Alderman (nonfiction)

Oil painting of Alderman John Ashley Kilvert JP, Mayor of Wednesbury, England. 1905-1906.

An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law.

The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council member elected by voters.

The title is derived from the Old English title of ealdorman, literally meaning "elder man", and was used by the chief nobles presiding over shires.

Similar titles exist in Germany and in Scandinavian countries, such as the German Ältester, the Swedish Ålderman and the Danish Olderman, which all mean "elder man" or "wise man".

In the News

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  "The Dirty Alderman" (Punch, 1847) still gets a laugh during the Aldermania Days Festival.

Fiction cross-reference

• Aldermania - a psychological condition characterized by the perceived, but typically delusional, need to be an Alderman.

Nonfiction cross-reference

External links:

• Alderman @ Wikipedia