What character was created by Bram Stoker?

SparkNotes: Dracula: Character List Character List Plot Overview Analysis of Major Characters Count Dracula -  A centuries-old vampire and Transylvanian nobleman, Count Dracula inhabits a crumbling castle in the Carpathian Mountains. Beneath a veneer of aristocratic charm, the count possesses a dark and evil soul. He can assume the form of an animal, control the weather, and he is stronger than twenty men. His powers are limited, however—for instance, he cannot enter a victim’s home unless invited, cannot cross water unless carried, and is rendered powerless by daylight. Read an in-depth analysis of Count Dracula. Van Helsing -  A Dutch professor, described by his former pupil Dr. Seward as “a philosopher and metaphysician, and one of the most advanced scientists of his day.” Called upon to cure the ailing Lucy Westenra, Van Helsing’s contributions are essential in the fight against Dracula. Unlike his comrades, Van Helsing is not blinded by the limitations of Western medicine: he knows that he faces a force that cannot be treated with traditional science and reason. Knowledgeable about vampire folklore, Van Helsing becomes Dracula’s chief antagonist and the leader of the group that hunts Dracula down and destroys him. Read an in-depth analysis of Van Helsing. Jonathan Harker -  A solicitor, or lawyer, whose firm sends him to Transylvania to conclude a real estate transaction with Dracula. Young and naïve, Harker quickly finds himself a prisoner in the castle and barely escapes with his life. He demonstrates a fierce curiosity to discover the true nature of his captor and a strong will to escape. Later, after becoming convinced that the count has moved to London, Harker emerges as a brave and fearless fighter. Mina Murray -  Jonathan Harker’s fiancée. Mina is a practical young woman who works as a schoolmistress. Eventually victimized by Dracula herself, Mina is also the best friend of the count’s first victim in the novel, Lucy Westenra. Mina is in many ways the heroine of the novel, embodying purity, innocence, and Christian faith—virtues she maintains despite her suffering at the vampire’s hands. She is intelligent and resourceful, and her research leads Van Helsing’s men to Castle Dracula. Read an in-depth analysis of Mina Murray. Lucy Westenra -  Mina’s best friend and an attractive, vivacious young woman. The first character in the novel to fall under Dracula’s spell, Lucy becomes a vampire, which compromises her much-praised chastity and virtue, and banishes her soul from the promise of eternal rest. Determined that such an end is unfit for an English lady of Lucy’s caliber, Van Helsing’s crew hunts down the demon she has become and kills it, following the rituals of vampire slaying, and thus restoring Lucy’s soul to her body and to heaven.


What sporting event was held for the first time in over 1,600 years?

Top 10 Sporting Events - Travel - National Geographic Top 10 Sporting Events See Where the Olympics Rank on Our List of Top 10 Sporting Events View Images Forty-six cars can participate in the 24 hours of France's Le Mans, in a diverse series of classes that include prototype high-performance vehicles, dedicated race cars, and street cars. Photograph by Jean Francois Monier/Getty From the National Geographic book The 10 Best of Everything The 24 Hours of Le Mans, France www.lemans.org Skill, speed, and stamina are the three s’s that mark the world’s best automobile race, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The race, organized by Automobile Club de L’Ouest, bridges past and present on the automotive circuit.The competition is set on a non-permanent track at Circuit de la Sarthe near the city of Le Mans on the Sarthe River. Roughly 46 cars start the race, in a series of classes that include prototype high-performance vehicles, dedicated race cars, and street cars. The diversity of autos gives the race a mix of old-fashioned and modern competitors. The winner is the car, driven by a team of three drivers, that covers the greatest distance in 24 hours.The first Le Mans contest took place in May 1923; today it is held every June. The race begins at 4 p.m., and for 24 hours the sound of roaring engines fills 8 miles (13 kilometers) of French countryside. The Olympic Games www.olympic.org It’s hard to imagine that Zeus and the other gods lording over ancient Greece ever envisioned the global event the modern Olympiad has become. For a two-week span, athletes from dozens of countries compete against each other in scores of different sports. And that’s just the Summer Games, which began their modern run in the late 1800s. The Winter Games, featuring sports that largely require snow and ice, draw a smaller field of competitors. But the competition for the gold, silver, and bronze is just as intense. Remember Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan?National rivalries are varied. Consider the United States hockey team winning the gold over the favored Soviets in 1980; Jamaica’s jubilant 1988 bobsled team overcoming long odds to win hearts, not medals; or Argentina beating America’s 2004 “Dream Team” and going on to capture the gold in basketball. Even the competition among national Olympic committees to host the games is fierce, with bribery accusations and investigations becoming, sadly, the norm in sports news over the last several years. Still the games must go on; to be sure that they do, the International Olympic Committee decided to stagger the Winter and Summer Games. So during every even-numbered year, runners will bear the torch that eventually lights the Olympic flame somewhere in the world. World Cup Soccer www.worldcup.com Thirty-two nations play, but billions of people in countries all around the world drop everything they’re doing for a month every four years to see who claims the title of World Cup soccer champion.The teams that compete in the World Cup finals are those that emerge from a series of qualifying rounds played out over the prior three years. The tournament of tournaments is therefore a showcase of the finest squads from across the continents and hemispheres.It’s during the finals that the intense challenge begins. First, in a series of first-round games, each team plays the three rivals in its opening bracket. Teams get three points for each win, one point for a tie, and zero for a loss. The top two teams in the bracket then move on to the single-game elimination rounds, with victorious teams proceeding though quarterfinal and semifinal rounds before the final championship match.All the while the world’s gaze is squarely fixed on the matches and the festival atmosphere in the stands. Chanting, singing, flag-waving, and superstitions are all part of the carnival that ensues. Since the first World Cup tournament took place in 1930, the most dominant team has been Brazil. Winner of five championships since 1958, the greatest Brazilian teams were led by perhaps the most famous soccer player ever, Pele.Rivalries are often fierc


What style of dance was invented in Argentina and Uruguay?

Tango History Tango History Origins of the dance The origins of tango dance are not completely clear: there are different theories which vary. According to some theories, tango dance was originated in Argentina as a result of a combination of dance styles brought by French, Spanish and Italian immigrants. According to other theories, tango derivates from African dance styles. Although there is not complete certainty on exactly how this dance style was originated, it is known that it first started being practiced in Argentina and Uruguay, in the region of the Rio de la Plata, towards endings of the 19th century. Tango history in the world Tango dance soon became renown throughout the rest of the world after beginnings of the 20th century, when musicians and dancers from the Rio de la Plata brought it to Europe. This dance style and its music became very popular in many European capitals and other cities.


What Christmas ballet was written by Pyotr Tchaikovsky?

Tchaikovsky - The Nutcracker Suite, Op 71a - YouTube Tchaikovsky - The Nutcracker Suite, Op 71a Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Uploaded on Dec 11, 2011 The Nutcracker is a two-act ballet, with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Tchaikovsky made a selection of eight of the numbers from the ballet, forming The Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71a, intended for concert performance. The Nutcracker Suite should not be mistaken for the complete ballet. The outline below represents the selection and sequence of the Nutcracker Suite culled by the composer. I. Miniature Overture 0:00


What type of baskets were originally used in basketball?

basketball | sport | Britannica.com Basketball Basketball, game played between two teams of five players each on a rectangular court, usually indoors. Each team tries to score by tossing the ball through the opponent’s goal, an elevated horizontal hoop and net called a basket. Louisville forward Chane Behanan (21) dunking over Michigan players during the NCAA men’s … Chris O’Meara/AP Images The only major sport strictly of U.S. origin, basketball was invented by James Naismith (1861–1939) on or about December 1, 1891, at the International Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) Training School (now Springfield College), Springfield , Massachusetts , where Naismith was an instructor in physical education . For that first game of basketball in 1891, Naismith used as goals two half-bushel peach baskets, which gave the sport its name. The students were enthusiastic. After much running and shooting , William R. Chase made a midcourt shot—the only score in that historic contest. Word spread about the newly invented game, and numerous associations wrote Naismith for a copy of the rules, which were published in the January 15, 1892, issue of the Triangle, the YMCA Training School’s campus paper. James Naismith holding a ball and a peach basket, the first basketball equipment. UPI/Bettmann Archive While basketball is competitively a winter sport, it is played on a 12-month basis—on summer playgrounds, in municipal, industrial, and church halls, in school yards and family driveways, and in summer camps—often on an informal basis between two or more contestants. Many grammar schools, youth groups, municipal recreation centres, churches, and other organizations conduct basketball programs for youngsters of less than high school age. Jay Archer, of Scranton , Pennsylvania , introduced “biddy” basketball in 1950 for boys and girls under 12 years of age, the court and equipment being adjusted for size. History The early years In the early years the number of players on a team varied according to the number in the class and the size of the playing area. In 1894 teams began to play with five on a side when the playing area was less than 1,800 square feet (167.2 square metres); the number rose to seven when the gymnasium measured from 1,800 to 3,600 square feet (334.5 square metres) and up to nine when the playing area exceeded that. In 1895 the number was occasionally set at five by mutual consent; the rules stipulated five players two years later, and this number has remained ever since. Players shooting into a closed-bottom peach basket in an outdoor game of basketball, 1892. Courtesy of the Basketball Hall of Fame, Springfield, Massachusetts, U.S. Similar Topics cricket Since Naismith and five of his original players were Canadians, it is not surprising that Canada was the first country outside the United States to play the game. Basketball was introduced in France in 1893, in England in 1894, in Australia , China , and India soon thereafter, and in Japan in 1900. While basketball helped swell the membership of YMCAs because of the availability of their gyms , within five years the game was outlawed by various associations because gyms that had been occupied by classes of 50 or 60 members were now monopolized by only 10 to 18 players. The banishment of the game induced many members to terminate their YMCA membership and to hire halls to play the game, thus paving the way to the professionalization of the sport. Originally, players wore one of three styles of uniforms: knee-length football trousers; jersey tights, as commonly worn by wrestlers; or short padded pants, forerunners of today’s uniforms, plus knee guards. The courts often were of irregular shape with occasional obstructions such as pillars, stairways, or offices that interfered with play. In 1903 it was ruled that all boundary lines must be straight. In 1893 the Narragansett Machinery Co. of Providence , Rhode Island , marketed a hoop of iron with a hammock style of basket. Originally a ladder, then a pole, and finally a chain fastened to the bottom of the net was used to


What woman was accused of killing her parents with an axe?

Lizzie Borden Was Accused of Notorious Ax Murders One of the great media sensations of the late 1800s was the arrest and trial of Lizzie Borden, a woman in Fall River, Massachusetts accused of the gruesome ax murder of her father and stepmother. Major newspapers followed every development in the case, and the public was fascinated. Borden’s 1893 trial, which featured considerable legal talent, expert witnesses, and forensic testimony, in some ways resembled a trial a cable television audience today would find riveting. When she was acquitted of the murders, decades of speculation began. The case is still debated, and a great many people believe Lizzie Borden got away with murder. And in an odd twist, Lizzie Borden and the gruesome crime were kept in the public mind thanks to a rhyme that generations of American children learned on the playground. The rhyme went as follows: "Lizzie Borden took an axe, and gave her mother 40 whacks. When she saw what she had done, she gave her father 41." Life of Lizzie Borden Lizzie Borden was born in 1860 to a prosperous family in Fall River, Massachusetts, the second daughter of a businessman and investor. continue reading below our video 10 Facts About the Titanic That You Don't Know When Lizzie was two years old her mother died, and her father, Andrew Borden, remarried. By most accounts, Lizzie and her older sister Emma despised their father’s new wife, Abby. As the girls grew older there were many conflicts in the household, many of them rooted in the fact that Lizzie’s father was a notorious miser. After attending public high schools, Lizzie lived at home. She was active in church groups and charitable organizations, typical pursuits for an unmarried woman who did not need to work. Despite the tensions in the Borden household, Lizzie seemed sociable and utterly ordinary to people in the community. The Murder of Lizzie Borden’s Father and Stepmother On August 4, 1892, Andrew Borden, Lizzie’s father, left the house in the early morning and attended to some business. He returned home about 10:45 a.m. Shortly after, Lizzie Borden called out to the family’s maid, “Come quick, father’s dead!” Andrew Borden was on a couch in a parlor, the victim of a brutal attack. He had been struck numerous times, apparently with an ax or hatchet. The blows were strong enough to shatter bones and teeth. And he had been struck repeatedly after he was dead. A neighbor, searching the house, discovered Borden’s wife upstairs. She had also been brutally murdered. The Arrest of Lizzie Borden The original suspect in the murder case was a Portugese workman with whom Andrew Borden had a business dispute. But he was cleared and attention became focused on Lizzie. She was arrested a week after the murders. A police investigation found the head of a hatchet in the basement of the Borden house, and that was assumed to be the murder weapon. But there was a lack of any other physical evidence, such as bloodstained clothing the perpetrator of such a bloody crime must have worn. Lizzie Borden was indicted for the two murders in December 1892, and her trial began the following June. The Trial of Lizzie Borden Lizzie Borden’s murder trial probably would not be terribly out of place in today’s atmosphere of tabloid headlines and cable news marathons. The trial was held in New Bedford, Massachusetts, but was covered extensively by the major newspapers in New York City. The trial was noteworthy for the legal talent involved. One of the prosecutors, Frank Moody, later became the attorney general of the United States and also served as a U.S. Supreme Court Justice. And Borden’s defense attorney, George Robinson, was the former governor of Massachusetts. A Harvard professor appeared as an expert witness, an early instances of an expert witness being used in a major trial. Borden’s lawyer succeeded in getting damaging evidence, such as the fact that she had tried to purchase poison in the weeks leading up to the murder, excluded as inadmissible. And Borden’s defense focused on the lack of physical evidence tying her to the murder


What famous hotel in Paris opened? ( The only reason not to stay there was if you couldn't afford it )

The world’s most famous hotels | Business Destinations – Make travel your business BD home button The world’s most famous hotels London, Paris and New York, that golden triangle of culture and sophistication, where a trio of some of the world’s most historic, luxurious and iconic hotels reside. Will Owen takes a journey through time to explore the star-studded history of the Savoy, Ritz and Chelsea hotels. Tweet The Savoy, London Located on London’s historic Strand in the heart of Westminster, the Savoy first opened its prestigious doors to the public in 1889 and has been a British cultural icon ever since. The original building was built by impresario Richard D’Oyly Carte, reputedly with the profits from his Gilbert and Sullivan operas and was in fact built on a plot of land next to the Savoy theatre that had been earmarked to house an electricity generator. The state-of-the-art building was upon completion the first luxury hotel in Britain to feature electric lights and lifts, as well as bathrooms fitted with constant hot running water. Continuing its innovating trend to this day, a £220m refurbishment between 2007 and 2010 turned the hotel in one of the world’s greenest, with a combined heating system that has reduced its reliance on the national grid by up to 50 percent. Legendary first manager Cesar Ritz is accredited with setting the high standards that drew high-profile clientele from royalty, the rich and famous and later even war-time leader Winston Churchill’s cabinet dinners from time to time. Subsequently, the Savoy has been host to more than a few lavish parties. For instance, in 1905 American millionaire George A. Kessler hosted a ‘Gondola Party’ where the central courtyard was made watertight and flooded to a depth of four feet, while two dozen guests dined in an enormous gondola. After dinner, it is said that Enrico Caruso sang, and a baby elephant brought in a five-foot birthday cake. Later during the 20th Century, the Savoy became the staple place to stay for the rich and famous and well as some of the world’s greatest giants in the fields of art, music and literature from Marylyn Monroe and Charlie Chaplain to the Beatles and John Wayne. Bob Dylan also shot his innovative music video, the first of its kind, for the song ‘Subterranean Homesick Blues’ in an alleyway behind the hotel. The full grandeur of the Savoy is still available to guests today and the hotel is currently run by the Fairmont group, offering 268 rooms with panoramic views of the River Thames and the city. Hôtel Ritz, Paris Founded in 1898, Hôtel Ritz overlooks the famous Place Vendôme in Paris, which was originally laid out as a monument to the armies of Louis XIV in 1702 and is considered today to be a classical masterpiece. The building in its current form was adapted by architect Charles Mewès, although the original façade was designed by royal architect Jules Hardouin Mansart. Today, the famous Imperial Suite is officially designated as a national monument by the French government. The hotel shares somewhat of a sordid history with its English counterpart, the Savoy, as it was opened as collaboration between famous Savoy manager, the ubiquitous Cesar Ritz and chef Auguste Escoffier. Both would both later be dismissed from the London hotel after being implicated in the disappearance of £3,400 (£290,000 in today’s money) of liquor and spirits. They subsequently went on to found the Ritz with the financial aid of Alexandre Marnier-Lapostoll, who ironically had created the now famous Grand Marnier liqueur years earlier. Upon its completion, and much like the Savoy, the Ritz claimed to be the first hotel in Europe to offer an en-suite bathroom, telephone and electricity in each room. Several of its suites are named in honour of famous guests of the hotel, including Coco Chanel and Ernest Hemingway, who lived at the hotel for years and was once quoted; “When in Paris the only reason not to stay at the Ritz is if you can’t afford it”. Guest can still visit the famous Ernest Hemingway Bar today and his 1926 novel, The Sun Also Rises, als


What was the French term for a impoverished, unconvential, artistic person?

Bohemian dictionary definition | Bohemian defined unconventional, especially in habit or dress . Please tell me you're not one of Toulouse's oh-so-talented, charmingly bohemian, tragically impoverished protégés! -Nicole Kidman, Moulin Rouge! Origin From French bohémien (“person from Bohemia, Romani”), from Bohême (“Bohemia”). Regarding the sense evolution, compare gypsy . Noun (countable and uncountable, plural Bohemians) (countable) A native or resident of Bohemia. (uncountable) The dialect of the Czech language spoken in Bohemia. (countable, archaic) A Gypsy , a Romani. (countable, slang) A marginalized and impoverished young artist, or member of the urban literati . Adjective (not comparable) Of, or relating to Bohemia or its language . Of, or relating to the untraditional lifestyles of marginalized and impoverished artists, writers, musicians, and actors in major European cities (by extension, major North American cities as well). Origin Bohemia + -ian In sense of Romani and by association, marginalized artists, from French bohémien (“person from Bohemia, Romani”), from Bohême (“Bohemia”). Regarding the sense evolution, compare gypsy .


What future President led a group of soldiers called the Rough Riders?

Rough Riders - The World of 1898: The Spanish-American War (Hispanic Division, Library of Congress) Download an uncompressed TIFF (.tif) version of this image. Rough Riders The most famous of all the units fighting in Cuba , the "Rough Riders" was the name given to the First U.S. Volunteer Cavalry under the leadership of Theodore Roosevelt . Roosevelt resigned his position as Assistant Secretary of the Navy in May 1898 to join the volunteer cavalry. The original plan for this unit called for filling it with men from the Indian Territory, New Mexico, Arizona, and Oklahoma. However, once Roosevelt joined the group, it quickly became the place for a mix of troops ranging from Ivy League athletes to glee-club singers to Texas Rangers and Indians. The graves of the Rough Riders Download an uncompressed TIFF (.tif) version of this image. Roosevelt and the commander of the unit Colonel Leonard Wood trained and supplied the men so well at their camp in San Antonio, Texas, that the Rough Riders was allowed into the action, unlike many other volunteer companies. They went to Tampa at the end of May and sailed for Santiago de Cuba on June 13. There they joined the Fifth Corps, another highly trained, well supplied, and enthusiastic group consisting of excellent soldiers from the regular army and volunteers. The Rough Riders saw battle at Las Guásimas when General Samuel B. M. Young was ordered to attack at this village, three miles north of Siboney on the way to Santiago. Although it was not important to the outcome of the war, news of the action quickly made the papers. They also made headlines for their role in the Battle of San Juan Hill, which became the stuff of legend thanks to Roosevelt's writing ability and reenactments filmed long after.


To what Pacific island did Paul Gauguin move?

Artist Paul Gauguin in Tahiti Artist Paul Gauguin in Tahiti Artist Paul Gauguin in Tahiti The French artist's obsession with French Polynesia lasted more than a decade. Tahitian women on beach, 1891, by Paul Gauguin (1848-1903), oil on canvas.  Getty Images / DeAgostini By Donna Heiderstadt Updated March 14, 2016. No artist is more indelibly tied to the South Pacific , and to Tahiti in particular, than 19th-century French painter Paul Gauguin. From his world-famous paintings of sensual Tahitian women to his unhealthy obsession with his exotic adopted home, here are some interesting facts about his life and legacy: Facts About Paul Gauguin and His Life • He was born Eugene Henri Paul Gauguin in Paris on June 7, 1848 to a French father and a Spanish-Peruvian mother. • He died on May 8, 1903, alone and impoverished and suffering from syphilis on the island of Hiva Oa in the Marquesas Islands and is buried there in Calvary Cemetery in Atuona. • From the age of three to seven, he lived in Lima, Peru, with his mother (his father died during the trip there) and then returned to France where as a teenager he attended a seminary and worked as a merchant marine. • Gauguin's first career was as a stockbroker, which he worked at for 12 years. Painting was merely a hobby. continue reading below our video America's Best Foodie Cities • Intrigued by the painters of the Impressionist movement of late 1870s, Gauguin, at age 35 and the father of five children with his Danish-born wife, gave up his business career in 1883 to devote his life to painting. • His work was influential to the French avant-garde and many modern artists, such as Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse. • It was 1891 when Gauguin left France and the western ideals he felt restricted by behind and moved to the island of Tahiti . He chose to live with natives far outside the capital, Papeete, where there were many European settlers. • Gauguin's Tahitian paintings, most of them of exotic, raven-haired Tahitian women, are celebrated for their bold use of color and symbolism. They include La Orana Maria (1891), Tahitian women on Beach, (1891), The Seed of the Areoi (1892), Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? (1897), and Two Tahitian Women (1899). • Gauguin's Tahitian masterpieces now hang in major museums and galleries around the world, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the National Gallery in Washington, DC, the Musee D'Orsay in Paris, the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg and the Pushkin Museum in Moscow. • Sadly, no original Gauguin paintings remain in French Polynesia. There is a rather rundown Gauguin Museum on the main island of Tahiti, but it contains solely reproductions of his work. • Gauguin's Tahitian legacy lives on in a luxury cruise ship, the m/s Paul Gauguin , which cruises the islands year-round. About the Author Donna Heiderstadt is a New York City based freelance travel writer and editor who has spent her life pursuing her two main passions: writing and exploring the world.


"What composer wrote his most famous march, ""The Stars and Stripes Forever"" ?"

The Stars and Stripes Forever Credits The Stars and Stripes Forever "The Stars and Stripes Forever." It's the official march of the United States and it's John Philip Sousa's most famous composition. You've probably heard it before, even if you don't know it by name. All of his life, John Philip Sousa loved music and loved America, so it's no surprise that he wrote this patriotic classic. Sousa grew up in Washington, D.C., during the Civil War. As a kid, he enjoyed hearing the Civil War military bands that filled the streets of Washington as well as the sounds of his father's trombone. His father played in the U.S. Marine Band and Sousa quickly followed in his footsteps. Sousa first enlisted in the Marine Band as an apprentice violinist and later became the bandleader. When Sousa wasn't playing with a band, he was writing music, like "The Stars and Stripes Forever." By the 1890s he had written enough popular marches to be nicknamed the "March King." page 1 of 3


What crime was Alfred Dreyfus accused of committing?

The Dreyfus Affair - My Jewish Learning The Dreyfus Affair Jews and Non-Jews in Modernity At the end of the 19th century in France, the birthplace of European Jewish emancipation, an espionage scandal erupted involving an assimilated Jewish army captain and questions about his “loyalty” to the state. The anti-Semitism that characterized the arrest, trial, and retrial of Captain Alfred Dreyfus shocked world Jewry.  The Crime In 1894, Dreyfus was arrested and accused of spying. He was convicted by a military court for supposedly selling French military secrets to the Germans.  The physical evidence consisted of a slip of paper discovered in a German military trashcan on which was written a promise, in French, to deliver a valuable French artillery manual to the Germans. Handwriting experts could not definitively link the note to Dreyfus, but the captain was vulnerable on other accounts. Dreyfus was rich and Jewish. He was also from Alsace, the border area of France that was ceded to Germany as a result of the Franco-Prussian war in 1870-71. After the area was returned to Germany, the Dreyfus family moved to Paris. The press ran stories questioning his loyalty: Was he, above all, French? German? Or part of an “international Jewish conspiracy”? While his background made him “suspicious,” the military court hesitated to convict Dreyfus without more substantive proof. Colonel Henry, a French military intelligence agent, testified that he had additional information definitively implicating Dreyfus, but that this information involved classified military secrets and thus could not be revealed. Based on Colonel Henry’s testimony, Dreyfus was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in exile on Devil’s Island. The Cover-up In March of 1896, French intelligence discovered another piece of paper–in the same German office–which promised new deliveries of French military secrets. The handwriting was identical to that found on the piece of paper used in the Dreyfus case. Since Dreyfus was imprisoned on Devil’s Island at the time the second paper was discovered, he could not have authored this or the original treasonous note. This time, handwriting experts traced the writing to another officer, Walter Esterhazy, a notorious gambler. By Joellyn Zollman | February 10, 2004 At the end of the 19th century in France, the birthplace of European Jewish emancipation, an espionage scandal erupted involving an assimilated Jewish army captain and questions about his “loyalty” to the state. The anti-Semitism that characterized the arrest, trial, and retrial of Captain Alfred Dreyfus shocked world Jewry.  The Crime In 1894, Dreyfus was arrested and accused of spying. He was convicted by a military court for supposedly selling French military secrets to the Germans.  The physical evidence consisted of a slip of paper discovered in a German military trashcan on which was written a promise, in French, to deliver a valuable French artillery manual to the Germans. Handwriting experts could not definitively link the note to Dreyfus, but the captain was vulnerable on other accounts. Dreyfus was rich and Jewish. He was also from Alsace, the border area of France that was ceded to Germany as a result of the Franco-Prussian war in 1870-71. After the area was returned to Germany, the Dreyfus family moved to Paris. The press ran stories questioning his loyalty: Was he, above all, French? German? Or part of an “international Jewish conspiracy”? While his background made him “suspicious,” the military court hesitated to convict Dreyfus without more substantive proof. Colonel Henry, a French military intelligence agent, testified that he had additional information definitively implicating Dreyfus, but that this information involved classified military secrets and thus could not be revealed. Based on Colonel Henry’s testimony, Dreyfus was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in exile on Devil’s Island. The Cover-up In March of 1896, French intelligence discovered another piece of paper–in the same German office–which promised new deliveries of French mil


Klondike Gold Rush - The Canadian Encyclopedia Historical Klondike Gold Rush The discovery of gold in the Yukon in 1896 led to a stampede to the Klondike region between 1897 and 1899. This led to the establishment of Dawson City (1896) and subsequently, the Yukon Territory (1898). The discovery of gold in the Yukon in 1896 led to a stampede to the Klondike region between 1897 and 1899. This led to the establishment of Dawson City (1896) and subsequently, the Yukon Territory (1898). The Klondike gold rush solidified the public’s image of the North as more than a barren wasteland and left a body of literature that has popularized and romanticized the Yukon. History The search for gold in the Yukon started in 1874 with the arrival of a small handful of prospectors. Among them were Arthur Harper, Al Mayo and Jack McQuesten (the former an Irish immigrant, the latter Americans). The three became traders because they couldn’t make a living as prospectors at that time. These men encouraged, promoted and then supplied the burgeoning prospecting community that developed slowly before the gold rush. At first a trickle, then a steadily increasing stream of hopeful prospectors entered the Yukon River basin, spurred on by the increasingly promising reports of gold on the bars of the Yukon and its tributaries: the Stewart River (1885), the Fortymile River (1886), the Sixtymile (1891) and finally Birch Creek, near Circle City, Alaska (1892). By 1896, there were 1,600 prospectors seeking gold within the Yukon River basin. Gold was discovered in mid-August 1896 by George Carmack, an American prospector, Keish (aka Skookum Jim Mason) and Káa Goox (aka Dawson Charlie) — Tagish First Nation members into whose family Carmack had married. The discovery was made on Rabbit Creek, a small tributary of the Klondike River. It was soon renamed Bonanza Creek, a name that became world famous. When word of the discovery reached the outside world in July 1897, it sparked an unprecedented stampede. Tens of thousands of would-be prospectors left their homes all over the world, though mainly from the United States, and headed for the Klondike. Joseph Ladue, an American who had been in the Yukon since 1882, operated a trading post on the Yukon River, 70 km above the mouth of the Klondike. While others staked claims for gold, Ladue was quick to capitalize on the discovery of gold on Bonanza Creek. He staked out 65 hectares of swamp and moose pasture at the mouth of the Klondike River, called it Dawson City (after the famous Canadian geologist, George Mercer Dawson ), and made a fortune selling lots and the lumber to build on them. The stampede was an epic journey during which numerous challenges had to be met, and countless obstacles overcome. First, there was the harrowing voyage north along the Pacific coast from coastal cities such as Victoria, Seattle, Portland and San Francisco, which ended upon arrival at the coastal Alaskan ports of Haines, Skagway and Dyea. Haines was near the start of the Dalton Trail; Skagway, a lawless town run by the notorious Soapy Smith and his band of thieves, was the beginning of the White Pass Trail. Dyea was the starting point for the most famous gold rush trail of all: the Chilkoot . Images of a never-ending stream of men labouring up the icy steps of the final ascent to the Chilkoot Pass summit have come to symbolize the challenges not just of the trail to the Klondike, but of life itself. Thousands, burdened by heavy loads, made the ascent across the rocky summit 30 or 40 times in order to haul the tonne of supplies (enough to last a prospector for a year) that the North West Mounted Police required each stampeder to bring with him. The stampeders laboured over a trail clogged with ice, snow and people; avalanche, drowning and disease; exhaustion, failure and heartbreak. Over the mountains and down the icy valleys along the Chilkoot and the White Pass Trails, they laboured until they reached the headwaters of the Yukon River. By the time the stampeders had relayed their tonne of supplies the 53 km over the Chilkoot Trai


What new invention was first tested near Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina?

Wright Brothers -- Aviation: From Sand Dunes to Sonic Booms: A National Register of Historic Places Travel Itinerary The beginning of the first       flight, December 17, 1903 Photo by John Daniels,       courtesy of Library of Congress Orville and Wilbur Wright were the sons of Milton and Susan Wright.     Milton rose from circuit preacher to bishop of the Church of the United     Brethren of Christ. Susan Wright attended Hartesville College in Indiana     where she studied literature and science and was the top mathematician     in her class. As an adult, she frequently built household appliances for     herself and toys for her children. Wilbur was born in 1867 near Millville,     Indiana, and Orville was born in Dayton, Ohio, in 1871. Their home had     two libraries-the first consisted of books on theology, the second was     a large, varied collection. Looking back on his childhood, Orville once     commented that he and his brother had "special advantages...we were lucky     enough to grow up in a home environment where there was always much encouragement     to children to pursue intellectual interests; to investigate whatever     aroused their curiosity." Both Wilbur and Orville did well in school, although Orville was known     for getting into mischief. Orville and Wilbur were the only members of     the immediate Wright family who did not receive a high school diploma,     attend college, or marry. Because of Milton's position in the church,     the Wrights moved frequently-twelve times before finally settling in Dayton ,     Ohio, in 1870. He traveled widely on church business, but always sent     back many letters and often brought presents home. In 1878, he brought     Wilbur and Orville a rubber band powered toy helicopter. Wilbur and Orville     made several copies of this toy-it was the first powered aircraft they     built together. Orville later recalled that the helicopter was based on     a design by French inventor Alphonse P�naud. They later studied his work     in aeronautics as grown men. Photo from National        Historic Landmarks collection Success! Orville's and Wilbur's 1902 Glider Flights The brothers returned to Kill Devil Hills on August 27, 1902, and spent    their first week there repairing the aircraft hangar and setting up camp.    They then began to assemble their new machine. Based on their wind tunnel    data, their 1902 glider had a new wing with a shallow camber and high aspect    ratio. It was a major departure from their earlier machines. It had roughly    the same wing surface area as the 1901 machine, but the similarities ended    there. The wingspan was ten feet (three meters) longer and the chord two    feet (0.6 meter) shorter than the old machine, making the glider look larger    and more graceful. It had an overall length of 16 feet (5 meters) and weighed    112 pounds (51 kilograms). The wing camber followed a shallow parabolic    curve, and the elevator was extended farther out in front of the pilot.    This gave it more leverage, which allowed better control. The 1902 glider    also had a new rudder that consisted of two fixed vertical surfaces located    behind the aircraft. Wilbur and Orville calculated that these would help    prevent the skidding that had occurred when they warped the wings. After adjusting the wing trussing to provide more stability in a crosswind,     they began their tests on September 19. From the first test flight as     a kite, it was evident their new glider was vastly superior to their two     previous machines. One problem persisted. The glider still slipped in     turns. The tail did little to stop it; in fact, Orville suspected it made     the problem worse. When the wings were warped and the airplane began to     turn, the set of wings inside the turn was moving slower (and therefore     generating less lift)


What queen died after a reign of 63 years?

Pivotal moments in Queen Elizabeth II's 63-year reign as UK's monarch FacebookEmail Twitter Google+ LinkedIn Pinterest Pivotal moments in Queen Elizabeth II's 63-year reign as UK's monarch The U.K.'s Queen Elizabeth II, 89, is the longest-reigning British monarch. She surpassed her great-great grandmother Queen Victoria for the longest run in the country's history — over 63 years and six months. Post to Facebook Pivotal moments in Queen Elizabeth II's 63-year reign as UK's monarch The U.K.'s Queen Elizabeth II, 89, is the longest-reigning British monarch. She surpassed her great-great grandmother Queen Victoria for the longest run in the country's history — over 63 years and six months. Check out this story on USATODAY.com: http://usat.ly/1UHeZZe CancelSend A link has been sent to your friend's email address. Posted! A link has been posted to your Facebook feed. 12 To find out more about Facebook commenting please read the Conversation Guidelines and FAQs Pivotal moments in Queen Elizabeth II's 63-year reign as UK's monarch Compiled by Christine Rushton, USA TODAY 11:44 a.m. ET Sept. 9, 2015 Posted! A link has been posted to your Facebook feed. On Sept. 9, 2015, just after 4 pm London time, the United Kingdom's Queen Elizabeth II, 89, the 40th monarch since 1066, passes her great-great grandmother Queen Victoria for longest reign in British history, at just over 63 years and six months. She will be at her Scottish estate on that day, which for her will be like any other day in terms of her schedule of engagements. She has asked there be no fuss, and so officially, there won't be. But Brits will be celebrating quietly nonetheless, raising a glass to their beloved Her Majesty and pulling out the photo albums for a look back at key moments during a singular, and singularly successful, reign.  Apic/ Getty Images Fullscreen She was 25, married and the mother of two when her father George VI died on Feb. 6, 1952. She was in Kenya on holiday, staying in a treetop hotel, and became queen without even knowing it at first. Two days later, she arrived home, descending the plane steps as Queen to meet a line of somber ministers (that's Winston Churchill at the foot of the stairs), and prepared to take up a duty she had anticipated since the age of 10.  OFF/AFP/Getty Images General view of the formal ceremony of the proclamation of Queen Elizabeth II's accession to the throne, February 8, 1952, in London.  OFF/AFP/Getty Images Fullscreen Her coronation took place more than a year later, on June 2, 1953, in Westminster Abbey, where British monarchs are crowned. Coronations, the most ancient, solemn and spiritual ceremony in the royal tradition, is also the most rare in the modern era. In 1953, it was televised for the first time, the first major international event broadcast on TV. That allowed millions of her subjects around the world to see their queen take up the emotional and actual burdens of the throne (the crown and scepter) and accept pledges of allegiance from peers and bishops in Westminster Abbey. Watching all this from a balcony above the throne was her young son and heir, Prince Charles, her mother, sister and her extended family.  AP The Archbishop of Canterbury gives the queen a sword prior to her coronation ceremony in Westminster Abbey.  AFP/Getty Images After the coronation in the Abbey, the queen and her husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, pose in Buckingham Palace.  AFP/Getty Images The coronation culminates in the traditional Buckingham Palace balcony appearance, to wave to the throngs of celebrating Brits on the Mall.  AFP/Getty Images Fullscreen One of the first personal crises of the queen's reign took place soon after the coronation when news broke that her sister Princess Margaret was in love with ex-WWII flying ace Group Capt. Peter Townsend, a divorced man who was one of her father's former equerries. The queen wished her sister to be happy, but her government was against the marriage, too soon after the abdication of Edward VIII over his wish to marry a divorced woman. In October 1955, Margaret, und


Fill in the blank: Speak softly, and carry a big _____?

Theodore Roosevelts famous quote said Speak softly and carry Add this question to a group or test by clicking the appropriate button below. Grade 4 The Presidents Theodore Roosevelt's famous quote said, "Speak softly and carry a big         stick        , and you will go far!" You need to have at least 5 reputation to vote a question down.     Learn How To Earn Badges .


What art movement was started by Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso?

Cubism Movement, Artists and Major Works | The Art Story Resources Quotes "Cubism is not a reality you can take in your hand. It's more like a perfume, in front of you, behind you, to the sides, the scent is everywhere but you don't quite know where it comes from." Pablo Picasso "The goal I proposed myself in making cubism? To paint and nothing more... with a method linked only to my thought.. Neither the good nor the true; neither the useful nor the useless." Pablo Picasso "What greatly attracted me - and it was the main line of advance of Cubism - was how to give material expression to this new space of which I had an inkling. So I began to paint chiefly still lifes, because in nature there is a tactile, I would almost say a manual space... that was the earliest Cubist painting - the quest for space." Georges Braque "If I have called Cubism a new order, it is without any revolutionary ideas or any reactionary ideas... One cannot escape from one's own epoch, however revolutionary one may be." Georges Braque "Cubism is moving around an object to seize several successive appearances, which fused in a single image, reconstitute it in time." Juan Gris "It was a tradition to represent a dancer frozen in a chosen position, like a snapshot. I broke away from this tradition by superimposing postures, blending light and motion and scrambling the planes." Sonia Delaunay "Enormous enlargements of an object or a fragment give it a personality it never had before, and in this way, it can become a vehicle of entirely new lyric and plastic power." Fernand Léger "Let the picture imitate nothing; let it nakedly present its raison d'etre." Jean Metzinger "Whether it is Juan Gris taking objects apart, Picasso replacing them with objects of his own invention, or another who replaces conical perspective by a system based on the relations between perpendiculars, all that only goes to show that Cubism was not at all born out of an authoritative theory [mot d'ordre]; that it only marked among a few painters the will to be finished with an art that never ought to have survived the condemnation pronounced upon it by Pascal." Jean Metzinger "Cubism was an attack on the perspective that had been known and used for 500 years. It was the first big, big change. It confused people: they said, 'Things don't look like that!'" David Hockney "He commenced the long struggle not to express what he could see but not to express the things he did not see, that is to say the things everybody is certain of seeing but which they do not really see." Gertrude Stein, on Picasso's early art "I have transformed myself in the zero of form and fished myself out of the rubbishy slough of Academic Art. I have destroyed the circle of the horizon and escaped from the circle of objects, the horizon-ring that has imprisoned the artist and the forms from nature. The square is not a subconscious form. It is the creation of intuitive reason. The face of the new art. The square is the living, royal infant. It is the first step of pure creation in art." Kazimir Malevich Like The Art Story on Facebook Beginnings A watershed moment for the development of Cubism was the posthumous retrospective of Paul Cézanne's work at the Salon d'Automne in 1907. Cézanne's use of generic forms to simplify nature was incredibly influential to both Picasso and Braque. In the previous year, Picasso was also introduced to non-Western art: seeing Iberian art in Spain, and African-influenced art by Matisse, and at the Trocadero anthropological museum. What drew Picasso to these artistic traditions was their use of an abstract or simplified representation of the human body rather than the naturalistic forms of the European Renaissance tradition. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The Breakthrough: Les Demoiselles d'Avignon These varying influences can be seen in Picasso's groundbreaking work of 1907, Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, which is considered a work of proto or pre-Cubism. In its radical distortion of figures, its rendering of volumes


What American city was struck by a major earthquake?

MAJOR CALIFORNIA EARTHQUAKES   MAJOR CALIFORNIA EARTHQUAKES Earthquakes are a fact of life in California. Listed here are only a few of the largest events, but tremors are recorded daily throughout the state. Click on the following links for more information: TIME: January 17, 1994 / 4:30:55 am PST LOCATION: 20 miles west-northwest of Los Angeles MAGNITUDE: 6.7 At 4:30 am, on January 17, 1994, residents of the greater Los Angeles area were rudely awakened by the strong shaking of the Northridge earthquake. This was the first earthquake to strike directly under an urban area of the United States since the 1933 Long Beach earthquake. The earthquake occurred on a blind thrust fault, and produced the strongest ground motions ever instrumentally recorded in an urban setting in North America. Damage was wide-spread, sections of major freeways collapsed, parking structures and office buildings collapsed, and numerous apartment buildings suffered irreparable damage. Damage to wood-frame apartment houses was very widespread in the San Fernando Valley and Santa Monica areas, especially to structures with "soft" first floor or lower-level parking garages. The high accelerations, both vertical and horizontal, lifted structures off of their foundations and/or shifted walls laterally. LOMA PRIETA EARTHQUAKE TIME: October 17, 1989 / 5:04 pm PST LOCATION: 10 miles northeast of the city of Santa Cruz, California, MAGNITUDE: 7.1 The Loma Prieta earthquake occurred in the greater San Francisco Bay Area in California. It is popularly nicknamed the World Series Quake because it occurred during the World Series, which happened to match up the Bay Area's two Major League Baseball teams. The earthquake lasted for 15 seconds Portion of the Cypress Street Viaduct, Interstate 880, in Oakland collapsed. This was a major earthquake which caused severe damage as far as 70 miles away; most notably in San Francisco, Oakland, the San Francisco Peninsula, and in areas closer to the epicenter in the communities of Santa Cruz, the Monterey Bay, Watsonville, and Los Gatos. There were at least 63 deaths (some say 66) and 3,757 injuries as a result of this earthquake. The quake also caused an estimated $6 billion in property damage, the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history at the time. It was the largest earthquake to occur on the San Andreas Fault since the great 1906 San Francisco earthquake.   TIME:  February 9, 1971 / 6:01 am PST LOCATION:  34° 24.67' N, 118° 24.04' W MAGNITUDE: 6.6 Also known as the Sylmar Earthquake, this earthquake occurred on the San Fernando fault zone, a zone of thrust faulting which broke the surface in the Sylmar-San Fernando Area. The total surface rupture was roughly 19 km (12 miles) long. The maximum slip was up to 2 meters (6 feet).  The earthquake caused over $500 million in property damage and 65 deaths. Most of the deaths occurred when the Veteran's Administration Hospital collapsed. Several other hospitals, including the Olive View Community Hospital in Sylmar (pictured below) suffered severe damage. Newly constructed freeway overpasses also collapsed, in damage scenes similar to those which occurred 23 years later in the 1994 Northridge Earthquake. Loss of life could have been much greater had the earthquake struck at a busier time of day.   TIME:  July 21, 1952 / 4:52 am, PDT LOCATION: 23 miles south of Bakersfield MAGNITUDE: 7.5 The largest earthquake in southern California since the Fort Tejon earthquake of 1857 and the Owens Valley earthquake of 1872, the Kern County earthquake of 1952 caused immense and widespread damage. The quake occurred on the White Wolf fault, a reverse fault (with some left-lateral component of slip) north of the intersection of the Garlock and San Andreas faults.  The area shaken by this quake was impressively large. It was felt in Reno, Nevada, and required a construction effort in Las Vegas to realign structural steel. In San Francisco, it was felt mainly by people on the upper floors of tall buildings. Power outtages occurred in Los Angeles, along with minor building dam


Aswan High Dam Controls the Nile River Aswan High Dam Aswan High Dam Controls The Nile River Cars drive on a bridge crossing the Nile River in central Cairo, Egypt.  Getty Images Europe Share By Matt Rosenberg Just north of the border between Egypt and Sudan lies the Aswan High Dam, a huge rockfill dam which captures the world's longest river , the Nile River, in the world's third largest reservoirs, Lake Nasser. The dam, known as Saad el Aali in Arabic, was completed in 1970 after ten years of work. Egypt has always depended on the water of the Nile River. The two main tributaries of the Nile River are the White Nile and the Blue Nile. The source of the White Nile are the Sobat River Bahr al-Jabal (The "Mountain Nile") and the Blue Nile begins in the Ethiopian Highlands. The two tributaries converge in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan where they form the Nile River. The Nile River has a total length of 4,160 miles (6,695 kilometers) from source to sea. Nile Flooding Before the building of a dam at Aswan, Egypt experienced annual floods from the Nile River that deposited four million tons of nutrient-rich sediment which enabled agricultural production. continue reading below our video 10 Facts About the Titanic That You Don't Know This process began millions of years before Egyptian civilization began in the Nile River valley and continued until the first dam at Aswan was built in 1889. This dam was insufficient to hold back the water of the Nile and was subsequently raised in 1912 and 1933. In 1946, the true danger was revealed when the water in the reservoir peaked near the top of the dam. In 1952, the interim Revolutionary Council government of Egypt decided to build a High Dam at Aswan, about four miles upstream of the old dam. In 1954, Egypt requested loans from the World Bank to help pay for the cost of the dam (which eventually added up to one billion dollars). Initially, the United States agreed to loan Egypt money but then withdrew their offer for unknown reasons. Some speculate that it may have been due to Egyptian and Israeli conflict. The United Kingdom , France, and Israel had invaded Egypt in 1956, soon after Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal to help pay for the dam. The Soviet Union offered to help and Egypt accepted. The Soviet Union's support was not unconditional, however. Along with the money, they also sent military advisers and other workers to help enhance Egyptian-Soviet ties and relations. Building of the Aswan Dam In order to build the Aswan Dam both people and artifacts had to be moved. Over 90,000 Nubians had to be relocated. Those who had been living in Egypt were moved about 28 miles (45 km) away but the Sudanese Nubians were relocated 370 miles (600 km) from their homes. The government was also forced to develop one of the largest Abu Simel temple and dig for artifacts before the future lake would drown the land of the Nubians. After years of construction (the material in the dam is the equivalent to 17 of the great pyramid at Giza), the resulting reservoir was named for the former president of Egypt, Gamal Abdel Nasser , who died in 1970. The lake holds 137 million acre-feet of water (169 billion cubic meters). About 17 percent of the lake is in Sudan and the two countries have an agreement for distribution of the water. Aswan Dam Benefits The Aswan Dam benefits Egypt by controlling the annual floods on the Nile River and prevents the damage which used to occur along the floodplain. The Aswan High Dam provides about a half of Egypt's power supply and has improved navigation along the river by keeping the water flow consistent. There are several problems associated with the dam as well. Seepage and evaporation accounts for a loss of about 12-14% of the annual input into the reservoir. The sediments of the Nile River, as with all river and dam systems, has been filling the reservoir and thus decreasing its storage capacity. This has also resulted in problems downstream. Farmers have been forced to use about a million tons of artificial fertilizer as a substitute for the nutrients which no longe


What tire company created a restaurant guide in an effort to promote driving?

Why Does a Tire Company Publish the Michelin Guide? Why Does a Tire Company Publish the Michelin Guide? Tweet When the Michelin Guide comes out each year, foodies freak out.  Michelin’s food critics, known as “inspectors” by the company, only awarded a top ranking of three Michelin Stars to around 100 restaurants in 2016. Restaurants that receive a Michelin Star for the first time can expect a flood of food tourists; losing a Michelin Star devastates restaurateurs. Gordon Ramsay, the celebrity chef who makes young chefs weep on his show Hell’s Kitchen , cried when he lost two Michelin Stars in 2013.  Which is a bit weird, because Michelin is a tire company whose annual reports highlight the cost of rubber and growth in the passenger car market.  Michelin began publishing its “Red Guide” in 1900, when both cars and food tourism were novel luxuries. Its creators hoped that a guidebook offering information about hotels, restaurants, and roadways would lead people to drive more—and buy more Michelin tires. Today, Michelin continues to authoritatively judge restaurants in order to promote the company name. It’s a bit like if the Coca-Cola Company ran the Oscars, having created the ceremony in the 1920s so that people would go to the movies and drink more soda. It’s debatable whether the guide still helps Michelin sell tires, but Michelin’s ownership has been instrumental to the renown and authority of its restaurant guides.  If the Michelin Guide wasn’t a marketing expense for an unrelated, major corporation, it may never have become the final word on culinary perfection. Creating a Market There once was a time when people had to be convinced that a car was useful. That was the situation in 1895, when brothers Edouard and Andre Michelin developed a new design for a car tire at their rubber company in Clermont-Ferrand, France.  The brothers had a superior product: one of the first air-filled tires, which could be quickly replaced since it was not glued to the wheel. To prove its value, the brothers sponsored car races, which drivers with Michelin tires often won handedly .  But France had only around 350 cars in 1895. Automobiles “remained rich men's toys... unable to stray very far from the vicinity of a reliable repair show," Herbert Lottman writes in The Michelin Men . “The nascent motorcar could easily be dismissed by seasoned entrepreneurs on the lookout for realistic investments." In this environment, increasing the number of drivers—the motivation for the Michelin Guide—was more important than gaining an advantage over other tire manufacturers.  First published in 1900, the guide’s 399 pages contained all the information drivers needed to “go touring” through French towns and cities. Only restaurants attached to hotels were included, and they were listed rather than carefully rated. Information about installing and caring for Michelin tires occupied the first 33 pages, and ads for car part manufacturers occupied another 50 pages. Maps and basic information about dozens of towns made up the bulk of the guide.  A legend for a map in an early Michelin Guide, with the Michelin Man smoking in the corner. (It was a different time.) Image via "Maps for a New Kind of Tourist: The First Guides Michelin France" by Kory Olson in Imago Mundi.  For drivers, that information was essential. Gas stations did not yet exist, so drivers needed to know which pharmacies sold gasoline in several-liter containers. Motorists needed the timetables that listed when the sun set during the year, because highways did not yet have lights. Only a fraction of auto repair shops stayed open all year, which made it crucial to know which closed at the end of summer. Details like this distinguished the Michelin Guide from the tour books of the time, which assumed that people traveled by rail.  The Michelin brothers’ efforts to make driving easier extended beyond the guide. Once company employees began rating hotels, they made clear to hoteliers that they should offer free parking. They also lobbied the government to put up road signs for motorists—Edouard


What civil rights organization was founded by W.E.B. DuBois?

NAACP | Oldest and Boldest Oldest and Boldest The NAACP fights for your civil rights - stand with us. Sign Up > Thank you for signing up! Search Menu Oldest and Boldest Founded Feb. 12. 1909, the NAACP is the nation’s oldest, largest and most widely recognized grassroots-based civil rights organization. Its more than half-million members and supporters throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities, campaigning for equal opportunity and conducting voter mobilization. Founding group The NAACP was formed partly in response to the continuing horrific practice of lynching and the 1908 race riot in Springfield, the capital of Illinois and resting place of President Abraham Lincoln. Appalled at the violence that was committed against blacks, a group of white liberals that included Mary White Ovington and Oswald Garrison Villard, both the descendants of abolitionists, William English Walling and Dr. Henry Moscowitz issued a call for a meeting to discuss racial justice. Some 60 people, seven of whom were African American (including W. E. B. Du Bois, Ida B. Wells-Barnett and Mary Church Terrell), signed the call, which was released on the centennial of Lincoln’s birth. Other early members included Joel and Arthur Spingarn, Josephine Ruffin, Mary Talbert, Inez Milholland, Jane Addams, Florence Kelley, Sophonisba Breckinridge, John Haynes Holmes, Mary McLeod Bethune, George Henry White, Charles Edward Russell, John Dewey, William Dean Howells, Lillian Wald, Charles Darrow, Lincoln Steffens, Ray Stannard Baker, Fanny Garrison Villard, and Walter Sachs. The NAACP seeks to remove barriers of racial discrimination. Echoing the focus of Du Bois’ Niagara Movement began in 1905, the NAACP’s stated goal was to secure for all people the rights guaranteed in the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the United States Constitution, which promised an end to slavery, the equal protection of the law and universal adult male suffrage, respectively. The NAACP’s principal objective is to ensure the political, educational, social and economic equality of minority group citizens of United States and eliminate race prejudice. The NAACP seeks to remove all barriers of racial discrimination through the democratic processes. The NAACP established its national office in New York City in 1910 and named a board of directors as well as a president, Moorfield Storey, a white constitutional lawyer and former president of the American Bar Association. The only African American among the organization’s executives, Du Bois was made director of publications and research and in 1910 established the official journal of the NAACP, The Crisis. The Crisis Du Bois founded The Crisis magazine as the premier crusading voice for civil rights. Today, The Crisis, one of the oldest black periodicals in America, continues this mission. A respected journal of thought, opinion and analysis, the magazine remains the official publication of the NAACP and is the NAACP’s articulate partner in the struggle for human rights for people of color. In time, The Crisis became a voice of the Harlem Renaissance, as Du Bois published works by Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen and other African American literary figures. The publication’s prominence would rise. Now published quarterly, The Crisis is dedicated to being an open and honest forum for discussing critical issues confronting people of color, American society and the world in addition to highlighting the historical and cultural achievements of these diverse peoples. In essays, interviews, in-depth reporting, etc., writers explore past and present issues concerning race and its impact on educational, economic, political, social, moral, and ethical issues. And, each issue is highlighted with a special section, “The NAACP Today” reporting the news and events of the NAACP on a local and national level. Growth With a strong emphasis on local organizing, by 1913 the NAACP had established branch offices in such cities as Boston, Massachusetts; Baltimore, Maryland; Kansas City, Missouri;


What destination was almost reached by explorer Robert Peary?

Who Got There First? The North Pole Controversies — Polar Explorers — Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears Home » Polar Explorers » Who Got There First? The North Pole Controversies Who Got There First? The North Pole Controversies If you want to go somewhere you’ve never been, what do you do first? Pull up MapQuest on your web browser and input your destination? Or, do you have a GPS unit for your car? Maybe you use a printed map or an atlas. Back in the early days of polar discovery, none of these tools were available. In fact, much of the Arctic and Antarctic wasn’t even mapped yet. COMPETING CLAIMS In 1909 a bitter controversy involved two American explorers, Frederick A. Cook and Robert E. Peary. Both claimed to be first to reach the North Pole on foot. Finding the North Pole is tricky. Unlike the South Pole, which lies on a land mass, the North Pole is actually in a vast sea covered by floating ice. Since the ice is constantly in motion, planting a flag or otherwise marking the spot is futile. In addition, magnetic compasses are rendered useless in the polar regions due to the magnetic field at the poles. Determining one’s position, then, is based on calculations using a chronometer – basically a highly efficient time piece – and a sextant – a navigational instrument that allowed an explorer to compute latitude based on the position of the sun. Frederick A. Cook in furs, circa 1909. The Ohio State University Archives, Frederick A. Cook Society Collection, RG 56.17, image #34_2a. Robert E. Peary, circa 1909. The Ohio State University Archives, Frederick A. Cook Society Collection, RG 56.17, image #34_34y. In September of 1909, Frederick A. Cook, a medical doctor from New York, announced that he and two Inuit companions had reached the North Pole on April 21, 1908. He claimed that bad weather conditions and drifting ice had prohibited his southward return and he and his companions were forced to winter over in an ice cave. A week later, Robert E. Peary, a civil engineer and a commander in the U.S. Navy, announced that he had reached the North Pole, accompanied by his long-time companion Matthew Henson, and he denounced Cook as a fraud. In any case, Peary had some very powerful sponsors, including the New York Times as well as the National Geographic Society. Though Cook appeared to welcome Peary’s announcement and was willing to share the limelight, Peary was furious at Cook’s attempt to “steal” his victory. By all accounts, Peary was a driven man, and this was his third attempt at the North Pole. Henson, an African-American, had traveled with Peary on all of his “farthest north” expeditions. Though Peary recognized Henson’s contribution to his success, stating, “Henson was the best man I had with me for this kind of work,” he also minimized Henson’s role after the fact. Complicating the situation for Cook was that his claim to have been the first to summit Mt. McKinley (in Alaska) in 1906 had been called into question. Cook’s critics felt that if he lied about Mt. McKinley, then certainly he was lying about the North Pole as well. It didn’t take long for Peary’s claim to overshadow the claim of the rather unknown Cook. Shortly after they returned from the Pole, Cook and Peary each published their version of the truth in books that discussed their expeditions and discoveries in minute detail. The books became bestsellers and also fueled the public debate. Cover image from booklet, "At the Pole with Cook and Peary," 1909. The Ohio State University Archives, Frederick A. Cook Society Collection, RG 56.17, image #9_50. The burden of proof for polar discoveries lies on the explorer. Without modern methods of GPS mapping and plotting of locations, how was this done? Polar explorers during this time were expected to keep detailed, handwritten diaries of their travels, including navigational calculations. Unlike today, when travelers might blog about their journeys to places unknown, taking hundreds of digital images and video along the way, polar explorers in 1909 were much more limited by their tools. Even radio transmission w


What theory of spacetime was formulated by Albert Einstein?

Einstein's Theory of General Relativity: A Simplified Explanation Einstein's Theory of General Relativity By Nola Taylor Redd, Space.com Contributor | July 12, 2016 04:00pm ET MORE Einstein's theory of general relativity predicted that the space-time around Earth would be not only warped but also twisted by the planet's rotation. Gravity Probe B showed this to be correct. Credit: NASA In 1905, Albert Einstein determined that the laws of physics are the same for all non-accelerating observers, and that the speed of light in a vacuum was independent of the motion of all observers. This was the theory of special relativity. It introduced a new framework for all of physics and proposed new concepts of space and time. Einstein then spent 10 years trying to include acceleration in the theory and published his theory of general relativity in 1915. In it, he determined that massive objects cause a distortion in space-time, which is felt as gravity. The tug of gravity Two objects exert a force of attraction on one another known as "gravity." Sir Isaac Newton quantified the gravity between two objects when he formulated his three laws of motion. The force tugging between two bodies depends on how massive each one is and how far apart the two lie. Even as the center of the Earth is pulling you toward it (keeping you firmly lodged on the ground), your center of mass is pulling back at the Earth. But the more massive body barely feels the tug from you, while with your much smaller mass you find yourself firmly rooted thanks to that same force. Yet Newton's laws assume that gravity is an innate force of an object that can act over a distance. Albert Einstein , in his theory of special relativity , determined that the laws of physics are the same for all non-accelerating observers, and he showed that the speed of light within a vacuum is the same no matter the speed at which an observer travels. As a result, he found that space and time were interwoven into a single continuum known as space-time. Events that occur at the same time for one observer could occur at different times for another. As he worked out the equations for his general theory of relativity, Einstein realized that massive objects caused a distortion in space-time. Imagine setting a large body in the center of a trampoline. The body would press down into the fabric, causing it to dimple. A marble rolled around the edge would spiral inward toward the body, pulled in much the same way that the gravity of a planet pulls at rocks in space. [ Video: How To See Spacetime Stretch ] Experimental evidence Although instruments can neither see nor measure space-time, several of the phenomena predicted by its warping have been confirmed. Einstein's Cross is an example of gravitational lensing. Credit: NASA and European Space Agency (ESA) Gravitational lensing: Light around a massive object, such as a black hole, is bent, causing it to act as a lens for the things that lie behind it. Astronomers routinely use this method to study stars and galaxies behind massive objects. Einstein's Cross, a quasar in the Pegasus constellation , is an excellent example of gravitational lensing. The quasar is about 8 billion light-years from Earth, and sits behind a galaxy that is 400 million light-years away. Four images of the quasar appear around the galaxy because the intense gravity of the galaxy bends the light coming from the quasar. Gravitational lensing can allow scientists to see some pretty cool things, but until recently, what they spotted around the lens has remained fairly static. However, since the light traveling around the lens takes a different path, each traveling over a different amount of time, scientists were able to observe a supernova occur four different times as it was magnified by a massive galaxy. In another interesting observation, NASA's Kepler telescope spotted a dead star, known as a white dwarf, orbiting a red dwarf in a binary system. Although the white dwarf is more massive, it has a far smaller radius than its companion. "The technique is equivalent to spotting a f


"What musical genre was exemplified by Scott Joplin's ""The Entertainer""?"

Scott Joplin — The Entertainer — Listen, watch, download and discover music for free at Last.fm soundtrack "The Entertainer" is sub-titled "A rag time two step", which was a form of dance popular until about 1911, and a style which was common among rags written at the time. Its structure is: Intro AA BB A CC Intro2 DD. Don't want to see ads? Subscribe now Similar Tracks


Who was assassinated by anarchist Leon Czolgosz?

10/1/2001 • American History , Politics Leon Czolgosz stood in line and counted the people between him and the president of the United States. Nondescript, dressed in a dark suit, and wearing an innocent expression, Czolgosz (pronounced chlgsh) looked younger than his 28 years. He had waited for more than two hours in 82-degree heat on September 6, 1901, for his turn to shake hands with President William McKinley, who was visiting the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. It was the first year of the new century, a perfect time to reflect on the nation’s rise in world prominence and to speculate on the future. The exposition, a world’s fair that celebrated the Americas’ industrial progress and achievement, had attracted visitors from around the world. The event was more than halfway through its six-month run when President McKinley, the most popular chief executive since Abraham Lincoln, arrived. McKinley’s final public appearance in Buffalo was an afternoon reception in the Temple of Music, an ornate red-brick hall on the exposition grounds. Since being elected president in 1896, McKinley had been notorious for discounting his own personal safety at public appearances, and he had repeatedly resisted attempts by his personal secretary, George Cortelyou, to cancel this event. Cortelyou had argued that it wasn’t worth the risk to greet such a small number of people, but the 58-year-old president refused to change his mind. ‘Why should I?’ he asked. ‘Who would want to hurt me?’ Cortelyou, always nervous about public receptions, tightened security as best he could. The people who wished to greet the president at the Temple had to file down a narrow aisle under the scrutiny of a special guard provided for the occasion. Outside, mounted police and soldiers controlled the massive crowd seeking entrance. Just months into his second presidential term, McKinley — who had easily won reelection in 1900 — had made the most significant speech of his presidency the day before, announcing a policy of reciprocal trade agreements with foreign nations to encourage improved markets for American goods. It marked the culmination of a decade-long evolution in thinking for the long-time isolationist and exemplified his statesmanship in recognition of changing times. McKinley’s star first rose on the national scene some 10 years earlier as the Republican Party’s staunchest advocate of protectionism. He believed that high tariffs discouraged the importation of foreign goods, thereby helping keep prices high for American goods and producing profits for industries and high wages for workers. Using protectionism as his platform for election to the U.S. House of Representatives and the Ohio statehouse, where he served two terms as governor, McKinley established himself as his party’s standard-bearer. According to biographer Margaret Leech, McKinley ‘carried to Congress an emotional conviction that the solution for all the country’s economic ills was to make the already high tariff rates higher still.’ By 1900, however, he saw reciprocity as a means for commercial expansion and a way to promote world peace. McKinley was a veteran of the Civil War and retained vivid memories of the bloody conflict. As president, he was reluctantly drawn into the Spanish-American War of 1898. At first he downplayed stories of Spanish atrocities against Cuban nationals. But the yellow journalism of competing newspaper publishers William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer fired passions after the battleship Maine exploded and sank in Havana’s harbor. Big business, looking to expand markets, added to the inexorable forces pushing the president toward war. Spain proved little challenge though, as American forces easily defeated the outnumbered and out-gunned army and navy of the Old World power. As the victor, the United States gained Puerto Rico, Wake, Guam, and the Philippines. The Pacific Islands were particularly significant as they established an American presence in a new hemisphere. Moreover, the United States annexed the Hawaiian Islands that summer. Americ


"Who began writing ""In Search of Lost Time""?"

Proust's Way Proust's Way A Field Guide to 'In Search of Lost Time' By ROGER SHATTUCK Read the Review THE WORK AND ITS AUTHOR Among the handful of literary classics produced in this century, Marcel Proust's In Search of Lost Time is the most oceanicand the least read. Joyce and Kafka, Faulkner and Camus sell hundreds of thousands of copies. Proust sells barely in the thousands. His substantial reputation as an extreme case of somethinglong-windedness, psychological vivisection, the snobbery of letters, salvation by memoryrests not on wide readership but on a myth of uniqueness that often hides his true attractions. In an era when the significance and the privileged status of the work of art are being both questioned and reinforced, this ultimate monument to the artistic vocation, banked high on all sides by interpretation and biography, refuses to sink back into the sands of time. Obstacles and Inducements The inordinate length of Proust's novel (three thousand pages) goes a long way toward explaining the wariness of readers. Balzac's one-hundred-volume printout of all French society comes in separate packages; the links between the volumes serve as a special reward for the persevering. The first two sections of Proust's novel, "Combray" and "Swann in Love," can stand separately and have earned many admirers. Yet true believers insist that there is no substitute for the cumulative effect of the whole work. Understandably, many readers hesitate to make the investment of time and attention required to assimilate even a fraction of the whole.     Compounding the challenge of sheer magnitude and of an extended plot, there is Proust's style. His transcontinental sentences contribute to the appearance of a motionless plot. The original French is no easier than the translations. How can one follow a story line through such labyrinthine prose? One reason why true believers are right to insist on a full reading is that you cannot distinguish the plot if the first sections are all you have to go on. Proust's first critics were at a terrible disadvantage; they had to interpret the whole from a few parts. As a result, Proust had to serve as the sole qualified guide to his own uncompleted work. He devoted endless letters and several newspaper interviews to rebutting his critics and explaining episodes still to come. Gradually, Proust's description of his work has been validated by several generations of critics. But for fifteen years his work appeared piecemeal in the face of enormous odds against comprehension. It looked at first like a conspiracy against readers.     Furthermore, the plot remains close to a romantic stereotype. Will the young protagonist of the Search succeed in becoming a writer? God save us from another story about a sensitive young artist trying to find his way! Poems about writing poetry, novels about becoming a novelist, literature preoccupied with the life of literaturewhat form of narcissism could annoy a discriminating reader more than this aesthetic self-absorption? Proust takes several measures to reduce the damage of the outworn plot. He turns our annoyance at the posing young artist into indulgent laughter. He postpones the most crucial episodes of discovery of his vocation of art until the end of the story. And he fills the twenty-five hundred intervening pages with scenes and sensations and characters so vivid that we are sustained by this immediacy of experience. The protagonist records and animates so much of his physical and social milieu for us that we mostly forget about the overarching question of literary vocation. It's always there, but shrouded, out of sight.     These objections to plot and style in Proust's novel often arise from partial reading and incomplete understanding. Many of them can be traced to remarks by early commentators, some of whom were sympathetic. Edmund Wilson, one of the first and most perceptive of American critics, deeply admired Proust's work; yet he called the Search "one of the gloomiest books ever written." In this instance his critical acumen failed him. Prous


What city was devastated by an eruption of Mount Vesuvius?

Mount Vesuvius & Pompeii: Facts & History Mount Vesuvius & Pompeii: Facts & History By Mary Bagley, Live Science Contributor | June 29, 2016 07:31pm ET MORE Credit: Klagyi | Shutterstock Mount Vesuvius, on the west coast of Italy, is the only active volcano on mainland Europe. It is best known because of the eruption in A.D. 79 that destroyed the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Mount Vesuvius is considered to be one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world due to the large population of the city of Naples and the surrounding towns on the slopes nearby. The volcano is classed as a complex stratovolcano because its eruptions typically involve explosive eruptions as well as pyroclastic flows. Vesuvius and other Italian volcanoes, such as Campi Flegrei and Stromboli, are part of the Campanian volcanic arc. The Campanian arc sits on a tectonic boundary where the African plate is being subducted beneath the Eurasian plate . Under Vesuvius, scientists have detected a tear in the African plate. This “slab window” allows heat from the Earth’s mantle layer to melt the rock of the African plate building up pressure that causes violent explosive eruptions. In the past, Mount Vesuvius has had a roughly 20-year eruption cycle, but the last serious eruption was in 1944 . Vesuvius and Pompeii Mount Vesuvius destroyed the city of Pompeii in A.D. 79. Because the city was buried so quickly by volcanic ash, the site is a well-preserved snapshot of life in a Roman city. We even have a detailed account of the disaster recorded by Pliny the Younger, who interviewed survivors and recorded events in a letter to his friend Tacitus. [ Related: Pompeii 'Wall Posts' Reveal Ancient Social Networks ] Ruins at Herculaneum Credit: deepblue-photographer Shutterstock Pompeii was slowly recovering from a major earthquake that rocked the city in February of A.D. 62. The shallow quake, originating beneath Mount Vesuvius, had caused major damage to the springs and piping that provided the city’s water. Reconstruction was being carried out on several temples and public buildings. Seneca, a historian, recorded that the quakes lasted for several days and also heavily damaged the town of Herculaneum and did minor damage to the city of Naples before subsiding. The major quake was followed by several minor shakes throughout the following years. [ Image Gallery: Pompeii's Toilets ] Because seismic activity was so common in the area, citizens paid little attention in early August of 79 when several quakes shook the earth beneath Herculaneum and Pompeii. People were unprepared for the explosion that took place shortly after noon on the 24th of August. Pliny, watching from the town of Misenum, approximately 13 miles (21 kilometers) from Pompeii, described the massive debris cloud. “It resembled a (Mediterranean) pine more than any other tree. Like a very high tree the cloud went high and expanded in different branches…. sometimes white, sometimes dark and stained by the sustained sand and ashes.” In Pompeii, ash blocked the sun by 1 p.m. and the people tried to clear heavy ash from rooftops as it fell at a rate of about 6 inches (15 centimeters) an hour. [ Image Gallery: Preserved Pompeii — Photos Reveal City in Ash ] Bodies preserved in ash at Pompeii. Credit: Alessandro Colle Shutterstock Shortly after midnight, a wall of volcanic mud engulfed the town of Herculaneum, obliterating the town as its citizens fled toward Pompeii. About 6:30 a.m. on the following morning, a glowing cloud of volcanic gases and debris rolled down Vesuvius’ slopes and enveloped the city of Pompeii. Most victims died instantly as the superheated air burned their lungs and contracted their muscles, leaving the bodies in a semi-curled position to be quickly buried in ash and thus preserved in detail for hundreds of years. Far away in Misenum, Pliny the Younger and his mother joined other refugees escaping the earthquakes rocking their city. They observed, “…the sea retreating as if pushed by the earthquakes.” This was probably caused by a tsunami at the climax of the eruption, which give


Variety Shows | Programs | Pioneers of Television | PBS PROGRAMS Variety Shows Born of the vaudevillian era, TV variety programs carried the traditions of comedy, song, dance and sketch performance into America’s living room and into a new era of entertainment. This genre of television programming pushed the boundaries of social satire and challenged the pace at which shows progressed. “They would say, ‘Slow it down,’” says director George Schlatter, who produced “Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In.” “I’d say, ‘No, people will understand it.’ They’d say, ‘But they’ll miss the jokes.’ I said, ‘So what? there’s another one coming along in just a few moments,’” he says. From Ed Sullivan — whose stodgy on-air presence belied an unmatched ability to spot and highlight talent — to the socially conscious Smothers Brothers, variety programming mirrored the tastes of the day and introduced America to the latest, greatest talent. Often the shows centered around music and live performance, where anything — good or bad — could happen live for a whole nation to see. In the 1970s, the variety show format began to fade from prime time. Audiences were more fractured than ever with the advent of the remote control and cable television. Today, elements of variety program exist on late night TV formatting and on some of the live performance shows such as “American Idol” and “Dancing with the Stars.” Despite several attempts to revive a contemporary variety hour, few stars have found success. “The Ed Sullivan Show” For 24 seasons, “The Ed Sullivan Show” entertained America with its electric line-up of new talent and seasoned entertainers. The show’s brilliance is largely attributed to its unlikely host, Ed Sullivan. A gloomy looking man with hang-dog jowls and the inability to remember people’s names, Sullivan displayed a keen eye for talent and had his hand on all details of the popular show. Audiences forgave Sullivan’s on-air gaffes because the show was so entertaining. Sullivan was especially concerned about promoting good taste. He rewrote jokes, re-arranged talent and adjusted costumes to make sure they were up to his standard. “[Ed Sullivan] had a particular … genius, because it was a radar type of thing,” says entertainer Pat Boone. “He knew what the audience would like to see and hear, and he brought it to them.” “The Carol Burnett Show” Premiering in 1967, “The Carol Burnett Show” featured the versatile Carol Burnett alongside a host of regular sidekicks such as Harvey Korman, Lyle Waggoner, Vicki Lawrence and Tim Conway. During its long run, the show won 25 Emmy Awards, and the secret to its success was Burnett’s willingness to let other members of the ensemble cast shine. “I remember Harvey [Korman] saying, ‘You have no idea because most stars are very selfish. They’ll have things rewritten to where they get the joke lines, and they will not be supportive of you,’ says Lawrence. “And I think one of the most important things that I learned from Carol is that you are as good as the people that surround you.” “The Carol Burnett Show” is famous for its skits that parodied popular culture, especially films and dramatic televisions shows. “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour” While it was short-lived, “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour” left an indelible mark on American television history. The sibling comedic duo, the Smothers brothers, performed folk songs that often dissolved into on-air humorous bickering. Traditionally, Tommy Smothers , the eldest of the siblings, played a jealous, slow-witted character. In contrast was his younger brother, Richard “Dick” Smothers, who portrayed a condescending, smarter sibling. The chemistry between the two was electric, and the brothers’ variety show debuted in 1967, a tumultuous time in our history. “Vietnam and Kent State and the Chicago riots of the Democratic Convention and the assassination of Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King: All this happened while we had a television show,” says Tommy Smothers. The brothers went on the air hoping to be relevant, but they had no idea how much ire they would s


In what modern-day country was the Second Boer War fought?

Australia and the Boer War, 1899–1902 | Australian War Memorial Publications Australia and the Boer War, 1899–1902 From soon after its acquisition by Britain during the Napoleonic wars, the southern tip of Africa had been shared between British colonies and independent republics of Dutch–Afrikaner settlers, known as Boers. In order to escape British rule many Boers had moved north and east to settle on new lands which eventually became the Boer republics of the Orange Free State and the Transvaal. The relationship between the British and the Boers was an uneasy one, with Britain extending its control by annexing Natal in 1845, although London did recognise the two republics in two treaties in the 1850s. Throughout the nineteenth century tensions were often high, and in 1880–81 the two sides fought a war in which the Boers inflicted several costly defeats on the British army. Coupled with the advent of a new government in London reluctant to fight the war, this ensured that the Transvaal was able effectively to maintain its independence. The discovery of gold and diamonds in the Boer republics in the 1880s further intensified the rivalry, particularly as British subjects flooded into the Boer territories in search of wealth. The rights of British subjects in Boer territory, British imperial ambition, and the Boer desire for to stay outside the British Empire all caused more friction, which in 1899 provoked the Boers to attack in order to forestall what they saw as an impending British conquest. As part of the British Empire, the Australian colonies offered troops for the war in South Africa. Australians served in contingents raised by the six colonies or, from 1901, by the new Australian Commonwealth. For a variety of reasons many Australians also joined British or South African colonial units in South Africa: some were already in South Africa when the war broke out; others either made their own way or joined local units after their enlistment in an Australian contingent ended. Recruiting was also done in Australia for units which already existed in South Africa, such as the Scottish Horse. Australians served mostly in mounted units formed in each colony before despatch, or in South Africa itself. The Australian contribution took the form of five waves. The first were the contingents raised by the Australian colonies in response to the outbreak of war in 1899, which often drew heavily on the men in the militia of the colonial forces. The second were the bushmen contingents, which were recruited from more diverse sources and paid for by public subscription or the military philanthropy of wealthy individuals. The third were the imperial bushmen contingents, which were raised in ways similar to the preceding contingents, but paid for by the imperial government in London. Then were then the draft contingents, which were raised by the state governments after Federation on behalf of the new Commonwealth Government, which was as yet unable to do so. Finally, after Federation, and close to the end of the war, the Australian Commonwealth Horse contingents were raised by the new federal government. These contingents fought in both the British counter-offensive of 1900, which resulted in the capture of the Boer capitals, and in the long, weary guerrilla phases of the war which lasted until 1902. Colonial troops were valued for their ability to shoot and ride, and in many ways performed well in the open war on the veldt. There were significant problems, however, with the relatively poor training of Australian officers, with contingents generally arriving without having undergone much training and being sent on campaign immediately. These and other problems faced many of the hastily raised contingents sent from around the empire, however, and were by no means restricted to those from Australia. The Australians at home initially supported the war, but became disenchanted as the conflict dragged on, especially as the effects on Boer civilians became known. AWM P00220.001 The conflict in South Africa is generally divided into three phase


Kim by Rudyard Kipling. Search eText, Read Online, Study, Discuss. Kim's conflicted loyalties I have a couple more chapters to read. No man can serve two masters, yet this is what Kim appears to be doing. He is genuinely devoted to the lama, yet he is also spying for the British colonial services in India. There seems to be some conflict in loyalty, on the face of it. Kim appears to be using the unsuspecting lama as cover, yet he truly respects the old man. However, the old man is not a fool, so I wonder whether he knows he is being used but has not let on. I also wondered why the lama paid for Kim's expensive education at a colonial school. If Colonel Creighton thought Kim was worth educating, why wouldn't he find the money? Why would a Tibetan holy man consider it to be in a boy's spiritual interest to be taught at a Roman Catholic school? Perhaps the lama acts for the British too, but If the lama was somehow complicit in the Great Game, why would he favour the British colonial government in India over the Russians. If, on the other hand, the lama is unsuspecting of Kim acting as an agent for the British colonial services, how will he react when he finds out? I am confident Kipling will resolve these questions, because he was a truly talented writer. I will be disappointed if the resolution does not measure up. I am intrigued to see what will happen to Kim now. Will he become a British agent, or will he become a Buddhist monk? Posted By kev67 at Sun 20 Apr 2014, 11:07 PM in Kim || 1 Reply Religion in Kim I am quite interested in Kipling's attitude to religion in Kim. I assume Rudyard Kipling would have been a Christian, probably Church of England. At the time, I assume most Christians thought non-Christians were in serious doctrinal error, and headed for an eternity of roasting in fire and brimstone: a bit harsh maybe, but God must know what He's doing. Kipling seems to take a more modern clerical attitude in that any belief system is almost as good as any other so long as it is sincerely held. Most of Kim's associates would be Hindus or Muslims. The horse trader Mahbub Ali says things like, "God's curse on all unbelievers! I do not give to a lousy Tibetan; but ask my Baltis over yonder behind the camels. They may value your blessings."  The Tibetan is Teshoo Lama, who is searching for a sacred river. You can tell he is a holy man, by his goodness, lack of greed, and his willingness to forgive and to think the best of people. He follows the "Middle Way", and frequently refers to people being bound to the "Wheel" (of life) by worldly concerns. Sikhs and Parsees are mentioned. I cannot remember Jains being mentioned yet. Kim regards himself as a low caste or casteless Hindu, but then starts to regard himself the lama's chela or disciple. Two priests have come off badly so far. One was a Hindu priest who tried to steal some money from the lama. The other was a Church of England chaplain, Mr Bennett, who Kim describes as a fool. The other regimental chaplain is the Roman Catholic priest, Father Victor. He is described as a wiser, more sensitive man. Kim is then sent off to a Roman Catholic school. There is a passage in chapter 6 which reads: "...They'll cure all that nonsense at St Xavier's, eh?" "Sprinkle him with holy water," the Colonel laughed. "On my word, I fancy I ought to sometimes. But I am hoping he will be brought up as a good Catholic. All that troubles me is what'll happen if the old beggar-man _" "Lama, lama, my dear sir; and some of them are gentlemen in their own country." "The lama, then, fails to pay next year. He's a fine business head to plan on the spur of the moment, but he's bound to die some day. An' takin' a heathen's money to give a Christian education _" I wondered about the last point myself. It was quite a lot of money too, about 300 rupees a year. I wondered how that expense could have been justified. I was also quite amused with Kim's first impressions of Roman Catholicism: He showed nothing of his mind when Father Victor, for three long mornings, discoursed to him of an entirely new set