76-138 roman Emperor who was the adoptive son of Trajan; travelled throughout his empire to strengthen its frontiers and encourage learning and architecture; on a visit to Britain in 122 he ordered the construction of Hadrian's Wall
the main character in a series of humorous British books written by Sue Townsend, the first of which was The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 (1982). Each book is in the form of a DIARY in which Adrian writes about his daily life and thoughts. He describes many of the emotional problems that are typical of people his age.