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Anatolia
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Anatolia , also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean Sea to the west, the Turkish Straits to the northwest, and the Black Sea to the north. The eastern and southeastern limits have been expanded either to the entirety of Asiatic Turkey or to an imprecise line from the Black Sea to the Gulf of Alexandretta. Topographically, the Sea of Marmara connects the Black Sea with the Aegean Sea through the Bosporus and the Dardanelles, and separates Anatolia from Thrace in Southeast Europe. During the Neolithic, Anatolia was an early centre for the development of farming after it originated in the adjacent Fertile Crescent. Beginning around 9,000 years ago, there was a major migration of Anatolian Neolithic Farmers into Europe, with their descendants coming to dominate the continent as far west as the Iberian Peninsula and the British Isles. The earliest recorded inhabitants of Anatolia, who were neither Indo-European nor Semitic, were gradually absorbed by the incoming Indo-European Anatolian peoples, who spoke the now-extinct Anatolian languages. The major Anatolian languages included Hittite, Luwian, and Lydian; other local languages, albeit poorly attested, included Phrygian and Mysian. The Hurro-Urartian languages were spoken throughout Mitanni in the southeast, while Galatian, a Celtic language, was spoken throughout Galatia in the central peninsula. Among the other peoples who established a significant presence in ancient Anatolia were the Galatians, the Hurrians, the Assyrians, the Armenians, the Hattians, and the Cimmerians, as well as some of the ancient Greek tribes, including the Ionians, the Dorians, and the Aeolians. In the era of classical antiquity (see Classical Anatolia), the Anatolian languages were largely replaced by the Greek language, which came to further dominate the region during the Hellenistic period and the Roman period. The Byzantine period saw the decline of Greek influence throughout the peninsula as the Byzantine–Seljuk wars enabled the incoming Seljuk Turks to establish a foothold in the region. Thus, the process of Anatolia's Turkification began under the Seljuk Empire in the late 11th century and continued under the Ottoman Empire until the early 20th century, when the Ottoman dynasty collapsed in the aftermath of World War I. Between 1894 and 1924, millions of non-Turkic peoples and Christians were suppressed and removed by the Ottoman Turkish authorities from the bulk of the area of modern-day Turkey. Nonetheless, a variety of non-Turkic languages continue to be spoken by ethnic minorities in Anatolia today, including Arabic, Kurdish, Neo-Aramaic, Armenian, the North Caucasian languages, Laz, Georgian, and Greek.
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Apple Inc.
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Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, in Silicon Valley. It is best known for its consumer electronics, software, and services. Founded in 1976 as Apple Computer Company by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne, the company was incorporated by Jobs and Wozniak as Apple Computer, Inc. the following year. It was renamed Apple Inc. in 2007 as the company had expanded its focus from computers to consumer electronics. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue, with billion in the 2024 fiscal year. The company was founded to produce and market Wozniak's Apple I personal computer. Its second computer, the Apple II, became a best seller as one of the first mass-produced microcomputers. Apple introduced the Lisa in 1983 and the Macintosh in 1984, as some of the first computers to use a graphical user interface and a mouse. By 1985, internal company problems led to Jobs leaving to form NeXT, Inc., and Wozniak withdrawing to other ventures; John Sculley served as long-time CEO for over a decade. In the 1990s, Apple lost considerable market share in the personal computer industry to the lower-priced Wintel duopoly of the Microsoft Windows operating system on Intel-powered PC clones. In 1997, Apple was weeks away from bankruptcy. To resolve its failed operating system strategy, it bought NeXT, effectively bringing Jobs back to the company, who guided Apple back to profitability over the next decade with the introductions of the iMac, iPod, iPhone, and iPad devices to critical acclaim as well as the iTunes Store, launching the "Think different" advertising campaign, and opening the Apple Store retail chain. These moves elevated Apple to consistently be one of the world's most valuable brands since about 2010. Jobs resigned in 2011 for health reasons, and died two months later; he was succeeded as CEO by Tim Cook. Apple's current product lineup includes portable and home hardware such as the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Mac, and Apple TV; operating systems such as iOS, iPadOS, and macOS; and various software and services including Apple Pay, iCloud, and multimedia streaming services like Apple Music and Apple TV+. Apple is one of the Big Five American information technology companies; for the most part since 2011, Apple has been the world's largest company by market capitalization, and, , is the largest manufacturing company by revenue, the fourth-largest personal computer vendor by unit sales, the largest vendor of tablet computers, and the largest vendor of mobile phones in the world. Apple became the first publicly traded U.S. company to be valued at over $1 trillion in 2018, and, , is valued at just over $3.74 trillion. Apple has received criticism regarding its contractors' labor practices, its relationship with trade unions, its environmental practices, and its business ethics, including anti-competitive practices and materials sourcing. Nevertheless, the company has a large following and enjoys a high level of brand loyalty.
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Aberdeenshire
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Aberdeenshire (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the historic county of Aberdeenshire, which had substantially different boundaries. The Aberdeenshire Council area includes all of the areas of the historic counties of Aberdeenshire and Kincardineshire except the area making up Aberdeen City Council area, as well as part of Banffshire. The historic county boundaries are still officially used for a few purposes, namely land registration and lieutenancy.Land Register Counties & Operational Dates Aberdeenshire Council is headquartered at Woodhill House in Aberdeen, making it the only Scottish council whose headquarters are located outside its jurisdiction. Aberdeen itself forms a different council area (Aberdeen City). Aberdeenshire borders onto Angus and Perth and Kinross to the south, Highland and Moray to the west and Aberdeen City to the east. Traditionally, it has depended economically on the primary sector (agriculture, fishing, and forestry) and related processing industries. Over the last 40 years, the development of the oil and gas industry and associated service sector has broadened Aberdeenshire's economic base, and contributed to a rapid population growth of some 50% since 1975. Its land represents 8% of Scotland's overall territory. It covers an area of .
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Aztlan Underground
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Aztlan Underground is a band from Los Angeles, California that combines Hip-Hop, Punk Rock, Jazz, and electronic music with Chicano and Native American themes, and indigenous instrumentation. They are often cited as progenitors of Chicano rap. Background The band traces its roots to the late-1980s hardcore scene in the Eastside of Los Angeles. They have played rapcore, with elements of punk, hip hop, rock, funk, jazz, indigenous music, and spoken word. Indigenous drums, flutes, and rattles are also commonly used in their music. Their lyrics often address the family and economic issues faced by the Chicano community, and they have been noted as activists for that community. As an example of the politically active and culturally important artists in Los Angeles in the 1990s, Aztlan Underground appeared on Culture Clash on Fox in 1993; and was part of Breaking Out, a concert on pay per view in 1998, The band was featured in the independent films Algun Dia and Frontierland in the 1990s, and on the upcoming Studio 49. The band has been mentioned or featured in various newspapers and magazines: the Vancouver Sun, New Times, BLU Magazine (an underground hip hop magazine), BAM Magazine, La Banda Elastica Magazine, and the Los Angeles Times calendar section. The band is also the subject of a chapter in the book It's Not About a Salary, by Brian Cross. Aztlan Underground remains active in the community, lending their voice to annual events such as The Farce of July, and the recent movement to recognize Indigenous People's Day in Los Angeles and beyond. In addition to forming their own label, Xicano Records and Film, Aztlan Underground were signed to the Basque record label Esan Ozenki in 1999 which enabled them to tour Spain extensively and perform in France and Portugal. Aztlan Underground have also performed in Canada, Australia, and Venezuela. The band has been recognized for their music with nominations in the New Times 1998 "Best Latin Influenced" category, the BAM Magazine 1999 "Best Rock en Español" category, and the LA Weekly 1999 "Best Hip Hop" category. The release of their eponymous third album on August 29, 2009, was met with positive reviews and earned the band four Native American Music Award (NAMMY) nominations in 2010. Discography Decolonize Year:1995 "Teteu Innan" "Killing Season" "Lost Souls" "My Blood Is Red" "Natural Enemy" "Sacred Circle" "Blood On Your Hands" "Interlude" "Aug 2 the 9" "Indigena" "Lyrical Drive By" Sub-Verses Year:1998 "Permiso" "They Move In Silence" "No Soy Animal" "Killing Season" "Blood On Your Hands" "Reality Check" "Lemon Pledge" "Revolution" "Preachers of the Blind State" "Lyrical Drive-By" "Nahui Ollin" "How to Catch a Bullet" "Ik Otik" "Obsolete Man" "Decolonize" "War Flowers" Aztlan Underground Year: 2009 "Moztlitta" "Be God" "Light Shines" "Prey" "In the Field" "9 10 11 12" "Smell the Dead" "Sprung" "Medicine" "Acabando" "Crescent Moon" See also Chicano rap Native American hip hop Rapcore Chicano rock References External links Myspace link Facebook page
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American Civil War
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The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), which was formed in 1861 by states that had seceded from the Union. The central conflict leading to war was a dispute over whether slavery should be permitted to expand into the western territories, leading to more slave states, or be prohibited from doing so, which many believed would place slavery on a course of ultimate extinction. Decades of controversy over slavery came to a head when Abraham Lincoln, who opposed slavery's expansion, won the 1860 presidential election. Seven Southern slave states responded to Lincoln's victory by seceding from the United States and forming the Confederacy. The Confederacy seized U.S. forts and other federal assets within their borders. The war began on April 12, 1861, when the Confederacy bombarded Fort Sumter in South Carolina. A wave of enthusiasm for war swept over the North and South, as military recruitment soared. Four more Southern states seceded after the war began and, led by its president, Jefferson Davis, the Confederacy asserted control over a third of the U.S. population in eleven states. Four years of intense combat, mostly in the South, ensued. During 1861–1862 in the Western theater, the Union made permanent gains—though in the Eastern theater the conflict was inconclusive. The abolition of slavery became a Union war goal on January 1, 1863, when Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared all slaves in rebel states to be free, applying to more than 3.5 million of the 4 million enslaved people in the country. To the west, the Union first destroyed the Confederacy's river navy by the summer of 1862, then much of its western armies, and seized New Orleans. The successful 1863 Union siege of Vicksburg split the Confederacy in two at the Mississippi River, while Confederate general Robert E. Lee's incursion north failed at the Battle of Gettysburg. Western successes led to General Ulysses S. Grant's command of all Union armies in 1864. Inflicting an ever-tightening naval blockade of Confederate ports, the Union marshaled resources and manpower to attack the Confederacy from all directions. This led to the fall of Atlanta in 1864 to Union general William Tecumseh Sherman, followed by his March to the Sea. The last significant battles raged around the ten-month Siege of Petersburg, gateway to the Confederate capital of Richmond. The Confederates abandoned Richmond, and on April 9, 1865, Lee surrendered to Grant following the Battle of Appomattox Court House, setting in motion the end of the war. Lincoln lived to see this victory but was shot by an assassin on April 14, dying the next day. By the end of the war, much of the South's infrastructure was destroyed. The Confederacy collapsed, slavery was abolished, and four million enslaved black people were freed. The war-torn nation then entered the Reconstruction era in an attempt to rebuild the country, bring the former Confederate states back into the United States, and grant civil rights to freed slaves. The war is one of the most extensively studied and written about episodes in the history of the United States. It remains the subject of cultural and historiographical debate. Of continuing interest is the myth of the Lost Cause of the Confederacy. The war was among the first to use industrial warfare. Railroads, the electrical telegraph, steamships, the ironclad warship, and mass-produced weapons were widely used. The war left an estimated 698,000 soldiers dead, along with an undetermined number of civilian casualties, making the Civil War the deadliest military conflict in American history. The technology and brutality of the Civil War foreshadowed the coming world wars. Origins The origins of the war were rooted in the desire of the Southern states to preserve the institution of slavery. Historians in the 21st century overwhelmingly agree on the centrality of slavery in the conflict—at least for the Southern states. They disagree on which aspects (ideological, economic, political, or social) were most important, and on the North's reasons for refusing to allow the Southern states to secede.Aaron Sheehan-Dean, "A Book for Every Perspective: Current Civil War and Reconstruction Textbooks", Civil War History (2005) 51#3 pp. 317–324 The pseudo-historical Lost Cause ideology denies that slavery was the principal cause of the secession, a view disproven by historical evidence, notably some of the seceding states' own secession documents. After leaving the Union, Mississippi issued a declaration stating, "Our position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery—the greatest material interest of the world." The principal political battle leading to Southern secession was over whether slavery would expand into the Western territories destined to become states. Initially Congress had admitted new states into the Union in pairs, one slave and one free. This had kept a sectional balance in the Senate but not in the House of Representatives, as free states outstripped slave states in numbers of eligible voters. Thus, at mid-19th century, the free-versus-slave status of the new territories was a critical issue, both for the North, where anti-slavery sentiment had grown, and for the South, where the fear of slavery's abolition had grown. Another factor leading to secession and the formation of the Confederacy was the development of white Southern nationalism in the preceding decades.John McCardell, The Idea of a Southern Nation: Southern Nationalists and Southern Nationalism, 1830–1860 (1981) The primary reason for the North to reject secession was to preserve the Union, a cause based on American nationalism.Susan-Mary Grant, North Over South: Northern Nationalism and American Identity in the Antebellum Era (2000) Background factors in the run up to the Civil War were partisan politics, abolitionism, nullification versus secession, Southern and Northern nationalism, expansionism, economics, and modernization in the antebellum period. As a panel of historians emphasized in 2011, "while slavery and its various and multifaceted discontents were the primary cause of disunion, it was disunion itself that sparked the war.
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Andy Warhol
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Andy Warhol (;Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary: "Warhol" born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director and producer. A leading in the pop art movement, Warhol is considered one the most important artists of the second half of the 20th century. Some of his best-known works include the silkscreen paintings Campbell's Soup Cans (1962) and Marilyn Diptych (1962), the experimental film Chelsea Girls (1966), the multimedia events known as the Exploding Plastic Inevitable (1966–67), and the erotic film Blue Movie (1969) that started the "Golden Age of Porn". Born and raised in Pittsburgh in a family of Eastern European immigrants, Warhol initially pursued a successful career as a commercial illustrator in the 1950s. After exhibiting his work in art galleries, he began to receive recognition as an influential and controversial artist in the 1960s. His New York studio, The Factory, became a well-known gathering place that brought together distinguished intellectuals, drag queens, playwrights, bohemian street people, Hollywood celebrities and wealthy patrons. He directed and produced several underground films starring a collection of personalities known as Warhol superstars, and is credited with inspiring the widely used expression "15 minutes of fame." Warhol managed and produced the experimental rock band the Velvet Underground. Warhol expressed his queer identity through many of his works at a time when homosexuality was actively suppressed in the United States. After surviving an assassination attempt by radical feminist Valerie Solanas in June 1968, Warhol focused on transforming The Factory into a business enterprise. He founded Interview magazine and authored numerous books, including The Philosophy of Andy Warhol (1975) and Popism: The Warhol Sixties (1980). He also hosted the television series Fashion (1979–80), Andy Warhol's TV (1980–83), and Andy Warhol's Fifteen Minutes (1985–87). Warhol died of cardiac arrhythmia, aged 58, after gallbladder surgery in February 1987. Warhol has been described as the "bellwether of the art market", with several of his works ranking among the most expensive paintings ever sold. In 2013, Silver Car Crash (Double Disaster) (1963) sold for $105 million, setting a record for the artist. In 2022, Shot Sage Blue Marilyn (1964) sold for $195 million, which is the highest price paid at auction for a work by an American artist. Warhol has been the subject of numerous retrospective exhibitions, books, and documentary films. The Andy Warhol Museum in his native city of Pittsburgh, which holds an extensive permanent collection of art and archives, is the largest museum in the United States dedicated to a single artist.
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Alp Arslan
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Alp Arslan, born Muhammad Alp Arslan bin Dawud Chaghri, was the second sultan of the Seljuk Empire and great-grandson of Seljuk, the eponymous founder of the dynasty. He greatly expanded the Seljuk territory and consolidated his power, defeating rivals to the south, east and northwest, and his victory over the Byzantines at the Battle of Manzikert, in 1071, ushered in the Turcoman settlement of Anatolia. "But the Battle of Manzikert opened Asia Minor to Turkmen conquest" Early life Historical sources differ about his actual birth date. His birth year, which some early sources of medieval period mentioned 1032 and 10331 while later sources gave 1030. However, the most authentic considered as TDV Encyclopedia of Islam mentions, is that recorded by Ibn al-Athir, a medieval historian, as 1 Muharram 420 AH equivalent to 20 January 1029 CE. He was the son of Chaghri and nephew of Tughril, the founding sultans of the Seljuk Empire. His grandfather was Mikail, who in turn was the son of the warlord Seljuk. He was the father of numerous children, including Malik-Shah I and Tutush I. It is unclear who the mother or mothers of his children were. He was known to have been married at least twice. His wives included the widow of his uncle Tughril, a Kara-Khanid princess known as Aka or Seferiye Khatun, and the daughter or niece of Bagrat IV of Georgia (who would later marry his vizier, Nizam al-Mulk). One of Seljuk's other sons was the Turkic chieftain Arslan Isra'il, whose son, Kutalmish, contested his nephew's succession to the sultanate. Alp Arslan's younger brothers Suleiman ibn Chaghri and Qavurt were his rivals. Kilij Arslan, the son and successor of Suleiman ibn Kutalmish (Kutalmish's son, who would later become Sultan of Rûm), was a major opponent of the Franks during the First Crusade and the Crusade of 1101.Peacock, A.C,S., Great Seljuk Empire, Edinburgh University Press, 2015, pgs.
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American Film Institute
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The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees.
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Akira Kurosawa
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was a Japanese filmmaker who created 30 films of his own as well as occasionally directing and writing for others in a career spanning seven decades. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. Kurosawa displayed a bold, dynamic style strongly influenced by Western cinema yet distinct from it. He was involved with all aspects of film production. Kurosawa entered the Japanese film industry in 1936, following a brief stint as a painter. After years of working on numerous films as an assistant director and scriptwriter, he made his debut as a director during World War II with the popular action film Sanshiro Sugata (1943). After the war, the critically acclaimed Drunken Angel (1948), in which Kurosawa cast the then little-known actor Toshiro Mifune in a starring role, cemented the director's reputation as one of the most important young filmmakers in Japan. The two men would go on to collaborate on another fifteen films. Rashomon (1950), which premiered in Tokyo, became the surprise winner of the Golden Lion at the 1951 Venice Film Festival. The commercial and critical success of that film opened up Western film markets for the first time to the products of the Japanese film industry, which in turn led to international recognition for other Japanese filmmakers. Kurosawa directed approximately one film per year throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, including a number of highly regarded (and often adapted) films, including (1952), Seven Samurai (1954), Throne of Blood (1957), The Hidden Fortress (1958), Yojimbo (1961), High and Low (1963) and Red Beard (1965). After the 1960s he became much less prolific; even so, his later work – including two of his final films, (1980) and (1985) – continued to receive great acclaim. In 1990, he accepted the Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement. Posthumously, he was named "Asian of the Century" in the "Arts, Literature, and Culture" category by AsianWeek magazine and CNN, cited there as being among the five people who most prominently contributed to the improvement of Asia in the 20th century. His career has been honored by many retrospectives, critical studies and biographies in both print and video, and by releases in many consumer media. Kurosawa told the critic Donald Richie: "I suppose all of my films have a common theme. If I think about it, though, the only theme I can think of is really a question: Why can't people be happier together?" Biography Childhood to war years (1910–1945) Childhood and youth (1910–1935) Kurosawa was born on March 23, 1910, in Ōimachi in the Ōmori district of Tokyo. His father Isamu (1864–1948), a member of a samurai family from Akita Prefecture, worked as the director of the Army's Physical Education Institute's lower secondary school, while his mother Shima (1870–1952) came from a merchant's family living in Osaka. Akira was the eighth and youngest child of the moderately wealthy family, with two of his siblings already grown up at the time of his birth and one deceased, leaving Kurosawa to grow up with three sisters and a brother. In addition to promoting physical exercise, Isamu Kurosawa was open to Western traditions and considered theatre and motion pictures to have educational merit. He encouraged his children to watch films; young Akira viewed his first movies at the age of six. An important formative influence was his elementary school teacher Mr. Tachikawa, whose progressive educational practices ignited in his young pupil first a love of drawing and then an interest in education in general. During this time, Akira also studied calligraphy and Kendo swordsmanship. Another major childhood influence was Heigo Kurosawa (1906–1933), Akira's older brother by four years. In the aftermath of the Great Kantō earthquake and the subsequent Kantō Massacre of 1923, Heigo took the thirteen-year-old Akira to view the devastation. When Akira wanted to look away from the corpses of humans and animals scattered everywhere, Heigo forbade him to do so, encouraging Akira instead to face his fears by confronting them directly. Some commentators have suggested that this incident would influence Kurosawa's later artistic career, as the director was seldom hesitant to confront unpleasant truths in his work. In the late 1920s, Heigo became a benshi (silent film narrator) for Tokyo theaters showing foreign films and quickly made a name for himself. Akira, who at this point planned to become a painter, moved in with him, and the two brothers became inseparable. With Heigo's guidance, Akira devoured not only films but also theater and circus performances, while exhibiting his paintings and working for the left-wing Proletarian Artists' League. However, he was never able to make a living with his art, and, as he began to perceive most of the proletarian movement as "putting unfulfilled political ideals directly onto the canvas", he lost his enthusiasm for painting. With the increasing production of talking pictures in the early 1930s, film narrators like Heigo began to lose work, and Akira moved back in with his parents. In July 1933, Heigo died by suicide. Kurosawa has commented on the lasting sense of loss he felt at his brother's death and the chapter of Something Like an Autobiography that describes it—written nearly half a century after the event—is titled, "A Story I Don't Want to Tell". Only four months later, Kurosawa's eldest brother also died, leaving Akira, at age 23, the only one of the Kurosawa brothers still living, together with his three surviving sisters. Director in training (1935–1941) In 1935, the new film studio Chemical Laboratories, known as P.C.L. (which later became the major studio Toho), advertised for assistant directors. Although he had demonstrated no previous interest in film as a profession, Kurosawa submitted the required essay, which asked applicants to discuss the fundamental deficiencies of Japanese films and find ways to overcome them. His half-mocking view was that if the deficiencies were fundamental, there was no way to correct them. Kurosawa's essay earned him a call to take the follow-up exams, and director Kajirō Yamamoto, who was among the examiners, took a liking to Kurosawa and insisted that the studio hire him. The 25-year-old Kurosawa joined P.C.L. in February 1936. During his five years as an assistant director, Kurosawa worked under numerous directors, but by far the most important in his development was Yamamoto. Of his 24 films as A.D., he worked on 17 under Yamamoto, many of them comedies featuring the popular actor Ken'ichi Enomoto, known as "Enoken". Yamamoto nurtured Kurosawa's talent, promoting him directly from third assistant director to chief assistant director after a year. Kurosawa's responsibilities increased, and he worked at tasks ranging from stage construction and film development to location scouting, script polishing, rehearsals, lighting, dubbing, editing, and second-unit directing. In the last of Kurosawa's films as an assistant director for Yamamoto, Horse (1941), Kurosawa took over most of the production, as his mentor was occupied with the shooting of another film. Yamamoto advised Kurosawa that a good director needed to master screenwriting. Kurosawa soon realized that the potential earnings from his scripts were much higher than what he was paid as an assistant director. He later wrote or co-wrote all his films and frequently penned screenplays for other directors such as Satsuo Yamamoto's film, A Triumph of Wings (Tsubasa no gaika, 1942). This outside scriptwriting would serve Kurosawa as a lucrative sideline lasting well into the 1960s, long after he became famous. Wartime films and marriage (1942–1945) In the two years following the release of Horse in 1941, Kurosawa searched for a story he could use to launch his directing career. Towards the end of 1942, about a year after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, novelist Tsuneo Tomita published his Musashi Miyamoto-inspired judo novel, Sanshiro Sugata, the advertisements for which intrigued Kurosawa. He bought the book on its publication day, devoured it in one sitting, and immediately asked Toho to secure the film rights. Kurosawa's initial instinct proved correct as, within a few days, three other major Japanese studios also offered to buy the rights. Toho prevailed, and Kurosawa began pre-production on his debut work as director. Shooting of Sanshiro Sugata began on location in Yokohama in December 1942. Production proceeded smoothly, but getting the completed film past the censors was an entirely different matter. The censorship office considered the work to be objectionably "British-American" by the standards of wartime Japan, and it was only through the intervention of director Yasujirō Ozu, who championed the film, that Sanshiro Sugata was finally accepted for release on March 25, 1943. (Kurosawa had just turned 33.) The movie became both a critical and commercial success. Nevertheless, the censorship office would later decide to cut out some 18 minutes of footage, much of which is now considered lost. He next turned to the subject of wartime female factory workers in The Most Beautiful, a propaganda film which he shot in a semi-documentary style in early 1944. To elicit realistic performances from his actresses, the director had them live in a real factory during the shoot, eat the factory food and call each other by their character names. He would use similar methods with his performers throughout his career.
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Ancient Egypt
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Ancient Egypt was a civilization of ancient Northeast Africa. It was concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River, situated within the contemporary territory of modern-day Egypt. Ancient Egyptian civilization followed prehistoric Egypt and coalesced around 3100BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology) with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under pharaoh or king Menes (often identified with Narmer). The history of ancient Egypt unfolded as a series of stable kingdoms interspersed by periods of relative instability known as "Intermediate Periods". The various kingdoms fall into one of three categories: the Old Kingdom of the Early Bronze Age, the Middle Kingdom of the Middle Bronze Age, or the New Kingdom of the Late Bronze Age. Ancient Egypt reached the pinnacle of its power during the New Kingdom, ruling much of Nubia and a sizable portion of the Levant. After this period, it entered an era of slow decline. During the course of its history, ancient Egypt was invaded or conquered by a number of foreign powers, including the Hyksos, the Nubians, the Assyrians, the Achaemenid Persians, and the Macedonians under Alexander the Great. The Greek Ptolemaic Kingdom, formed in the aftermath of Alexander's death, ruled until 30BC, when, under Cleopatra, it fell to the Roman Empire and became a Roman province. Egypt remained under Roman control until 642 AD, when it was conquered by the Rashidun Caliphate. The success of ancient Egyptian civilization came partly from its ability to adapt to the conditions of the Nile River valley for agriculture. The predictable flooding and controlled irrigation of the fertile valley produced surplus crops, which supported a more dense population, and social development and culture. With resources to spare, the administration sponsored mineral exploitation of the valley and surrounding desert regions, the early development of an independent writing system, the organization of collective construction and agricultural projects, trade with surrounding regions, and a military intended to assert Egyptian dominance. Motivating and organizing these activities was a bureaucracy of elite scribes, religious leaders, and administrators under the control of a pharaoh, who ensured the cooperation and unity of the Egyptian people in the context of an elaborate system of religious beliefs. The many achievements of the ancient Egyptians include the quarrying, surveying, and construction techniques that supported the building of monumental pyramids, temples, and obelisks; a system of mathematics, a practical and effective system of medicine, irrigation systems, and agricultural production techniques, the first known planked boats, Egyptian faience and glass technology, new forms of literature, and the earliest known peace treaty, made with the Hittites. Ancient Egypt has left a lasting legacy. Its art and architecture were widely copied, and its antiquities were carried off to be studied, admired or coveted in the far corners of the world. Its monumental ruins have inspired the imaginations of travelers and writers for millennia. A newfound respect for antiquities and excavations in the early modern period by Europeans and Egyptians has led to the scientific investigation of Egyptian civilization and a greater appreciation of its cultural legacy. History The Nile has been the lifeline of its region for much of human history. The fertile floodplain of the Nile gave humans the opportunity to develop a settled agricultural economy and a more sophisticated, centralized society that became a cornerstone in the history of human civilization.
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Analog Brothers
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Analog Brothers were an experimental hip hop band featuring Tracy "Ice-T" Marrow (Ice Oscillator) on keyboards, drums and vocals, Keith "Kool Keith" Thornton (Keith Korg) on bass, strings and vocals, Marc Live (Marc Moog) on drums, violins and vocals, Christopher "Black Silver" Rodgers (Silver Synth) on synthesizer, lazar bell and vocals, and Rex Colonel "Pimpin' Rex" Doby Jr. (Rex Roland JX3P) on keyboards, vocals and production. Music The group's only studio album Pimp to Eat featured guest appearances by various members of Rhyme Syndicate, Odd Oberheim, Jacky Jasper (who appears as Jacky Jasper on the song "We Sleep Days" and H-Bomb on "War"), D.J. Cisco from S.M., Synth-A-Size Sisters and Teflon. Legacy While the group only recorded one album together as the Analog Brothers, a few bootlegs of its live concert performances, including freestyles with original lyrics, have occasionally surfaced online. After Pimp to Eat, the Analog Brothers continued performing together in various line ups. Kool Keith and Marc Live joined with Jacky Jasper to release two albums as KHM. Marc Live rapped with Ice-T's group SMG. Marc also formed a group with Black Silver called Live Black, but while five of their tracks were released on a demo CD sold at concerts, Live Black's first album has yet to be released. In 2008, Ice-T and Black Silver toured together as Black Ice, and released an album together called Urban Legends. In 2013, Black Silver and newest member to Analog Brothers, Kiew Kurzweil (Kiew Nikon of Kinetic) collaborated on the joint album called Slang Banging (Return to Analog) with production by Junkadelic Music. In addition to all this, the Analog Brothers continue to make frequent appearances on each other's solo albums. Discography 2000 - 2005 A.D. (single), Ground Control Records/Nu Gruv 2000 - Pimp to Eat (LP), Ground Control Records/Mello Music Group 2014 - Slang Banging (Return to Analog), Junkadelic Music References External links Kool Keith's Site Ultrakeith Analog Brothers at Discogs
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Motor neuron diseases
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Motor neuron diseases or motor neurone diseases (MNDs) are a group of rare neurodegenerative disorders that selectively affect motor neurons, the cells which control voluntary muscles of the body. They include amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), progressive bulbar palsy (PBP), pseudobulbar palsy, progressive muscular atrophy (PMA), primary lateral sclerosis (PLS), spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) and monomelic amyotrophy (MMA), as well as some rarer variants resembling ALS. Motor neuron diseases affect both children and adults. While each motor neuron disease affects patients differently, they all cause movement-related symptoms, mainly muscle weakness. Most of these diseases seem to occur randomly without known causes, but some forms are inherited. Studies into these inherited forms have led to discoveries of various genes (e.g. SOD1) that are thought to be important in understanding how the disease occurs. Symptoms of motor neuron diseases can be first seen at birth or can come on slowly later in life. Most of these diseases worsen over time; while some, such as ALS, shorten one's life expectancy, others do not. Currently, there are no approved treatments for the majority of motor neuron disorders, and care is mostly symptomatic.
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Abjad
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An abjad (, , Hebrew: אבגד), also abgad, is a writing system in which only consonants are represented, leaving the vowel sounds to be inferred by the reader. This contrasts with alphabets, which provide graphemes for both consonants and vowels. The term was introduced in 1990 by Peter T. Daniels.Daniels, P. (1990). Fundamentals of Grammatology. Journal of the American Oriental Society, 110(4), 727-731. doi:10.2307/602899: "We must recognize that the West Semitic scripts constitute a third fundamental type of script, the kind that denotes individual consonants only. It cannot be subsumed under either of the other terms. A suitable name for this type would be alephbeth, in honor of its Levantine origin, but this term seems too similar to alphabet to be practical; so I propose to call this type an "abjad," [Footnote: I.e., the alif-ba-jim order familiar from earlier Semitic alphabets, from which the modern order alif-ba-ta-tha is derived by placing together the letters with similar shapes and differing numbers of dots. The abjad is the order in which numerical values are assigned to the letters (as in Hebrew).] from the Arabic word for the traditional order6 of its script, which (unvocalized) of course falls in this category... There is yet a fourth fundamental type of script, a type recognized over forty years ago by James- Germain Fevrier, called by him the "neosyllabary" (1948, 330), and again by Fred Householder thirty years ago, who called it "pseudo-alphabet" (1959, 382). These are the scripts of Ethiopia and "greater India" that use a basic form for the specific syllable consonant + a particular vowel (in practice always the unmarked a) and modify it to denote the syllables with other vowels or with no vowel. Were it not for this existing term, I would propose maintaining the pattern by calling this type an "abugida," from the Ethiopian word for the auxiliary order of consonants in the signary." Other terms for the same concept include partial phonemic script, segmentally linear defective phonographic script, consonantary, consonant writing, and consonantal alphabet.Amalia E. Gnanadesikan (2017) Towards a typology of phonemic scripts, Writing Systems Research, 9:1, 14-35, DOI: 10.1080/17586801.2017.1308239 "Daniels (1990, 1996a) proposes the name abjad for these scripts, and this term has gained considerable popularity. Other terms include partial phonemic script (Hill, 1967), segmentally linear defective phonographic script (Faber, 1992), consonantary (Trigger, 2004), consonant writing (Coulmas, 1989) and consonantal alphabet (Gnanadesikan, 2009; Healey, 1990). " Impure abjads represent vowels with either optional diacritics, a limited number of distinct vowel glyphs, or both. Etymology The name abjad is based on the Arabic alphabet's first (in its original order) four corresponding to a, b, j, and to replace the more common terms "consonantary" and "consonantal alphabet" in describing the family of scripts classified as "West Semitic". It is similar to other Semitic languages such as Phoenician, Hebrew and Semitic proto-alphabets: specifically, aleph, bet, gimel, dalet. Terminology According to the formulations of Peter T. Daniels, abjads differ from alphabets in that only consonants, not vowels, are represented among the basic graphemes. Abjads differ from abugidas, another category defined by Daniels, in that in abjads, the vowel sound is implied by phonology, and where vowel marks exist for the system, such as nikkud for Hebrew and ḥarakāt for Arabic, their use is optional and not the dominant (or literate) form. Abugidas mark all vowels (other than the "inherent" vowel) with a diacritic, a minor attachment to the letter, a standalone , or (in Canadian Aboriginal syllabics) by rotation of the letter. Some abugidas use a special symbol to suppress the inherent vowel so that the consonant alone can be properly represented. In a syllabary, a grapheme denotes a complete syllable, that is, either a lone vowel sound or a combination of a vowel sound with one or more consonant sounds. The contrast of abjad versus alphabet has been rejected by other scholars because abjad is also used as a term for the Arabic numeral system. Also, it may be taken as suggesting that consonantal alphabets, in contrast to e.g. the Greek alphabet, were not yet true alphabets. Florian Coulmas, a critic of Daniels and of the abjad terminology, argues that this terminology can confuse alphabets with "transcription systems", and that there is no reason to relegate the Hebrew, Aramaic or Phoenician alphabets to second-class status as an "incomplete alphabet". However, Daniels's terminology has found acceptance in the linguistic community. "Abjads / Consonant alphabets", Omniglot.com, 2009, quote: "Abjads, or consonant alphabets, represent consonants only, or consonants plus some vowels. Full vowel indication (vocalisation) can be added, usually by means of diacritics, but this is not usually done." Accessed 22 May 2009.Rogers, Henry (2005): Writing systems: a linguistic approach. Wiley-Blackwell. 115ff.Schone, Patrick (2006): "Low-resource autodiacritization of abjads for speech keyword search", In INTERSPEECH-2006, paper 1412-Mon3FoP.13.
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ABBA
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ABBA were a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, Anni-Frid Lyngstad. They are one of the most popular and successful musical groups of all time, and are one of the best-selling music acts in the history of popular music. In , ABBA became 's first winner of the Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Waterloo", which in 2005 was chosen as the best song in the competition's history as part of the 50th anniversary celebration of the contest. During the band's main active years, it consisted of two married couples: Fältskog and Ulvaeus, and Lyngstad and Andersson. With the increase of their popularity, their personal lives suffered, which eventually resulted in the collapse of both marriages. The relationship changes were reflected in the group's music, with later songs featuring darker and more introspective lyrics. After ABBA disbanded in December 1982, Andersson and Ulvaeus continued their success writing music for multiple audiences including stage, musicals and movies, while Fältskog and Lyngstad pursued solo careers. Ten years after the group broke up, a compilation, ABBA Gold, was released, becoming a worldwide best-seller. In 1999, ABBA's music was adapted into Mamma Mia!, a stage musical that toured worldwide and, as of October 2024, is still in the top-ten longest running productions on both Broadway (closed in 2015) and the West End (still running). A film of the same name, released in 2008, became the highest-grossing film in the United Kingdom that year. A sequel, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, was released in 2018. ABBA are among the best-selling music artists in history, with record sales estimated to be between 150 million to 385 million sold worldwide and the group were ranked 3rd best-selling singles artists in the United Kingdom with a total of 11.3 million singles sold by 3 November 2012. In May 2023, ABBA were awarded the BRIT Billion Award, which celebrates those who have surpassed the milestone of one billion UK streams in their career. ABBA were the first group from a non-English-speaking country to achieve consistent success in the charts of English-speaking countries, including the United Kingdom, Australia, United States, Republic of Ireland, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa. They are the best-selling Swedish band of all time and the best-selling band originating in continental Europe. ABBA had eight consecutive number-one albums in the UK. The group also enjoyed significant success in Latin America and recorded a collection of their hit songs in Spanish. ABBA were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2002. The group were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010, the first recording artists to receive this honour from outside an Anglophonic country. In 2015, their song "Dancing Queen" was inducted into the Recording Academy's Grammy Hall of Fame. In 2024, the United States Library of Congress included the album Arrival (1976) in the National Recording Registry, which recognises works "worthy of preservation for all time based on their cultural, historical or aesthetic importance in the nation’s recorded sound heritage". In 2016, the group reunited and started working on a digital avatar concert tour. Newly recorded songs were announced in 2018. Voyage, their first new album in 40 years, was released on 5 November 2021 to positive critical reviews and strong sales in numerous countries. ABBA Voyage, a concert residency featuring ABBA as virtual avatars, opened in May 2022 in London. History 1958–1970: before ABBA Member origins and collaboration Agnetha Fältskog (born 5 April 1950 in Jönköping, Sweden) sang with a local dance band (headed by Bernt Enghardt) who sent a demo recording of their music to Karl-Gerhard Lundkvist. The demo tape featured a song written and sung by Agnetha: "Jag var så kär" ("I Was So in Love"). Lundkvist was so impressed with her voice that he was convinced she would be a star. After going through considerable effort to locate the singer, he arranged for Agnetha to come to Stockholm and to record two of her own songs. This led to Agnetha at the age of 18 having a number-one record in Sweden with a self-composed song, which later went on to sell over 80,000 copies. She was soon noticed by the critics and songwriters as a talented singer/songwriter of schlager style songs. Fältskog's main inspiration in her early years was singers such as Connie Francis. Along with her own compositions, she recorded covers of foreign hits and performed them on tours in Swedish folkparks. Most of her biggest hits were self-composed, which was quite unusual for a female singer in the 1960s. Agnetha released four solo LPs between 1968 and 1971. She had many successful singles in the Swedish charts. Björn Ulvaeus (born 25 April 1945 in Gothenburg, Sweden) also began his musical career at the age of 18 (as a singer and guitarist), when he fronted the Hootenanny Singers, a popular Swedish folk–skiffle group. Ulvaeus started writing English-language songs for his group and even had a brief solo career alongside. The Hootenanny Singers and the Hep Stars sometimes crossed paths while touring. In June 1966, Ulvaeus and Andersson decided to write a song together. Their first attempt was "Isn't It Easy to Say", a song that was later recorded by the Hep Stars. Stig Anderson was the manager of the Hootenanny Singers and founder of the Polar Music label. He saw potential in the collaboration, and encouraged them to write more. The two also began playing occasionally with the other's bands on stage and on record, although it was not until 1969 that the pair wrote and produced some of their first real hits together: "Ljuva sextital" ("Sweet Sixties"), recorded by Brita Borg, and the Hep Stars' 1969 hit "Speleman" ("Fiddler"). Benny Andersson (born 16 December 1946 in Stockholm, Sweden) became (at age 18) a member of a popular Swedish pop-rock group, the Hep Stars, that performed, among other things, covers of international hits. The Hep Stars were known as "the Swedish Beatles".10 Things You Never Knew About Abba . Virginmedia.com. Retrieved 19 April 2014. They also set up Hep House, their equivalent of Apple Corps. Andersson played the keyboard and eventually started writing original songs for his band, many of which became major hits, including "No Response", which hit number three in 1965, and "Sunny Girl", "Wedding", and "Consolation", all of which hit number one in 1966. Andersson also had a fruitful songwriting collaboration with Lasse Berghagen, with whom he wrote his first Svensktoppen entry, "Sagan om lilla Sofie" ("The tale of Little Sophie") in 1968. Andersson wrote and submitted the song "Hej, Clown" for Melodifestivalen 1969, the national festival to select the Swedish entry to the Eurovision Song Contest. The song tied for first place, but re-voting relegated Andersson's song to second place. On that occasion Andersson briefly met his future spouse, singer Anni-Frid Lyngstad, who also participated in the contest. A month later, the two had become a couple. As their respective bands began to break up during 1969, Andersson and Ulvaeus teamed up and recorded their first album together in 1970, called Lycka ("Happiness"), which included original songs sung by both men. Their partners were often present in the recording studio, and sometimes added backing vocals; Fältskog even co-wrote a song with the two. Ulvaeus still occasionally recorded and performed with the Hootenanny Singers until the middle of 1974, and Andersson took part in producing their records. Anni-Frid "Frida" Lyngstad (born 15 November 1945 in Bjørkåsen in Ballangen Municipality, Norway) sang from the age of 13 with various dance bands, and worked mainly in a jazz-oriented cabaret style. She also formed her own band, the Anni-Frid Four. In the middle of 1967, she won a national talent competition with "En ledig dag" ("A Day Off"), a Swedish version of the bossa nova song "A Day in Portofino", which is included in the EMI compilation Frida 1967–1972. The first prize was a recording contract with EMI Sweden and to perform live on the most popular TV shows in the country. This TV performance, among many others, is included in the -hour documentary Frida – The DVD. Lyngstad released several schlager style singles on EMI with mixed success. When Benny Andersson started to produce her recordings in 1971, she had her first number-one single, "Min egen stad" ("My Own Town"), written by Benny and featuring all the future ABBA members on backing vocals. Lyngstad toured and performed regularly in the folkpark circuit and made appearances on radio and TV. She had a second number-one single with "Man Vill Ju Leva Lite Dessemellan" in late 1972. She had met Ulvaeus briefly in 1963 during a talent contest, and Fältskog during a TV show in early 1968. Lyngstad linked up with her future bandmates in 1969. On 1 March 1969, she participated in the Melodifestival, where she met Andersson for the first time. A few weeks later they met again during a concert tour in southern Sweden and they soon became a couple. Andersson produced her single "Peter Pan" in September 1969—her first collaboration with Benny & Björn, as they had written the song. Andersson would then produce Lyngstad's debut studio album, Frida, which was released in March 1971. Lyngstad also played in several revues and cabaret shows in Stockholm between 1969 and 1973. After ABBA formed, she recorded another successful album in 1975, Frida ensam, which included the original Swedish rendition of "Fernando", a hit on the Swedish radio charts before the English version was released by ABBA. During filming of a Swedish TV special in May 1969, Fältskog met Ulvaeus and they married on 6 July 1971. Fältskog and Ulvaeus eventually were involved in each other's recording sessions, and soon even Andersson and Lyngstad added backing vocals to Fältskog's third studio album, Som jag är ("As I Am") (1970). In 1972, Fältskog starred as Mary Magdalene in the original Swedish production of Jesus Christ Superstar and attracted favourable reviews. Between 1967 and 1975, Fältskog released five studio albums. First live performance and the start of "Festfolket" An attempt at combining their talents occurred in April 1970 when the two couples went on holiday together to the island of Cyprus. What started as singing for fun on the beach ended up as an improvised live performance in front of the United Nations soldiers stationed on the island. Andersson and Ulvaeus were at this time recording their first album together, Lycka, which was to be released in September 1970. Fältskog and Lyngstad added backing vocals on several tracks during June, and the idea of their working together saw them launch a stage act, "Festfolket" (which translates from Swedish to "Party People" and in pronunciation also "engaged couples"), on 1 November 1970 in Gothenburg. The cabaret show attracted generally negative reviews, except for the performance of the Andersson and Ulvaeus hit "Hej, gamle man" ("Hello, Old Man")—the first Björn and Benny recording to feature all four. They also performed solo numbers from respective albums, but the lukewarm reception convinced the foursome to shelve plans for working together for the time being, and each soon concentrated on individual projects again. First record together "Hej, gamle man" "Hej, gamle man", a song about an old Salvation Army soldier, became the quartet's first hit. The record was credited to Björn & Benny and reached number five on the sales charts and number one on Svensktoppen, staying on the latter chart (which was not a chart linked to sales or airplay) for 15 weeks. It was during 1971 that the four artists began working together more, adding vocals to the others' recordings. Fältskog, Andersson and Ulvaeus toured together in May, while Lyngstad toured on her own. Frequent recording sessions brought the foursome closer together during the summer. 1970–1973: forming the group After the 1970 release of Lycka, two more singles credited to "Björn & Benny" were released in Sweden, "Det kan ingen doktor hjälpa" ("No Doctor Can Help with That") and "Tänk om jorden vore ung" ("Imagine If Earth Was Young"), with more prominent vocals by Fältskog and Lyngstad–and moderate chart success. Fältskog and Ulvaeus, now married, started performing together with Andersson on a regular basis at the Swedish folkparks in the middle of 1971. Stig Anderson, founder and owner of Polar Music, was determined to break into the mainstream international market with music by Andersson and Ulvaeus. "One day the pair of you will write a song that becomes a worldwide hit," he predicted. Stig Anderson encouraged Ulvaeus and Andersson to write a song for Melodifestivalen, and after two rejected entries in 1971, Andersson and Ulvaeus submitted their new song "Säg det med en sång" ("Say It with a Song") for the 1972 contest, choosing newcomer Lena Anderson to perform. The song came in third place, encouraging Stig Anderson, and became a hit in Sweden. The first signs of foreign success came as a surprise, as the Andersson and Ulvaeus single "She's My Kind of Girl" was released through Epic Records in Japan in March 1972, giving the duo a Top 10 hit. Two more singles were released in Japan, "En Carousel" ("En Karusell" in Scandinavia, an earlier version of "Merry-Go-Round") and "Love Has Its Ways" (a song they wrote with Kōichi Morita). First hit as Björn, Benny, Agnetha and Anni-Frid First logo for the band
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Allegiance
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An allegiance is a duty of fidelity said to be owed, or freely committed, by the people, subjects or citizens to their state or sovereign. Etymology The word allegiance comes from Middle English (see Medieval Latin , "a liegance"). The al- prefix was probably added through confusion with another legal term, allegiance, an "allegation" (the French comes from the English). Allegiance is formed from "liege," from Old French , "liege, free", of Germanic origin. The connection with Latin , "to bind," is erroneous. Usage Traditionally, English legal commentators used the term allegiance in two ways. In one sense, it referred to the deference which anyone, even a foreigner, was expected to pay to the institutions of the country where one lived. In the other sense, it meant national character and the subjection due to that character. Types Local allegiance Natural allegiance United Kingdom The English doctrine, which was at one time adopted in the United States, asserted that allegiance was indelible: "Nemo potest exuere patriam". As the law stood prior to 1870, every person who by birth or naturalisation satisfied the conditions set forth, even if removed in infancy to another country where their family resided, owed an allegiance to the British crown which they could never resign or lose, except by act of parliament or by the recognition of the independence or the cession of the portion of British territory in which they resided. This refusal to accept any renunciation of allegiance to the Crown led to conflict with the United States over impressment, which led to further conflicts during the War of 1812, when thirteen Irish American prisoners of war were executed as traitors after the Battle of Queenston Heights; Winfield Scott urged American reprisal, but none was carried out.John Eisenhower (1997), Agent of Destiny: The Life and Times of Winfield Scott, New York: Free Press. Allegiance was the tie which bound the subject to the sovereign, in return for that protection which the sovereign afforded the subject. It was the mutual bond and obligation between monarch and subjects, whereby subjects were called their liege subjects, because they are bound to obey and serve them; and the monarch was called their liege lord, because they should maintain and defend them (Ex parte Anderson (1861) 3 El & El 487; 121 ER 525; China Navigation Co v Attorney-General (1932) 48 TLR 375; Attorney-General v Nissan 1 All ER 629; Oppenheimer v Cattermole 3 All ER 1106). The duty of the crown towards its subjects was to govern and protect them. The reciprocal duty of the subject towards the crown was that of allegiance. At common law, allegiance was a true and faithful obedience of the subject due to their sovereign. As the subject owed to their sovereign their true and faithful allegiance and obedience, so the sovereign (Calvin's Case (1608) 7 Co Rep 1a; Jenk 306; 2 State Tr 559; 77 ER 377). Natural allegiance and obedience is an incident inseparable to every subject, for parte Anderson (1861) 3 El & El 487; 121 ER 525). Natural-born subjects owe allegiance wherever they may be. Where territory is occupied in the course of hostilities by an enemy's force, even if the annexation of the occupied country is proclaimed by the enemy, there can be no change of allegiance during the progress of hostilities on the part of a citizen of the occupied country (R v Vermaak (1900) 21 NLR 204 (South Africa)). Allegiance is owed both to the sovereign as a natural person and to the sovereign in the political capacity (Re Stepney Election Petition, Isaacson v Durant (1886) 17 QBD 54 (per Lord Coleridge CJ)). Attachment to the person of the reigning sovereign is not sufficient. Loyalty requires affection also to the office of the sovereign, attachment to royalty, attachment to the law and to the constitution of the realm, and he who would, by force or by fraud, endeavour to prostrate that law and constitution, though he may retain his affection for its head, can boast but an imperfect and spurious species of loyalty (R v O'Connell (1844) 7 ILR 261). There were four kinds of allegiances (Rittson v Stordy (1855) 3 Sm & G 230; De Geer v Stone (1882) 22 Ch D 243; Isaacson v Durant (1886) 54 LT 684; Gibson, Gavin v Gibson 3 KB 379; Joyce v DPP AC 347; Collingwood v Pace (1661) O Bridg 410; Lane v Bennett (1836) 1 M & W 70; Lyons Corp v East India Co (1836) 1 Moo PCC 175; Birtwhistle v Vardill (1840) 7 Cl & Fin 895; R v Lopez, R v Sattler (1858) Dears & B 525; Ex p Brown (1864) 5 B & S 280): (a) Ligeantia naturalis, absoluta, pura et indefinita, and this originally is due by nature and birthright, and is called alta ligeantia, and those that owe this are called subditus natus; (b) Ligeantia acquisita, not by nature but by acquisition or denization, being called a denizen, or rather denizon, because they are subditus datus; (c) Ligeantia localis, by operation of law, when a friendly alien enters the country, because so long as they are in the country they are within the sovereign's protection, therefore they owe the sovereign a local obedience or allegiance (R v Cowle (1759) 2 Burr 834; Low v Routledge (1865) 1 Ch App 42; Re Johnson, Roberts v Attorney-General 1 Ch 821; Tingley v Muller 2 Ch 144; Rodriguez v Speyer AC 59; Johnstone v Pedlar 2 AC 262; R v Tucker (1694) Show Parl Cas 186; R v Keyn (1876) 2 Ex D 63; Re Stepney Election Petn, Isaacson v Durant (1886) 17 QBD 54); (d) A legal obedience, where a particular law requires the taking of an oath of allegiance by subject or alien alike. Natural allegiance was acquired by birth within the sovereign's dominions (except for the issue of diplomats or of invading forces or of an alien in an enemy occupied territory). The natural allegiance and obedience are an incident inseparable from every subject, for as soon as they are born they owe by birthright allegiance and obedience to the Sovereign (Ex p. Anderson (1861) 3 E & E 487). A natural-born subject owes allegiance wherever they may be, so that where territory is occupied in the course of hostilities by an enemy's force, even if the annexation of the occupied country is proclaimed by the enemy, there can be no change of allegiance during the progress of hostilities on the part of a citizen of the occupied country (R v Vermaak (1900) 21 NLR 204 (South Africa)). Acquired allegiance was acquired by naturalisation or denization. Denization, or ligeantia acquisita, appears to be threefold (Thomas v Sorrel (1673) 3 Keb 143): (a) absolute, as the common denization, without any limitation or restraint; (b) limited, as when the sovereign grants letters of denization to an alien, and the alien's male heirs, or to an alien for the term of their life; (c) It may be granted upon condition, cujus est dare, ejus est disponere, and this denization of an alien may come about three ways: by parliament; by letters patent, which was the usual manner; and by conquest. Local allegiance was due by an alien while in the protection of the crown. All friendly resident aliens incurred all the obligations of subjects (The Angelique (1801) 3 Ch Rob App 7). An alien, coming into a colony, also became, temporarily, a subject of the crown, and acquired rights both within and beyond the colony, and these latter rights could not be affected by the laws of that colony (Routledge v Low (1868) LR 3 HL 100; 37 LJ Ch 454; 18 LT 874; 16 WR 1081, HL; Reid v Maxwell (1886) 2 TLR 790; Falcon v Famous Players Film Co 2 KB 474). A resident alien owed allegiance even when the protection of the crown was withdrawn owing to the occupation of an enemy, because the absence of the crown's protection was temporary and involuntary (de Jager v Attorney-General of Natal AC 326). Legal allegiance was due when an alien took an oath of allegiance required for a particular office under the crown. By the Naturalization Act 1870 (33 & 34 Vict. c. 14), it was made possible for British subjects to renounce their nationality and allegiance, and the ways in which that nationality is lost were defined. So British subjects voluntarily naturalized in a foreign state are deemed aliens from the time of such naturalization, unless, in the case of persons naturalized before the passing of the act, they had declared their desire to remain British subjects within two years from the passing of the act. Persons who, from having been born within British territory, are British subjects, but who, at birth, came under the law of any foreign state or of subjects of such state, and, also, persons who, though born abroad, are British subjects by reason of parentage, may, by declarations of alienage, get rid of British nationality. Emigration to an uncivilized country left British nationality unaffected: indeed the right claimed by all states to follow with their authority their subjects so emigrating was one of the usual and recognized means of colonial expansion. United States The doctrine that no man can cast off his native allegiance without the consent of his sovereign was early abandoned in the United States, and Chief Justice John Rutledge also declared in Talbot v. Janson, "a man may, at the same time, enjoy the rights of citizenship under two governments. On July 27, 1868, the day before the Fourteenth Amendment was adopted, U.S. Congress declared in the preamble of the Expatriation Act that "the right of expatriation is a natural and inherent right of all people, indispensable to the enjoyment of the rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness," and (Section I) one of "the fundamental principles of this government" (United States Revised Statutes, sec. Every natural-born citizen of a foreign state who is also an American citizen, and every natural-born American citizen who is also a citizen of a foreign land, owes a double allegiance, one to the United States, and one to their homeland (in the event of an immigrant becoming a citizen of the US) or to their adopted land (in the event of an emigrant natural-born citizen of the US becoming a citizen of another nation). If these allegiances come into conflict, the person may be guilty of treason against one or both. If the demands of these two sovereigns upon their duty of allegiance come into conflict, those of the United States have the paramount authority in American law; likewise, those of the foreign land have paramount authority in their legal system. In such a situation, it may be incumbent on the individual to renounce one of their citizenships, to avoid possibly being forced into situations where countervailing duties are required of them, such as might occur in the event of war. Oath of allegiance The oath of allegiance is an oath of fidelity to the sovereign taken by all persons holding important public office and as a condition of naturalization. By ancient common law, it was required of all persons above the age of 12, and it was repeatedly used as a test for the disaffected. In England, it was first imposed by statute in the reign of Elizabeth I (1558), and its form has, more than once, been altered since. Up to the time of the revolution, the promise was "to be true and faithful to the king and his heirs, and truth and faith to bear of life and limb and terrene honour, and not to know or hear of any ill or damage intended him without defending him therefrom." This was thought to favour the doctrine of absolute non-resistance, and, accordingly, the Convention Parliament enacted the form that has been in use since that time—"I do sincerely promise and swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty ..." In the United States and some other republics, the oath is known as the Pledge of Allegiance. Instead of declaring fidelity to a monarch, the pledge is made to the flag, the republic, and to the core values of the country, specifically liberty and justice. The reciting of the pledge in the United States is voluntary because of the rights guaranteed to the people under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution—specifically, the guarantee of freedom of speech, which inherently includes the freedom not to speak. In Islam The word used in the Arabic language for allegiance is bay'at (Arabic: بيعة), which means "taking hand". The practice is sanctioned in the Quran by Surah 48:10: "Verily, those who give thee their allegiance, they give it but to Allah Himself". The word is used for the oath of allegiance to an emir. It is also used for the initiation ceremony specific to many Sufi orders. See also Legitimacy (political) Mandate of Heaven Usurpation References Further reading External links
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Altenberg
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Altenberg (German for "old mountain" or "mountain of the old") may refer to: Places Austria Altenberg, a town in Sankt Andrä-Wördern, Tulln District Altenberg bei Linz, in Upper Austria Altenberg an der Rax, in Styria Germany Altenberg (Bergisches Land), an area in Odenthal, North Rhine-Westphalia Altenberg Abbey, Cistercian monastery in Altenberg (Bergisches Land) Altenberger Dom, sometimes called Altenberg Cathedral, the former church of this Cistercian monastery Altenberg (Hohenahr), hill in Hesse Altenberg (Limpurg Hills), highest summit in the Limpurg Hills Altenberg, Saxony, a town Altenberga, a municipality in the Saale-Holzfeld district, Thuringia Altenberg Abbey, Solms, a former Premonstratensian nunnery near Wetzlar in Hesse Zinkfabrik Altenberg, a former zinc factory, now a branch of the LVR Industrial Museum, Oberhausen, North Rhine-Westphalia Grube Altenberg, a show mine near Kreuztal, North Rhine-Westphalia Other places Altenberg, the German name for Vieille Montagne (old mountain in French), a former zinc mine in Kelmis, Moresnet, Belgium Altenberg, a district in the city of Bern, Switzerland Other uses Altenberg Lieder (Five Orchestral Songs), composed by Alban Berg in 1911/12 Altenberg Publishing (1880–1934), a former Polish publishing house Altenberg Trio, a Viennese piano trio People with the surname Alfred Altenberg (1878–1924), Polish bookseller and publisher Jakob Altenberg (1875–1944), Austrian businessman Lee Altenberg, theoretical biologist Peter Altenberg (1859–1919), nom de plume of Austrian writer and poet Richard Engländer See also Altenburg (disambiguation
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MessagePad
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The MessagePad is a series of personal digital assistant devices developed by Apple Computer for the Newton platform, first released in 1993. Some electronic engineering and the manufacture of Apple's MessagePad devices was undertaken in Japan by Sharp. The devices are based on the ARM 610 RISC processor, run Newton OS, and all feature handwriting recognition software. Alongside the MessagePad series, Apple also developed and released the eMate 300 Newton device. History The development of the Newton MessagePad first began with Apple's former senior vice president of research and development, Jean-Louis Gassée; his team included Steve Capps, co-writer of Mac OS Finder, and an employed engineer named Steve Sakoman. The development of the Newton MessagePad operated in secret until it was eventually revealed to the Apple Board of Directors in late 1990. When Gassée resigned from his position due to a significant disagreement with the board, seeing how his employer was treated, Sakoman also stopped developing the MessagePad on March 2, 1990. Bill Atkinson, an Apple Executive responsible for the company's Lisa graphical interface, invited Steve Capps, John Sculley, Andy Hertzfeld, Susan Kare, and Marc Porat to a meeting on March 11, 1990. There, they brainstormed a way of saving the MessagePad. Sculley suggested adding new features, including libraries, museums, databases, or institutional archives features, allowing customers to navigate through various window tabs or opened galleries/stacks. The Board later approved his suggestion; he then gave the Newton his official and full backing. The first MessagePad was unveiled by Sculley on the 29th of May 1992 at the summer Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Chicago. Sculley caved in to pressure to unveil the product early because the Newton did not officially ship until 14 months later on the 2nd of August 1993, starting at a price of . Over 50,000 units were sold by late November 1993. Details Screen and input With the MessagePad 120 with Newton OS 2.0, the Newton Keyboard by Apple became available, which can also be used via the dongle on Newton devices with a Newton InterConnect port, most notably the Apple MessagePad 2000/2100 series, as well as the Apple eMate 300. Newton devices featuring Newton OS 2.1 or higher can be used with the screen turned horizontally ("landscape") as well as vertically (""). A change of a setting rotates the contents of the display by 90, 180 or 270 degrees. Handwriting recognition still works properly with the display rotated, although display calibration is needed when rotation in any direction is used for the first time or when the Newton device is reset.
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A. E. van Vogt
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Alfred Elton van Vogt ( ; April 26, 1912 – January 26, 2000) was a Canadian-born American science fiction writer. His fragmented, bizarre narrative style influenced later science fiction writers, notably Philip K. Dick. He was one of the most popular and influential practitioners of science fiction in the mid-twentieth century, the genre's so-called Golden Age, and one of the most complex. "Although [van Vogt] catered for the pulps, he intensified the emotional impact and complexity of the stories they would bear". The Science Fiction Writers of America named him their 14th Grand Master in 1995 (presented 1996). Early life Alfred Vogt (both "Elton" and "van" were added much later) was born on April 26, 1912, on his grandparents' farm in Edenburg, Manitoba, a tiny (and now defunct) Russian Mennonite community east of Gretna, Manitoba, Canada, in the Mennonite West Reserve. He was the third of six children born to Heinrich "Henry" Vogt and Aganetha "Agnes" Vogt (née Buhr), both of whom were born in Manitoba and grew up in heavily immigrant communities. Until he was four, van Vogt spoke only Plautdietsch at home.Panshin, Alexei "Man Beyond Man. The Early Stories of A. E. van Vogt" (page 1). Retrieved August 29, 2010. For the first dozen or so years of his life, van Vogt's father, Henry Vogt, a lawyer, moved his family several times within central Canada, moving to Neville, Saskatchewan; Morden, Manitoba; and finally Winnipeg, Manitoba. Alfred Vogt found these moves difficult, later remarking: By the 1920s, living in Winnipeg, father Henry worked as an agent for a steamship company, but the stock market crash of 1929 proved financially disastrous, and the family could not afford to send Alfred to college. During his teen years, Alfred worked as a farmhand and a truck driver, and by the age of 19, he was working in Ottawa for the Canadian Census Bureau. In "the dark days of '31 and '32," van Vogt took a correspondence course in writing from the Palmer Institute of Authorship. He sold his first story in fall 1932. "Palmer Graduate Now Leading Author of Science Fiction," Palmer ad, The Author & Journalist, October 1949, p. 19. His early published works were stories in the true confession style of magazines such as True Story. Most of these stories were published anonymously, with the first-person narratives allegedly being written by people (often women) in extraordinary, emotional, and life-changing circumstances. After a year in Ottawa, he moved back to Winnipeg, where he sold newspaper advertising space and continued to write. While continuing to pen melodramatic "true confessions" stories through 1937, he also began writing short radio dramas for local radio station CKY, as well as conducting interviews published in trade magazines. He added the middle name "Elton" at some point in the mid-1930s, and at least one confessional story (1937's "To Be His Keeper") was sold to the Toronto Star, who misspelled his name "Alfred Alton Bogt" in the byline. Shortly thereafter, he added the "van" to his surname, and from that point forward he used the name "A. E. van Vogt" both personally and professionally. Career By 1938, van Vogt decided to switch to writing science fiction, a genre he enjoyed reading.Elliot, Jeffery: "An Interview with A. E. Van Vogt", Science Fiction Review #23, 1977. Available online Retrieved on August 29, 2010 He was inspired by the August 1938 issue of Astounding Science Fiction, which he picked up at a newsstand. John W. Campbell's novelette "Who Goes There?" (later adapted into The Thing from Another World and The Thing) inspired van Vogt to write "Vault of the Beast", which he submitted to that same magazine. Campbell, who edited Astounding (and had written the story under a pseudonym), sent van Vogt a rejection letter in which Campbell encouraged van Vogt to try again. Van Vogt sent another story, entitled "Black Destroyer", which was accepted. It featured a fierce, carnivorous alien stalking the crew of a spaceship, and served as the inspiration for multiple science fiction movies, including Alien (1979).
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Anna Kournikova
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Anna Sergeyevna Kournikova Iglesias (née Kournikova; ; born 7 June 1981) is a Russian model and television personality, and former professional tennis player. Her appearance and celebrity status made her one of the best known tennis stars worldwide. Despite never winning a singles title, she reached No. 8 in the world in 2000. She achieved greater success playing doubles, where she was at times the world No. With Martina Hingis as her partner, she won Grand Slam titles in Australia in 1999 and 2002, and the WTA Championships in 1999 and 2000. They referred to themselves as the "Spice Girls of Tennis". Kournikova retired from professional tennis in 2003 due to serious back and spinal problems, including a herniated disk. She lives in Miami Beach, Florida, and played in occasional exhibitions and in doubles for the St. Louis Aces of World TeamTennis before the team folded in 2011. She was a new trainer for season 12 of the television show The Biggest Loser, replacing Jillian Michaels, but did not return for season 13. In addition to her tennis and television work, Kournikova serves as a Global Ambassador for Population Services International's "Five & Alive" program, which addresses health crises facing children under the age of five and their families. Early life Kournikova was born in Moscow, Russia, on 7 June 1981. Her father, Sergei Kournikov (born 1961), a former Greco-Roman wrestling champion, eventually earned a PhD and was a professor at the University of Physical Culture and Sport in Moscow. As of 2001, he was still a part-time martial arts instructor there. Her mother Alla (born 1963) had been a 400-metre runner. Her younger half-brother, Allan, is a youth golf world champion who was featured in the 2013 documentary film The Short Game. Sergei Kournikov has said, "We were young and we liked the clean, physical life, so Anna was in a good environment for sport from the beginning". Describing her early regimen, she said, "I played two times a week from age six. It was a children's program. And it was just for fun; my parents didn't know I was going to play professionally, they just wanted me to do something because I had lots of energy. It was only when I started playing well at seven that I went to a professional academy. I would go to school, and then my parents would take me to the club, and I'd spend the rest of the day there just having fun with the kids." In 1986, Kournikova became a member of the Spartak Tennis Club, coached by Larissa Preobrazhenskaya. Original redirects to Facebook. In 1989, at the age of eight, Kournikova began appearing in junior tournaments, and by the following year, was attracting attention from tennis scouts across the world. She signed a management deal at age ten and went to Bradenton, Florida, to train at Nick Bollettieri's celebrated tennis academy. Tennis career 1989–1997: early years and breakthrough Following her arrival in the United States, she became prominent on the tennis scene. At the age of 14, she won the European Championships and the Italian Open Junior tournament. In December 1995, she became the youngest player to win the 18-and-under division of the Junior Orange Bowl tennis tournament. By the end of the year, Kournikova was crowned the ITF Junior World Champion U-18 and Junior European Champion U-18. Earlier, in September 1995, Kournikova, still only 14 years of age, debuted in the WTA Tour, when she received a wildcard into the qualifications at the WTA tournament in Moscow, the Moscow Ladies Open, and qualified before losing in the second round of the main draw to third-seeded Sabine Appelmans. She also reached her first WTA Tour doubles final in that debut appearance – partnering with 1995 Wimbledon girls' champion in both singles and doubles Aleksandra Olsza, she lost the title match to Meredith McGrath and Larisa Savchenko-Neiland. In February–March 1996, Kournikova won two ITF titles, in Midland, Michigan and Rockford, Illinois. Still only 14 years of age, in April 1996 she debuted at the Fed Cup for Russia, the youngest player ever to participate and win a match. In 1996, she started playing under a new coach, Ed Nagel. Her six-year association with Nagel was successful. At 15, she made her Grand Slam debut, reaching the fourth round of the 1996 US Open, losing to Steffi Graf, the eventual champion. After this tournament, Kournikova's ranking jumped from No. 144 to debut in the Top 100 at No. Kournikova was a member of the Russian delegation to the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1996, she was named WTA Newcomer of the Year, and she was ranked No. 57 in the end of the season. Kournikova entered the 1997 Australian Open as world No. 67, where she lost in the first round to world No. 12, Amanda Coetzer. At the Italian Open, Kournikova lost to Amanda Coetzer in the second round. She reached the semi-finals in the doubles partnering with Elena Likhovtseva, before losing to the sixth seeds Mary Joe Fernández and Patricia Tarabini. At the French Open, Kournikova made it to the third round before losing to world No. 1, Martina Hingis. She also reached the third round in doubles with Likhovtseva. At the Wimbledon Championships, Kournikova became only the second woman in the open era to reach the semi-finals in her Wimbledon debut, the first being Chris Evert in 1972. There she lost to eventual champion Martina Hingis. At the US Open, she lost in the second round to the eleventh seed Irina Spîrlea. Partnering with Likhovtseva, she reached the third round of the women's doubles event. Kournikova played her last WTA Tour event of 1997 at Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Filderstadt, losing to Amanda Coetzer in the second round of singles, and in the first round of doubles to Lindsay Davenport and Jana Novotná partnering with Likhovtseva. She broke into the top 50 on 19 May, and was ranked No. 32 in singles and No. 41 in doubles at the end of the season. Original redirects to Facebook. 1998–2000: success and stardom In 1998, Kournikova broke into the WTA's top 20 rankings for the first time, when she was ranked No. At the Australian Open, Kournikova lost in the third round to world No. 1 player, Martina Hingis. She also partnered with Larisa Savchenko-Neiland in women's doubles, and they lost to eventual champions Hingis and Mirjana Lučić in the second round. Although she lost in the second round of the Paris Open to Anke Huber in singles, Kournikova reached her second doubles WTA Tour final, partnering with Larisa Savchenko-Neiland. They lost to Sabine Appelmans and Miriam Oremans. Kournikova and Savchenko-Neiland reached their second consecutive final at the Linz Open, losing to Alexandra Fusai and Nathalie Tauziat. At the Miami Open, Kournikova reached her first WTA Tour singles final, before losing to Venus Williams in the final.
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Alfons Maria Jakob
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Alfons Maria Jakob (2 July 1884 – 17 October 1931) was a German neurologist who worked in the field of neuropathology. He was born in Aschaffenburg, Bavaria and educated in medicine at the universities of Munich, Berlin, and Strasbourg, where he received his doctorate in 1908. During the following year, he began clinical work under the psychiatrist Emil Kraepelin and did laboratory work with Franz Nissl and Alois Alzheimer in Munich.Alfons Maria Jakob at Who Named It In 1911, by way of an invitation from Wilhelm Weygandt,Neurological Eponyms edited by Peter J. Koehler, George W. Bruyn, John M. S. Pearce he relocated to Hamburg, where he worked with Theodor Kaes and eventually became head of the laboratory of anatomical pathology at the psychiatric State Hospital Hamburg-Friedrichsberg. Following the death of Kaes in 1913, Jakob succeeded him as prosector. During World War I he served as an army physician in Belgium, and afterwards returned to Hamburg. In 1919, he obtained his habilitation for neurology and in 1924 became a professor of neurology. Under Jakob's guidance the department grew rapidly. He made significant contributions to knowledge on concussion and secondary nerve degeneration and became a doyen of neuropathology.The Man Behind the Syndrome by Greta Beighton Jakob was the author of five monographs and nearly 80 scientific papers. His neuropathological research contributed greatly to the delineation of several diseases, including multiple sclerosis and Friedreich's ataxia. He first recognised and described Alper's disease and Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (named along with Munich neuropathologist Hans Gerhard Creutzfeldt). He gained experience in neurosyphilis, having a 200-bed ward devoted entirely to that disorder. Jakob made a lecture tour of the United States (1924) and South America (1928), of which, he wrote a paper on the neuropathology of yellow fever. He suffered from chronic osteomyelitis for the last seven years of his life. This eventually caused a retroperitoneal abscess and paralytic ileus from which he died following operation. Associated eponym Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease: A very rare and incurable degenerative neurological disease. Eponym introduced by Walther Spielmeyer in 1922.Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease at Who Named It Bibliography Die extrapyramidalen Erkrankungen. In: Monographien aus dem Gesamtgebiete der Neurologie und Psychiatry, Berlin, 1923 Normale und pathologische Anatomie und Histologie des Grosshirns. Separate printing of Handbuch der Psychiatry. Leipzig, 1927–1928 Das Kleinhirn. In: Handbuch der mikroskopischen Anatomie, Berlin, 1928 Die Syphilis des Gehirns und seiner Häute. In: Oswald Bumke (edit. ): Handbuch der Geisteskrankheiten, Berlin, 1930.Alfons Maria Jakob - bibliography at Who Named It References
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Agnosticism
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Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, the divine, or the supernatural is either unknowable in principle or unknown in fact. (page 56 in 1967 edition)"When used in this epistemological sense, the term “agnosticism” can very naturally be extended beyond the issue of what is or can be known to cover a large family of positions, depending on what sort of “positive epistemic status” is at issue. For example, it might be identified with any of the following positions: that neither theistic belief nor atheistic belief is justified, that neither theistic belief nor atheistic belief is rationally required, that neither belief is rationally permissible, that neither has warrant, that neither is reasonable, or that neither is probable." It can also mean an apathy towards such religious belief and refer to personal limitations rather than a worldview. Another definition is the view that "human reason is incapable of providing sufficient rational grounds to justify either the belief that God exists or the belief that God does not exist." The English biologist Thomas Henry Huxley said that he originally coined the word agnostic in 1869 "to denote people who, like [himself], confess themselves to be hopelessly ignorant concerning a variety of matters [including the matter of God's existence], about which metaphysicians and theologians, both orthodox and heterodox, dogmatise with the utmost confidence." Earlier thinkers had written works that promoted agnostic points of view, such as Sanjaya Belatthiputta, a 5th-century BCE Indian philosopher who expressed agnosticism about any afterlife;Bhaskar (1972). and Protagoras, a 5th-century BCE Greek philosopher who expressed agnosticism about the existence of "the gods". Defining agnosticism Being a scientist, above all else, Huxley presented agnosticism as a form of demarcation. A hypothesis with no supporting, objective, testable evidence is not an objective, scientific claim. As such, there would be no way to test said hypotheses, leaving the results inconclusive. His agnosticism was not compatible with forming a belief as to the truth, or falsehood, of the claim at hand. Karl Popper would also describe himself as an agnostic.Edward Zerin: Karl Popper On God: The Lost Interview. Skeptic 6:2 (1998) According to philosopher William L. Rowe, in this strict sense, agnosticism is the view that human reason is incapable of providing sufficient rational grounds to justify either the belief that God exists or the belief that God does not exist. George H. Smith, while admitting that the narrow definition of atheist was the common usage definition of that word,George H. Smith, Atheism: The Case Against God, pg. 9 and admitting that the broad definition of agnostic was the common usage definition of that word,George H. Smith, Atheism: The Case Against God, pg. 12 promoted broadening the definition of atheist and narrowing the definition of agnostic. Smith rejects agnosticism as a third alternative to theism and atheism and promotes terms such as agnostic atheism (the view of those who do not hold a belief in the existence of any deity but claim that the existence of a deity is unknown or inherently unknowable) and agnostic theism (the view of those who believe in the existence of a deity(s) but claim that the existence of a deity is unknown or inherently unknowable). Etymology Agnostic was used by Thomas Henry Huxley in a speech at a meeting of the Metaphysical Society in 1869 to describe his philosophy, which rejects all claims of spiritual or mystical knowledge. Early Christian church leaders used the Greek word gnosis (knowledge) to describe "spiritual knowledge". Agnosticism is not to be confused with religious views opposing the ancient religious movement of Gnosticism in particular; Huxley used the term in a broader, more abstract sense. Huxley identified agnosticism not as a creed but rather as a method of skeptical, evidence-based inquiry. The term agnostic is also cognate with the Sanskrit word ajñasi, which translates literally to "not knowable", and relates to the ancient Indian philosophical school of Ajñana, which proposes that it is impossible to obtain knowledge of metaphysical nature or ascertain the truth value of philosophical propositions; and even if knowledge were possible, it is useless and disadvantageous for final salvation. In recent years, scientific literature dealing with neuroscience and psychology has used the word to mean "not knowable".Oxford English Dictionary, Additions Series, 1993 In technical and marketing literature, "agnostic" can also mean independence from some parameters—for example, "platform agnostic" (referring to cross-platform software), or "hardware-agnostic". Qualifying agnosticism Scottish Enlightenment philosopher David Hume contended that meaningful statements about the universe are always qualified by some degree of doubt. He asserted that the fallibility of human beings means that they cannot obtain absolute certainty except in trivial cases where a statement is true by definition (e.g. tautologies such as "all bachelors are unmarried" or "all triangles have three corners").Hume, David, "An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding" (1748) Types Strong agnosticism Also called "hard", "closed", "strict", or "permanent agnosticism", strong agnosticism is the view that the question of the existence or nonexistence of a deity or deities, and the nature of ultimate reality is unknowable by reason of our natural inability to verify any subjective experience with anything but another subjective experience. A strong agnostic would say, "I cannot know whether a deity exists or not, and neither can you." Weak agnosticism Also called "soft", "open", "empirical", "hopeful", or "temporal agnosticism", weak agnosticism is the view that the existence or nonexistence of any deities is currently unknown but is not necessarily unknowable; therefore, one will withhold judgement until evidence, if any, becomes available. A weak agnostic would say, "I don't know whether any deities exist or not, but maybe one day, if there is evidence, we can find something out." Apathetic agnosticism The view that no amount of debate can prove or disprove the existence of one or more deities, and if one or more deities exist, they do not appear to be concerned about the fate of humans. Therefore, their existence has little to no impact on personal human affairs and should be of little interest. An apathetic agnostic would say, "I don't know whether any deity exists or not, and I don't care if any deity exists or not. "Rauch, Jonathan, Let It Be: Three Cheers for Apatheism, The Atlantic Monthly, May 2003 History Hindu philosophy Throughout the history of Hinduism there has been a strong tradition of philosophic speculation and skepticism. The Rig Veda takes an agnostic view on the fundamental question of how the universe and the gods were created. Nasadiya Sukta (Creation Hymn) in the tenth chapter of the Rig Veda says: Hume, Kant, and Kierkegaard Aristotle, Anselm, Aquinas, Descartes, and Gödel presented arguments attempting to rationally prove the existence of God. The skeptical empiricism of David Hume, the antinomies of Immanuel Kant, and the existential philosophy of Søren Kierkegaard convinced many later philosophers to abandon these attempts, regarding it impossible to construct any unassailable proof for the existence or non-existence of God. In his 1844 book Philosophical Fragments, Kierkegaard writes:Kierkegaard, Søren. Philosophical Fragments. 3 Hume was Huxley's favourite philosopher, calling him "the Prince of Agnostics". Diderot wrote to his mistress, telling of a visit by Hume to the Baron D'Holbach, and describing how a word for the position that Huxley would later describe as agnosticism did not seem to exist, or at least was not common knowledge, at the time.
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Argon
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Argon is a chemical element; it has symbol Ar and atomic number 18. It is in group 18 of the periodic table and is a noble gas.In older versions of the periodic table, the noble gases were identified as Group VIIIA or as Group 0. See Group (periodic table). Argon is the third most abundant gas in Earth's atmosphere, at 0.934% (9340 ppmv). It is more than twice as abundant as water vapor (which averages about 4000 ppmv, but varies greatly), 23 times as abundant as carbon dioxide (400 ppmv), and more than 500 times as abundant as neon (18 ppmv). Argon is the most abundant noble gas in Earth's crust, comprising 0.00015% of the crust. Nearly all argon in Earth's atmosphere is radiogenic argon-40, derived from the decay of potassium-40 in Earth's crust. In the universe, argon-36 is by far the most common argon isotope, as it is the most easily produced by stellar nucleosynthesis in supernovas. The name "argon" is derived from the Greek word , neuter singular form of meaning 'lazy' or 'inactive', as a reference to the fact that the element undergoes almost no chemical reactions. The complete octet (eight electrons) in the outer atomic shell makes argon stable and resistant to bonding with other elements. Its triple point temperature of 83.8058 K is a defining fixed point in the International Temperature Scale of 1990. Argon is extracted industrially by the fractional distillation of liquid air. It is mostly used as an inert shielding gas in welding and other high-temperature industrial processes where ordinarily unreactive substances become reactive; for example, an argon atmosphere is used in graphite electric furnaces to prevent the graphite from burning. It is also used in incandescent and fluorescent lighting, and other gas-discharge tubes. It makes a distinctive blue-green gas laser. It is also used in fluorescent glow starters. Characteristics upright
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Arsenic
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Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As and the atomic number 33. It is a metalloid and one of the pnictogens, and therefore shares many properties with its group 15 neighbors phosphorus and antimony. Arsenic is a notoriously toxic heavy metal. It occurs naturally in many minerals, usually in combination with sulfur and metals, but also as a pure elemental crystal. It has various allotropes, but only the grey form, which has a metallic appearance, is important to industry. The primary use of arsenic is in alloys of lead (for example, in car batteries and ammunition). Arsenic is also a common n-type dopant in semiconductor electronic devices, and a component of the III–V compound semiconductor gallium arsenide. Arsenic and its compounds, especially the trioxide, are used in the production of pesticides, treated wood products, herbicides, and insecticides. These applications are declining with the increasing recognition of the toxicity of arsenic and its compounds. Arsenic has been known since ancient times to be poisonous to humans. However, a few species of bacteria are able to use arsenic compounds as respiratory metabolites. Trace quantities of arsenic have been proposed to be an essential dietary element in rats, hamsters, goats, and chickens. Research has not been conducted to determine whether small amounts of arsenic may play a role in human metabolism. However, arsenic poisoning occurs in multicellular life if quantities are larger than needed. Arsenic contamination of groundwater is a problem that affects millions of people across the world. The United States' Environmental Protection Agency states that all forms of arsenic are a serious risk to human health. The United States' Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry ranked arsenic number 1 in its 2001 prioritized list of hazardous substances at Superfund sites. Arsenic is classified as a Group-A carcinogen.
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Antimony
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Antimony is a chemical element; it has symbol Sb and atomic number 51. A lustrous grey metal or metalloid, it is found in nature mainly as the sulfide mineral stibnite (Sb2S3). Antimony compounds have been known since ancient times and were powdered for use as medicine and cosmetics, often known by the Arabic name kohl.David Kimhi's Commentary on Isaiah 4:30 and I Chronicles 29:2; Hebrew: פוך/כְּחֻל, Aramaic: כּוּחְלִי/צדידא; Arabic: كحل, and which can also refer to antimony trisulfide. See also Z. Dori, Antimony and Henna (Heb. הפוך והכופר), Jerusalem 1983 (Hebrew). The earliest known description of this metalloid in the West was written in 1540 by Vannoccio Biringuccio. China is the largest producer of antimony and its compounds, with most production coming from the Xikuangshan Mine in Hunan. The industrial methods for refining antimony from stibnite are roasting followed by reduction with carbon, or direct reduction of stibnite with iron. The most common applications for metallic antimony are in alloys with lead and tin, which have improved properties for solders, bullets, and plain bearings. It improves the rigidity of lead-alloy plates in lead–acid batteries. Antimony trioxide is a prominent additive for halogen-containing flame retardants. Antimony is used as a dopant in semiconductor devices.
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Actinium
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Actinium is a chemical element; it has symbol Ac and atomic number 89. It was first isolated by Friedrich Oskar Giesel in 1902, who gave it the name emanium; the element got its name by being wrongly identified with a substance André-Louis Debierne found in 1899 and called actinium. The actinide series, a set of 15 elements between actinium and lawrencium in the periodic table, are named for actinium. Together with polonium, radium, and radon, actinium was one of the first non-primordial radioactive elements to be isolated. A soft, silvery-white radioactive metal, actinium reacts rapidly with oxygen and moisture in air forming a white coating of actinium oxide that prevents further oxidation. As with most lanthanides and many actinides, actinium assumes oxidation state +3 in nearly all its chemical compounds. Actinium is found only in traces in uranium and thorium ores as the isotope 227Ac, which decays with a half-life of 21.772 years, predominantly emitting beta and sometimes alpha particles, and 228Ac, which is beta active with a half-life of 6.15 hours. One tonne of natural uranium in ore contains about 0.2 milligrams of actinium-227, and one tonne of thorium contains about 5 nanograms of actinium-228. The close similarity of physical and chemical properties of actinium and lanthanum makes separation of actinium from the ore impractical. Instead, the element is prepared, in milligram amounts, by the neutron irradiation of in a nuclear reactor. Owing to its scarcity, high price and radioactivity, actinium has no significant industrial use. Its current applications include a neutron source and an agent for radiation therapy. History André-Louis Debierne, a French chemist, announced the discovery of a new element in 1899. He separated it from pitchblende residues left by Marie and Pierre Curie after they had extracted radium. In 1899, Debierne described the substance as similar to titanium and (in 1900) as similar to thorium. Friedrich Oskar Giesel found in 1902 a substance similar to lanthanum and called it "emanium" in 1904. After a comparison of the substances' half-lives determined by Debierne, Harriet Brooks in 1904, and Otto Hahn and Otto Sackur in 1905, Debierne's chosen name for the new element was retained because it had seniority, despite the contradicting chemical properties he claimed for the element at different times. Articles published in the 1970s and later suggest that Debierne's results published in 1904 conflict with those reported in 1899 and 1900. Furthermore, the now-known chemistry of actinium precludes its presence as anything other than a minor constituent of Debierne's 1899 and 1900 results; in fact, the chemical properties he reported make it likely that he had, instead, accidentally identified protactinium, which would not be discovered for another fourteen years, only to have it disappear due to its hydrolysis and adsorption onto his laboratory equipment. This has led some authors to advocate that Giesel alone should be credited with the discovery. A less confrontational vision of scientific discovery is proposed by Adloff. He suggests that hindsight criticism of the early publications should be mitigated by the then nascent state of radiochemistry: highlighting the prudence of Debierne's claims in the original papers, he notes that nobody can contend that Debierne's substance did not contain actinium. Debierne, who is now considered by the vast majority of historians as the discoverer, lost interest in the element and left the topic. Giesel, on the other hand, can rightfully be credited with the first preparation of radiochemically pure actinium and with the identification of its atomic number 89. The name actinium originates from the Ancient Greek aktis, aktinos (ακτίς, ακτίνος), meaning beam or ray. Its symbol Ac is also used in abbreviations of other compounds that have nothing to do with actinium, such as acetyl, acetate and sometimes acetaldehyde. Properties Actinium is a soft, silvery-white,Actinium, in Encyclopædia Britannica, 15th edition, 1995, p. 70 radioactive, metallic element. Its estimated shear modulus is similar to that of lead.Seitz, Frederick and Turnbull, David (1964) Solid state physics: advances in research and applications. Academic Press. 289–291 Owing to its strong radioactivity, actinium glows in the dark with a pale blue light, which originates from the surrounding air ionized by the emitted energetic particles. Actinium has similar chemical properties to lanthanum and other lanthanides, and therefore these elements are difficult to separate when extracting from uranium ores. Solvent extraction and ion chromatography are commonly used for the separation. The first element of the actinides, actinium gave the set its name, much as lanthanum had done for the lanthanides. The actinides are much more diverse than the lanthanides and therefore it was not until 1945 that the most significant change to Dmitri Mendeleev's periodic table since the recognition of the lanthanides, the introduction of the actinides, was generally accepted after Glenn T. Seaborg's research on the transuranium elements (although it had been proposed as early as 1892 by British chemist Henry Bassett). Actinium reacts rapidly with oxygen and moisture in air forming a white coating of actinium oxide that impedes further oxidation. As with most lanthanides and actinides, actinium exists in the oxidation state +3, and the Ac3+ ions are colorless in solutions. The oxidation state +3 originates from the [Rn] 6d17s2 electronic configuration of actinium, with three valence electrons that are easily donated to give the stable closed-shell structure of the noble gas radon. Although the 5f orbitals are unoccupied in an actinium atom, it can be used as a valence orbital in actinium complexes and hence it is generally considered the first 5f element by authors working on it. Ac3+ is the largest of all known tripositive ions and its first coordination sphere contains approximately 10.9 ± 0.5 water molecules. Chemical compounds Due to actinium's intense radioactivity, only a limited number of actinium compounds are known. These include: AcF3, AcCl3, AcBr3, AcOF, AcOCl, AcOBr, Ac2S3, Ac2O3, AcPO4 and Ac(NO3)3. They all contain actinium in the oxidation state +3. In particular, the lattice constants of the analogous lanthanum and actinium compounds differ by only a few percent. Formula color symmetry space group No Pearson symbol a (pm) b (pm) c (pm) Z density, g/cm3 Ac silvery fcc Fmm 225 cF4 531.1 531.1 531.1 4 10.07 AcH2unknown cubic Fmm 225 cF12 567 567 567 4 8.35 Ac2O3 white trigonal Pm1 164 hP5 408 408 630 1 9.18 Ac2S3 black cubic I3d 220 cI28 778.56 778.56 778.56 4 6.71 AcF3 whiteMeyer, p. 71 hexagonal Pc1 165 hP24 741 741 755 6 7.88 AcCl3white hexagonal P63/m 165 hP8 764 764 456 2 4.8 AcBr3 white hexagonal P63/m 165 hP8 764 764 456 2 5.85 AcOF white cubic Fmm 593.1 8.28 AcOClwhite tetragonal 424 424 707 7.23 AcOBrwhite tetragonal 427 427 740 7.89 AcPO4·0.5H2Ounknown hexagonal 721 721 664 5.48 Here a, b and c are lattice constants, No is space group number and Z is the number of formula units per unit cell. Density was not measured directly but calculated from the lattice parameters. Oxides Actinium oxide (Ac2O3) can be obtained by heating the hydroxide at or the oxalate at , in vacuum. Its crystal lattice is isotypic with the oxides of most trivalent rare-earth metals. Halides Actinium trifluoride can be produced either in solution or in solid reaction. The former reaction is carried out at room temperature, by adding hydrofluoric acid to a solution containing actinium ions. In the latter method, actinium metal is treated with hydrogen fluoride vapors at in an all-platinum setup. Treating actinium trifluoride with ammonium hydroxide at yields oxyfluoride AcOF. Whereas lanthanum oxyfluoride can be easily obtained by burning lanthanum trifluoride in air at for an hour, similar treatment of actinium trifluoride yields no AcOF and only results in melting of the initial product.Meyer, pp. 87–88 AcF3 + 2 NH3 + H2O → AcOF + 2 NH4F Actinium trichloride is obtained by reacting actinium hydroxide or oxalate with carbon tetrachloride vapors at temperatures above . Similarly to the oxyfluoride, actinium oxychloride can be prepared by hydrolyzing actinium trichloride with ammonium hydroxide at . However, in contrast to the oxyfluoride, the oxychloride could well be synthesized by igniting a solution of actinium trichloride in hydrochloric acid with ammonia. Reaction of aluminium bromide and actinium oxide yields actinium tribromide: Ac2O3 + 2 AlBr3 → 2 AcBr3 + Al2O3 and treating it with ammonium hydroxide at results in the oxybromide AcOBr. Other compounds Actinium hydride was obtained by reduction of actinium trichloride with potassium at , and its structure was deduced by analogy with the corresponding LaH2 hydride. The source of hydrogen in the reaction was uncertain.Meyer, p. 43 Mixing monosodium phosphate (NaH2PO4) with a solution of actinium in hydrochloric acid yields white-colored actinium phosphate hemihydrate (AcPO4·0.5H2O), and heating actinium oxalate with hydrogen sulfide vapors at for a few minutes results in a black actinium sulfide Ac2S3. It may possibly be produced by acting with a mixture of hydrogen sulfide and carbon disulfide on actinium oxide at . Isotopes Naturally occurring actinium is principally composed of two radioactive isotopes; (from the radioactive family of ) and (a granddaughter of ). decays mainly as a beta emitter with a very small energy, but in 1.38% of cases it emits an alpha particle, so it can readily be identified through alpha spectrometry. Thirty-three radioisotopes have been identified, the most stable being with a half-life of 21.772 years, with a half-life of 10.0 days and with a half-life of 29.37 hours. All remaining radioactive isotopes have half-lives that are less than 10 hours and the majority of them have half-lives shorter than one minute. The shortest-lived known isotope of actinium is (half-life of 69 nanoseconds) which decays through alpha decay. Actinium also has two known meta states. The most significant isotopes for chemistry are 225Ac, 227Ac, and 228Ac. Purified comes into equilibrium with its decay products after about a half of year. It decays according to its 21.772-year half-life emitting mostly beta (98.62%) and some alpha particles (1.38%); the successive decay products are part of the actinium series. Owing to the low available amounts, low energy of its beta particles (maximum 44.8 keV) and low intensity of alpha radiation, is difficult to detect directly by its emission and it is therefore traced via its decay products.Actinium, Great Soviet Encyclopedia (in Russian) The isotopes of actinium range in atomic weight from 203 u to 236 u .
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Americium
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Americium is a synthetic chemical element; it has symbol Am and atomic number 95. It is radioactive and a transuranic member of the actinide series in the periodic table, located under the lanthanide element europium and was thus named after the Americas by analogy. Americium was first produced in 1944 by the group of Glenn T. Seaborg from Berkeley, California, at the Metallurgical Laboratory of the University of Chicago, as part of the Manhattan Project. Although it is the third element in the transuranic series, it was discovered fourth, after the heavier curium. The discovery was kept secret and only released to the public in November 1945. Most americium is produced by uranium or plutonium being bombarded with neutrons in nuclear reactors – one tonne of spent nuclear fuel contains about 100 grams of americium. It is widely used in commercial ionization chamber smoke detectors, as well as in neutron sources and industrial gauges. Several unusual applications, such as nuclear batteries or fuel for space ships with nuclear propulsion, have been proposed for the isotope 242mAm, but they are as yet hindered by the scarcity and high price of this nuclear isomer. Americium is a relatively soft radioactive metal with a silvery appearance. Its most common isotopes are 241Am and 243Am. In chemical compounds, americium usually assumes the oxidation state +3, especially in solutions. Several other oxidation states are known, ranging from +2 to +7, and can be identified by their characteristic optical absorption spectra. The crystal lattices of solid americium and its compounds contain small intrinsic radiogenic defects, due to metamictization induced by self-irradiation with alpha particles, which accumulates with time; this can cause a drift of some material properties over time, more noticeable in older samples.
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Astatine
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Astatine is a chemical element; it has symbol At and atomic number 85. It is the rarest naturally occurring element in the Earth's crust, occurring only as the decay product of various heavier elements. All of astatine's isotopes are short-lived; the most stable is astatine-210, with a half-life of 8.1 hours. Consequently, a solid sample of the element has never been seen, because any macroscopic specimen would be immediately vaporized by the heat of its radioactivity. The bulk properties of astatine are not known with certainty. Many of them have been estimated from its position on the periodic table as a heavier analog of fluorine, chlorine, bromine, and iodine, the four stable halogens. However, astatine also falls roughly along the dividing line between metals and nonmetals, and some metallic behavior has also been observed and predicted for it. Astatine is likely to have a dark or lustrous appearance and may be a semiconductor or possibly a metal. Chemically, several anionic species of astatine are known and most of its compounds resemble those of iodine, but it also sometimes displays metallic characteristics and shows some similarities to silver. The first synthesis of astatine was in 1940 by Dale R. Corson, Kenneth Ross MacKenzie, and Emilio G. Segrè at the University of California, Berkeley. They named it from the Ancient Greek 'unstable'. Four isotopes of astatine were subsequently found to be naturally occurring, although much less than one gram is present at any given time in the Earth's crust. Neither the most stable isotope, astatine-210, nor the medically useful astatine-211 occur naturally; they are usually produced by bombarding bismuth-209 with alpha particles. Characteristics Astatine is an extremely radioactive element; all its isotopes have half-lives of 8.1 hours or less, decaying into other astatine isotopes, bismuth, polonium, or radon. Most of its isotopes are very unstable, with half-lives of seconds or less. Of the first 101 elements in the periodic table, only francium is less stable, and all the astatine isotopes more stable than the longest-lived francium isotopes (205–211At) are in any case synthetic and do not occur in nature. The bulk properties of astatine are not known with any certainty. Research is limited by its short half-life, which prevents the creation of weighable quantities. A visible piece of astatine would immediately vaporize itself because of the heat generated by its intense radioactivity. It remains to be seen if, with sufficient cooling, a macroscopic quantity of astatine could be deposited as a thin film. Astatine is usually classified as either a nonmetal or a metalloid; metal formation has also been predicted. Physical Most of the physical properties of astatine have been estimated (by interpolation or extrapolation), using theoretically or empirically derived methods. For example, halogens get darker with increasing atomic weight – fluorine is nearly colorless, chlorine is yellow-green, bromine is red-brown, and iodine is dark gray/violet. Astatine is sometimes described as probably being a black solid (assuming it follows this trend), or as having a metallic appearance (if it is a metalloid or a metal). Astatine sublimes less readily than iodine, having a lower vapor pressure. Even so, half of a given quantity of astatine will vaporize in approximately an hour if put on a clean glass surface at room temperature. The absorption spectrum of astatine in the middle ultraviolet region has lines at 224.401 and 216.225 nm, suggestive of 6p to 7s transitions. The structure of solid astatine is unknown. As an analog of iodine it may have an orthorhombic crystalline structure composed of diatomic astatine molecules, and be a semiconductor (with a band gap of 0.7 eV). Alternatively, if condensed astatine forms a metallic phase, as has been predicted, it may have a monatomic face-centered cubic structure; in this structure, it may well be a superconductor, like the similar high-pressure phase of iodine. Metallic astatine is expected to have a density of 8.91–8.95 g/cm3. Evidence for (or against) the existence of diatomic astatine (At2) is sparse and inconclusive. Some sources state that it does not exist, or at least has never been observed, while other sources assert or imply its existence. Despite this controversy, many properties of diatomic astatine have been predicted; for example, its bond length would be , dissociation energy <, and heat of vaporization (∆Hvap) 54.39 kJ/mol. Many values have been predicted for the melting and boiling points of astatine, but only for At2. Chemical The chemistry of astatine is "clouded by the extremely low concentrations at which astatine experiments have been conducted, and the possibility of reactions with impurities, walls and filters, or radioactivity by-products, and other unwanted nano-scale interactions". Many of its apparent chemical properties have been observed using tracer studies on extremely dilute astatine solutions, typically less than 10−10 mol·L−1. Some properties, such as anion formation, align with other halogens. Astatine has some metallic characteristics as well, such as plating onto a cathode, and coprecipitating with metal sulfides in hydrochloric acid. It forms complexes with EDTA, a metal chelating agent, and is capable of acting as a metal in antibody radiolabeling; in some respects, astatine in the +1 state is akin to silver in the same state. Most of the organic chemistry of astatine is, however, analogous to that of iodine. It has been suggested that astatine can form a stable monatomic cation in aqueous solution. Astatine has an electronegativity of 2.2 on the revised Pauling scale – lower than that of iodine (2.66) and the same as hydrogen. In hydrogen astatide (HAt), the negative charge is predicted to be on the hydrogen atom, implying that this compound could be referred to as astatine hydride according to certain nomenclatures. That would be consistent with the electronegativity of astatine on the Allred–Rochow scale (1.9) being less than that of hydrogen (2.2). However, official IUPAC stoichiometric nomenclature is based on an idealized convention of determining the relative electronegativities of the elements by the mere virtue of their position within the periodic table. According to this convention, astatine is handled as though it is more electronegative than hydrogen, irrespective of its true electronegativity. The electron affinity of astatine, at 233 kJ mol−1, is 21% less than that of iodine. In comparison, the value of Cl (349) is 6.4% higher than F (328); Br (325) is 6.9% less than Cl; and I (295) is 9.2% less than Br. The marked reduction for At was predicted as being due to spin–orbit interactions. The first ionization energy of astatine is about 899 kJ mol−1, which continues the trend of decreasing first ionization energies down the halogen group (fluorine, 1681; chlorine, 1251; bromine, 1140; iodine, 1008). Compounds Less reactive than iodine, astatine is the least reactive of the halogens; the chemical properties of tennessine, the next-heavier group 17 element, have not yet been investigated, however. Astatine compounds have been synthesized in nano-scale amounts and studied as intensively as possible before their radioactive disintegration. The reactions involved have been typically tested with dilute solutions of astatine mixed with larger amounts of iodine. Acting as a carrier, the iodine ensures there is sufficient material for laboratory techniques (such as filtration and precipitation) to work. Like iodine, astatine has been shown to adopt odd-numbered oxidation states ranging from −1 to +7. Only a few compounds with metals have been reported, in the form of astatides of sodium, palladium, silver, thallium, and lead. Some characteristic properties of silver and sodium astatide, and the other hypothetical alkali and alkaline earth astatides, have been estimated by extrapolation from other metal halides.
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Atom
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Atoms are the basic particles of the chemical elements. An atom consists of a nucleus of protons and generally neutrons, surrounded by an electromagnetically bound swarm of electrons. The chemical elements are distinguished from each other by the number of protons that are in their atoms. For example, any atom that contains 11 protons is sodium, and any atom that contains 29 protons is copper. Atoms with the same number of protons but a different number of neutrons are called isotopes of the same element. Atoms are extremely small, typically around 100 picometers across. A human hair is about a million carbon atoms wide. Atoms are smaller than the shortest wavelength of visible light, which means humans cannot see atoms with conventional microscopes. They are so small that accurately predicting their behavior using classical physics is not possible due to quantum effects. More than 99.9994% of an atom's mass is in the nucleus. Protons have a positive electric charge and neutrons have no charge, so the nucleus is positively charged. The electrons are negatively charged, and this opposing charge is what binds them to the nucleus. If the numbers of protons and electrons are equal, as they normally are, then the atom is electrically neutral as a whole. If an atom has more electrons than protons, then it has an overall negative charge and is called a negative ion (or anion). Conversely, if it has more protons than electrons, it has a positive charge and is called a positive ion (or cation). The electrons of an atom are attracted to the protons in an atomic nucleus by the electromagnetic force. The protons and neutrons in the nucleus are attracted to each other by the nuclear force. This force is usually stronger than the electromagnetic force that repels the positively charged protons from one another. Under certain circumstances, the repelling electromagnetic force becomes stronger than the nuclear force. In this case, the nucleus splits and leaves behind different elements. This is a form of nuclear decay. Atoms can attach to one or more other atoms by chemical bonds to form chemical compounds such as molecules or crystals. The ability of atoms to attach and detach from each other is responsible for most of the physical changes observed in nature. Chemistry is the science that studies these changes. History of atomic theory In philosophy The basic idea that matter is made up of tiny indivisible particles is an old idea that appeared in many ancient cultures. The word atom is derived from the ancient Greek word atomos, which means "uncuttable". But this ancient idea was based in philosophical reasoning rather than scientific reasoning. Modern atomic theory is not based on these old concepts.Melsen (1952). From Atomos to Atom, pp. 18–19 In the early 19th century, the scientist John Dalton found evidence that matter really is composed of discrete units, and so applied the word atom to those units.Pullman (1998).
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Aluminium
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Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. It has a great affinity towards oxygen, forming a protective layer of oxide on the surface when exposed to air. Aluminium visually resembles silver, both in its color and in its great ability to reflect light. It is soft, nonmagnetic, and ductile. It has one stable isotope, 27Al, which is highly abundant, making aluminium the twelfth-most common element in the universe. The radioactivity of 26Al leads to it being used in radiometric dating. Chemically, aluminium is a post-transition metal in the boron group; as is common for the group, aluminium forms compounds primarily in the +3 oxidation state. The aluminium cation Al3+ is small and highly charged; as such, it has more polarizing power, and bonds formed by aluminium have a more covalent character. The strong affinity of aluminium for oxygen leads to the common occurrence of its oxides in nature. Aluminium is found on Earth primarily in rocks in the crust, where it is the third-most abundant element, after oxygen and silicon, rather than in the mantle, and virtually never as the free metal. It is obtained industrially by mining bauxite, a sedimentary rock rich in aluminium minerals. The discovery of aluminium was announced in 1825 by Danish physicist Hans Christian Ørsted. The first industrial production of aluminium was initiated by French chemist Henri Étienne Sainte-Claire Deville in 1856. Aluminium became much more available to the public with the Hall–Héroult process developed independently by French engineer Paul Héroult and American engineer Charles Martin Hall in 1886, and the mass production of aluminium led to its extensive use in industry and everyday life. In the First and Second World Wars, aluminium was a crucial strategic resource for aviation. In 1954, aluminium became the most produced non-ferrous metal, surpassing copper. In the 21st century, most aluminium was consumed in transportation, engineering, construction, and packaging in the United States, Western Europe, and Japan. Despite its prevalence in the environment, no living organism is known to metabolize aluminium salts, but this aluminium is well tolerated by plants and animals. Because of the abundance of these salts, the potential for a biological role for them is of interest, and studies are ongoing. Physical characteristics Isotopes Of aluminium isotopes, only is stable. This situation is common for elements with an odd atomic number. It is the only primordial aluminium isotope, i.e. the only one that has existed on Earth in its current form since the formation of the planet. It is therefore a mononuclidic element and its standard atomic weight is virtually the same as that of the isotope. This makes aluminium very useful in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), as its single stable isotope has a high NMR sensitivity. The standard atomic weight of aluminium is low in comparison with many other metals. All other isotopes of aluminium are radioactive. The most stable of these is 26Al: while it was present along with stable 27Al in the interstellar medium from which the Solar System formed, having been produced by stellar nucleosynthesis as well, its half-life is only 717,000 years and therefore a detectable amount has not survived since the formation of the planet. However, minute traces of 26Al are produced from argon in the atmosphere by spallation caused by cosmic ray protons. The ratio of 26Al to 10Be has been used for radiodating of geological processes over 105 to 106 year time scales, in particular transport, deposition, sediment storage, burial times, and erosion. Most meteorite scientists believe that the energy released by the decay of 26Al was responsible for the melting and differentiation of some asteroids after their formation 4.55 billion years ago. The remaining isotopes of aluminium, with mass numbers ranging from 21 to 43, all have half-lives well under an hour. Three metastable states are known, all with half-lives under a minute. Electron shell An aluminium atom has 13 electrons, arranged in an electron configuration of , with three electrons beyond a stable noble gas configuration. Accordingly, the combined first three ionization energies of aluminium are far lower than the fourth ionization energy alone. Such an electron configuration is shared with the other well-characterized members of its group, boron, gallium, indium, and thallium; it is also expected for nihonium. Aluminium can surrender its three outermost electrons in many chemical reactions (see below). The electronegativity of aluminium is 1.61 (Pauling scale). Tunes & S. Pogatscher, Montanuniversität Leoben 2019 No copyrights =)
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Advanced Chemistry
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Advanced Chemistry is a German hip hop group from Heidelberg in Baden-Württemberg, South Germany. Advanced Chemistry was founded in 1987 by Toni L, Linguist, Gee-One, DJ Mike MD (Mike Dippon) and MC Torch. Each member of the group holds German citizenship, and Toni L, Linguist, and Torch are of Italian, Ghanaian, and Haitian backgrounds, respectively.Pennay, Mark "Rap in Germany" in Mitchell, Tony ed. Global Noise. Middletown: Wesleyan University Press, 2001. Influenced by North American socially conscious rap and the Native tongues movement, Advanced Chemistry is regarded as one of the main pioneers in German hip hop. They were one of the first groups to rap in German (although their name is in English). Career Advanced Chemistry frequently rapped about their lives and experiences as children of immigrants, exposing the marginalization experienced by most ethnic minorities in Germany, and the feelings of frustration and resentment that being denied a German identity can cause.Bennett, Andy. "Hip-Hop am Main, Rappin' on the Tyne: Hip-hop Culture as a Local Construct in Two European Cities." In That's the Joint! : The Hip-hop Studies Reader, 177-200. New York; London: Routledge, 2004, p. 183-184 The song "Fremd im eigenen Land" (Foreign in your own nation) was released by Advanced Chemistry in November 1992. The single became a staple in the German hip hop scene. It made a strong statement about the status of immigrants throughout Germany, as the group was composed of multi-national and multi-racial members. The video shows several members brandishing their German passports as a demonstration of their German citizenship to skeptical and unaccepting 'ethnic' Germans. This idea of national identity is important, as many rap artists in Germany have been of foreign origin. These so-called Gastarbeiter (guest workers) children saw breakdance, graffiti, rap music, and hip hop culture as a means of expressing themselves.Schmidt, Johannes. Die Unterrichtspraxis/Teaching German>Vol. Since the release of "Fremd im eigenen Land", many other German-language rappers have also tried to confront anti-immigrant ideas and develop themes of citizenship. However, though many ethnic minority youth in Germany find these German identity themes appealing, others view the desire of immigrants to be seen as German negatively, and they have actively sought to revive and recreate concepts of identity in connection to traditional ethnic origins. Advanced Chemistry helped to found the German chapter of the Zulu nation. Accessed March 26. Last updated October 13, 2007. The rivalry between Advanced Chemistry and Die Fantastischen Vier has served to highlight a dichotomy in the routes that hip hop has taken in becoming a part of the German soundscape. While Die Fantastischen Vier may be said to view hip hop primarily as an aesthetic art form, Advanced Chemistry understand hip hop as being inextricably linked to the social and political circumstances under which it is created. For Advanced Chemistry, hip hop is a “vehicle of general human emancipation”.Brown, Timothy S. "'Keeping it Real' in a Different 'Hood:(African-) Americanization and Hip-hop in Germany." In The Vinyl Ain'tFinal: Hip Hop and the Globalization of Black Popular Culture, ed. by Dipannita Basu and Sidney J. Lemelle, 137-50. London In their undertaking of social and political issues, the band introduced the term "Afro-German" into the context of German hip hop, and the theme of race is highlighted in much of their music. With the release of the single “Fremd im eigenen Land”, Advanced Chemistry separated itself from the rest of the rap being produced in Germany. This single was the first of its kind to go beyond simply imitating US rap and addressed the current issues of the time. Fremd im eigenen Land which translates to “foreign in my own country” dealt with the widespread racism that non-white German citizens faced. This change from simple imitation to political commentary was the start of German identification with rap. The sound of “Fremd im eigenen Land” was influenced by the 'wall of noise' created by Public Enemy's producers, The Bomb Squad.The Bomb Squad After the reunification of Germany, an abundance of anti-immigrant sentiment emerged, as well as attacks on the homes of refugees in the early 1990s. Advanced Chemistry came to prominence in the wake of these actions because of their pro-multicultural society stance in their music. Advanced Chemistry's attitudes revolve around their attempts to create a distinct "Germanness" in hip hop, as opposed to imitating American hip hop as other groups had done. Torch has said, "What the Americans do is exotic for us because we don't live like they do. What they do seems to be more interesting and newer. But not for me. For me it's more exciting to experience my fellow Germans in new contexts...For me, it's interesting to see what the kids try to do that's different from what I know. "Brown, Timothy S. “‘Keeping it Real’ in a Different ‘Hood: (African-) Americanization and Hip-hop in Germany.” In The Vinyl Ain’t Final: Hip Hop and the Globalization of Black Popular Culture, ed. by Dipannita Basu and Sidney J. Lemelle, 137-50. London; A Advanced Chemistry were the first to use the term "Afro-German" in a hip hop context. This was part of the pro-immigrant political message they sent via their music. While Advanced Chemistry's use of the German language in their rap allows them to make claims to authenticity and true German heritage, bolstering pro-immigration sentiment, their style can also be problematic for immigrant notions of any real ethnic roots. In this sense, their rap represents a complex social discourse internal to the German soundscape in which they attempt to negotiate immigrant assimilation into a xenophobic German culture with the maintenance of their own separate cultural traditions. It is quite possibly the feelings of alienation from the pure-blooded German demographic that drive Advanced Chemistry to attack nationalistic ideologies by asserting their "Germanness" as a group composed primarily of ethnic others. The response to this pseudo-German authenticity can be seen in what Andy Bennett refers to as "alternative forms of local hip hop culture which actively seek to rediscover and, in many cases, reconstruct notions of identity tied to cultural roots. "Bennett, Andy. "Hip-Hop am Main, Rappin' on the Tyne: Hip-hop Culture as a Local Construct in Two European Cities." In That's the Joint! : The Hip-hop Studies Reader, 177-200. New York; London: Routledge, 2004. These alternative local hip hop cultures include oriental hip hop, the members of which cling to their Turkish heritage and are confused by Advanced Chemistry's elicitation of a German identity politics to which they technically do not belong. This cultural binary illustrates that rap has taken different routes in Germany and that, even among an already isolated immigrant population, there is still disunity and, especially, disagreement on the relative importance of assimilation versus cultural defiance. According to German hip hop enthusiast 9@home, Advanced Chemistry is part of a "hip-hop movement [which] took a clear stance for the minorities and against the [marginalization] of immigrants who...might be German on paper, but not in real life,"9@home. "German Hip Hop 1: Advanced Chemistry." Leave Your Nine at Home. Vanila Mist. 2008 which speaks to the group's hope of actually being recognized as German citizens and not foreigners, despite their various other ethnic and cultural ties. Influences Advanced Chemistry's work was rooted in German history and the country's specific political realities. However, they also drew inspiration from African-American hip-hop acts like A Tribe Called Quest and Public Enemy, who had helped bring a soulful sound and political consciousness to American hip-hop. One member, Torch, later explicitly listed his references on his solo song "Als (When I Was in School):" "My favorite subject, which was quickly discovered poetry in load Poets, awakens the intellect or policy at Chuck D I'll never forget the lyrics by Public Enemy." Torch goes on to list other American rappers like Biz Markie, Big Daddy Kane and Dr. Dre as influences. Discography 1992 - "Fremd im eigenen Land" (12"/MCD, MZEE) 1993 - "Welcher Pfad führt zur Geschichte" (12"/MCD, MZEE) 1994 - "Operation § 3" (12"/MCD) 1994 - "Dir fehlt der Funk!" (12"/MCD) 1995 - Advanced Chemistry (2xLP/CD) External links Official Website of MC Torch Website of Toni L Official Website of Linguist Official Website DJ Mike MD (Mike Dippon) Website of 360° Records Bibliography El-Tayeb, Fatima “‘If You Cannot Pronounce My Name, You Can Just Call Me Pride.’ Afro-German Activism, Gender, and Hip Hop,” Gender & History15/3(2003):459-485. Felbert, Oliver von. “Die Unbestechlichen.” Spex (March 1993): 50–53. Weheliye, Alexander G. Phonographies:Grooves in Sonic Afro-Modernity, Duke University Press, 2005. References
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Anglican Communion
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The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Formally founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other autocephalous national and regional churches in full communion. The traditional origins of Anglican doctrine are summarised in the Thirty-nine Articles (1571) and The Books of Homilies. The archbishop of Canterbury in England acts as a focus of unity, recognised as ("first among equals"), but does not exercise authority in Anglican provinces outside of the Church of England. Most, but not all, member churches of the communion are the historic national or regional Anglican churches. The Anglican Communion was officially and formally organised and recognised as such at the Lambeth Conference in 1867 in London under the leadership of Charles Longley, Archbishop of Canterbury. The churches of the Anglican Communion consider themselves to be part of the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church, with worship being based on the Book of Common Prayer. As in the Church of England itself, the Anglican Communion includes the broad spectrum of beliefs and liturgical practises found in the Evangelical, Central and Anglo-Catholic traditions of Anglicanism; both the larger Reformed Anglican and the smaller Arminian Anglican theological perspectives have been represented. Each national or regional church is fully independent, retaining its own legislative process and episcopal polity under the leadership of local primates. For many adherents, Anglicanism represents a distinct form of Reformed Protestantism that emerged under the influence of the Reformer Thomas Cranmer, or for yet others, a via media between two branches of Protestantism—Lutheranism and Calvinism—and for others, a denomination that is both Catholic and Reformed. Most of its members live in the Anglosphere of former British territories. Full participation in the sacramental life of each church is available to all communicant members. Because of their historical link to England (ecclesia anglicana means "English church"), some of the member churches are known as "Anglican", such as the Anglican Church of Canada. Others, for example the Church of Ireland and the Scottish and American Episcopal churches, have official names that do not include "Anglican". Conversely, some churches that do use the name "Anglican" are not part of the communion. These have generally disaffiliated over disagreement with the direction of the communion. History The Anglican Communion traces much of its growth to the older mission organisations of the Church of England such as the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (founded 1698), the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts (founded 1701) and the Church Missionary Society (founded 1799). The Church of England (which until the 20th century included the Church in Wales) initially separated from the Roman Catholic Church in 1534 in the reign of Henry VIII, reunited briefly in 1555 under Mary I and then separated again in 1570 under Elizabeth I (the Roman Catholic Church excommunicated Elizabeth I in 1570 in response to the Act of Supremacy 1559). The Church of England has always thought of itself not as a new foundation but rather as a reformed continuation of the ancient "English Church" (Ecclesia Anglicana) and a reassertion of that church's rights. As such it was a distinctly national phenomenon. The Church of Scotland was formed as a separate church from the Roman Catholic Church as a result of the Scottish Reformation in 1560 and the later formation of the Scottish Episcopal Church began in 1582 in the reign of James VI over disagreements about the role of bishops. The oldest-surviving Anglican church building outside the British Isles (Britain and Ireland) is St Peter's Church in St George's, Bermuda, established in 1612 (though the actual building had to be rebuilt several times over the following century). This is also the oldest surviving non-Roman Catholic church in the New World. It remained part of the Church of England until 1978 when the Anglican Church of Bermuda was formed. The Church of England was the established church not only in England, but in its trans-Oceanic colonies. Thus the only member churches of the present Anglican Communion existing by the mid-18th century were the Church of England, its closely linked sister church the Church of Ireland (which also separated from Roman Catholicism under Henry VIII) and the Scottish Episcopal Church which for parts of the 17th and 18th centuries was partially underground (it was suspected of Jacobite sympathies).
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Arne Kaijser
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Arne Kaijser (born 1950) is a professor emeritus of history of technology at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, and a former president of the Society for the History of Technology. Kaijser has published two books in Swedish: Stadens ljus. Etableringen av de första svenska gasverken and I fädrens spår. Den svenska infrastrukturens historiska utveckling och framtida utmaningar, and has co-edited several anthologies. Kaijser is a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences since 2007 and also a member of the editorial board of two scientific journals: Journal of Urban Technology and Centaurus. Lately, he has been occupied with the history of Large Technical Systems. References External links Homepage Extended homepage
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Author
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In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work is in written, graphic, or recorded medium. The creation of such a work is an act of authorship. Thus, a sculptor, painter, or composer, is an author of their respective sculptures, paintings, or compositions, even though in common parlance, an author is often thought of as the writer of a book, article, play, or other written work. In the case of a work for hire, the employer or commissioning party is considered the author of the work, even if they did not write or otherwise create the work, but merely instructed another individual to do so. Typically, the first owner of a copyright is the person who created the work, i.e. the author. If more than one person created the work, then a case of joint authorship takes place. Copyright laws differ around the world. The United States Copyright Office, for example, defines copyright as "a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States (title 17, U.S. Code) to authors of 'original works of authorship. Some works are considered to be author-less. Legal significance of authorship Holding the title of "author" over any "literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, [or] certain other intellectual works" gives rights to this person, the owner of the copyright, especially the exclusive right to engage in or authorize any production or distribution of their work. Any person or entity wishing to use intellectual property held under copyright must receive permission from the copyright holder to use this work, and often will be asked to pay for the use of copyrighted material. The copyrights on intellectual work expire after a certain time. It enters the public domain, where it can be used without limit. Copyright laws in many jurisdictions – mostly following the lead of the United States, in which the entertainment and publishing industries have very strong lobbying power – have been amended repeatedly since their inception, to extend the length of this fixed period where the work is exclusively controlled by the copyright holder. Technically, someone owns their work from the time it's created. A notable aspect of authorship emerges with copyright in that, in many jurisdictions, it can be passed down to another, upon one's death. The person who inherits the copyright is not the author, but has access to the same legal benefits. Intellectual property laws are complex. Works of fiction involve trademark law, likeness rights, fair use rights held by the public (including the right to parody or satirize), and many other interacting complications. Authors may portion out the different rights that they hold to different parties at different times, and for different purposes or uses, such as the right to adapt a plot into a film, television series, or video game. If another party chooses to adapt the work, they may have to alter plot elements or character names in order to avoid infringing previous adaptations. An author may also not have rights when working under contract that they would otherwise have, such as when creating a work for hire (e.g., hired to write a city tour guide by a municipal government that totally owns the copyright to the finished work), or when writing material using intellectual property owned by others (such as when writing a novel or screenplay that is a new installment in an already established media franchise). In the United States, the Copyright Clause of the Constitution of the United States (Article I, Section 8, Clause 8) provides the Congress with the power of "securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries". The language regarding authors was derived from proposals by Charles Pinckney, "to secure to authors exclusive rights for a limited time", and by James Madison, "to secure to literary authors their copyrights for a limited time", or, in the alternative, "to encourage, by proper premiums & Provisions, the advancement of useful knowledge and discoveries".William F. Patry, Copyright Law and Practice (1994). Both proposals were referred to the Committee of Detail, which reported back a proposal containing the final language, which was incorporated into the Constitution by unanimous agreement of the convention. Philosophical views of the nature of authorship The Statute of Anne in 1710 set a legal precedent which laid the foundations of copyright, further establishing an author as the sole creator of a literary work. While this legislation acknowledged that an author’s words were their Intellectual property, it in no way protected that author's ideas. For example, one writer could legally copy another writer’s plot exactly, as long as the words were not copied verbatim.
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Andrey Markov
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Andrey Andreyevich Markov (14 June 1856 – 20 July 1922) was a Russian mathematician best known for his work on stochastic processes. A primary subject of his research later became known as the Markov chain. He was also a strong, close to master-level, chess player. Markov and his younger brother Vladimir Andreyevich Markov (1871–1897) proved the Markov brothers' inequality. His son, another Andrey Andreyevich Markov (1903–1979), was also a notable mathematician, making contributions to constructive mathematics and recursive function theory. Biography Andrey Markov was born on 14 June 1856 in Russia. He attended the St. Petersburg Grammar School, where some teachers saw him as a rebellious student. In his academics he performed poorly in most subjects other than mathematics. Later in life he attended Saint Petersburg Imperial University (now Saint Petersburg State University). Among his teachers were Yulian Sokhotski (differential calculus, higher algebra), Konstantin Posse (analytic geometry), Yegor Zolotarev (integral calculus), Pafnuty Chebyshev (number theory and probability theory), Aleksandr Korkin (ordinary and partial differential equations), Mikhail Okatov (mechanism theory), Osip Somov (mechanics), and Nikolai Budajev (descriptive and higher geometry). He completed his studies at the university and was later asked if he would like to stay and have a career as a mathematician. He later taught at high schools and continued his own mathematical studies. In this time he found a practical use for his mathematical skills. He also contributed to many other mathematical aspects in his time. He died at age 66 on 20 July 1922. Timeline In 1877, Markov was awarded a gold medal for his outstanding solution of the problem About Integration of Differential Equations by Continued Fractions with an Application to the Equation . During the following year, he passed the candidate's examinations, and he remained at the university to prepare for a lecturer's position. In April 1880, Markov defended his master's thesis "On the Binary Square Forms with Positive Determinant", which was directed by Aleksandr Korkin and Yegor Zolotarev. Four years later in 1884, he defended his doctoral thesis titled "On Certain Applications of the Algebraic Continuous Fractions". His pedagogical work began after the defense of his master's thesis in autumn 1880. As a privatdozent he lectured on differential and integral calculus. Later he lectured alternately on "introduction to analysis", probability theory (succeeding Chebyshev, who had left the university in 1882) and the calculus of differences. From 1895 through 1905 he also lectured in differential calculus.
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A. A. Milne
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Alan Alexander Milne (; 18 January 1882 – 31 January 1956) was an English writer best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh, as well as children's poetry. Milne was primarily a playwright before the huge success of Winnie-the-Pooh overshadowed his previous work. He served as a lieutenant in the Royal Warwickshire Regiment in the First World War and as a captain in the Home Guard in the Second World War. Milne was the father of bookseller Christopher Robin Milne, upon whom the character Christopher Robin is based. It was during a visit to London Zoo, where Christopher became enamoured with the tame and amiable bear Winnipeg, that Milne was inspired to write the story of Winnie-the-Pooh for his son. Milne bequeathed the original manuscripts of the Winnie-the-Pooh stories to the Wren Library at Trinity College, Cambridge, his alma mater.
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Asociación Alumni
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Asociación Alumni, usually just Alumni, is an Argentine rugby union club located in Tortuguitas, Greater Buenos Aires. The senior squad currently competes at Top 12, the first division of the Unión de Rugby de Buenos Aires league system. The club has ties with former football club Alumni because both were established by Buenos Aires English High School students.La historia de Alumni: un club que respira rugby y está unido a la primera leyenda del fútbol argentino by Walter Raiño on Clarín, 26 Nov 2018 History Background The first club with the name "Alumni" played association football, having been found in 1898 by students of Buenos Aires English High School (BAEHS) along with director Alexander Watson Hutton. Originally under the name "English High School A.C.", the team would be later obliged by the Association to change its name, therefore "Alumni" was chosen, following a proposal by Carlos Bowers, a former student of the school. Alumni was the most successful team during the first years of Argentine football, winning 10 of 14 league championships contested. Alumni is still considered the first great football team in the country. "En el nombre del fútbol", Clarín newspaper, 2003-04-24 Alumni was reorganised in 1908, "in order to encourage people to practise all kinds of sports, specially football". This was the last try to develop itself as a sports club rather than just as a football team, as Lomas, Belgrano and Quilmes had successfully done in the past, but the efforts were not enough. Alumni played its last game in 1911 and was definitely dissolved on April 24, 1913. Rebirth through rugby In 1951, two guards of the BAEHS, Daniel Ginhson (also a former player of Buenos Aires F.C.) and Guillermo Cubelli, supported by the school's alumni and fathers of the students, decided to establish a club focused on rugby union exclusively. Former players of Alumni football club and descendants of other players already dead gave their permission to use the name "Alumni".
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Axiom
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An axiom, postulate, or assumption is a statement that is taken to be true, to serve as a premise or starting point for further reasoning and arguments. The word comes from the Ancient Greek word , meaning 'that which is thought worthy or fit' or 'that which commends itself as evident'.Cf. axiom, n., etymology. Oxford English Dictionary, accessed 2012-04-28. The precise definition varies across fields of study. In classic philosophy, an axiom is a statement that is so evident or well-established, that it is accepted without controversy or question. "A proposition that commends itself to general acceptance; a well-established or universally conceded principle; a maxim, rule, law" axiom, n., definition 1a. Oxford English Dictionary Online, accessed 2012-04-28. Aristotle, Posterior Analytics I.2.72a18-b4. In modern logic, an axiom is a premise or starting point for reasoning. "A proposition (whether true or false)" axiom, n., definition 2. Oxford English Dictionary Online, accessed 2012-04-28. In mathematics, an axiom may be a "logical axiom" or a "non-logical axiom". Logical axioms are taken to be true within the system of logic they define and are often shown in symbolic form (e.g., (A and B) implies A), while non-logical axioms are substantive assertions about the elements of the domain of a specific mathematical theory, for example a + 0 = a in integer arithmetic. Non-logical axioms may also be called "postulates", "assumptions" or "proper axioms". In most cases, a non-logical axiom is simply a formal logical expression used in deduction to build a mathematical theory, and might or might not be self-evident in nature (e.g., the parallel postulate in Euclidean geometry). To axiomatize a system of knowledge is to show that its claims can be derived from a small, well-understood set of sentences (the axioms), and there are typically many ways to axiomatize a given mathematical domain. Any axiom is a statement that serves as a starting point from which other statements are logically derived. Whether it is meaningful (and, if so, what it means) for an axiom to be "true" is a subject of debate in the philosophy of mathematics.See for example for a realist view. Etymology The word axiom comes from the Greek word (axíōma), a verbal noun from the verb (axioein), meaning "to deem worthy", but also "to require", which in turn comes from (áxios), meaning "being in balance", and hence "having (the same) value (as)", "worthy", "proper". Among the ancient Greek philosophers and mathematicians, axioms were taken to be immediately evident propositions, foundational and common to many fields of investigation, and self-evidently true without any further argument or proof. The root meaning of the word postulate is to "demand"; for instance, Euclid demands that one agree that some things can be done (e.g., any two points can be joined by a straight line).Wolff, P. Breakthroughs in Mathematics, 1963, New York: New American Library, pp 47–48 Ancient geometers maintained some distinction between axioms and postulates. While commenting on Euclid's books, Proclus remarks that "Geminus held that this [4th] Postulate should not be classed as a postulate but as an axiom, since it does not, like the first three Postulates, assert the possibility of some construction but expresses an essential property." Boethius translated 'postulate' as petitio and called the axioms notiones communes but in later manuscripts this usage was not always strictly kept. Historical development Early Greeks The logico-deductive method whereby conclusions (new knowledge) follow from premises (old knowledge) through the application of sound arguments (syllogisms, rules of inference) was developed by the ancient Greeks, and has become the core principle of modern mathematics. Tautologies excluded, nothing can be deduced if nothing is assumed. Axioms and postulates are thus the basic assumptions underlying a given body of deductive knowledge. They are accepted without demonstration. All other assertions (theorems, in the case of mathematics) must be proven with the aid of these basic assumptions. However, the interpretation of mathematical knowledge has changed from ancient times to the modern, and consequently the terms axiom and postulate hold a slightly different meaning for the present day mathematician, than they did for Aristotle and Euclid. The ancient Greeks considered geometry as just one of several sciences, and held the theorems of geometry on par with scientific facts. As such, they developed and used the logico-deductive method as a means of avoiding error, and for structuring and communicating knowledge. Aristotle's posterior analytics is a definitive exposition of the classical view. An "axiom", in classical terminology, referred to a self-evident assumption common to many branches of science. A good example would be the assertion that: When an equal amount is taken from equals, an equal amount results. At the foundation of the various sciences lay certain additional hypotheses that were accepted without proof. Such a hypothesis was termed a postulate. While the axioms were common to many sciences, the postulates of each particular science were different. Their validity had to be established by means of real-world experience. Aristotle warns that the content of a science cannot be successfully communicated if the learner is in doubt about the truth of the postulates.Aristotle, Metaphysics Bk IV, Chapter 3, 1005b "Physics also is a kind of Wisdom, but it is not the first kind. – And the attempts of some of those who discuss the terms on which truth should be accepted, are due to want of training in logic; for they should know these things already when they come to a special study, and not be inquiring into them while they are listening to lectures on it." Ross translation, in The Basic Works of Aristotle, ed. Richard McKeon, (Random House, New York, 1941) The classical approach is well-illustrated by Euclid's Elements, where a list of postulates is given (common-sensical geometric facts drawn from our experience), followed by a list of "common notions" (very basic, self-evident assertions). Postulates It is possible to draw a straight line from any point to any other point. It is possible to extend a line segment continuously in both directions. It is possible to describe a circle with any center and any radius. It is true that all right angles are equal to one another. ("Parallel postulate") It is true that, if a straight line falling on two straight lines make the interior angles on the same side less than two right angles, the two straight lines, if produced indefinitely, intersect on that side on which are the angles less than the two right angles. Common notions Things which are equal to the same thing are also equal to one another. If equals are added to equals, the wholes are equal. If equals are subtracted from equals, the remainders are equal. Things which coincide with one another are equal to one another. The whole is greater than the part. Modern development A lesson learned by mathematics in the last 150 years is that it is useful to strip the meaning away from the mathematical assertions (axioms, postulates, propositions, theorems) and definitions. One must concede the need for primitive notions, or undefined terms or concepts, in any study. Such abstraction or formalization makes mathematical knowledge more general, capable of multiple different meanings, and therefore useful in multiple contexts. Alessandro Padoa, Mario Pieri, and Giuseppe Peano were pioneers in this movement. Structuralist mathematics goes further, and develops theories and axioms (e.g. field theory, group theory, topology, vector spaces) without any particular application in mind. The distinction between an "axiom" and a "postulate" disappears. The postulates of Euclid are profitably motivated by saying that they lead to a great wealth of geometric facts. The truth of these complicated facts rests on the acceptance of the basic hypotheses. However, by throwing out Euclid's fifth postulate, one can get theories that have meaning in wider contexts (e.g., hyperbolic geometry). As such, one must simply be prepared to use labels such as "line" and "parallel" with greater flexibility. The development of hyperbolic geometry taught mathematicians that it is useful to regard postulates as purely formal statements, and not as facts based on experience. When mathematicians employ the field axioms, the intentions are even more abstract. The propositions of field theory do not concern any one particular application; the mathematician now works in complete abstraction. There are many examples of fields; field theory gives correct knowledge about them all. It is not correct to say that the axioms of field theory are "propositions that are regarded as true without proof." Rather, the field axioms are a set of constraints. If any given system of addition and multiplication satisfies these constraints, then one is in a position to instantly know a great deal of extra information about this system. Modern mathematics formalizes its foundations to such an extent that mathematical theories can be regarded as mathematical objects, and mathematics itself can be regarded as a branch of logic. Another lesson learned in modern mathematics is to examine purported proofs carefully for hidden assumptions. In the modern understanding, a set of axioms is any collection of formally stated assertions from which other formally stated assertions follow – by the application of certain well-defined rules. In this view, logic becomes just another formal system. A set of axioms should be consistent; it should be impossible to derive a contradiction from the axioms. A set of axioms should also be non-redundant; an assertion that can be deduced from other axioms need not be regarded as an axiom. It was the early hope of modern logicians that various branches of mathematics, perhaps all of mathematics, could be derived from a consistent collection of basic axioms. An early success of the formalist program was Hilbert's formalization of Euclidean geometry,For more, see Hilbert's axioms. and the related demonstration of the consistency of those axioms. In a wider context, there was an attempt to base all of mathematics on Cantor's set theory. Here, the emergence of Russell's paradox and similar antinomies of naïve set theory raised the possibility that any such system could turn out to be inconsistent. The formalist project suffered a setback a century ago, when Gödel showed that it is possible, for any sufficiently large set of axioms (Peano's axioms, for example) to construct a statement whose truth is independent of that set of axioms. As a corollary, Gödel proved that the consistency of a theory like Peano arithmetic is an unprovable assertion within the scope of that theory. It is reasonable to believe in the consistency of Peano arithmetic because it is satisfied by the system of natural numbers, an infinite but intuitively accessible formal system. However, at present, there is no known way of demonstrating the consistency of the modern Zermelo–Fraenkel axioms for set theory. Furthermore, using techniques of forcing (Cohen) one can show that the continuum hypothesis (Cantor) is independent of the Zermelo–Fraenkel axioms. Thus, even this very general set of axioms cannot be regarded as the definitive foundation for mathematics. Other sciences Experimental sciences - as opposed to mathematics and logic - also have general founding assertions from which a deductive reasoning can be built so as to express propositions that predict properties - either still general or much more specialized to a specific experimental context. For instance, Newton's laws in classical mechanics, Maxwell's equations in classical electromagnetism, Einstein's equation in general relativity, Mendel's laws of genetics, Darwin's Natural selection law, etc. These founding assertions are usually called principles or postulates so as to distinguish from mathematical axioms. As a matter of facts, the role of axioms in mathematics and postulates in experimental sciences is different. In mathematics one neither "proves" nor "disproves" an axiom. A set of mathematical axioms gives a set of rules that fix a conceptual realm, in which the theorems logically follow. In contrast, in experimental sciences, a set of postulates shall allow deducing results that match or do not match experimental results. If postulates do not allow deducing experimental predictions, they do not set a scientific conceptual framework and have to be completed or made more accurate. If the postulates allow deducing predictions of experimental results, the comparison with experiments allows falsifying (falsified) the theory that the postulates install. A theory is considered valid as long as it has not been falsified. Now, the transition between the mathematical axioms and scientific postulates is always slightly blurred, especially in physics. This is due to the heavy use of mathematical tools to support the physical theories. For instance, the introduction of Newton's laws rarely establishes as a prerequisite neither Euclidean geometry or differential calculus that they imply. It became more apparent when Albert Einstein first introduced special relativity where the invariant quantity is no more the Euclidean length (defined as ) > but the Minkowski spacetime interval (defined as ), and then general relativity where flat Minkowskian geometry is replaced with pseudo-Riemannian geometry on curved manifolds. In quantum physics, two sets of postulates have coexisted for some time, which provide a very nice example of falsification. The 'Copenhagen school' (Niels Bohr, Werner Heisenberg, Max Born) developed an operational approach with a complete mathematical formalism that involves the description of quantum system by vectors ('states') in a separable Hilbert space, and physical quantities as linear operators that act in this Hilbert space. This approach is fully falsifiable and has so far produced the most accurate predictions in physics. But it has the unsatisfactory aspect of not allowing answers to questions one would naturally ask. For this reason, another 'hidden variables' approach was developed for some time by Albert Einstein, Erwin Schrödinger, David Bohm. It was created so as to try to give deterministic explanation to phenomena such as entanglement. This approach assumed that the Copenhagen school description was not complete, and postulated that some yet unknown variable was to be added to the theory so as to allow answering some of the questions it does not answer (the founding elements of which were discussed as the EPR paradox in 1935). Taking this idea seriously, John Bell derived in 1964 a prediction that would lead to different experimental results (Bell's inequalities) in the Copenhagen and the Hidden variable case. The experiment was conducted first by Alain Aspect in the early 1980s, and the result excluded the simple hidden variable approach (sophisticated hidden variables could still exist but their properties would still be more disturbing than the problems they try to solve). This does not mean that the conceptual framework of quantum physics can be considered as complete now, since some open questions still exist (the limit between the quantum and classical realms, what happens during a quantum measurement, what happens in a completely closed quantum system such as the universe itself, etc.). Mathematical logic In the field of mathematical logic, a clear distinction is made between two notions of axioms: logical and non-logical (somewhat similar to the ancient distinction between "axioms" and "postulates" respectively). Logical axioms These are certain formulas in a formal language that are universally valid, that is, formulas that are satisfied by every assignment of values. Usually one takes as logical axioms at least some minimal set of tautologies that is sufficient for proving all tautologies in the language; in the case of predicate logic more logical axioms than that are required, in order to prove logical truths that are not tautologies in the strict sense. Examples Propositional logic In propositional logic, it is common to take as logical axioms all formulae of the following forms, where , , and can be any formulae of the language and where the included primitive connectives are only "" for negation of the immediately following proposition and "" for implication from antecedent to consequent propositions: Each of these patterns is an axiom schema, a rule for generating an infinite number of axioms. For example, if , , and are propositional variables, then and are both instances of axiom schema 1, and hence are axioms. It can be shown that with only these three axiom schemata and modus ponens, one can prove all tautologies of the propositional calculus. It can also be shown that no pair of these schemata is sufficient for proving all tautologies with modus ponens. Other axiom schemata involving the same or different sets of primitive connectives can be alternatively constructed.Mendelson, "6. Other Axiomatizations" of Ch. 1 These axiom schemata are also used in the predicate calculus, but additional logical axioms are needed to include a quantifier in the calculus.Mendelson, "3. First-Order Theories" of Ch. 2 First-order logic Axiom of Equality.Let be a first-order language. For each variable , the below formula is universally valid. This means that, for any variable symbol , the formula can be regarded as an axiom. Additionally, in this example, for this not to fall into vagueness and a never-ending series of "primitive notions", either a precise notion of what we mean by (or, for that matter, "to be equal") has to be well established first, or a purely formal and syntactical usage of the symbol has to be enforced, only regarding it as a string and only a string of symbols, and mathematical logic does indeed do that. Another, more interesting example axiom scheme, is that which provides us with what is known as Universal Instantiation: Axiom scheme for Universal Instantiation.Given a formula in a first-order language , a variable and a term that is substitutable for in , the below formula is universally valid. Where the symbol stands for the formula with the term substituted for . (See Substitution of variables.) In informal terms, this example allows us to state that, if we know that a certain property holds for every and that stands for a particular object in our structure, then we should be able to claim . Again, we are claiming that the formula is valid, that is, we must be able to give a "proof" of this fact, or more properly speaking, a metaproof. These examples are metatheorems of our theory of mathematical logic since we are dealing with the very concept of proof itself. Aside from this, we can also have Existential Generalization: Axiom scheme for Existential Generalization. Given a formula in a first-order language , a variable and a term that is substitutable for in , the below formula is universally valid. Non-logical axioms Non-logical axioms are formulas that play the role of theory-specific assumptions. Reasoning about two different structures, for example, the natural numbers and the integers, may involve the same logical axioms; the non-logical axioms aim to capture what is special about a particular structure (or set of structures, such as groups). Thus non-logical axioms, unlike logical axioms, are not tautologies. Another name for a non-logical axiom is postulate.Mendelson, "3. First-Order Theories: Proper Axioms" of Ch. 2 Almost every modern mathematical theory starts from a given set of non-logical axioms, and it was thought that, in principle, every theory could be axiomatized in this way and formalized down to the bare language of logical formulas. Non-logical axioms are often simply referred to as axioms in mathematical discourse. This does not mean that it is claimed that they are true in some absolute sense. For instance, in some groups, the group operation is commutative, and this can be asserted with the introduction of an additional axiom, but without this axiom, we can do quite well developing (the more general) group theory, and we can even take its negation as an axiom for the study of non-commutative groups. Examples This section gives examples of mathematical theories that are developed entirely from a set of non-logical axioms (axioms, henceforth). A rigorous treatment of any of these topics begins with a specification of these axioms. Basic theories, such as arithmetic, real analysis and complex analysis are often introduced non-axiomatically, but implicitly or explicitly there is generally an assumption that the axioms being used are the axioms of Zermelo–Fraenkel set theory with choice, abbreviated ZFC, or some very similar system of axiomatic set theory like Von Neumann–Bernays–Gödel set theory, a conservative extension of ZFC. Sometimes slightly stronger theories such as Morse–Kelley set theory or set theory with a strongly inaccessible cardinal allowing the use of a Grothendieck universe is used, but in fact, most mathematicians can actually prove all they need in systems weaker than ZFC, such as second-order arithmetic. The study of topology in mathematics extends all over through point set topology, algebraic topology, differential topology, and all the related paraphernalia, such as homology theory, homotopy theory. The development of abstract algebra brought with itself group theory, rings, fields, and Galois theory. This list could be expanded to include most fields of mathematics, including measure theory, ergodic theory, probability, representation theory, and differential geometry. Arithmetic The Peano axioms are the most widely used axiomatization of first-order arithmetic. They are a set of axioms strong enough to prove many important facts about number theory and they allowed Gödel to establish his famous second incompleteness theorem.Mendelson, "5. The Fixed Point Theorem. Gödel's Incompleteness Theorem" of Ch. 2 We have a language where is a constant symbol and is a unary function and the following axioms: for any formula with one free variable. The standard structure is where is the set of natural numbers, is the successor function and is naturally interpreted as the number 0. Euclidean geometry Probably the oldest, and most famous, list of axioms are the 4 + 1 Euclid's postulates of plane geometry. The axioms are referred to as "4 + 1" because for nearly two millennia the fifth (parallel) postulate ("through a point outside a line there is exactly one parallel") was suspected of being derivable from the first four. Ultimately, the fifth postulate was found to be independent of the first four. One can assume that exactly one parallel through a point outside a line exists, or that infinitely many exist. This choice gives us two alternative forms of geometry in which the interior angles of a triangle add up to exactly 180 degrees or less, respectively, and are known as Euclidean and hyperbolic geometries. If one also removes the second postulate ("a line can be extended indefinitely") then elliptic geometry arises, where there is no parallel through a point outside a line, and in which the interior angles of a triangle add up to more than 180 degrees. Real analysis The objectives of the study are within the domain of real numbers. The real numbers are uniquely picked out (up to isomorphism) by the properties of a Dedekind complete ordered field, meaning that any nonempty set of real numbers with an upper bound has a least upper bound. However, expressing these properties as axioms requires the use of second-order logic. The Löwenheim–Skolem theorems tell us that if we restrict ourselves to first-order logic, any axiom system for the reals admits other models, including both models that are smaller than the reals and models that are larger. Some of the latter are studied in non-standard analysis. Role in mathematical logic Deductive systems and completeness A deductive system consists of a set of logical axioms, a set of non-logical axioms, and a set of rules of inference. A desirable property of a deductive system is that it be complete. A system is said to be complete if, for all formulas , that is, for any statement that is a logical consequence of there actually exists a deduction of the statement from . This is sometimes expressed as "everything that is true is provable", but it must be understood that "true" here means "made true by the set of axioms", and not, for example, "true in the intended interpretation". Gödel's completeness theorem establishes the completeness of a certain commonly used type of deductive system. Note that "completeness" has a different meaning here than it does in the context of Gödel's first incompleteness theorem, which states that no recursive, consistent set of non-logical axioms of the Theory of Arithmetic is complete, in the sense that there will always exist an arithmetic statement such that neither nor can be proved from the given set of axioms. There is thus, on the one hand, the notion of completeness of a deductive system and on the other hand that of completeness of a set of non-logical axioms. The completeness theorem and the incompleteness theorem, despite their names, do not contradict one another. Further discussion Early mathematicians regarded axiomatic geometry as a model of physical space, implying, there could ultimately only be one such model. The idea that alternative mathematical systems might exist was very troubling to mathematicians of the 19th century and the developers of systems such as Boolean algebra made elaborate efforts to derive them from traditional arithmetic. Galois showed just before his untimely death that these efforts were largely wasted. Ultimately, the abstract parallels between algebraic systems were seen to be more important than the details, and modern algebra was born. In the modern view, axioms may be any set of formulas, as long as they are not known to be inconsistent. See also Axiomatic system Dogma First principle, axiom in science and philosophy List of axioms Model theory Regulæ Juris Theorem Presupposition Principle Notes References Further reading Mendelson, Elliot (1987). Introduction to mathematical logic. Belmont, California: Wadsworth & Brooks. External links Metamath axioms page
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Alpha
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Alpha (uppercase , lowercase ) is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of one. Alpha is derived from the Phoenician letter aleph
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Alvin Toffler
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Alvin Eugene Toffler (October 4, 1928 – June 27, 2016) was an American writer, futurist, and businessman known for his works discussing modern technologies, including the digital revolution and the communication revolution, with emphasis on their effects on cultures worldwide. He is regarded as one of the world's outstanding futurists. Toffler was an associate editor of Fortune magazine. In his early works he focused on technology and its impact, which he termed "information overload". In 1970, his first major book about the future, Future Shock, became a worldwide best-seller and has sold over 6 million copies. He and his wife Heidi Toffler (1929–2019), who collaborated with him for most of his writings, moved on to examining the reaction to changes in society with another best-selling book, The Third Wave, in 1980. In it, he foresaw such technological advances as cloning, personal computers, the Internet, cable television and mobile communication. His later focus, via their other best-seller, Powershift, (1990), was on the increasing power of 21st-century military hardware and the proliferation of new technologies. He founded Toffler Associates, a management consulting company, and was a visiting scholar at the Russell Sage Foundation, visiting professor at Cornell University, faculty member of the New School for Social Research, a White House correspondent, and a business consultant. "Alvin Toffler Speaker Biography" , Milken Institute, 2003. Toffler's ideas and writings were a significant influence on the thinking of business and government leaders worldwide, including China's Zhao Ziyang, and AOL founder Steve Case. Early life Alvin Toffler was born on October 4, 1928, in New York City, and raised in Brooklyn. He was the son of Rose (Albaum) and Sam Toffler, a furrier, both Polish Jews who had migrated to America. He had one younger sister. He was inspired to become a writer at the age of 7 by his aunt and uncle, who lived with the Tofflers. "They were Depression-era literary intellectuals," Toffler said, "and they always talked about exciting ideas." Toffler graduated from New York University in 1950 as an English major, though by his own account he was more focused on political activism than grades. He met his future wife, Adelaide Elizabeth Farrell (nicknamed "Heidi"), when she was starting a graduate course in linguistics. Being radical students, they decided against further graduate work and moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where they married on April 29, 1950. Career Seeking experiences to write about, Alvin and Heidi Toffler spent the next five years as blue collar workers on assembly lines while studying industrial mass production in their daily work. He compared his own desire for experience to other writers, such as Jack London, who in his quest for subjects to write about sailed the seas, and John Steinbeck, who went to pick grapes with migrant workers.video: Interview with Alvin Toffler In their first factory jobs, Heidi became a union shop steward in the aluminum foundry where she worked. Alvin became a millwright and welder. "Alvin and Heidi Toffler: Partnership" – Toffler Web site In the evenings Alvin would write poetry and fiction, but discovered he was proficient at neither. His hands-on practical labor experience helped Alvin Toffler land a position at a union-backed newspaper, a transfer to its Washington bureau in 1957, then three years as a White House correspondent, covering Congress and the White House for a Pennsylvania daily newspaper. "Alvin Toffler (1928–2016)", Legacy.com, June 30, 2016 They returned to New York City in 1959 when Fortune magazine invited Alvin to become its labor columnist, later having him write about business and management. After leaving Fortune magazine in 1962, Toffler began a freelance career, writing long form articles for scholarly journals and magazines. His 1964 Playboy interviews with Russian novelist Vladimir Nabokov and Ayn Rand were considered among the magazine's best. His interview with Rand was the first time the magazine had given such a platform to a female intellectual, which as one commentator said, "the real bird of paradise Toffler captured for Playboy in 1964 was Ayn Rand. ""The "Lost" Parts of Ayn Rand's Playboy Interview", The Atlas Society, March 1, 2004 Toffler was hired by IBM to conduct research and write a paper on the social and organizational impact of computers, leading to his contact with the earliest computer "gurus" and artificial intelligence researchers and proponents. Xerox invited him to write about its research laboratory and AT&T consulted him for strategic advice. This AT&T work led to a study of telecommunications, which advised the company's top management to break up the company more than a decade before the government forced AT&T to break up.Galambos, Louis, and Abrahamson, Eric. Anytime, Anywhere: Entrepreneurship and the Creation of a Wireless World, Cambridge Univ. Press (2002) p. 266 In the mid-1960s, the Tofflers began five years of research on what would become Future Shock, published in 1970. It has sold over 6 million copies worldwide, according to the New York Times, or over 15 million copies according to the Tofflers' Web site. Toffler coined the term "future shock" to refer to what happens to a society when change happens too fast, which results in social confusion and normal decision-making processes breaking down.Hindle, Tim. Guide to Management Ideas and Gurus, John Wiley & Sons (2008) p. 311 The book has never been out of print and has been translated into dozens of languages. He continued the theme in The Third Wave in 1980. While he describes the first and second waves as the agricultural and industrial revolutions, the "third wave," a phrase he coined, represents the current information, computer-based revolution. He forecast the spread of the Internet and email, interactive media, cable television, cloning, and other digital advancements. He claimed that one of the side effects of the digital age has been "information overload," another term he coined. "Alvin Toffler, author of 'Future Shock,' dead at 87", U.S. News & World Report, June 29, 2016 In 1990, he wrote Powershift, also with the help of his wife, Heidi. In 1996, with American business consultant Tom Johnson, they co-founded Toffler Associates, an advisory firm designed to implement many of the ideas the Tofflers had written on. The firm worked with businesses, NGOs, and governments in the United States, South Korea, Mexico, Brazil, Singapore, Australia, and other countries. During this period in his career, Toffler lectured worldwide, taught at several schools and met world leaders, such as Mikhail Gorbachev, along with key executives and military officials. Ideas and opinions Toffler stated many of his ideas during an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in 1998. "Society needs people who take care of the elderly and who know how to be compassionate and honest," he said. "Society needs people who work in hospitals. Society needs all kinds of skills that are not just cognitive; they're emotional, they're affectional. You can't run the society on data and computers alone." His opinions about the future of education, many of which were in Future Shock, have often been quoted. An often misattributed quote, however, is that of psychologist Herbert Gerjuoy: "Tomorrow's illiterate will not be the man who can't read; he will be the man who has not learned how to learn." Early in his career, after traveling to other countries, he became aware of the new and myriad inputs that visitors received from these other cultures. He explained during an interview that some visitors would become "truly disoriented and upset" by the strange environment, which he described as a reaction to culture shock.video: Interview with Alvin Toffler From that issue, he foresaw another problem for the future, when a culturally "new environment comes to you ... and comes to you rapidly." That kind of sudden cultural change within one's own country, which he felt many would not understand, would lead to a similar reaction, one of "future shock", which he wrote about in his book by that title. Toffler writes: In The Third Wave, Toffler describes three types of societies, based on the concept of "waves"—each wave pushes the older societies and cultures aside.video: Alvin and Heidi Toffler interview with Brian Lamb, 1996 He describes the "First Wave" as the society after agrarian revolution and replaced the first hunter-gatherer cultures. The "Second Wave," he labels society during the Industrial Revolution (ca. late 17th century through the mid-20th century). That period saw the increase of urban industrial populations which had undermined the traditional nuclear family, and initiated a factory-like education system, and the growth of the corporation. Toffler said: The "Third Wave" was a term he coined to describe the post-industrial society, which began in the late 1950s. His description of this period dovetails with other futurist writers, who also wrote about the Information Age, Space Age, Electronic Era, Global Village, terms which highlighted a scientific-technological revolution. "Future Shock" author Alvin Toffler has died at age 87, Denver Post, June 29, 2016 The Tofflers claimed to have predicted a number of geopolitical events, such as the collapse of the Soviet Union, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the future economic growth in the Asia-Pacific region. Influences and popular culture Toffler often visited with dignitaries in Asia, including China's Zhao Ziyang, Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew and South Korea's Kim Dae Jung, all of whom were influenced by his views as Asia's emerging markets increased in global significance during the 1980s and 1990s. Although they had originally censored some of his books and ideas, China's government cited him along with Franklin Roosevelt and Bill Gates as being among the Westerners who had most influenced their country. The Third Wave along with a video documentary based on it became best-sellers in China and were widely distributed to schools. The video's success inspired the marketing of videos on related themes in the late 1990s by Infowars, whose name is derived from the term coined by Toffler in the book. Toffler's influence on Asian thinkers was summed up in an article in Daedalus, published by the American Academy of Arts & Sciences: U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich publicly lauded his ideas about the future, and urged members of Congress to read Toffler's book, Creating a New Civilization (1995). Others, such as AOL founder Steve Case, cited Toffler's The Third Wave as a formative influence on his thinking, which inspired him to write The Third Wave: An Entrepreneur's Vision of the Future in 2016. Case said that Toffler was a "real pioneer in helping people, companies and even countries lean into the future. ""Alvin Toffler, Future Shock and Third Wave author, dead at 87", CBC News, June 29, 2016"Remembering AOL's 'Deal of the Century'", Multichannel, April 4, 2016 In 1980, Ted Turner founded CNN, which he said was inspired by Toffler's forecasting the end of the dominance of the three main television networks. "Future Speak", Entrepreneur, March 1, 1999"'Future Shock' Author Alvin Toffler Dies at 87", NPR, June 30, 2016 Turner's company, Turner Broadcasting, published Toffler's Creating a New Civilization in 1995. Ezekial, iUniverse (2007) p. 14 Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim was influenced by his works, and became a friend of the writer. Global marketer J.D. Power also said he was inspired by Toffler's works."J.D. Power: Ten Things I've Learned In Business", Forbes, March 16, 2014 Since the 1960s, people had tried to make sense out of the effect of new technologies and social change, a problem which made Toffler's writings widely influential beyond the confines of scientific, economic, and public policy. His works and ideas have been subject to various criticisms, usually with the same argumentation used against futurology: that foreseeing the future is nigh impossible. Techno music pioneer Juan Atkins cites Toffler's phrase "techno rebels" in The Third Wave as inspiring him to use the word "techno" to describe the musical style he helped to create alt="The great growling engine of change - technology"
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The Amazing Spider-Man
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The Amazing Spider-Man is an ongoing American superhero comic book series featuring the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man as its title character and main protagonist. Being in the mainstream continuity of the franchise, it was the character's first title, launching seven months after his introduction in the final issue of Amazing Fantasy. The series began publication with a March 1963 cover date and has been published nearly continuously to date over six volumes with only one significant interruption. Issues of the title currently feature an issue number within its sixth volume, as well as a "legacy" number reflecting the issue's overall number across all Amazing Spider-Man volumes. The title reached 900 issues in 2022. The series began as a bimonthly periodical before being increased to monthly after four issues. It was the character's sole monthly headlining title until Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man launched in 1976. After 441 issues, The Amazing Spider-Man was restarted in 1999 as issue No. 1 of Volume 2. It ran for 58 issues before reverting to the title's overall issue number with #500 in 2003. The series ran essentially continuously over the first two volumes from 1963 until its landmark 700th issue at the end of 2012 when it was replaced by The Superior Spider-Man as part of the Marvel NOW! relaunch of Marvel's comic lines. The title was occasionally published biweekly during the first two volumes, and was published three times a month from 2008 to 2010. After the relaunch of Action Comics and Detective Comics, The Amazing Spider-Man briefly became the highest-numbered active American comic book. The Amazing Spider-Man returned with volume 3 in April 2014 following the conclusion of The Superior Spider-Man story arc after 31 issues. In late 2015, the series was relaunched with a fourth volume following the 2015 Secret Wars event. After 45 years, the volume was once again relaunched as part of Marvel Legacy, returning to the overall "legacy" numbering with issue No. Less than a year later, the series was relaunched again with a fifth volume as part of Marvel's Fresh Start. For the first time, although the issue numbers were again restarted from #1, the issues also bore the overall "legacy" issue number. A sixth volume commenced in April 2022 to celebrate Spider-Man's 60th anniversary. Since the second volume, the title has had various release schedules, including monthly and bi-weekly, among others. Publication history Writer-editor Stan Lee and artist and co-plotter Steve Ditko created the character of Spider-Man, and the pair produced 38 issues from March 1963 to July 1966. Ditko left after the 38th issue, while Lee remained as writer until issue 100. Since then, many writers and artists have taken over the monthly comic through the years, chronicling the adventures of Marvel's most identifiable hero. The Amazing Spider-Man has been the character's flagship series for his first fifty years in publication, and was the only monthly series to star Spider-Man until Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man, in 1976, although 1972 saw the debut of Marvel Team-Up, with the vast majority of issues featuring Spider-Man along with a rotating cast of other Marvel characters. Most of the major characters and villains of the Spider-Man saga have been introduced in Amazing, and with few exceptions, it is where most key events in the character's history have occurred. The title was published continuously until No. 441 (Nov. 1998) when Marvel Comics relaunched it as vol. 1 (Jan. 1999), but on Spider-Man's 40th anniversary, this new title reverted to using the numbering of the original series, beginning again with issue No. 500 (Dec. 2003) and lasting until the final issue, No. 1960s Due to strong sales on the character's first appearance in Amazing Fantasy No. 15, Spider-Man was given his own ongoing series in March 1963.DeFalco "1960s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 91: "Thanks to a flood of fan mail, Spider-Man was awarded his own title six months after his first appearance. Amazing Spider-Man began as a semi-monthly title, but was quickly promoted to a monthly." The initial years of the series, under Lee and Ditko, chronicled Spider-Man's nascent career as a masked super-human vigilante with his civilian life as hard-luck yet perpetually good-humored and well-meaning teenager Peter Parker. At the same time, Peter dealt with public hostility towards Spider-Man and the antagonism of his classmates Flash Thompson and Liz Allan at Midtown High School, while embarking on a tentative, ill-fated romance with Jameson's secretary, Betty Brant. By focusing on Parker's everyday problems, Lee and Ditko created a groundbreakingly flawed, self-doubting superhero, and the first major teenaged superhero to be a protagonist and not a sidekick. Ditko's quirky art provided a stark contrast to the more cleanly dynamic stylings of Marvel's most prominent artist, Jack Kirby, and combined with the humor and pathos of Lee's writing to lay the foundation for what became an enduring mythos. Most of Spider-Man's key villains and supporting characters were introduced during this time. 1963) featured the first appearances of J. Jonah JamesonDeFalco "1960s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 91 and his astronaut son John Jameson, and the supervillain the Chameleon. It included the hero's first encounter with the superhero team the Fantastic Four. 2 (May 1963) featured the first appearance of the VultureDeFalco "1960s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 92: "Introduced in the lead story of The Amazing Spider-Man No. 2 and created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, the Vulture was the first in a long line of animal-inspired super-villains that were destined to battle everyone's favorite web-slinger." The Lee-Ditko era continued to usher in a significant number of villains and supporting characters, including Doctor Octopus in No. 3 (July 1963);DeFalco "1960s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 93: "Dr. Octopus shared many traits with Peter Parker. They were both shy, both interested in science, and both had trouble relating to women...Otto Octavius even looked like a grown up Peter Parker. Lee and Ditko intended Otto to be the man Peter might have become if he hadn't been raised with a sense of responsibility" the Sandman and Betty Brant in No. 4 (Sept. 1963); the Lizard in No. 13 (June 1964); the Green Goblin in No. 14 (July 1964);DeFalco "1960s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 101: "When the Green Goblin soared into the webhead's life, Stan Lee and Steve Ditko didn't bother to discuss his secret identity. Kraven The Hunter in No. 15 (Aug. 1964); reporter Ned Leeds in No. 18 (Nov. 1964); and the Scorpion in No. The Molten Man was introduced in No. 28 (Sept. 1965) which also featured Parker's graduation from high school. Peter began attending Empire State University in No. 31 (Dec. 1965), which featured the first appearances of friends and classmates Gwen StacyDeFalco "1960s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 111: "Gwen Stacy, the platinum blonde ex-beauty queen of Standard High, met Peter Parker on his first day in college in this issue." and Harry Osborn. Harry's father, Norman Osborn first appeared in No. 23 (April 1965) as a member of Jameson's country club but was not named nor revealed as Harry's father until No. One of the most celebrated issues of the Lee-Ditko run is No. 33 (Feb. 1966), the third part of the story arc "If This Be My Destiny...! ", which features the dramatic scene of Spider-Man, through force of will and thoughts of family, escaping from being pinned by heavy machinery. Comics historian Les Daniels noted that "Steve Ditko squeezes every ounce of anguish out of Spider-Man's predicament, complete with visions of the uncle he failed and the aunt he has sworn to save." Peter David observed that "After his origin, this two-page sequence from Amazing Spider-Man No. 33 is perhaps the best-loved sequence from the Stan Lee/Steve Ditko era." 33 is one of the most powerful ever to appear in the series and influenced writers and artists for many years to come." and Matthew K. Manning wrote that "Ditko's illustrations for the first few pages of this Lee story included what would become one of the most iconic scenes in Spider-Man's history." The story was chosen as No. 15 in the 100 Greatest Marvels of All Time poll of Marvel's readers in 2001. Editor Robert Greenberger wrote in his introduction to the story that "These first five pages are a modern-day equivalent to Shakespeare as Parker's soliloquy sets the stage for his next action. And with dramatic pacing and storytelling, Ditko delivers one of the great sequences in all comics." Although credited only as artist for most of his run, Ditko would eventually plot the stories as well as draw them, leaving Lee to script the dialogue. A rift between Ditko and Lee developed, and the two men were not on speaking terms long before Ditko completed his last issue, The Amazing Spider-Man No. The exact reasons for the Ditko-Lee split have never been fully explained.DeFalco "1960s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 117: "To this day, no one really knows why Ditko quit. Bullpen sources reported he was unhappy with the way Lee scripted some of his plots, using a tongue-in-cheek approach to stories Ditko wanted handled seriously." Spider-Man successor artist John Romita Sr., in a 2010 deposition, recalled that Lee and Ditko "ended up not being able to work together because they disagreed on almost everything, cultural, social, historically, everything, they disagreed on characters..." In successor penciler Romita Sr.'s first issue, No. 39 (Aug. 1966), nemesis the Green Goblin discovers Spider-Man's secret identity and reveals his own to the captive hero. Romita's Spider-Man – more polished and heroic-looking than Ditko's – became the model for two decades. The Lee-Romita era saw the introduction of such characters as Daily Bugle managing editor Robbie Robertson in No. 52 (Sept. 1967) and NYPD Captain George Stacy, father of Parker's girlfriend Gwen Stacy, in No. The most important supporting character to be introduced during the Romita era was Mary Jane Watson, who made her first full appearance in No. 42 (Nov. 1966),DeFalco "1960s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 119: "After teasing the readers for more than two years, Stan Lee finally allowed Peter Parker to meet Mary Jane Watson." although she first appeared in No. 25 (June 1965) with her face obscured and had been mentioned since No. Peter David wrote in 2010 that Romita "made the definitive statement of his arrival by pulling Mary Jane out from behind the oversized potted plant [that blocked the reader's view of her face in issue no. 25] and placing her on panel in what would instantly become an iconic moment. "David and Greenberger, p. 38 Romita has stated that in designing Mary Jane, he "used Ann-Margret from the movie Bye Bye Birdie as a guide, using her coloring, the shape of her face, her red hair and her form-fitting short skirts. "Saffel "A Legend is Born", p. 27 Lee and Romita toned down the prevalent sense of antagonism in Parker's world by improving Parker's relationship with the supporting characters and having stories focused as much on the social and college lives of the characters as they did on Spider-Man's adventures. The stories became more topical,Manning "1960s" in Gilbert (2012), p. 46: "Stan Lee tackled the issues of the day again when, with artists John Romita and Jim Mooney, he dealt with social unrest at Empire State University." addressing issues such as civil rights, racism, prisoners' rights, the Vietnam War, and political elections. 50 (June 1967) introduced the highly enduring criminal mastermind the Kingpin,DeFalco "1960s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 122: "Stan Lee wanted to create a new kind of crime boss. Someone who treated crime as if it were a business...He pitched this idea to artist John Romita and it was Wilson Fisk who emerged in The Amazing Spider-Man #50." who would become a major force as well in the superhero series Daredevil. Other notable first appearances in the Lee-Romita era include the Rhino in No. 41 (Oct. 1966),DeFalco "1960s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 119: "The first original super-villain produced by the new Spider-Man team of Stan Lee and John Romita was the Rhino." the Shocker in No. 78 (Nov. 1969), and the Kingpin's son, Richard Fisk, in No. 1970s Several spin-off series debuted in the 1970s: Marvel Team-Up in 1972,Sanderson, Peter "1970s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 155: "Marvel Team-Up No. 1 inaugurated a new series in which Spider-Man teamed with a different hero in each issue."" and The Spectacular Spider-Man in 1976.Sanderson "1970s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 177: "Spider-Man already starred in two monthly series: The Amazing Spider-Man and Marvel Team-Up. Now Marvel added a third, Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man, initially written by Gerry Conway with art by Sal Buscema and Mike Esposito." A short-lived series titled Giant-Size Spider-Man began in July 1974 and ran six issues through 1975. Spidey Super Stories, a series aimed at children ages 6–10, ran for 57 issues from October 1974 through 1982. The flagship title's second decade took a grim turn with a story in #89-90 (Oct.-Nov. 1970) featuring the death of Captain George Stacy.Manning "1970s" in Gilbert (2012), p. 55: "Captain George Stacy had always believed in Spider-Man and had given him the benefit of the doubt whenever possible. So in Spider-Man's world, there was a good chance that he would be destined to die." This was the first Spider-Man story to be penciled by Gil Kane, who would alternate drawing duties with Romita for the next year-and-a-half and would draw several landmark issues. One such story took place in the controversial issues #96–98 (May–July 1971). Writer-editor Lee defied the Comics Code Authority with this story, in which Parker's friend Harry Osborn, was hospitalized after over-dosing on pills. Lee wrote this story upon a request from the U. S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare for a story about the dangers of drugs. Citing its dictum against depicting drug use, even in an anti-drug context, the CCA refused to put its seal on these issues. With the approval of Marvel publisher Martin Goodman, Lee had the comics published without the seal. The comics sold well and Marvel won praise for its socially conscious efforts.Saffel "Bucking the Establishment, Marvel Style", p. 60: "The stories received widespread mainstream publicity, and Marvel was hailed for sticking to its guns." The CCA subsequently loosened the Code to permit negative depictions of drugs, among other new freedoms.Daniels, pp. 152 and 154: "As a result of Marvel's successful stand, the Comics Code had begun to look just a little foolish. Some of its more ridiculous restrictions were abandoned because of Lee's decision." "The Six Arms Saga" of #100–102 (Sept.–Nov. 1971) introduced Morbius, the Living Vampire. The second installment was the first Amazing Spider-Man story not written by co-creator Lee,Manning "1970s" in Gilbert (2012), p. 59: "In the first issue of The Amazing Spider-Man to be written by someone other than Stan Lee, Roy Thomas was faced with the mammoth task of not only filling the vaunted writer's shoes but also solving the bizarre cliffhanger from the last issue." with Roy Thomas taking over writing the book for several months before Lee returned to write #105–110 (Feb.-July 1972).Manning "1970s" in Gilbert (2012), p. 61: "Stan Lee had returned to The Amazing Spider-Man for a handful of issues after leaving following issue No. With issue No. Lee once again departed the title into which he had infused so much of his own personality over his near 10-year stint as regular writer." Lee, who was going on to become Marvel Comics' publisher, with Thomas becoming editor-in-chief, then turned writing duties over to 19-year-old Gerry Conway,Manning "1970s" in Gilbert (2012), p. 62: "[The Amazing Spider-Man #111] marked the dawning of a new era: writer Gerry Conway came on board as Stan Lee's replacement. Alongside artist John Romita, Conway started his run by picking up where Lee left off." who scripted the series through 1975. Romita penciled Conway's first half-dozen issues, which introduced the gangster Hammerhead in No. Kane then succeeded Romita as penciler, although Romita would continue inking Kane for a time. Issue 121 (June 1973 by Conway-Kane-Romita) featured the death of Gwen Stacy at the hands of the Green Goblin in "The Night Gwen Stacy Died. "Sanderson "1970s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 159: "In June , Marvel embarked on a story that would have far-reaching effects. The Amazing Spider-Man artist John Romita Sr. suggested killing off Spider-Man's beloved Gwen Stacy to shake up the book's status quo. "Manning "1970s" in Gilbert (2012), p. 68: "This story by writer Gerry Conway and penciler Gil Kane would go down in history as one of the most memorable events of Spider-Man's life. "David and Greenberger p. 49: "The idea of beloved supporting characters meeting their deaths may be standard operating procedure now but in 1973 it was unprecedented...Gwen's death took villainy and victimhood to an entirely new level." Her demise and the Goblin's apparent death one issue later formed a story arc widely considered as the most defining in the history of Spider-Man.Saffel "Death and the Spider", p. 65: "Death struck again, with repercussions that would ripple through comics from that day forward." The aftermath of the story deepened both the characterization of Mary Jane Watson and her relationship with Parker. In 1973 Gil Kane was succeeded by Ross Andru, whose run lasted from issue #125 (Oct. 1973) to #185 (Oct. 1978). Issue#129 (Feb. 1974) introduced the Punisher,Manning "1970s" in Gilbert (2012), p. 72: "Writer Gerry Conway and artist Ross Andru introduced two major new characters to Spider-Man's world and the Marvel Universe in this self-contained issue. Not only would the vigilante known as the Punisher go on to be one of the most important and iconic Marvel creations of the 1970s, but his instigator, the Jackal, would become the next big threat in Spider-Man's life." who would become one of Marvel Comics' most popular characters. The Conway-Andru era featured the first appearances of the Man-Wolf in #124–125 (Sept.-Oct. 1973); the near-marriage of Doctor Octopus and Aunt May in #131 (Apr. 1974); Harry Osborn stepping into his father's role as the Green Goblin in #135–137 (Aug.-Oct.1974); and the original "Clone Saga", containing the introduction of Spider-Man's clone, in #147–149 (Aug.-Oct. 1975). Archie Goodwin and Gil Kane produced the title's 150th issue (Nov. 1975) before Len Wein became writer with issue No. 151.Manning "1970s" in Gilbert (2012), p. 85: "To signify the start of this new era Spider-Man's new regular chronicler writer Len Wein would come onboard with this issue." During Wein's tenure, Harry Osborn and Liz Allen dated and became engaged; J. Jonah Jameson was introduced to his eventual second wife, Marla Madison; and Aunt May suffered a heart attack. Wein's last story on Amazing was a five-issue arc in #176–180 (Jan.-May 1978) featuring a third Green Goblin (Harry Osborn's psychiatrist, Bart Hamilton). Marv Wolfman, Marvel's editor-in-chief from 1975 to 1976, succeeded Wein as writer and, in his first issue, #182 (July 1978), had Parker propose marriage to Watson, who refused in the following issue.Manning "1970s" in Gilbert (2012), p. 103: "As new regular writer Marv Wolfman took over the scripting duties from Len Wein and partnered with artist Ross Andru, Peter Parker decided to make a dramatic change in his personal life." Keith Pollard succeeded Andru as artist shortly afterward and, with Wolfman, introduced the likable rogue the Black Cat (Felicia Hardy) in #194 (July 1979).Manning "1970s" in Gilbert (2012), p. 107: "Spider-Man wasn't exactly sure what to think about his luck when he met a beautiful new thief on the prowl named the Black Cat, courtesy of a story by writer Marv Wolfman and artist Keith Pollard." As a love interest for Spider-Man, the Black Cat would go on to be an important supporting character for the better part of the next decade and remain a friend and occasional lover into the 2010s.
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AM
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AM or Am may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music A minor, a minor scale in music A.M. (Chris Young album) A.M. (Wilco album) AM (Abraham Mateo album) AM (Arctic Monkeys album) AM (musician), American musician Am, the A minor chord symbol Armeemarschsammlung (Army March Collection), catalog of German military march music Andrew Moore (musician), Canadian musician known as A.M. DJ AM, American DJ and producer Skengdo & AM, British hip hop duo Television and radio AM (radio program), Australian current affairs radio program American Morning, American morning television news program Am, Antes del Mediodía, Argentine current affairs television program Am, a character in the anthology Star Wars: Visions @fter Midnight (TV series) (logo: @m), U.S. late night comedy celebrity game show Other media Allied Mastercomputer, the antagonist of the short story "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream" Business Aston Martin, a British sportscar manufacturer Education Active Minds, a mental health awareness charity Arts et Métiers ParisTech, a French engineering school Australian Museum, a museum in Australia Master of Arts, an academic degree Military A US Navy hull classification symbol: Minesweeper (AM) Air marshal, a senior air officer rank used in Commonwealth countries Anti-materiel rifle, rifle designed for use against military equipment Aviation structural mechanic, a U.S. Navy occupational rating Science AM, a complexity class related to Arthur–Merlin protocol Adrenomedullin, a protein Air mass (astronomy), measure of the amount of air along the line of sight in astronomical observations Am, tropical monsoon climate in the Köppen climate classification Americium, symbol Am, a chemical element Attometre, a unit of length attomolar (aM), a unit of molar concentration Technology Amplitude modulation, an electronic communication technique AM broadcasting, radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation Additive manufacturing, or 3-D printing, a process of making a three-dimensional solid object of virtually any shape from a digital model. Anno Mundi, a calendar era based on the biblical creation of the world Transportation A.M. (automobile), a 1906 French car Aeroméxico (IATA airline code AM), airline in Mexico All-mountain, a discipline of mountain biking Arkansas and Missouri Railroad Other uses First-person singular present of the copula verb to be Am (cuneiform), a written syllable Member of the Order of Australia, postnominal letters which can be used by a Member of the Order Assembly Member (disambiguation), a political office formerly a Member of the National Assembly for Wales, now Member of the Senedd Member of the London Assembly Amharic language (ISO 639-1 language code am) Anguilla, LOC MARC code AM Armenia (ISO country code AM) Attacking midfielder, a position in association football The Book of Amos, part of the Tanakh and Old Testament Australian Museum, Sydney See also Pro–am `am (disambiguation) A&M (disambiguation) AM2 (disambiguation) AMS (disambiguation
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Antigua and Barbuda
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Antigua and Barbuda is a sovereign archipelagic country composed of Antigua, Barbuda, and numerous other small islands. Antigua and Barbuda has a total area of 440 km2 (170 sq mi), making it one of the smallest countries in the Caribbean. The country is mostly flat, with the highest points on Antigua being in the Shekerley Mountains and on Barbuda the Highlands. The country has a tropical savanna climate, with pockets of tropical monsoon in Antigua's southwest. Its largest city is St. John's. Hunter-gatherers settled the islands starting around 3,000 BC, likely arriving on canoes from Central and South America. They were followed by the Arawaks of Venezuela during the Ceramic Period. In 1493, Christopher Columbus surveyed the island of Antigua, which resulted in an attempt at Spanish settlement in 1520. Antigua remained uncolonised until 1632 when Edward Warner and his small party created the first successful British colony. Barbuda was under the control of the Codrington family until the 1860s. Antiguan independence was first proposed by Prince Klaas in 1728, who attempted to make the island an independent kingdom. After emancipation in 1834, Antigua's autonomy slowly increased, while Barbuda was slowly integrated into Antigua. The first democratic elections were held in 1951, and by 1981, Antigua and Barbuda was independent. From 1960 until 2004, the Bird family dominated the archipelago's politics with only one interruption, which ended with the election of Baldwin Spencer to the premiership. Since 2014, the Labour Party has dominated national politics. Antigua and Barbuda is a member of the Commonwealth and a Commonwealth realm, being a constitutional monarchy with Charles III as its head of state. Barbuda has been governed by the Barbuda Council since 1976, the country being a unitary state. Antigua is also divided into six parishes. Antigua and Barbuda has a proportionally high foreign-born population, in addition to having the second highest Human Development Index in the Caribbean. Most people are of African descent, with significant populations of Europeans, Hispanics, and Indians. The country is also majority Christian, with most being Protestant. The most spoken language in the country is Antiguan and Barbudan Creole. Compared to neighboring countries, Antigua and Barbuda ranks highly in most economic indicators, although it ranks about average in political freedoms. Antigua and Barbuda is a high-income country. It is a member of the United Nations, the OECS, the Regional Security System, CARICOM, and the World Trade Organisation. Antigua and Barbuda is one of the only countries in the Caribbean to maintain an air force, and has a significant aviation industry in conjunction with its tourism-based economy. Etymology is Spanish for 'ancient' and is Spanish for 'bearded'. The island of Antigua was originally called by the Arawaks and is locally known by that name today; the Caribs possibly called Barbuda . Christopher Columbus, while sailing by in 1493, may have named it , after an icon in the Spanish Seville Cathedral. The "bearded" of Barbuda is thought to refer either to the male inhabitants of the island, or the bearded fig trees present there. History Pre-colonial period Antigua was first settled by archaic age Indigenous hunter-gatherers called the Ciboney. Carbon dating has established the earliest settlements started around 3100 BC. They were succeeded by the ceramic age pre-Columbian Arawak-speaking Saladoid people who migrated from the lower Orinoco River. They introduced agriculture, raising, among other crops, the famous Antigua Black Pineapple (Ananas comosus), corn, sweet potatoes, chiles, guava, tobacco, and cotton.Duval, D. T. (1996). Saladoid archaeology on St. Vincent, West Indies: results of the 1993/1994 University of Manitoba survey Later on the Caribs settled the island.
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Azincourt
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The Late Medieval Battle of Agincourt between the English and the French took place in the commune in 1415. Toponym The name is attested as Aisincurt in 1175, derived from a Germanic masculine name Aizo, Aizino and the early Northern French word curt (which meant a farm with a courtyard; derived from the Late Latin cortem). It is often known as Agincourt in English. There is a village that is named "Agincourt", located in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in Eastern France. The name has no etymological link with Azincourt, and is derived separately from another Germanic male name *Ingin-. History Azincourt is known for being near the site of the battle fought on 25 October 1415 in which the army led by King Henry V of England defeated the forces led by Charles d'Albret on behalf of Charles VI of France, which has gone down in history as the Battle of Agincourt. According to M. Forrest, the French knights were so encumbered by their armour that they were exhausted even before the start of the battle.The House of Commons: 1509–1558, Volume 4; Stanley T. Bindoff, John S. Roskell, Lewis Namier, Romney Sedgwick, David Hayton, Eveline Cruickshanks, R. G. Thorne, P. W. Hasler (Boydell & Brewer, 1982) After he became king in 1509, Henry VIII is purported to have commissioned an English translation of a Life of Henry VHenry VIII; J. J. Scarisbrick, p. 23 so that he could emulate him, on the grounds that he thought that launching a campaign against France would help him to impose himself on the European stage. In 1513, Henry VIII crossed the English Channel, stopping by at Azincourt. The battle, as was the tradition, was named after a nearby castle called Azincourt. The castle has since disappeared and the settlement now known as Azincourt adopted the name in the seventeenth century.John Cassell's Illustrated History of England, vol. John Cassell wrote in 1857 that "the village of Azincourt itself is now a group of dirty farmhouses and wretched cottages, but where the hottest of the battle raged, between that village and the commune of Tramecourt, there still remains a wood precisely corresponding with the one in which Henry placed his ambush; and there are yet existing the foundations of the castle of Azincourt, from which the king named the field. "John Cassell's Illustrated History of England, vol. Population Sights
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Albert Speer
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Berthold Konrad Hermann Albert Speer (; ; 19 March 1905 – 1 September 1981) was a German architect who served as the Minister of Armaments and War Production in Nazi Germany during most of World War II. A close ally of Adolf Hitler, he was convicted at the Nuremberg trials and sentenced to 20 years in prison. An architect by training, Speer joined the Nazi Party in 1931. His architectural skills made him increasingly prominent within the Party, and he became a member of Hitler's inner circle. Hitler commissioned him to design and construct structures, including the Reich Chancellery and the Nazi Party rally grounds in Nuremberg. In 1937, Hitler appointed Speer as General Building Inspector for Berlin. In this capacity he was responsible for the Central Department for Resettlement that evicted Jewish tenants from their homes in Berlin. In February 1942, Speer was appointed as Reich Minister of Armaments and War Production. Using misleading statistics, he promoted himself as having performed an armaments miracle that was widely credited with keeping Germany in the war. In 1944, Speer established a task force to increase production of fighter aircraft. It became instrumental in exploiting slave labor for the benefit of the German war effort. After the war, Albert Speer was among the 24 "major war criminals" charged by the International Military Tribunal for Nazi atrocities. He was found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity, principally for the use of slave labor, narrowly avoiding a death sentence. Having served his full term, Speer was released in 1966. He used his writings from the time of imprisonment as the basis for two autobiographical books, Inside the Third Reich and Spandau: The Secret Diaries. Speer's books were a success; the public was fascinated by the inside view of the Third Reich he provided. He died of a stroke in 1981. He continued to deny explicit knowledge of, and responsibility for, the Holocaust. The myth began to fall apart in the 1980s, when the armaments miracle was attributed to Nazi propaganda. Twenty-five years after Speer's death, Adam Tooze wrote in The Wages of Destruction that the idea that Speer was an apolitical technocrat was "absurd". Martin Kitchen, writing in Speer: Hitler's Architect, stated that much of the increase in Germany's arms production was actually due to systems instituted by Speer's predecessor (Fritz Todt) and that Speer was intimately aware of and involved in the "Final Solution"; evidence of which has been conclusively shown in the decades following the Nuremberg trials. Early years and personal life Speer was born in Mannheim, into an upper-middle-class family. He was the second of three sons of Luise Máthilde Wilhelmine (Hommel) and Albert Friedrich Speer. In 1918, the family leased their Mannheim residence and moved to a home they had in Heidelberg. Henry T. King, deputy prosecutor at the Nuremberg trials who later wrote a book about Speer said, "Love and warmth were lacking in the household of Speer's youth." His brothers, Ernst and Hermann, bullied him throughout his childhood. Speer was active in sports, taking up skiing and mountaineering. He followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather and studied architecture. Speer began his architectural studies at the University of Karlsruhe instead of a more highly acclaimed institution because the hyperinflation crisis of 1923 limited his parents' income. In 1924, when the crisis had abated, he transferred to the "much more reputable" Technische Hochschule München (now Technical University of Munich). In 1925, he transferred again, this time to the Technische Hochschule Berlin-Chalottenburg (now Technische Universität Berlin) where he studied under Heinrich Tessenow, whom Speer greatly admired. After passing his exams in 1927, Speer became Tessenow's assistant, a high honor for a man of 22. As such, Speer taught some of his classes while continuing his own postgraduate studies. In Munich Speer began a close friendship, ultimately spanning over 50 years, with Rudolf Wolters, who also studied under Tessenow. In mid-1922, Speer began courting Margarete (Margret) Weber (1905–1987), the daughter of a successful craftsman who employed 50 workers. The relationship was frowned upon by Speer's class-conscious mother, who felt the Webers were socially inferior. Despite this opposition, the two married in Berlin on 28 August 1928; seven years elapsed before Margarete was invited to stay at her in-laws' home. The couple would have six children together, but Albert Speer grew increasingly distant from his family after 1933. He remained so even after his release from imprisonment in 1966, despite their efforts to forge closer bonds.
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Asteraceae
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Asteraceae is a large family of flowering plants that consists of over 32,000 known species in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. The number of species in Asteraceae is rivaled only by the Orchidaceae, and which is the larger family is unclear as the quantity of extant species in each family is unknown. The Asteraceae were first described in the year 1740 and given the original name Compositae. The family is commonly known as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family. Most species of Asteraceae are herbaceous plants, and may be annual, biennial, or perennial, but there are also shrubs, vines, and trees. The family has a widespread distribution, from subpolar to tropical regions, in a wide variety of habitats. Most occur in hot desert and cold or hot semi-desert climates, and they are found on every continent but Antarctica. Their common primary characteristic is compound flower heads, technically known as capitula, consisting of sometimes hundreds of tiny individual florets enclosed by a whorl of protective involucral bracts. The oldest known fossils are pollen grains from the Late Cretaceous (Campanian to Maastrichtian) of Antarctica, dated to million years ago (mya). It is estimated that the crown group of Asteraceae evolved at least 85.9 mya (Late Cretaceous, Santonian) with a stem node age of 88–89 mya (Late Cretaceous, Coniacian). Asteraceae is an economically important family, providing food staples, garden plants, and herbal medicines. Species outside of their native ranges can become weedy or invasive. Description Members of the Asteraceae are mostly herbaceous plants, but some shrubs, vines, and trees (such as Lachanodes arborea) do exist. Asteraceae species are generally easy to distinguish from other plants because of their unique inflorescence and other shared characteristics, such as the joined anthers of the stamens. Nonetheless, determining genera and species of some groups such as Hieracium is notoriously difficult (see "damned yellow composite" for example). Roots Members of the family Asteraceae generally produce taproots, but sometimes they possess fibrous root systems. Some species have underground stems in the form of caudices or rhizomes. These can be fleshy or woody depending on the species. Stems The stems are herbaceous, aerial, branched, and cylindrical with glandular hairs, usually erect, but can be prostrate to ascending. The stems can contain secretory canals with resin, or latex, which is particularly common among the Cichorioideae. Leaves Leaves can be alternate, opposite, or whorled. They may be simple, but are often deeply lobed or otherwise incised, often conduplicate or revolute. The margins also can be entire or toothed. Resin or latex can also be present in the leaves. Inflorescences Nearly all Asteraceae bear their flowers in dense flower heads called capitula. They are surrounded by involucral bracts, and when viewed from a distance, each capitulum may appear to be a single flower. Enlarged outer (peripheral) flowers in the capitulum may resemble petals, and the involucral bracts may look like a calyx. Notable exceptions include Hecastocleis shockleyi (the only species in the subfamily Hecastocleidoideae) and and the species of the genus Corymbium (the only genus in the subfamily Corymbioideae), which have one-flowered bisexual capitulas, Gundelia with one-flowered unisexual capitulas, cited on and Gymnarrhena micrantha with one-flowered female capitulas and few flowered male capitulas.
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Apiaceae
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Apiaceae or Umbelliferae is a family of mostly aromatic flowering plants named after the type genus Apium, and commonly known as the celery, carrot or parsley family, or simply as umbellifers. It is the 16th-largest family of flowering plants, with more than 3,800 species in about 446 genera,Stevens, P.F. "APIACEAE Lindley, nom. Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Retrieved 16 December 2022. including such well-known, and economically important plants as ajwain, angelica, anise, asafoetida, caraway, carrot, celery, chervil, coriander, cumin, dill, fennel, lovage, cow parsley, parsley, parsnip and sea holly, as well as silphium, a plant whose exact identity is unclear and may be extinct. Description Most Apiaceae are annual, biennial or perennial herbs (frequently with the leaves aggregated toward the base), though a minority are woody shrubs or small trees such as Bupleurum fruticosum. Their leaves are of variable size, and alternately arranged, or with the upper leaves becoming nearly opposite. The leaves may be petiolate or sessile. There are no stipules but the petioles are frequently sheathing, and the leaves may be perfoliate. The leaf blade is usually dissected, ternate, or pinnatifid, but simple, and entire in some genera, e.g. Bupleurum. Commonly, their leaves emit a marked smell when crushed, aromatic to fetid, but absent in some species. The defining characteristic of this family is the inflorescence, the flowers nearly always aggregated in terminal umbels, that may be simple or more commonly compound, often umbelliform cymes. The flowers are usually perfect (hermaphroditic), and actinomorphic, but there may be zygomorphic flowers at the edge of the umbel, as in carrot (Daucus carota) and coriander, with petals of unequal size, the ones pointing outward from the umbel larger than the ones pointing inward. Some are andromonoecious, polygamomonoecious, or even dioecious (as in Acronema), with a distinct calyx, and corolla, but the calyx is often highly reduced, to the point of being undetectable in many species, while the corolla can be white, yellow, pink or purple. The flowers are nearly perfectly pentamerous, with five petals and five stamens. There is often variation in the functionality of the stamens even within a single inflorescence. Some flowers are functionally staminate (where a pistil may be present but has no ovules capable of being fertilized) while others are functionally pistillate (where stamens are present but their anthers do not produce viable pollen). Pollination of one flower by the pollen of a different flower of the same plant (geitonogamy) is common. The gynoecium consists of two carpels fused into a single, bicarpellate pistil with an inferior ovary. Stylopodia support two styles, and secrete nectar, attracting pollinators like flies, mosquitoes, gnats, beetles, moths, and bees. The fruit is a schizocarp consisting of two fused carpels that separate at maturity into two mericarps, each containing a single seed. The fruits of many species are dispersed by wind but others such as those of Daucus spp., are covered in bristles, which may be hooked in sanicle Sanicula europaea and thus catch in the fur of animals. The seeds have an oily endospermWatson, L., Dallwitz, M.J. (1992 onwards) The families of flowering plants: descriptions, illustrations, identification, and information retrieval . Version: 4 March 2011. and often contain essential oils, containing aromatic compounds that are responsible for the flavour of commercially important umbelliferous seed such as anise, cumin and coriander. The shape and details of the ornamentation of the ripe fruits are important for identification to species level. Taxonomy Apiaceae was first described by John Lindley in 1836.Lindley, J. (1836) An Introduction to the Natural System of Botany, 2nd Edition. Longman, London. The name is derived from the type genus Apium, which was originally used by Pliny the Elder circa 50 AD for a celery-like plant. The alternative name for the family, Umbelliferae, derives from the inflorescence being generally in the form of a compound umbel. The family was one of the first to be recognized as a distinct group in Jacques Daleschamps' 1586 Historia generalis plantarum. With Robert Morison's 1672 Plantarum umbelliferarum distribution nova it became the first group of plants for which a systematic study was published. The family is solidly placed within the Apiales order in the APG III system. It is closely related to Araliaceae and the boundaries between these families remain unclear. Traditionally groups within the family have been delimited largely based on fruit morphology, and the results from this have not been congruent with the more recent molecular phylogenetic analyses. The subfamilial and tribal classification for the family is currently in a state of flux, with many of the groups being found to be grossly paraphyletic or polyphyletic. Classification and phylogeny Prior to molecular phylogenetic studies, the family was subdivided primarily based on fruit characteristics. Molecular phylogenetic analyses from the mid-1990s onwards have shown that fruit characters evolved in parallel many times, so that using them in classification resulted in units that were not monophyletic. In 2004, it was proposed that Apiaceae should be divided into four subfamilies: Apioideae Seem. Azorelloideae G.M.Plunkett & Lowry Mackinlayoideae G.M.Plunkett & Lowry Saniculoideae Burnett Apioideae is by far the largest subfamily with about 90% of the genera. Most subsequent studies have supported this division, although leaving some genera unplaced. A 2021 study suggested the relationships shown in the following cladogram. The Platysace clade and the genera Klotzschia and Hermas fell outside the four subfamilies. It was suggested that they could be accommodated in subfamilies of their own. Phlyctidocarpa was formerly placed in the subfamily Apioideae, but if kept there makes Apioideae paraphyletic. It could be placed in an enlarged Saniculoideae, or restored to Apioideae if the latter were expanded to include Saniculoideae. The subfamilies can be further divided into tribes and clades, with many clades falling outside formally recognized tribes. Genera The number of genera accepted by sources varies. , Plants of the World Online (PoWO) accepted 444 genera, while GRIN Taxonomy accepted 462. The PoWO genera are not a subset of those in GRIN; for example, Haloselinum is accepted by PoWO but not by GRIN, while Halosciastrum is accepted by GRIN but not by PoWO, which treats it as a synonym of Angelica. The Angiosperm Phylogeny Website had an "approximate list" of 446 genera. Ecology The black swallowtail butterfly, Papilio polyxenes, uses the family Apiaceae for food and host plants for oviposition.Hall, Donald W. 2011 "Featured Creatures - Eastern Black Swallowtail." Entomology and Nematology Department, University of Florida. The 22-spot ladybird is also commonly found eating mildew on these plants. Uses Many members of this family are cultivated for various purposes. Parsnip (Pastinaca sativa), carrot (Daucus carota) and Hamburg parsley (Petroselinum crispum) produce tap roots that are large enough to be useful as food. Many species produce essential oils in their leaves or fruits and as a result are flavourful aromatic herbs. Examples are parsley (Petroselinum crispum), coriander (Coriandrum sativum), culantro, and dill (Anethum graveolens). The seeds may be used in cuisine, as with coriander (Coriandrum sativum), fennel (Foeniculum vulgare), cumin (Cuminum cyminum), and caraway (Carum carvi). Other notable cultivated Apiaceae include chervil (Anthriscus cerefolium), angelica (Angelica spp. ), celery (Apium graveolens), arracacha (Arracacia xanthorrhiza), sea holly (Eryngium spp. ), asafoetida (Ferula asafoetida), galbanum (Ferula gummosa), cicely (Myrrhis odorata), anise (Pimpinella anisum), lovage (Levisticum officinale), and hacquetia (Sanicula epipactis). Cultivation Generally, all members of this family are best cultivated in the cool-season garden; they may not grow at all if the soils are too warm. Almost every widely cultivated plant of this group is a considered useful as a companion plant. One reason is that the tiny flowers, clustered into umbels, are well suited for ladybugs, parasitic wasps, and predatory flies, which drink nectar when not reproducing. They then prey upon insect pests on nearby plants. Some of the members of this family considered "herbs" produce scents that are believed to mask the odours of nearby plants, thus making them harder for insect pests to find. Other uses The poisonous members of the Apiaceae have been used for a variety of purposes globally. The poisonous Oenanthe crocata has been used as an aid in suicides, and arrow poisons have been made from various other family species. Daucus carota has been used as coloring for butter. Dorema ammoniacum, Ferula galbaniflua, and Ferula moschata (sumbul) are sources of incense. The woody Azorella compacta Phil. has been used in South America for fuel. The family Apiaceae also includes a smaller number of poisonous species, including poison hemlock, water hemlock, spotted cowbane, fool's parsley, and various species of water dropwort. Some members of the family Apiaceae, including carrot, celery, fennel, parsley and parsnip, contain polyynes, an unusual class of organic compounds that exhibit cytotoxic effects. References Further reading Constance, L. (1971). "History of the classification of Umbelliferae (Apiaceae)." in Heywood, V. H. ], The biology and chemistry of the Umbelliferae, 1–11. Academic Press, London. Cronquist, A. The Evolution and Classification of Flowering Plants. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. "Ethnobotany of the Umbelliferae." in Heywood, V. H. ], The biology and chemistry of the Umbelliferae, 385–412. Academic Press, London. Hegnauer, R. (1971) "Chemical Patterns and Relationships of Umbelliferae." in Heywood, V. H. ], The biology and chemistry of the Umbelliferae, 267–277. Academic Press, London. "Systematic survey of Old World Umbelliferae." in Heywood, V. H. ], The biology and chemistry of the Umbelliferae, 31–41. Academic Press, London. Judd, W. S. et al. Plant Systematics: A Phylogenetic Approach. Sunderland, MA: Sinauer Associates, Inc. Nieto Feliner, Gonzalo; Jury, Stephen Leonard & Herrero Nieto, Alberto (eds.) Flora iberica. Plantas vasculares de la Península Ibérica e Islas Baleares. "Araliaceae-Umbelliferae" (2003) Madrid: Real Jardín Botánico, CSIC (in Spanish). External links Umbelliferae at The Families of Flowering Plants (DELTA) Apiaceae at Discover Life Umbellifer Resource Centre at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh Umbellifer Information Server at Moscow State University
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Axon
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An axon (from Greek ἄξων áxōn, axis) or nerve fiber (or nerve fibre: see spelling differences) is a long, slender projection of a nerve cell, or neuron, in vertebrates, that typically conducts electrical impulses known as action potentials away from the nerve cell body. The function of the axon is to transmit information to different neurons, muscles, and glands. In certain sensory neurons (pseudounipolar neurons), such as those for touch and warmth, the axons are called afferent nerve fibers and the electrical impulse travels along these from the periphery to the cell body and from the cell body to the spinal cord along another branch of the same axon. Axon dysfunction can be the cause of many inherited and acquired neurological disorders that affect both the peripheral and central neurons. Nerve fibers are classed into three typesgroup A nerve fibers, group B nerve fibers, and group C nerve fibers. Groups A and B are myelinated, and group C are unmyelinated. These groups include both sensory fibers and motor fibers. Another classification groups only the sensory fibers as Type I, Type II, Type III, and Type IV. An axon is one of two types of cytoplasmic protrusions from the cell body of a neuron; the other type is a dendrite. Axons are distinguished from dendrites by several features, including shape (dendrites often taper while axons usually maintain a constant radius), length (dendrites are restricted to a small region around the cell body while axons can be much longer), and function (dendrites receive signals whereas axons transmit them). Some types of neurons have no axon and transmit signals from their dendrites. In some species, axons can emanate from dendrites known as axon-carrying dendrites. No neuron ever has more than one axon; however in invertebrates such as insects or leeches the axon sometimes consists of several regions that function more or less independently of each other. Axons are covered by a membrane known as an axolemma; the cytoplasm of an axon is called axoplasm. Most axons branch, in some cases very profusely. The end branches of an axon are called telodendria. The swollen end of a telodendron is known as the axon terminal or end-foot which joins the dendrite or cell body of another neuron forming a synaptic connection. Axons usually make contact with other neurons at junctions called synapses but can also make contact with muscle or gland cells. In some circumstances, the axon of one neuron may form a synapse with the dendrites of the same neuron, resulting in an autapse. At a synapse, the membrane of the axon closely adjoins the membrane of the target cell, and special molecular structures serve to transmit electrical or electrochemical signals across the gap. Some synaptic junctions appear along the length of an axon as it extends; these are called en passant boutons ("in passing boutons") and can be in the hundreds or even the thousands along one axon. Other synapses appear as terminals at the ends of axonal branches. A single axon, with all its branches taken together, can target multiple parts of the brain and generate thousands of synaptic terminals. A bundle of axons make a nerve tract in the central nervous system, and a fascicle in the peripheral nervous system. In placental mammals the largest white matter tract in the brain is the corpus callosum, formed of some 200 million axons in the human brain.
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Aramaic alphabet
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The ancient Aramaic alphabet was used to write the Aramaic languages spoken by ancient Aramean pre-Christian tribes throughout the Fertile Crescent. It was also adopted by other peoples as their own alphabet when empires and their subjects underwent linguistic Aramaization during a language shift for governing purposes — a precursor to Arabization centuries later — including among the Assyrians and Babylonians who permanently replaced their Akkadian language and its cuneiform script with Aramaic and its script, and among Jews, but not Samaritans, who adopted the Aramaic language as their vernacular and started using the Aramaic alphabet, which they call "Square Script", even for writing Hebrew, displacing the former Paleo-Hebrew alphabet. The modern Hebrew alphabet derives from the Aramaic alphabet, in contrast to the modern Samaritan alphabet, which derives from Paleo-Hebrew. The letters in the Aramaic alphabet all represent consonants, some of which are also used as matres lectionis to indicate long vowels. Writing systems, like the Aramaic, that indicate consonants but do not indicate most vowels other than by means of matres lectionis or added diacritical signs, have been called abjads by Peter T. Daniels to distinguish them from alphabets such as the Greek alphabet, that represent vowels more systematically. The term was coined to avoid the notion that a writing system that represents sounds must be either a syllabary or an alphabet, which would imply that a system like Aramaic must be either a syllabary, as argued by Ignace Gelb, or an incomplete or deficient alphabet, as most other writers had said before Daniels. Daniels put forward, this is a different type of writing system, intermediate between syllabaries and 'full' alphabets. The Aramaic alphabet is historically significant since virtually all modern Middle Eastern writing systems can be traced back to it. That is primarily due to the widespread usage of the Aramaic language after it was adopted as both a lingua franca and the official language of the Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian Empires, and their successor, the Achaemenid Empire. Among the descendant scripts in modern use, the Jewish Hebrew alphabet bears the closest relation to the Imperial Aramaic script of the 5th century BC, with an identical letter inventory and, for the most part, nearly identical letter shapes. By contrast the Samaritan Hebrew script is directly descended from Proto-Hebrew/Phoenician script, which was the ancestor of the Aramaic alphabet. The Aramaic alphabet was also an ancestor to the Syriac alphabet and Mongolian script and Kharosthi and Brahmi,and Nabataean alphabet, which had the Arabic alphabet as a descendant.
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Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis
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Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM), or acute demyelinating encephalomyelitis, is a rare autoimmune disease marked by a sudden, widespread attack of inflammation in the brain and spinal cord. As well as causing the brain and spinal cord to become inflamed, ADEM also attacks the nerves of the central nervous system and damages their myelin insulation, which, as a result, destroys the white matter. The cause is often a trigger such as from viral infection or vaccinations. ADEM's symptoms resemble the symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS), so the disease itself is sorted into the classification of the multiple sclerosis borderline diseases. However, ADEM has several features that distinguish it from MS. Unlike MS, ADEM occurs usually in children and is marked with rapid fever, although adolescents and adults can get the disease too. ADEM consists of a single flare-up whereas MS is marked with several flare-ups (or relapses), over a long period of time. Relapses following ADEM are reported in up to a quarter of patients, but the majority of these 'multiphasic' presentations following ADEM likely represent MS. ADEM is also distinguished by a loss of consciousness, coma and death, which is very rare in MS, except in severe cases. It affects about 8 per 1,000,000 people per year. Although it occurs in all ages, most reported cases are in children and adolescents, with the average age around 5 to 8 years old. The disease affects males and females almost equally. ADEM shows seasonal variation with higher incidence in winter and spring months which may coincide with higher viral infections during these months. The average time to recover from ADEM flare-ups is one to six months. ADEM produces multiple inflammatory lesions in the brain and spinal cord, particularly in the white matter. Usually these are found in the subcortical and central white matter and cortical gray-white junction of both cerebral hemispheres, cerebellum, brainstem, and spinal cord, but periventricular white matter and gray matter of the cortex, thalami and basal ganglia may also be involved. When a person has more than one demyelinating episode of ADEM, the disease is then called recurrent disseminated encephalomyelitis or multiphasic disseminated encephalomyelitis (MDEM). Also, a fulminant course in adults has been described. Signs and symptoms ADEM has an abrupt onset and a monophasic course. Symptoms usually begin 1–3 weeks after infection. Major symptoms include fever, headache, nausea and vomiting, confusion, vision impairment, drowsiness, seizures and coma. Although initially the symptoms are usually mild, they worsen rapidly over the course of hours to days, with the average time to maximum severity being about four and a half days. Additional symptoms include hemiparesis, paraparesis, and cranial nerve palsies. ADEM in COVID-19 Neurological symptoms were the main presentation of COVID-19, which did not correlate with the severity of respiratory symptoms. The high incidence of ADEM with hemorrhage is striking. Brain inflammation is likely caused by an immune response to the disease rather than neurotropism. CSF analysis was not indicative of an infectious process, neurological impairment was not present in the acute phase of the infection, and neuroimaging findings were not typical of classical toxic and metabolic disorders. The finding of bilateral periventricular relatively asymmetrical lesions allied with deep white matter involvement, that may also be present in cortical gray-white matter junction, thalami, basal ganglia, cerebellum, and brainstem suggests an acute demyelination process. Additionally, hemorrhagic white matter lesions, clusters of macrophages related to axonal injury and ADEM-like appearance were also found in subcortical white matter. Causes Since the discovery of the anti-MOG specificity against multiple sclerosis diagnosis it is considered that ADEM is one of the possible clinical causes of anti-MOG associated encephalomyelitis. About how the anti-MOG antibodies appear in the patients serum there are several theories: A preceding antigenic challenge can be identified in approximately two-thirds of people. Some viral infections thought to induce ADEM include influenza virus, dengue, enterovirus, measles, mumps, rubella, varicella zoster, Epstein–Barr virus, cytomegalovirus, herpes simplex virus, hepatitis A, coxsackievirus and COVID-19. Bacterial infections include Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Borrelia burgdorferi, Leptospira, and beta-hemolytic Streptococci. Exposure to vaccines: The only vaccine proven related to ADEM is the Semple form of the rabies vaccine, but hepatitis B, pertussis, diphtheria, measles, mumps, rubella, pneumococcus, varicella, influenza, Japanese encephalitis, and polio vaccines have all been associated with the condition. The majority of the studies that correlate vaccination with ADEM onset use only small samples or are case studies. Large-scale epidemiological studies (e.g., of MMR vaccine or smallpox vaccine) do not show increased risk of ADEM following vaccination. An upper bound for the risk of ADEM from measles vaccination, if it exists, can be estimated to be 10 per million, which is far lower than the risk of developing ADEM from an actual measles infection, which is about 1 per 1,000 cases. For a rubella infection, the risk is 1 per 5,000 cases. Some early vaccines, later shown to have been contaminated with host animal CNS tissue, had ADEM incidence rates as high as 1 in 600. In rare cases, ADEM seems to follow from organ transplantation. Diagnosis The term ADEM has been inconsistently used at different times. Currently, the commonly accepted international standard for the clinical case definition is the one published by the International Pediatric MS Study Group, revision 2007. Given that the definition is clinical, it is currently unknown if all the cases of ADEM are positive for anti-MOG autoantibody; in any case, it appears to be strongly related to ADEM diagnosis. Differential diagnosis Multiple sclerosis While ADEM and MS both involve autoimmune demyelination, they differ in many clinical, genetic, imaging, and histopathological aspects. Some authors consider MS and its borderline forms to constitute a spectrum, differing only in chronicity, severity, and clinical course, while others consider them discretely different diseases. Typically, ADEM appears in children following an antigenic challenge and remains monophasic. Nevertheless, ADEM does occur in adults, and can also be clinically multiphasic. Problems for differential diagnosis increase due to the lack of agreement for a definition of multiple sclerosis. If MS were defined only by the separation in time and space of the demyelinating lesions as McDonald did, it would not be enough to make a difference, as some cases of ADEM satisfy these conditions. Therefore, some authors propose to establish the dividing line as the shape of the lesions around the veins, being therefore "perivenous vs. confluent demyelination".
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Ataxia
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Ataxia (from Greek α- [a negative prefix] + -τάξις [order] = "lack of order") is a neurological sign consisting of lack of voluntary coordination of muscle movements that can include gait abnormality, speech changes, and abnormalities in eye movements, that indicates dysfunction of parts of the nervous system that coordinate movement, such as the cerebellum. These nervous system dysfunctions occur in several different patterns, with different results and different possible causes. Ataxia can be limited to one side of the body, which is referred to as hemiataxia. Friedreich's ataxia has gait abnormality as the most commonly presented symptom. Dystaxia is a mild degree of ataxia. Types Cerebellar The term cerebellar ataxia is used to indicate ataxia due to dysfunction of the cerebellum. The cerebellum is responsible for integrating a significant amount of neural information that is used to coordinate smoothly ongoing movements and to participate in motor planning. Although ataxia is not present with all cerebellar lesions, many conditions affecting the cerebellum do produce ataxia. People with cerebellar ataxia may have trouble regulating the force, range, direction, velocity, and rhythm of muscle contractions. This results in a characteristic type of irregular, uncoordinated movement that can manifest itself in many possible ways, such as asthenia, asynergy, delayed reaction time, and dyschronometria. Individuals with cerebellar ataxia could also display instability of gait, difficulty with eye movements, dysarthria, dysphagia, hypotonia, dysmetria, and dysdiadochokinesia. These deficits can vary depending on which cerebellar structures have been damaged, and whether the lesion is bi- or unilateral. People with cerebellar ataxia may initially present with poor balance, which could be demonstrated as an inability to stand on one leg or perform tandem gait. As the condition progresses, walking is characterized by a widened base and high stepping, as well as staggering and lurching from side to side. Turning is also problematic and could result in falls. As cerebellar ataxia becomes severe, great assistance and effort are needed to stand and walk. Dysarthria, an impairment with articulation, may also be present and is characterized by "scanning" speech that consists of slower rate, irregular rhythm, and variable volume. Also, slurring of speech, tremor of the voice, and ataxic respiration may occur. Cerebellar ataxia could result with incoordination of movement, particularly in the extremities. Overshooting (or hypermetria) occurs with finger-to-nose testing and heel to shin testing; thus, dysmetria is evident. Impairments with alternating movements (dysdiadochokinesia), as well as dysrhythmia, may also be displayed. Tremor of the head and trunk (titubation) may be seen in individuals with cerebellar ataxia. Dysmetria is thought to be caused by a deficit in the control of interaction torques in multijoint motion. Interaction torques are created at an associated joint when the primary joint is moved. For example, if a movement required reaching to touch a target in front of the body, flexion at the shoulder would create a torque at the elbow, while extension of the elbow would create a torque at the wrist. These torques increase as the speed of movement increases and must be compensated and adjusted for to create coordinated movement. This may, therefore, explain decreased coordination at higher movement velocities and accelerations. Dysfunction of the vestibulocerebellum (flocculonodular lobe) impairs balance and the control of eye movements. This presents itself with postural instability, in which the person tends to separate his/her feet upon standing, to gain a wider base and to avoid titubation (bodily oscillations tending to be forward-backward ones). The instability is, therefore, worsened when standing with the feet together, regardless of whether the eyes are open or closed. This is a negative Romberg's test, or more accurately, it denotes the individual's inability to carry out the test, because the individual feels unstable even with open eyes. Dysfunction of the spinocerebellum (vermis and associated areas near the midline) presents itself with a wide-based "drunken sailor" gait (called truncal ataxia), characterised by uncertain starts and stops, lateral deviations, and unequal steps. As a result of this gait impairment, falling is a concern in patients with ataxia. Studies examining falls in this population show that 74–93% of patients have fallen at least once in the past year and up to 60% admit to fear of falling. Dysfunction of the cerebrocerebellum (lateral hemispheres) presents as disturbances in carrying out voluntary, planned movements by the extremities (called appendicular ataxia). These include: Intention tremor (coarse trembling, accentuated over the execution of voluntary movements, possibly involving the head and eyes, as well as the limbs and torso) Peculiar writing abnormalities (large, unequal letters, irregular underlining) A peculiar pattern of dysarthria (slurred speech, sometimes characterised by explosive variations in voice intensity despite a regular rhythm) Inability to perform rapidly alternating movements, known as dysdiadochokinesia, occurs, and could involve rapidly switching from pronation to supination of the forearm. Movements become more irregular with increases of speed. Inability to judge distances or ranges of movement happens. This dysmetria is often seen as undershooting, hypometria, or overshooting, hypermetria, the required distance or range to reach a target. This is sometimes seen when a patient is asked to reach out and touch someone's finger or touch his or her own nose. The rebound phenomenon, also known as the loss of the check reflex, is also sometimes seen in patients with cerebellar ataxia, for example, when patients are flexing their elbows isometrically against a resistance. When the resistance is suddenly removed without warning, the patients' arms may swing up and even strike themselves. With an intact check reflex, the patients check and activate the opposing triceps to slow and stop the movement. Patients may exhibit a constellation of subtle to overt cognitive symptoms, which are gathered under the terminology of Schmahmann's syndrome. Sensory The term sensory ataxia is used to indicate ataxia due to loss of proprioception, the loss of sensitivity to the positions of joint and body parts. This is generally caused by dysfunction of the dorsal columns of the spinal cord, because they carry proprioceptive information up to the brain. In some cases, the cause of sensory ataxia may instead be dysfunction of the various parts of the brain that receive positional information, including the cerebellum, thalamus, and parietal lobes. Sensory ataxia presents itself with an unsteady "stomping" gait with heavy heel strikes, as well as a postural instability that is usually worsened when the lack of proprioceptive input cannot be compensated for by visual input, such as in poorly lit environments. Physicians can find evidence of sensory ataxia during physical examination by having patients stand with their feet together and eyes shut. In affected patients, this will cause the instability to worsen markedly, producing wide oscillations and possibly a fall; this is called a positive Romberg's test. Worsening of the finger-pointing test with the eyes closed is another feature of sensory ataxia. Also, when patients are standing with arms and hands extended toward the physician, if the eyes are closed, the patients' fingers tend to "fall down" and then be restored to the horizontal extended position by sudden muscular contractions (the "ataxic hand"). Vestibular The term vestibular ataxia is used to indicate ataxia due to dysfunction of the vestibular system, which in acute and unilateral cases is associated with prominent vertigo, nausea, and vomiting. In slow-onset, chronic bilateral cases of vestibular dysfunction, these characteristic manifestations may be absent, and dysequilibrium may be the sole presentation. Causes The three types of ataxia have overlapping causes, so can either coexist or occur in isolation. Cerebellar ataxia can have many causes despite normal neuroimaging. Focal lesions Any type of focal lesion of the central nervous system (such as stroke, brain tumor, multiple sclerosis, inflammatory [such as sarcoidosis], and "chronic lymphocytyc inflammation with pontine perivascular enhancement responsive to steroids syndrome" [CLIPPERS]) will cause the type of ataxia corresponding to the site of the lesion: cerebellar if in the cerebellum; sensory if in the dorsal spinal cord...to include cord compression by thickened ligamentum flavum or stenosis of the boney spinal canal...(and rarely in the thalamus or parietal lobe); or vestibular if in the vestibular system (including the vestibular areas of the cerebral cortex). Exogenous substances (metabolic ataxia) Exogenous substances that cause ataxia mainly do so because they have a depressant effect on central nervous system function. The most common example is ethanol (alcohol), which is capable of causing reversible cerebellar and vestibular ataxia. Chronic intake of ethanol causes atrophy of the cerebellum by oxidative and endoplasmic reticulum stresses induced by thiamine deficiency. Other examples include various prescription drugs (e.g. most antiepileptic drugs have cerebellar ataxia as a possible adverse effect), Lithium level over 1.5mEq/L, synthetic cannabinoid HU-211 ingestion and various other medical and recreational drugs (e.g. ketamine, PCP or dextromethorphan, all of which are NMDA receptor antagonists that produce a dissociative state at high doses). A further class of pharmaceuticals which can cause short term ataxia, especially in high doses, are benzodiazepines. Exposure to high levels of methylmercury, through consumption of fish with high mercury concentrations, is also a known cause of ataxia and other neurological disorders. Radiation poisoning Ataxia can be induced as a result of severe acute radiation poisoning with an absorbed dose of more than 30 grays. Furthermore, those with ataxia telangiectasia may have a high sensitivity towards gamma rays and x-rays. Vitamin B12 deficiency Vitamin B12 deficiency may cause, among several neurological abnormalities, overlapping cerebellar and sensory ataxia. Neuropsychological symptoms may include sense loss, difficulty in proprioception, poor balance, loss of sensation in the feet, changes in reflexes, dementia, and psychosis, which can be reversible with treatment. Complications may include a neurological complex known as subacute combined degeneration of spinal cord, and other neurological disorders. Hypothyroidism Symptoms of neurological dysfunction may be the presenting feature in some patients with hypothyroidism. These include reversible cerebellar ataxia, dementia, peripheral neuropathy, psychosis and coma. Most of the neurological complications improve completely after thyroid hormone replacement therapy. Causes of isolated sensory ataxia Peripheral neuropathies may cause generalised or localised sensory ataxia (e.g. a limb only) depending on the extent of the neuropathic involvement. Spinal disorders of various types may cause sensory ataxia from the lesioned level below, when they involve the dorsal columns. Non-hereditary cerebellar degeneration Non-hereditary causes of cerebellar degeneration include chronic alcohol use disorder, head injury, paraneoplastic and non-paraneoplastic autoimmune ataxia, high-altitude cerebral edema, celiac disease, normal-pressure hydrocephalus, and infectious or post-infectious cerebellitis. Hereditary ataxias Ataxia may depend on hereditary disorders consisting of degeneration of the cerebellum or of the spine; most cases feature both to some extent, and therefore present with overlapping cerebellar and sensory ataxia, even though one is often more evident than the other. Hereditary disorders causing ataxia include autosomal dominant ones such as spinocerebellar ataxia, episodic ataxia, and dentatorubropallidoluysian atrophy, as well as autosomal recessive disorders such as Friedreich's ataxia (sensory and cerebellar, with the former predominating) and Niemann–Pick disease, ataxia–telangiectasia (sensory and cerebellar, with the latter predominating), autosomal recessive spinocerebellar ataxia-14 and abetalipoproteinaemia. An example of X-linked ataxic condition is the rare fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome or FXTAS. Arnold–Chiari malformation (congenital ataxia) Arnold–Chiari malformation is a malformation of the brain. It consists of a downward displacement of the cerebellar tonsils and the medulla through the foramen magnum, sometimes causing hydrocephalus as a result of obstruction of cerebrospinal fluid outflow. Succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase deficiency Succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase deficiency is an autosomal-recessive gene disorder where mutations in the ALDH5A1 gene results in the accumulation of gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) in the body. GHB accumulates in the nervous system and can cause ataxia as well as other neurological dysfunction. Wilson's disease Wilson's disease is an autosomal-recessive gene disorder whereby an alteration of the ATP7B gene results in an inability to properly excrete copper from the body. Copper accumulates in the liver and raises the toxicity levels in the nervous system causing demyelination of the nerves. This can cause ataxia as well as other neurological and organ impairments.
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Ada Lovelace
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Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace (née Byron; 10 December 1815 – 27 November 1852), also known as Ada Lovelace, was an English mathematician and writer chiefly known for her work on Charles Babbage's proposed mechanical general-purpose computer, the Analytical Engine. She was the first to recognise that the machine had applications beyond pure calculation. Lovelace was the only legitimate child of poet Lord Byron and reformer Anne Isabella Milbanke. All her half-siblings, Lord Byron's other children, were born out of wedlock to other women. Lord Byron separated from his wife a month after Ada was born and left England forever. He died in Greece when she was eight. Lady Byron was anxious about her daughter's upbringing and promoted Lovelace's interest in mathematics and logic in an effort to prevent her from developing her father's perceived insanity. Despite this, Lovelace remained interested in her father, naming her two sons Byron and Gordon. Upon her death, she was buried next to her father at her request. Although often ill in her childhood, Lovelace pursued her studies assiduously. She married William King in 1835. King was made Earl of Lovelace in 1838, Ada thereby becoming Countess of Lovelace. Lovelace's educational and social exploits brought her into contact with scientists such as Andrew Crosse, Charles Babbage, Sir David Brewster, Charles Wheatstone and Michael Faraday, and the author Charles Dickens, contacts which she used to further her education. Lovelace described her approach as "poetical science" and herself as an "Analyst (& Metaphysician)". When she was eighteen, Lovelace's mathematical talents led her to a long working relationship and friendship with fellow British mathematician Charles Babbage, who is known as "the father of computers". She was in particular interested in Babbage's work on the Analytical Engine. Lovelace first met him on 5 June 1833, when she and her mother attended one of Charles Babbage's Saturday night soirées with their mutual friend, and Lovelace's private tutor, Mary Somerville. Between 1842 and 1843, Lovelace translated an article by the military engineer Luigi Menabrea (later Prime Minister of Italy) about the Analytical Engine, supplementing it with an elaborate set of seven notes, simply called "Notes". Lovelace's notes are important in the early history of computers, especially since the seventh one contained what many consider to be the first computer program—that is, an algorithm designed to be carried out by a machine. Other historians reject this perspective and point out that Babbage's personal notes from 1837 to 1840 contain the first programs for the engine. She also developed a vision of the capability of computers to go beyond mere calculating or number-crunching, while many others, including Babbage himself, focused only on those capabilities. Her mindset of "poetical science" led her to ask questions about the Analytical Engine (as shown in her notes), examining how individuals and society relate to technology as a collaborative tool.. The programming language Ada is named after her. Biography Childhood Lord Byron expected his child to be a "glorious boy" and was disappointed when Lady Byron gave birth to a girl. The child was named after Byron's half-sister, Augusta Leigh, and was called "Ada" by Byron himself. On 16 January 1816, at Lord Byron's command, Lady Byron left for her parents' home at Kirkby Mallory, taking their five-week-old daughter with her. Although English law at the time granted full custody of children to the father in cases of separation, Lord Byron made no attempt to claim his parental rights, but did request that his sister keep him informed of Ada's welfare.
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August Derleth
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August William Derleth (February 24, 1909 – July 4, 1971) was an American writer and anthologist. He was the first book publisher of the writings of H. P. Lovecraft. He made contributions to the Cthulhu Mythos and the cosmic horror genre and helped found the publisher Arkham House (which did much to bring supernatural fiction into print in hardcover in the US that had only been readily available in the UK). Derleth was also a leading American regional writer of his day, as well as prolific in several other genres, including historical fiction, poetry, detective fiction, science fiction, and biography. Notably, he created the fictional detective Solar Pons, a pastiche of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. A 1938 Guggenheim Fellow, Derleth considered his most serious work to be the ambitious Sac Prairie Saga, a series of fiction, historical fiction, poetry, and non-fiction naturalist works designed to memorialize life in the Wisconsin he knew. Derleth can also be considered a pioneering naturalist and conservationist in his writing. Life The son of William Julius Derleth and Rose Louise Volk, Derleth grew up in Sauk City, Wisconsin. "August Derleth Services Wednesday in Sauk City", Capital Times, July 6, 1971, p. 24, col. 2. He was educated in local parochial and public high school. Derleth wrote his first fiction at age 13. He was interested most in reading, and he made three trips to the library a week. He would save his money to buy books (his personal library exceeded 12,000 volumes later on in life). Some of his biggest influences were Ralph Waldo Emerson's essays, Walt Whitman, H. L. Mencken's The American Mercury, Samuel Johnson's The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia, Alexandre Dumas, Edgar Allan Poe, Walter Scott, and Henry David Thoreau's Walden. Forty rejected stories and three years later, according to anthologist Jim Stephens, he sold his first story, "Bat's Belfry", to Weird Tales magazine in 1926. Derleth wrote throughout his four years at the University of Wisconsin, where he received a B.A. During this time he also served briefly as associate editor of Minneapolis-based Fawcett Publications Mystic Magazine. Returning to Sauk City in the summer of 1931, Derleth worked in a local canning factory and collaborated with childhood friend Mark Schorer (later Chairman of the University of California, Berkeley English Department). They rented a cabin, writing Gothic and other horror stories and selling them to Weird Tales magazine. Derleth won a place on the O'Brien Roll of Honor for Five Alone, published in Place of Hawks, but was first published in Pagany magazine. As a result of his early work on the Sac Prairie Saga, Derleth was awarded the prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship; his sponsors were Helen C. White, Nobel Prize-winning novelist Sinclair Lewis and poet Edgar Lee Masters of Spoon River Anthology fame. In the mid-1930s, Derleth organized a Ranger's Club for young people, served as clerk and president of the local school board, served as a parole officer, organized a local men's club and a parent-teacher association. He also lectured in American regional literature at the University of Wisconsin and was a contributing editor of Outdoors Magazine. With longtime friend Donald Wandrei, Derleth founded Arkham House in 1939. Its initial objective was to publish the works of H. P. Lovecraft, with whom Derleth had corresponded since his teenage years. At the same time, he began teaching a course in American Regional Literature at the University of Wisconsin. In 1941, he became literary editor of The Capital Times newspaper in Madison, a post he held until his resignation in 1960. His hobbies included fencing, swimming, chess, philately and comic-strips (Derleth reportedly used the funding from his Guggenheim Fellowship to bind his comic book collection, most recently valued in the millions of dollars, rather than to travel abroad as the award intended.). Derleth's true avocation, however, was hiking the terrain of his native Wisconsin lands, and observing and recording nature with an expert eye. Derleth once wrote of his writing methods, "I write very swiftly, from 750,000 to a million words yearly, very little of it pulp material." In 1948, he was elected president of the Associated Fantasy Publishers at the 6th World Science Fiction Convention in Toronto. He was married April 6, 1953, to Sandra Evelyn Winters. They divorced six years later. Derleth retained custody of the couple's two children, April Rose Derleth and Walden William Derleth. April earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1977. She became majority stockholder, President, and CEO of Arkham House in 1994. She remained in that capacity until her death. She was known in the community as a naturalist and humanitarian. April died on March 21, 2011. In 1960, Derleth began editing and publishing a magazine called Hawk and Whippoorwill, dedicated to poems of man and nature. Derleth died of a heart attack on July 4, 1971, and is buried in St. Aloysius Cemetery in Sauk City. The U.S. 12 bridge over the Wisconsin River is named in his honor. Derleth was Roman Catholic. In Derleth's biography, Dorothy M. Grobe Litersky stated that Derleth was bisexual, and maintained long-term romantic relationships with both men and women. This assertion has not been verified; no names were given of these romantic partners (in the interest of privacy according to Litersky), and no evidence or acknowledgement of Derleth having a bisexual or homosexual orientation has ever been found in his personal correspondence. Career Derleth wrote more than 150 short stories and more than 100 books during his lifetime.
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Albert Camus
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Albert Camus ("Camus". Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary. ; ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, journalist, world federalist, and political activist. He was the recipient of the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the second-youngest recipient in history. His works include The Stranger, The Plague, The Myth of Sisyphus, The Fall and The Rebel. Camus was born in French Algeria to pied-noir parents. He spent his childhood in a poor neighbourhood and later studied philosophy at the University of Algiers. He was in Paris when the Germans invaded France during World War II in 1940. Camus tried to flee but finally joined the French Resistance where he served as editor-in-chief at Combat, an outlawed newspaper. After the war, he was a celebrity and gave many lectures around the world. He married twice but had many extramarital affairs. Camus was politically active; he was part of the left that opposed Joseph Stalin and the Soviet Union because of their totalitarianism. Camus was a moralist and leaned towards anarcho-syndicalism. He was part of many organisations seeking European integration. During the Algerian War (1954–1962), he kept a neutral stance, advocating a multicultural and pluralistic Algeria, a position that was rejected by most parties. Philosophically, Camus's views contributed to the rise of the philosophy known as absurdism. Some consider Camus's work to show him to be an existentialist, even though he himself firmly rejected the term throughout his lifetime.
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Agatha Christie
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Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English author known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. She also wrote the world's longest-running play, the murder mystery The Mousetrap, which has been performed in the West End of London since 1952. A writer during the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction", Christie has been called the "Queen of Crime"—a nickname now trademarked by her estate—or the "Queen of Mystery". She also wrote six novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. In 1971, she was made a Dame (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions to literature. She is the best-selling fiction writer of all time, her novels having sold more than two billion copies. Christie was born into a wealthy upper-middle-class family in Torquay, Devon, and was largely home-schooled. She was initially an unsuccessful writer with six consecutive rejections, but this changed in 1920 when The Mysterious Affair at Styles, featuring detective Hercule Poirot, was published. Her first husband was Archibald Christie; they married in 1914 and had one child before divorcing in 1928. Following the breakdown of her marriage and the death of her mother in 1926, she made international headlines by going missing for eleven days. During both World Wars, she served in hospital dispensaries, acquiring a thorough knowledge of the poisons that featured in many of her novels, short stories, and plays. Following her marriage to archaeologist Max Mallowan in 1930, she spent several months each year on digs in the Middle East and used her first-hand knowledge of this profession in her fiction. According to UNESCO's Index Translationum, she remains the most-translated individual author. Her novel And Then There Were None is one of the top-selling books of all time, with approximately 100 million copies sold. Christie's stage play The Mousetrap holds the world record for the longest initial run. It opened at the Ambassadors Theatre in the West End on 25 November 1952, and by 2018 there had been more than 27,500 performances. The play was temporarily closed in 2020 because of COVID-19 lockdowns in London before it reopened in 2021. In 1955, Christie was the first recipient of the Mystery Writers of America's Grand Master Award. Later that year, Witness for the Prosecution received an Edgar Award for best play. In 2013, she was voted the best crime writer and The Murder of Roger Ackroyd the best crime novel ever by 600 professional novelists of the Crime Writers' Association. In 2015, And Then There Were None was named the "World's Favourite Christie" in a vote sponsored by the author's estate. Many of Christie's books and short stories have been adapted for television, radio, video games, and graphic novels. More than 30 feature films are based on her work.
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The Plague (novel)
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The Plague is a 1947 absurdist novel by Albert Camus. The plot centers around the French Algerian city of Oran as it combats a plague outbreak and is put under a city-wide quarantine. The novel presents a snapshot into life in Oran as seen through Camus's absurdist lens. Camus used as source material the cholera epidemic that killed a large proportion of Oran's population in 1849, but set the novel in the 1940s.Magill 1989:683 Oran and its surroundings were struck by disease several times before Camus published his novel. According to an academic study, Oran was decimated by the bubonic plague in 1556 and 1678, but all later outbreaks (in 1921: 185 cases; 1931: 76 cases; and 1944: 95 cases) were very far from the scale of the epidemic described in the novel. The Plague is considered an existentialist classic despite Camus's objection to the label.Camus (in Thody, 1970):345. In an interview on 15 November 1945, Camus said: "No, I am not an existentialist. "Forsdick 2007:119 The novel stresses the powerlessness of the individual characters to affect their own destinies. The narrative tone is similar to Kafka's, especially in The Trial, whose individual sentences potentially have multiple meanings; the material often pointedly resonating as stark allegory of phenomenal consciousness and the human condition. Major characters Dr. Bernard Rieux: Dr. Bernard Rieux is described as a man about age 35, of moderate height, dark-skinned, with close-cropped black hair. At the beginning of the novel, Rieux's wife, who has been ill for a year, leaves for a sanatorium. It is Rieux who treats the first victim of plague and first uses the word plague to describe the disease. He urges the authorities to take action to stop the spread of the epidemic. However, at first, along with everyone else, the danger the town faces seems unreal to him. He feels uneasy but does not realise the gravity of the situation. Within a short while, he grasps what is at stake and warns the authorities that unless steps are taken immediately, the epidemic could kill off half the town's population of two hundred thousand within a couple of months.During the epidemic, Rieux heads an auxiliary hospital and works long hours treating the victims. He injects serum and lances the abscesses, but there is little more that he can do, and his duties weigh heavily upon him. He never gets home until late, and he must distance himself from the natural pity that he feels for the victims; otherwise, he would not be able to go on. It is especially hard for him when he visits a victim in their own home because he knows that he must immediately call for an ambulance and have the person removed from the house. Often, the relatives plead with him not to do so as they know they may never see the person again.Rieux works to combat the plague simply because he is a doctor and his job is to relieve human suffering. He does not do it for any grand, religious purpose, like Paneloux (Rieux does not believe in God), or as part of a high-minded moral code, like Tarrou. He is a practical man, doing what needs to be done without any fuss, but he knows that the struggle against death is something that he can never win. Jean Tarrou: Jean Tarrou arrived in Oran some weeks before the plague broke out for unknown reasons. He is not there on business since he appears to have private means. Tarrou is a good-natured man who smiles a lot. Before the plague came, he liked to associate with the Spanish dancers and musicians in the city. He also keeps a diary full of his observations of life in Oran, which the Narrator incorporates into the narrative.It is Tarrou who first comes up with the idea of organising teams of volunteers to fight the plague. He wants to do so before the authorities begin to conscript people, and he does not like the official plan to get prisoners to do the work. He takes action, prompted by his own code of morals; he feels that the plague is everybody's responsibility and that everyone should do their duty. What interests him, he tells Rieux, is how to become a saint even though he does not believe in God.Later in the novel, Tarrou tells Rieux, with whom he has become friends, the story of his life. His father, although a kind man in private, was also an aggressive prosecuting attorney who tried death penalty cases, arguing strongly for the death penalty to be imposed. As a young boy, Tarrou attended one day of a criminal proceeding in which a man was on trial for his life. The idea of capital punishment disgusted him. After he left home before 18, his main interest in life was his opposition to the death penalty, which he regarded as state-sponsored murder. However, years of activism have left him disillusioned.When the plague epidemic is virtually over, Tarrou becomes one of its last victims but puts up a heroic struggle before dying. Raymond Rambert: Raymond Rambert is a journalist who is visiting Oran to research a story on the standards of living in the Arab colony of Oran. When the plague strikes, he finds himself trapped in a city with which he feels he has no connection. He misses his girlfriend who is in Paris and uses all his ingenuity and resourcefulness to persuade the city bureaucracy to allow him to leave. When that fails, he contacts smugglers, who agree to help him escape for a fee of ten thousand francs. However, there is a hitch in the arrangements, and by the time another escape plan is arranged, Rambert has changed his mind. He decides to stay in the city and continue to help fight the plague, saying that he would feel ashamed of himself if he pursued a merely personal happiness. He now feels that he belongs in Oran, and that the plague is everyone's business, including his. Joseph Grand: Joseph Grand is a fifty-year-old clerk for the city government. He is tall and thin. Poorly paid, he lives an austere life, but is capable of deep affection. In his spare time, Grand polishes up his Latin, and is also writing a novel. However, he is such a perfectionist that he continually rewrites the first sentence and can progress no further. One of his problems in life is that he can rarely find the correct words to express what he means. Grand tells Rieux that he married while still in his teens, but overwork and poverty took their toll (Grand did not receive the career advancement that he had been promised), and his wife Jeanne left him. He tried but failed to write a letter to her, and he still grieves for his loss.Grand is a neighbor of Cottard, and it is he who calls Rieux for help when Cottard tries to commit suicide. When the plague takes a grip on the town, Grand joins the team of volunteers, acting as general secretary and recording the statistics. Rieux regards him as "the real example of the calm virtue that animated the public health squads".Camus, Albert, The Plague (translated by Laura Marris), p. 142 (2021), . Grand contracts the plague and asks Rieux to burn his manuscript, but then makes an unexpected recovery. At the end of the novel, Grand says he is much happier, as he has written to Jeanne and made a fresh start on his novel. Cottard: Cottard lives in the same building as Grand. He does not appear to have a job and is described as having private means although he describes himself as "a sales representative for wines and liqueurs".Camus, Albert, The Plague (translated by Laura Marris), p. 57 (2021), . Cottard is an eccentric , silent and secretive, who tries to hang himself in his room. He is anxious for Rieux not to report the incident, as he is under investigation by the authorities for an unstated crime. In an offhand reference to the plot of The Stranger, Cottard reacts by a sudden exit from the tobacconist shop when she mentions an arrest in Algiers of a man for killing an Arab on a beach. Cottard's personality changes after the outbreak of plague. Whereas he was aloof and mistrustful before, he now becomes agreeable and tries hard to make friends. He appears to relish the coming of the plague, and Tarrou thinks it is because he finds it easier to live with his own fears now that everyone else is in a state of fear, too. Cottard also avoids arrest by the police during the chaos caused by the plague. Cottard takes advantage of the crisis to make money by selling contraband cigarettes and inferior liquor.As the quarantine of the city comes to an end, Cottard anticipates being arrested after life returns to normal. He experiences severe mood swings; sometimes he is sociable, but at other times, he shuts himself up in his room. On the day the city gates are reopened, he shoots at random at people on the street, wounding some and killing a dog. The police arrest him. Father Paneloux: Father Paneloux is a learned, well-respected Jesuit priest. He is well known for having given a series of lectures in which he championed a pure form of Christian doctrine and chastised his audience about their laxity. During the first stage of the plague outbreak, Paneloux preaches a sermon at the cathedral. He has a powerful way of speaking, and he insists to the congregation that the plague is a scourge sent by God to those who have hardened their hearts against Him. However, Paneloux also claims that God is present to offer succour and hope. Later, Paneloux attends at the bedside of Othon's stricken son and prays that the boy may be spared. After the boy's death, Paneloux tells Rieux that although the death of an innocent child in a world ruled by a loving God cannot be rationally explained, it should nonetheless be accepted. Paneloux joins the team of volunteer workers and preaches another sermon saying that the death of the innocent child is a test of faith. Since God willed the child's death, so the Christian should will it, too. A few days after preaching this sermon, Paneloux is taken ill. He refuses to call for a doctor, trusting in God alone, and dies. Since his symptoms did not seem to resemble those of the plague, Rieux records his death as a "doubtful case." Minor characters The Narrator: the narrator presents himself at the outset of the book as witness to the events and privy to documents, but does not identify himself until the ending of the novel. The Prefect: The Prefect believes at first that the talk of plague is a false alarm, but on the advice of his medical association, he authorizes limited measures to combat it. When they do not work, he attempts to avoid responsibility, saying he will ask the government for orders. He later takes responsibility for tightening up the regulations relating to the plague and issues the order to close the town. Dr. Castel: Dr. Castel is one of Rieux's medical colleagues and is much older than Rieux. He realizes after the first few cases that the disease is bubonic plague and is aware of the seriousness of the situation. He works hard to make an antiplague serum, but as the epidemic continues, he shows increasing signs of wear and tear. M. Othon: M. Othon is a magistrate in Oran. He is tall and thin, and Tarrou describes him as follows: "Two small eyes, round, and hard, a thin nose, a horizontal mouth give the air of a well-brought-up owl. "Camus, Albert, The Plague (translated by Laura Marris), p. 30 (2021), . Othon treats his wife and children unkindly, but after his son Philippe dies of the plague, his character softens. After he finishes his time at the isolation camp, where he was sent because his son is infected, he wants to return there because it would make him feel closer to his lost son. However, before Othon can do this, he contracts the plague and dies. Philippe Othon: Philippe OthonThe Stuart Gilbert translation incorrectly gives 'Jacques' as the name of M. Othon's son. is M. Othon's young son. When he contracts the plague, he is the first to receive Dr. Castel's antiplague serum. The serum is ineffective, and Philippe Othon dies after a long and painful struggle. Rieux: Mme. Rieux is Dr. Rieux's mother, who comes to stay with him when his sick wife goes to the sanatorium. She is a serene woman who, after taking care of the housework, sits quietly in a chair. She says that at her age, there is nothing much left to fear. Dr. Richard: Dr. Richard is chairman of the Oran Medical Association. He is slow to recommend any action to combat the plague for fear of public alarm. He does not want even to admit that the disease is the plague, referring instead to "a fever that had inguinal complications".Camus, Albert, The Plague (transl. M. Michel: M. Michel is the concierge of the building in which Rieux lives. An old man, he is the first victim of the plague. Raoul: Raoul is the man who agrees, for a fee of ten thousand francs, to arrange for Rambert to escape. He introduces Rambert to Gonzales. Gonzales: Gonzales is the smuggler who makes the arrangements for Rambert's escape and bonds with him over football. Asthma Patient: the asthma patient receives regular visits from Dr. Rieux. He is a seventy-five-year-old Spaniard with a rugged face, who comments on events in Oran that he hears about on the radio and in the newspapers. He sits in his bed all day and measures the passing of time by putting chickpeas from one jug into another. Louis: Louis is one of the sentries who take part in the plan for Rambert to escape. Marcel: Marcel, Louis's brother, is also a sentry who is part of the escape plan for Rambert. Garcia: Garcia is a man who knows the group of smugglers in Oran. He introduces Rambert to Raoul.
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Applied ethics
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Applied ethics is the practical aspect of moral considerations. It is ethics with respect to real-world actions and their moral considerations in private and public life, the professions, health, technology, law, and leadership. For example, bioethics is concerned with identifying the best approach to moral issues in the life sciences, such as euthanasia, the allocation of scarce health resources, or the use of human embryos in research. Environmental ethics is concerned with ecological issues such as the responsibility of government and corporations to clean up pollution. Business ethics includes the duties of whistleblowers to the public and to their employers. History Applied ethics has expanded the study of ethics beyond the realms of academic philosophical discourse.Bayertz, K. (2002) Self-enlightenment of Applied Ethics, in: Chadwick, R and Schroeder, D. Applied Ethics, Vol1. 36–51, London: Routledge The field of applied ethics, as it appears today, emerged from debate surrounding rapid medical and technological advances in the early 1970s and is now established as a subdiscipline of moral philosophy. However, applied ethics is, by its very nature, a multi-professional subject because it requires specialist understanding of the potential ethical issues in fields like medicine, business or information technology. Nowadays, ethical codes of conduct exist in almost every profession.Giorgini, V., Mecca, J. T., Gibson, C., Medeiros, K., Mumford, M. D., Connelly, S., & Devenport, L. D. (2015). Researcher perceptions of ethical guidelines and codes of conduct. Accountability in research, 22(3), 123–138. An applied ethics approach to the examination of moral dilemmas can take many different forms but one of the most influential and most widely utilised approaches in bioethics and health care ethics is the four-principle approach developed by Tom Beauchamp and James Childress.Beauchamp, T. L. and Childress, J. F. (1994) Principles of medical ethics, New York: Oxford University Press. The four-principle approach, commonly termed principlism, entails consideration and application of four prima facie ethical principles: autonomy, non-maleficence, beneficence, and justice. Underpinning theory Applied ethics is distinguished from normative ethics, which concerns standards for right and wrong behavior, and from meta-ethics, which concerns the nature of ethical properties, statements, attitudes, and judgments. "Applied Ethics" Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved 25 June 2017. Whilst these three areas of ethics appear to be distinct, they are also interrelated. The use of an applied ethics approach often draws upon these normative ethical theories: Consequentialist ethics, which hold that the rightness of acts depends only on their consequences. The paradigmatic consequentialist theory is utilitarianism, which classically holds that whether an act is morally right depends on whether it maximizes net aggregated psychological wellbeing. This theory's main developments came from Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill who distinguished between act and rule utilitarianism. Notable later developments were made by Henry Sidgwick who introduced the significance of motive or intent, and R. M. Hare who introduced the significance of preference in utilitarian decision-making. Other forms of consequentialism include prioritarianism. Deontological ethics, which hold that acts have an inherent rightness or wrongness regardless of their context or consequences. This approach is epitomized by Immanuel Kant's notion of the categorical imperative, which was the centre of Kant's ethical theory based on duty. Another key deontological theory is natural law, which was heavily developed by Thomas Aquinas and is an important part of the Catholic Church's teaching on morals. Threshold deontology holds that rules ought to govern up to a point despite adverse consequences; but when the consequences become so dire that they cross a stipulated threshold, consequentialism takes over. Virtue ethics, derived from Aristotle's and Confucius' notions, which asserts that the right action will be that chosen by a suitably 'virtuous' agent. Normative ethical theories can clash when trying to resolve real-world ethical dilemmas. One approach attempting to overcome the divide between consequentialism and deontology is case-based reasoning, also known as casuistry. Casuistry does not begin with theory, rather it starts with the immediate facts of a real and concrete case. While casuistry makes use of ethical theory, it does not view ethical theory as the most important feature of moral reasoning. Casuists, like Albert Jonsen and Stephen Toulmin (The Abuse of Casuistry, 1988), challenge the traditional paradigm of applied ethics. Instead of starting from theory and applying theory to a particular case, casuists start with the particular case itself and then ask what morally significant features (including both theory and practical considerations) ought to be considered for that particular case. In their observations of medical ethics committees, Jonsen and Toulmin note that a consensus on particularly problematic moral cases often emerges when participants focus on the facts of the case, rather than on ideology or theory. Thus, a Rabbi, a Catholic priest, and an agnostic might agree that, in this particular case, the best approach is to withhold extraordinary medical care, while disagreeing on the reasons that support their individual positions. By focusing on cases and not on theory, those engaged in moral debate increase the possibility of agreement. Applied ethics was later distinguished from the nascent applied epistemology, which is also under the umbrella of applied philosophy. While the former was concerned with the practical application of moral considerations, the latter focuses on the application of epistemology in solving practical problems.Carvallo, M. E. (2012). Nature, Cognition and System I: Current Systems-Scientific Research on Natural and Cognitive Systems. Dordrecht: Springer Science & Business Media. See also References Further reading (monograph) External links
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Analog signal
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An analog signal (American English) or analogue signal (British and Commonwealth English) is any continuous-time signal representing some other quantity, i.e., analogous to another quantity. For example, in an analog audio signal, the instantaneous signal voltage varies continuously with the pressure of the sound waves. In contrast, a digital signal represents the original time-varying quantity as a sampled sequence of quantized values. Digital sampling imposes some bandwidth and dynamic range constraints on the representation and adds quantization noise. The term analog signal usually refers to electrical signals; however, mechanical, pneumatic, hydraulic, and other systems may also convey or be considered analog signals. Representation An analog signal uses some property of the medium to convey the signal's information. For example, an aneroid barometer uses rotary position as the signal to convey pressure information. In an electrical signal, the voltage, current, or frequency of the signal may be varied to represent the information. Any information may be conveyed by an analog signal; such a signal may be a measured response to changes in a physical variable, such as sound, light, temperature, position, or pressure. The physical variable is converted to an analog signal by a transducer. For example, sound striking the diaphragm of a microphone induces corresponding fluctuations in the current produced by a coil in an electromagnetic microphone or the voltage produced by a condenser microphone. The voltage or the current is said to be an analog of the sound. Noise An analog signal is subject to electronic noise and distortion introduced by communication channels, recording and signal processing operations, which can progressively degrade the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). As the signal is transmitted, copied, or processed, the unavoidable noise introduced in the signal path will accumulate as a generation loss, progressively and irreversibly degrading the SNR, until in extreme cases, the signal can be overwhelmed. Noise can show up as hiss and intermodulation distortion in audio signals, or snow in video signals. Generation loss is irreversible as there is no reliable method to distinguish the noise from the signal. Converting an analog signal to digital form introduces a low-level quantization noise into the signal due to finite resolution of digital systems. Once in digital form, the signal can be transmitted, stored, and processed without introducing additional noise or distortion using error detection and correction. Noise accumulation in analog systems can be minimized by electromagnetic shielding, balanced lines, low-noise amplifiers and high-quality electrical components. See also Amplifier Analog computer Analog device Analog signal processing Magnetic tape Preamplifier References Further reading
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Arecales
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Arecales is an order of flowering plants. The order has been widely named as such only for the past few decades; until then, the accepted name for the order including these plants was Principes. The order includes palms and relatives. Taxonomy The APG IV system of 2016 places Dasypogonaceae in this order, after studies showing Dasypogonaceae as sister to Arecaceae. However, this decision has been called into question. Historical taxonomical systems The Cronquist system of 1981 assigned the order to the subclass Arecidae in the class Liliopsida (= monocotyledons). The Thorne system (1992) and the Dahlgren system assigned the order to the superorder Areciflorae, also called Arecanae in the subclass Liliidae (= monocotyledons), with the single family Arecaceae. The APG II system of 2003 recognised the order and placed it in the clade commelinids in the monocots and uses this circumscription: order Arecales family Arecaceae, alternative name Palmae This was unchanged from the APG system of 1998, although it used the spelling "commelinoids" instead of commelinids. Principes In plant taxonomy, Principes is a botanical name, meaning "the first". It was used in the Engler system for an order in the Monocotyledones and later in the Kubitzki system. This order included one family only, the Palmae (alternate name Arecaceae). As the rules for botanical nomenclature provide for the use of such descriptive botanical names above the rank of family it is quite allowed to use this name even today, but in practice most systems prefer the name Arecales. Following this, Principes became the name of the journal of the International Palm Society, becoming Palms in 1999. References External links NCBI Taxonomy Browser
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Hercule Poirot
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Hercule Poirot (, ) is a fictional Belgian detective created by British writer Agatha Christie. Poirot is one of Christie's most famous and long-running characters, appearing in 33 novels, two plays (Black Coffee and Alibi), and 51 short stories published between 1920 and 1975. Poirot has been portrayed on radio, in film and on television by various actors, including Austin Trevor, John Moffatt, Albert Finney, Peter Ustinov, Ian Holm, Tony Randall, Alfred Molina, Orson Welles, David Suchet, Kenneth Branagh, and John Malkovich. Overview Influences Poirot's name was derived from two other fictional detectives of the time: Marie Belloc Lowndes's Hercule Popeau and Frank Howel Evans's Monsieur Poiret, a retired French police officer living in London. Evans's Jules Poiret "was small and rather heavyset, hardly more than five feet, but moved with his head held high. The most remarkable features of his head were the stiff military moustache. His apparel was neat to perfection, a little quaint and frankly dandified." He was accompanied by Captain Harry Haven, who had returned to London from a Colombian business venture ended by a civil war. A more obvious influence on the early Poirot stories is that of Arthur Conan Doyle. In An Autobiography, Christie states, "I was still writing in the Sherlock Holmes tradition – eccentric detective, stooge assistant, with a Lestrade-type Scotland Yard detective, Inspector Japp". Poirot also bears a striking resemblance to A. E. W. Mason's fictional detective Inspector Hanaud of the French Sûreté, who first appeared in the 1910 novel At the Villa Rose and predates the first Poirot novel by 10 years. Christie's Poirot was clearly the result of her early development of the detective in her first book, written in 1916 and published in 1920. The large number of refugees in the country who had fled the German invasion of Belgium in August to November 1914 served as a plausible explanation of why such a skilled detective would be available to solve mysteries at an English country house. At the time of Christie's writing, it was considered patriotic to express sympathy towards the Belgians, since the invasion of their country had constituted Britain's casus belli for entering World War I, and British wartime propaganda emphasised the "Rape of Belgium". Popularity Poirot first appeared in The Mysterious Affair at Styles, published in 1920, and exited in Curtain, published in 1975. Following the latter, Poirot was the only fictional character to receive an obituary on the front page of The New York Times. By 1930, Agatha Christie found Poirot "insufferable"; by 1960, she felt that Poirot was a "detestable, bombastic, tiresome, ego-centric little creep". Despite this, Poirot remained an exceedingly popular character with the general public. Christie later stated that she refused to kill him off, claiming that it was her duty to produce what the public liked. Appearance and proclivities Captain Arthur Hastings's first description of Poirot: Agatha Christie's initial description of Poirot in Murder on the Orient Express: In the later books, his limp is not mentioned, suggesting it may have been a temporary wartime injury. (In Curtain, Poirot admits he was wounded when he first came to England.) Poirot has green eyes that are repeatedly described as shining "like a cat's" when he is struck by a clever idea,E.g. "For about ten minutes [Poirot] sat in dead silence... and all the time his eyes grew steadily greener" and dark hair, which he dyes later in life. In Curtain, he admits to Hastings that he has taken to wearing a wig and a false moustache.as Hastings discovers in However, in many of his screen incarnations, he is bald or balding. Frequent mention is made of his patent leather shoes, damage to which is frequently a source of misery for him, but comical for the reader.E.g. "Hercule Poirot looked down at the tips of his patent-leather shoes and sighed." Poirot's appearance, regarded as fastidious during his early career, later falls hopelessly out of fashion.E.g. "And now here was the man himself. Really a most impossible person – the wrong clothes – button boots! an incredible moustache! Not his – Meredith Blake's kind of fellow at all." Among Poirot's most significant personal attributes is the sensitivity of his stomach: He suffers from sea sickness,"My stomach, it is not happy on the sea" and, in Death in the Clouds, he states that his air sickness prevents him from being more alert at the time of the murder. Later in his life, we are told: Poirot is extremely punctual and carries a pocket watch almost to the end of his career. "he walked up the steps to the front door and pressed the bell, glancing as he did so at the neat wrist-watch which had at last replaced an old favourite – the large turnip-faced watch of early days. Yes, it was exactly nine-thirty. As ever, Hercule Poirot was exact to the minute." He is also particular about his personal finances, preferring to keep a bank balance of 444 pounds, 4 shillings, and 4 pence. Actor David Suchet, who portrayed Poirot on television, said "there's no question he's obsessive-compulsive". Film portrayer Kenneth Branagh said that he "enjoyed finding the sort of obsessive-compulsive" in Poirot. As mentioned in Curtain and The Clocks, he is fond of classical music, particularly Mozart and Bach. Methods In The Mysterious Affair at Styles, Poirot operates as a fairly conventional, clue-based and logical detective; reflected in his vocabulary by two common phrases: his use of "the little grey cells" and "order and method". Hastings is irritated by the fact that Poirot sometimes conceals important details of his plans, as in The Big Four. In this novel, Hastings is kept in the dark throughout the climax. This aspect of Poirot is less evident in the later novels, partly because there is rarely a narrator to mislead. In Murder on the Links, still largely dependent on clues himself, Poirot mocks a rival "bloodhound" detective who focuses on the traditional trail of clues established in detective fiction (e.g., Sherlock Holmes depending on footprints, fingerprints, and cigar ash). From this point on, Poirot establishes his psychological bona fides. Rather than painstakingly examining crime scenes, he enquires into the nature of the victim or the psychology of the murderer. He predicates his actions in the later novels on his underlying assumption that particular crimes are committed by particular types of people. Poirot focuses on getting people to talk. In the early novels, he casts himself in the role of "Papa Poirot", a benign confessor, especially to young women. In later works, Christie made a point of having Poirot supply false or misleading information about himself or his background to assist him in obtaining information. "It has been said of Hercule Poirot by some of his friends and associates, at moments when he has maddened them most, that he prefers lies to truth and will go out of his way to gain his ends by elaborate false statements, rather than trust to the simple truth." In The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Poirot speaks of a non-existent mentally disabled nephewE.g. "After a careful study of the goods displayed in the window, Poirot entered and represented himself as desirous of purchasing a rucksack for a hypothetical nephew." Hickory Dickory Dock, Chapter 13 to uncover information about homes for the mentally unfit. In Dumb Witness, Poirot invents an elderly invalid mother as a pretence to investigate local nurses. In The Big Four, Poirot pretends to have (and poses as) an identical twin brother named Achille: however, this brother was mentioned again in The Labours of Hercules. "If I remember rightly – though my memory isn't what it was – you also had a brother called Achille, did you not?" Poirot's mind raced back over the details of Achille Poirot's career. Had all that really happened? "Only for a short space of time," he replied. Poirot is also willing to appear more foreign or vain in an effort to make people underestimate him. He admits as much: It is true that I can speak the exact, the idiomatic English. But, my friend, to speak the broken English is an enormous asset. It leads people to despise you. They say – a foreigner – he can't even speak English properly. ... Also I boast! An Englishman he says often, "A fellow who thinks as much of himself as that cannot be worth much." ... And so, you see, I put people off their guard. He also has a tendency to refer to himself in the third person. In later novels, Christie often uses the word mountebank when characters describe Poirot, showing that he has successfully passed himself off as a charlatan or fraud. Poirot's investigating techniques assist him solving cases; "For in the long run, either through a lie, or through truth, people were bound to give themselves away..." At the end, Poirot usually reveals his description of the sequence of events and his deductions to a room of suspects, often leading to the culprit's apprehension.
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Miss Marple
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Miss Jane Marple is a fictional character in Agatha Christie's crime novels and short stories. Miss Marple lives in the village of St Mary Mead and acts as an amateur consulting detective. Often characterised as an elderly spinster,agathachristie.com: Facts about Miss Marple she is one of Christie's best-known characters and has been portrayed numerous times on screen. Her first appearance was in a short story published in The Royal Magazine in December 1927, "The Tuesday Night Club", which later became the first chapter of The Thirteen Problems (1932). Her first appearance in a full-length novel was in The Murder at the Vicarage in 1930, and her last appearance was in Sleeping Murder in 1976. Origins The character of Miss Marple is based on friends of Christie's step grandmother, Margaret Miller, née West.Margaret West was the sister of Mary Ann Boehmer, Agatha Christie's maternal grandmother. Margaret married Christie's paternal grandfather, Nathaniel Frary Miller, in 1863 in Westbourne, West Sussex. He died in 1869 and she dedicated a stained glass window to his memory in St. John's Church, Main Road, Southbourne, West Sussex. Margaret's stepson, Frederick Alvah Miller, went on to marry her niece Clarissa Boehmer. Apart from Agatha, they had two other children, Margaret Watts and Louis Montant Miller. Christie attributed the inspiration for the character to multiple sources, stating that Miss Marple was "the sort of old lady who would have been rather like some of my step grandmother's Ealing cronies – old ladies whom I have met in so many villages where I have gone to stay as a girl". Christie also used material from her fictional creation, spinster Caroline Sheppard, who appeared in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. When Michael Morton adapted the novel for the stage, he replaced the character of Caroline with a young girl. This change saddened Christie and she determined to give old maids a voice; thus, Miss Marple was born. The letter has been established as a fake as the auction had been held after the date of publication of the first Miss Marple story. Character The character of Jane Marple in the first Miss Marple book, The Murder at the Vicarage, is quite different from how she appears in later books. This early version of Miss Marple is a gleeful gossip and not an especially nice woman. The residents of St. Mary Mead like her but are often tired of her nosy nature and the fact she seems to expect the worst of everyone. In later books, she becomes a kinder person. Miss Marple solves difficult crimes thanks to her shrewd intelligence, and St. Mary Mead, over her lifetime, has given her seemingly infinite examples of the negative side of human nature. Crimes always remind her of a previous incident, although acquaintances may be bored by analogies that often lead her to a deeper realisation about the true nature of a crime. She also has a remarkable ability to latch onto a casual comment and connect it to the case at hand. In several stories, she is able to rely on her acquaintance with Sir Henry Clithering, a retired commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, for official information when required. Miss Marple never married and has no close living relatives. Her nephew, the "well-known author" Raymond West, appears in some stories, including The Thirteen Problems, Sleeping Murder, and Ingots of Gold (which also feature his wife, Joyce Lemprière). Raymond overestimates himself and underestimates his aunt's mental acuity. Miss Marple employs young women (including Clara, Emily, Alice, Esther, Gwenda, and Amy) from a nearby orphanage, whom she trains for service as general housemaids after the retirement of her long-time maid-housekeeper, faithful Florence. She was briefly looked after by her irritating companion, Miss Knight. In her later years, companion Cherry Baker, first introduced in The Mirror Crack'd From Side to Side, lives with her. Miss Marple has never worked for her living and is of independent means, although she benefits in her old age from the financial support of her nephew, Raymond. She is not from the aristocracy or landed gentry, but is quite at home among them; as a gentlewoman, Miss Marple may thus be considered a female version of the gentleman detective, a staple of British detective fiction. She demonstrates a remarkably thorough education, including some art courses that involved the study of human anatomy using human cadavers. In They Do It with Mirrors (1952), it is revealed that Miss Marple grew up in a cathedral close, and that she studied at an Italian finishing school with American sisters Ruth Van Rydock and Caroline "Carrie" Louise Serrocold. While Miss Marple is described as "an old lady" in many of the stories, her age is rarely mentioned and is not consistently presented. In At Bertram's Hotel, published in 1965, it is said she visited the hotel when she was 14 and almost 60 years have passed since then, implying that she is nearly 75 years old; but in 4:50 from Paddington, published almost a decade earlier in 1957, she says she will be "90 next year." Excluding Sleeping Murder, 41 years passed between the first and last-written novels, and many characters grow and age. An example would be the Vicar's nephew: in The Murder at the Vicarage, the Reverend Mr Clement's nephew Dennis is a teenager; in The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side, it is mentioned that the nephew is now an adult and has a successful career. The effects of ageing are seen on Miss Marple, such as needing a holiday after illness in A Caribbean Mystery, but she is if anything more agile in Nemesis, set only 16 months later. Miss Marple's background is described in some detail, albeit in glimpses across the novels and short stories in which she appears. Bibliography Agatha Christie wrote 12 novels and 20 short stories featuring Miss Marple. Miss Marple series The Murder at the Vicarage (1930, Novel) The Body in the Library (1942, Novel) The Moving Finger (1943, Novel) A Murder Is Announced (1950, Novel) They Do It with Mirrors (1952, Novel) – also published in the United States as Murder With Mirrors A Pocket Full of Rye (1953, Novel) 4.50 from Paddington (1957, Novel) – also published in the United States as What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw! The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side (1962, Novel) A Caribbean Mystery (1964, Novel) At Bertram's Hotel (1965, Novel) Nemesis (1971, Novel) Sleeping Murder (1976, Novel) Miss Marple short story collections The Thirteen Problems (1932, short story collection featuring Miss Marple, also published as The Tuesday Club Murders) The Regatta Mystery (1939, Collection) Three Blind Mice and Other Stories (1950, Collection) The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding (1960, Collection) Double Sin and Other Stories (1961, Collection) Miss Marple's Final Cases and Two Other Stories (short stories collected posthumously, also published as Miss Marple's Final Cases, but only six of the eight stories actually feature Miss Marple) (written between 1939 and 1954, published 1979) Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories, published 1985, includes 20 from 4 sets: The Thirteen Problems, The Regatta Mystery, Three Blind Mice and Other Stories, and Double Sin and Other Stories. Miss Marple also appears in "Greenshaw's Folly", a short story included as part of the Poirot collection The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding (1960). Four stories in the Three Blind Mice collection (1950) feature Miss Marple: "Strange Jest", "Tape-Measure Murder", "The Case of the Caretaker", and "The Case of the Perfect Maid". The Autograph edition of Miss Marple's Final Cases includes the eight in the original plus "Greenshaw's Folly". Continuations not by Christie Marple: Twelve New Stories, collection with stories written by Naomi Alderman, Leigh Bardugo, Alyssa Cole, Lucy Foley, Elly Griffiths, Natalie Haynes, Jean Kwok, Val McDermid, Karen M. McManus, Dreda Say Mitchell, Kate Mosse, and Ruth Ware (published 2022) Books about Miss Marple The Life and Times of Miss Jane Marple – a biography by Anne Hart Agatha Christie's Marple: Expert on Wickedness – by Mark Aldridge Stage A stage adaptation of Murder at the Vicarage, by Moie Charles and Barbara Toy, was first seen at Northampton on 17 October 1949;'Chit Chat', The Stage, 29 September 1949 it was directed by Reginald Tate, starred the 35-year-old Barbara Mullen as Miss Marple, and after touring, reached the Playhouse Theatre in London's West End on 14 December. Having run till late March 1950, it then went on tour again.Frances Stephens (ed), Theatre World Annual (London) number 1, Rockliff Publishing Corporation 1950 In July 1974, Mullen (by then 60) returned to the role in another national tour of the same play, culminating 12 months later when the show opened at London's Savoy Theatre on 28 July 1975.Murder at the Vicarage programme: Theatre Print vol 5 # 9 [October 1975], Martin Tickner (ed) At the end of March 1976, the Miss Marple role was taken over by Avril Angers, after which the production transferred to the Fortune Theatre on 5 July. The role then passed to Muriel Pavlow in June 1977Murder at the Vicarage programme: Theatre Print # 27 [December 1977], Martin Tickner (ed) and to Gabrielle Hamilton late the following year; the production finally closed in October 1979. 'On Next Week', The Stage, 18 October 1979 On 21 September 1977, while Murder at the Vicarage was still running at the Fortune, a stage adaptation by Leslie Darbon of A Murder Is Announced opened at the Vaudeville Theatre, with Dulcie Gray as Miss Marple.Vaudeville Theatre programme, No.29 February 1978 The show ran to the end of September 1978 and then toured. 'On the Way', The Stage, 10 August 1978 Films Margaret Rutherford Margaret Rutherford played Miss Marple in four films directed by George Pollock between 1961 and 1964. These were successful light comedies, but Christie herself was disappointed with them.Matthew Bunson, The Complete Christie: An Agatha Christie Encyclopedia. NY: Simon and Schuster, 2000. 386-87. books.google.com/books?id=R3syC8weGO8C&pg=PA386 Nevertheless, Agatha Christie dedicated the novel The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side to Rutherford. Rutherford presented the character as a bold and eccentric old lady, different from the prim and birdlike character Christie created in her novels. As penned by Christie, Miss Marple has never worked for a living, but the character as portrayed by Margaret Rutherford briefly works undercover as a cook-housekeeper, a stage actress, a sailor, and criminal reformer, and is offered the chance to run a riding establishment-cum-hotel. Her education and genteel background are hinted at when she mentions her awards at marksmanship (and demonstrates her shooting prowess), dancing, fencing, and equestrianism, although these hints are played for comedic value. Murder, She Said (1961) was the first of the four British MGM productions starring Rutherford. This film was based on the 1957 novel 4:50 from Paddington (U.S. title, What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw! ), and the changes made in the plot were typical of the series. In the film, Mrs. McGillicuddy is cut from the plot. Miss Marple herself sees an apparent murder committed on a train running alongside hers. Actress Joan Hickson, who played Marple in the 1984–1992 television adaptations, has a role as a housekeeper in this movie. Murder at the Gallop (1963), based on the 1953 Hercule Poirot novel, After the Funeral (in this film, she is identified as Miss JTV Marple, though there was no indication as to what the extra initials might stand for). Murder Most Foul (1964), based on the 1952 Poirot novel Mrs McGinty's Dead. Murder Ahoy! The last film is not based on any Christie work but displays a few plot elements from They Do It With Mirrors (viz., the ship is used as a reform school for wayward boys and one of the teachers uses them as a crime force), and there is a kind of salute to The Mousetrap. The music to all four films was composed and conducted by Ron Goodwin. The same theme is used on all four films with slight variations in each. The score was written within a couple of weeks by Goodwin who was approached by Pollock after Pollock had heard about him from Stanley Black. Black had worked with Pollock on Stranger in Town in 1957 and had previously hired Goodwin as his orchestrator. Rutherford, who was 68 years old when the first film was shot in February 1961, insisted that she wear her clothes during the filming of the movie, as well as having her husband, Stringer Davis, appear alongside her as the character Mr Stringer. The Rutherford films are frequently repeated on television in Germany, and in that country Miss Marple is generally identified with Rutherford's quirky portrayal. Rutherford also appeared briefly as Miss Marple in the parodic Hercule Poirot adventure The Alphabet Murders (1965). Angela Lansbury In 1980, Angela Lansbury played Miss Marple in The Mirror Crack'd (EMI, directed by Guy Hamilton), based on Christie's 1962 novel. The film featured an all-star cast that included Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, Geraldine Chaplin, Tony Curtis, and Kim Novak. Edward Fox appeared as Inspector Craddock, who did Miss Marple's legwork. Lansbury's Marple was a crisp, intelligent woman who moved stiffly and spoke in clipped tones. Unlike most incarnations of Miss Marple, this one smoked cigarettes. Lansbury was later cast as Jessica Fletcher in Murder, She Wrote, a similar role. Ita Ever In 1983, Estonian stage and film actress, Ita Ever, starred in the Russian language Mosfilm adaptation of Agatha Christie's novel, A Pocket Full of Rye (using the Russian edition's translated title, The Secret of the Blackbirds), as the character of Miss Marple. Ever has also portrayed the character of Miss Marple in the Eesti Televisioon (ETV) series Miss Marple Stories in 1990, and onstage at the Tallinn City Theatre in a production of The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side in 2005. Future In October 2024, it was revealed that 20th Century Studios, who has produced the Hercule Poirot films with Kenneth Branagh, plans to adapt more of Christie's work, including unspecified Miss Marple titles. Television The first on-screen portrayal of Miss Marple was by British actress and singer Gracie Fields, playing her in a 1956 episode of the American series Goodyear TV Playhouse based on A Murder Is Announced, the 1950 Christie novel. In 1970, the character of Miss Marple was portrayed by in a West German television adaptation of The Murder at the Vicarage (Mord im Pfarrhaus). Helen Hayes American stage and screen actress, Helen Hayes, portrayed Miss Marple in two American television films near the end of her decades-long acting career, both for CBS: A Caribbean Mystery (1983) and Murder with Mirrors (1985). Sue Grafton contributed to the screenplay of the former. Hayes's Marple was benign and chirpy. She had earlier appeared in a television film adaptation of the non-Marple Christie story, Murder Is Easy, playing an elderly lady somewhat similar to Miss Marple. Joan Hickson From 1984 to 1992, the BBC adapted all of the original Miss Marple novels as a series titled Miss Marple. Joan Hickson played the lead role. In the 1940s, she had appeared on stage in an Agatha Christie play, Appointment with Death, which was seen by Christie who wrote in a note to her, "I hope one day you will play my dear Miss Marple". She portrayed a maid in the 1937 film, Love from a Stranger, which starred Ann Harding and Basil Rathbone, another Agatha Christie play adaptation. As well as portraying Miss Marple on television, Hickson narrated Miss Marple stories for audio books. In the "Binge!" article of Entertainment Weekly Issue #1343–1344 (26 December 2014 – 3 January 2015), the writers picked Hickson as "Best Marple" in the "Hercule Poirot & Miss Marple" timeline. Listing of the TV series featuring Joan Hickson: The Body in the Library (1984) The Moving Finger (1985) A Murder Is Announced (1985) A Pocket Full of Rye (1985) The Murder at the Vicarage (1986) – BAFTA nomination Sleeping Murder (1987) At Bertram's Hotel (1987) Nemesis (1987) – BAFTA nomination 4.50 from Paddington (1987) A Caribbean Mystery (1989) They Do It With Mirrors (1991) The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side (1992) Geraldine McEwan (2004–2008)/Julia McKenzie (2009–2013) Beginning in 2004, ITV broadcast a series of adaptations of Agatha Christie's books under the title Agatha Christie's Marple, usually referred to as Marple. Geraldine McEwan starred in the first three series. Julia McKenzie took over the role in the fourth season. The adaptations change the plots and characters of the original books (e.g. incorporating lesbian affairs, changing the identities of some killers, renaming or removing significant characters, and even using stories from other books in which Miss Marple did not originally feature). In the Geraldine McEwan series, it is revealed that when she was young (portrayed by Julie Cox in a flashback), Miss Marple had an affair with a married soldier, Captain Ainsworth, who was killed in action in World War I, in December 1915. It is also said (in A Murder Is Announced) that she served as an ambulance driver during World War I. (2011) The Pale Horse (2010) The Secret of Chimneys (2010) The Blue Geranium (2010) The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side (2011) A Caribbean Mystery (2013) Greenshaw's Folly (2013) Endless Night (2013) In 2015, CBS planned a "much younger" version of the character, a granddaughter who takes over a California bookstore. In 2018, Miss Marple was portrayed by Yunjin Kim in the South Korean television series Ms. Ma, Nemesis. Anime From 2004 to 2005, Japanese TV network NHK produced a 39 episode anime series titled Agatha Christie's Great Detectives Poirot and Marple, which features both Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot. Miss Marple's voice is provided by Kaoru Yachigusa. Episodes adapted both short stories and novels. The anime series dramatised the following Miss Marple stories: Strange Jest (EP 3) The Case of the Perfect Maid (EP 4) The Tape-Measure Murder (EP 13) Ingots of Gold (EP 14) The Blue Geranium (EP 15) 4.50 from Paddington (EP 21–24) Motive versus Opportunity (EP 27) Sleeping Murder (EP 30–33) Radio June Whitfield starred as Miss Marple in Michael Bakewell's adaptations of all twelve novels, broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between 1993 and 2001. Three short stories with Whitfield ("Tape-Measure Murder", "The Case of the Perfect Maid" and "Sanctuary") were later broadcast under the collective title Miss Marple's Final Cases weekly 16 – 30 September 2015.
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April
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April is the fourth month of the year in the Gregorian and Julian calendars. Its length is 30 days. April is commonly associated with the season of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere, where it is the seasonal equivalent to October in the Northern Hemisphere and vice versa.
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Aaron
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According to Abrahamic religions, Aaron ( or ) was a Jewish prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother of Moses. Information about Aaron comes exclusively from religious texts, such as the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament (Luke, Acts, and Hebrews), and the Quran. The Hebrew Bible relates that, unlike Moses, who grew up in the Egyptian royal court, Aaron and his elder sister Miriam remained with their kinsmen in the northeastern region of the Nile Delta. When Moses first confronted the Egyptian king about the enslavement of the Israelites, Aaron served as his brother's spokesman to the Pharaoh . Part of the Law given to Moses at Sinai granted Aaron the priesthood for himself and his male descendants, and he became the first High Priest of the Israelites. Levitical priests or kohanim are traditionally believed and halakhically required to be of direct patrilineal descent from Aaron. According to the Book of Numbers, Aaron died at 123 years of age, on Mount Hor, in the fortieth year after the Israelites had come out of the land of Egypt. Deuteronomy, however, places these events at Moseroth.
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April 6
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Events Pre–1600 46 BC – Julius Caesar defeats Caecilius Metellus Scipio and Marcus Porcius Cato (Cato the Younger) at the Battle of Thapsus. 402 – Stilicho defeats the Visigoths under Alaric in the Battle of Pollentia. 1320 – The Scots reaffirm their independence by signing the Declaration of Arbroath. 1453 – Mehmed II begins his siege of Constantinople. The city falls on May 29 and is renamed Istanbul. 1580 – One of the largest earthquakes recorded in the history of England, Flanders, or Northern France, takes place. ; 1601–1900 1652 – At the Cape of Good Hope, Dutch sailor Jan van Riebeeck establishes a resupply camp that eventually becomes Cape Town. 1712 – The New York Slave Revolt of 1712 begins near Broadway. 1776 – American Revolutionary War: Ships of the Continental Navy fail in their attempt to capture a Royal Navy dispatch boat. 1782 – King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke (Rama I) of Siam (modern day Thailand) establishes the Chakri dynasty. 1793 – During the French Revolution, the Committee of Public Safety becomes the executive organ of the republic. 1800 – The Treaty of Constantinople establishes the Septinsular Republic, the first autonomous Greek state since the Fall of the Byzantine Empire. (Under the Old Style calendar then still in use in the Ottoman Empire, the treaty was signed on 21 March. ); 1808 – John Jacob Astor incorporates the American Fur Company, that would eventually make him America's first millionaire. 1812 – British forces under the command of the Duke of Wellington assault the fortress of Badajoz. This would be the turning point in the Peninsular War against Napoleon-led France. 1814 – Nominal beginning of the Bourbon Restoration; anniversary date that Napoleon abdicates and is exiled to Elba. 1830 – Church of Christ, the original church of the Latter Day Saint movement, is organized by Joseph Smith and others at either Fayette or Manchester, New York. 1841 – U.S. President John Tyler is sworn in, two days after having become president upon William Henry Harrison's death. 1860 – The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, later renamed Community of Christ, is organized by Joseph Smith III and others at Amboy, Illinois. 1862 – American Civil War: The Battle of Shiloh begins: In Tennessee, forces under Union General Ulysses S. Grant meet Confederate troops led by General Albert Sidney Johnston. 1865 – American Civil War: The Battle of Sailor's Creek: Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia fights and loses its last major battle while in retreat from Richmond, Virginia, during the Appomattox Campaign. 1866 – The Grand Army of the Republic, an American patriotic organization composed of Union veterans of the American Civil War, is founded. It lasts until 1956. 1896 – In Athens, the opening of the first modern Olympic Games is celebrated, 1,500 years after the original games are banned by Roman emperor Theodosius I. 1901–present 1909 – Robert Peary and Matthew Henson become the first people to reach the North Pole; Peary's claim has been disputed because of failings in his navigational ability. 1911 – During the Battle of Deçiq, Dedë Gjon Luli Dedvukaj, leader of the Malësori Albanians, raises the Albanian flag in the town of Tuzi, Montenegro, for the first time after George Kastrioti (Skanderbeg). 1917 – World War I: The United States declares war on Germany. 1918 – Finnish Civil War: The battle of Tampere ends.100 years ago today: Reds take Tampere, Finnish Civil War begins – Yle News, January 27, 2018. Retrieved October 6, 2021. 1926 – Varney Airlines makes its first commercial flight (Varney is the root company of United Airlines). 1929 – Huey P. Long, Governor of Louisiana, is impeached by the Louisiana House of Representatives. 1930 – At the end of the Salt March, Gandhi raises a lump of mud and salt and declares, "With this, I am shaking the foundations of the British Empire." 1936 – Tupelo–Gainesville tornado outbreak: Another tornado from the same storm system as the Tupelo tornado hits Gainesville, Georgia, killing 203. 1941 – World War II: Nazi Germany launches Operation 25 (the invasion of Kingdom of Yugoslavia) and Operation Marita (the invasion of Greece). 1945 – World War II: Sarajevo is liberated from German and Croatian forces by the Yugoslav Partisans. 1945 – World War II: The Battle of Slater's Knoll on Bougainville comes to an end. 1947 – The first Tony Awards are presented for theatrical achievement. 1957 – The flag carrier airline of Greece for decades, Olympic Airways, is founded by Aristotle Onassis following the acquisition of "TAE - Greek National Airlines". 1958 – Capital Airlines Flight 67 crashes in Tittabawassee Township, Michigan, near Freeland Tri-City Airport, killing 47. 1965 – Launch of Early Bird, the first commercial communications satellite to be placed in geosynchronous orbit. 1968 – In the downtown district of Richmond, Indiana, a double explosion kills 41 and injures 150. 1968 – Pierre Elliott Trudeau wins the Liberal Party leadership election, and becomes Prime Minister of Canada soon afterward. 1970 – Newhall massacre: Four California Highway Patrol officers are killed in a shootout. 1972 – Vietnam War: Easter Offensive: American forces begin sustained air strikes and naval bombardments. 1973 – Launch of Pioneer 11 spacecraft. 1973 – The American League of Major League Baseball begins using the designated hitter. 1974 – In Brighton, United Kingdom, ABBA wins the 1974 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest with "Waterloo", the first of a joint-record seven Swedish wins. 1984 – Members of Cameroon's Republican Guard unsuccessfully attempt to overthrow the government headed by Paul Biya. 1985 – Sudanese President Gaafar Nimeiry is ousted from power in a coup d'état led by Field Marshal Abdel Rahman Swar al-Dahab. 1992 – The Bosnian War begins. 1994 – The Rwandan genocide begins when the aircraft carrying Rwandan president Juvénal Habyarimana and Burundian president Cyprien Ntaryamira is shot down. 1997 – In Greene County, Tennessee, the Lillelid murders occur. 1998 – Nuclear weapons testing: Pakistan tests medium-range missiles capable of reaching India. 2004 – Rolandas Paksas becomes the first president of Lithuania to be peacefully removed from office by impeachment. 2005 – Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani becomes Iraqi president; Shiite Arab Ibrahim al-Jaafari is named premier the next day. 2008 – The 2008 Egyptian general strike starts led by Egyptian workers later to be adopted by April 6 Youth Movement and Egyptian activists. 2009 – A 6.3 magnitude earthquake strikes near L'Aquila, Italy, killing 307. 2010 – Maoist rebels kill 76 CRPF officers in Dantewada district, India. 2011 – In San Fernando, Tamaulipas, Mexico, over 193 victims of Los Zetas were exhumed from several mass graves. 2012 – Azawad declares itself independent from the Republic of Mali. 2017 – U.S. military launches 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at an air base in Syria. Russia describes the strikes as an "aggression", adding they significantly damage US-Russia ties. 2018 – A bus carrying the Humboldt Broncos junior ice hockey team collides with a semi-truck in Saskatchewan, Canada, killing 16 people and injuring 13 others. April 1964, geboren.am. 1964 – Tim Walz, American politician, Governor of Minnesota & vice presidential candidate 1965 – Black Francis, American singer-songwriter and guitarist 1965 – Sterling Sharpe, American football player and sportscaster 1966 – Vince Flynn, American author (d. 2013) 1966 – Young Man Kang, South Korean-American director and producer 1967 – Julian Anderson, English composer and educator 1967 – Kathleen Barr, Canadian voice actress and singer 1967 – Tanya Byron, English psychologist and academic 1967 – Jonathan Firth, English actor 1968 – Archon Fung, American political scientist, author, and academic 1968 – Affonso Giaffone, Brazilian race car driver 1969 – Bret Boone, American baseball player and manager 1969 – Bison Dele, American basketball player (d. 2002) 1969 – Philipp Peter, Austrian race car driver 1969 – Paul Rudd, American actor 1969 – Spencer Wells, American geneticist and anthropologist 1970 – Olaf Kölzig, South African-German ice hockey player and coach 1970 – Roy Mayorga, American drummer, songwriter, and producer 1970 – Huang Xiaomin, Chinese swimmer 1972 – Anders Thomas Jensen, Danish director and screenwriter 1972 – Dickey Simpkins, American basketball player and sportscaster 1973 – Donnie Edwards, American football player 1973 – Randall Godfrey, American football player 1973 – Rie Miyazawa, Japanese model and actress 1973 – Sun Wen, Chinese footballer 1975 – Zach Braff, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter 1975 – Hal Gill, American ice hockey player 1976 – Candace Cameron Bure, American actress and talk show panelist 1976 – James Fox, Welsh singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor 1976 – Chris Hoke, American football player 1976 – Georg Hólm, Icelandic bass player 1976 – Hirotada Ototake, Japanese author and educator 1977 – Ville Nieminen, Finnish ice hockey player 1977 – Andy Phillips, American baseball player and coach 1978 – Imani Coppola, American singer-songwriter and violinist 1978 – Robert Glasper, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer 1978 – Tim Hasselbeck, American football player and sportscaster 1978 – Myleene Klass, Austrian/Filipino-English singer, pianist, and model 1978 – Martín Méndez, Uruguayan bass player and songwriter 1978 – Blaine Neal, American baseball player 1978 – Igor Semshov, Russian footballer 1979 – Lord Frederick Windsor, English journalist and financier 1979 – Clay Travis, American sports journalist, blogger, and broadcaster 1980 – Tommi Evilä, Finnish long jumper 1980 – Tanja Poutiainen, Finnish skier 1981 – Robert Earnshaw, Welsh footballer 1981 – Jeff Faine, American football player 1981 – Lucas Licht, Argentine footballer 1981 – Alex Suarez, American bass player 1982 – Travis Moen, Canadian ice hockey player 1982 – Miguel Ángel Silvestre, Spanish actor 1983 – Mehdi Ballouchy, Moroccan footballer 1983 – Jerome Kaino, New Zealand rugby player 1983 – Mitsuru Nagata, Japanese footballer 1983 – Remi Nicole, English singer-songwriter and actress 1983 – James Wade, English darts player 1983 – Katie Weatherston, Canadian ice hockey player 1984 – Max Bemis, American singer-songwriter 1984 – Michaël Ciani, French footballer 1984 – Siboniso Gaxa, South African footballer 1984 – Diana Matheson, Canadian soccer player 1985 – Clarke MacArthur, Canadian ice hockey player 1985 – Frank Ongfiang, Cameroonian footballer 1985 – Sinqua Walls, American basketball player and actor 1986 – Nikolas Asprogenis, Cypriot footballer 1986 – Aaron Curry, American football player 1986 – Goeido Gotaro, Japanese sumo wrestler 1986 – Ryota Moriwaki, Japanese footballer 1987 – Benjamin Corgnet, French footballer 1987 – Heidi Mount, American model 1987 – Juan Adriel Ochoa, Mexican footballer 1987 – Levi Porter, English footballer 1987 – Hilary Rhoda, American model 1988 – Jucilei, Brazilian footballer 1988 – Leigh Adams, Australian footballer 1988 – Daniele Gasparetto, Italian footballer 1988 – Carlton Mitchell, American football player 1988 – Fabrice Muamba, Congolese-English footballer 1988 – Ivonne Orsini, Puerto Rican model and television host, Miss World Puerto Rico 2008 1990 – Lachlan Coote, Australian rugby league player 1990 – Charlie McDermott, American actor 1990 – Andrei Veis, Estonian footballer 1992 – Ken, South Korean singer 1992 – Julie Ertz, American soccer player 1994 – Adrián Alonso, Mexican actor 1995 – Darya Lebesheva, Belarusian tennis player 1998 – Peyton List, American actress and model 1998 – Spencer List, American actor 2000 – Shaheen Afridi, Pakistani cricketer Cricinfo 2001 – Oscar Piastri, Australian racing driver 2001 – Moritz Seider, German ice hockey player 2002 – Andrea Botez, Canadian-American chess player, commentator, Twitch streamer and YouTuber 2002 – Leyre Romero Gormaz, Spanish tennis player 2009 – Shaylee Mansfield, deaf American actress and YouTuber 2009 – Valentina Tronel, French child singer Deaths Pre–1600 861 – Prudentius, bishop of Troyes 885 – Saint Methodius, Byzantine missionary and saint (b. 815) 887 – Pei Che, chancellor of the Tang Dynasty 943 – Liu Churang, Chinese general and chief of staff (b. 881) 943 – Nasr II, ruler (amir) of the Samanid Empire (b. 906) 1147 – Frederick II, duke of Swabia (b. 1090) 1174 – Umara al-Yamani, Yemeni poet and historian (b. 1121) 1199 – Richard I, king of England (b. 1157) 1231 – William Marshal, 2nd Earl of Pembroke 1250 – Guillaume de Sonnac, Grand Master of the Knights Templar 1252 – Peter of Verona, Italian priest and saint (b. 1206) 1340 – Basil, emperor of Trebizond (Turkey) 1362 – James I, count of La Marche (b. 1319) 1376 – Preczlaw of Pogarell, Cardinal and Bishop of Wrocław (b. 1310) 1490 – Matthias Corvinus, King of Hungary and Croatia from 1458 to 1490 (b. 1443) 1520 – Raphael, Italian painter and architect (b. 1483) 1523 – Henry Stafford, 1st Earl of Wiltshire, English nobleman (b. 1479) 1528 – Albrecht Dürer, German painter, engraver, and mathematician (b. 1471) 1551 – Joachim Vadian, Swiss scholar and politician (b. 1484) 1571 – John Hamilton, Scottish archbishop and academic (b. 1512) 1590 – Francis Walsingham, English politician and diplomat, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (b. 1532) 1593 – Henry Barrowe, English Puritan and separatist (b. 1550) 1601–1900 1605 – John Stow, English historian and author (b. 1525) 1621 – Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford (b. 1539) 1641 – Domenico Zampieri (Domenichino), Italian painter (b. 1581) 1655 – David Blondel, French minister, historian, and scholar (b. 1591) 1670 – Leonora Baroni, Italian composer (b. 1611) 1676 – John Winthrop the Younger, English politician, 1st Governor of Connecticut (b. 1606) 1686 – Arthur Annesley, 1st Earl of Anglesey, Irish-English politician (b. 1614) 1707 – Willem van de Velde the Younger, Dutch-English painter (b. 1633) 1755 – Richard Rawlinson, English minister and historian (b. 1690) 1790 – Louis IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt (b. 1719) 1825 – Vladimir Borovikovsky, Ukrainian-Russian painter and educator (b. 1757) 1827 – Nikolis Apostolis, Greek naval commander during the Greek War of Independence (b. 1770) 1829 – Niels Henrik Abel, Norwegian mathematician and theorist (b. 1802) 1833 – Adamantios Korais, Greek philosopher and scholar (b. 1748) 1838 – José Bonifácio de Andrada, Brazilian poet, academic, and politician (b. 1763) 1860 – James Kirke Paulding, American author and politician, 11th United States Secretary of the Navy (b. 1778) 1862 – Albert Sidney Johnston, American general (b. 1803) 1883 – Benjamin Wright Raymond, American merchant and politician, 3rd Mayor of Chicago (b. 1801) 1886 – William Edward Forster, English businessman, philanthropist, and politician, Chief Secretary for Ireland (b. 1818) 1899 – Alvan Wentworth Chapman, American physician and botanist (b. 1809) 1901–present 1906 – Alexander Kielland, Norwegian author, playwright, and politician, 6th County Governor of Møre og Romsdal (b. 1849) 1913 – Somerset Lowry-Corry, 4th Earl Belmore (b. 1835) 1927 – Florence Earle Coates, American poet (b. 1850) 1935 – Edwin Arlington Robinson, American poet and playwright (b. 1869) 1944 – Rose O'Neill, American cartoonist, illustrator, artist, and writer (b. 1874) 1947 – Herbert Backe, German agronomist and politician (b. 1896) 1950 – Louis Wilkins, American pole vaulter (b. 1882) 1953 – Idris Davies, Welsh poet and author (b. 1905) 1959 – Leo Aryeh Mayer, Polish-Israeli scholar and academic (b. 1895) 1961 – Jules Bordet, Belgian microbiologist and immunologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1870) 1963 – Otto Struve, Ukrainian-American astronomer and academic (b. 1897) 1970 – Maurice Stokes, American basketball player (b. 1933) 1971 – Igor Stravinsky, Russian-American pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1882) 1974 – Willem Marinus Dudok, Dutch architect (b. 1884) 1974 – Hudson Fysh, Australian pilot and businessman, co-founded Qantas Airways Limited (b. 1895) 1977 – Kōichi Kido, Japanese politician, 13th Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal of Japan (b. 1889) 1979 – Ivan Vasilyov, Bulgarian architect, designed the SS. Cyril and Methodius National Library (b. 1893) 1983 – Jayanto Nath Chaudhuri, Indian General who served as the Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army from 1962 to 1966 and the Military Governor of Hyderabad State from 1948 to 1949. 1908) 1992 – Isaac Asimov, American science fiction writer (b. 1920) 1994 – Juvénal Habyarimana, Rwandan banker and politician, 3rd President of Rwanda (b. 1937) 1994 – Cyprien Ntaryamira, Burundian politician, 5th President of Burundi (b. 1955) 1995 – Ioannis Alevras, Greek banker and politician, President of Greece (b. 1912) 1996 – Greer Garson, English-American actress (b. 1904) 1998 – Norbert Schmitz, German footballer (b. 1958) 1998 – Tammy Wynette, American singer-songwriter (b. 1942) 1999 – Red Norvo, American vibraphone player and composer (b. 1908) 2000 – Habib Bourguiba, Tunisian politician, 1st President of Tunisia (b. 1903) 2001 – Charles Pettigrew, American singer-songwriter (b. 1963) 2003 – David Bloom, American journalist (b. 1963) 2003 – Anita Borg, American computer scientist and educator; founded Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology (b. 1949) 2003 – Gerald Emmett Carter, Canadian cardinal (b. 1912) 2003 – Babatunde Olatunji, Nigerian drummer, educator, and activist (b. 1927) 2003 – Dino Yannopoulos, Greek stage director of the Metropolitan Opera (b. 1919) 2004 – Lou Berberet, American baseball player (b. 1929) 2004 – Larisa Bogoraz, Russian linguist and activist (b. 1929) 2005 – Rainier III, Prince of Monaco (b. 1923) 2005 – Anthony F. DePalma, American orthopedic surgeon and professor (b. 1904) 2006 – Maggie Dixon, American basketball player and coach (b. 1977) 2006 – Francis L. Kellogg, American soldier and diplomat (b. 1917) 2006 – Stefanos Stratigos, Greek actor and director (b. 1926) 2007 – Luigi Comencini, Italian director and producer (b. 1916) 2009 – J. M. S. Careless, Canadian historian and academic (b. 1919) 2009 – Shawn Mackay, Australian rugby player and coach (b. 1982) 2010 – Wilma Mankiller, American tribal leader (b. 1945) 2010 – Corin Redgrave, English actor (b. 1939) 2011 – Gerald Finnerman, American director and cinematographer (b. 1931) 2012 – Roland Guilbault, American admiral (b. 1934) 2012 – Thomas Kinkade, American painter and illustrator (b. 1958) 2012 – Fang Lizhi, Chinese astrophysicist and academic (b. 1936) 2012 – Sheila Scotter, Australian fashion designer and journalist (b. 1920) 2012 – Reed Whittemore, American poet and critic (b. 1919) 2013 – Hilda Bynoe, Grenadian physician and politician, 2nd Governor of Grenada (b. 1921) 2013 – Bill Guttridge, English footballer and manager (b. 1931) 2013 – Bigas Luna, Spanish director and screenwriter (b. 1946) 2013 – Ottmar Schreiner, German lawyer and politician (b. 1946) 2014 – Mary Anderson, American actress (b. 1918) 2014 – Jacques Castérède, French pianist and composer (b. 1926) 2014 – Liv Dommersnes, Norwegian actress (b. 1922) 2014 – Mickey Rooney, American soldier, actor, and dancer (b. 1920) 2014 – Chuck Stone, American soldier, journalist, and academic (b. 1924) 2014 – Massimo Tamburini, Italian motorcycle designer, co-founded Bimota (b. 1943) 2015 – Giovanni Berlinguer, Italian lawyer and politician (b. 1924) 2015 – James Best, American actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1926) 2015 – Ray Charles, American singer-songwriter and conductor (b. 1918) 2015 – Dollard St. Laurent, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1929) 2016 – Merle Haggard, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1937) 2017 – Don Rickles, American actor and comedian (b. 1926) 2019 – Michael O'Donnell, British physician, journalist, author and broadcaster (b. 1928) 2020 – Al Kaline, American baseball player, broadcaster and executive (b. 1934) 2021 – Hans Küng, Swiss Catholic priest, theologian, and author (b. 1928) 2022 – Vladimir Zhirinovsky, Russian and Soviet politician (b. 1946) 2022 – Jill Knight, British politician (b. 1923) 2024 – Joseph E. Brennan, American politician, 70th Governor of Maine (b. 1934) Holidays and observances Chakri Day, commemorating the establishment of the Chakri dynasty. (Thailand) Christian feast day: Albrecht Dürer and Lucas Cranach (Lutheran Church). Brychan Eutychius of Constantinople (Eastern Orthodox Church) Marcellinus of Carthage Pope Sixtus I April 6 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) International Day of Sport for Development and Peace National Fisherman Day (Indonesia) New Beer's Eve (United States) Tartan Day (United States & Canada) Waltzing Matilda Day (Australia) International Asexuality Day Other April 6 Youth Movement (starts 6April) References External links BBC: On This Day Historical Events on April 6
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April 12
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Events Pre-1600 240 – Shapur I becomes co-emperor of the Sasanian Empire with his father Ardashir I. 467 – Anthemius is elevated to Emperor of the Western Roman Empire. 1012 – Duke Oldřich of Bohemia deposes and blinds his brother Jaromír, who flees to Poland. 1204 – The Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade breach the walls of Constantinople and enter the city, which they completely occupy the following day. 1601–1900 1606 – The Union Flag is adopted as the flag of English and Scottish ships. 1776 – American Revolution: With the Halifax Resolves, the North Carolina Provincial Congress authorizes its Congressional delegation to vote for independence from Britain. 1782 – American Revolution: A Royal Navy fleet led by Admiral George Rodney defeats a French fleet led by the Comte de Grasse at the Battle of the Saintes off Dominica in the Caribbean Sea. 1796 – War of the First Coalition: Napoleon Bonaparte wins his first victory as an army commander at the Battle of Montenotte, splitting the Austrian and Piedmontese armies away from each other, and marking the beginning of the Piedmontese surrender in the war. 1807 – The Froberg mutiny on Malta ends when the remaining mutineers blow up the magazine of Fort Ricasoli. 1820 – Alexander Ypsilantis is declared leader of Filiki Eteria, a secret organization to overthrow Ottoman rule over Greece. 1831 – Soldiers marching on the Broughton Suspension Bridge in Manchester, England, cause it to collapse. 1861 – American Civil War: Battle of Fort Sumter. The war begins with Confederate forces firing on Fort Sumter, in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina. 1862 – American Civil War: The Andrews Raid (the Great Locomotive Chase) occurs, starting from Big Shanty, Georgia (now Kennesaw). 1864 – American Civil War: The Battle of Fort Pillow: Confederate forces kill most of the African American soldiers that surrendered at Fort Pillow, Tennessee. 1865 – American Civil War: Mobile, Alabama, falls to the Union Army. 1877 – The United Kingdom annexes the Transvaal. 1900 – One day after its enactment by the Congress, President William McKinley signs the Foraker Act into law, giving Puerto Rico limited self-rule. ; ; 1901–present 1910 – , one of the last pre-dreadnought battleships built by the Austro-Hungarian Navy, is launched. 1917 – World War I: Canadian forces successfully complete the taking of Vimy Ridge from the Germans. 1927 – Shanghai massacre of 1927: Chiang Kai-shek orders the Chinese Communist Party members executed in Shanghai, ending the First United Front. 1927 – Rocksprings, Texas is hit by an F5 tornado that destroys 235 of the 247 buildings in the town, kills 72 townspeople, and injures 205; third deadliest tornado in Texas history. 1928 – The Bremen, a German Junkers W 33 type aircraft, takes off for the first successful transatlantic aeroplane flight from east to west. 1934 – The strongest surface wind gust in the world at the time of 231 mph, is measured on the summit of Mount Washington, New Hampshire. It has since been surpassed. 1934 – The U.S. Auto-Lite strike begins, culminating in a five-day melee between Ohio National Guard troops and 6,000 strikers and picketers. 1937 – Sir Frank Whittle ground-tests the first jet engine designed to power an aircraft, at Rugby, England. 1945 – U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt dies in office; Vice President Harry S. Truman becomes President upon Roosevelt's death. 1945 – World War II: The U.S. Ninth Army under General William H. Simpson crosses the Elbe River astride Magdeburg, and reaches Tangermünde—only 50 miles from Berlin. 1955 – The polio vaccine, developed by Dr. Jonas Salk, is declared safe and effective. 1961 – Space Race: The Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human to travel into outer space and perform the first crewed orbital flight, Vostok 1. 1963 – The Soviet nuclear-powered submarine K-33 collides with the Finnish merchant vessel M/S Finnclipper in the Danish straits. 1970 – Soviet submarine K-8, carrying four nuclear torpedoes, sinks in the Bay of Biscay four days after a fire on board. 1980 – The Americo-Liberian government of Liberia is violently deposed. 1980 – Transbrasil Flight 303, a Boeing 727, crashes on approach to Hercílio Luz International Airport in Florianópolis, Brazil. Fifty-five out of the 58 people on board are killed. 1980 – Canadian runner and athlete, Terry Fox begins his Marathon of Hope Run in St. John's, NF 1981 – The first launch of a Space Shuttle (Columbia) takes place: The STS-1 mission. 1983 – Harold Washington is elected as the first black mayor of Chicago. 1985 – Space Shuttle Discovery launches on STS-51D to deploy two communications satellites. 1990 – Jim Gary's "Twentieth Century Dinosaurs" exhibition opens at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. He is the only sculptor ever invited to present a solo exhibition there. 1990 – Widerøe Flight 839 crashes after takeoff from Værøy Airport in Norway, killing five people. 1992 – The Euro Disney Resort officially opens with its theme park Euro Disneyland; the resort and its park's name are subsequently changed to Disneyland Resort Paris. 1999 – United States President Bill Clinton is cited for contempt of court for giving "intentionally false statements" in a civil lawsuit; he is later fined and disbarred. 1999 – During the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, an American McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle shoots a passenger train, killing between 20 and 60 people. 2002 – A suicide bomber blows herself up at the entrance to Jerusalem's Mahane Yehuda Market, killing seven people and wounding 104. 2007 – A suicide bomber penetrates the Green Zone and detonates in a cafeteria within a parliament building, killing Iraqi MP Mohammed Awad and wounding more than twenty other people. 2009 – Zimbabwe officially abandons the Zimbabwean dollar as its official currency. 2010 – Merano derailment: A rail accident in South Tyrol kills nine people and injures a further 28. 2013 – Two suicide bombers kill three Chadian soldiers and injure dozens of civilians at a market in Kidal, Mali. 2014 – The Great Fire of Valparaíso ravages the Chilean city of Valparaíso, killing 16 people, displacing nearly 10,000, and destroying over 2,000 homes. 75 BC) 352 – Julius I, pope of the Catholic Church 434 – Maximianus, archbishop of Constantinople 901 – Eudokia Baïana, Byzantine empress and wife of Leo VI 1125 – Vladislaus I, Duke of Bohemia (b. 1065) 1167 – Charles VII, king of Sweden (b. c. 1130) 1256 – Margaret of Bourbon, Queen of Navarre, regent of Navarre (b. c. 1217) 1443 – Henry Chichele, English archbishop (b. 1364) 1500 – Leonhard of Gorizia, Count of Gorz (b. 1440) 1530 – Joanna La Beltraneja, Princess of Castile (b. 1496) 1555 – Joanna, Queen of Castile and Aragon (b. 1479) 1601–1900 1675 – Richard Bennett, English politician, colonial Governor of Virginia (b. 1609) 1684 – Nicola Amati, Italian instrument maker (b. 1596) 1687 – Ambrose Dixon, English-American soldier (b. 1619) 1704 – Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet, French bishop and theologian (b. 1627) 1748 – William Kent, English architect, designed Holkham Hall and Chiswick House (b. 1685) 1782 – Metastasio, Italian-Austrian poet and composer (b. 1698) 1788 – Carlo Antonio Campioni, French-Italian composer (b. 1719) 1795 – Johann Kaspar Basselet von La Rosée, Bavarian general (b. 1710) 1814 – Charles Burney, English composer and historian (b. 1726) 1817 – Charles Messier, French astronomer and academic (b. 1730) 1850 – Adoniram Judson, American lexicographer and missionary (b. 1788) 1866 – Peter Hesketh-Fleetwood, English politician, founded Fleetwood (b. 1801) 1872 – Nikolaos Mantzaros, Greek composer and theorist (b. 1795) 1878 – William M. Tweed, American lawyer and politician (b. 1823) 1879 – Richard Taylor, Confederate general (b. 1826) 1885 – William Crowther, Dutch-Australian politician, 14th Premier of Tasmania (b. 1817) 1898 – Elzéar-Alexandre Taschereau, Canadian cardinal (b. 1820) 1901–present 1902 – Marie Alfred Cornu, French physicist and academic (b. 1842) 1906 – Mahesh Chandra Nyayratna Bhattacharyya, Indian scholar, academic, and philanthropist (b. 1836) 1912 – Clara Barton, American nurse and humanitarian, founded the American Red Cross (b. 1821) 1933 – Adelbert Ames, American general and politician, 30th Governor of Mississippi (b. 1835) 1937 – Abdülhak Hâmid Tarhan, Turkish playwright and poet (b. 1852) 1938 – Feodor Chaliapin, Russian opera singer (b. 1873) 1943 – Viktor Puskar, Estonian colonel (b. 1889) 1945 – Franklin D. Roosevelt, American lawyer and politician, 32nd President of the United States (b. 1882) 1953 – Lionel Logue, Australian actor and therapist (b. 1880) 1962 – Ron Flockhart, Scottish racing driver (b. 1923) 1966 – Sydney Allard, English racing driver and founder of the Allard car company (b. 1910) 1968 – Heinrich Nordhoff, German engineer (b. 1899) 1971 – Ed Lafitte, American baseball player and dentist (b. 1886) 1973 – Arthur Freed, American songwriter and producer (b. 1894) 1975 – Josephine Baker, French actress, activist, and humanitarian (b. 1906) 1976 – Christos Kakkalos, Greek mountain guide (b. 1882) 1977 – Philip K. Wrigley, American businessman, co-founded Lincoln Park Gun Club (b. 1894) 1980 – William R. Tolbert, Jr., Liberian politician, 20th President of Liberia (b. 1913) 1981 – Prince Yasuhiko Asaka of Japan (b. 1887) 1981 – Joe Louis, American boxer and wrestler (b. 1914) 1983 – Jørgen Juve, Norwegian football player and journalist (b. 1906) 1983 – Carl Morton, American baseball player (b. 1944) 1984 – Edwin T. Layton, American admiral and cryptanalyst (b. 1903) 1986 – Valentin Kataev, Russian author and playwright (b. 1897) 1988 – Colette Deréal, French singer and actress (b. 1927) 1988 – Alan Paton, South African historian and author (b. 1903) 1989 – Abbie Hoffman, American activist, co-founded Youth International Party (b. 1936) 1989 – Sugar Ray Robinson, American boxer (b. 1921) 1992 – Ilario Bandini, Italian racing driver and businessman (b. 1911) 1997 – George Wald, American neurologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1906) 1998 – Robert Ford, Canadian poet and diplomat (b. 1915) 1999 – Boxcar Willie, American singer-songwriter (b. 1931) 2001 – Harvey Ball, American illustrator, created the smiley (b. 1921) 2002 – George Shevelov, Ukrainian-American linguist and philologist (b. 1908) 2004 – Moran Campbell, Canadian physician and academic, invented the venturi mask (b. 1925) 2006 – William Sloane Coffin, American minister and activist (b. 1924) 2007 – Kevin Crease, Australian journalist (b. 1936) 2008 – Cecilia Colledge, English-American skater and coach (b. 1920) 2008 – Patrick Hillery, Irish physician and politician, 6th President of Ireland (b. 1923) 2008 – Jerry Zucker, Israeli-American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1949) 2010 – Michel Chartrand, Canadian trade union leader (b. 1916) 2010 – Werner Schroeter, German director and screenwriter (b. 1945) 2011 – Karim Fakhrawi, Bahraini journalist, co-founded Al-Wasat (b. 1962) 2012 – Mohit Chattopadhyay, Indian poet and playwright (b. 1934) 2012 – Rodgers Grant, American pianist and composer (b. 1935) 2013 – Robert Byrne, American chess player and author (b. 1928) 2013 – Johnny du Plooy, South African boxer (b. 1964) 2013 – Michael France, American screenwriter (b. 1962) 2013 – Brennan Manning, American priest and author (b. 1934) 2013 – Annamária Szalai, Hungarian journalist and politician (b. 1961) 2013 – Ya'akov Yosef, Israeli rabbi and politician (b. 1946) 2014 – Pierre Autin-Grenier, French author and poet (b. 1947) 2014 – Pierre-Henri Menthéour, French cyclist (b. 1960) 2014 – Maurício Alves Peruchi, Brazilian footballer (b. 1990) 2014 – Hal Smith, American baseball player and coach (b. 1931) 2014 – Billy Standridge, American race car driver (b. 1953) 2015 – Paulo Brossard, Brazilian jurist and politician (b. 1924) 2015 – Patrice Dominguez, Algerian-French tennis player and trainer (b. 1950) 2015 – Alfred Eick, German commander (b. 1916) 2015 – André Mba Obame, Gabonese politician (b. 1957) 2016 – Mohammad Al Gaz, Emirati politician & diplomat (b. 1930) 2016 – Anne Jackson, American actress (b. 1925) 2017 – Charlie Murphy, American actor and comedian (b. 1959) 2020 – Tarvaris Jackson, American football player (b. 1983) 2021 – Joseph Siravo, American actor and producer (b. 1955) 2022 – Gilbert Gottfried, American comedian, actor, and singer (b. 1955) 2024 – Roberto Cavalli, Italian fashion designer and inventor (b. 1940) 2024 – Eleanor Coppola, American filmmaker (b. 1936) 2024 – Robert MacNeil, Canadian-American journalist and author (b. 1931) Holidays and observances Children's Day (Bolivia) Christian feast day: Adoniram Judson (Episcopal Church) Alferius Blessed Angelo Carletti di Chivasso Erkembode Pope Julius I Teresa of the Andes Zeno of Verona April 12 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) Commemoration of first human in space by Yuri Gagarin: Cosmonautics Day (Russia) International Day of Human Space Flight Yuri's Night (International observance) Halifax Day (North Carolina) National Redemption Day (Liberia) References External links BBC: On This Day Historical Events on April 12
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April 15
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Events Pre-1600 769 – The Lateran Council ends by condemning the Council of Hieria and anathematizing its iconoclastic rulings. ; 1071 – Bari, the last Byzantine possession in southern Italy, is surrendered to Robert Guiscard. 1450 – Battle of Formigny: Toward the end of the Hundred Years' War, the French attack and nearly annihilate English forces, ending English domination in Northern France. 1601–1900 1632 – Battle of Rain: Swedes under Gustavus Adolphus defeat the Holy Roman Empire during the Thirty Years' War. 1642 – Irish Confederate Wars: A Confederate Irish militia is routed in the Battle of Kilrush when it attempts to halt the progress of a Royalist Army. 1715 – The Pocotaligo Massacre triggers the start of the Yamasee War in colonial South Carolina. 1736 – Foundation of the short-lived Kingdom of Corsica. 1738 – Serse, an Italian opera by George Frideric Handel, receives its premiere performance in London, England. 1755 – Samuel Johnson's A Dictionary of the English Language is published in London. 1817 – Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and Laurent Clerc found the American School for the Deaf (then called the Connecticut Asylum for the Education and Instruction of Deaf and Dumb Persons), the first American school for deaf students, in Hartford, Connecticut. 1861 – President Abraham Lincoln calls for 75,000 volunteers to quell the insurrection that soon became the American Civil War. 1865 – President Abraham Lincoln dies after being shot the previous evening by actor John Wilkes Booth. Three hours later, Vice President Andrew Johnson is sworn in as president. 1892 – The General Electric Company is formed. 1896 – Closing ceremony of the Games of the I Olympiad in Athens, Greece. 1900 – Philippine–American War: Filipino guerrillas launch a surprise attack on U.S. infantry and begin a four-day siege of Catubig, Philippines. 1901–present 1912 – The British passenger liner sinks in the North Atlantic at 2:20 a.m., two hours and forty minutes after hitting an iceberg. Only 710 of 2,224 passengers and crew on board survive. 1920 – Two security guards are murdered during a robbery in South Braintree, Massachusetts. Anarchists Sacco and Vanzetti would be convicted of and executed for the crime, amid much controversy. Senator John B. Kendrick of Wyoming introduces a resolution calling for an investigation of a secret land deal, which leads to the discovery of the Teapot Dome scandal. 1923 – Insulin becomes generally available for use by people with diabetes. 1923 – Racially motivated Nihon Shōgakkō fire lit by a serial arsonist kills 10 children in Sacramento, California. 1936 – First day of the Arab revolt in Mandatory Palestine. 1941 – In the Belfast Blitz, two hundred bombers of the German Luftwaffe attack Belfast, killing around one thousand people. 1942 – The George Cross is awarded "to the island fortress of Malta" by King George VI. 1945 – Bergen-Belsen concentration camp is liberated. 1947 – Jackie Robinson debuts for the Brooklyn Dodgers, breaking baseball's color line. 1952 – First flight of the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress. 1955 – McDonald's restaurant dates its founding to the opening of a franchised restaurant by Ray Kroc, in Des Plaines, Illinois. 1960 – At Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina, Ella Baker leads a conference that results in the creation of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, one of the principal organizations of the civil rights movement in the 1960s. 1969 – The EC-121 shootdown incident: North Korea shoots down a United States Navy aircraft over the Sea of Japan, killing all 31 on board. 1970 – During the Cambodian Civil War, massacre of the Vietnamese minority results in 800 bodies flowing down the Mekong river into South Vietnam. 1986 – The United States launches Operation El Dorado Canyon, its bombing raids against Libyan targets in response to a discotheque bombing in West Germany that killed two U.S. servicemen. 1989 – Hillsborough disaster: A human crush occurs at Hillsborough Stadium, home of Sheffield Wednesday, in the FA Cup Semi-final, resulting in the deaths of 97 Liverpool fans. 1989 – Upon Hu Yaobang's death, the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 begin in China. 1994 – Marrakesh Agreement relating to foundation of World Trade Organization is adopted. 2002 – Air China Flight 129 crashes on approach to Gimhae International Airport in Busan, South Korea, killing 129 people. 2013 – Two bombs explode near the finish line at the Boston Marathon in Boston, Massachusetts, killing three people and injuring 281 others. 2013 – A wave of bombings across Iraq kills at least 75 people. 2014 – In the worst massacre of the South Sudanese Civil War, at least 200 civilians are gunned down after seeking refuge in houses of worship as well as hospitals. 2019 – The cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris in France is seriously damaged by a large fire. 2021 – A mass shooting occurred at a Fedex Ground facility in Indianapolis, Indiana, killing nine and injuring seven. Births Pre-1600 68 BC – Gaius Maecenas, Roman politician (d. 8 BC) 1282 – Frederick IV, Duke of Lorraine (d. 1329) 1442 – John Paston, English noble (d. 1479) 1452 – Leonardo da Vinci, Italian painter, sculptor, and architect (d. 1519) 1469 – Guru Nanak, the first Sikh guru (d. 1539) 1552 – Pietro Cataldi, Italian mathematician and astronomer (d. 1626) 1563 – Guru Arjan Dev, fifth Sikh leader (d. 1606) 1588 – Claudius Salmasius, French author and scholar (d. 1653) 1592 – Francesco Maria Brancaccio, Catholic cardinal (d. 1675) 1601–1900 1641 – Robert Sibbald, Scottish physician and geographer (d. 1722) 1642 – Suleiman II, Ottoman sultan (d. 1691) 1646 – Christian V of Denmark (d. 1699) 1684 – Catherine I of Russia (d. 1727) 1688 – Johann Friedrich Fasch, German violinist and composer (d. 1758) 1707 – Leonhard Euler, Swiss mathematician and physicist (d. 1783) 1710 – William Cullen, Scottish physician and chemist (d. 1790) 1741 – Charles Willson Peale, American painter and soldier (d. 1827) 1771 – Nicolas Chopin, French-Polish educator (d. 1844) 1772 – Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, French biologist and zoologist (d. 1844) 1793 – Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve, German astronomer and academic (d. 1864) 1795 – Maria Schicklgruber, mother of Alois Hitler and the paternal grandmother of Adolf Hitler (d. 1847) 1800 – James Clark Ross, English captain and explorer (d. 1862) 1808 – William Champ, English-Australian politician, 1st Premier of Tasmania (d. 1892) 1809 – Hermann Grassmann, German linguist and mathematician (d. 1877) 1817 – William Crowther, Dutch-Australian politician, 14th Premier of Tasmania (d. 1885) 1828 – Jean Danjou, French captain (d. 1863) 1832 – Wilhelm Busch, German poet, painter, and illustrator (d. 1908) 1841 – Mary Grant Roberts, Australian zoo owner (d. 1921) 1841 – Joseph E. Seagram, Canadian businessman and politician, founded the Seagram Company Ltd (d. 1919) 1843 – Henry James, American novelist, short story writer, and critic (d. 1916) 1856 – Jean Moréas, Greek poet and critic (d. 1910) 1858 – Émile Durkheim, French sociologist, psychologist, and philosopher (d. 1917) 1861 – Bliss Carman, Canadian-British poet and playwright (d. 1929) 1863 – Ida Freund, Austrian-born chemist and educator (d. 1914) 1874 – George Harrison Shull, American botanist and geneticist (d. 1954) 1874 – Johannes Stark, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1957) 1875 – James J. Jeffries, American boxer and promoter (d. 1953) 1877 – Georg Kolbe, German sculptor (d. 1947) 1877 – William David Ross, Scottish philosopher (d. 1971) 1878 – Robert Walser, Swiss author and playwright (d. 1956) 1879 – Melville Henry Cane, American lawyer and poet (d. 1980) 1883 – Stanley Bruce, Australian captain and politician, 8th Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1967) 1885 – Tadeusz Kutrzeba, Polish general (d. 1947) 1886 – Nikolay Gumilyov, Russian poet and critic (d. 1921) 1887 – Felix Pipes, Austrian tennis player (d. 1983) 1887 – William Forgan Smith, Scottish-Australian politician, 24th Premier of Queensland (d. 1953) 1888 – Maximilian Kronberger, German poet and author (d. 1904) 1889 – Thomas Hart Benton, American painter and educator (d. 1975) 1889 – A. Philip Randolph, American activist (d. 1979) 1890 – Percy Shaw, English businessman, invented the cat's eye (d. 1976) 1892 – Theo Osterkamp, German general and pilot (d. 1975) 1892 – Corrie ten Boom, Dutch-American clocksmith, Nazi resister, and author (d. 1983) 1894 – Nikita Khrushchev, Russian general and politician, 7th Premier of the Soviet Union (d. 1971) 1894 – Bessie Smith, African-American singer and actress (d. 1937) 1895 – Clark McConachy, New Zealand snooker player (d. 1980) 1895 – Abigail Mejia, Dominican feminist activist, nationalist, literary critic and educator (d. 1941) 1896 – Nikolay Semyonov, Russian physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1986) 1898 – Harry Edward, Guyanese-English sprinter (d. 1973) 1900 – Ramón Iribarren, Spanish civil engineer (d. 1967) 1901–present 1901 – Joe Davis, English snooker player (d. 1978) 1901 – Ajoy Mukherjee, Indian politician, Chief Minister of West Bengal (d. 1986) 1901 – René Pleven, French businessman and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 1993) 1902 – Fernando Pessa, Portuguese journalist (d. 2002) 1903 – John Williams, English-American actor (d. 1983) 1904 – Arshile Gorky, Armenian-American painter and illustrator (d. 1948) 1907 – Nikolaas Tinbergen, Dutch-English ethologist and ornithologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1988) 1908 – eden ahbez, American songwriter and recording artist (d. 1995) 1908 – Lita Grey, American actress (d. 1995) 1909 – Robert Edison Fulton Jr., American inventor and adventurer (d. 2004)Fulton, R. E. Jr., (1983) – The One Man Caravan of Robert E. Fulton Jr. An Autofilmography – Newtown, Connecticut: Flying Ridge 1910 – Sulo Bärlund, Finnish shot putter (d. 1986) 1910 – Miguel Najdorf, Polish-Argentinian chess player and theoretician (d. 1997) 1912 – William Congdon, American-Italian painter and sculptor (d. 1998) 1912 – Kim Il Sung, North Korean general and politician, 1st Supreme Leader of North Korea (d. 1994) 1915 – Elizabeth Catlett, African-American sculptor and illustrator (d. 2012) 1916 – Alfred S. Bloomingdale, American businessman (d. 1982) 1916 – Helene Hanff, American author and screenwriter (d. 1997) 1917 – Hans Conried, American actor (d. 1982) 1917 – Elmer Gedeon, American baseball player and bomber pilot (d. 1944) 1917 – James Kee, American lawyer and politician (d. 1989) 1918 – Hans Billian, German film director, screenwriter, and actor (d. 2007) 1919 – Alberto Breccia, Uruguayan-Argentinian author and illustrator (d. 1993) 1920 – Godfrey Stafford, English-South African physicist and academic (d. 2013) 1920 – Thomas Szasz, Hungarian-American psychiatrist and academic (d. 2012) 1920 – Richard von Weizsäcker, German soldier and politician, 6th President of Germany (d. 2015) 1921 – Georgy Beregovoy, Ukrainian-Russian general, pilot, and astronaut (d. 1995) 1921 – Angelo DiGeorge, American physician and endocrinologist (d. 2009) 1922 – Michael Ansara, Syrian-American actor (d. 2013) 1922 – Hasrat Jaipuri, Indian poet and songwriter (d. 1999) 1922 – Harold Washington, American lawyer and politician, 51st Mayor of Chicago (d. 1987) 1922 – Graham Whitehead, English racing driver (d. 1981) 1923 – Artur Alliksaar, Estonian poet and author (d. 1966) 1923 – Robert DePugh, American activist, founded the Minutemen (an anti-Communist organization) (d. 2009) 1924 – M. Canagaratnam, Sri Lankan politician (d. 1980) 1924 – Rikki Fulton, Scottish comedian (d. 2004) 1924 – Neville Marriner, English violinist and conductor (d. 2016) 1926 – Jurriaan Schrofer, Dutch sculptor, designer, and educator (d. 1990)"Jurriaan Schrofer" (in Dutch), Netherlands Institute for Art History. Retrieved 3 April 2022. Colonial Heritage, Memory and Sustainability in Africa: Challenges, Opportunities and Prospects (2015): p 11. 1956 – Michael Cooper, American basketball player and coach 1957 – Evelyn Ashford, American runner and coach 1958 – Keith Acton, Canadian ice hockey player and coach 1958 – John Bracewell, New Zealand cricketer 1958 – Memos Ioannou, Greek basketball player and coach 1958 – Benjamin Zephaniah, English actor, author, poet, and playwright (d. 2023) 1959 – Fruit Chan, Chinese director, producer, and screenwriter 1959 – Kevin Lowe, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager 1959 – Emma Thompson, English actress, comedian, author, activist and screenwriter 1960 – Pierre Aubry, Canadian ice hockey player 1960 – Susanne Bier, Danish director and screenwriter 1960 – Pedro Delgado, Spanish cyclist and sportscaster 1960 – Tony Jones, English snooker player 1961 – Neil Carmichael, English academic and politician 1961 – Carol W. Greider, American molecular biologist 1961 – Dawn Wright, American geographer and oceanographer 1962 – Nawal El Moutawakel, Moroccan athlete and politician 1962 – Tom Kane, American voice actor 1963 – Alex Crawford, Nigerian-South African journalist 1963 – Manzoor Elahi, Pakistani cricketer 1963 – Manoj Prabhakar, Indian cricketer and sportscaster 1964 – Andre Joubert, South African rugby player 1964 – Lee Kernaghan, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist 1965 – Soichi Noguchi, Japanese engineer and astronaut 1965 – Linda Perry, American singer-songwriter, musician and record producer 1965 – Kevin Stevens, American ice hockey player 1966 – Samantha Fox, English singer-songwriter and actress 1966 – Mott Green, American businessman (d. 2013) 1967 – Frankie Poullain, Scottish bass player and songwriter 1967 – Dara Torres, American swimmer and journalist 1968 – Ben Clarke, English rugby player and coach 1968 – Brahim Lahlafi, Moroccan-French runner 1968 – Ed O'Brien, English guitarist 1969 – Jeromy Burnitz, American baseball player 1969 – Kaisa Roose, Estonian pianist and conductor 1969 – Jimmy Waite, Canadian-German ice hockey player and coach 1970 – Chris Huffins, American decathlete and coach 1971 – Philippe Carbonneau, French rugby player 1971 – Finidi George, Nigerian footballer 1971 – Jason Sehorn, American football player 1971 – Josia Thugwane, South African runner 1971 – Karl Turner, English lawyer and politician 1972 – Arturo Gatti, Italian-Canadian boxer (d. 2009) 1972 – Lou Romano, American animator and voice actor 1974 – Kim Min-kyo, South Korean actor and director 1974 – Danny Pino, American actor and screenwriter 1974 – Mike Quinn, American football player 1974 – Douglas Spain, American actor, director, and producer 1974 – Tim Thomas, American ice hockey player 1975 – Sarah Teichmann, German-American biophysicist and immunologist 1976 – Jason Bonsignore, Canadian ice hockey player and coach 1976 – Darius Regelskis, Lithuanian footballer 1976 – Kęstutis Šeštokas, Lithuanian basketball player 1976 – Steve Williams, English rower 1977 – Sudarsan Pattnaik, Indian sculptor 1977 – Brian Pothier, American ice hockey player 1978 – Milton Bradley, American baseball player 1978 – Tim Corcoran, American baseball player 1978 – Luis Fonsi, Puerto Rican-American singer-songwriter and dancer 1978 – Chris Stapleton, American country singer-songwriter and guitarist 1979 – Luke Evans, Welsh actor and singer 1980 – Patrick Carney, American drummer, musician, and producer 1980 – James Foster, English cricketer 1980 – Raül López, Spanish basketball player 1980 – Willie Mason, New Zealand-Australian rugby league player 1980 – Aida Mollenkamp, American chef and author 1980 – Billy Yates, American football player 1981 – Andrés D'Alessandro, Argentinian footballer 1982 – Michael Aubrey, American baseball player 1982 – Anthony Green, American singer-songwriter 1982 – Seth Rogen, Canadian-American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter 1983 – Alice Braga, Brazilian actress 1983 – Matt Cardle, English singer-songwriter and guitarist 1983 – Dudu Cearense, Brazilian footballer 1983 – Andreas Fransson, Swedish skier (d. 2014) 1983 – Ilya Kovalchuk, Russian ice hockey player 1983 – Martin Pedersen, Danish cyclist 1984 – Antonio Cromartie, American football player 1984 – Cam Janssen, American ice hockey player 1984 – Daniel Paille, Canadian ice hockey player 1985 – Ryan Hamilton, Canadian ice hockey player 1986 – Tom Heaton, English footballer 1986 – Sylvain Marveaux, French footballer 1988 – Blake Ayshford, Australian rugby league player 1988 – Steven Defour, Belgian footballer 1988 – Chris Tillman, American baseball pitcher 1989 – Darren Nicholls, Australian rugby league player 1990 – Emma Watson, English actress 1991 – Daiki Arioka, Japanese idol, singer, and actor 1991 – Javier Fernández López, Spanish skater 1992 – Jeremy McGovern, Australian rules football player 1994 – Brodie Grundy, Australian rules football player 1994 – Shaunae Miller-Uibo, Bahamian sprinter 1995 – Leander Dendoncker, Belgian footballer 1997 – Ashleigh Gardner, Australian cricketer 1997 – Maisie Williams, English actress 1998 – Sexyy Red, American rapper 1999 – Denis Shapovalov, Canadian tennis player 2001 – Shanti Dope, Filipino rapper Deaths Pre-1600 628 – Suiko, emperor of Japan (b. 554) 943 – Liu Bin, emperor of Southern Han (b. 920) 956 – Lin Yanyu, Chinese court official and eunuch 1053 – Godwin, Earl of Wessex (b. 1001) 1136 – Richard Fitz Gilbert de Clare (b. 1094) 1220 – Adolf of Altena, German archbishop (b. 1157) 1237 – Richard Poore, English ecclesiastic 1415 – Manuel Chrysoloras, Greek philosopher and translator (b. 1355) 1446 – Filippo Brunelleschi, Italian sculptor and architect (b. 1377) 1502 – John IV of Chalon-Arlay, Prince of Orange (b. 1443) 1558 – Roxelana, wife of Suleiman the Magnificent (b. c. 1500) 1578 – Wolrad II, Count of Waldeck-Eisenberg, German nobleman (b. 1509) 1601–1900 1610 – Robert Persons, English Jesuit priest, insurrectionist, and author (b. 1546) 1632 – George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore, English politician, English Secretary of State (b. 1580) 1652 – Patriarch Joseph of Moscow, Russian patriarch 1659 – Simon Dach, German poet and hymnwriter (b. 1605) 1719 – Françoise d'Aubigné, Marquise de Maintenon, French wife of Louis XIV of France (b. 1635) 1754 – Jacopo Riccati, Italian mathematician and academic (b. 1676) 1757 – Rosalba Carriera, Italian painter (b. 1673) 1761 – Archibald Campbell, 3rd Duke of Argyll, Scottish lawyer and politician, Lord President of the Court of Session (b. 1682) 1761 – William Oldys, English historian and author (b. 1696) 1764 – Peder Horrebow, Danish astronomer and mathematician (b. 1679) 1764 – Madame de Pompadour, mistress of King Louis XV (b. 1721) 1765 – Mikhail Lomonosov, Russian chemist and physicist (b. 1711) 1788 – Giuseppe Bonno, Austrian composer (b. 1711) 1793 – Ignacije Szentmartony, Croatian priest, mathematician, and astronomer (b. 1718) 1854 – Arthur Aikin, English chemist and mineralogist (b. 1773) 1861 – Sylvester Jordan, Austrian-German lawyer and politician (b. 1792) 1865 – Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States (b. 1809) 1888 – Matthew Arnold, English poet and critic (b. 1822) 1889 – Father Damien, Belgian priest and saint (b. 1840) 1898 – Te Keepa Te Rangihiwinui, New Zealand commander and politician 1901–present 1912 – Victims of the Titanic disaster: Thomas Andrews, Irish shipbuilder (b. 1873) John Jacob Astor IV, American colonel, businessman, and author (b. 1864) Archibald Butt, American general and journalist (b. 1865) Jacques Futrelle, American journalist and author (b. 1875) Benjamin Guggenheim, American businessman (b. 1865) Henry B. Harris, American producer and manager (b. 1866) Wallace Hartley, English violinist and bandleader (b. 1878) Charles Melville Hays, American businessman (b. 1856) James Paul Moody, English Sixth Officer (b. 1887) William McMaster Murdoch, Scottish First Officer (b. 1873) Jack Phillips, English telegraphist (b. 1887) Edward Smith, English Captain (b. 1850) William Thomas Stead, English journalist (b. 1849) Ida Straus, German-American businesswoman (b. 1849) Isidor Straus, German-American businessman and politician (b. 1845) John B. Thayer, American business and sportsman (b. 1862) Henry Tingle Wilde, English chief officer (b. 1872) 1917 – János Murkovics, Slovene author, poet, and educator (b. 1839) 1927 – Gaston Leroux, French journalist and author (b. 1868) 1938 – César Vallejo, Peruvian journalist, poet, and playwright (b. 1892) 1942 – Robert Musil, Austrian-Swiss author and playwright (b. 1880) 1943 – Aristarkh Lentulov, Russian painter and set designer (b. 1882) 1944 – Nikolai Fyodorovich Vatutin, Russian general (b. 1901) 1945 – Hermann Florstedt, German SS officer (b. 1895) 1948 – Radola Gajda, Montenegrin-Czech general and politician (b. 1892) 1949 – Wallace Beery, American actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1885) 1962 – Clara Blandick, American actress (b. 1880) 1962 – Arsenio Lacson, Filipino journalist and politician, Mayor of Manila (b. 1912) 1963 – Edward Greeves, Jr., Australian footballer (b. 1903) 1966 – Habibullah Bahar Chowdhury, Bengali politician, writer, journalist, first health minister of East Pakistan (b. 1906) 1967 – Totò, Italian comedian (b. 1898) 1971 – Gurgen Boryan, Armenian poet and playwright (b. 1915) 1971 – Friedebert Tuglas, Estonian author and critic (b. 1886) 1979 – David Brand, Australian politician, 19th Premier of Western Australia (b. 1912) 1980 – Raymond Bailey, American actor and soldier (b. 1904) 1980 – Jean-Paul Sartre, French philosopher and author, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1905) 1982 – Arthur Lowe, English actor (b. 1915) 1984 – Tommy Cooper, Welsh comedian and magician (b. 1921) 1986 – Jean Genet, French novelist, poet, and playwright (b. 1910) 1988 – Kenneth Williams, English actor and screenwriter (b. 1926) 1989 – Hu Yaobang, Chinese soldier and politician, former General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (b. 1915) 1990 – Greta Garbo, Swedish-American actress (b. 1905) 1993 – Leslie Charteris, English author and screenwriter (b. 1907) 1993 – John Tuzo Wilson, Canadian geophysicist and geologist (b. 1908) 1998 – William Congdon, American-Italian painter and sculptor (b. 1912) 1998 – Pol Pot, Cambodian general and politician, 29th Prime Minister of Cambodia (b. 1925) 1999 – Harvey Postlethwaite, English engineer (b. 1944) 2000 – Edward Gorey, American poet and illustrator (b. 1925) 2001 – Joey Ramone, American singer-songwriter (b. 1951) 2002 – Damon Knight, American author and critic (b. 1922) 2002 – Byron White, American football player, lawyer, and jurist, 4th United States Deputy Attorney General (b. 1917) 2004 – Mitsuteru Yokoyama, Japanese illustrator (b. 1934) 2007 – Brant Parker, American illustrator (b. 1920) 2008 – Krister Stendahl, Swedish bishop, theologian, and scholar (b. 1921) 2009 – Clement Freud, German-English journalist, academic, and politician (b. 1924) 2009 – László Tisza, Hungarian-American physicist and academic (b. 1907) 2009 – Salih Neftçi, Turkish economist and author (b. 1947) 2010 – Jack Herer, American author and activist (b. 1939) 2010 – Michael Pataki, American actor and director (b. 1938) 2011 – Vittorio Arrigoni, Italian journalist, author, and activist (b. 1975) 2012 – Paul Bogart, American director and producer (b. 1919) 2012 – Dwayne Schintzius, American basketball player (b. 1968) 2013 – Benjamin Fain, Ukrainian-Israeli physicist and academic (b. 1930) 2013 – Richard LeParmentier, American-English actor and screenwriter (b. 1946) 2013 – Jean-François Paillard, French conductor (b. 1928) 2014 – John Houbolt, American engineer and academic (b. 1919) 2014 – Eliseo Verón, Argentinian sociologist and academic (b. 1935) 2015 – Jonathan Crombie, Canadian-American actor and screenwriter (b. 1966) 2015 – Surya Bahadur Thapa, Nepalese politician, 24th Prime Minister of Nepal (b. 1928) 2017 – Clifton James, American actor (b. 1920) 2017 – Emma Morano, Italian supercentenarian, last person verified born in the 1800s (b. 1899) 2018 – R. Lee Ermey, American actor (b. 1944) 2018 – Vittorio Taviani, Italian film director and screenwriter (b. 1929) 2022 – Bilquis Edhi, Pakistani philanthropist and wife of Abdul Sattar Edhi (b. 1947) 2022 – Henry Plumb, British politician and farmer (b. 1925) 2022 – Liz Sheridan, American actress (b. 1929) 2024 – Whitey Herzog, American professional baseball outfielder and manager (b. 1931) 2024 – Josip Manolić, Croatian politician, prime minister, and speaker of the Chamber of Counties (b. 1920) Holidays and observances Christian feast day: Abbo II of Metz Father Damien (The Episcopal Church) Hunna Paternus of Avranches April 15 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) Day of the Sun (North Korea) Father Damien Day (Hawaii) Hillsborough Disaster Memorial (Liverpool, England) Jackie Robinson Day (United States) National American Sign Language Day (United States) Pohela Boishakh (Bengali New Year; India) Tax Day, the official deadline for filing an individual tax return (or requesting an extension). (United States, Philippines) Universal Day of Culture World Art Day References External links BBC: On This Day Historical Events on April 15
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April 30
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Events Pre-1600 311 – The Diocletianic Persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire ends.Stevenson, J. A New Eusebius SPCK 1965, p. 296 1315 – Enguerrand de Marigny is hanged at the instigation of Charles, Count of Valois. 1492 – Spain gives Christopher Columbus his commission of exploration. He is named admiral of the ocean sea, viceroy and governor of any territory he discovers. 1513 – Edmund de la Pole, Yorkist pretender to the English throne, is executed on the orders of Henry VIII. 1598 – Juan de Oñate begins the conquest of Santa Fe de Nuevo México. 1598 – Henry IV of France issues the Edict of Nantes, allowing freedom of religion to the Huguenots. 1601–1900 1636 – Eighty Years' War: Dutch Republic forces recapture a strategically important fort from Spain after a nine-month siege. 1789 – On the balcony of Federal Hall on Wall Street in New York City, George Washington takes the oath of office to become the first President of the United States. 1803 – Louisiana Purchase: The United States purchases the Louisiana Territory from France for $15 million, more than doubling the size of the young nation. 1812 – The Territory of Orleans becomes the 18th U.S. state under the name Louisiana. 1838 – Nicaragua declares independence from the Central American Federation. 1863 – A 65-man French Foreign Legion infantry patrol fights a force of nearly 2,000 Mexican soldiers to nearly the last man in Hacienda Camarón, Mexico. 1871 – The Camp Grant massacre takes place in Arizona Territory. 1885 – Governor of New York David B. Hill signs legislation creating the Niagara Reservation, New York's first state park, ensuring that Niagara Falls will not be devoted solely to industrial and commercial use. 1897 – J. J. Thomson of the Cavendish Laboratory announces his discovery of the electron as a subatomic particle, over 1,800 times smaller than a proton (in the atomic nucleus), at a lecture at the Royal Institution in London. 1900 – Hawaii becomes a territory of the United States, with Sanford B. Dole as governor. 1901–present 1905 – Albert Einstein completes his doctoral thesis at the University of Zurich. 1925 – Automaker Dodge Brothers, Inc is sold to Dillon, Read & Co. for US$146 million plus $50 million for charity. 1927 – The Federal Industrial Institute for Women opens in Alderson, West Virginia, as the first women's federal prison in the United States. 1937 – The Commonwealth of the Philippines holds a plebiscite for Filipino women on whether they should be extended the right to suffrage; over 90% would vote in the affirmative. 1939 – The 1939–40 New York World's Fair opens. 1939 – NBC inaugurates its regularly scheduled television service in New York City, broadcasting President Franklin D. Roosevelt's N.Y. World's Fair opening day ceremonial address. 1943 – World War II: The British submarine surfaces near Huelva to cast adrift a dead man dressed as a courier and carrying false invasion plans. 1945 – World War II: Führerbunker: Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun commit suicide after being married for less than 40 hours. Soviet soldiers raise the Victory Banner over the Reichstag building. 1945 – World War II: Stalag Luft I prisoner-of-war camp near Barth, Germany is liberated by Soviet soldiers, freeing nearly 9,000 American and British airmen. 1947 – In Nevada, Boulder Dam is renamed Hoover Dam. 1948 – In Bogotá, Colombia, the Organization of American States is established. 1956 – Former Vice President and Democratic Senator Alben Barkley dies during a speech in Virginia. 1957 – Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery entered into force. 1961 – K-19, the first Soviet nuclear submarine equipped with nuclear missiles, is commissioned. 1963 – The Bristol Bus Boycott is held in Bristol to protest the Bristol Omnibus Company's refusal to employ Black or Asian bus crews, drawing national attention to racial discrimination in the United Kingdom. 1973 – Watergate scandal: U.S. President Richard Nixon fires White House Counsel John Dean; other top aides, most notably H. R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman, resign. 1975 – Fall of Saigon: Communist forces gain control of Saigon. The Vietnam War formally ends with the unconditional surrender of South Vietnamese president Dương Văn Minh. 1979 – Eruption of Mount Marapi: Mount Marapi, a complex volcano on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, erupted. 80 up to 100 people were killed. 1980 – Beatrix is inaugurated as Queen of the Netherlands following the abdication of Juliana. 1980 – The Iranian Embassy siege begins in London. 1982 – The Bijon Setu massacre occurs in Calcutta, India. 1989 – The Monkseaton shootings occur in Tyne and Wear, England. One killed, 16 injured. 1993 – CERN announces World Wide Web protocols will be free. 1994 – Formula One racing driver Roland Ratzenberger is killed in a crash during the qualifying session of the San Marino Grand Prix run at Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari outside Imola, Italy. 1999 – Neo-Nazi David Copeland carries out the last of his three nail bombings in London at the Admiral Duncan gay pub, killing three people and injuring 79 others. ; ; ; 2000 – Canonization of Faustina Kowalska in the presence of 200,000 people and the first Divine Mercy Sunday celebrated worldwide. 2008 – Two skeletal remains found near Yekaterinburg are confirmed by Russian scientists to be the remains of Alexei and Anastasia, two of the children of the last Tsar of Russia, whose entire family was executed at Yekaterinburg by the Bolsheviks. 2009 – Seven civilians and the perpetrator are killed and another ten injured at a Queen's Day parade in Apeldoorn, Netherlands in an attempted assassination on Queen Beatrix. 2012 – An overloaded ferry capsizes on the Brahmaputra River in India killing at least 108 people. At least 150 more are missing and presumed dead. 2013 – Willem-Alexander is inaugurated as King of the Netherlands following the abdication of Beatrix. 2014 – A bomb blast in Ürümqi, China kills three people and injures 79 others. 2021 – Forty-five men and boys are killed in the Meron stampede in Israel. Births Pre-1600 1310 – King Casimir III of Poland (d. 1368) 1331 – Gaston III, Count of Foix (d. 1391) 1383 – Anne of Gloucester, English countess, granddaughter of King Edward III of England (d. 1438)The Complete Peerage, sourced from Camden, 3rd series, Vol.57, pp. 258–260 (1937) 1425 – William III, Landgrave of Thuringia (d. 1482) 1504 – Francesco Primaticcio, Italian painter (d. 1570) 1553 – Louise of Lorraine (d. 1601) 1601–1900 1623 – François de Laval, French-Canadian bishop and saint (d. 1708) 1651 – Jean-Baptiste de La Salle, French priest and saint (d. 1719) 1662 – Mary II of England (d. 1694) 1664 – François Louis, Prince of Conti (d. 1709) 1710 – Johann Kaspar Basselet von La Rosée, Bavarian general (d. 1795) 1723 – Mathurin Jacques Brisson, French zoologist and philosopher (d. 1806) 1758 – Emmanuel Vitale, Maltese commander and politician (d. 1802) 1770 – David Thompson, English-Canadian cartographer and explorer (d. 1857) 1777 – Carl Friedrich Gauss, German mathematician and physicist (d. 1855) 1799 – Joseph Dart, American businessman and entrepreneur (d. 1879) 1803 – Albrecht von Roon, Prussian soldier and politician, 10th Minister President of Prussia (d. 1879) 1829 – Ferdinand von Hochstetter, Austrian geologist and academic (d. 1884) 1848 – Eugène Simon, French naturalist (d. 1924) 1857 – Eugen Bleuler, Swiss psychiatrist and eugenicist (d. 1940) 1857 – Walter Simon, German banker and philanthropist (d. 1920) 1865 – Max Nettlau, German historian and academic (d. 1944) 1866 – Mary Haviland Stilwell Kuesel, American pioneer dentist (d. 1936) 1869 – Hans Poelzig, German architect, designed the IG Farben Building and Großes Schauspielhaus (d. 1936) 1870 – Franz Lehár, Hungarian composer (d. 1948) 1870 – Dadasaheb Phalke, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1944) 1874 – Cyriel Verschaeve, Flemish priest and author (d. 1949) 1876 – Orso Mario Corbino, Italian physicist and politician (d. 1937) 1877 – Léon Flameng, French cyclist (d. 1917) 1877 – Alice B. Toklas, American memoirist (d. 1967) 1878 – Władysław Witwicki, Polish psychologist, philosopher, translator, historian (of philosophy and art) and artist (d. 1948) 1879 – Richárd Weisz, Hungarian Olympic champion wrestler (d. 1945) 1880 – Charles Exeter Devereux Crombie, Scottish cartoonist (d. 1967) 1883 – Jaroslav Hašek, Czech soldier and author (d. 1923) 1883 – Luigi Russolo, Italian painter and composer (d. 1947) 1884 – Olof Sandborg, Swedish actor (d. 1965) 1888 – John Crowe Ransom, American poet, critic, and academic (d. 1974) 1893 – Harold Breen, Australian public servant (d. 1966) 1893 – Joachim von Ribbentrop, German soldier and politician, 14th German Reich Minister for Foreign Affairs (d. 1946) 1895 – Philippe Panneton, Canadian physician, academic, and diplomat (d. 1960) 1896 – Reverend Gary Davis, American singer and guitarist (d. 1972) 1896 – Hans List, Austrian scientist and businessman, founded the AVL Engineering Company (d. 1996) 1897 – Humberto Mauro, Brazilian director and screenwriter (d. 1983) 1900 – Erni Krusten, Estonian author and poet (d. 1984) 1901–present 1901 – Simon Kuznets, Belarusian-American economist, statistician, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1985) 1902 – Theodore Schultz, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1998) 1905 – Sergey Nikolsky, Russian mathematician and academic (d. 2012) 1908 – Eve Arden, American actress (d. 1990) 1908 – Bjarni Benediktsson, Icelandic professor of law and politician, 13th Prime Minister of Iceland (d. 1970) 1908 – Frank Robert Miller, Canadian air marshal and politician (d. 1997) 1909 – F. E. McWilliam, Irish sculptor and educator (d. 1992) 1909 – Juliana of the Netherlands (d. 2004) 1910 – Levi Celerio, Filipino pianist, violinist, and composer (d. 2002) 1914 – Charles Beetham, American middle-distance runner (d. 1997) 1914 – Dorival Caymmi, Brazilian singer-songwriter, actor, and painter (d. 2008) 1916 – Paul Kuusberg, Estonian journalist and author (d. 2003) 1916 – Claude Shannon, American mathematician and engineer (d. 2001) 1916 – Robert Shaw, American conductor (d. 1999) 1917 – Bea Wain, American singer (d. 2017) 1920 – Duncan Hamilton, Irish-English race car driver and pilot (d. 1994) 1920 – Gerda Lerner, Austrian-American historian and woman's history author (d. 2013) 1920 – Tom Moore, British army officer and fundraiser (d. 2021) 1921 – Roger L. Easton, American scientist, co-invented the GPS (d. 2014) 1922 – Anton Murray, South African cricketer (d. 1995) 1923 – Percy Heath, American bassist (d. 2005) 1923 – Kagamisato Kiyoji, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 42nd Yokozuna (d. 2004) 1924 – Sheldon Harnick, American lyricist (d. 2023) 1924 – Uno Laht, Estonian KGB officer and author (d. 2008) 1925 – Corinne Calvet, French actress (d. 2001) 1925 – Johnny Horton, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1960) 1926 – Shrinivas Khale, Indian composer (d. 2011) 1926 – Cloris Leachman, American actress and comedian (d. 2021) 1928 – Hugh Hood, Canadian author and academic (d. 2000) 1928 – Orlando Sirola, Italian tennis player (d. 1995) 1930 – Félix Guattari, French psychotherapist and philosopher (d. 1992) 1933 – Charles Sanderson, Baron Sanderson of Bowden, English politician 1934 – Jerry Lordan, English singer-songwriter (d. 1995) 1934 – Don McKenney, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2022) 1937 – Tony Harrison, English poet and playwright 1938 – Gary Collins, American actor and talk show host (d. 2012) 1938 – Juraj Jakubisko, Slovak director and screenwriter (d. 2023) 1938 – Larry Niven, American author and screenwriter 1940 – Jeroen Brouwers, Dutch journalist and writer (d. 2022) 1940 – Michael Cleary, Australian rugby player and politician 1940 – Ülo Õun, Estonian sculptor (d. 1988) 1940 – Burt Young, American actor and painter (d. 2023) 1941 – Stavros Dimas, Greek lawyer and politician, Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs 1941 – Max Merritt, New Zealand-Australian singer-songwriter (d. 2020) 1942 – Sallehuddin of Kedah, Sultan of Kedah 1943 – Frederick Chiluba, Zambian politician, 2nd President of Zambia (d. 2011) 1943 – Bobby Vee, American pop singer-songwriter (d. 2016) 1944 – Jon Bing, Norwegian author, scholar, and academic (d. 2014) 1944 – Jill Clayburgh, American actress (d. 2010) 1945 – J. Michael Brady, British radiologist 1945 – Annie Dillard, American novelist, essayist, and poet 1945 – Mimi Fariña, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and activist (d. 2001) 1945 – Michael J. Smith, American pilot, and astronaut (d. 1986) 1946 – King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden 1946 – Bill Plympton, American animator, producer, and screenwriter 1946 – Don Schollander, American swimmer 1947 – Paul Fiddes, English theologian and academic 1947 – Finn Kalvik, Norwegian singer-songwriter and guitarist 1947 – Tom Køhlert, Danish footballer and manager 1947 – Mats Odell, Swedish economist and politician, Swedish Minister for Financial Markets 1948 – Wayne Kramer, American guitarist and singer-songwriter (d. 2024) 1948 – Pierre Pagé, Canadian ice hockey player and coach 1948 – Margit Papp, Hungarian athlete 1949 – Phil Garner, American baseball player and manager 1949 – António Guterres, Portuguese academic and politician, 114th Prime Minister of Portugal and 9th Secretary-General of the United Nations 1949 – Karl Meiler, German tennis player (d. 2014) 1952 – Jacques Audiard, French director and screenwriter 1952 – Jack Middelburg, Dutch motorcycle racer (d. 1984) 1953 – Merrill Osmond, American singer and bass player 1954 – Jane Campion, New Zealand director, producer, and screenwriter 1954 – Kim Darroch, English diplomat, UK Permanent Representative to the European Union 1954 – Frank-Michael Marczewski, German footballer 1955 – Nicolas Hulot, French journalist and environmentalist 1955 – David Kitchin, English lawyer and judge 1955 – Pradeep Sarkar, Indian director and screenwriter (d. 2023) 1955 – Zlatko Topčić, Bosnian writer and screenwriter 1956 – Lars von Trier, Danish director and screenwriter 1957 – Wonder Mike, American rapper and songwriter 1958 – Charles Berling, French actor, director, and screenwriter 1959 – Stephen Harper, Canadian economist and politician, 22nd Prime Minister of Canada 1960 – Geoffrey Cox, English lawyer and politician 1960 – Kerry Healey, American academic and politician, 70th Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts 1961 – Arnór Guðjohnsen, Icelandic footballer 1961 – Isiah Thomas, American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster 1963 – Andrew Carwood, English tenor and conductor 1963 – Michael Waltrip, American race car driver and sportscaster 1964 – Tony Fernandes, Malaysian-Indian businessman, co-founded Tune Group 1964 – Ian Healy, Australian cricketer, coach, and sportscaster 1964 – Lorenzo Staelens, Belgian footballer and manager 1964 – Abhishek Chatterjee, Indian actor (d. 2022) 1965 – Daniela Costian, Romanian-Australian discus thrower 1965 – Adrian Pasdar, American actor 1966 – Jeff Brown, Canadian ice hockey player and coach 1966 – Dave Meggett, American football player and coach 1967 – Phil Chang, Taiwanese singer-songwriter and actor 1967 – Philipp Kirkorov, Bulgarian-born Russian singer, composer and actor 1967 – Turbo B, American rapper 1969 – Warren Defever, American bass player and producer 1969 – Justine Greening, English accountant and politician, Secretary of State for International Development 1969 – Paulo Jr., Brazilian bass player 1972 – Takako Tokiwa, Japanese actress 1973 – Leigh Francis, English comedian and actor 1974 – Christian Tamminga, Dutch athlete 1975 – Johnny Galecki, American actor 1976 – Davian Clarke, Jamaican sprinter 1976 – Amanda Palmer, American singer-songwriter and pianist 1976 – Daniel Wagon, Australian rugby league player 1976 – Victor J. Glover, American astronaut 1977 – Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio, American politician 1977 – Meredith L. Patterson, American technologist, journalist, and author 1978 – Liljay, Taiwanese singer 1979 – Gerardo Torrado, Mexican footballer 1980 – Luis Scola, Argentinian basketball player 1980 – Jeroen Verhoeven, Dutch footballer 1981 – Nicole Kaczmarski, American basketball player 1981 – John O'Shea, Irish footballer 1981 – Kunal Nayyar, British-Indian actor 1981 – Justin Vernon, American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer 1982 – Kirsten Dunst, American actress 1982 – Drew Seeley, Canadian-American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actor 1983 – Chris Carr, American football player 1983 – Tatjana Hüfner, German luger 1983 – Marina Tomić, Slovenian hurdler 1983 – Troy Williamson, American football player 1984 – Seimone Augustus, American basketball player 1984 – Shawn Daivari, American wrestler and manager 1984 – Risto Mätas, Estonian javelin thrower 1984 – Lee Roache, English footballer 1985 – Brandon Bass, American basketball player 1985 – Gal Gadot, Israeli actress and model 1985 – Ashley Alexandra Dupré, American journalist, singer, and prostitute 1986 – Dianna Agron, American actress and singer 1986 – Martten Kaldvee, Estonian biathlete 1987 – Alipate Carlile, Australian footballer 1987 – Chris Morris, South African cricketer 1987 – Rohit Sharma, Indian cricketer 1988 – Andy Allen, Australian chef 1988 – Sander Baart, Dutch field hockey player 1988 – Ana de Armas, Cuban actress 1988 – Liu Xijun, Chinese singer 1988 – Oh Hye-ri, South Korean taekwondo athlete 1989 – Jang Wooyoung, South Korean singer and actor 1990 – Jonny Brownlee, English triathlete 1990 – Mac DeMarco, Canadian singer-songwriter 1990 – Kaarel Kiidron, Estonian footballer 1990 – Paula Ribó, Spanish singer-songwriter and actress 1991 – Chris Kreider, American ice hockey player 1991 – Travis Scott, American rapper and producer 1992 – Marc-André ter Stegen, German footballer 1993 – Dion Dreesens, Dutch swimmer 1993 – Martin Fuksa, Czech canoeist 1994 – Chae Seo-jin, South Korean actress 1994 – Wang Yafan, Chinese tennis player 1996 – Luke Friend, English singer 1997 – Adam Ryczkowski, Polish footballer 1998 – Georgina Amorós, Spanish actress 1999 – Jorden van Foreest, Dutch chess grandmaster 1999 – Krit Amnuaydechkorn, Thai actor and singer 2000 – Yui Hiwatashi, Japanese singer 2002 – Anna Cramling, Spanish-Swedish chess player 2002 – Teden Mengi, English footballer 2003 – Emily Carey, British actress 2003 – Jung Yun-seok, South Korean actor Deaths Pre-1600 AD 65 – Lucan, Roman poet (b. 39) 125 – An, Chinese emperor (b. 94) 535 – Amalasuntha, Ostrogothic queen and regent 783 – Hildegard of the Vinzgau, Frankish queen 1002 – Eckard I, German nobleman 1030 – Mahmud of Ghazni, Ghaznavid emir (b. 971) 1063 – Ren Zong, Chinese emperor (b. 1010) 1131 – Adjutor, French knight and saint 1305 – Roger de Flor, Italian military adventurer (b. 1267) 1341 – John III, duke of Brittany (b. 1286) 1439 – Richard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick, English commander (b. 1382) 1524 – Pierre Terrail, seigneur de Bayard, French soldier (b. 1473) 1544 – Thomas Audley, 1st Baron Audley of Walden, English lawyer and judge, Lord Chancellor of England (b. 1488) 1550 – Tabinshwehti, Burmese king (b. 1516) 1601–1900 1632 – Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly, Bavarian general (b. 1559) 1632 – Sigismund III Vasa, Swedish-Polish son of John III of Sweden (b. 1566) 1637 – Niwa Nagashige, Japanese daimyō (b. 1571) 1655 – Eustache Le Sueur, French painter (b. 1617) 1660 – Petrus Scriverius, Dutch historian and scholar (b. 1576) 1672 – Marie of the Incarnation, French-Canadian nun and saint, founded the Ursulines of Quebec (b. 1599) 1696 – Robert Plot, English chemist and academic (b. 1640) 1712 – Philipp van Limborch, Dutch theologian and author (b. 1633) 1733 – Rodrigo Anes de Sá Almeida e Meneses, 1st Marquis of Abrantes, Portuguese diplomat (b. 1676) 1736 – Johann Albert Fabricius, German scholar and author (b. 1668) 1758 – François d'Agincourt, French organist and composer (b. 1684) 1792 – John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, English politician, Secretary of State for the Northern Department (b. 1718) 1795 – Jean-Jacques Barthélemy, French archaeologist and author (b. 1716) 1806 – Onogawa Kisaburō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 5th Yokozuna (b. 1758) 1841 – Peter Andreas Heiberg, Danish philologist and author (b. 1758) 1847 – Charles, Austrian commander and duke of Teschen (b. 1771) 1863 – Jean Danjou, French captain (b. 1828) 1865 – Robert FitzRoy, English admiral, meteorologist, and politician, 2nd Governor of New Zealand (b. 1805) 1870 – Thomas Cooke, Canadian bishop and missionary (b. 1792) 1875 – Jean-Frédéric Waldeck, French explorer, lithographer, and cartographer (b. 1766) 1879 – Emma Smith, American religious leader (b. 1804) 1883 – Édouard Manet, French painter (b. 1832) 1891 – Joseph Leidy, American paleontologist and author (b. 1823) 1900 – Casey Jones, American railroad engineer (b. 1864) 1901–present 1903 – Emily Stowe, Canadian physician and activist (b. 1831) 1910 – Jean Moréas, Greek poet and critic (b. 1856) 1926 – Bessie Coleman, American pilot (b. 1892) 1936 – A. E. Housman, English poet and scholar (b. 1859) 1939 – Frank Haller, American boxer (b. 1883) 1943 – Eddy Hamel, American footballer (b. Ajax, the Dutch, the War; The Strange Tale of Soccer During Europe's Darkest Hour 1943 – Otto Jespersen, Danish linguist and academic (b. 1860) 1943 – Beatrice Webb, English sociologist and economist (b. 1912) 1945 – Adolf Hitler, Austrian-German politician and author, dictator of Nazi Germany (b. 1889) 1953 – Jacob Linzbach, Estonian linguist and author (b. 1874) 1956 – Alben W. Barkley, American lawyer and politician, 35th Vice President of the United States (b. 1877) 1970 – Jacques Presser, Dutch historian, writer and poet (b. 1899) 1970 – Inger Stevens, Swedish-American actress (b. 1934) 1972 – Gia Scala, English-American model and actress (b. 1934) 1973 – Václav Renč, Czech poet and playwright (b. 1911) 1974 – Agnes Moorehead, American actress (b. 1900) 1980 – Luis Muñoz Marín, Puerto Rican journalist and politician, 1st Governor of Puerto Rico (b. 1898) 1982 – Lester Bangs, American journalist and author (b. 1949) 1983 – George Balanchine, Russian dancer and choreographer (b. 1904) 1983 – Muddy Waters, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and bandleader (b. 1913) 1983 – Edouard Wyss-Dunant, Swiss physician and mountaineer (b. 1897) 1986 – Robert Stevenson, English director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1905) 1989 – Sergio Leone, Italian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1929) 1993 – Tommy Caton, English footballer (b. 1962) 1994 – Roland Ratzenberger, Austrian race car driver (b. 1960) 1994 – Richard Scarry, American author and illustrator (b. 1919) 1995 – Maung Maung Kha, Burmese colonel and politician, 8th Prime Minister of Burma (b. 1920) 1998 – Nizar Qabbani, Syrian-English poet, publisher, and diplomat (b. 1926) 2000 – Poul Hartling, Danish politician, 36th Prime Minister of Denmark (b. 1914) 2002 – Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, German philanthropist, founded the Gründerzeit Museum (b. 1928) 2003 – Mark Berger, American economist and academic (b. 1955) 2003 – Possum Bourne, New Zealand race car driver (b. 1956) 2005 – Phil Rasmussen, American lieutenant and pilot (b. 1918) 2006 – Jean-François Revel, French philosopher (b. 1924) 2006 – Pramoedya Ananta Toer, Indonesian author and academic (b. 1925) 2007 – Kevin Mitchell, American football player (b. 1971) 2007 – Tom Poston, American actor, comedian, and game show panelist (b. 1921) 2007 – Gordon Scott, American film and television actor (b. 1926) 2008 – Juancho Evertsz, Dutch Antillean politician (b. 1923) 2009 – Henk Nijdam, Dutch cyclist (b. 1935) 2011 – Dorjee Khandu, Indian politician, 6th Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh (b. 1955) 2011 – Evald Okas, Estonian painter (b. 1915) 2011 – Ernesto Sabato, Argentinian physicist, author, and painter (b. 1911) 2012 – Tomás Borge, Nicaraguan poet and politician, co-founded the Sandinista National Liberation Front (b. 1930) 2012 – Alexander Dale Oen, Norwegian swimmer (b. 1985) 2012 – Giannis Gravanis, Greek footballer (b. 1958) 2012 – Benzion Netanyahu, Russian-Israeli historian and academic (b. 1910) 2013 – Roberto Chabet, Filipino painter and sculptor (b. 1937) 2013 – Shirley Firth, Canadian skier (b. 1953) 2013 – Viviane Forrester, French author and critic (b. 1925) 2014 – Khaled Choudhury, Indian painter and set designer (b. 1919) 2014 – Julian Lewis, English biologist and academic (b. 1946) 2014 – Carl E. Moses, American businessman and politician (b. 1929) 2014 – Ian Ross, Australian journalist (b. 1940) 2015 – Ben E. King, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1938) 2016 – Daniel Berrigan, American priest and activist (b. 1921) 2016 – Harry Kroto, English chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1939) 2017 – Belchior, Brazilian singer and composer (b. 1946) 2019 – Peter Mayhew, English-American actor (b. 1944) 2020 – Tony Allen, Nigerian drummer and composer (b. 1940) 2020 – Rishi Kapoor, Indian actor, film director and producer (b. 1952) 2021 – Anthony Payne, English composer (b. 1936) 2022 – Naomi Judd, American singer-songwriter and actress (b. 1946) 2022 – Mino Raiola, Italian football agent (b. 1967) 2023 – Jock Zonfrillo, Scottish television presenter and chef (b. 1976) 2024 – Paul Auster, American writer and film director (b. 1947) Holidays and observances Armed Forces Day (Georgia) Camarón Day (French Foreign Legion) Children's Day (Mexico) Christian feast day: Adjutor Aimo Amator, Peter and Louis Donatus of Evorea Eutropius of Saintes Marie Guyart (Anglican Church of Canada) Marie of the Incarnation (Ursuline) Maximus of Rome Blessed Miles Gerard Pomponius of Naples Pope Pius V Quirinus of Neuss Sarah Josepha Hale (Episcopal Church) Suitbert the Younger April 30 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) Consumer Protection Day (Thailand) Honesty Day (United States) International Jazz Day (UNESCO) Martyrs' Day (Pakistan) May Eve, the eve of the first day of summer in the Northern hemisphere (see May 1): Beltane begins at sunset in the Northern hemisphere, Samhain begins at sunset in the Southern hemisphere. (Neo-Druidic Wheel of the Year) Walpurgis Night (Central and Northern Europe) National Persian Gulf Day (Iran) Reunification Day (Vietnam) Rincon Day (Bonaire) Russian State Fire Service Day (Russia) Teachers' Day (Paraguay) References External links BBC: On This Day Historical Events on April 30
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August 22
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Events Pre-1600 392 – Arbogast has Eugenius elected Western Roman Emperor. 851 – Battle of Jengland: Erispoe defeats Charles the Bald near the Breton town of Jengland. 1138 – Battle of the Standard between Scotland and England. 1153 – Crusader–Fatimid wars: The fortress of Ascalon was surrendered by Fatimid Egypt to an army of crusaders, Templars, and Hospitallers led by King Baldwin III of Jerusalem. 1485 – The Battle of Bosworth Field occurs; King Richard III of England's death in battle marks the end of the reigning Plantagenet dynasty and the beginning of the Tudors under Henry VII. 1559 – Spanish archbishop Bartolomé Carranza is arrested for heresy. 1601–1900 1614 – Fettmilch Uprising: Jews are expelled from Frankfurt, Holy Roman Empire, following the plundering of the Judengasse. 1639 – Madras (now Chennai), India, is founded by the British East India Company on a sliver of land bought from local Nayak rulers. 1642 – Charles I raises his standard in Nottingham, which marks the beginning of the English Civil War. 1654 – Jacob Barsimson arrives in New Amsterdam. He is the first known Jewish immigrant to America. 1711 – Britain's Quebec Expedition loses eight ships and almost nine hundred soldiers, sailors and women to rocks at Pointe-aux-Anglais. 1717 – Spanish troops land on Sardinia. 1770 – James Cook names and lands on Possession Island, and claims the east coast of Australia for Britain as New South Wales. 1777 – British forces abandon the Siege of Fort Stanwix after hearing rumors of Continental Army reinforcements. 1780 – James Cook's ship returns to England (Cook having been killed on Hawaii during the voyage). 1791 – The Haitian slave revolution begins in Saint-Domingue, Haiti. 1798 – French troops land at Kilcummin, County Mayo, Ireland to aid the rebellion. 1827 – José de La Mar becomes President of Peru. 1846 – The Second Federal Republic of Mexico is established. 1849 – Passaleão incident: João Maria Ferreira do Amaral, the governor of Portuguese Macau, is assassinated by a group of Chinese locals, triggering a military confrontation between China and Portugal at the Battle of Passaleão three days after. 1851 – The first America's Cup is won by the yacht America. 1864 – Twelve nations sign the First Geneva Convention, establishing the rules of protection of the victims of armed conflicts. 1875 – The Treaty of Saint Petersburg between Japan and Russia is ratified, providing for the exchange of Sakhalin for the Kuril Islands. 1894 – Mahatma Gandhi forms the Natal Indian Congress (NIC) in order to fight discrimination against Indian traders in Natal. 1901–present 1902 – The Cadillac Motor Company is founded. 1902 – Theodore Roosevelt becomes the first President of the United States to make a public appearance in an automobile. 1902 – At least 6,000 people are killed by the magnitude 7.7 Kashgar earthquake in the Tien Shan mountains. 1922 – Michael Collins, Commander-in-chief of the Irish Free State Army, is shot dead in an ambush during the Irish Civil War. 1934 – Bill Woodfull of Australia becomes the only test cricket captain to twice regain The Ashes. 1941 – World War II: German troops begin the Siege of Leningrad. 1942 – Brazil declares war on Germany, Japan and Italy. 1944 – World War II: Holocaust of Kedros in Crete by German forces. 1949 – The Queen Charlotte earthquake is Canada's strongest since the 1700 Cascadia earthquake. 1953 – The penal colony on Devil's Island is permanently closed. 1962 – The OAS attempts to assassinate French president Charles de Gaulle. 1963 – X-15 Flight 91 reaches the highest altitude of the X-15 program ( (354,200 feet)). 1965 – Juan Marichal, pitcher for the San Francisco Giants, strikes John Roseboro, catcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, on the head with a bat, sparking a 14-minute brawl, one of the most violent on-field incidents in sports history. 1966 – Labor movements NFWA and AWOC merge to become the United Farm Workers Organizing Committee (UFWOC), the predecessor of the United Farm Workers. 1968 – Pope Paul VI arrives in Bogotá, Colombia. It is the first visit of a pope to Latin America. 1971 – J. Edgar Hoover and John Mitchell announce the arrest of 20 of the Camden 28. 1972 – Rhodesia is expelled by the IOC for its racist policies. 1973 – The Congress of Chile votes in favour of a resolution condemning President Salvador Allende's government and demands that he resign or else be unseated through force and new elections. 1978 – Nicaraguan Revolution: The FSLN seizes the National Congress of Nicaragua, along with over a thousand hostages. 1978 – The District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment is passed by the U.S. Congress, although it is never ratified by a sufficient number of states. 1981 – Far Eastern Air Transport Flight 103 disintegrates in mid-air and crashes in Sanyi Township, Miaoli County, Taiwan. All 110 people on board are killed. 1985 – British Airtours Flight 28M suffers an engine fire during takeoff at Manchester Airport. The pilots abort but due to inefficient evacuation procedures 55 people are killed, mostly from smoke inhalation. 1989 – Nolan Ryan strikes out Rickey Henderson to become the first Major League Baseball pitcher to record 5,000 strikeouts. 1991 – Iceland is the first nation in the world to recognize the independence of the Baltic states. 1992 – FBI sniper Lon Horiuchi shoots and kills Vicki Weaver during an 11-day siege at her home at Ruby Ridge, Idaho. 1999 – China Airlines Flight 642 crashes at Hong Kong International Airport, killing three people and injuring 208 more. 2003 – Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore is suspended after refusing to comply with a federal court order to remove a rock inscribed with the Ten Commandments from the lobby of the Alabama Supreme Court building. 2004 – Versions of The Scream and Madonna, two paintings by Edvard Munch, are stolen at gunpoint from a museum in Oslo, Norway. 2006 – Pulkovo Aviation Enterprise Flight 612 crashes near the Russian border over eastern Ukraine, killing all 170 people on board. 2006 – Grigori Perelman is awarded the Fields Medal for his proof of the Poincaré conjecture in mathematics but refuses to accept the medal. 2007 – The Texas Rangers defeat the Baltimore Orioles 30–3, the most runs scored by a team in modern Major League Baseball history. 2012 – Ethnic clashes over grazing rights for cattle in Kenya's Tana River District result in more than 52 deaths. 359) 1155 – Emperor Konoe of Japan (b. 1225) 1304 – John II, Count of Holland (b. 1247) 1338 – William II, Duke of Athens (b. 1295) 1425 – Eleanor, Princess of Asturias (b. 1423) 1456 – Vladislav II of Wallachia 1485 – Richard III of England (b. 1452) 1485 – James Harrington, Yorkist knight 1485 – John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk (b. 1430) 1485 – Richard Ratcliffe, supporter of Richard III 1485 – William Brandon, supporter of Henry VII (b. 1426) 1532 – William Warham, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1528) 1584 – Jan Kochanowski, Polish poet and playwright (b. 1530) 1599 – Luca Marenzio, Italian singer-songwriter (b. 1553) 1601–1900 1607 – Bartholomew Gosnold, English lawyer and explorer, founded the London Company (b. 1572) 1652 – Jacob De la Gardie, Estonian-Swedish soldier and politician, Lord High Constable of Sweden (b. 1583) 1664 – Maria Cunitz, Polish astronomer and author (b. 1610) 1680 – John George II, Elector of Saxony (b. 1613) 1681 – Philippe Delano, Dutch Plymouth Colony settler (b. 1602) 1701 – John Granville, 1st Earl of Bath, English soldier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1628) 1711 – Louis François, duc de Boufflers, French general (b. 1644) 1752 – William Whiston, English mathematician, historian, and theologian (b. 1667) 1773 – George Lyttelton, 1st Baron Lyttelton, English poet and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1709) 1793 – Louis de Noailles, French general (b. 1713) 1797 – Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser, French-Austrian field marshal (b. 1724) 1806 – Jean-Honoré Fragonard, French painter and illustrator (b. 1732) 1818 – Warren Hastings, English lawyer and politician, 1st Governor-General of Bengal (b. 1732) 1828 – Franz Joseph Gall, Austrian neuroanatomist and physiologist (b. 1758) 1850 – Nikolaus Lenau, Romanian-Austrian poet and author (b. 1802) 1861 – Xianfeng, Emperor of China (b. 1831) 1888 – Ágoston Trefort, Hungarian jurist and politician, Hungarian Minister of Education (b. 1817) 1891 – Jan Neruda, Czech journalist, author, and poet (b. 1834) 1901–present 1903 – Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, English academic and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1830) 1904 – Kate Chopin, American novelist and poet (b. 1850) 1909 – Henry Radcliffe Crocker, English dermatologist and author (b. 1846) 1914 – Giacomo Radini-Tedeschi, Italian bishop and academic (b. 1859) 1918 – Korbinian Brodmann, German neurologist and academic (b. 1868) 1920 – Anders Zorn, Swedish artist (b. 1860) 1922 – Michael Collins, Irish rebel, counter-intelligence and military tactician, and politician; 2nd Irish Minister of Finance (b. 1890) 1926 – Charles William Eliot, American academic (b. 1834) 1933 – Alexandros Kontoulis, Greek general and diplomat (b. 1858) 1940 – Oliver Lodge, English physicist and academic (b. 1851) 1940 – Gerald Strickland, 1st Baron Strickland, Maltese lawyer and politician, 4th Prime Minister of Malta (b. 1861) 1942 – Michel Fokine, Russian dancer and choreographer (b. 1880) 1946 – Döme Sztójay, Hungarian general and politician, 35th Prime Minister of Hungary (b. 1883) 1950 – Kirk Bryan, American geologist and academic (b. 1888) 1951 – Jack Bickell, Canadian businessman and philanthropist (b. 1884) 1953 – Jim Tabor, American baseball player (b. 1916) 1958 – Roger Martin du Gard, French novelist and paleographer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1881) 1960 – Johannes Sikkar, Estonian soldier and politician, Prime Minister of Estonia in exile (b. 1897) 1963 – William Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield, English businessman and philanthropist, founded Morris Motors (b. 1877) 1967 – Gregory Goodwin Pincus, American biologist and academic, co-created the birth-control pill (b. 1903) 1970 – Vladimir Propp, Russian philologist and scholar (b. 1895) 1971 – Birger Nerman, Swedish archaeologist (b. 1888) 1974 – Jacob Bronowski, Polish-English mathematician, biologist, and author (b. 1908) 1976 – Gina Bachauer, Greek pianist and composer (b. 1913) 1976 – Juscelino Kubitschek, Brazilian physician and politician, 21st President of Brazil (b. 1902) 1977 – Sebastian Cabot, English actor (b. 1918) 1977 – Chunseong, Korean monk, philosopher and writer (b. 1891) 1977 – Rex Connor, Australian politician (b. 1907) 1978 – Jomo Kenyatta, Kenyan politician, 1st President of Kenya (b. 1894) 1979 – James T. Farrell, American novelist, short-story writer, and poet (b. 1904) 1980 – James Smith McDonnell, American pilot, engineer, and businessman, founded McDonnell Aircraft (b. 1899) 1981 – Vicente Manansala, Filipino painter (b. 1910) 1985 – Charles Gibson (historian), Historian of Mexico and its Indians, President of the American Historical Association (b. 1920) 1986 – Celâl Bayar, Turkish lawyer and politician, 3rd President of Turkey (b. 1883) 1987 – Joseph P. Lash, American author and journalist (b. 1909) 1989 – Robert Grondelaers, Belgian cyclist (b. 1933) 1989 – Huey P. Newton, American activist, co-founded the Black Panther Party (b. 1942) 1991 – Colleen Dewhurst, Canadian-American actress (b. 1924) 1991 – Boris Pugo, Russian soldier and politician, Soviet Minister of Interior (b. 1937) 1994 – Gilles Groulx, Canadian director and screenwriter (b. 1931) 1994 – Allan Houser, American sculptor and painter (b. 1914) 1995 – Johnny Carey, Irish footballer and manager (b. 1919) 1996 – Erwin Komenda, Austrian car designer and engineer (b. 1904) 2000 – Abulfaz Elchibey, 2nd President of Azerbaijan (b. 1938) 2003 – Arnold Gerschwiler, Swiss skater and coach (b. 1914) 2004 – Konstantin Aseev, Russian chess player and trainer (b. 1960) 2004 – Angus Bethune, Australian soldier and politician, 33rd Premier of Tasmania (b. 1908) 2004 – Daniel Petrie, Canadian director and producer (b. 1920) 2005 – Luc Ferrari, French-Italian director and composer (b. 1929) 2005 – Ernest Kirkendall, American chemist and metallurgist (b. 1914) 2007 – Grace Paley, American short story writer and poet (b. 1922) 2008 – Gladys Powers, English-Canadian soldier (b. 1899) 2009 – Muriel Duckworth, Canadian pacifist, feminist, and activist (b. 1908) 2009 – Elmer Kelton, American journalist and author (b. 1926) 2010 – Stjepan Bobek, Croatian footballer and manager (b. 1923) 2011 – Nick Ashford, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1942) 2011 – Jack Layton, Canadian academic and politician (b. 1950) 2011 – Casey Ribicoff, American philanthropist (b. 1922) 2012 – Nina Bawden, English author (b. 1925) 2012 – Paul Shan Kuo-hsi, Chinese cardinal (b. 1923) 2012 – Jeffrey Stone, American actor and screenwriter (b. 1926) 2013 – Paul Poberezny, American pilot and businessman, founded the Experimental Aircraft Association (b. 1921) 2013 – Andrea Servi, Italian footballer (b. 1984) 2014 – U. R. Ananthamurthy, Indian author, poet, and playwright (b. 1932) 2014 – Emmanuel Kriaras, Greek lexicographer and philologist (b. 1906) 2014 – Pete Ladygo, American football player and coach (b. 1928) 2014 – Noella Leduc, American baseball player (b. 1933) 2014 – John Sperling, American businessman, founded the University of Phoenix (b. 1921) 2014 – John S. Waugh, American chemist and academic (b. 1929) 2015 – Arthur Morris, Australian cricketer and journalist (b. 1922) 2015 – Ieng Thirith, Cambodian academic and politician (b. 1932) 2015 – Eric Thompson, English race car driver and book dealer (b. 1919) 2016 – S. R. Nathan, 6th President of Singapore (b. 1924) 2016 – Toots Thielemans, Belgian and American jazz musician (b. 1922) 2017 – Michael J. C. Gordon, British Computer scientist (b. 1948) 2018 – Ed King, American musician (b. 1949) 2018 – Krishna Reddy, Indian printmaker, sculptor and teacher (b. 1925) 2021 – Rod Gilbert, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1941) 2024 – Arthur J. Gregg, American military officer (b. 1928) Holidays and observances Christian feast day: Guinefort, the holy greyhound, feast day traditionally.Saint Guinefort: The Holy Greyhound Immaculate Heart of Mary (Roman Catholic calendar of 1960) Queenship of Mary August 22 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief Earliest day on which National Heroes' Day (Philippines) can fall, while August 28 is the latest; celebrated on the fourth Monday in August. Flag Day (Russia) Madras Day (Chennai and Tamil Nadu, India) References External links
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August 27
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Events Pre-1600 410 – The sacking of Rome by the Visigoths ends after three days. 1172 – Henry the Young King and Margaret of France are crowned junior king and queen of England. 1232 – Shikken Hojo Yasutoki of the Kamakura shogunate promulgates the Goseibai Shikimoku, the first Japanese legal code governing the samurai class. For date conversion, see 1557 – The Battle of St. Quentin results in Emmanuel Philibert becoming Duke of Savoy. 1593 – Pierre Barrière failed an attempt to assassinate Henry IV of France. 1597 – Jeongyu War: Battle of Chilcheollyang: A Japanese fleet of 500 ships destroys Joseon commander Won Gyun's fleet of 200 ships at Chilcheollyang. 1600 – Ishida Mitsunari's Western Army commences the Siege of Fushimi Castle, which is lightly defended by a much smaller Tokugawa garrison led by Torii Mototada. 1601–1900 1689 – The Treaty of Nerchinsk is signed by Russia and the Qing Empire (Julian calendar). 1776 – American Revolutionary War: Members of the 1st Maryland Regiment repeatedly charged a numerically superior British force during the Battle of Long Island, allowing General Washington and the rest of the American troops to escape. 1791 – French Revolution: Frederick William II of Prussia and Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor, issue the Declaration of Pillnitz, declaring the joint support of the Holy Roman Empire and Prussia for the French monarchy, agitating the French revolutionaries and contributing to the outbreak of the War of the First Coalition. 1793 – French Revolutionary Wars: The city of Toulon revolts against the French Republic and admits the British and Spanish fleets to seize its port, leading to the Siege of Toulon by French Revolutionary forces. 1798 – Wolfe Tone's United Irish and French forces clash with the British Army in the Battle of Castlebar, part of the Irish Rebellion of 1798, resulting in the creation of the French puppet Republic of Connacht. 1810 – Napoleonic Wars: The French Navy defeats the British Royal Navy, preventing them from taking the harbour of Grand Port on Île de France. 1813 – French Emperor Napoleon I defeats a larger force of Austrians, Russians, and Prussians at the Battle of Dresden. 1828 – Brazil and Argentina recognize the sovereignty of Uruguay in the Treaty of Montevideo 1832 – Black Hawk, leader of the Sauk tribe of Native Americans, surrenders to U.S. authorities, ending the Black Hawk War. 1859 – Petroleum is discovered in Titusville, Pennsylvania, leading to the world's first commercially successful oil well. 1881 – The Georgia hurricane makes landfall near Savannah, Georgia, resulting in an estimated 700 deaths. 1883 – Eruption of Krakatoa: Four enormous explosions almost completely destroy the island of Krakatoa and cause years of climate change. 1893 – The Sea Islands hurricane strikes the United States near Savannah, Georgia, killing between 1,000 and 2,000 people. 1895 – Japanese invasion of Taiwan: Battle of Baguashan: The Empire of Japan decisively defeats a smaller Formosan army at Changhua, crippling the short-lived Republic of Formosa and leading to its surrender two months later. 1896 – Anglo-Zanzibar War: The shortest war in world history (09:02 to 09:40), between the United Kingdom and Zanzibar. 1901–present 1908 – The Qing dynasty promulgates the Qinding Xianfa Dagang, the first constitutional document in the history of China, transforming the Qing empire into a constitutional monarchy. 1914 – World War I: Battle of Étreux: A British rearguard action by the Royal Munster Fusiliers during the Great Retreat. 1914 – World War I: Siege of Tsingtao: A Japanese fleet commanded by Vice Admiral Sadakichi Kato imposes a blockade along the whole coastline of German Tsingtao, initiating the Siege of Tsingtao. 1915 – Attempted assassination of Bishop Patrick Heffron, bishop of the Diocese of Winona, by Rev. Louis M. Lesches. 1916 – World War I: The Kingdom of Romania declares war on Austria-Hungary, entering the war as one of the Allied nations. 1918 – Mexican Revolution: Battle of Ambos Nogales: U.S. Army forces skirmish against Mexican Carrancistas in the only battle of World War I fought on American soil. 1922 – Greco-Turkish War: The Turkish army takes the Aegean city of Afyonkarahisar from the Kingdom of Greece. 1928 – The Kellogg–Briand Pact outlawing war is signed by fifteen nations. Ultimately sixty-one nations will sign it. 1933 – The first Afrikaans Bible is introduced during a Bible Festival in Bloemfontein. 1939 – First flight of the turbojet-powered Heinkel He 178, the world's first jet aircraft. 1942 – First day of the Sarny Massacre, perpetrated by Germans and Ukrainians. 1943 – World War II: Japanese forces evacuate New Georgia Island in the Pacific Theater of Operations during World War II. 1943 – World War II: Aerial bombardment by the Luftwaffe razes to the ground the village of Vorizia in Crete. 1955 – The first edition of the Guinness Book of Records is published in Great Britain. 1956 – The nuclear power station at Calder Hall in the United Kingdom was connected to the national power grid becoming the world's first commercial nuclear power station to generate electricity on an industrial scale. 1962 – The Mariner 2 unmanned space mission is launched to Venus by NASA. 1963 – An explosion at the Cane Creek potash mine near Moab, Utah kills 18 miners. 1964 – South Vietnamese junta leader Nguyễn Khánh enters into a triumvirate power-sharing arrangement with rival generals Trần Thiện Khiêm and Dương Văn Minh, who had both been involved in plots to unseat Khánh. 1971 – An attempted coup d'état fails in the African nation of Chad. The Government of Chad accuses Egypt of playing a role in the attempt and breaks off diplomatic relations. 1975 – The Governor of Portuguese Timor abandons its capital, Dili, and flees to Atauro Island, leaving control to a rebel group. 1979 – The Troubles: Eighteen British soldiers are killed in an ambush by the Provisional Irish Republican Army near Warrenpoint, Northern Ireland, in the deadliest attack on British forces during Operation Banner. An IRA bomb also kills British royal family member Lord Mountbatten and three others on his boat at Mullaghmore, Republic of Ireland. 1980 – South Korean presidential election: After successfully staging the Coup d'état of May Seventeenth, General Chun Doo-hwan, running unopposed, has the National Conference for Unification elect him President of the Fourth Republic of Korea. 1982 – Turkish military diplomat Colonel Atilla Altıkat is shot and killed in Ottawa. Justice Commandos of the Armenian Genocide claim to be avenging the massacre of million Armenians in the 1915 Armenian genocide. 1985 – Major General Muhammadu Buhari, Chairman of the Supreme Military Council of Nigeria, is ousted from power in a coup d'état led by Major General Ibrahim Babangida. 1985 – Space Shuttle Discovery is launched on STS-51-I to deploy three communication satellites and repair a fourth malfunctioning one. 1991 – The European Community recognizes the independence of the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. 1991 – Moldova declares independence from the USSR. 1992 – Aeroflot Flight 2808 crashes on approach to Ivanovo Yuzhny Airport, killing all 84 aboard. 2003 – Mars makes its closest approach to Earth in nearly 60,000 years, passing distant. 2003 – The first six-party talks, involving South and North Korea, the United States, China, Japan and Russia, convene to find a peaceful resolution to the security concerns of the North Korean nuclear weapons program. 2006 – Comair Flight 5191 crashes on takeoff from Blue Grass Airport in Lexington, Kentucky, bound for Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta. Of the passengers and crew, 49 of 50 are confirmed dead in the hours following the crash. 2009 – Internal conflict in Myanmar: The Burmese military junta and ethnic armies begin three days of violent clashes in the Kokang Special Region. 2011 – Hurricane Irene strikes the United States east coast, killing 47 and causing an estimated $15.6 billion in damage. Whitney & Company (d. 1982) 1905 – Aris Velouchiotis, Greek soldier (d. 1945) 1906 – Ed Gein, American murderer and body snatcher, The Butcher of Plainfield (d. 1982) 1908 – Don Bradman, Australian cricketer and manager (d. 2001) 1908 – Lyndon B. Johnson, American commander and politician, 36th President of the United States (d. 1973) 1909 – Sylvère Maes, Belgian cyclist (d. 1966) 1909 – Charles Pozzi, French race car driver (d. 2001) 1909 – Lester Young, American saxophonist and clarinet player (d. 1959) 1911 – Kay Walsh, English actress and dancer (d. 2005) 1912 – Gloria Guinness, Mexican journalist (d. 1980) 1915 – Norman Foster Ramsey Jr., American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2011) 1916 – Gordon Bashford, English engineer, co-designed the Range Rover (d. 1991) 1916 – Tony Harris, South African cricketer and rugby player (d. 1993) 1916 – Martha Raye, American actress and comedian (d. 1994) 1917 – Peanuts Lowrey, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 1986) 1918 – Jelle Zijlstra, Dutch economist and politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (d. 2001) 1919 – Pee Wee Butts, American baseball player and coach (d. 1972) 1919 – Murray Grand, American singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 2007) 1920 – Baptiste Manzini, American football player (d. 2008) 1920 – James Molyneaux, Baron Molyneaux of Killead, Northern Irish soldier and politician (d. 2015) 1921 – Georg Alexander, Duke of Mecklenburg (d. 1996) 1921 – Leo Penn, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1998) 1922 – Roelof Kruisinga, Dutch physician and politician, Minister of Defence for The Netherlands (d. 2012) 1923 – Jimmy Greenhalgh, English footballer and manager (d. 2013) 1924 – David Rowbotham, Australian journalist and poet (d. 2010) 1924 – Rosalie E. Wahl, American lawyer and jurist (d. 2013) 1925 – Andrea Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo, Italian cardinal (d. 2017) 1925 – Nat Lofthouse, English footballer and manager (d. 2011) 1925 – Saiichi Maruya, Japanese author and critic (d. 2012) 1925 – Bill Neilson, Australian politician, 34th Premier of Tasmania (d. 1989) 1925 – Jaswant Singh Neki, Indian poet and academic (d. 2015) 1925 – Carter Stanley, American bluegrass singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1966) 1926 – George Brecht, American-German chemist and composer (d. 2008) 1926 – Kristen Nygaard, Norwegian computer scientist and academic (d. 2002) 1928 – Péter Boross, Hungarian lawyer and politician, 54th Prime Minister of Hungary 1928 – Mangosuthu Buthelezi, South African politician, Chief Minister of KwaZulu (d. 2023) 1928 – Joan Kroc, American philanthropist (d. 2003) 1929 – Ira Levin, American novelist, playwright, and songwriter (d. 2007) 1929 – George Scott, Canadian-American wrestler and promoter (d. 2014) 1930 – Aase Foss Abrahamsen, Norwegian writer (d. 2023) 1930 – Gholamreza Takhti, Iranian wrestler and politician (d. 1968) 1931 – Sri Chinmoy, Indian-American guru and poet (d. 2007) 1931 – Joe Cunningham, American baseball player and coach (d. 2021) 1932 – Cor Brom, Dutch footballer and manager (d. 2008) 1932 – Antonia Fraser, English historian and author 1935 – Ernie Broglio, American baseball player (d. 2019) 1935 – Michael Holroyd, English author 1935 – Frank Yablans, American screenwriter and producer (d. 2014) 1936 – Joel Kovel, American scholar and author (d. 2018) 1936 – Lien Chan, Taiwanese politician, Vice President of the Republic of China 1937 – Alice Coltrane, American pianist and composer (d. 2007) 1937 – Tommy Sands, American pop singer and actor 1939 – William Least Heat-Moon, American travel writer and historian 1939 – Edward Patten, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2005) 1939 – Nikola Pilić, Yugoslav tennis player and coach 1940 – Fernest Arceneaux, American singer and accordion player (d. 2008) 1940 – Sonny Sharrock, American guitarist (d. 1994) 1941 – Cesária Évora, Cape Verdean singer (d. 2011) 1941 – János Konrád, Hungarian water polo player and swimmer (d. 2014) 1941 – Harrison Page, American actor 1942 – Daryl Dragon, American keyboard player and songwriter (d. 2019) 1942 – Brian Peckford, Canadian educator and politician, 3rd Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador 1943 – Chuck Girard, American singer-songwriter and pianist 1943 – Bob Kerrey, American lieutenant and politician, Medal of Honor recipient, 35th Governor of Nebraska 1943 – Tuesday Weld, American model and actress 1944 – G. W. Bailey, American actor 1944 – Tim Bogert, American singer and bass player (d. 2021) 1945 – Douglas R. Campbell, Canadian lawyer and judge 1945 – Marianne Sägebrecht, German actress 1946 – Tony Howard, Barbadian cricketer and manager 1947 – Barbara Bach, American actress and model 1947 – Halil Berktay, Turkish historian and academic 1947 – Kirk Francis, American engineer and producer 1947 – Peter Krieg, German director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2009) 1947 – John Morrison, New Zealand cricketer and politician 1947 – Gavin Pfuhl, South African cricketer and sportscaster (d. 2002) 1948 – John Mehler, American drummer 1948 – Sgt. Slaughter, American wrestler 1948 – Deborah Swallow, English historian and curator 1948 – Philippe Vallois, French director and screenwriter 1949 – Jeff Cook, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2022) 1949 – Leah Jamieson, American computer scientist, engineer, and academic 1949 – Ann Murray, Irish soprano 1950 – Charles Fleischer, American comedian and actor 1950 – Neil Murray, Scottish bass player and songwriter 1950 – Edmund Weiner, English lexicographer and author 1951 – Buddy Bell, American baseball player and manager 1951 – Mack Brown, American football player and coach 1951 – Randall Garrison, American-Canadian criminologist and politician 1952 – Paul Reubens, American actor and comedian (d. 2023) 1953 – Tom Berryhill, American businessman and politician (d. 2020) 1953 – Alex Lifeson, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer 1953 – Joan Smith, English journalist and author 1953 – Peter Stormare, Swedish actor, director, and playwright 1954 – John Lloyd, English tennis player and sportscaster 1954 – Rajesh Thakker, English physician and academic 1954 – Derek Warwick, English race car driver 1955 – Robert Richardson, American cinematographer 1955 – Diana Scarwid, American actress 1956 – Glen Matlock, English singer-songwriter and bass player 1957 – Jeff Grubb, American game designer and author 1957 – Bernhard Langer, German golfer 1958 – Sergei Krikalev, Russian engineer and astronaut 1958 – Tom Lanoye, Belgian author, poet, and playwright 1958 – Hugh Orde, British police officer 1959 – Daniela Romo, Mexican singer, actress and TV hostess 1959 – Gerhard Berger, Austrian race car driver 1959 – Juan Fernando Cobo, Colombian painter and sculptor 1959 – Denice Denton, American engineer and academic (d. 2006) 1959 – Frode Fjellheim, Norwegian pianist and composer 1959 – András Petőcz, Hungarian author and poet 1959 – Jeanette Winterson, English journalist and novelist 1961 – Yolanda Adams, American singer, producer, and actress 1961 – Mark Curry, English television host and actor 1961 – Tom Ford, American fashion designer and film director 1961 – Steve McDowall, New Zealand rugby player 1961 – Helmut Winklhofer, German footballer 1962 – Adam Oates, Canadian ice hockey player 1964 – Stephan Elliott, Australian actor, director, and screenwriter 1964 – Paul Bernardo, Canadian serial rapist and murderer 1965 – Scott Dibble, American lawyer and politician 1965 – Wayne James, Zimbabwean cricketer and coach 1965 – Ange Postecoglou, Greek-Australian footballer and coach 1966 – Jeroen Duyster, Dutch rower 1966 – René Higuita, Colombian footballer 1966 – Juhan Parts, Estonian lawyer and politician, 14th Prime Minister of Estonia 1967 – Ogie Alcasid, Filipino singer-songwriter, producer, and actor 1967 – Rob Burnett, American football player and sportscaster 1968 – Eric "Bobo" Correa, American musician 1968 – Daphne Koller, Israeli-American computer scientist and academic 1968 – Michael Long, New Zealand golfer 1968 – Matthew Ridge, New Zealand rugby player and sportscaster 1969 – Mark Ealham, English cricketer 1969 – Cesar Millan, Mexican-American dog trainer, television personality, and author 1969 – Reece Shearsmith, English actor, comedian and writer 1969 – Chandra Wilson, American actress and director 1970 – Andy Bichel, Australian cricketer and coach 1970 – Mark Ilott, English cricketer 1970 – Tony Kanal, British-American bass player. songwriter, and record producer 1970 – Jim Thome, American baseball player and manager 1970 – Karl Unterkircher, Italian mountaineer (d. 2008) 1971 – Ernest Faber, Dutch footballer and manager 1971 – Kyung Lah, South Korean-American journalist 1971 – Hisayuki Okawa, Japanese runner 1971 – Aygül Özkan, German lawyer and politician 1972 – Jaap-Derk Buma, Dutch field hockey player 1972 – The Great Khali, Indian professional wrestler 1972 – Denise Lewis, English heptathlete 1972 – Jimmy Pop, American singer-songwriter and guitarist 1972 – Pokwang, Filipino comedian, actress, television host and singer 1973 – Danny Coyne, Welsh footballer 1973 – Dietmar Hamann, German footballer and manager 1973 – Burak Kut, Turkish singer-songwriter 1973 – Johan Norberg, Swedish historian and author 1974 – Aaron Downey, Canadian ice hockey player and coach 1974 – Manny Fernandez, Canadian ice hockey player 1974 – Michael Mason, New Zealand cricketer 1974 – José Vidro, Puerto Rican-American baseball player 1974 – Mohammad Yousuf, Pakistani cricketer 1975 – Blake Adams, American golfer 1975 – Mase, American rapper, songwriter and pastor 1975 – Jonny Moseley, Puerto Rican-American skier and television host 1975 – Marko Rudan, Australian footballer and manager 1976 – Sarah Chalke, Canadian actress 1976 – Audrey C. Delsanti, French astronomer and biologist 1976 – Milano Collection A.T., Japanese wrestler 1976 – Carlos Moyá, Spanish-Swiss tennis player 1976 – Mark Webber, Australian race car driver 1977 – Deco, Brazilian-Portuguese footballer 1977 – Justin Miller, American baseball player (d. 2013) 1978 – Demetria McKinney, American actress and singer 1979 – Sarah Neufeld, Canadian violinist 1979 – Aaron Paul, American actor and producer 1979 – Karel Rachůnek, Czech ice hockey player (d. 2011) 1979 – Rusty Smith, American speed skater 1981 – Patrick J. Adams, Canadian actor 1981 – Maxwell Cabelino Andrade, Brazilian footballer 1981 – Chantal Djotodia, Beninese-Central African nurse and politician 1981 – Alessandro Gamberini, Italian footballer 1981 – Karla Mosley, American actress 1983 – Joanna McGilchrist, English rugby player and physiotherapist 1984 – David Bentley, English footballer 1984 – Amanda Fuller, American actress 1984 – Sulley Muntari, Ghanaian footballer 1985 – Kayla Ewell, American actress 1985 – Kevan Hurst, English footballer 1985 – Nikica Jelavić, Croatian footballer 1985 – Alexandra Nechita, Romanian-American painter and sculptor 1986 – Lana Bastašić, Serbian-Bosnian author and translator 1986 – Sebastian Kurz, Austrian politician, 25th Chancellor of Austria 1986 – Mario, American singer and actor 1987 – Joel Grant, English-Jamaican footballer 1987 – Darren McFadden, American football player 1988 – Alexa PenaVega, American actress and singer 1989 – Romain Amalfitano, French footballer 1989 – Juliana Cannarozzo, American skater and actress 1990 – Tori Bowie, American athlete (d. 2023) 1990 – Luuk de Jong, Dutch footballer 1991 – Lee Sung-yeol, South Korean actor and singer 1992 – Blake Jenner, American actor and singer 1992 – Stephen Morris, American football player 1992 – Kim Petras, German singer-songwriter 1992 – Ayame Goriki, Japanese actress and singer 1993 – Sarah Hecken, German skater 1993 – Olivier Le Gac, French cyclist 1994 – Ellar Coltrane, American actor 1994 – Breanna Stewart, American basketball player 1995 – Jessie Mei Li, English actress 1995 – Sergey Sirotkin, Russian race car driver 1997 – Lucas Paquetá, Brazilian footballer 1998 – Kevin Huerter, American basketball player 1998 – Matheus Nunes, Portuguese footballer 1998 – Rod Wave, American rapper, singer, and songwriter 2001 – Franz Wagner, German basketball player 2006 – Kang Ju-hyeok, South Korean footballer 2007 – Ariana Greenblatt, American actress Deaths Pre-1600 542 – Caesarius of Arles, French bishop and saint (b. 470) 749 – Qahtaba ibn Shabib al-Ta'i, Persian general 827 – Pope Eugene II 923 – Ageltrude, queen of Italy and Holy Roman Empress 1146 – King Eric III of Denmark 1255 – Little Saint Hugh of Lincoln (b. 1247) 1312 – Arthur II, Duke of Brittany (b. 1261) 1394 – Emperor Chōkei of Japan (b. 1343) 1450 – Reginald West, 6th Baron De La Warr, English politician (b. 1395) 1521 – Josquin des Prez, Flemish composer (b. 1450) 1545 – Piotr Gamrat, Polish archbishop (b. 1487) 1576 – Titian, Italian painter and educator (b. 1521) 1601–1900 1611 – Tomás Luis de Victoria, Spanish composer (b. c. 1548) 1635 – Lope de Vega, Spanish poet and playwright (b. 1562) 1664 – Francisco de Zurbarán, Spanish painter and educator (b. 1598) 1748 – James Thomson, Scottish poet and playwright (b. 1700) 1782 – John Laurens, American Revolutionary and abolitionist (b. 1754) 1828 – Eise Eisinga, Dutch astronomer and academic, built the Eisinga Planetarium (b. 1744) 1857 – Rufus Wilmot Griswold, American anthologist, poet, and critic (b. 1815) 1865 – Thomas Chandler Haliburton, Canadian judge and politician (b. 1796) 1871 – William Whiting Boardman, American lawyer and politician (b. 1794) 1875 – William Chapman Ralston, American businessman and financier, founded the Bank of California (b. 1826) 1891 – Samuel C. Pomeroy, American businessman and politician (b. 1816) 1901–present 1903 – Kusumoto Ine, first Japanese female doctor of Western medicine (b. 1827) 1909 – Emil Christian Hansen, Danish physiologist and mycologist (b. 1842) 1922 – Reşat Çiğiltepe, Turkish colonel (b. 1879) 1929 – Herman Potočnik, Croatian-Austrian engineer (b. 1892) 1931 – Frank Harris, Irish-American journalist and author (b. 1856) 1931 – Willem Hubert Nolens, Dutch priest and politician (b. 1860) 1931 – Francis Marion Smith, American miner and businessman (b. 1846) 1935 – Childe Hassam, American painter and academic (b. 1859) 1944 – Georg von Boeselager, German soldier (b. 1915) 1945 – Hubert Pál Álgyay, Hungarian engineer, designed the Petőfi Bridge (b. 1894) 1948 – Charles Evans Hughes, American lawyer and politician, 11th Chief Justice of the United States (b. 1862) 1950 – Cesare Pavese, Italian author, poet, and critic (b. 1908) 1956 – Pelageya Shajn, Russian astronomer and academic (b. 1894) 1958 – Ernest Lawrence, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. Du Bois, American sociologist, historian, and activist (b. 1868) 1963 – Inayatullah Khan Mashriqi, Pakistani mathematician and scholar (b. 1888) 1964 – Gracie Allen, American actress and comedian (b. 1895) 1965 – Le Corbusier, Swiss-French architect and urban planner, designed the Philips Pavilion (b. 1887) 1967 – Brian Epstein, English businessman and manager (b. 1934) 1968 – Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark (b. 1906) 1969 – Ivy Compton-Burnett, English author (b. 1884) 1969 – Erika Mann, German actress and author (b. 1905) 1971 – Bennett Cerf, American publisher, co-founded Random House (b. 1906) 1975 – Haile Selassie, Ethiopian emperor (b. 1892) 1978 – Gordon Matta-Clark, American painter and illustrator (b. 1943) 1978 – Ieva Simonaitytė, Lithuanian author and poet (b. 1897) 1979 – Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, English admiral and politician, 44th Governor-General of India (b. 1900) 1980 – Douglas Kenney, American actor, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1947) 1981 – Valeri Kharlamov, Russian ice hockey player (b. 1948) 1990 – Avdy Andresson, Estonian soldier and diplomat (b. 1899) 1990 – Stevie Ray Vaughan, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1954) 1992 – Bengt Holbek, Danish folklorist (b. 1933) 1994 – Frank Jeske, German footballer (b. 1960) 1996 – Greg Morris, American actor (b. 1933) 1998 – Essie Summers, New Zealand author (b. 1912) 1999 – Hélder Câmara, Brazilian archbishop and theologian (b. 1909) 2001 – Michael Dertouzos, Greek-American computer scientist and academic (b. 1936) 2001 – Abu Ali Mustafa, Palestinian politician (b. 1938) 2002 – Edwin Louis Cole, American religious leader and author (b. 1922) 2003 – Pierre Poujade, French soldier and politician (b. 1920) 2004 – Willie Crawford, American baseball player (b. 1946) 2005 – Giorgos Mouzakis, Greek trumpet player and composer (b. 1922) 2005 – Seán Purcell, Irish footballer (b. 1929) 2006 – Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1922) 2006 – Jesse Pintado, Mexican-American guitarist (b. 1969) 2007 – Emma Penella, Spanish actress (b. 1930) 2009 – Sergey Mikhalkov, Russian author and poet (b. 1913) 2010 – Anton Geesink, Dutch martial artist (b. 1934) 2010 – Luna Vachon, Canadian-American wrestler and manager (b. 1962) 2012 – Neville Alexander, South African linguist and activist (b. 1931) 2012 – Art Heyman, American basketball player (b. 1941) 2012 – Ivica Horvat, Croatian footballer and manager (b. 1926) 2012 – Richard Kingsland, Australian captain and pilot (b. 1916) 2012 – Geliy Korzhev, Russian painter (b. 1925) 2013 – Chen Liting, Chinese director and playwright (b. 1910) 2013 – Bill Peach, Australian journalist (b. 1935) 2013 – Dave Thomas, Welsh golfer and architect (b. 1934) 2014 – Jacques Friedel, French physicist and academic (b. 1921) 2014 – Valeri Petrov, Bulgarian poet, playwright, and screenwriter (b. 1920) 2014 – Benno Pludra, German author (b. 1925) 2015 – Kazi Zafar Ahmed, Bangladeshi politician, 8th Prime Minister of Bangladesh (b. 1939) 2015 – Pascal Chaumeil, French director and screenwriter (b. 1961) 2015 – Darryl Dawkins, American basketball player and coach (b. 1957) 2016 – Cookie, Australian Major Mitchell's cockatoo, oldest recorded parrot (b. 1933) 2024 – Bob Carr, American politician (b. 1943) 2024 – Juan Izquierdo, Uruguayan footballer (b. 1997) 2024 – Charlotte Kretschmann, German supercentenarian (b. 1909) 2024 – Leonard Riggio, American businessman (b. 1941) Holidays and observances Christian feast day: Baculus of Sorrento Caesarius of Arles Decuman Gebhard of Constance Euthalia John of Pavia Lycerius (or: Glycerius, Lizier) Máel Ruba (or Rufus) (Scotland) Margaret the Barefooted Monica of Hippo, mother of Augustine of Hippo Narnus Our Lady of La Vang Phanourios of Rhodes Rufus and Carpophorus Syagrius of Autun Thomas Gallaudet and Henry Winter Syle (Episcopal Church) August 27 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) Independence Day (Republic of Moldova), celebrates the independence of Moldova from the USSR in 1991. Lyndon Baines Johnson Day (Texas, United States) References External links
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Achill Island
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Achill Island (; ) is an island off the west coast of Ireland in the historical barony of Burrishoole, County Mayo. It is the largest of the Irish isles and has an area of approximately . Achill had a population of 2,345 in the 2022 census. The island, which has been connected to the mainland by a bridge since 1887, is served by Michael Davitt Bridge, between the villages of Achill Sound and Polranny. Other centres of population include the villages of Keel, Dooagh, Dooega, Dooniver, and Dugort. There are a number of peat bogs on the island. Roughly half of the island, including the villages of Achill Sound and Bun an Churraigh, are in the Gaeltacht (traditional Irish-speaking region) of Ireland, although the vast majority of the island's population speaks English as their daily language. The island is within a civil parish, also called Achill, that includes Achillbeg, Inishbiggle and the Corraun Peninsula.
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Allen Ginsberg
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Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with Lucien Carr, William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of the Beat Generation. He vigorously opposed militarism, economic materialism, and sexual repression, and he embodied various aspects of this counterculture with his views on drugs, sex, multiculturalism, hostility to bureaucracy, and openness to Eastern religions. Best known for his poem "Howl", Ginsberg denounced what he saw as the destructive forces of capitalism and conformity in the United States. San Francisco police and US Customs seized copies of "Howl" in 1956, and a subsequent obscenity trial in 1957 attracted widespread publicity due to the poem's language and descriptions of heterosexual and homosexual sex at a time when sodomy laws made (male) homosexual acts a crime in every state. The poem reflected Ginsberg's own sexuality and his relationships with a number of men, including Peter Orlovsky, his lifelong partner. Judge Clayton W. Horn ruled that "Howl" was not obscene, asking: "Would there be any freedom of press or speech if one must reduce his vocabulary to vapid innocuous euphemisms?" Ginsberg was a Buddhist who extensively studied Eastern religious disciplines. He lived modestly, buying his clothing in second-hand stores and residing in apartments in New York City's East Village. One of his most influential teachers was Tibetan Buddhist Chögyam Trungpa, the founder of the Naropa Institute in Boulder, Colorado. At Trungpa's urging, Ginsberg and poet Anne Waldman started The Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics there in 1974. For decades, Ginsberg was active in political protests across a range of issues from the Vietnam War to the war on drugs.Ginsberg, Allen, Deliberate Prose, the foreword by Edward Sanders, p. xxi. His poem "September on Jessore Road" drew attention to refugees fleeing the 1971 Bangladeshi genocide, exemplifying what literary critic Helen Vendler described as Ginsberg's persistent opposition to "imperial politics" and the "persecution of the powerless".Vendler, Helen (January 13, 1986), "Books: A Lifelong Poem Including History", The New Yorker, p. 81. His collection The Fall of America shared the annual National Book Award for Poetry in 1974. In 1979, he received the National Arts Club gold medal and was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 1995 for his book Cosmopolitan Greetings: Poems 1986–1992. Biography Early life and family Ginsberg was born into a JewishPacernick, Gary. "Allen Ginsberg: An interview by Gary Pacernick" (February 10, 1996), The American Poetry Review, July/August 1997. "Yeah, I am a Jewish poet. I'm Jewish." family in Newark, New Jersey, and grew up in nearby Paterson. He was the second son of Louis Ginsberg, also born in Newark, a schoolteacher and published poet, and the former Naomi Levy, born in Nevel (Russia) and a fervent Marxist. As a teenager, Ginsberg began to write letters to The New York Times about political issues, such as World War II and workers' rights. He published his first poems in the Paterson Morning Call.David S. Wills, "Allen Ginsberg's First Poem?" While in high school, Ginsberg became interested in the works of Walt Whitman, inspired by his teacher's passionate reading. In 1943, Ginsberg graduated from Eastside High School and briefly attended Montclair State College before entering Columbia University on a scholarship from the Young Men's Hebrew Association of Paterson. Ginsberg intended to study law at Columbia but later changed his major to literature. In 1945, he joined the Merchant Marine to earn money to continue his education at Columbia.Ginsberg, Allen (2008) The Letters of Allen Ginsberg. Philadelphia, Da Capo Press, p. 6. While at Columbia, Ginsberg contributed to the Columbia Review literary journal, the Jester humor magazine, won the Woodberry Poetry Prize, served as president of the Philolexian Society (literary and debate group), and joined Boar's Head Society (poetry society). He was a resident of Hartley Hall, where other Beat Generation poets such as Jack Kerouac and Herbert Gold also lived. Ginsberg has stated that he considered his required freshman seminar in Great Books, taught by Lionel Trilling, to be his favorite Columbia course. In 1948, he graduated from Columbia with a B.A in English and American Literature.Charters, Ann (July 2000) "Ginsberg's Life." American National Biography Online. American Council of Learned Societies. According to The Poetry Foundation, Ginsberg spent several months in a mental institution after he pleaded insanity during a hearing. He was allegedly being prosecuted for harboring stolen goods in his dorm room. It was noted that the stolen property was not his, but belonged to an acquaintance.Allen Ginsberg." Allen Ginsberg Biography. Poetry Foundation, 2014. Ginsberg also took part in public readings at the Episcopal St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery which would later hold a memorial service for him after his death. Relationship with his parents Ginsberg referred to his parents in a 1985 interview as "old-fashioned delicatessen philosophers". His mother was also an active member of the Communist Party and took Ginsberg and his brother Eugene to party meetings. Ginsberg later said that his mother "made up bedtime stories that all went something like: 'The good king rode forth from his castle, saw the suffering workers and healed them.'" Of his father Ginsberg said: "My father would go around the house either reciting Emily Dickinson and Longfellow under his breath or attacking T. S. Eliot for ruining poetry with his 'obscurantism.' I grew suspicious of both sides." Naomi Ginsberg had schizophrenia which often manifested as paranoid delusions, disordered thinking and multiple suicide attempts. She would claim, for example, that the president had implanted listening devices in their home and that her mother-in-law was trying to kill her.Hyde, Lewis and Ginsberg, Allen (1984) On the poetry of Allen Ginsberg. University of Michigan Press. Her suspicion of those around her caused Naomi to draw closer to young Allen, "her little pet," as Bill Morgan says in his biography of Ginsberg, titled I Celebrate Myself: The Somewhat Private Life of Allen Ginsberg. She also tried to kill herself by slitting her wrists and was soon taken to Greystone, a mental hospital; she would spend much of Ginsberg's youth in mental hospitals.Dittman, Michael J. (2007), Masterpieces of Beat literature. Greenwood Publishing Group. His experiences with his mother and her mental illness were a major inspiration for his two major works, "Howl" and his long autobiographical poem "Kaddish for Naomi Ginsberg (1894–1956)".Breslin, James (2003), "Allen Ginsberg: The Origins of Howl and Kaddish." in Poetry Criticism. David M. Galens (ed.). Detroit: Gale. When he was in junior high school, he accompanied his mother by bus to her therapist. The trip deeply disturbed Ginsberg—he mentioned it and other moments from his childhood in "Kaddish". His experiences with his mother's mental illness and her institutionalization are also frequently referred to in "Howl." For example, "Pilgrim State, Rockland, and Grey Stone's foetid halls" is a reference to institutions frequented by his mother and Carl Solomon, ostensibly the subject of the poem: Pilgrim State Hospital and Rockland State Hospital in New York and Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital in New Jersey.Ginsberg, Allen (1995). Howl: Original Draft Facsimile, Transcript & Variant Versions, Fully Annotated by Author, with Contemporaneous Correspondence, Account of First Public Reading, Legal Skirmishes, Precursor Texts & Bibliography. Barry Miles (Ed.). Harper Perennial. 131, 132, 139–140.Theado, Matt (2003) The Beats: A Literary Reference. Carroll & Graf Publishers. This is followed soon by the line "with mother finally ******." Ginsberg later admitted the deletion was the expletive "fucked." He also says of Solomon in section three, "I'm with you in Rockland where you imitate the shade of my mother," once again showing the association between Solomon and his mother. Ginsberg received a letter from his mother after her death responding to a copy of "Howl" he had sent her. It admonished Ginsberg to be good and stay away from drugs; she says, "The key is in the window, the key is in the sunlight at the window—I have the key—Get married Allen don't take drugs—the key is in the bars, in the sunlight in the window. "Hyde, Lewis and Ginsberg, Allen (1984), On the poetry of Allen Ginsberg. University of Michigan Press. In a letter she wrote to Ginsberg's brother Eugene, she said, "God's informers come to my bed, and God himself I saw in the sky. The sunshine showed too, a key on the side of the window for me to get out. The yellow of the sunshine, also showed the key on the side of the window." These letters and the absence of a facility to recite kaddish inspired Ginsberg to write "Kaddish", which makes references to many details from Naomi's life, Ginsberg's experiences with her, and the letter, including the lines "the key is in the light" and "the key is in the window. "Ginsberg, Allen (1961), Kaddish and Other Poems. Volume 2, Issue 14 of The Pocket Poets series. City Lights Books. New York Beats In Ginsberg's first year at Columbia he met fellow undergraduate Lucien Carr, who introduced him to a number of future Beat writers, including Jack Kerouac, William S. Burroughs, and John Clellon Holmes. They bonded, because they saw in one another an excitement about the potential of American youth, a potential that existed outside the strict conformist confines of post–World War II, McCarthy-era America. Ginsberg and Carr talked excitedly about a "New Vision" (a phrase adapted from Yeats' "A Vision"), for literature and America. In the first chapter of his 1957 novel On the Road Kerouac described the meeting between Ginsberg and Cassady. Kerouac saw them as the dark (Ginsberg) and light (Cassady) side of their "New Vision", a perception stemming partly from Ginsberg's association with communism, of which Kerouac had become increasingly distrustful. Though Ginsberg was never a member of the Communist Party, Kerouac named him "Carlo Marx" in On the Road. This was a source of strain in their relationship. Also, in New York, Ginsberg met Gregory Corso in the Pony Stable Bar. Corso, recently released from prison, was supported by the Pony Stable patrons and was writing poetry there the night of their meeting. Ginsberg claims he was immediately attracted to Corso, who was straight, but understood homosexuality after three years in prison. Ginsberg introduced Corso to the rest of his inner circle. In their first meeting at the Pony Stable, Corso showed Ginsberg a poem about a woman who lived across the street from him and sunbathed naked in the window. Amazingly, the woman happened to be Ginsberg's girlfriend that he was living with during one of his forays into heterosexuality. Ginsberg took Corso over to their apartment. There the woman proposed sex with Corso, who was still very young and fled in fear. Ginsberg introduced Corso to Kerouac and Burroughs and they began to travel together. Ginsberg and Corso remained lifelong friends and collaborators. Shortly after this period in Ginsberg's life, he became romantically involved with Elise Nada Cowen after meeting her through Alex Greer, a philosophy professor at Barnard College whom she had dated for a while during the burgeoning Beat generation's period of development. As a Barnard student, Elise Cowen extensively read the poetry of Ezra Pound and T. S. Eliot, when she met Joyce Johnson and Leo Skir, among other Beat players. As Cowen had felt a strong attraction to darker poetry most of the time, Beat poetry seemed to provide an allure to what suggests a shadowy side of her persona. While at Barnard, Cowen earned the nickname "Beat Alice" as she had joined a small group of anti-establishment artists and visionaries known to outsiders as beatniks, and one of her first acquaintances at the college was the beat poet Joyce Johnson who later portrayed Cowen in her books, including "Minor Characters" and Come and Join the Dance, which expressed the two women's experiences in the Barnard and Columbia Beat community. Through his association with Elise Cowen, Ginsberg discovered that they shared a mutual friend, Carl Solomon, to whom he later dedicated his most famous poem "Howl." This poem is considered an autobiography of Ginsberg up to 1955, and a brief history of the Beat Generation through its references to his relationship to other Beat artists of that time. The "Blake vision" In 1948, in an apartment in East Harlem, Ginsberg experienced an auditory hallucination while masturbating and reading the poetry of William Blake, which he later referred to as his "Blake vision". Ginsberg claimed to have heard the voice of God—also described as the "voice of the Ancient of Days"—or of Blake himself reading "Ah! Sun-flower", "The Sick Rose" and "The Little Girl Lost". The experience lasted several days, with him believing that he had witnessed the interconnectedness of the universe; Ginsberg recounted that after looking at latticework on the fire escape of the apartment and then at the sky, he intuited that one had been crafted by human beings, while the other had been crafted by itself. He explained that this hallucination was not inspired by drug use, but said he sought to recapture the feeling of interconnectedness later with various drugs. San Francisco Renaissance Ginsberg moved to San Francisco during the 1950s. Before Howl and Other Poems was published in 1956 by City Lights, he worked as a market researcher.Schumacher, Michael (January 27, 2002). "Allen Ginsberg Project". In 1954, in San Francisco, Ginsberg met Peter Orlovsky (1933–2010), with whom he fell in love and who remained his lifelong partner. Selections from their correspondence have been published.Straight Hearts' Delight: Love Poems and Selected Letters, by Allen Ginsberg and Peter Orlovsky, edited by Winston Leyland. Gay Sunshine Press, 1980, . Also in San Francisco, Ginsberg met members of the San Francisco Renaissance (James Broughton, Robert Duncan, Madeline Gleason and Kenneth Rexroth) and other poets who would later be associated with the Beat Generation in a broader sense. There, Ginsberg also met three budding poets and Zen enthusiasts who had become friends at Reed College: Gary Snyder, Philip Whalen, and Lew Welch. In 1959, along with poets John Kelly, Bob Kaufman, A. D. Winans, and William Margolis, Ginsberg was one of the founders of the Beatitude poetry magazine. At first, Ginsberg refused, but once he had written a rough draft of "Howl," he changed his "fucking mind," as he put it. The event, in essence, brought together the East and West Coast factions of the Beat Generation. Of more personal significance to Ginsberg, the reading that night included the first public presentation of "Howl," a poem that brought worldwide fame to Ginsberg and to many of the poets associated with him. An account of that night can be found in Kerouac's novel The Dharma Bums, describing how change was collected from audience members to buy jugs of wine, and Ginsberg reading passionately, drunken, with arms outstretched.
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Algebraically closed field
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In mathematics, a field is algebraically closed if every non-constant polynomial in (the univariate polynomial ring with coefficients in ) has a root in . In other words, a field is algebraically closed if the fundamental theorem of algebra holds for it. Every field is contained in an algebraically closed field and the roots in of the polynomials with coefficients in form an algebraically closed field called an algebraic closure of Given two algebraic closures of there are isomorphisms between them that fix the elements of Examples As an example, the field of real numbers is not algebraically closed, because the polynomial equation has no solution in real numbers, even though all its coefficients (1 and 0) are real. The same argument proves that no subfield of the real field is algebraically closed; in particular, the field of rational numbers is not algebraically closed. By contrast, the fundamental theorem of algebra states that the field of complex numbers is algebraically closed. Another example of an algebraically closed field is the field of (complex) algebraic numbers. No finite field F is algebraically closed, because if a1, a2, ..., an are the elements of F, then the polynomial (x − a1)(x − a2) ⋯ (x − an) + 1 has no zero in F. However, the union of all finite fields of a fixed characteristic p (p prime) is an algebraically closed field, which is, in fact, the algebraic closure of the field with p elements. The field of rational functions with complex coefficients is not closed; for example, the polynomial has roots , which are not elements of . Equivalent properties Given a field F, the assertion "F is algebraically closed" is equivalent to other assertions: The only irreducible polynomials are those of degree one The field F is algebraically closed if and only if the only irreducible polynomials in the polynomial ring F[x] are those of degree one. The assertion "the polynomials of degree one are irreducible" is trivially true for any field. If F is algebraically closed and p(x) is an irreducible polynomial of F[x], then it has some root a and therefore p(x) is a multiple of . Since p(x) is irreducible, this means that , for some . On the other hand, if F is not algebraically closed, then there is some non-constant polynomial p(x) in F[x] without roots in F. Let q(x) be some irreducible factor of p(x). Since p(x) has no roots in F, q(x) also has no roots in F. Therefore, q(x) has degree greater than one, since every first degree polynomial has one root in F. Every polynomial is a product of first degree polynomials The field F is algebraically closed if and only if every polynomial p(x) of degree n ≥ 1, with coefficients in F, splits into linear factors. In other words, there are elements k, x1, x2, ..., xn of the field F such that p(x) = k(x − x1)(x − x2) ⋯ (x − xn). If F has this property, then clearly every non-constant polynomial in F[x] has some root in F; in other words, F is algebraically closed. On the other hand, that the property stated here holds for F if F is algebraically closed follows from the previous property together with the fact that, for any field K, any polynomial in K[x] can be written as a product of irreducible polynomials. Polynomials of prime degree have roots If every polynomial over F of prime degree has a root in F, then every non-constant polynomial has a root in F.Shipman, J. Improving the Fundamental Theorem of Algebra The Mathematical Intelligencer, Volume 29 (2007), Number 4. pp. 9–14 It follows that a field is algebraically closed if and only if every polynomial over F of prime degree has a root in F. The field has no proper algebraic extension The field F is algebraically closed if and only if it has no proper algebraic extension. If F has no proper algebraic extension, let p(x) be some irreducible polynomial in F[x]. Then the quotient of F[x] modulo the ideal generated by p(x) is an algebraic extension of F whose degree is equal to the degree of p(x). Since it is not a proper extension, its degree is 1 and therefore the degree of p(x) is 1. On the other hand, if F has some proper algebraic extension K, then the minimal polynomial of an element in K \ F is irreducible and its degree is greater than 1. The field has no proper finite extension The field F is algebraically closed if and only if it has no proper finite extension because if, within the previous proof, the term "algebraic extension" is replaced by the term "finite extension", then the proof is still valid. (Finite extensions are necessarily algebraic.) Every endomorphism of Fn has some eigenvector The field F is algebraically closed if and only if, for each natural number n, every linear map from Fn into itself has some eigenvector. An endomorphism of Fn has an eigenvector if and only if its characteristic polynomial has some root. Therefore, when F is algebraically closed, every endomorphism of Fn has some eigenvector. On the other hand, if every endomorphism of Fn has an eigenvector, let p(x) be an element of F[x]. Dividing by its leading coefficient, we get another polynomial q(x) which has roots if and only if p(x) has roots. But if , then q(x) is the characteristic polynomial of the n×n companion matrix Decomposition of rational expressions The field F is algebraically closed if and only if every rational function in one variable x, with coefficients in F, can be written as the sum of a polynomial function with rational functions of the form a/(x − b)n, where n is a natural number, and a and b are elements of F. If F is algebraically closed then, since the irreducible polynomials in F[x] are all of degree 1, the property stated above holds by the theorem on partial fraction decomposition. On the other hand, suppose that the property stated above holds for the field F. Let p(x) be an irreducible element in F[x]. Then the rational function 1/p can be written as the sum of a polynomial function q with rational functions of the form a/(x – b)n. Therefore, the rational expression can be written as a quotient of two polynomials in which the denominator is a product of first degree polynomials. Since p(x) is irreducible, it must divide this product and, therefore, it must also be a first degree polynomial. Relatively prime polynomials and roots For any field F, if two polynomials are relatively prime then they do not have a common root, for if was a common root, then p(x) and q(x) would both be multiples of and therefore they would not be relatively prime. The fields for which the reverse implication holds (that is, the fields such that whenever two polynomials have no common root then they are relatively prime) are precisely the algebraically closed fields. If the field F is algebraically closed, let p(x) and q(x) be two polynomials which are not relatively prime and let r(x) be their greatest common divisor. Then, since r(x) is not constant, it will have some root a, which will be then a common root of p(x) and q(x). If F is not algebraically closed, let p(x) be a polynomial whose degree is at least 1 without roots. Then p(x) and p(x) are not relatively prime, but they have no common roots (since none of them has roots). Other properties If F is an algebraically closed field and n is a natural number, then F contains all nth roots of unity, because these are (by definition) the n (not necessarily distinct) zeroes of the polynomial xn − 1. A field extension that is contained in an extension generated by the roots of unity is a cyclotomic extension, and the extension of a field generated by all roots of unity is sometimes called its cyclotomic closure. Thus algebraically closed fields are cyclotomically closed. The converse is not true. Even assuming that every polynomial of the form xn − a splits into linear factors is not enough to assure that the field is algebraically closed. If a proposition which can be expressed in the language of first-order logic is true for an algebraically closed field, then it is true for every algebraically closed field with the same characteristic. Furthermore, if such a proposition is valid for an algebraically closed field with characteristic 0, then not only is it valid for all other algebraically closed fields with characteristic 0, but there is some natural number N such that the proposition is valid for every algebraically closed field with characteristic p when p > N.See subsections Rings and fields and Properties of mathematical theories in §2 of J. Barwise's "An introduction to first-order logic". Every field F has some extension which is algebraically closed. Such an extension is called an algebraically closed extension. Among all such extensions there is one and only one (up to isomorphism, but not unique isomorphism) which is an algebraic extension of F;See Lang's Algebra, §VII.2 or van der Waerden's Algebra I, §10.1. it is called the algebraic closure of F. The theory of algebraically closed fields has quantifier elimination. Notes References
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August 6
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Events Pre-1600 1284 – The Republic of Pisa is defeated in the Battle of Meloria by the Republic of Genoa, thus losing its naval dominance in the Mediterranean. 1538 – Bogotá, Colombia, is founded by Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada. 1601–1900 1661 – The Treaty of The Hague is signed by Portugal and the Dutch Republic. 1777 – American Revolutionary War: The bloody Battle of Oriskany prevents American relief of the Siege of Fort Stanwix. 1787 – Sixty proof sheets of the Constitution of the United States are delivered to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 1806 – Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, declares the moribund empire to be dissolved, although he retains power in the Austrian Empire. 1819 – Norwich University is founded in Vermont as the first private military school in the United States. 1824 – Peruvian War of Independence: Patriot forces led by Simón Bolívar defeat the Spanish Royalist army in the Battle of Junín. 1825 – The Bolivian Declaration of Independence is proclaimed. 1861 – Britain imposes the Lagos Treaty of Cession to suppress slavery in what is now Nigeria. 1862 – American Civil War: The Confederate ironclad is scuttled on the Mississippi River after suffering catastrophic engine failure near Baton Rouge, Louisiana. 1870 – Franco-Prussian War: The Battle of Spicheren is fought, resulting in a German victory. 1870 – Franco-Prussian War: The Battle of Wörth results in a decisive German victory. 1890 – At Auburn Prison in New York, murderer William Kemmler becomes the first person to be executed by electric chair. 1901–present 1901 – Kiowa land in Oklahoma is opened for white settlement, effectively dissolving the contiguous reservation. 1914 – World War I: U-boat campaign: Two days after the United Kingdom had declared war on Germany over the German invasion of Belgium, ten German U-boats leave their base in Heligoland to attack Royal Navy warships in the North Sea. 1914 – World War I: Serbia declares war on Germany; Austria declares war on Russia. 1915 – World War I: Battle of Sari Bair: The Allies mount a diversionary attack timed to coincide with a major Allied landing of reinforcements at Suvla Bay. 1917 – World War I: Battle of Mărășești between the Romanian and German armies begins. 1926 – Gertrude Ederle becomes the first woman to swim across the English Channel. 1926 – First public screening using the Vitaphone process 1940 – Estonia is annexed by the Soviet Union. 1942 – Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands becomes the first reigning queen to address a joint session of the United States Congress. 1944 – The Warsaw Uprising occurs on August 1. It is brutally suppressed and all able-bodied men in Kraków are detained afterwards to prevent a similar uprising, the Kraków Uprising, that was planned but never carried out. 1945 – World War II: Hiroshima, Japan is devastated when the atomic bomb "Little Boy" is dropped by the United States B-29 Enola Gay. Around 70,000 people are killed instantly, and some tens of thousands die in subsequent years from burns and radiation poisoning. 1956 – After going bankrupt in 1955, the American broadcaster DuMont Television Network makes its final broadcast, a boxing match from St. Nicholas Arena in New York in the Boxing from St. Nicholas Arena series. 1958 – Law of Permanent Defense of Democracy, outlawing the Communist Party of Chile and banning 26,650 persons from the electoral lists,Adam Feinstein, Pablo Neruda: A Passion for Life url is repealed in Chile. 1960 – Cuban Revolution: Cuba nationalizes American and foreign-owned property in the nation. 1962 – Jamaica becomes independent from the United Kingdom. 1965 – US President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Voting Rights Act of 1965 into law. 1986 – A low-pressure system that redeveloped off the New South Wales coast dumps a record 328 millimeters (13 inches) of rain in a day on Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. 1990 – Gulf War: The United Nations Security Council orders a global trade embargo against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. WWW makes its first appearance as a publicly available service on the Internet. 1991 – Takako Doi, chair of the Social Democratic Party, becomes Japan's first female speaker of the House of Representatives. 1996 – NASA announces that the ALH 84001 meteorite, thought to originate from Mars, contains evidence of primitive life-forms. 1997 – Korean Air Flight 801 crashed at Nimitz Hill, Guam, killing 229 of the 254 people on board. 2001 – Erwadi fire incident: Twenty-eight mentally ill persons tied to a chain are burnt to death at a faith based institution at Erwadi, Tamil Nadu. 2008 – A military junta led by Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz stages a coup d'état in Mauritania, overthrowing president Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi. 2010 – Flash floods across a large part of Jammu and Kashmir, India, damages 71 towns and kills at least 255 people. 2011 – War in Afghanistan: A United States military helicopter is shot down, killing 30 American special forces members and a working dog, seven Afghan soldiers, and one Afghan civilian. It was the deadliest single event for the United States in the War in Afghanistan. 2012 – NASA's Curiosity rover lands on the surface of Mars. 2015 – A suicide bomb attack kills at least 15 people at a mosque in the Saudi city of Abha. 450) 750 – Marwan II, Umayyad general and caliph (b. 688) 1027 – Richard III, Duke of Normandy 1162 – Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona (b. 1113) 1195 – Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony and Bavaria (b. 1129) 1221 – Saint Dominic, Spanish priest, founded the Dominican Order (b. 1239) 1384 – Francesco I of Lesbos 1412 – Margherita of Durazzo, Queen consort of Charles III of Naples (b. 1347) 1414 – Ladislaus of Naples (b. 1378) 1530 – Jacopo Sannazaro, Italian poet (b. 1458) 1553 – Girolamo Fracastoro, Italian physician (b. 1478) 1588 – Josias I, Count of Waldeck-Eisenberg, Count of Waldeck-Eisenberg (1578–1588) (b. 1554) 1601–1900 1628 – Johannes Junius, German lawyer and politician (b. 1573) 1637 – Ben Jonson, English poet and playwright (b. 1572) 1645 – Lionel Cranfield, 1st Earl of Middlesex, English merchant and politician (b. 1575) 1657 – Bohdan Khmelnytsky, Ukrainian soldier and politician, 1st Hetman of Zaporizhian Host (b. 1595) 1660 – Diego Velázquez, Spanish painter and educator (b. 1599) 1666 – Tjerk Hiddes de Vries, Frisian naval hero and commander (b. 1622) 1679 – John Snell, Scottish-English soldier and philanthropist, founded the Snell Exhibition (b. 1629) 1694 – Antoine Arnauld, French mathematician and philosopher (b. 1612) 1695 – François de Harlay de Champvallon, French archbishop (b. 1625) 1753 – Georg Wilhelm Richmann, Estonian-Russian physicist and academic (b. 1711) 1757 – Ádám Mányoki, Hungarian painter (b. 1673) 1794 – Henry Bathurst, 2nd Earl Bathurst, English lawyer and politician, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain (b. 1714) 1815 – James A. Bayard, American lawyer and politician (b. 1767) 1828 – Konstantin von Benckendorff, Russian general and diplomat (b. 1785) 1850 – Edward Walsh, Irish poet (b. 1805) 1866 – John Mason Neale, English priest, scholar, and hymnwriter (b. 1818) 1881 – James Springer White, American religious leader, co-founded the Seventh-day Adventist Church (b. 1821) 1893 – Jean-Jacques Challet-Venel, Swiss lawyer and politician (b. 1811) 1901–present 1904 – Eduard Hanslick, Austrian author and critic (b. 1825) 1906 – George Waterhouse, English-New Zealand politician, 7th Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1824) 1915 – Jennie de la Montagnie Lozier, American physician (b. 1841) 1920 – Stefan Bastyr, Polish pilot and author (b. 1890) 1925 – Surendranath Banerjee, Indian academic and politician (b. 1848) 1925 – Gregorio Ricci-Curbastro, Italian mathematician (b. 1853) 1931 – Bix Beiderbecke, American cornet player, pianist, and composer (b. 1903) 1945 – Richard Bong, American soldier and pilot, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1920)The New York Times, The Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times, among other periodicals, all carried prominent front page stories about Bong's death on August 7, 1945, despite the prevalence of the news on the first atomic bombing. "Jet plane explosion kills Major Bong, Top U.S. Ace," The New York Times (August 7, 1945), p. 1; "Major Bong, top air ace, killed in crash of Army P-80 jet-fighter," The Washington Post (August 6, 1945), p.1; "Jet plane explosion kills Maj. Bong; Ace's 'Shooting Star' blows up in test flight over north Hollywood", Los Angeles Times (August 6, 1945), p.1. 1945 – Hiram Johnson, American lawyer and politician, 23rd Governor of California (b. 1866) 1946 – Tony Lazzeri, American baseball player and coach (b. 1903) 1952 – Betty Allan, Australian statistician and biometrician (b. 1905) 1959 – Preston Sturges, American director, screenwriter, and playwright (b. 1898) 1964 – Cedric Hardwicke, English actor and director (b. 1893) 1968 – Ye Gongchuo, Chinese politician, poet, and calligrapher (b. 1881) 1969 – Theodor W. Adorno, German sociologist and philosopher (b. 1903) 1970 – Nikos Tsiforos, Greek director and screenwriter (b. 1912) 1973 – Fulgencio Batista, Cuban colonel and politician, 9th President of Cuba (b. 1901) 1976 – Gregor Piatigorsky, Russian-American cellist and educator (b. 1897) 1978 – Edward Durell Stone, American architect, designed Radio City Music Hall and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (b. 1902) 1979 – Feodor Felix Konrad Lynen, German biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1911) 1983 – Klaus Nomi, German singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1944) 1985 – Forbes Burnham, Guyanese politician, 2nd President of Guyana (b. 1923) 1986 – Emilio Fernández, Mexican actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1904) 1987 – Ira C. Eaker, American general (b. 1896) 1990 – Jacques Soustelle, French anthropologist and politician (b. 1912) 1991 – Shapour Bakhtiar, Iranian soldier and politician, 74th Prime Minister of Iran (b. 1915) 1991 – Roland Michener, Canadian lawyer and politician, 20th Governor General of Canada (b. 1900) 1991 – Harry Reasoner, American journalist, co-created 60 Minutes (b. 1923) 1992 – Leszek Błażyński, Polish boxer (b. 1949) 1993 – Tex Hughson, American baseball player (b. 1916) 1994 – Domenico Modugno, Italian singer-songwriter and politician (b. 1928) 1997 – Shin Ki-ha, South Korean lawyer and politician (b. 1941) 1998 – André Weil, French-American mathematician and academic (b. 1906) 2001 – Jorge Amado, Brazilian novelist and poet (b. 1912) 2001 – Adhar Kumar Chatterji, Indian Naval officer (b. 1914) 2001 – Wilhelm Mohnke, German general (b. 1911) 2001 – Shan Ratnam, Sri Lankan physician and academic (b. 1928) 2001 – Dorothy Tutin, English actress (b. 1930) 2002 – Edsger W. Dijkstra, Dutch physicist, computer scientist, and academic (b. 1930) 2003 – Julius Baker, American flute player and educator (b. 1915) 2004 – Rick James, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1948) 2004 – Donald Justice, American poet and academic (b. 1925) 2005 – Robin Cook, Scottish educator and politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (b. 1946) 2005 – Creme Puff, tabby domestic cat, oldest recorded cat (b. 1967) 2007 – Zsolt Daczi, Hungarian guitarist (b. 1969) 2008 – Angelos Kitsos, Greek lawyer and author (b. 1934) 2009 – Riccardo Cassin, Italian mountaineer and author (b. 1909) 2009 – Willy DeVille, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1950) 2009 – John Hughes, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1950) 2011 – Fe del Mundo, Filipino pediatrician and educator (b. 1911) 2012 – Richard Cragun, American-Brazilian ballet dancer and choreographer (b. 1944) 2012 – Marvin Hamlisch, American pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1944) 2012 – Robert Hughes, Australian-American author and critic (b. 1938) 2012 – Bernard Lovell, English physicist and astronomer (b. 1913) 2012 – Mark O'Donnell, American playwright (b. 1954) 2012 – Ruggiero Ricci, American violinist and educator (b. 1918) 2012 – Dan Roundfield, American basketball player (b. 1953) 2013 – Stan Lynde, American author and illustrator (b. 1931) 2013 – Mava Lee Thomas, American baseball player (b. 1929) 2013 – Jerry Wolman, American businessman (b. 1927) 2014 – Ralph Bryans, Northern Irish motorcycle racer (b. Guruge, Sri Lankan scholar and diplomat (b. 1928) 2014 – John Woodland Hastings, American biochemist and academic (b. 1927) 2015 – Ray Hill, American football player (b. 1975) 2015 – Orna Porat, German-Israeli actress (b. 1924) 2017 – Betty Cuthbert, Australian sprinter (b. 1938) 2017 – Darren Daulton, American baseball player (b. 1962) 2018 – Joël Robuchon, French Chef (b. 1945) 2018 – Margaret Heckler, American politician (b. 1931) 2018 – Anya Krugovoy Silver, American poet (b. 1968) 2024 – Billy Bean, American baseball player (b. 1964) 2024 – Connie Chiume, South African actress and filmmaker (b. 1952) Holidays and observances Christian holidays and observances Transfiguration of Jesus Anna Maria Rubatto Hormisdas Justus and Pastor August 6 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan's Accession Day. (United Arab Emirates) Independence Day (Bolivia), celebrates the independence of Bolivia from Spain in 1825. Independence Day (Jamaica), celebrates the independence of Jamaica from the United Kingdom in 1962. Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony (Hiroshima, Japan) Russian Railway Troops Day (Russia) References External links
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Anatoly Karpov
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Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov (, ; born May 23, 1951) is a Russian and former Soviet chess grandmaster, former World Chess Champion, and politician. He was the 12th World Chess Champion from 1975 to 1985, a three-time FIDE World Champion (1993, 1996, 1998), twice World Chess champion as a member of the USSR team (1985, 1989), and a six-time winner of Chess Olympiads as a member of the USSR team (1972, 1974, 1980, 1982, 1986, 1988). The International Association of Chess Press awarded him nine Chess Oscars (1973–77, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1984). Karpov's chess tournament successes include over 160 first-place finishes. In his 1994 book My Best Games, Karpov says he played some 200 tournaments and matches, and won more than 100. He had a peak Elo rating of 2780, and his 102 total months world number one is the third-longest of all time, behind Magnus Carlsen and Garry Kasparov. Karpov is also an elected Member of the State Duma in Russia. Since 2006, he has chaired the Commission for Ecological Safety and Environmental Protection of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation, and since 2007 he has been a member of the Public Council under the Ministry of Defence. Early life Karpov was born into a Russian family on May 23, 1951,How Karpov Wins, p. xiiiDeep Blue: An Artificial Intelligence Milestonebats, p. 44 in Zlatoust, in the Urals region of the former Soviet Union, and learned to play chess at the age of four. His early rise in chess was swift, as he became a candidate master by age 11. At 12, he was accepted into Mikhail Botvinnik's prestigious chess school, though Botvinnik made the following remark about the young Karpov: "The boy does not have a clue about chess, and there's no future at all for him in this profession." Karpov acknowledged that his understanding of chess theory was very confused at that time, and later wrote that the homework Botvinnik assigned greatly helped him, since it required that he consult chess books and work diligently. Karpov improved so quickly under Botvinnik's tutelage that he became the youngest Soviet master in history at the age of fifteen in 1966; this tied the record established by Boris Spassky in 1952.
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Aspect ratio
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The aspect ratio of a geometric shape is the ratio of its sizes in different dimensions. For example, the aspect ratio of a rectangle is the ratio of its longer side to its shorter side—the ratio of width to height, when the rectangle is oriented as a "landscape". The aspect ratio is most often expressed as two integer numbers separated by a colon (x:y), less commonly as a simple or decimal fraction. The values x and y do not represent actual widths and heights but, rather, the proportion between width and height. As an example, 8:5, 16:10, 1.6:1, and 1.6 are all ways of representing the same aspect ratio. In objects of more than two dimensions, such as hyperrectangles, the aspect ratio can still be defined as the ratio of the longest side to the shortest side. A square has the smallest possible aspect ratio of 1:1. Examples: 4:3 = 1.: Some (not all) 20th century computer monitors (VGA, XGA, etc. ), standard-definition television : international paper sizes (ISO 216) 3:2 = 1.5: 35mm still camera film, iPhone (until iPhone 5) displays 16:10 = 1.6: commonly used widescreen computer displays (WXGA) Φ:1 = 1.618...: golden ratio, close to 16:10 5:3 = 1.: super 16 mm, a standard film gauge in many European countries 16:9 = 1.: widescreen TV and most laptops 2:1 = 2: dominoes 64:27 = 2.: ultra-widescreen, 21:9 32:9 = 3.: super ultra-widescreen Ellipses For an ellipse, the aspect ratio denotes the ratio of the major axis to the minor axis. An ellipse with an aspect ratio of 1:1 is a circle.
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Auto racing
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Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non-racing disciplines. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various types were organized, with the first recorded as early as 1867. Many of the earliest events were effectively reliability trials, aimed at proving these new machines were a practical mode of transport, but soon became an important way for automobile makers to demonstrate their machines. By the 1930s, specialist racing cars had developed. There are now numerous different categories, each with different rules and regulations.
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August 9
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Events Pre-1600 48 BC – Caesar's Civil War: Battle of Pharsalus: Julius Caesar decisively defeats Pompey at Pharsalus and Pompey flees to Egypt. 378 – Gothic War: Battle of Adrianople: A large Roman army led by Emperor Valens is defeated by the Visigoths. Valens is killed along with over half of his army. 1173 – Construction of the campanile of the Cathedral of Pisa (now known as the Leaning Tower of Pisa) begins; it will take two centuries to complete. 1329 – Quilon, the first Indian Christian Diocese, is erected by Pope John XXII; the French-born Jordanus is appointed the first Bishop. 1428 – Sources cite biggest caravan trade between Podvisoki and Republic of Ragusa. Vlachs committed to Ragusan lord Tomo Bunić, that they will with 600 horses deliver 1,500 modius of salt. Delivery was meant for Dobrašin Veseoković, and Vlachs price was half of delivered salt. "Crainich Miochouich et Stiepanus Glegieuich ad meliustenendem super se et omnia eorum bona se obligando promiserunt ser Thome de Bona presenti et acceptanti conducere et salauum dare in Souisochi in Bosna Dobrassino Veselcouich nomine dicti ser Thome modia salis mille quingenta super equis siue salmis sexcentis. Et dicto sale conducto et presentato suprascripto Dobrassino in Souisochi medietatem illius salis dare et mensuratum consignare dicto Dobrassino. Et aliam medietatem pro eorum mercede conducenda dictum salem pro ipsius conductoribus retinere et habere. Promittentes vicissim omnia et singularia suprascripta firma et rata habere et tenere ut supra sub obligatione omnium suorum bonorum. Renuntiando" (9 August 1428), State archive, Ragusa Republic, Series: Diversa Cancellariae, no. XLV, p. 31 verso. 1500 – Ottoman–Venetian War (1499–1503): The Ottomans capture Methoni, Messenia. 1601–1900 1610 – The First Anglo-Powhatan War begins in colonial Virginia. 1810 – Napoleon annexes Westphalia as part of the First French Empire. 1814 – American Indian Wars: The Creek sign the Treaty of Fort Jackson, giving up huge parts of Alabama and Georgia. 1830 – Louis Philippe becomes the king of the French following abdication of Charles X. 1842 – The Webster–Ashburton Treaty is signed, establishing the United States–Canada border east of the Rocky Mountains. 1854 – American Transcendentalist philosopher Henry David Thoreau publishes his memoir Walden. 1855 – Åland War: The Battle of Suomenlinna begins. 1862 – American Civil War: Battle of Cedar Mountain: At Cedar Mountain, Virginia, Confederate General Stonewall Jackson narrowly defeats Union forces under General John Pope. 1877 – American Indian Wars: Battle of the Big Hole: A small band of Nez Percé Indians clash with the United States Army. 1892 – Thomas Edison receives a patent for a two-way telegraph. 1897 – The first International Congress of Mathematicians is held in Zürich, Switzerland. 1901–present 1902 – Edward VII and Alexandra of Denmark are crowned King and Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. 1907 – The first Boy Scout encampment concludes at Brownsea Island in southern England. 1925 – A train robbery takes place in Kakori, near Lucknow, India, by the Indian independence revolutionaries, against the British government. 1936 – Summer Olympics: Jesse Owens wins his fourth gold medal at the games. 1942 – World War II: Battle of Savo Island: Allied naval forces protecting their amphibious forces during the initial stages of the Battle of Guadalcanal are surprised and defeated by an Imperial Japanese Navy cruiser force. 1942 – Dmitri Shostakovich's 7th symphony premiers in a besieged Leningrad. 1944 – The United States Forest Service and the Wartime Advertising Council release posters featuring Smokey Bear for the first time. 1944 – World War II: Continuation War: The Vyborg–Petrozavodsk Offensive, the largest offensive launched by Soviet Union against Finland during the Second World War, ends to a strategic stalemate. Both Finnish and Soviet troops at the Finnish front dug to defensive positions, and the front remains stable until the end of the war. 1945 – World War II: Nagasaki is devastated when an atomic bomb, Fat Man, is dropped by the United States B-29 Bockscar. Thirty-five thousand people are killed outright, including 23,200–28,200 Japanese war workers, 2,000 Korean forced workers, and 150 Japanese soldiers. 1945 – The Red Army invades Japanese-occupied Manchuria. 1960 – South Kasai secedes from the Congo. 1965 – Singapore is expelled from Malaysia and becomes the only country to date to gain independence unwillingly. 1969 – Tate–LaBianca murders: Followers of Charles Manson murder pregnant actress Sharon Tate (wife of Roman Polanski), coffee heiress Abigail Folger, Polish actor Wojciech Frykowski, men's hairstylist Jay Sebring and recent high-school graduate Steven Parent. 1970 – LANSA Flight 502 crashes after takeoff from Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport in Cusco, Peru, killing 99 of the 100 people on board, as well as two people on the ground. 1971 – The Troubles: In Northern Ireland, the British authorities launch Operation Demetrius. The operation involves the mass arrest and internment without trial of individuals suspected of being affiliated with the Irish Republican Army (PIRA). Mass riots follow, and thousands of people flee or are forced out of their homes.Coogan, Tim Pat. The Troubles: Ireland's ordeal 1966–1996 and the search for peace. London: Hutchinson. p. 126 Internment – Summary of Main Events 1973 – Mars 7 is launched from the USSR. 1974 – As a direct result of the Watergate scandal, Richard Nixon becomes the first President of the United States to resign from office. Vice President Gerald Ford becomes president. 1991 – The Italian prosecuting magistrate Antonino Scopelliti is murdered by the 'Ndrangheta on behalf of the Sicilian Mafia while preparing the government's case in the final appeal of the Maxi Trial. 1993 – The Liberal Democratic Party of Japan loses a 38-year hold on national leadership. 1995 – Aviateca Flight 901 crashes into the San Vicente volcano in El Salvador, killing all 65 people on board. 1999 – Russian President Boris Yeltsin fires his Prime Minister, Sergei Stepashin, and for the fourth time fires his entire cabinet. 2006 – At least 21 suspected terrorists are arrested in the 2006 transatlantic aircraft plot that happened in the United Kingdom. The arrests are made in London, Birmingham, and High Wycombe in an overnight operation. 2007 – Air Moorea Flight 1121 crashes after takeoff from Moorea Airport in French Polynesia, killing all 20 people on board. 2012 – Shannon Eastin becomes the first woman to officiate an NFL game. 2013 – Gunmen open fire at a Sunni mosque in the city of Quetta killing at least ten people and injuring 30. 2014 – Michael Brown, an 18-year-old African American male in Ferguson, Missouri, is shot and killed by a Ferguson police officer after reportedly assaulting the officer and attempting to steal his weapon, sparking protests and unrest in the city. 2021 – The Tampere light rail officially starts operating. 2024 – Voepass Linhas Aéreas Flight 2283 crashes near Vinhedo, São Paulo, killing all 62 people on board. Births Pre-1600 1201 – Arnold Fitz Thedmar, English historian and merchant (d. 1274) 1537 – Francesco Barozzi, Italian mathematician and astronomer (d. 1604) 1544 – Bogislaw XIII, Duke of Pomerania (d. 1606) 1590 – John Webster, colonial settler and governor of Connecticut (d. 1661) 1601–1900 1603 – Johannes Cocceius, German-Dutch theologian and academic (d. 1669) 1611 – Henry of Nassau-Siegen, German count, officer in the Dutch Army, diplomat for the Dutch Republic (b. "Die Fürstengruft zu Siegen und die darin von 1669 bis 1781 erfolgten Beisetzungen". (Redaktion), Siegener Beiträge. Jahrbuch für regionale Geschichte (in German). Siegen: Geschichtswerkstatt Siegen – Arbeitskreis für Regionalgeschichte e.V. p. 191; 1648 – Johann Michael Bach, German composer (d. 1694) 1653 – John Oldham, English poet and translator (d. 1683) 1696 – Joseph Wenzel I, Prince of Liechtenstein (d. 1772) 1722 – Prince Augustus William of Prussia (d. 1758) 1726 – Francesco Cetti, Italian priest, zoologist, and mathematician (d. 1778) 1748 – Bernhard Schott, German music publisher (d. 1809) 1757 – Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton, American humanitarian; wife of Alexander Hamilton (d. 1854) 1757 – Thomas Telford, Scottish architect and engineer, designed the Menai Suspension Bridge (d. 1834) 1776 – Amedeo Avogadro, Italian physicist and chemist (d. 1856) 1783 – Grand Duchess Alexandra Pavlovna of Russia (d. 1801) 1788 – Adoniram Judson, American missionary and lexicographer (d. 1850) 1797 – Charles Robert Malden, English lieutenant and surveyor (d. 1855) 1805 – Joseph Locke, English engineer and politician (d. 1860) 1845 – André Bessette, Canadian saint (d. 1937) 1847 – Maria Vittoria dal Pozzo, French-Italian wife of Amadeo I of Spain (d. 1876) 1848 – Alfred David Benjamin, Australian-born businessman and philanthropist. (d. 1900) 1861 – Dorothea Klumpke, American astronomer and academic (d. 1942) 1867 – Evelina Haverfield, Scottish nurse and activist (d. 1920) 1872 – Archduke Joseph August of Austria (d. 1962) 1874 – Reynaldo Hahn, Venezuelan composer and conductor (d. 1947) 1875 – Albert Ketèlbey, English pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1959) 1878 – Eileen Gray, Irish architect and furniture designer (d. 1976) 1879 – John Willcock, Australian politician, 15th Premier of Western Australia, (d. 1956) 1881 – Prince Antônio Gastão of Orléans-Braganza, Brazilian prince (d. 1918) 1890 – Eino Kaila, Finnish philosopher and psychologist, attendant of the Vienna circle (d. 1958) 1896 – Erich Hückel, German physicist and chemist (d. 1980) 1896 – Jean Piaget, Swiss psychologist and philosopher (d. 1980) 1899 – P. L. Travers, Australian-English author and actress (d. 1996) 1900 – Charles Farrell, American actor and singer (d. 1990) 1901–present 1902 – Zino Francescatti, French violinist (d. 1991) 1902 – Panteleimon Ponomarenko, Russian general and politician (d. 1984) 1905 – Leo Genn, British actor and barrister (d. 1978) 1909 – Vinayaka Krishna Gokak, Indian scholar, author, and academic (d. 1992) 1909 – Willa Beatrice Player, American educator, first Black woman college president (d. 2003) 1909 – Adam von Trott zu Solz, German lawyer and diplomat (d. 1944) 1911 – William Alfred Fowler, American astronomer and astrophysicist, Nobel Laureate (d. 1996) 1911 – Eddie Futch, American boxer and trainer (d. 2001) 1911 – John McQuade, Northern Irish soldier, boxer, and politician (d. 1984) 1913 – Wilbur Norman Christiansen, Australian astronomer and engineer (d. 2007) 1914 – Ferenc Fricsay, Hungarian-Austrian conductor and director (d. 1963) 1914 – Tove Jansson, Finnish author and illustrator (d. 2001) 1914 – Joe Mercer, English footballer and manager (d. 1990) 1915 – Mareta West, American astronomer and geologist (d. 1998) 1918 – Kermit Beahan, American colonel (d. 1989) 1918 – Giles Cooper, Irish soldier and playwright (d. 1966) 1918 – Albert Seedman, American police officer (d. 2013) 1919 – Joop den Uyl, Dutch journalist, economist, and politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (d. 1987) 1919 – Ralph Houk, American baseball player and manager (d. 2010) 1920 – Enzo Biagi, Italian journalist and author (d. 2007) 1921 – Ernest Angley, American evangelist and author (d. 2021) 1921 – J. James Exon, American soldier and politician, 33rd Governor of Nebraska (d. 2005) 1922 – Philip Larkin, English poet and novelist (d. 1985) 1924 – Mathews Mar Barnabas, Indian metropolitan (d. 2012) 1924 – Frank Martínez, American soldier and painter (d. 2013) 1925 – David A. Huffman, American computer scientist, developed Huffman coding (d. 1999) 1926 – Denis Atkinson, Barbadian cricketer (d. 2001) 1927 – Daniel Keyes, American short story writer and novelist (d. 2014) 1927 – Robert Shaw, English actor and screenwriter (d. 1978) 1928 – Bob Cousy, American basketball player and coach 1928 – Camilla Wicks, American violinist and educator (d. 2020) 1928 – Dolores Wilson, American soprano and actress (d. 2010) 1929 – Abdi İpekçi, Turkish journalist and activist (d. 1979) 1930 – Milt Bolling, American baseball player and scout (d. 2013) 1930 – Jacques Parizeau, Canadian economist and politician, 26th Premier of Quebec (d. 2015) 1931 – Chuck Essegian, American baseball player and lawyer 1931 – James Freeman Gilbert, American geophysicist and academic (d. 2014) 1931 – Paula Kent Meehan, American businesswoman, co-founded Redken (d. 2014) 1931 – Mário Zagallo, Brazilian footballer and coach (d. 2024) 1932 – Tam Dalyell, Scottish academic and politician (d. 2017) 1932 – John Gomery, Canadian lawyer and jurist (d. 2021) 1933 – Tetsuko Kuroyanagi, Japanese actress, talk show host, and author 1935 – Beverlee McKinsey, American actress (d. 2008) 1936 – Julián Javier, Dominican-American baseball player 1936 – Patrick Tse, Chinese-Hong Kong actor, director, producer, and screenwriter 1938 – Leonid Kuchma, Ukrainian engineer and politician, 2nd President of Ukraine 1938 – Rod Laver, Australian tennis player and coach 1938 – Otto Rehhagel, German footballer, coach, and manager 1939 – Hércules Brito Ruas, Brazilian footballer 1939 – Vincent Hanna, Northern Irish journalist (d. 1997) 1939 – The Mighty Hannibal, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2014) 1939 – Billy Henderson, American singer (d. 2007) 1939 – Bulle Ogier, French actress and screenwriter 1939 – Romano Prodi, Italian academic and politician, 52nd Prime Minister of Italy 1939 – Butch Warren, American bassist (d. 2013) 1940 – Linda Keen, American mathematician and academic 1942 – David Steinberg, Canadian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter 1943 – Ken Norton, American boxer and actor (d. 2013) 1944 – George Armstrong, English footballer (d. 2000) 1944 – Patrick Depailler, French racing driver (d. 1980) 1944 – Sam Elliott, American actor and producer 1944 – Patricia McKissack, American soldier, engineer, and author (d. 2017) 1945 – Barbara Delinsky, American author 1945 – Aleksandr Gorelik, Russian skater and sportscaster (d. 2012) 1945 – Posy Simmonds, English author and illustrator 1946 – Rinus Gerritsen, Dutch rock bass player 1947 – Roy Hodgson, English footballer and manager 1947 – Barbara Mason, American R&B/soul singer-songwriter 1947 – John Varley, American author 1948 – Bill Campbell, American baseball player and coach (d. 2023) 1949 – Jonathan Kellerman, American psychologist and author 1949 – Ted Simmons, American baseball player and coach 1951 – James Naughtie, Scottish journalist and radio host 1951 – Steve Swisher, American baseball player and manager 1952 – Prateep Ungsongtham Hata, Thai activist and politician 1953 – Kay Stenshjemmet, Norwegian speed skater 1953 – Jean Tirole, French economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate 1954 – Ray Jennings, South African cricketer and coach 1954 – Pete Thomas, English drummer 1955 – John E. Sweeney, American lawyer and politician 1956 – Gordon Singleton, Canadian Olympic cyclist (d. 2024) 1957 – Melanie Griffith, American actress and producer 1958 – Amanda Bearse, American actress, comedian and director 1958 – Calie Pistorius, South African engineer and academic 1959 – Kurtis Blow, American rapper, producer, and actor 1959 – Michael Kors, American fashion designer 1961 – Brad Gilbert, American tennis player and sportscaster 1961 – John Key, New Zealand businessman and politician, 38th Prime Minister of New Zealand 1962 – Louis Lipps, American football player and radio host 1962 – Kevin Mack, American football player 1962 – John "Hot Rod" Williams, American basketball player (d. 2015) 1963 – Whitney Houston, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress (d. 2012) 1963 – Jay Leggett, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2013) 1963 – Barton Lynch, Australian surfer 1964 – Brett Hull, Canadian-American ice hockey player and manager 1964 – Hoda Kotb, American journalist and television personality 1965 – Nitin Chandrakant Desai, Indian art director, production designer, and film and television producer (d. 2023) 1966 – Vinny Del Negro, American basketball player and coach 1966 – Linn Ullmann, Norwegian journalist and author 1967 – Deion Sanders, American football and baseball player 1968 – Gillian Anderson, American-British actress, activist and writer 1968 – Eric Bana, Australian actor, comedian, producer, and screenwriter 1968 – Sam Fogarino, American drummer 1968 – McG, American director and producer 1969 – Troy Percival, American baseball player and coach 1970 – Rod Brind'Amour, Canadian ice hockey player and coach 1970 – Chris Cuomo, American lawyer and journalist 1970 – Thomas Lennon, American actor and comedian 1972 – Juanes, Colombian singer and songwriter 1973 – Filippo Inzaghi, Italian footballer and manager 1973 – Kevin McKidd, Scottish actor and director 1973 – Gene Luen Yang, American author and illustrator 1974 – Derek Fisher, American basketball player and coach 1974 – Stephen Fung, Hong Kong actor, singer, director, and screenwriter 1974 – Lesley McKenna, Scottish snowboarder 1974 – Matt Morris, American baseball player 1974 – Kirill Reznik, American lawyer and politician 1974 – Raphaël Poirée, French biathlete 1975 – Mahesh Babu, Indian actor and producer 1975 – Valentin Kovalenko, Uzbek football referee 1975 – Mike Lamb, American baseball player 1975 – Robbie Middleby, Australian soccer player 1976 – Rhona Mitra, English actress and singer 1976 – Audrey Tautou, French model and actress 1976 – Jessica Capshaw, American actress 1977 – Jason Frasor, American baseball player 1977 – Chamique Holdsclaw, American basketball player 1977 – Ravshan Irmatov, Uzbek football referee 1977 – Adewale Ogunleye, American football player 1977 – Ime Udoka, American basketball player and coach 1977 – Mikaël Silvestre, French footballer 1978 – Dorin Chirtoacă, Moldavian lawyer and politician, Mayor of Chișinău 1978 – Ana Serradilla, Mexican actress and producer 1978 – Wesley Sonck, Belgian footballer 1979 – Michael Kingma, Australian basketball player 1979 – Kliff Kingsbury, American football coach 1979 – Lisa Nandy, British politician 1979 – Tony Stewart, American football player 1981 – Jarvis Hayes, American basketball player 1981 – Li Jiawei, Singaporean table tennis player 1982 – Joel Anthony, American basketball player 1982 – Tyson Gay, American sprinter 1982 – Yekaterina Samutsevich, Russian singer and activist 1982 – Kanstantsin Sivtsov, Belarusian cyclist 1983 – Dan Levy, Canadian actor and comedian 1983 – Hamilton Masakadza, Zimbabwean cricketer 1983 – Shane O'Brien, Canadian ice hockey player 1983 – Alicja Smietana, Polish-English violinist 1984 – Paul Gallagher, Scottish footballer 1985 – Luca Filippi, Italian racing driver 1985 – Filipe Luís, Brazilian footballer 1985 – Anna Kendrick, American actress and singer 1985 – Hayley Peirsol, American swimmer 1985 – Vivek Ramaswamy, American entrepreneur 1985 – JaMarcus Russell, American football player 1985 – Chandler Williams, American football player (d. 2013) 1986 – Michael Lerchl, German footballer 1986 – Daniel Preussner, German rugby player 1986 – Tyler Smith, American singer-songwriter and bass player 1987 – Marek Niit, Estonian sprinter 1988 – Anthony Castonzo, American football player 1988 – Willian, Brazilian footballer 1988 – Vasilios Koutsianikoulis, Greek footballer 1989 – Jason Heyward, American baseball player 1989 – Stefano Okaka, Italian footballer 1989 – Kento Ono, Japanese actor and model 1990 – İshak Doğan, Turkish footballer 1990 – Sarah McBride, American LGBT activist 1990 – Stuart McInally, Scottish rugby player 1990 – Brice Roger, French skier 1990 – D'Arcy Short, Australian cricketer 1990 – Bill Skarsgård, Swedish actor 1991 – Alice Barlow, English actress 1991 – Alexa Bliss, American bodybuilder and wrestler 1991 – Hansika Motwani, Indian actress 1992 – Farahnaz Forotan, Afghan journalist 1993 – Jun.Q, South Korean singer and actor 1993 – Dipa Karmakar, Indian gymnast 1994 – Kelli Hubly, American soccer player 1994 – King Von, American rapper (d. 2020) 1995 – Eli Apple, American football player 1995 – Justice Smith, American actor 1996 – Sanya Lopez, Filipino actress and model 1999 – Deniss Vasiļjevs, Latvian skater 2000 – Aidan Hutchinson, American football player 2000 – Arlo Parks, British singer-songwriter 2005 – Victoria Jiménez Kasintseva, Andorran tennis player Deaths Pre-1600 378 – Traianus, Roman general 378 – Valens, Roman emperor (b. 328) 803 – Irene of Athens, Byzantine ruler (b. 752) 833 – Al-Ma'mun, Iraqi caliph (b. 786) 1048 – Pope Damasus II 1107 – Emperor Horikawa of Japan (b. 1079) 1173 – Najm ad-Din Ayyub, Kurdish soldier and politician 1211 – William de Braose, 4th Lord of Bramber, exiled Anglo-Norman baron (b. 1144/53) 1260 – Walter of Kirkham, Bishop of Durham 1296 – Hugh, Count of Brienne, French crusader 1341 – Eleanor of Anjou, queen consort of Sicily (b. 1289) 1354 – Stephen, Duke of Slavonia, Hungarian prince (b. 1332) 1420 – Pierre d'Ailly, French theologian and cardinal (b. 1351) 1516 – Hieronymus Bosch, Early Netherlandish painter (b. circa 1450) 1534 – Thomas Cajetan, Italian cardinal and philosopher (b. 1470) 1580 – Metrophanes III of Constantinople (b. 1558) 1634 – William Noy, English lawyer and judge (b. 1577) 1720 – Simon Ockley, English orientalist and academic (b. 1678) 1744 – James Brydges, 1st Duke of Chandos, English academic and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Radnorshire (b. 1673) 1816 – Johann August Apel, German jurist and author (b. 1771) 1861 – Vincent Novello, English composer and publisher (b. 1781) 1886 – Samuel Ferguson, Irish lawyer and poet (b. 1810) 1901–present 1910 – Huo Yuanjia, Chinese martial artist, co-founded the Chin Woo Athletic Association (b. 1868) 1919 – Ruggero Leoncavallo, Italian composer and educator (b. 1857) 1920 – Samuel Griffith, Welsh-Australian politician, 9th Premier of Queensland (b. 1845) 1932 – John Charles Fields, Canadian mathematician, founder of the Fields Medal (b. 1863) 1941 – Richard Goss, Executed Irish Republican (b. 1915) 1942 – Edith Stein, German nun and saint (b. 1891) 1943 – Chaïm Soutine, Belarusian-French painter and educator (b. 1893) 1945 – Robert Hampton Gray, Canadian lieutenant and pilot, Victoria Cross recipient (b. 1917) 1945 – Harry Hillman, American runner and coach (b. 1881) 1946 – Bert Vogler, South African cricketer (b. 1876) 1948 – Hugo Boss, German fashion designer, founded Hugo Boss (b. 1885) 1949 – Edward Thorndike, American psychologist and academic (b. 1874) 1957 – Carl Clauberg, German Nazi physician (b. 1898) 1962 – Hermann Hesse, German-born Swiss poet, novelist, and painter, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1877) 1963 – Patrick Bouvier Kennedy, American son of John F. Kennedy (b. 1963) 1967 – Joe Orton, English author and playwright (b. 1933) 1969 – Wojciech Frykowski, Polish-American actor and author (b. 1936) 1969 – Sharon Tate, American model and actress (b. 1943) 1969 – C. F. Powell, English physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1903) 1970 – Jimmy Steele (Irish republican), lifelong militant and editor (b. 1907)Coogan, Tim, (1981),The IRA, William Collins & Sons Ltd, Glasgow, UK, pg 208. 1972 – Sıddık Sami Onar, Turkish lawyer and academic (b. 1897) 1974 – Bill Chase, American trumpet player and bandleader (b. 1934) 1975 – Dmitri Shostakovich, Russian pianist and composer (b. 1906) 1978 – James Gould Cozzens, American novelist and short story writer (b. 1903) 1979 – Walter O'Malley, American businessman (b. 1903) 1979 – Raymond Washington, American gang leader, founded the Crips (b. 1953) 1980 – Jacqueline Cochran, American pilot (b. 1906) 1980 – Ruby Hurley, American civil rights activist (b. 1909) 1981 – Max Hoffman, Austrian-born car importer and businessman (b. 1904) 1985 – Clive Churchill, Australian rugby league player and coach (b. 1927) 1986 – Eoin McNamee (Irish republican), Chief of Staff of the Irish Republican Army (b. 1914) 1988 – M. Carl Holman, American author, educator, poet, and playwright (b. 1919)"M. Carl Holman Dies at 69", The Washington Post 1988 – Giacinto Scelsi, Italian composer (b. 1905) 1990 – Joe Mercer, English footballer and manager (b. 1914) 1992 – Fereydoun Farrokhzad, Iranian singer and actor (b. 1938) 1995 – Jerry Garcia, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1942) 1996 – Frank Whittle, English soldier and engineer, invented the jet engine (b. 1907) 1999 – Helen Rollason, English sports journalist and sportscaster (b. 1956) 1999 – Fouad Serageddin, Egyptian journalist and politician (b. 1910) 2000 – John Harsanyi, Hungarian-American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1920) 2000 – Nicholas Markowitz, American murder victim (b. 1984) 2002 – Paul Samson, English guitarist (b. 1953) 2003 – Jacques Deray, French director and screenwriter (b. 1929) 2003 – Ray Harford, English footballer and manager (b. 1945) 2003 – Gregory Hines, American actor, dancer, and choreographer (b. 1946) 2003 – R. Sivagurunathan, Sri Lankan lawyer, journalist, and academic (b. 1931) 2004 – Robert Lecourt, French lawyer and politician, Lord Chancellor of France (b. 1908) 2004 – Tony Mottola, American guitarist and composer (b. 1918) 2004 – David Raksin, American composer and educator (b. 1912) 2005 – Judith Rossner, American author (b. 1935) 2006 – Philip E. High, English author (b. 1914) 2006 – James Van Allen, American physicist and academic (b. 1922) 2008 – Bernie Mac, American comedian, actor, screenwriter, and producer (b. 1957) 2008 – Mahmoud Darwish, Palestinian author and poet (b. 1941) 2010 – Calvin "Fuzz" Jones, American singer and bass player (b. 1926) 2010 – Ted Stevens, American soldier, lawyer, and politician (b. 1923) 2012 – Carl Davis, American record producer (b. 1934) 2012 – Gene F. Franklin, American engineer, theorist, and academic (b. 1927) 2012 – Al Freeman, Jr., American actor, director, and educator (b. 1934) 2012 – David Rakoff, Canadian-American actor and journalist (b. 1964) 2012 – Carmen Belen Richardson, Puerto Rican-American actress (b. 1930) 2012 – Mel Stuart, American director and producer (b. 1928) 2013 – Harry Elliott, American baseball player and coach (b. 1923) 2013 – Eduardo Falú, Argentinian guitarist and composer (b. 1923) 2013 – William Lynch, Jr., American lawyer and politician (b. 1947) 2014 – J. F. Ade Ajayi, Nigerian historian and academic (b. 1929) 2014 – Andriy Bal, Ukrainian footballer and coach (b. 1958) 2014 – Arthur G. Cohen, American businessman and philanthropist, co-founded Arlen Realty and Development Corporation (b. 1930) 2014 – Ed Nelson, American actor (b. 1930) 2015 – John Henry Holland, American computer scientist and academic (b. 1929) 2015 – Walter Nahún López, Honduran footballer (b. 1977) 2015 – David Nobbs, English author and screenwriter (b. 1935) 2015 – Kayyar Kinhanna Rai, Indian journalist, author, and poet (b. 1915) 2015 – Fikret Otyam, Turkish painter and journalist (b. 1926) 2016 – Gerald Grosvenor, 6th Duke of Westminster, third-richest British citizen (b. 1951)Duke of Westminster, Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor, dies aged 64 2021 – Pat Hitchcock, English actress and producer (b. 1928) 2021 – Killer Kau, South African rapper, dancer and record producer (b. 1998) 2021 – Zairaini Sarbini, Malaysian voice actress (b. 1972)'Detektif Conan' derita kanser meninggal dunia 2023 – Robbie Robertson, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor (b. 1943) 2024 – Susan Wojcicki, Polish-American technology executive (b. 1968) Holidays and observances Battle of Gangut Day (Russia) Christian feast day: Candida Maria of Jesus Edith Stein (St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross) Firmus and Rusticus Herman of Alaska (Russian Orthodox Church and related congregations; Episcopal Church (USA)) John Vianney (1950s – currently August 4) Mary Sumner (Church of England) Nath Í of Achonry Romanus Ostiarius Secundian, Marcellian and Verian August 9 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples (United Nations) Meyboom (Brussels and Leuven, Belgium) National Day, celebrates the independence of Singapore from Malaysia in 1965. National Peacekeepers' Day, celebrated on Sunday closest to the day (Canada) National Women's Day (South Africa) Day of the Finnish art, also birthday of Tove Jansson (Finland) References External links
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Aristophanes
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Aristophanes (;. ; ) was an Ancient Greek comic playwright from Athens. He wrote in total forty plays, of which eleven survive virtually complete today. ; The majority of his surviving plays belong to the genre of comic drama known as Old Comedy and are considered its most valuable examples. Aristophanes' plays were performed at the religious festivals of Athens, mostly the City Dionysia and the Lenaia, and several of them won the first prize in their respective competitions. He has been said to recreate the life of ancient Athens more convincingly than any other author. His plays are characterized by preposterous premises, explicit language, wordplays, and political satire. His powers of ridicule were feared and acknowledged by influential contemporaries; Plato singled out Aristophanes' play The Clouds as slander that contributed to the trial and subsequent condemning to death of Socrates,Plato, The Apology of Socrates (in Greek), edited by John Burnet; section 19c although other satirical playwrights had also caricatured the philosopher. Aristophanes' second play, The Babylonians (now lost), was denounced by Cleon as a slander against the Athenian polis. It is possible that the case was argued in court, but details of the trial are not recorded and Aristophanes caricatured Cleon mercilessly in his subsequent plays, especially The Knights, the first of many plays that he directed himself. "In my opinion," he says through that play's Chorus, "the author-director of comedies has the hardest job of all."."
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Albert Schweitzer
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Ludwig Philipp Albert Schweitzer (; 14 January 1875 – 4 September 1965) was a German and French polymath from Alsace. He was a theologian, organist, musicologist, writer, humanitarian, philosopher, and physician. As a Lutheran minister, Schweitzer challenged both the secular view of the historical Jesus as depicted by the historical-critical method current at this time, as well as the traditional Christian view. His contributions to the interpretation of Pauline Christianity concern the role of Paul's mysticism of "being in Christ" as primary and the doctrine of justification by faith as secondary. He received the 1952 Nobel Peace Prize for his philosophy of "Reverence for Life",. becoming the eighth Frenchman to be awarded that prize. His philosophy was expressed in many ways, but most famously in founding and sustaining the Hôpital Albert Schweitzer in Lambaréné, French Equatorial Africa (now Gabon). As a music scholar and organist, he studied the music of German composer Johann Sebastian Bach and influenced the Organ Reform Movement (Orgelbewegung).
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Austrian school of economics
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The Austrian school is a heterodox school of economic thought that advocates strict adherence to methodological individualism, the concept that social phenomena result primarily from the motivations and actions of individuals along with their self interest. Austrian-school theorists hold that economic theory should be exclusively derived from basic principles of human action.Ludwig von Mises. Human Action, p. 11, "Purposeful Action and Animal Reaction". The Austrian school originated in 1871 in Vienna with the work of Carl Menger, Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk, Friedrich von Wieser, and others.Joseph A. Schumpeter, History of economic analysis, Oxford University Press 1996, . It was methodologically opposed to the Historical school, in a dispute known as Methodenstreit, or methodology quarrel. Current-day economists working in this tradition are located in many countries, but their work is still referred to as Austrian economics. Among the theoretical contributions of the early years of the Austrian school are the subjective theory of value, marginalism in price theory and the formulation of the economic calculation problem. In the 1970s, the Austrian school attracted some renewed interest after Friedrich August von Hayek shared the 1974 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences with Gunnar Myrdal.
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Abscess
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An abscess is a collection of pus that has built up within the tissue of the body, usually caused by bacterial infection. Signs and symptoms of abscesses include redness, pain, warmth, and swelling. The swelling may feel fluid-filled when pressed. The area of redness often extends beyond the swelling. Carbuncles and boils are types of abscess that often involve hair follicles, with carbuncles being larger. A cyst is related to an abscess, but it contains a material other than pus, and a cyst has a clearly defined wall. Abscesses can also form internally on internal organs and after surgery. They are usually caused by a bacterial infection. Often many different types of bacteria are involved in a single infection. In many areas of the world, the most common bacteria present is methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Rarely, parasites can cause abscesses; this is more common in the developing world. Diagnosis of a skin abscess is usually made based on what it looks like and is confirmed by cutting it open. Ultrasound imaging may be useful in cases in which the diagnosis is not clear. In abscesses around the anus, computer tomography (CT) may be important to look for deeper infection. Standard treatment for most skin or soft tissue abscesses is cutting it open and drainage. There appears to be some benefit from also using antibiotics. A small amount of evidence supports not packing the cavity that remains with gauze after drainage. Closing this cavity right after draining it rather than leaving it open may speed healing without increasing the risk of the abscess returning. Sucking out the pus with a needle is often not sufficient. Skin abscesses are common and have become more common in recent years. Risk factors include intravenous drug use, with rates reported as high as 65% among users. In 2005, 3.2 million people went to American emergency departments for abscesses. In Australia, around 13,000 people were hospitalized in 2008 with the condition.
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Aalborg Municipality
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Ålborg Municipality is a municipality in North Jutland Region on the Jutland peninsula in northern Denmark.Bridgwater, W. & Beatrice Aldrich. (1966) The Columbia-Viking Desk Encyclopedia. Columbia University. The municipality straddles the Limfjord, the waterway which connects the North Sea and the Kattegat east-to-west, and which separates the main body of the Jutland peninsula from the island of Vendsyssel-Thy north-to-south. It has a land area of and a population of 223,174 (1. January 2024). It is also the name of the municipality's main city Aalborg and the site of its municipal council, as well as the name of a seaport. The municipality and the town have chosen to retain the traditional spelling of the name as Aalborg, although the new spelling Ålborg is used in other contexts, such as Ålborg Bight (Ålborg Bugt), the body of water which lies to the east of the Jutland peninsula. Municipal reform of 2007 As of 1 January 2007 Aalborg municipality joined with the municipalities of Hals, Nibe, and Sejlflod to form a new Aalborg municipality. The former Aalborg municipality, including the island of Egholm, covered an area of , with a total population of 192,353 (2005). Its last mayor was Henning G. Jensen, a member of the Social Democrats political party. The former municipality was bordered by Sejlflod and Hals to the east, Dronninglund and Brønderslev to the north, Aabybro and Nibe to the west, and Støvring and Skørping to the south. It belonged to North Jutland County. Geography Surroundings The waters in the Limfjord splitting the municipality are called Langerak to the east and Gjøl Bredning to the west. The island of Egholm is located in Gjøl Bredning, and is connected by ferry to the city of Aalborg at its southern shore. The area is typical for the north of Jutland. To the west, the Limfjord broadens into an irregular lake (salt water), with low, marshy shores and many islands. Northwest is Store Vildmose ("Greater Wild bog"), a swamp where a mirage is sometimes seen in summer. Southeast lies the similar Lille Vildmose ("Lesser Wild bog"). Store Vildmose was drained and farmed in the beginning of the 20th century, and Lille Vildmose is now the largest moor in Denmark. Urban areas in Aalborg Municipality Aalborg City has a total population of 123,432. The metropolitan area is a conurbation of the Aalborg urban area in Himmerland (102,312) and the urban area in (21,120). + The largest urban areas in Aalborg Municipality Nr Urban area Population (2011) 1 Aalborg 103,545 2 21,376 3 Svenstrup 6,751 4 Nibe 4,987 5 Vodskov 4,399 6 Klarup 4,182 7 Gistrup 3,573 8 Storvorde 3,243 9 Vestbjerg 2,677 10 Frejlev 2,579 Economy North Flying has its head office on the property of Aalborg Airport in , Aalborg Municipality. "Contact Us ." North Flying. Retrieved 15 December 2011. "North Flying's headquarters are located in Aalborg Airport." and "North Flying A/S North Flying Terminal Aalborg Airport DK - 9400 Nørresundby Denmark" Politics Municipal council Aalborg's municipal council consists of 31 members, elected every four years. Below are the municipal councils elected since the Municipal Reform of 2007. Election Party Totalseats Turnout Electedmayor200515232183164.6%Henning G. Jensen (A)2009121252960.3%201312211129368.4%Thomas Kastrup-Larsen (A)2017171128267.7% Twin towns – sister cities Aalborg is twinned with 34 cities, more than any other city in Denmark. Every four years, Aalborg gathers young people from most of its twin towns for a week of sports, known as Ungdomslegene (Youth Games). , Netherlands Antibes, France Büdelsdorf, Germany Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom , Norway Fuglafjørður, Faroe Islands Galway, Ireland Gdynia, Poland Haifa, Israel Hefei, China , Austria , Greenland Karlskoga, Sweden Lancaster, England Lerum, Sweden Liperi, Finland , Iceland Orsa, Sweden Orust, Sweden Ośno Lubuskie, Poland , Russia Racine, United States Rapperswil-Jona, Switzerland Rendalen, Norway Rendsburg, Germany Riga, Latvia Riihimäki, Finland , Greenland Solvang, United States , Romania , Bulgaria Vilnius, Lithuania , Germany References Municipal statistics: NetBorger Kommunefakta, delivered from KMD a.k.a. External links About Aalborg from Nordjyske Medier Aalborg Municipality's official website VisitAalborg (Aalborg Tourist Office) Municipality
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Aarhus
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Aarhus (, ,"Aarhus" (US) and ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and approximately northwest of Copenhagen. Dating back to the late 8th century, Aarhus was founded as a harbour settlement at the mouth of the Aarhus River and quickly became a trade hub. The first Christian church was built here around the year 900 and later in the Viking Age the town was fortified with defensive ramparts. The bishopric of Aarhus grew steadily stronger and more prosperous, building several religious institutions in the town during the early Middle Ages. Trade continued to improve, although it was not until 1441 that Aarhus was granted market town privileges, and the population of Aarhus remained relatively stable until the 19th century. The city began to grow significantly as trade prospered in the mid-18th century, but not until the mid-19th century did the Industrial Revolution bring real growth in population. The first railway line in Jutland was built here in 1862. In 1928, the first university in Jutland was founded in Aarhus and today it is a university city and the largest centre for trade, services, industry, and tourism in Jutland. Aarhus Cathedral is the longest cathedral in Denmark with a total length of . The Church of our Lady (Vor Frue Kirke) was originally built in 1060, making it the oldest stone church in Scandinavia. The City Hall, designed by Arne Jacobsen and Erik Møller, was completed in 1941 in a modern Functionalist style. Aarhus Theatre, the largest provincial theatre in Denmark, opposite the cathedral on Bispetorvet, was built by Hack Kampmann in the Art Nouveau style and completed in 1916. Musikhuset Aarhus (concert hall) and Det Jyske Musikkonservatorium (Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus/Aalborg) are also of note, as are its museums including the open-air museum Den Gamle By, the art museum ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum, the Moesgård Museum and the women's museum Kvindemuseet. The city's major cultural institutions include Den Gamle By, ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum, the Moesgård Museum, Gender Museum Denmark, Musikhuset Aarhus and Aarhus Theatre. Known as (lit. City of Smiles) it is the Danish city with the youngest demographics and home to Scandinavia's largest university, Aarhus University. Commercially, the city is the principal container port in the country, and major Danish companies such as Vestas, Arla Foods, Salling Group, and Jysk have their headquarters there. Etymology Aarhus is a compound of the two Old Norse words; , genitive of ("river", Modern Danish ), and ("mouth") referencing the city's location at the mouth of (Aarhus River). Spelling In Valdemar's Census Book (1231) the city was called Arus, and in Icelandic it was known as , later written as Aars. The spelling "Aarhus" is first found in 1406 and gradually became the norm in the 17th century. With the Danish spelling reform of 1948, "Aa" was changed to "Å". Some Danish cities resisted the change but Aarhus city council opted to change the name. In 2010, the city council voted to change the name back from to again with effect from 1 January 2011. It is still grammatically correct to write geographical names with the letter Å and local councils are allowed to use the Aa spelling as an alternative and most newspapers and public institutions will accept either. Some official authorities such as the Danish Language Committee, publisher of the Danish Orthographic Dictionary, still retain as the main name, providing as a second option, in brackets and some institutions are still using explicitly in their official name, such as the local newspaper and the schools and . "Aa" was used by some major institutions between 1948 and 2011 as well, such as Aarhus University or the largest local sports club, (AGF), which has never used the "Å" spelling. Certain geographically affiliated names have been updated to reflect the name of the city, such as the Aarhus River, changed from to . History Early history Founded in the early Viking Age, Aarhus is one of the oldest cities in Denmark, along with Ribe and Hedeby. The original Aros settlement was situated on the northern shores of a fjord by the mouth of the Aarhus River, right where the city center is today. It quickly became a hub for sea-going trade due to its position on intersecting trade routes in the Danish straits and the fertile countryside. The trade, however, was not nearly as prominent as that in Ribe and Hedeby during the Viking Age, and it was primarily linked to Norway as evidenced by archaeological finds. A shipbuilding yard from the Viking Age was uncovered upriver in 2002 by archaeologists. It was located at a place formerly known as Snekkeeng, or Snekke Meadow in English ('Snekke' is a type of longship), east of the Brabrand Lake close to Viby, and it was in use for more than 400 years from the late 700s till around the mid-1200s.
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Northern cavefish
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The northern cavefish or northern blindfish (Amblyopsis spelaea) is found in caves through Kentucky and southern Indiana. The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists the species as near threatened. The life cycle of northern cavefish includes a protolarval stage. In this stage, eggs and those that have recently hatched into protolarvae are kept by the mother internally in a gill chamber. Juveniles become free swimming and can leave. The northern cavefish lives to a maximum age of at least ten years and reaches sexual maturity at approximately six years of age. During a 2013 study of Amblyopsis spelaea, scientists found that the species was divided into two distinct evolutionary lineages: one north of the Ohio River, in Indiana, and one south of the river, in Kentucky. The southern population retained the name A. spelaea and the northern was re-designated Amblyopsis hoosieri in a 2014 paper published in the journal ZooKeys. Neither species is found north of the White River, flowing east to west south of Bedford, Indiana. The northern cavefish was under consideration for listing under the Endangered Species Act, however, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service found in 2023 that despite the loss of two metapopulations of A. spelaea, listing was not warranted, as the four metapopulations that still exist had sufficient redundancy of subpopulations to mitigate threats. The metapopulations are divided among two units that are separated by the Rough Creek Fault Zone. Threats to the species include habitat degradation, especially by groundwater contamination from encroaching agricultural operations, cities and industry, forest loss and surface water impoundment.Behavior The Northern Cave Fish hunts in a special way since it can't see. It has tiny sensing spots all over its body that can feel when food is swimming nearby, even in complete darkness. These fish can tell there's food around just by feeling the movements in the water, even when the food is several finger-lengths away. References Cavefish, Northern
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Abatement
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Abatement refers generally to a lessening, diminution, reduction, or moderation; specifically, it may refer to: 421-a tax abatement, property tax exemption in the U.S. state of New York Abatement ab initio, a legal doctrine that, if the accused dies before appeals are exhausted, the conviction gets vacated Abatement of debts and legacies, a common law doctrine of wills Abatement in pleading, a legal defense to civil and criminal actions Abatement (heraldry), a modification of the shield or coat of arms imposed by authority for misconduct Asbestos abatement, removal of asbestos from structures Bird abatement, driving or removing undesired birds from an area Dust abatement, the process of inhibiting the creation of excess soil dust Graffiti abatement, a joint effort between groups to eliminate graffiti Marginal abatement cost, the marginal cost of reducing pollution Noise abatement, strategies to reduce noise pollution or its impact Nuisance abatement, regulatory compliance methodology Tax abatement, temporary reduction or elimination of a tax See also Abate (disambiguation
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All Souls' Day
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All Souls' Day, also called The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, is a day of prayer and remembrance for the faithful departed, observed by Christians on 2 November. In Western Christianity, including Roman Catholicism and certain parts of Lutheranism and Anglicanism, All Souls' Day is the third day of Allhallowtide, after All Saints' Day (1 November) and All Hallows' Eve (31 October). Before the standardization of Western Christian observance on 2 November by St. Odilo of Cluny in the 10th century, many Roman Catholic congregations celebrated All Souls' Day on various dates during the Easter season as it is still observed in the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Eastern Catholic churches and the Eastern Lutheran churches. Churches of the East Syriac Rite (Assyrian Church of the East, Ancient Church of the East, Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, Chaldean Catholic Church) commemorate all the faithful departed on the Friday before Lent. As with other days of the Allhallowtide season, popular practices for All Souls Day include attending Mass offered for the souls of the faithful departed, as well as Christian families visiting graveyards in order to pray and decorate their family graves with garlands, flowers, candles and incense. Given that many Christian cemeteries are interdenominational in nature, All Souls Day observances often have an ecumenical dimension, with believers from various Christian denominations praying together and cooperating to adorn graves. In other languages Known in Latin as Commemoratio Omnium Fidelium Defunctorum, All Souls' Day is known in other Germanic languages as Allerseelen (German), Allerzielen (Dutch), Alla själars dag (Swedish), and Alle Sjæles Dag (Danish); in the Romance languages as Dia de Finados or Dia dos Fiéis Defuntos (Portuguese), Commémoration de tous les fidèles Défunts (French), Día de los Fieles Difuntos (Spanish), Commemorazione di tutti i fedeli defunti (Italian), and Ziua morților or Luminația (Romanian); in the Slavic languages as Wspomnienie Wszystkich Wiernych Zmarłych or Zaduszki (Polish), Vzpomínka na všechny věrné zesnulé, Památka zesnulých or Dušičky (Czech), Pamiatka zosnulých or Dušičky (Slovak), Spomen svih vjernih mrtvih (Croatian), and День всех усопших верных or День поминовения всех усопших (Den' vsekh usopshikh vernykh; Den' pominoveniya vsekh usopshih) (Russian) in the or in and in .
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Anatole France
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born ; 16 April 1844 – 12 October 1924) was a French poet, journalist, and novelist with several best-sellers. Ironic and skeptical, he was considered in his day the ideal French man of letters. "Anatole France, Great Author, Dies", The New York Times, October 13, 1924, p.1 He was a member of the Académie Française, and won the 1921 Nobel Prize in Literature "in recognition of his brilliant literary achievements, characterized as they are by a nobility of style, a profound human sympathy, grace, and a true Gallic temperament". France is also widely believed to be the model for narrator Marcel's literary idol Bergotte in Marcel Proust's In Search of Lost Time. Early years The son of a bookseller, France, a bibliophile, spent most of his life around books. His father's bookstore specialized in books and papers on the French Revolution and was frequented by many writers and scholars. France studied at the Collège Stanislas, a private Catholic school, and after graduation he helped his father by working in his bookstore. After several years, he secured the position of cataloguer at Bacheline-Deflorenne and at Lemerre. In 1876, he was appointed librarian for the French Senate. Literary career France began his literary career as a poet and a journalist. In 1869, Le Parnasse contemporain published one of his poems, "". In 1875, he sat on the committee in charge of the third Parnasse contemporain compilation. As a journalist, from 1867, he wrote many articles and notices. He became known with the novel (1881). Its protagonist, skeptical old scholar Sylvester Bonnard, embodied France's own personality. The novel was praised for its elegant prose and won him a prize from the Académie Française.
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André Gide
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André Paul Guillaume Gide (; 22 November 1869 – 19 February 1951) was a French writer and author whose writings spanned a wide variety of styles and topics. He was awarded the 1947 Nobel Prize in Literature. Gide's career ranged from his beginnings in the symbolist movement, to criticising imperialism between the two World Wars. The author of more than fifty books, he was described in his obituary in The New York Times as "France's greatest contemporary man of letters" and "judged the greatest French writer of this century by the literary cognoscenti." Known for his fiction as well as his autobiographical works, Gide expressed the conflict and eventual reconciliation of the two sides of his personality (characterized by a Protestant austerity and a transgressive sexual adventurousness, respectively). He suggested that a strict and moralistic education had helped set these facets at odds. Gide's work can be seen as an investigation of freedom and empowerment in the face of moralistic and puritanical constraints. He worked to achieve intellectual honesty. As a self-professed pederast, he used his writing to explore his struggle to be fully oneself, including owning one's sexual nature, without betraying one's values. His political activity was shaped by the same ethos. While sympathetic to Communism in the early 1930s, as were many intellectuals, after his 1936 journey to the USSR he supported the anti-Stalinist left; during the 1940s he shifted towards more traditional values and repudiated Communism as an idea that breaks with the traditions of the Christian civilization.
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Algorithms for calculating variance
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Algorithms for calculating variance play a major role in computational statistics. A key difficulty in the design of good algorithms for this problem is that formulas for the variance may involve sums of squares, which can lead to numerical instability as well as to arithmetic overflow when dealing with large values. Naïve algorithm A formula for calculating the variance of an entire population of size N is: Using Bessel's correction to calculate an unbiased estimate of the population variance from a finite sample of n observations, the formula is: Therefore, a naïve algorithm to calculate the estimated variance is given by the following: Let For each datum : This algorithm can easily be adapted to compute the variance of a finite population: simply divide by n instead of n − 1 on the last line. Because and can be very similar numbers, cancellation can lead to the precision of the result to be much less than the inherent precision of the floating-point arithmetic used to perform the computation. Thus this algorithm should not be used in practice, and several alternate, numerically stable, algorithms have been proposed. This is particularly bad if the standard deviation is small relative to the mean. Computing shifted data The variance is invariant with respect to changes in a location parameter, a property which can be used to avoid the catastrophic cancellation in this formula. with any constant, which leads to the new formula the closer is to the mean value the more accurate the result will be, but just choosing a value inside the samples range will guarantee the desired stability. If the values are small then there are no problems with the sum of its squares, on the contrary, if they are large it necessarily means that the variance is large as well. In any case the second term in the formula is always smaller than the first one therefore no cancellation may occur. If just the first sample is taken as the algorithm can be written in Python programming language as def shifted_data_variance(data): if len(data) < 2: return 0.0 K = data n = Ex = Ex2 = 0.0 for x in data: n += 1 Ex += x - K Ex2 += (x - K) ** 2 variance = (Ex2 - Ex**2 / n) / (n - 1) # use n instead of (n-1) if want to compute the exact variance of the given data # use (n-1) if data are samples of a larger population return variance This formula also facilitates the incremental computation that can be expressed as K = Ex = Ex2 = 0.0 n = 0 def add_variable(x): global K, n, Ex, Ex2 if n == 0: K = x n += 1 Ex += x - K Ex2 += (x - K) ** 2 def remove_variable(x): global K, n, Ex, Ex2 n -= 1 Ex -= x - K Ex2 -= (x - K) ** 2 def get_mean: global K, n, Ex return K + Ex / n def get_variance: global n, Ex, Ex2 return (Ex2 - Ex**2 / n) / (n - 1) Two-pass algorithm An alternative approach, using a different formula for the variance, first computes the sample mean, and then computes the sum of the squares of the differences from the mean, where s is the standard deviation. This is given by the following code: def two_pass_variance(data): n = len(data) mean = sum(data) / n variance = sum((x - mean) ** 2 for x in data) / (n - 1) return variance This algorithm is numerically stable if n is small. Metadata also listed at ACM Digital Library. However, the results of both of these simple algorithms ("naïve" and "two-pass") can depend inordinately on the ordering of the data and can give poor results for very large data sets due to repeated roundoff error in the accumulation of the sums. Techniques such as compensated summation can be used to combat this error to a degree. Welford's online algorithm It is often useful to be able to compute the variance in a single pass, inspecting each value only once; for example, when the data is being collected without enough storage to keep all the values, or when costs of memory access dominate those of computation. For such an online algorithm, a recurrence relation is required between quantities from which the required statistics can be calculated in a numerically stable fashion. The following formulas can be used to update the mean and (estimated) variance of the sequence, for an additional element xn. Here, denotes the sample mean of the first n samples , their biased sample variance, and their unbiased sample variance. These formulas suffer from numerical instability , as they repeatedly subtract a small number from a big number which scales with n. A better quantity for updating is the sum of squares of differences from the current mean, , here denoted : This algorithm was found by Welford,Donald E. Knuth (1998). The Art of Computer Programming, volume 2: Seminumerical Algorithms, 3rd edn., p. 232. Boston: Addison-Wesley. and it has been thoroughly analyzed. It is also common to denote and . An example Python implementation for Welford's algorithm is given below. # For a new value new_value, compute the new count, new mean, the new M2. # mean accumulates the mean of the entire dataset # M2 aggregates the squared distance from the mean # count aggregates the number of samples seen so far def update(existing_aggregate, new_value): (count, mean, M2) = existing_aggregate count += 1 delta = new_value - mean mean += delta / count delta2 = new_value - mean M2 += delta * delta2 return (count, mean, M2) # Retrieve the mean, variance and sample variance from an aggregate def finalize(existing_aggregate): (count, mean, M2) = existing_aggregate if count < 2: return float("nan") else: (mean, variance, sample_variance) = (mean, M2 / count, M2 / (count - 1)) return (mean, variance, sample_variance) This algorithm is much less prone to loss of precision due to catastrophic cancellation, but might not be as efficient because of the division operation inside the loop. For a particularly robust two-pass algorithm for computing the variance, one can first compute and subtract an estimate of the mean, and then use this algorithm on the residuals. The parallel algorithm below illustrates how to merge multiple sets of statistics calculated online. Weighted incremental algorithm The algorithm can be extended to handle unequal sample weights, replacing the simple counter n with the sum of weights seen so far. West (1979) suggests this incremental algorithm: def weighted_incremental_variance(data_weight_pairs): w_sum = w_sum2 = mean = S = 0 for x, w in data_weight_pairs: w_sum = w_sum + w w_sum2 = w_sum2 + w**2 mean_old = mean mean = mean_old + (w / w_sum) * (x - mean_old) S = S + w * (x - mean_old) * (x - mean) population_variance = S / w_sum # Bessel's correction for weighted samples # Frequency weights sample_frequency_variance = S / (w_sum - 1) # Reliability weights sample_reliability_variance = S / (1 - w_sum2 / (w_sum**2)) Parallel algorithm Chan et al. note that Welford's online algorithm detailed above is a special case of an algorithm that works for combining arbitrary sets and : . This may be useful when, for example, multiple processing units may be assigned to discrete parts of the input. Chan's method for estimating the mean is numerically unstable when and both are large, because the numerical error in is not scaled down in the way that it is in the case. In such cases, prefer . def parallel_variance(n_a, avg_a, M2_a, n_b, avg_b, M2_b): n = n_a + n_b delta = avg_b - avg_a M2 = M2_a + M2_b + delta**2 * n_a * n_b / n var_ab = M2 / (n - 1) return var_ab This can be generalized to allow parallelization with AVX, with GPUs, and computer clusters, and to covariance. Example Assume that all floating point operations use standard IEEE 754 double-precision arithmetic. Consider the sample (4, 7, 13, 16) from an infinite population. Based on this sample, the estimated population mean is 10, and the unbiased estimate of population variance is 30. Both the naïve algorithm and two-pass algorithm compute these values correctly. Next consider the sample (, , , ), which gives rise to the same estimated variance as the first sample. The two-pass algorithm computes this variance estimate correctly, but the naïve algorithm returns 29.333333333333332 instead of 30. While this loss of precision may be tolerable and viewed as a minor flaw of the naïve algorithm, further increasing the offset makes the error catastrophic. Consider the sample (, , , ). Again the estimated population variance of 30 is computed correctly by the two-pass algorithm, but the naïve algorithm now computes it as −170.66666666666666. This is a serious problem with naïve algorithm and is due to catastrophic cancellation in the subtraction of two similar numbers at the final stage of the algorithm. Higher-order statistics Terriberry extends Chan's formulae to calculating the third and fourth central moments, needed for example when estimating skewness and kurtosis: Here the are again the sums of powers of differences from the mean , giving For the incremental case (i.e., ), this simplifies to: By preserving the value , only one division operation is needed and the higher-order statistics can thus be calculated for little incremental cost. An example of the online algorithm for kurtosis implemented as described is: def online_kurtosis(data): n = mean = M2 = M3 = M4 = 0 for x in data: n1 = n n = n + 1 delta = x - mean delta_n = delta / n delta_n2 = delta_n**2 term1 = delta * delta_n * n1 mean = mean + delta_n M4 = M4 + term1 * delta_n2 * (n**2 - 3*n + 3) + 6 * delta_n2 * M2 - 4 * delta_n * M3 M3 = M3 + term1 * delta_n * (n - 2) - 3 * delta_n * M2 M2 = M2 + term1 # Note, you may also calculate variance using M2, and skewness using M3 # Caution: If all the inputs are the same, M2 will be 0, resulting in a division by 0. kurtosis = (n * M4) / (M2**2) - 3 return kurtosis Pébaÿ further extends these results to arbitrary-order central moments, for the incremental and the pairwise cases, and subsequently Pébaÿ et al. for weighted and compound moments. One can also find there similar formulas for covariance. Choi and Sweetman offer two alternative methods to compute the skewness and kurtosis, each of which can save substantial computer memory requirements and CPU time in certain applications. The first approach is to compute the statistical moments by separating the data into bins and then computing the moments from the geometry of the resulting histogram, which effectively becomes a one-pass algorithm for higher moments. One benefit is that the statistical moment calculations can be carried out to arbitrary accuracy such that the computations can be tuned to the precision of, e.g., the data storage format or the original measurement hardware. A relative histogram of a random variable can be constructed in the conventional way: the range of potential values is divided into bins and the number of occurrences within each bin are counted and plotted such that the area of each rectangle equals the portion of the sample values within that bin: where and represent the frequency and the relative frequency at bin and is the total area of the histogram. After this normalization, the raw moments and central moments of can be calculated from the relative histogram: where the superscript indicates the moments are calculated from the histogram. For constant bin width these two expressions can be simplified using : The second approach from Choi and Sweetman is an analytical methodology to combine statistical moments from individual segments of a time-history such that the resulting overall moments are those of the complete time-history. This methodology could be used for parallel computation of statistical moments with subsequent combination of those moments, or for combination of statistical moments computed at sequential times. If sets of statistical moments are known: for , then each can be expressed in terms of the equivalent raw moments: where is generally taken to be the duration of the time-history, or the number of points if is constant. The benefit of expressing the statistical moments in terms of is that the sets can be combined by addition, and there is no upper limit on the value of . where the subscript represents the concatenated time-history or combined . These combined values of can then be inversely transformed into raw moments representing the complete concatenated time-history Known relationships between the raw moments and the central moments are then used to compute the central moments of the concatenated time-history. Finally, the statistical moments of the concatenated history are computed from the central moments: Covariance Very similar algorithms can be used to compute the covariance. Naïve algorithm The naïve algorithm is For the algorithm above, one could use the following Python code: def naive_covariance(data1, data2): n = len(data1) sum1 = sum(data1) sum2 = sum(data2) sum12 = sum([i1 * i2 for i1, i2 in zip(data1, data2)]) covariance = (sum12 - sum1 * sum2 / n) / n return covariance With estimate of the mean As for the variance, the covariance of two random variables is also shift-invariant, so given any two constant values and it can be written: and again choosing a value inside the range of values will stabilize the formula against catastrophic cancellation as well as make it more robust against big sums. Taking the first value of each data set, the algorithm can be written as: def shifted_data_covariance(data_x, data_y): n = len(data_x) if n < 2: return 0 kx = data_x ky = data_y Ex = Ey = Exy = 0 for ix, iy in zip(data_x, data_y): Ex += ix - kx Ey += iy - ky Exy += (ix - kx) * (iy - ky) return (Exy - Ex * Ey / n) / n Two-pass The two-pass algorithm first computes the sample means, and then the covariance: The two-pass algorithm may be written as: def two_pass_covariance(data1, data2): n = len(data1) mean1 = sum(data1) / n mean2 = sum(data2) / n covariance = 0 for i1, i2 in zip(data1, data2): a = i1 - mean1 b = i2 - mean2 covariance += a * b / n return covariance A slightly more accurate compensated version performs the full naive algorithm on the residuals. The final sums and should be zero, but the second pass compensates for any small error. Online A stable one-pass algorithm exists, similar to the online algorithm for computing the variance, that computes co-moment : The apparent asymmetry in that last equation is due to the fact that , so both update terms are equal to . Even greater accuracy can be achieved by first computing the means, then using the stable one-pass algorithm on the residuals. Thus the covariance can be computed as def online_covariance(data1, data2): meanx = meany = C = n = 0 for x, y in zip(data1, data2): n += 1 dx = x - meanx meanx += dx / n meany += (y - meany) / n C += dx * (y - meany) population_covar = C / n # Bessel's correction for sample variance sample_covar = C / (n - 1) A small modification can also be made to compute the weighted covariance: def online_weighted_covariance(data1, data2, data3): meanx = meany = 0 wsum = wsum2 = 0 C = 0 for x, y, w in zip(data1, data2, data3): wsum += w wsum2 += w * w dx = x - meanx meanx += (w / wsum) * dx meany += (w / wsum) * (y - meany) C += w * dx * (y - meany) population_covar = C / wsum # Bessel's correction for sample variance # Frequency weights sample_frequency_covar = C / (wsum - 1) # Reliability weights sample_reliability_covar = C / (wsum - wsum2 / wsum) Likewise, there is a formula for combining the covariances of two sets that can be used to parallelize the computation: Weighted batched version A version of the weighted online algorithm that does batched updated also exists: let denote the weights, and write The covariance can then be computed as See also Kahan summation algorithm Squared deviations from the mean Yamartino method References External links
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Almond
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The almond (Prunus amygdalus, syn. Prunus dulcis) is a species of tree from the genus Prunus. Along with the peach, it is classified in the subgenus Amygdalus, distinguished from the other subgenera by corrugations on the shell (endocarp) surrounding the seed. The fruit of the almond is a drupe, consisting of an outer hull and a hard shell with the seed, which is not a true nut. Shelling almonds refers to removing the shell to reveal the seed. Almonds are sold shelled or unshelled. Blanched almonds are shelled almonds that have been treated with hot water to soften the seedcoat, which is then removed to reveal the white embryo. Once almonds are cleaned and processed, they can be stored for around a year if kept refrigerated; at higher temperatures they will become rancid more quickly. Almonds are used in many cuisines, often featuring prominently in desserts, such as marzipan. The almond tree prospers in a moderate Mediterranean climate with cool winter weather. It is rarely found wild in its original setting. Almonds were one of the earliest domesticated fruit trees, due to the ability to produce quality offspring entirely from seed, without using suckers and cuttings. Evidence of domesticated almonds in the Early Bronze Age has been found in the archeological sites of the Middle East, and subsequently across the Mediterranean region and similar arid climates with cool winters. California produces about 80% of the world's almond supply. Due to high acreage and water demand for almond cultivation, and need for pesticides, California almond production may be unsustainable, especially during the persistent drought and heat from climate change in the 21st century. Droughts in California have caused some producers to leave the industry, leading to lower supply and increased prices. Description The almond is a deciduous tree growing to in height, with a trunk of up to in diameter. The young twigs are green at first, becoming purplish where exposed to sunlight, then grey in their second year. The leaves are long,Bailey, L.H. ; Bailey, E.Z. ; the staff of the Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. Hortus third: A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada. Macmillan, New York. with a serrated margin and a petiole. The fragrant flowers are white to pale pink, diameter with five petals, produced singly or in pairs and appearing before the leaves in early spring. Almond trees thrive in Mediterranean climates with warm, dry summers and mild, wet winters. The optimal temperature for their growth is between and the tree buds have a chilling requirement of 200 to 700 hours below to break dormancy. Almonds begin bearing an economic crop in the third year after planting. Trees reach full bearing five to six years after planting. The fruit matures in the autumn, 7–8 months after flowering. The almond fruit is long. It is not a nut but a drupe. The outer covering, consisting of an outer exocarp, or skin, and mesocarp, or flesh, fleshy in other members of Prunus such as the plum and cherry, is instead a thick, leathery, grey-green coat (with a downy exterior), called the hull. Inside the hull is a woody endocarp which forms a reticulated, hard shell (like the outside of a peach pit) called the pyrena. Inside the shell is the edible seed, commonly called a nut. Generally, one seed is present, but occasionally two occur. After the fruit matures, the hull splits and separates from the shell, and an abscission layer forms between the stem and the fruit so that the fruit can fall from the tree. During harvest, mechanised tree shakers are used to expedite fruits falling to the ground for collection.
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Politics of Antigua and Barbuda
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The politics of Antigua and Barbuda takes place in a framework of a unitary parliamentary representative democratic monarchy, wherein the sovereign of Antigua and Barbuda is the head of state, appointing a governor-general to act as vice-regal representative in the nation. A prime minister is appointed by the governor-general as the head of government, and of a multi-party system; the prime minister advises the governor-general on the appointment of a Council of Ministers. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of the Parliament. The bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (seventeen-member body appointed by the governor-general) and the House of Representatives (seventeen seats; members are elected by proportional representation to serve five-year terms). Antigua and Barbuda has a long history of free elections, three of which have resulted in peaceful changes of government. Since the 1951 general election, the party system has been dominated by the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party (ABLP), for a long time was dominated by the Bird family, particularly Prime Ministers Vere and Lester Bird. The opposition claimed to be disadvantaged by the ABLP's longstanding monopoly on patronage and its control of the media, especially in the 1999 general election. The opposition United Progressive Party (UPP) won the 2004 election, and its leader Winston Baldwin Spencer was prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda from 2004 to 2014. The elections to the House of Representatives were held on 12 June 2014. The Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party government was elected with fourteen seats. The United Progressive Party had three seats in the House of Representatives. ABLP won 15 of the 17 seats in the 2018 snap election under the leadership of incumbent Prime Minister Gaston Browne. Constitutional safeguards include freedom of speech, press, worship, movement, and association. Antigua and Barbuda is a member of the eastern Caribbean court system. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. Jurisprudence is based on English common law. Executive branch Executive branch leadership As head of state, King Charles III is represented in Antigua and Barbuda by a governor-general who acts on the advice of the prime minister and the cabinet. Legislative branch
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Telecommunications in Antigua and Barbuda
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Telecommunications in Antigua and Barbuda are via media in the telecommunications industry. Telephone Telephones – main lines in use: 37,500 (2006) country comparison to the world: 168 Telephones – mobile cellular: 110,200 (2006) (APUA PCS, Cable & Wireless, Digicel) country comparison to the world: 177 Telephone system: domestic: good automatic telephone system international: 3 fiber optic submarine cables (2 to Saint Kitts and 1 to Guadeloupe); satellite earth station – 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) Radio Radio broadcast stations: AM 4, FM 6, shortwave 0 (2002) + Radio Stations of Antigua and Barbuda Band / Freq. Call Sign Brand City of license Notes AM 620 V2C ABS Radio and TV Saint John's, Antigua ABS; 5 kW AM 1100 ZDK Radio ZDK Saint John's, Antigua Owner: Grenville Radio; 20 kW AM 1160 Unknown Radio Lighthouse Saint John's, Antigua 10 kW AM 1580 Unknown Unknown Judge Bay, Antigua 50 kW FM 88.5 Unknown Power FM Saint John's, Antigua FM 89.7 Unknown Catholic Radio Saint John's, Antigua 2 kW FM 90.5 V2C-FM ABS Radio and TV Saint John's, Antigua repeats AM 620 FM 91.1 Unknown Observer Radio Saint John's, Antigua FM 91.9 Unknown Hitz 91.9 Saint John's, Antigua FM 92.3 Unknown Radio Lighthouse Saint John's, Antigua repeats AM 1160 FM 92.9 VYBZ-FM Vybz FM Saint John's, Antigua FM 93.9 Unknown Caribbean SuperStation Saint John's, Antigua repeats Caribbean SuperStation from Trinidad FM 95.7 Unknown Zoom Radio Saint John's, Antigua FM 97.1 ZDK Radio ZDK Saint John's, Antigua repeats AM 1100 FM 98.5 Unknown Red Hot Radio Saint John's, Antigua FM 99.1 Unknown Hit Radio Music Power Saint John's, Antigua FM 100.1 Unknown (ZDKR-FM?) Sun FM Saint John's, Antigua FM 101.5 Unknown Second Advent Radio Saint John's, Antigua 20 watts FM 102.3 Unknown Variety Radio Saint John's, Antigua FM 103.1 Unknown Life FM Codrington, Barbuda 1 kW FM 103.9 Unknown Life FM Saint John's, Antigua repeats 103.1 Codrington FM 104.3 Unknown Nice FM Codrington, Barbuda FM 107.3 Unknown Crusader Radio Saint John's, Antigua SW 3.255 mHz V2C ABS Radio and TV Saint John's, Antigua Repeats AM 620 Radios: 36,000 (1997) Television Television broadcast stations: 2 (1997) (including ABS-TV) Televisions: 31,000 (1997) Internet Internet Service Providers (ISPs): Cable & Wireless, Antigua Computer Technologies (ACT), Antigua Public Utilities Authority (APUA INET) Internet hosts: 2,215 (2008) country comparison to the world: 140 Internet users: 60,000 (2007) country comparison to the world: 158 Country codes: AG Demographics +Internet Users by EthnicityQ48 EthnicQ55 Internet UseYesNoDon't know/Not statedAfrican descendent47.42%50.74%1.84%Caucasian/White83.27%16.03%0.70%East Indian/India58.66%40.08%1.26%Mixed (Black/White)64.34%33.35%2.31%Mixed (Other)61.22%37.62%1.16%Hispanic31.78%66.80%1.42%Syrian/Lebanese60.77%36.76%2.48%Other59.46%39.71%0.83%Don't know/Not stated20.58%70.61%8.81%Total48.35%49.81%1.84% +Household internet access by ethnicityQ48 EthnicQ25 4 Internet accessNoYesDon't know/not declaredAfrican descendent51.99%38.20%9.81%Caucasian/White14.56%82.83%2.61%East Indian/India36.63%54.93%8.44%Mixed (Black/White)39.47%54.60%5.93%Mixed (Other)41.76%51.53%6.71%Hispanic67.68%20.56%11.76%Syrian/Lebanese29.48%69.39%1.13%Other34.02%58.96%7.02%Don't know/Not stated53.86%27.58%18.56%Total50.83%39.61%9.57% See also Antigua and Barbuda History of telecommunication List of telecommunications terminology Outline of telecommunication References External links Antigua and Barbuda, SubmarineCableMap.com Antigua and Barbuda Antigua
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Antigua and Barbuda Defence Force
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The Antigua and Barbuda Defence Force (ABDF) is the armed forces of Antigua and Barbuda. The ABDF has responsibility for several different roles: internal security, prevention of drug smuggling, the protection and support of fishing rights, prevention of marine pollution, search and rescue, ceremonial duties, assistance to government programs, provision of relief during natural disasters, assistance in the maintenance of essential services, and support of the police in maintaining law and order. The force entered its current form on 20 December 1995. The ABDF is one of the world's smallest militaries, consisting of 245 personnel. The first militia in Antigua was established in the 1600s, having fought against the French capture of the island in 1666. The governor oversaw the force, and by 1820 the island had a 945-man militia. The island continued to maintain this force for much of the colonial era, and by 1 September 1981 the Antigua Volunteer Defence Force was renamed to the Antigua and Barbuda Defence Force preceding independence. The force has undergone various reforms, and the present force was reestablished on 1 June 1956.
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Antisemitism
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Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against, Jews.See, for example: This sentiment is a form of racism, and a person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Primarily, antisemitic tendencies may be motivated by negative sentiment towards Jews as a people or by negative sentiment towards Jews with regard to Judaism. In the former case, usually presented as racial antisemitism, a person's hostility is driven by the belief that Jews constitute a distinct race with inherent traits or characteristics that are repulsive or inferior to the preferred traits or characteristics within that person's society. In the latter case, known as religious antisemitism, a person's hostility is driven by their religion's perception of Jews and Judaism, typically encompassing doctrines of supersession that expect or demand Jews to turn away from Judaism and submit to the religion presenting itself as Judaism's successor faith—this is a common theme within the other Abrahamic religions. The development of racial and religious antisemitism has historically been encouraged by anti-Judaism, which is distinct from antisemitism itself. There are various ways in which antisemitism is manifested, ranging in the level of severity of Jewish persecution. On the more subtle end, it consists of expressions of hatred or discrimination against individual Jews and may or may not be accompanied by violence. On the most extreme end, it consists of pogroms or genocide, which may or may not be state-sponsored. Although the term "antisemitism" did not come into common usage until the 19th century, it is also applied to previous and later anti-Jewish incidents. Historically, most of the world's violent antisemitic events have taken place in Europe, where modern antisemitism began to emerge from antisemitism in Christian communities during the Middle Ages. Since the early 20th century, there has been a sharp rise in antisemitic incidents across the Arab world, largely due to the advent of Arab antisemitic conspiracy theories, which were influenced by European antisemitic conspiracy theories. In recent times, the idea that there is a variation of antisemitism known as "new antisemitism" has emerged on several occasions. According to this view, since Israel is a Jewish state, expressions of anti-Zionist positions could harbour antisemitic sentiments, and criticism of Israel can serve as a vehicle for attacks against Jews in general. Due to the root word Semite, the term is prone to being invoked as a misnomer by those who incorrectly assert (in an etymological fallacy) that it refers to racist hatred directed at "Semitic people" in spite of the fact that this grouping is an obsolete historical race concept. Likewise, such usage is erroneous; the compound word was first used in print in Germany in 1879 as a "scientific-sounding term" for , and it has since been used to refer to anti-Jewish sentiment alone.. Extract from Islam in History: Ideas, Men and Events in the Middle East, The Library Press, 1973.
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Economy of Azerbaijan
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The economy of Azerbaijan is highly dependent on oil and gas exports, in particular since the completion of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline. The transition to oil production in the late 1990s led to rapid economic growth over the period 1995–2014. Since 2014, GDP growth has slowed down substantially. Large oil reserves are a major contributor to Azerbaijan's economy. Gas and oil make up two-thirds of Azerbaijan's GDP, making it one of the top ten most fossil fuel-dependent economies in the world. Gas and oil make up 90% of Azerbaijan's export revenues and 60% of its finances. Azerbaijan's economy is characterized by corruption and inequality. The country's oil wealth has significantly strengthened the stability of Ilham Aliyev's regime and enriched ruling elites in Azerbaijan. The country's oil wealth has enabled the state to host lavish international events, as well as engage in extensive lobbying efforts abroad. The national currency is the Azerbaijani manat. The private sector is weak in Azerbaijan, as the economy is dominated by state-owned enterprises. More than half of the formal labor force works for the government in Azerbaijan. Economic history of Azerbaijan Republic era Oil and gas are the most prominent products of Azerbaijan's economy. More than $60 billion was invested into Azerbaijan's oil by major international oil companies in AIOC consortium operated by BP. Oil production under the first of these PSAs, with the Azerbaijan International Operating Company, began in November 1997 and now is about 500,000 barrels per day. People visit petroleum spas (or "oil spas") to bathe in the local crude in Naftalan.Azerbaijani answer to oil glut: Bathe in it – Asia – Pacific – International Herald Tribune A leading caviar producer and exporter in the past, Azerbaijan's fishing industry today is concentrated on the dwindling stocks of sturgeon and beluga in the Caspian Sea. Azerbaijan shares all the problems of the former Soviet republics in making the transition from a command to a market economy, but its energy resources brighten its long-term prospects. Azerbaijan has begun making progress on economic reform, and old economic ties and structures are slowly being replaced. An obstacle to economic progress, including stepped up foreign investment, is the continuing conflict with Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. In 1992, Azerbaijan became a member of the Economic Cooperation Organization. In 2002, the Azerbaijani merchant marine had 54 ships. In March 2001, Azerbaijan concluded a natural gas agreement with Turkey, providing a future export market for Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan has concluded 21 production-sharing agreements with various oil companies. An export pipeline that transports Caspian oil to the Mediterranean from Baku through Tbilisi, Georgia to Ceyhan, Turkey (the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline) became operational in 2006. The pipeline is expected to generate as much as $160 billion in revenues for the country over the next 30 years. The recent high price of oil is highly beneficial to Azerbaijan's economy, as the nation is in the midst of an oil boom. Eastern Caspian producers in Kazakhstan have also expressed interest in accessing this pipeline to transport a portion of their production. In 2010, Azerbaijan entered into the top eight biggest oil suppliers to EU countries with €9.46 billion. In 2011, the amount of foreign investments in Azerbaijan was $20 billion, a 61% increase from 2010. According to Minister of Economic Development of Azerbaijan, Shahin Mustafayev, in 2011, "$15.7 billion was invested in the non-oil sector, while the restin the oil sector".
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Foreign relations of Azerbaijan
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The Republic of Azerbaijan is a member of the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, NATO's Partnership for Peace, the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, the World Health Organization, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development; the Council of Europe, CFE Treaty, the Community of Democracies; the International Monetary Fund; and the World Bank. List List of countries which Azerbaijan maintains diplomatic relations with: frameless
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Azerbaijani Armed Forces
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The Azerbaijani Armed Forces is the military of the Republic of Azerbaijan. It was re-established according to the country's Law of the Armed Forces on 9 October 1991. The original Azerbaijan Democratic Republic's armed forces were dissolved after Azerbaijan was absorbed into the Soviet Union as the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic from 28 April 1920. After the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991–92, Azerbaijan's armed forces were reformed based on Soviet bases and equipment left on Azerbaijani soil. The armed forces have three branches: the Azerbaijani Land Forces, the Azerbaijani Air and Air Defence Force, and the Azerbaijani Navy. Associated forces include the Azerbaijani National Guard, the Internal Troops of Azerbaijan, and the State Border Service, which can be involved in state defense under certain circumstances. According to the Azerbaijani media sources, the military expenditures of Azerbaijan for 2009 were set at US$2.46 billion, however according to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, only $1.473 billion was spent that year.Stockholm International Peace Research Institute The SIPRI Military Expenditure Database IISS also suggests that the defence budget in 2009 was $1.5 billion. The Ministry of Defence Industry of Azerbaijan supervises the design, manufacturing, regulation and maintenance of military equipment. In the future, Azerbaijan hopes to start building tanks, armored vehicles, military planes and military helicopters. and Overview Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan has been trying to further develop its armed forces into a professional, well trained, and mobile military. Azerbaijan has been undergoing extensive modernization and capacity expanding programs, with the military budget increasing from around $300 million in 2005 to $2.46 billion in 2009. The total armed forces number 56,840 men in the land forces, 7,900 men in the air force and air defence force, and 2,200 men in the navy. There are also 19,500 personnel in the National Guard, State Border Service, and Internal Troops.C. W. Blandy Azerbaijan: Is War Over Nagornyy Karabakh a Realistic Option? Advanced Research and Assessment Group. Caucasus Series 08/17. — Defence Academy of the United Kingdom, 2008, p.12 In addition, there are 300,000 former service personnel who have had military service in the last 15 years. The military hardware of Azerbaijan consists of 220 main battle tanks, an additional 162 T-80s were acquired between 2005 and 2010, 595 armored combat vehicles and 270 artillery systems. The air force has about 106 aircraft and 35 helicopters. The IISS list 37 fighter aircraft, 15 fighter-ground attack aircraft, four transport aircraft, 50 training aircraft (including five combat capable trainers), 15 attack helicopters, and 20 transport helicopters Azerbaijan has acceded to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty as a non-nuclear weapons state. Azerbaijan participates in NATO's Partnership for Peace. Azerbaijan joined the multi-national force in 2003. It sent 150 troops to Iraq, and later troops to Kosovo. Azerbaijani troops also served in Afghanistan. Despite the rise in Azerbaijan's defence budget,Blandy, 'Azerbaijan: Is War Over Nagornyy Karabakh a Realistic Option?, 2008, p.6, quoting Nezavisimoye Voyennoye Obozreniye 9 February 2007. the armed forces were assessed in 2008 as not having a high state of battle readiness and being ill-prepared for wide scale combat operations.Blandy, 2008, p.7 Azeri victory in the Second Karabakh War in late 2020 demonstrated how significantly Azerbaijan's military capabilities had grown.
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Demographics of Armenia
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After registering steady increases during the Soviet period, the population of Armenia declined from its peak value of 3.633 million in 1992 to 2.986 million in 2017. Whilst the country's population increased steadily during the Soviet Union as a result of periods of repatriation and low emigration rates, it has declined in recent times due to the exodus of peoples following the Soviet break-up. The rates of emigration and population decline, however, have decreased in recent years, and there has been a moderate influx of Armenians returning to Armenia. Historical statistics Citing Armenia's conquest and occupation by the Seljuks (11th century) and Mongols (13th–15th centuries), historians Edmund Herzig and Marina Kurkchiyan write "the combination of progressive Turkish (and Kurdish) immigration and Armenian decline, through massacre, famine and emigration, changed the demographic balance in a way that Arab immigration had never done". As a result of "deliberate relocation policies employed by both the Ottomans and Safavids" during the Ottoman–Safavid War, there was a large-scale displacement of Armenians; Armenians also emigrated "to escape the insecurity and hardship of life in war-torn Armenia". Whilst Shah Abbas I relocated Armenians to Isfahan and "Armenian colonies in other parts of Iran" in 1604–1605, "the Ottomans also removed Armenian artisans to their capital". Following the Russian annexation, 45,000 Armenians from Persia and 100,000 from the Ottoman Empire migrated to Eastern Armenia, with another 25,000 migrating following the 1878 Russo-Turkish war. As a result of the repatriation, Armenians had regained a majority in their homeland "for the first time in several hundred years". As a result of persecution and massacres in the Ottoman Empire, some 100,000 Armenians immigrated to Eastern Armenia between 1870 and 1910. The areas with Armenian-majorities would later "form the nucleus in the twentieth century of an independent Armenian state". Historian Sen Hovhannisian writes that during the 80 years of peace during which Eastern Armenia was part of Russia, there was "unprecedented" population growth: it tripled from 161,700 to 496,100 between 1831 and 1873, and doubled in the following forty years until it reached 1,000,100 in 1913. The population between 1831 and 1913 increased 6.18 times, yielding an average annual growth rate of 10,200 people. Following the outbreak of World War I, the population, which was 1,014,300 in 1914, fell by 20,500 in 1916 due to the Christian population being drafted. As a result of "wars and civil clashes, hunger and diseases" of 1918–1920, 432,000 people (35.8 percent of the population) were "exterminated". Upon its sovietisation, the territory of modern-day Armenia had a population of some 720,000, a decline of nearly 30 percent—"almost half" consisted of refugees. American historian Richard Pipes states that "according to Soviet estimates, the Armenian population of Transcaucasia declined between 1914 and 1920 by one half million: 200,000 in consequence of Turkish, and, presumably, Communist, massacres, and 300,000 from other causes, mostly famine and disease". The drastic decline of the population was addressed by the Soviet Armenian government by repatriating displaced Azerbaijanis to districts where they had formed a significant population in Armenia. The Azerbaijani population of Armenia which numbered some 10,000 in 1920 (attributed to the ARF government's expulsion of at least 200,000 Turks and Kurds) rose to 72,596 in 1922 as a result of the return of 60,000 refugees. In addition to this, the Soviet government welcomed 44,000 Armenian refugees from Greece, Iraq, Turkey, and elsewhere throughout the 1920s and 1930s. In 1946–1948, 86,000 Armenians were repatriated to Soviet Armenia to offset the country's wartime losses. At the same time, by agreement of Armenian and Azerbaijani Soviet leaderships, tens of thousands of Azerbaijanis in Armenia were resettled to Azerbaijan to make room for the repatriates.
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Politics of Armenia
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The politics of Armenia take place in the framework of the parliamentary representative democratic republic of Armenia, whereby the president of Armenia is the head of state and the prime minister of Armenia the head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the president and the Government. Legislative power is vested in both the Government and Parliament. History Armenia became independent from the Russian Empire on 28 May 1918 as the Republic of Armenia, later referred as First Republic of Armenia. About a month before its independence Armenia was part of short lived Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic. Suffering heavy losses during the Turkish invasion of Armenia and after the Soviet invasion of Armenia, the government of the First Republic resigned on 2 December 1920. Soviet Russia reinstalled its control over the country, which later became part of the Transcaucasian SFSR. The TSFSR was dissolved in 1936 and Armenia became a constituent republic of the Soviet Union known as the Armenian SSR, later also referred as the Second Republic of Armenia. During the dissolution of the Soviet Union the population of Armenia voted overwhelmingly for independence following the 1991 Armenian independence referendum. It was followed by a presidential election in October 1991 that gave 83% of the votes to Levon Ter-Petrosyan. Earlier in 1990, when the National Democratic Union party defeated the Armenian Communist Party, he was elected Chairman of the Supreme Council of Armenia. Ter-Petrosyan was re-elected in 1996. Following public discontent and demonstrations against his policies on Nagorno-Karabakh, the President resigned in January 1998 and was replaced by Prime Minister Robert Kocharyan, who was elected as second President in March 1998. Following the assassination of Prime Minister Vazgen Sargsyan, parliament Speaker Karen Demirchyan and six other officials during parliament seating on 27 October 1999, a period of political instability ensued during which an opposition headed by elements of the former Armenian National Movement government attempted unsuccessfully to force Kocharyan to resign. In May 2000, Andranik Margaryan replaced Aram Sargsyan (a brother of assassinated Vazgen Sargsyan) as Prime Minister. Kocharyan's re-election as president in 2003 was followed by widespread allegations of ballot-rigging. He went on to propose controversial constitutional amendments on the role of parliament. These were rejected in a referendum the following May. Concurrent parliamentary elections left Kocharyan's party in a very powerful position in the parliament. There were mounting calls for the President's resignation in early 2004 with thousands of demonstrators taking to the streets in support of demands for a referendum of confidence in him. The Government of Armenia's stated aim is to build a Western-style parliamentary democracy. However, international observers have questioned the fairness of Armenia's parliamentary and presidential elections and constitutional referendum between 1995 and 2018, citing polling deficiencies, lack of cooperation by the Electoral Commission, and poor maintenance of electoral lists and polling places. Armenia is considered one of the most democratic nations of the Commonwealth of Independent States and the most democratic in the Caucasus region. The observance of human rights in Armenia is uneven and is marked by shortcomings. Police brutality allegedly still goes largely unreported, while observers note that defendants are often beaten to extract confessions and are denied visits from relatives and lawyers. Public demonstrations usually take place without government interference, though one rally in November 2000 by an opposition party was followed by the arrest and imprisonment for a month of its organizer. Freedom of religion is not always protected under existing law. Nontraditional churches, especially the Jehovah's Witnesses, have been subjected to harassment, sometimes violently. All churches apart from the Armenian Apostolic Church must register with the government, and proselytizing was forbidden by law, though since 1997 the government has pursued more moderate policies. The government's policy toward conscientious objection is in transition, as part of Armenia's accession to the Council of Europe. Armenia boasts a good record on the protection of national minorities, for whose representatives (Assyrians, Kurds, Russians and Yazidis) four seats are reserved in the National Assembly. The government does not restrict internal or international travel. Transition to a parliamentary republic In December 2015, the country held a referendum which approved transformation of Armenia from a semi-presidential to a parliamentary republic. The president is not allowed to be a member of any political party and re-election is forbidden. Skeptics saw the constitutional reform as an attempt of third president Serzh Sargsyan to remain in control by becoming Prime Minister after fulfilling his second presidential term in 2018. In March 2018, the Armenian parliament elected Armen Sarkissian as the new President of Armenia. The controversial constitutional reform to reduce presidential power was implemented, while the authority of the prime minister was strengthened. In May 2018, parliament elected opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan as the new prime minister. His predecessor Serzh Sargsyan resigned two weeks earlier following widespread anti-government demonstrations. In June 2021, early parliamentary elections were held. Nikol Pashinyan's Civil Contract party won 71 seats, while 29 went to the Armenia Alliance headed by former President Robert Kocharyan. The I Have Honor Alliance, which formed around another former president, Serzh Sargsyan, won seven seats. After the election, Armenia's acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was officially appointed to the post of prime minister by the country's president Armen Sarkissian. In January 2022, Armenian President Armen Sarkissian resigned from office, stating that the constitution does no longer give the president sufficient powers or influence. On 3 March 2022, Vahagn Khachaturyan was elected as the fifth president of Armenia in the second round of parliamentary vote. Government Legislative branch The unicameral National Assembly of Armenia (Azgayin Zhoghov) is the legislative branch of the government of Armenia. Before the 2015 Armenian constitutional referendum, it was initially made of 131 members, elected for five-year terms: 41 members in single-seat constituencies and 90 by proportional representation. The proportional-representation seats in the National Assembly are assigned on a party-list basis among those parties that receive at least 5% of the total of the number of the votes. Following the 2015 referendum, the number of MPs was reduced from the original 131 members to 101 and single-seat constituencies were removed. Political parties and elections The electoral threshold is currently set at 5% for single parties and 7% for blocs. Latest national elections Latest presidential elections Independent agencies Independent of three traditional branches are the following independent agencies, each with separate powers and responsibilities: the Constitutional Court of Armenia the Central Electoral Commission of Armenia the Human Rights Defender of Armenia the Central Bank of Armenia the Prosecutor General of Armenia the Audit Chamber of Armenia Corruption Transparency International's 2021 Corruption Perceptions Index ranked Armenia 58th out of 180 in the world with 49 points (the same number of points as 2020), this has pushed the country up from being ranked at 60th in 2020. According to Transparency International, Armenia has improved significantly on the Corruption Perception Index since 2012, especially since the 2018 revolution, the country has taken steps to counter corruption. Further mentioning that "Armenia has taken a gradual approach to reform, resulting in steady and positive improvements in anti-corruption. However, safeguarding judicial independence and ensuring checks and balances remain critical first steps in its anti-corruption efforts. The effectiveness of those efforts is additionally challenged by the current political and economic crisis as a result of the recent Nagorno Karabakh conflict and the subsequent protests against Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan over a ceasefire deal". In 2008, Transparency International reduced its Corruption Perceptions Index for Armenia from 3.0 in 2007Global Corruption Report 2008, Transparency International, Chapter 7.4, p. 225. to 2.9 out of 10 (a lower score means more perceived corruption); Armenia slipped from 99th place in 2007 to 109th out of 180 countries surveyed (on a par with Argentina, Belize, Moldova, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu).2008 CORRUPTION PERCEPTIONS INDEX , Transparency International, 2008. See also Constitution of Armenia Constitutional economics Elections in Armenia Foreign relations of Armenia List of political parties in Armenia Politics of Artsakh Programs of political parties in Armenia Rule according to higher law Notes References External links Global Integrity Report: Armenia has information on anti-corruption efforts Petrosyan, David: "The Political System of Armenia: Form and Content" in the Caucasus Analytical Digest No. 17 Control Chamber of The Republic of Armenia Armenian language document National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia
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Economy of Armenia
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The economy of Armenia grew by 12.6% in 2022, according to the country's Statistical Committee and the International Monetary Fund. Total output amounted to 8.5 trillion Armenian drams, or $19.5 billion. At the same time, Armenia's foreign trade turnover significantly accelerated in growth from 17.7% in 2021 to 68.6% in 2022. GDP contracted sharply in 2020 by 7.2%, mainly due to the COVID-19 recession and the war against Azerbaijan. In contrast it grew by 7.6 per cent in 2019, the largest recorded growth since 2007, while between 2012 and 2018 GDP grew 40.7%, and key banking indicators like assets and credit exposures almost doubled. While part of the Soviet Union, the economy of Armenia was based largely on manufacturing industry—chemicals, electronic products, machinery, processed food, synthetic rubber and textiles; it was highly dependent on outside resources. Armenian mines produce copper, zinc, gold and lead. The vast majority of energy is produced with imported fuel from Russia, including gas and nuclear fuel for Armenia's Metsamor nuclear power plant. The main domestic energy source is hydroelectric. Small amounts of coal, gas and petroleum have not yet been developed. The severe trade imbalance has been somewhat offset by international aid and remittances from Armenians abroad, and foreign direct investment. Armenia is a member of the Eurasian Economic Union and ties with Russia remain close, especially in the energy sector. Overview Under the old Soviet central planning system, Armenia had developed a modern industrial sector, supplying machine tools, textiles, and other manufactured goods to sister republics in exchange for raw materials and energy. Since the implosion of the USSR in December 1991, Armenia has switched to small-scale agriculture away from the large agroindustrial complexes of the Soviet era. The agricultural sector has long-term needs for more investment and updated technology. Armenia began borrowing soon after declaring independence. In 2000, Armenian governmental debt reached its greatest level relative to GDP (49.3 percent of GDP). Armenia is a food importer, and its mineral deposits (gold and bauxite) are small. The ongoing conflict with Azerbaijan over the ethnic Armenian-dominated region of Nagorno-Karabakh and the breakup of the centrally directed economic system of the former Soviet Union contributed to a severe economic decline in the early 1990s. Political instability and the threat of war placed a significant strain on economic development. Despite robust growth in recent years, the problem of geopolitical uncertainty resurfaced during the 2020 war, contributing to a 7.2% drop in GDP. Armenia's public debt rose to 67.4% in 2020, but fell below 50% again in 2022. Global competitiveness In the 2020 report of Index of Economic Freedom by The Heritage Foundation, Armenia is classified as "mostly free" and ranks 34th, improving by 13 positions and ahead of all other Eurasian Economic Union countries and several EU countries including Cyprus, Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, Belgium, Spain, France, Portugal and Italy. In the 2019 report (data for 2017) of Economic Freedom of the World published by Fraser Institute Armenia ranks 27th (classified most free) out of 162 economies. In the 2019 report of Global Competitiveness Index Armenia ranks 69th out of 141 economies. In the 2020 report (data for 2019) of Doing Business Index Armenia ranks 47th with 10th rank on "starting business" sub-index. In the 2019 report (data for 2018) of Human Development Index by UNDP Armenia ranked 81st and is classified into "high human development" group. In the 2021 report (data for 2020) of Corruption Perceptions Index by Transparency International Armenia ranked 49 of 179 countries. History of the modern Armenian economy At the beginning of the 20th century, the territory of present-day Armenia was an agricultural region with some copper mining and cognac production. From 1914 through 1921, Caucasian Armenia suffered from the genocide of about 1.5 million Armenian inhabitants in their own homeland which caused total property and financial collapse when all of their assets and belongings were forcibly taken away by the Turks, the consequences of which after 105 years to this day remain incalculable, revolution, the influx of refugees from Turkish Armenia, disease, hunger and economic misery. About 200,000 people died in 1919 alone. At that point, only American relief efforts saved Armenia from total collapse. Thus, Armenians went from being one of the wealthiest ethnic groups in the region to suffering from poverty and famine. Armenians were the second richest ethnic group in Anatolia after the Greeks, and they were heavily involved in very high productive sectors such as banking, architecture, and trade. However, after the mass killings of Armenian intellectuals in April 1915 and the genocide targeted towards the whole Armenian population left the people and the country in ruins. The genocide was responsible for the loss of many high-quality skills that the Armenians possessed.
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Transport in Armenia
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This article considers transport in Armenia. Railways Total in common carrier service; does not include industrial lines Broad gauge 850 km of gauge (850 km electrified) (1995) There is no service south of Yerevan. City with metro system: Yerevan International links Azerbaijan - closed - same gauge Georgia - yes - same gauge Iran - via Azerbaijan - closed - break of gauge - / Turkey - closed - break of gauge -/ Most of the cross-border lines are currently closed due to political problems. However, there are daily inbound and outbound trains connecting Tbilisi and Yerevan. Departing from Yerevan railway station trains connect to both Tbilisi and Batumi. From neighboring Georgia, trains depart to Yerevan from Tbilisi railway station. Within Armenia, new electric trains connect passengers from Yerevan to Armenia's second-largest city of Gyumri. The new trains run four times a day and the journey takes approximately two hours. There is also discussion to establish a rail link between Yerevan and Tehran. Armenia is pursuing funding from the Asian Development Bank to launch the construction of this infrastructure project. The completion of the project could establish a major commodities transit corridor and would serve as the shortest transportation route between Europe and the Persian Gulf.
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