Diacritics
Numerals (6) (90) (900)
In other languages
Bactrian Coptic Albanian
Scientific symbols
Book Category Commons view talk edit

Wikisource has original 1897 Easton's Bible Dictionary text related to:

A (entry)

Alpha (uppercase Α, lowercase α; Greek: Άλφα Álpha) is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 1. It was derived from the Phoenician letter Aleph . Letters that arose from Alpha include the Latin A and the Cyrillic letter А.

In English the noun alpha is used as a synonym for "beginning", or "first" (in a series), reflecting its Greek roots.^[1]

Uses[link]

Greek[link]

In Ancient Greek, alpha was pronounced [a] when short and [aː] when long. Where there is ambiguity, long and short alpha are sometimes written with a macron and breve today: Ᾱᾱ, Ᾰᾰ.

• ὥρα = ὥρᾱ hōrā [hɔ̌ːraː] "a time"
• γλῶσσα = γλῶσσᾰ glôssa [ɡlɔ̂ːssa] "tongue"

In Modern Greek, vowel length has been lost, and all instances of alpha represent the short [a].

In the polytonic orthography of Greek, alpha, like other vowel letters, can occur with several diacritic marks: any of three accent symbols (ά, ὰ, ᾶ), and either of two breathing marks (ἁ, ἀ), as well as combinations of these. It can also combine with the iota subscript (ᾳ).

Greek grammar[link]

In the Attic-Ionic dialect of Ancient Greek, long alpha [aː] fronted to [ɛː] (eta). In Ionic, the shift took place in all positions. In Attic, the shift did not take place after epsilon, iota, and rho (ε, ι, ρ; e, i, r). In Doric and Aeolic, long alpha is preserved in all positions.^[2]

• Doric, Aeolic, Attic χώρᾱ chṓrā — Ionic χώρη chṓrē, "country"
• Doric, Aeolic φᾱ́μᾱ phā́mā — Attic, Ionic φήμη phḗmē, "report"

Privative a is the Ancient Greek prefix ἀ- or ἀν- a-, an-, added to words to negate them. It originates from the Proto-Indo-European *n̥- (syllabic nasal) and is cognate with English un-.

Copulative a is the Greek prefix ἁ- or ἀ- ha-, a-. It comes from Proto-Indo-European *sm̥.

Math and science[link]

The letter alpha represents various concepts in physics and chemistry, including alpha radiation, angular acceleration, alpha particles, alpha carbon and strength of electromagnetic interaction (as Fine-structure constant). Alpha also stands for thermal expansion coefficient of a compound in physical chemistry. It is also commonly used in mathematics in algebraic solutions representing quantities such as angles. Furthermore, in mathematics, the letter alpha is used to denote the area underneath a normal curve in statistics to denote significance level^[3] when proving null and alternative hypotheses. In zoology, is used to name the dominant individual in a wolf or dog pack.

The uppercase letter alpha is not generally used as a symbol because it tends to be rendered identically to the uppercase Latin A.

International Phonetic Alphabet[link]

In the International Phonetic Alphabet, a letter based on the lower case of alpha represents the open back unrounded vowel.

History and symbolism[link]

Etymology[link]

Alpha was derived from aleph, which in Phoenician means "ox".^[4]

Plutarch[link]

Plutarch, in Moralia,^[5] presents a discussion on why the letter alpha stands first in the alphabet. Ammonius asks Plutarch what he, being a Boeotian, has to say for Cadmus, the Phoenician who reputedly settled in Thebes and introduced the alphabet to Greece, placing alpha first because it is the Phoenician name for ox — which, unlike Hesiod,^[6] the Phoenicians considered not the second or third, but the first of all necessities. "Nothing at all," Plutarch replied. He then added that he would rather be assisted by Lamprias, his own grandfather, than by Dionysus' grandfather, i.e. Cadmus. For Lamprias had said that the first articulate sound made is "alpha", because it is very plain and simple — the air coming off the mouth does not require any motion of the tongue — and therefore this is the first sound that children make.

According to Plutarch's natural order of attribution of the vowels to the planets, alpha was connected with the Moon.

Alpha and Omega[link]

Memorial Stained Glass window, Royal Military College of Canada features Alpha and Omega

Alpha, both as a symbol and term, is used to refer to or describe a variety of things, including the first or most significant occurrence of something. The New Testament has God declaring himself to be the "Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last." (Revelation 22:13, KJV, and see also 1:8).

Computer encoding[link]

Uppercase and lowercase Greek alpha are represented in Unicode as U+0391 (Α) and U+03B1 (α) respectively. For a table of accented Greek characters, see Greek diacritics: Computer encoding. Other related characters are encoded as follows:

The HTML character entities for uppercase and lowercase alpha are

• Α
• α

References[link]

lez:Алфа (гьарф)vep:Al'fa

Alpha Blondy
Alpha Blondy at Solidays Festival, (Longchamp Racecourse), France, 2008
Background information
Birth name	Seydou Koné
Born	(1953-01-01) January 1, 1953 (age 59) Dimbokro, Côte d'Ivoire
Genres	Reggae
Occupations	Singer/Songwriter
Years active	1981–present
Website	AlphaBlondy.info alphablondyjahgloryfoundation.org

Alpha Blondy (born January 1, 1953)^[1] is a reggae singer and international recording artist. Alpha Blondy was born Seydou Koné in Dimbokro, Côte d'Ivoire. He sings mainly in his native language of Dioula, in French and in English, and sometimes in Arabic or Hebrew. His lyrics convey serious political attitudes and a sense of humor.

Early years[link]

Childhood[link]

First son of a family of 9 children, Seydou Kone was raised by his grandmother, growing up in what he described as "among elders", which later was to have a big impact on his career. In 1962, Alpha Blondy went to join his father in Odienné, where he spent ten years, attending the Sainte Elisabeth high school, and getting involved in the Ivory Coast students movement. Here he formed a band. But, this hobby affected his schooling and Alpha Blondy was expelled due to poor attendance. His parents then sent him to study English in Monrovia in the neighboring country of Liberia in 1973. He spent thirteen months there and then moved to the United States of America to improve his English.^[2]

First stay in the USA[link]

In 1973 Seydou moved to New York (also briefly Texas), where he studied English at Hunter College in New York, and later in the Columbia University American Language Program. He majored in English because he wanted to become an English teacher. He had to work part-time, and sometimes at night, and became ill. In New York he met Rastafarians for the first time, and was also able to see concerts by Jamaican artists such as Burning Spear. At this time he was recording Christian music but never stopped writing his own songs. Eventually he got into various scrapes in New York and returned to the Ivory Coast, where he got into even more trouble until he met up with one of his childhood friends, Fulgence Kassi, who had become a noted television producer. This was the beginning of his real career as a singer, and he began to use the name "Alpha Blondy".^[3]

Musical career[link]

After various TV shows for Kassi, Blondy recorded his first solo album in 1982, entitled Jah Glory. This album was to have enormous success and would become later a symbol of resistance because of the song "Brigadier Sabari", where Alpha criticized the harassment by the police. Some of this was based on personal experience, as Alpha himself had seen police violence. Alpha Blondy became a big star in Abidjan with his own African twist of Reggae music, becoming in the eyes of his fans "the Bob Marley of Africa". Alpha Blondy is spiritual, political and positive just like Marley himself, and even recorded a cover of Bob Marley's song "War". And he doesn't stop progressing; in order to reach more people with his message, he chose to sing in many languages: English, French, Baoule, and his own native language – Dioula. Later he also brought new instrumentation to his brand of reggae such as the violin and cello.

Soon the fame of Alpha Blondy spread to Europe. Following the success of an EP entitled “Rasta Poué” he went to Paris in 1984 to make his second album, Cocody Rock, with the label Pathe Marconi. The "Bob Marley of Africa" traveled to the island of Jamaica and recorded the title track of this album with Marley’s backing group, The Wailers.

Back home in 1985, Alpha went into the studio to record Apartheid is Nazism. This album was more politically committed than ever. It is a call for the end of Apartheid and the freedom for all. In 1986 Blondy recorded “Jerusalem” at the legendary Tuff Gong studios in Jamaica, again with The Wailers featuring Bob Marley's legendary Bass Aston "Family Man" Barrett. Blondy tried to promote unity between the religion of Islam, Judaism and Christianity. He drew his arguments and inspiration from his own diverse knowledge of the Bible, the Quran and the Torah. That same year, Blondy sang in Hebrew during a concert in Morocco. At this point he was touring continuously. His new album Revolution had a lighter, gentler sound; this was the album with cellos in the instrumentation, and the line-up included veteran Ivory Coast singer Aicha Kone. The album also included "Jah Houphouët parle", a long speech by the Ivory Coast president with only the most minimal beat behind it.

Blondy spent the years 1987–1989 giving concerts and recording SOS Guerre Tribale in Abidjan. This was promoted by Blondy himself as he was distancing himself from Pathe Marconi at this stage. This was not to be a real success but this wasn't going to stop Blondy and in 1991 he returned to Europe for a concert tour and to record his famous album Masada with the help of musical legends such as Bocana Maiga and UK reggae producer Dennis Bovell. The album, with its hit single "Rendez Vous" was a huge success, and later, Blondy was to receive his first Gold Disc in Paris.

At the beginning of 1993, worn out from a world tour, Blondy succumbed to depression and was taken into an institution for psychiatric help. But as his health recovered he recorded the album Dieu ("God"), on which he appears more spiritual and religious, on tracks such as "Heal Me", about his illness and recovery.

Blondy's psychiatric treatment continued but, on December 10, 1994, Blondy was back with the festival in memory of the late President Houphouet, and later he made his European comeback at a storming concert at Le Zenith in Paris. In 1996, Blondy released a hits compilation and went back into the studio to record the album Grand Bassam Zion, singing in six languages: Malinke, Arabic, French, English, Ashanti and Wolof.

After two more years in Paris, Blondy returned to his homeland in 1998, with a new album, The Prophet. Convinced his label was too much focused on the international market, he decided to create his own label. Since then Alpha has recorded albums and singles, such as "Yitzhak Rabin", in memory of the Israeli prime minister who was assassinated in 1995 (this was accompanied by yet another grueling tour of Europe), the single "Journaliste en Danger" from his 2000 album Elohim.^[4]

Alpha Blondy celebrated 20 years as a recording artist, with the release of his CD MERCI, in 2002 featuring Ophelie Winter and Saian Supa Crew, which earned him a 2003 Grammy Awards Nomination for "Best Reggae Album". However due to the political situation in his home country of Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), he was unable to personally attend the prestigious award ceremony in New York City. In an unprecedented move, the Grammy Awards permitted him to send a representative in his place of honor. ^[5] In 2005 Akwaba was released. His latest CD is entitled "Jah Victory" and was released July 2007. It features Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare as well as Tyrone Downie formerly of Bob Marley and the Wailers. "Victory" is in honor of the peace agreement that was reached and implemented in his country in March 2007. ^[6]

One of his most popular and successful songs was Sébé Allah Y'é.

On July 19, 2009, Alpha Blondy performed at New York's Central Park before a crowd of many native Africans, Jamaicans, and Americans.

June 13, 2010, a large crowd was allowed into a Blondy concert in the Ivory Coast to celebrate the peace and unity of the country, and at least 20 people were injured, two of whom died.^[7]

June 27, 2010, Alpha Blondy was the closing act at Parkpop, The Hague, Netherlands. He replaced Snoop Dogg and Beenie Man.

Blondy has also been an important influence on other African reggae artists such as Ismaël Isaac.^[8]

Faith[link]

Alpha Blondy was born to a Muslim mother and a Christian father, and was brought up by a grandmother who taught him to love everyone. Blondy's respect for all religions and the spirituality he derives from them can be heard on the tracks “God is One” or “Jerusalem” where he sang for unity between all religions in 1986.

Humanitarian[link]

Alpha Blondy (Seydou Kone) was named United Nations Ambassador of Peace for Côte d'Ivoire in 2005. He made great efforts to bring about a peaceful solution to his country's political and physical division which was a result of an attempted Coup in 2001. As of March 2007 a peace agreement was signed and implemented, due to the hard work of many people including Alpha Blondy. Alpha now reaches out further with the newly created not-for-profit, non-government, non-political, charitable foundation, Alpha Blondy Jah Glory Foundation, which works towards ending social injustice and generational poverty by giving people the tools that they need to help themselves. He strongly believes in helping the poor (Jah Glory), and also that children should not be hurt. The Foundation strives to create and implement grassroots programs at the village level, such as the Women’s Self-Sufficiency Micro Loan Program, to teach women who are caring for multiple orphans how to start and manage their own business, to better provide for their families, as well as other sustainable projects, such as the Tafari-Genesis Retreat Camp for Children (Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso). It especially hopes to bring joy and hope to children who have been affected by civil wars, former child soldiers, and those who suffer from chronic life-threatening illnesses, such as sickle-cell anemia, malaria, asthma, etc.

Talking about Alpha Blondy, people think usually of music and indeed since 1980 he has written at least 17 albums and 194 titles. This itself indicates the great value he represents for his fans. Alpha is no longer an Ivorian star but an International Mega Star because of his fight for peace and unity all around the world. One example was his single “Who Are You” with Ophelie Winter against antipersonnel mines. He has also participated at many humanitarian and charity concerts, such as the concert in Senegal in March 2006 for the eradication of Malaria in Africa (where he appeared along with many other celebrities). He has done much, much more of this type of work in the Ivory Coast itself, especially at his annual free concert at Bassam beach called “festa”.

Best known songs[link]

His first success was Brigadier Sabari. Some representative songs are :

• Sebe Allah Y'e
• Jah Glory – in which he sings against poverty
• Apartheid is Nazism
• Brigadier Sabari – satirical lyrics about police brutality.
• Cocody Rock – has become an Alpha Blondy anthem, which everyone knows and sings
• Guerre Civile – about civil war
• Jerusalem – a call for peace. The lyrics begins with a Hebrew prayer in Hebrew
• Journalistes en danger – about the assassination of Norbert Zongo
• Politiqui – about civilian / military government alternance
• Yitzhak Rabin – written in 1995, following the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, and dedicated to him.
• Sweet Fanta Diallo
• Téré
• Blesser
• Rasta Poué

Discography[link]

1980s[link]

1990s[link]

2000s[link]

2010s[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Alpha Blondy

• Official website
• Sahel University, (2006). Alpha Blondy’s Actions.
• Alpha Blondy Grammy Awards nomination
• PCCI Center, (2006). Alpha Blondy’s Engagements.
• Alpha Blondy Music

Monty Brown
Brown in 2007
Ring name(s)	Marcus Cor Von[1] Marquis Cor Von[1] Monty Brown[1]
Billed height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)[2]
Billed weight	265 lb (120 kg)[2]
Born	(1970-04-13) April 13, 1970 (age 42)[3] Detroit, Michigan, United States[4][1]
Billed from	Detroit, Michigan[2] The Animal Kingdom[1] The Serengeti[5]
Trained by	Dan Severn[4] Sabu[4]
Debut	2000[1]

Monty Brown (born April 13, 1970)^[3] is an American professional wrestler and former National Football League linebacker, also known as Marcus Cor Von. He is best known for his time with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment, where he wrestled on its ECW brand under the ring name Marcus Cor Von.^[2] In both companies, he utilized the nickname "The Alpha Male". Brown has also wrestled for a number of independent promotions, including Blood, Sweat and Ears, Juggalo Championship Wrestling and the Universal Wrestling Alliance.

American Football career[link]

Brown attended Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Michigan, where he was an All-American American football linebacker, breaking and setting several defensive records.^[4] Talent spotters recruited him to the Buffalo Bills, and he played football professionally for five years, competing in Super Bowl XXVIII for the Bills in 1994. On April 17, 1996, Brown signed with the New England Patriots as a restricted free agent, and Brown immediately became a starter as the right outside linebacker.^[6][7] In just two games for the Patriots, Brown made 23 tackles.^[7] Brown stated that one of his reasons for signing with the Patriots was to be closer to the World Wrestling Federation headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut.^[7] He stopped playing football due to an ankle injury, and decided to train as a professional wrestler.^[8][9]

Professional wrestling career[link]

Brown was trained to be a professional wrestler by Dan "The Beast" Severn and Sabu, and made his in-ring debut in 2000.^[1] He began his career in Michigan's All World Wrestling League, where he wrestled against competitors including his trainer Sabu.^[8] During this time, he teamed with Chris Sabin.^[8]

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2002–2006)[link]

Early appearances (2002, 2004)[link]

In 2002, Brown made several appearances with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, including challenging NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ron Killings, but did not become a permanent part of the company, as his face persona did not connect with fans.^[8][10] His last appearance with the company in 2002 was on August 28. For a time in mid-2003, he worked for the All World Wrestling League/Big Time Wrestling.

He returned to the company on March 10, 2004, attacking the Insane Clown Posse during a match in the process.^[11] He now had an in-ring persona of being from the Serengeti, which involved him wearing leopard and tiger-print trunks, and possessing the mannerisms of an African predatory animal.^[12] At TNA Final Resolution pay-per-view, Brown defeated Kevin Nash and Diamond Dallas Page in a three-way elimination match to receive a match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. He lost his championship match to Jarrett later that night.^[13]

Planet Jarrett (2005)[link]

Two months later, Brown turned heel during the main event of March's Destination X event by attacking Page to help Jarrett retain to the championship.^[14] Brown soon joined the Planet Jarrett stable and spent several months feuding with Jarrett's enemies: Kevin Nash, Sean Waltman, Diamond Dallas Page, and A.J. Styles. Late in the year, he began teaming with fellow Planet Jarrett member Kip James, helping him battle the 3Live Kru in an attempt to convince Kru member B.G. James to reform his former tag team, the New Age Outlaws, with Kip.^[15] Brown and James faced Kru members Ron Killings and Konnan at Sacrifice in August in a match with B.G. as special guest referee, with both Kip and the remainder of the Kru urging him to take their respective side. B.G. eventually took the side of Konnan and Killings, costing Brown and James the match.^[16] Following the defeat, Brown insisted that he be the one to lead the team. On August 26 he turned his back on Jarrett, claiming that their agreement was broken.^[17]

NWA World Heavyweight Championship pursuit (2005–2006)[link]

At Unbreakable on September 11, Brown declared his intention to challenge for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship at Bound For Glory.^[18] After defeating Lance Hoyt at Bound For Glory, Brown took part in a ten-man Gauntlet for the Gold match for number one contendership to the Championship, but eliminated himself from the match, by taking Jeff Hardy and himself over the top rope simultaneously.^[19] Brown did win number one contendership at November's Genesis with a singles victory over Jeff Hardy.^[20] After an altercation with the newly debuted Christian Cage, Brown agreed to put his championship shot on the line in a match against Cage at Turning Point in December. He lost the match to Cage, however, losing his championship opportunity in the process.^[21]

On the December 17 episode of Impact!, Brown renewed his alliance with Jarrett, with both men bitter towards TNA management in storyline.^[22] On the January 7, 2006 episode of Impact!, Jarrett and Brown enacted a skit mocking Sting, who had recently signed with TNA and was set to team with Christian Cage against Brown and Jarrett at Final Resolution.^[23] The Alpha Male posed as the Sting of 2006, complete with make-up and baby stroller. Sting and Cage defeated Brown and Jarrett at Final Resolution when Sting pinned Jarrett after a Scorpion Death Drop.^[24] After Christian Cage won the World Heavyweight Title, Brown received a shot at Destination X, but did not win the title.^[25] Following Destination X, Brown underwent surgery on his knee, which had previously "blown out". He returned to in-ring competition on April 29, 2006 in a match in Germany^[26] and TNA television on the May 18 episode of Impact! — where he (kayfabe) demanded to be included in the King of the Mountain match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship at Slammiversary in June. After he failed to qualify for the King of the Mountain match,^[27] he engaged in a short feud with Rhino and Samoa Joe before his TNA contract expired and left the company.

World Wrestling Entertainment (2006–2007)[link]

On November 16, 2006, World Wrestling Entertainment announced that Brown had signed a contract with the company through their official website.^[28] He debuted for their ECW brand under the ring name "The Alpha Male" Marquis Cor Von on January 16, 2007, in a win over fellow TNA alumnus Cassidy Riley.^[29] Reportedly the name change was motivated by World Wrestling Entertainment's desire to have him appear under a name they could trademark.^[30] One week later, the spelling of the first name was tweaked to Marcus.^[2] Not long after his debut, he was made a part of the forming New Breed stable,^[31] and with them feuded with the ECW Originals. After the feud died down, Cor Von took several months off for unspecified "family issues",^[8] then was released from his WWE contract on September 19, 2007 without making a return to television.^[32]

Sault Area Wrestling (2011-present)[link]

After traveling the independent circuit for over three years, Monty Brown debuted in S.A.W in mid 2011 at the "Retribution III" event. Alongside Monty was former TNA wrestler Petey Williams. The event also included Brad Hexum, Josh Bennett, D-Ray 3000, Johnny Valentino, The CP Assassin, Jason Payne, Diego Davinci, Vinnie Davinci, Kwan Chang, The Inmate and former WWE superstar Robbie McAllister.

Personal life[link]

Brown attended Bridgeport High School, where he played basketball for three years under coach Jimmy Sanders, with whom he is good friends.^[33] During his early professional wrestling career, Brown supplemented his income by running his own t-shirt company.^[8] After leaving WWE, Brown began working on a range of athletic clothing called "Scripture Clothing".^[33] As of 2011, Brown has taken a hiatus from professional wrestling and currently works as a personal trainer.^[34]

In wrestling[link]

• Finishing moves
  • Alpha Bomb^[5] (Scoop lift powerbomb)
  • Pounce^[2][5] (Running low-angle shoulder block, after an opponent has been Irish whipped off of adjacent ropes)

• Signature moves
  • Alphalution (Back suplex side slam)^[35]
  • Circle of Life (One-armed swinging neckbreaker)^[36]

• Nicknames
  • "The Alpha Male"^[8]

• Entrance themes
  • "Down with the Sickness" by Disturbed^[37] (Independent circuit)
  • "Smooth" by Jim Johnston (WWE)

Championships and accomplishments[link]

• Juggalo Championshit Wrestling
  • JCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

• Prime Time Wrestling
  • PTW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • PWI Rookie of the Year (2004)
  • PWI ranked him #28 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2005^[38]

References[link]