Which city is home to the world's oldest stock exchange?

Some Perspective on Sovereign Debt from the Home of the World’s Oldest Stock Exchange Some Perspective on Sovereign Debt from the Home of the World’s Oldest Stock Exchange By Mitchell Clark, B.Comm. Published : March 28, 2013 If you go to Europe and you find yourself in Holland (the Netherlands), you’ll likely fly through Schiphol Airport on the edge of Amsterdam. It’s one of the best airports in the world, in my humble opinion. When you go through security, you are treated like a paying customer—which you are. The euro currency has become a lot more affordable for obvious reasons. I visited Europe and Holland, specifically, in 2011 to visit my great-uncle’s war grave at the Begraafplaats Crooswijk cemetery in Rotterdam. It is a strikingly beautiful cemetery. The Dutch do a masterful job of maintaining war graves. Thank you. My trip was subsidized by an old college buddy who has a huge (for Europe) apartment in Amsterdam. It’s the best location in town. In his job, he is the second-most powerful person on ING Group’s trading floor. He is the information technology (IT) guy. Amsterdam is one of the most unique cities I’ve ever been to (ahem, not for those reasons). It is one of Europe’s top destinations (perhaps for those reasons). It boasts stunning architecture and is home to the world’s oldest stock exchange. The NYSE Euronext N.V. is Amsterdam’s stock exchange today. Amsterdam was the financial center of the world a long time ago, centuries before the euro . Apparently, the Dutch East India Company was the first multinational corporation and the Bank of Amsterdam was the first central bank. It financed the company in guilders, which eventually joined in creating the euro currency. The city is still a financial center in Europe, but history keeps repeating itself. Like many banks in Europe, ING Group got itself into trouble during the financial crisis, and it received a 10-billion-euro bailout to bring up its capital reserves. The company has been shedding assets as part of its bailout terms. It plummeted on the stock market and is still way down. (See “ The Fed’s Running the Show and Risk Keeps Going Up .”) The euro is the second-largest reserve currency and the second-most traded. The euro has been under pressure since 2008, and the stability of the euro currency is the single greatest financial risk to your portfolio this year. Rotterdam looks out of place in Europe. The city was leveled by the Germans in World War II and had to be rebuilt from scratch. Taking the train there, no one came around to check tickets. I guess people travel on the honor system. My great-uncle was Flight Sergeant Charles P. Miller, an air gunner whose bomber was shot down in WWII. He was 27. Along with the crew, he and fellow air gunner, Flight Sergeant C.M. MacDonald, 25, crashed into the ocean and washed up on Holland’s shore. They are buried beside each other, next to a large cenotaph of the cross, which is superimposed with a sword symbolizing military sacrifice. This Easter, I wanted to use this space to tell their story and give thanks to those who serve, past and present. The problems in Europe are very real and the financial world is at risk, but thinking about these two airmen, it gives me perspective.


In 1799, which British Prime Minister introduced a new Income Tax to help finance the war against France?

William Pitt the Younger William Pitt the Younger William Pitt the Younger William Pitt the Younger William Pitt was born at Hayes , Kent on 28th May 1759. He suffered from poor health and was educated at home. His father, William Pitt , Earl of Chatham, was the former M.P. for Old Sarum and one of the most important politicians of the period. The Earl of Chatham was determined that his son would eventually become a member of the House of Commons and at an early age William was given lessons on how to become an effective orator. When William was fourteen he was sent to Pembroke Hall , Cambridge . His health remained poor and he spent most of the time with his tutor, the Rev. George Pretyman . William, who studied Latin and Greek, received his M.A. in 1776. William grew up with a strong interest in politics and spent much of his spare time watching debates in parliament. On 7th April 1778 he was present when his father collapsed while making a speech in the House of Lords and helped to carry his dying father from the chamber. In 1781 Sir James Lowther arranged for William Pitt to become the M.P. for Appleby . He made his first speech in the House of Commons on 26th February, 1781. William Pitt had been well trained and afterwards, Lord North , the prime minister, described it as the "best speech" that he had ever heard. Soon after entering the Commons, William Pitt came under the influence of Charles Fox , Britain's leading Whig politician. Pitt joined Fox in his campaign for peace with the American colonies. On 12th June he made a speech where Pitt insisted that this was an "unjust war" and urged Lord North's government to bring it to an end. Pitt also took an interest in the way that Britain elected Members of Parliament. He was especially critical of the way that the monarchy used the system to influence those in Parliament. Pitt argued that parliamentary reform was necessary for the preservation of liberty. In June 1782 Pitt supported a motion for shortening the duration of parliament and for measures that would reduce the chances of government ministers being bribed. When Lord Frederick North's government fell in March 1782, Charles Fox became Foreign Secretary in Rockingham's Whig government. Fox left the government in July 1782, as he was unwilling to serve under the new prime minister, Lord Sherburne. Short of people willing to serve him, Sherburne appointed the twenty-three year old Pitt as his Chancellor of the Exchequer. Fox interpreted Pitt's acceptance of this post as a betrayal and after this the two men became bitter enemies. On the 31st March, 1783, Pitt resigned and declared that he was "unconnected with any party whatever". Now out of power, Pitt turned his attention once more to parliamentary reform. On 7th May he proposed a plan that included: (1) checking bribery at elections; (2) disfranchising corrupt constituencies; (3) adding to the number of members for London . His proposals were defeated by 293 to 149. Another bill that he introduced on 2nd June for restricting abuses in public office was passed by the House of Commons but rejected by the House of Lords . In Parliament he opposed Charles Fox's India Bill. Fox responded by making fun of Pitt's youth and inexperience and accusing him of following "the headlong course of ambition". George III was furious when the India Bill was passed by the House of Commons . The king warned members of the House of Lords that he would regard any one who voted for the bill as his enemy. Unwilling to upset the king, the Lords rejected the bill by 95 votes to 76. The Duke of Portland's administration resigned and on 19th December, 1783, the king invited William Pitt to form a new government. At the age of only twenty-four, Pitt became Britain's youngest prime minister. When it was announced that Pitt had accepted the king's invitation, the news was received in the House of Commons with derisive laughter. Pitt had great difficulty finding enough people to join his government. Except for himself, his cabinet of seven contained no members of the House of Commons. Charl


Before Bill Clinton, who was the last Democrat President of America?

Who was the last Democratic president before Bill Clinton? | Socratic Who was the last Democratic president before Bill Clinton? Start with a one sentence answer Then teach the underlying concepts Don't copy without citing sources Write a one sentence answer... Answer: I want someone to double check my answer Describe your changes (optional) 200 Cancel This answer has been featured! Featured answers represent the very best answers the Socratic community can create. The last Democratic President before Bill Clinton was Jimmy Carter. Explanation: James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician and author who served as the 39th President of the United States from 1977 to 1981. -awarded for his work with the Carter Center -he was the first U.S. president to be born in a hospital -Created the Department of Energy and established a national policy to address the energy shortage. -Champion of human rights, especially in regard to the governments of South Korea, Iran, Argentina, South Africa, and Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) Was this helpful? Let the contributor know! Yes


Which planet in our soar system spins on its axis faster than any of the other planets?

Which planet spins the fastest? | Cool Cosmos   Which planet spins the fastest? Jupiter is the fastest spinning planet in our Solar System rotating on average once in just under 10 hours. That is very fast especially considering how large Jupiter is. This means that Jupiter has the shortest days of all the planets in the Solar System. Since Jupiter is a gas planet, it does not rotate as a solid sphere. Jupiter's equator rotates a bit faster than its polar regions at a speed of 28,273 miles/hour (about 43,000 kilometers/hour). Jupiter's day varies from 9 hours and 56 minutes around the poles to 9 hours and 50 minutes close to the equator. Continue the conversation on


By which name does the oil company, Esso, trade as in America?

Our history | ExxonMobil History Our history Over the last 135 years ExxonMobil has evolved from a regional marketer of kerosene in the U.S. to the largest publicly traded petroleum and petrochemical enterprise in the world. Today we operate in most of the world's countries and are best known by our familiar brand names: Exxon, Esso and Mobil. We make the products that drive modern transportation, power cities, lubricate industry and provide petrochemical building blocks that lead to thousands of consumer goods. 1859 Colonel Edwin Drake and Uncle Billy Smith drill the first successful oil well in Titusville, Pennsylvania. The colonel's discovery triggers an oil boom that parallels the gold rush of a decade earlier. 1870 Rockefeller and his associates form the Standard Oil Company (Ohio), with combined facilities constituting the largest refining capacity of any single firm in the world. The name Standard is chosen to signify high, uniform quality. 1879 Standard Oil Co. purchases a three-quarters interest in Vacuum Oil Company for $200,000. As a lubricants pioneer, Vacuum Oil introduces a number of popular products, including the revolutionary Gargoyle 600-W Steam Cylinder Oil. 1882 Standard Oil lubricates Thomas Edison's first central generating system. Also in this year, Standard Oil Trust forms to include the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey (Jersey Standard) and the Standard Oil Company of New York (Socony). 1885 The Standard Oil Trust moves its headquarters to 26 Broadway, New York City. The nine-story office building becomes a landmark. The same year, Vacuum develops Gargoyle Arctic engine oils for newly designed generators and motors that operate at speeds of up to 1,000 rpm. 1903 The Wright brothers, Wilbur and Orvillle, use both Jersey Standard fuel and Mobiloil (Vacuum) lubricants for their historic first flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. 1906 Socony gains a strong foothold in the vast market for kerosene in China by developing small lamps that burned kerosene efficiently. The lamps become known as Mei-Foo, from the Chinese symbols for Socony, meaning "beautiful confidence". 1911 Following a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision, Standard Oil breaks up into 34 unrelated companies, including Jersey Standard, Socony and Vacuum Oil.  The year also marks the first time Jersey Standard's sales of kerosene are surpassed by gasoline, a product that in the early days had often been discarded as a nuisance. 1915 Ralph De Palma, winner of the Indianapolis 500, is the first of many Indy winners to use Mobil products. His average speed: 89.84 mph. 1919 Jersey Standard acquires a 50 percent interest in Humble Oil & Refining Company of Texas. It was during this year that Humble, led by its pioneering Chief Geologist Wallace Pratt, employed micropaleontology, the study of microscopic fossils contained in cuttings and core samples from drilling, as an aid in finding oil. 1920 Jersey Standard researchers produce rubbing alcohol, or isopropyl alcohol — the first commercial petrochemical. 1926 Embodying the phonetic rendition of the initials ‘S’ and ‘O’ in Standard Oil, Jersey Standard brings out a new blend of fuel under the trade name Esso. 1927 Humble geophysicists use a refraction seismograph and discover an oil field in Sugarland, Texas. 1928 Amelia Earhart uses Mobiloil to protect Friendship when she makes her historic solo flight across the Atlantic. The previous year, Charles Lindbergh used Mobiloil in the Spirit of St. Louis on the first solo flight across the Atlantic. 1936 First commercial unit in a cat-cracking refinery begins operation at Socony-Vacuum’s Paulsboro, New Jersey, refinery. The unit used a process developed by French scientist Eugene P. Houdry with the financial backing of Socony-Vacuum. The process added a clay-like catalyst to the cracking process to boost gasoline yields and octane rating. 1937 Jersey Standard researchers produce an artificial rubber, butyl. Today, butyl is used in the creation of tires, surgical tapes, protective coatings and more. 1938 The world's first commercial production of


On which ship did Price Andrew serve during the Falklands War?

Brave Prince Andrew: Action Man | Royal | News | Daily Express ROYAL Brave Prince Andrew: Action Man THE Duke of York has always been a man of action who displays bravery, loyalty and nerves of steel in equal measure. 00:21, Sun, Sep 8, 2013 Prince Andrew was a brave co-pilot during the Falklands war Although he doesn’t drink or smoke, Andrew was highly popular with his fellow servicemen during a 20 year military career, and regarded as “one of the lads.” He inherited a “no nonsense” practical approach to life from his father Prince Philip, who served in the Royal Navy during World War Two, and would have kept cool even when the two armed policemen were pointing their guns directly at him. Andrew’s calmness under pressure was first displayed in 1978 when he was just 18 and making his first parachute jump. Just 48 seconds after jumping out of a Hercules aircraft over the Gloucestershire countryside, his lines became twisted, but he managed to gain control and land safely. Afterwards he said it was “A feeling I would never have wanted to miss.” Asked if he was nervous, he replied: “If you are not nervous you will do something stupid.” He was then driven back to RAF Brize Norton for a second jump. His teacher Wing Commander Jim Reynolds said: “Although his lines were twisted, he did exactly the drill he should have done and made a good landing.” Andrew’s courage became clear during the 1982 Falklands War when he co-piloted Sea King helicopters in treacherous conditions. Some members of Mrs Thatcher’s cabinet wanted him to have a safe desk job during the conflict, but Andrew – and the Queen – insisted he sailed aboard the aircraft carrier HMS Invincible. The Argentinians were desperate to sink the ship with Andrew on it, and after the war they even hatched an unsuccessful plot to murder him while he was on holiday. During the conflict he and his partner acted as decoys for French-made Exocet missiles, the Argentinians most deadly weapon, drawing them away from their targets. When the merchant ship SS Atlantic Conveyor was hit by two Exocets, with the loss of 12 lives, Andrew was one of the first on the scene, helping to pluck survivors to safety. Andrew’s courage became clear during the 1982 Falklands War when he co-piloted Sea King helicopters in treacherous conditions In 2007 he was the coolest person on board when an RAF HS 125 had to make an emergency landing at Edinburgh airport, coming in at high speed after it developed tail problems. A former Navy colleague said last night: “The Prince is a team player and a brave man, just like everyone else who serves in the armed forces. “He wouldn’t want to be singled out for special treatment because of who he was, and in the Falklands he faced as much danger as anyone else. “He is the sort of guy you want with you in difficult situations, courageous and selfless, and able to think under great stress. “It really annoys me when people who don’t know him call him a freeloader who plays golf all the time when he had such a distinguished military career.” The Queen was said to be “worried sick” when Andrew  (said to be her favourite son) was in the Falklands, and still carries a photo of him returning safely from the war in her handbag. As she relaxed yesterday at the Braemar games while on her summer break, she would have been relieved that he survived last week’s police blunder too. Most read in Royal


What was the name of the horse that was made a Consul by Caligula when he was Emperor of Rome?

Did Caligula really make his horse a consul? - Ask History Ask History June 21, 2016 By Elizabeth Nix Share this: Did Caligula really make his horse a consul? Author Did Caligula really make his horse a consul? URL Google According to the ancient historian Suetonius, the Roman emperor known as Caligula loved one of his horses, Incitatus, so much that he gave the steed a marble stall, an ivory manger, a jeweled collar and even a house. Another chronicler, Cassius Dio, later wrote that servants fed the animal oats mixed with gold flakes. Famous for his madness and brutality, Caligula allegedly committed incest with his sisters, fed prisoners to wild beasts and had conversations with the moon—so coddling a beloved horse might seem among the lesser of his various evils. But did he really plan to make Incitatus a consul and only fail to do so because his assassination happened first, as Suetonius would have us believe? Like much of what we think we know about Caligula, the story of Incitatus’ consulship comes from a writer who lived decades after the maligned emperor’s four-year reign. Historians think that Suetonius and Dio based their scathing accounts of his life on rumors and legends—or simply fabricated sensational tales that turned a not-so-great ruler into an epic villain. Many scholars reject the notion that Caligula terrorized Rome with his unbridled madness, arguing that his fellow lawmakers would likely have whisked him out of power for such conduct. So while Caligula might have had an unusual fondness for his horse, it’s unlikely the emperor went so far as to appoint the stallion. But what if Caligula actually did plot to create Rome’s first equine official? According to historian Aloys Winterling, author of “Caligula: A Biography” (2011), insanity isn’t the only logical explanation for such behavior. In his book, Winterling makes the case that many of the emperor’s wackier stunts, including his treatment of Incitatus, were designed to insult and humiliate senators and other elites. By bestowing a high public office on his horse, then, Caligula aimed to show his underlings that their work was so meaningless an animal could do it. Tags


Which sport is played under the 'Harvard Rules'?

Penn Football in the 1800s, Varsity Team History: University of Pennsylvania University Archives PENN FOOTBALL: ORIGINS TO 1901 Varsity team history Context: Early Football In America When intercollegiate American football began on November 6, 1869, with a game played by Rutgers and Princeton in New Brunswick, New Jersey, football bore little resemblance to its modern-day descendent. Rules for the contest were adopted from those of the London Football Association, which themselves were similar to soccer -- players could neither throw the ball nor run with it, though they could bat it about with open hand or fist. It was not until 1876 that formal rules were codified for football as a distinct sport with its own rules. Earlier forms of football existed perhaps as early as the 1820's, though strictly as informal affairs between unorganized participants, played by whatever rules the players that day decided to use. In essence, these were games in which players were divided between two teams with the goal of advancing a ball past the opposing teams. These were the only rules in common with later football antecedents; in some cases, these were the only rules at all. Calling these games 'rough' would be an understatement; the preferred adjective at the time was 'brutal.' Within the college context, these ball games were usually a right of passage for newly enrolled freshmen. The teams were the classes, and the ball was only an excuse for a brawl. It was for this reason that, around 1860 or so, 'football' as it was then termed was banned outright at a number of colleges. Many students wanted the game brought back, and colleges sought to compromise by reintroducing football in a less violent form: in 1867, Princeton proposed formal rules modified from those of the London Football Association. These rules resulted in a game which more closely resembled modern soccer than modern football. Over the next two years these rules came into widespread usage. Although most schools made changes to suit their own needs, by 1869 football teams from different colleges were able to play each other with only small changes needed to bring each school's rules in line with the others. Even though we today trace the roots of football to 1869, those witnessing the Princeton-Rutgers game may not have thought they had seen the birth of anything of immediate importance. Princeton's rules did not become popular right away, with two games played in 1870, none in 1871, and a scarce handful in 1872. Since differences in rules between schools may have still hampered competition, representatives from Yale, Columbia, Princeton, and Rutgers met in October of 1873 to establish a unified set of intercollegiate rules under which any college could play. The colleges decided on twelve rules. Among other things, they required that a round ball be used for all games, that the ball could not be carried or thrown, and that the game should not end until either six goals were scored or until the game was called; that is, that the game had no set length. All in all, the conference settled on a set of rules which resembled soccer, much as Princeton's 1869 rules had. Harvard was invited to the conference but did not attend because of a difference of opinion over what form football should take. It had drawn up its own set of rules in 1872, which loosely resembled rugby, with the twist that any player could catch or pick up the ball, but could only run with it if chased by an opponent. No other college adopted the Harvard rules; most favored those of the 1873 conference. Because it did not agree to the rules adopted by the rules set up by the other colleges in 1873, Harvard was forced to leave the country to compete, engaging in a series of games with McGill college's rugby team that alternated between being played under Harvard's rules and the traditional rules of rugby, which Harvard's players had never tried. Once they did, however, the players decided they preferred traditional rugby to their own rules, and began trying to


What is the correct name for Birmingham's 'Spagheti Junction'?

Forty facts for forty years of the Spaghetti Junction | Central - ITV News 24 May 2012 at 6:00am Forty facts for forty years of the Spaghetti Junction The iconic Spaghetti Junction, which celebrates 40 years today Photo: ITV Central On 24 May 2012, Spaghetti Junction at Junction 6 of the M6 will be 40 years old. Its official name is ‘Gravelly Hill Interchange’, but due to the number of intersecting traffic lanes, the structure was referred to as 'Spaghetti Junction' in the 1970s by Roy Smith, a journalist from the Birmingham Evening Mail (now called the Birmingham Mail). That name has stuck and passed into the language. Spaghetti Junction is the centrepiece of the Midland Links project, which was designed to join up the M1, M5 and M6 motorways, as well as the A38(M) Aston Expressway to bring traffic into the heart of Birmingham. The designers of Midland Links had to build a six-lane carriageway and link roads through several built-up areas, but with the minimum demolition and disruption. To achieve this, the M6 and Spaghetti Junction follow the line of the local canal and river network on elevated sections. In an interesting meeting of old and new methods of transport, the pillars carrying Spaghetti Junction over the canal network had to be carefully placed to allow a horse-drawn narrow boat to pass underneath without fouling its towrope. Construction started in 1968 and took four years to complete. Spaghetti Junction has 559 concrete columns, some reaching to 80 feet high. The first motorists used Spaghetti Junction on the 24 May 1972 at approximately 16.30. The Junction was opened by then Secretary of State for the Environment, the Rt Honourable Peter Walker MBE MP. To celebrate the opening of a non-stop link between the North West and the South East, the Lord Mayor of Lancaster Cllr Mrs Doris Henderson, presented a red rose to Peter Walker to wear for the opening ceremony. In return, the Lord Mayor of London, Lord Mais, sent a bouquet of 243 roses to Cllr Henderson; one for each mile between Mansion House in London and Lancaster Town Hall. Gravelly Hill Interchange cost £10 million at the time of its construction.13. Construction of Spaghetti Junction involved 13,000 tonnes of steel reinforcement. Construction of Spaghetti Junction involved 134,000 m3 (175,000 cubic yards) of concrete. The Junction covers 30 acres (121,406 m2). The Junction serves 18 routes. It includes 2.5 miles of slip roads, but only 0.62 miles of the M6 itself. Spaghetti Junction is split across 5 different levels. The junction is designed to last 120 years. Routine repairs to the reinforced concrete structures have been ongoing since the late 1980’s. Regular maintenance includes the replacement of expansion joints, painting of steelwork, the clearing drainage channels and gutters, clearance of vegetation and removal of graffiti. Concrete repairs are carried out in small sections, so the overall strength of the supporting beams is never compromised.23. During concrete repairs, small sections of old concrete are cut out using water. That’s right. Specially trained operatives use a lance to carefully guide a jet of water, pressurised at 16,000 psi, which cuts through concrete with surgical ease. Using water rather than physical tools removes the risk of damage to other sections of viaduct through vibration. As work is carried out beneath the main carriageway, drivers would never be aware that work is being carried out beneath them. In 1998 Birmingham Cathedral had a new set of vestments designed which included Spaghetti Junction as seen from the air. ‘Spaghetti Junction’ has its own entry in the Oxford English Dictionary but you will never find that name on a road map; it is also referred to as Gravelly Hill Interchange on ordnance survey road maps. Birmingham historian Vivian Bird, writing in 1974, referred to Spaghetti Junction as an act of ‘plandalism’, calling it the Gravelly Hill earthquake and a wall that imprisoned the people of Birmingham. Spaghetti Junction appears in the Guinness Book of World Records, as “the most complex interchange o


Which organisation was founded by Reverend Chad Varah in 1953?

Rev Chad Varah - The Scotsman Rev Chad Varah 00:31 Wednesday 14 November 2007 Founder of the Samaritans Born: 12 November, 1911, on Humberside. Died: 8 November, 2007, in London, aged 95. HE WAS an unconventional cleric and his unorthodox personality led Chad Varah, CH, CBE to found the Samaritans. The movement set out to help the destitute and depressed and from small beginnings in London a worldwide organisation grew. His vision and humanity became a vital lifeline to many. Varah was already in his 40s and had been vicar of several charges in England before he came to St Stephen, Walbrook - one of the finest examples of Sir Christopher Wren's architecture in London. He was to grace its pulpit for virtually the rest of his life but he emblazoned its name internationally when he founded the Samaritans in 1953. He had conducted the funeral of a young girl who had died by suicide and he was told by a friend that they were both in fear of understanding their maturing bodies. "Little girl," Varah told the girl, "I shall tell you all about sex." That story, and Varah's discovery that there were three suicides a day in London, led him to start, in the crypt of his church, the Samaritans. He told his first - and all subsequent volunteers - that they had to listen and be non-judgmental. "Befriending is fundamental," he assured them. "We must go along beside someone's pain." Edward Chad Varah was the son of the vicar of St Chad's on Humberside and even in his youth he was something of a rebel. His faith was assured, but not the conventional faith of his father, and after Keble College, Oxford, he attended Lincoln Theological College and was ordained in 1935. In the 1950s Varah showed his unconventional streak when he also worked as a scriptwriter for the hugely successful comics of the era: Girl and Eagle. It was Varah who wrote the daredevil adventures of Dan Dare, who weekly saved the planet. After several charges in and around London, Varah was appointed to St Stephen and his experiences over the years led him to found the Good Samaritans in November 1953 - the name was shortened some years later. The original principle was simple: To befriend the suicidal and despairing. Varah had the knack of attracting press coverage and the famous Samaritan telephone number, MANsion House 9000, was soon well known throughout the country. From two distressed calls on November 1 the number grew to more than 100 within a fortnight. Varah was adamant that, although the movement was centred in a church, the volunteers did not have to be believers and the organisation was defiantly non-denominational. He stressed that people who rang or arrived at the crypt must be "listened to with absolute attention" and everything said must be in confidence. No-one would know people's full name and if a client used a pseudonym that was not a problem. In Scotland, there are 20 Samaritan offices from Orkney to the Borders and recently their Edinburgh office stated that the number of calls they received rose by 26,000 last year. A spokesman said: "Scotland's suicide rate is still very disturbing, but it is finally starting to come down while our calls have gone up. So something must be working." Varah widened the scope of the movement in 1974 when he set up Befrienders International (later Samaritans Worldwide) and then became its president in 1983. He ceased being involved in the day-to-day running of the organisation - believing that the volunteers themselves should make such decisions - but in 2003, at the 50th anniversary of its foundation, Varah expressed some disapproval of the way it was being run. Indeed there had been skirmishes before; back in 1974, Varah had been removed as a director of the London branch and simply styled "founder". Perhaps Varah was too large a personality to be involved with the organisation he had created. Its growth meant far greater controls and modern technology dramatically broadened its scope. Certainly he was much heartened when his son, Michael, was appointed a trustee of the Samaritans in 2005 which signalled a necessary r


Which is the only remaining women's college in Oxford University?

">Video of Into the Mix: 40 Years of Coeducation at Oxford The History of Women at Oxford It was thanks to individual initiatives, and the pioneering work of the Association for Promoting the Higher Education of Women (AEW), that women's colleges came to be established in Oxford. Lady Margaret Hall and Somerville opened in 1879, followed by St Hugh's in 1886 and St Hilda's in 1893. St Anne's, which in 1952 was the last of the women's colleges to be incorporated by Royal Charter, originated as the Society of Oxford Home Students, catering for women students who lived with private families in Oxford while attending courses organised by the AEW. The five women's societies were granted full collegiate status in 1959. Five all-male colleges - Brasenose, Jesus College, Wadham, Hertford and St Catherine's - first admitted women in 1974. St Hilda's College, which was originally for women only, was the last of Oxford's single sex colleges. All colleges have admitted both men and women since 2008. The first woman to be appointed to a full professorship was Agnes Headlam-Morley, who became Montague Burton Professor of International Relations in October 1948. Ida Mann had become Reader in Ophthalmology in 1941 and Titular Professor from January 1945; however the Annual Report of the University for 1947-8 states that ' ...Miss Headlam-Morley... is the first woman to be elected to a full professorship at Oxford. Miss Ida Mann, who until 30 September 1947 was Margaret Ogilvie's Reader in Ophthalmology, held only the title of Professor... '. Both women were Fellows of St Hugh's College. In 1973 Balliol was the first of the traditional all-male colleges to elect a woman as a Fellow and Tutor. Oxford currently has ten female Heads of House: the Principals of Green Templeton College, Mansfield, St Hugh's, and Somerville; the Provost of Oriel; the Masters of Pembroke and St Cross; the Warden of St Antony's; and the Presidents of St John's and Wolfson. In 1993 Professor Marilyn Butler, former Rector of Exeter, became the first female head of a former all-male college at either Oxford or Cambridge.  In 2016 Professor Louise Richardson became the first female Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford. Athena SWAN Awards Athena SWAN awards The Athena Swan Charter supports good employment practices for women in Science, Engineering and Technology (SET). Going through the Athena SWAN application process gives universities and departments the space to reflect on, and celebrate, current organisational and cultural practices that promote gender equality in SET. Athena SWAN also offers a valuable framework for introducing cultural changes that create a better working environment for both men and women. The University of Oxford has held an institutional award since 2006. There is a significant amount of activity on Athena SWAN amongst departments at Oxford. All Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences, and Medical Sciences, departments are committed to the initiative. Our current award holders are listed here . A new Gender Equality Charter Mark for Humanities and Social Sciences, based on the Athena SWAN model, will be launched at the end of 2014.


What is the bonus for placing a letter of a word on a red square in a game of 'Scrabble'?

Scrabble Rules - How to Play Scrabble - Official SCRABBLE Rules Scrabble Rules Links to Scrabble rules and Scrabble official game   instructions. Two to four players play in any game of Scrabble. The object of   Scrabble is to score more points than one's opponent. A player   collects points by placing words on the game board. Each letter has   a different point value, so the strategy becomes to play words with   high scoring letter combinations. The Scrabble Board A Scrabble game board is made of up cells in a square grid. The   Scrabble board is 15 cells wide by 15 cells high. The Scrabble tiles   fit within these cells one to a cell. Scrabble Tiles Scrabble   is played with exactly 100 tiles. 98 of these tiles contain letters   on them, while there are 2 blank tiles. These blank tiles add a   wildcard aspect to Scrabble. The blanks substitute for any letter in   the alphabet. Once played, a blank tile remains for the remainder of   the game the letter for which it was substituted when first played. Various letters have different point values, depending on the   rarity of the letter and the difficulty in playing it. Blank tiles   have no point value. Tile Values Here are the point values for each letter in Scrabble. 0 Points - Blank tile. 1 Point - A, E, I, L, N, O, R, S, T and U. 2 Points - D and G. 3 Points - B, C, M and P. 4 Points - F, H, V, W and Y. 5 Points - K. 8 Points - J and X. 10 Points - Q and Z. Extra Point Values Some squares on the Scrabble board represent multipliers. If a   tile is placed on this square, then the tile's value is multiplied   by a factor or either 2x or 3x. Certain tiles multiply the point   value of an entire word and not simply the tile on that space. Double Letter Scores - Light blue cells are found isolated   on the board. When a tile is placed on this space, that tile's point   value is multiplied by two. Triple Letter Score - This is a dark blue cell on the   Scrabble. The tile placed on this square has its points multiplied   by three. Double Word Score - Light red cells are found running   diagonally towards the four corners of the board. When a player   plays a word on one of these squares, the point value of the entire   word is multiplied by two. Triple Word Score - This is a dark red square on the   Scrabble board. These are found on the four sides of the board   equidistant from the four corners of the board. When a word is   played using this square, then the points for the word are   multiplied by three. One Single Use - Note that extra point squares are only   usable once. If one player plays a word using this cells, then the   next time that space is used to make a word, the point value is not   multiplied. Starting the Game Without looking into the tile bag, each of the Scrabble players   takes one tile out of the tile bag. Whichever player has the letter   closest to the beginning of the alphabet goes first. A blank tile is   considered better than an "A". These tiles are placed into the bag   once more. Starting the game, each player begins their turn by drawing seven   tiles apiece from the bag. The player can do one of three things on   a turn. The player can place a word, exchange tiles or pass. Most of   the time, the player will take the option of playing a word. Exchanging tiles allows a player to replace anywhere between one   and all of the tiles on the player's rack. If this option is taken,   the player cannot do anything else that hand. Therefore, a tile   exchange cannot be performed on a turn when the player places a word   on the board. A player may pass at any time. If all player's pass twice in a   row, then the game ends. The First Word Score A player begins the game by placing a word on the star square at   the center of the board. This star acts as a double word score. The   star cell does not act as a double word score for subsequent players   playing off the center square. Play continues in a clockwise direction around the Scrabble   board. Replacing Scr


Who did Charles Darwin replace on the reverse of Bank of England £10 notes?

Here she is Photo by Chris Ratcliffe - Pool/Getty Images When the Bank of England announced earlier this year that it would replace Elizabeth Fry, 19th century social reformer, with Winston Churchill on the 5-pound note, it got an earful from critics. Fry was the only woman represented on British currency, apart from the Queen. Critics led a campaign imploring the Bank to reverse its decision and to instead replace Fry with another prominent British woman. The petitioners argued that while Queen Elizabeth’s face graces the front of every banknote, the monarch hardly represents the women of England—she’s on the currency because of her bloodline, not her merits. Apart from the Queen and Fry, Florence Nightingale is the only other woman whose face has appeared on a British banknote. (Nightingale was featured on the 10-pound note from 1975 until 1992). Well, the campaign kind of worked! While Churchill is still a go for the 5-pound note, the bank announced earlier today that Jane Austen will be replacing Charles Darwin on the 10-pound banknote, effective in 2017. Advertisement Campaigners for the Fry slot, who went as far as to threaten to sue the Bank for failing to take the country’s 2010 Equality Act into account when choosing a face, are overjoyed. Not only have they secured a place for the novelist in the currency, the Bank of England has agreed to review the process through which a prominent figure is granted this honor. But not everyone is convinced that Austen is the right choice. Susie Boniface argues in the Mirror that England has produced far worthier women like mathematician Ada Lovelace or Margaret Thatcher, who deserve recognition more than the 18th century novelist, because, in Boniface’s words, while Austen “wrote perfectly good books,” she “didn’t change the world.” Boniface also chides the novelist for her reliance on the marriage plot. Boniface and English Professor John Mullan of the University College, London debated the issue in the Guardian last month, when Mullan rightly noted that it’s hard to enter into a discussion on whether or not Austen is the best choice to represent women in British currency without trying to compare apples to oranges, scientists to social activists. Even Boniface admits that the issue isn’t who should represent British women, but that women are expected to identify with one single “representative” at all. It’s a heavy burden for Austen, just as it would be for Thatcher. The Bank of England announced that the bill will include a portrait of Austen adapted from a sketch by her sister Cassandra, and a quote from Pride and Prejudice: “I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading!” And with that line from the insufferable Miss Bingley Austen will join the ranks of Shakespeare and Dickens. They should have gone with: “How quick come the reasons for approving what we like!” Mariana Zepeda is a Slate intern.


In which part of your body would you find the 'Pyramids of Malpighi'?

Malpighi | Define Malpighi at Dictionary.com Malpighi [mahr-chel-law] /mɑrˈtʃɛl lɔ/ (Show IPA), 1628–94, Italian anatomist. Related forms [mal-pig-ee-uh n] /mælˈpɪg i ən/ (Show IPA), adjective Dictionary.com Unabridged Examples from the Web for Malpighi Expand Historical Examples The Insect Jules Michelet Malpighi could not satisfy himself as to the existence of seeds, which other botanists have pretended to discover. Disease in Plants H. Marshall Ward In the anatomical field the work of Malpighi and Swammerdam was at first continued most energetically by French students. British Dictionary definitions for Malpighi Expand noun 1. Marcello (marˈtʃɛllo). 1628–94, Italian physiologist. A pioneer in microscopic anatomy, he identified the capillary system (1661) Derived Forms Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 Expand Malpighi Mal·pi·ghi (māl-pē'gē, mäl-), Marcello. 1628-1694. Italian anatomist who pioneered the use of a microscope in the study of anatomy and discovered the capillary system. The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. Malpighi   (māl-pē'gē)     Italian anatomist who was the first to use a microscope in the study of anatomy. He discovered the capillary system, extending the work of William Harvey. He is also noted for his studies of the structure of the lungs, spleen, liver, kidneys, skin, brain, and spinal cord. The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.


Who was the female actress that starred with Bob Hope and Bing Crosby in the famous 'Road To' films?

Dorothy Lamour - Biography - IMDb Dorothy Lamour Biography Showing all 59 items Jump to: Overview  (5) | Mini Bio  (2) | Spouse  (2) | Trade Mark  (1) | Trivia  (33) | Personal Quotes  (9) | Salary  (7) Overview (5) 5' 5" (1.65 m) Mini Bio (2) In addition to being Miss New Orleans in 1931, Dorothy Lamour worked as a Chicago elevator operator; band vocalist for her first husband, band leader Herbie Kaye ; and radio performer. In 1936 she donned her soon-to-be-famous sarong for her debut at Paramount, The Jungle Princess (1936), and continued to play female Tarzan-Crusoe-Gauguin-girl-with make-up parts through the war years and beyond. The most famous of these was in the popular Bob Hope / Bing Crosby "Road" pictures - a strange combination of adventure, slapstick, ad-libs and Hollywood inside jokes. Of these she said, "I was the happiest and highest-paid straight woman in the business." As she aged, however, the quality of her films dropped. Among her serious films were Johnny Apollo (1940) and A Medal for Benny (1945). - IMDb Mini Biography By: Ed Stephan <stephan@cc.wwu.edu> Dorothy Lamour was born with the birth name of Mary Leta Dorothy Slaton on December 10, 1914, in New Orleans, Louisiana. She was a beautiful child who turned heads as a teenager with her long dark hair. However, her dream was to become a professional singer not actress. After she won a beauty contest as Miss New Orleans in 1931, she headed to Chicago to find her work as a singer. For a time, Dorothy worked as an elevator operator in a department store before going on to become a vocalist in the Herbie Kay band. Kay became her first husband in 1935, but the marriage only lasted four years. In addition to the band, Dorothy also sang on a Chicago radio program. Besides Kay, she performed with Rudy Vallee and 'Eddie Duchin (I)'. 1933 found Dorothy in Hollywood where she landed an uncredited bit part as a chorus girl in the musical Footlight Parade (1933). She didn't appear in films again until 1936 when she landed a part as a coed in College Holiday (1936). Later in 1936, Dorothy got the part of Ulah in The Jungle Princess (1936) produced by E. Lloyd Sheldon and filmed at Paramount. This film was a tremendous moneymaker as Dorothy stole the show in her wrap-around sarong. Dorothy became an instant star as the child of nature/female Tarzan, raised with a pet tiger among the tropical natives. Ray Milland starred opposite her as the man from civilization who woos and wins her. The scene where Milland is trying to teach her the word kiss is touching yet humorous. When he kisses her and tells her that is a kiss she runs away. She went on to play similar parts in the sarong in productions including The Hurricane (1937), Typhoon (1940), Beyond the Blue Horizon (1942) and her final big-screen sarong feature, Donovan's Reef (1963). Although Dorothy actually only wore a sarong in six of her 59 pictures, it defined her career. The sarong stayed with her in the Bob Hope / Bing Crosby "Road" pictures for Paramount. The trio starred in Road to Singapore (1940), Road to Zanzibar (1941), Road to Morocco (1942), Road to Utopia (1945) and Road to Bali (1952). A final "Road" picture, "Road to the Fountain of Youth" was in the works in 1977, until Bing Crosby 's sudden death. The final completed "Road" picture, The Road to Hong Kong (1962), had Hope and Crosby in their usual roles, but no Dorothy this time - Joan Collins had the female lead in it. Dorothy was a great actress with roles in Disputed Passage (1939), Dixie (1943) and On Our Merry Way (1948)_ . She could show great range in both comic and dramatic roles. After making three films in 1949, her career began to trail off. She only made ten films between 1951 and 1987. That last one was Creepshow 2 (1987) where she played a housewife who gets murdered, a long way from the "Road" pictures and movies such as Johnny Apollo (1940) and A Medal for Benny (1945). Dorothy died at 81 of an undisclosed ailment on September 22, 1996 in Los Angeles, California. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Denny Jackson Spouse (2) Often wore a flo


"When asked why he wanted to climb Everest, which famous mountaineer replied. ""Because it' there""?"

You can watch a man jump from Mount Everest | HLNtv.com You can watch a man jump from Mount Everest By Wed February 5, 2014 AFP/Getty Images When asked why he wanted to climb Mount Everest, famous mountaineer George Mallory reportedly replied " Because it's there ." Mallory died on Everest in 1924. Now in 2014, Joby Ogwyn wants to climb up all 29,029 feet of Everest, and jump off, because it's there. Ogwyn is going to be part of a Discovery Channel live special , during which he will reach the summit of the mountain and jump off wearing a wingsuit and parachute. He'll fly down more than 10,000 feet before landing at the base of the mountain. This latest extreme stunt for Discovery follows the network's success broadcasting Nik Wallenda crossing the Grand Canyon on a tight rope and Felix Baumgartner's "space jump." Ogwyn has experience on Everest. At the age of 26, he reportedly became the youngest person to achieve the "seven summits," meaning he had climbed the highest peaks on all seven continents . He has also solo-climbed Everest, and he describes himself as a wingsuit pilot, as you can see below from a YouTube video on his channel. It will be a difficult undertaking just getting to the summit. According to AdventureStats , from 1922 to 2006, just 29% of those who set out to reach the summit of Everest have succeeded. The fatality rate of Everest climbers over that period was 1 out of 50.


What was the pseudonym of the Swiss born architect, Charles Edouard Jeanneret?

Le Corbusier - definition of Le Corbusier by The Free Dictionary Le Corbusier - definition of Le Corbusier by The Free Dictionary http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Le+Corbusier Also found in: Thesaurus , Encyclopedia , Wikipedia . Le Cor·bu·sier  (lə kôr-bo͞o-zyā′, -bü-) Pseudonym of Charles Édouard Jeanneret. 1887-1965. Swiss-born French architect and writer. The most powerful advocate of the modernist school, he designed numerous functional concrete buildings and high-rise residential complexes. Le Corbusier (French lə kɔrbyzje) n (Biography) real name Charles Édouard Jeanneret. 1887–1965, French architect and town planner, born in Switzerland. He is noted for his use of reinforced concrete and for his modular system, which used units of a standard size. His works include Unité d'Habitation at Marseilles (1946–52) and the city of Chandigarh, India (1954) Le Cor•bu•sier


What was the name of the Los Angeles nightclub that is recognised as being the world's first 'discotheque'?

The World's First Disc Jockey Is... German?! - ABC News ABC News Meet Heinrich, the World's First Disc Jockey By DAVID CROSSLAND Email The quiet western city of Aachen, which last made news when Charlemagne lived there 1,200 years ago, has a credible claim to being the birthplace of the discotheque -- meaning that the world's first disc jockey was called Heinrich. Up until the late 1950s, dancing establishments around the world would rely exclusively on live bands. Records were shunned because they were regarded as "dead music." Then, in October 1959, Austrian businessman Franzkarl Schwendinger broke new ground. He opened an exclusive restaurant, the Scotch Club, in Aachen, and hired someone to play a series of records for entertainment. He got the idea from listening to Radio Luxembourg, a radio station that was rapidly reaching cult status by playing pop music, something unheard of in the conservative world of German broadcasting at the time. Stay Up to Date on the Latest Travel Trends from ABC News on Twitter Heinrich, whose real name is Klaus Quirini, was a 19-year-old cub reporter for the local newspaper and had been sent to write a story about the strange new phenomenon of public record-playing. The man on stage, an opera singer from Cologne, would change records without saying anything, and the audience wasn't impressed. Miracle Stuns Audience "The place was full but the entertainment wasn't going down very well, so we started complaining," Quirini told SPIEGEL ONLINE. "I was drinking whisky for the first time in my life and I may have been a little loud so the manager came over and said why don't you give it a try." Fuelled by liquid courage , he jumped on stage. "I said: Ladies and gentlemen, we're going to roll up our trouser legs and flood this place because A Ship Will Come with Lale Andersen!" 'A Ship Will Come' by the German singer Lale Andersen was a hit at the time and the audience was stunned at the witty introduction to the song, says Quirini. "People started applauding, they thought a miracle had happened." A new trend was born that night in Aachen. Some might argue that the Scotch Club with its sentimental German ballads and strict dress code -- jackets and ties for the men and definitely no trousers for women -- paved the way for the discos of the 1970s and the modern techno nightclubs with laser shows and dancers gyrating from suspended cages. Aachen Triggered Disco Revolution The discotheque swept Europe throughout the 1960s and didn't reach the US until the 1970s, says Quirini. In fact, he recalls not being impressed by the venues he saw in New York during a trip in the mid- 1980s. "I didn't see a single smart discotheque there. We were 10 to 15 years ahead of them." "Rivals in the business poked fun at us at first but history proved us right," says Quirini, now 68. Schwendinger, the owner of the Scotch Club, knew he was on to a good thing and immediately offered Quirini a full-time job, for 800 marks a month, a huge salary at the time. But his father, a prominent judge who was conducting a major political trial at the time, insisted that he change his name if he took the job. "At first I wanted to call myself Egon, because there was a hit at the time called 'Oh Egon, I Only Drank a Glass too Many Out of Love for You.' But we didn't have that record," says Quirini. "But we had a record that went 'Heinrich, I've Only Got You.' So I changed my name to Heinrich. When I walk through Aachen people in their 70s and 80s still say Heinrich to me." DJ Heinrich worked at the Scotch Club for eight years, adding Rock and Roll to his repertoire of German ballads, Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. He moved to Switzerland and setting up the Alpine country's first discotheque in 1968. He then worked on pirate radio from a ship moored in the port of Hamburg for three months, until the city threatened to prosecute him and he had to leave. "You've Either Got it or You Haven't" The word discotheque was coined a few years after Quirini first jumped on stage -- the Scotch Club called itself a Jockey Dance Bar, a descripti


The first five books of the Bible, the Five Books of Moses, are known by which name in the Jewish religion?

3. The Law: The First Five Books | Bible.org From the series: Concise Old Testament Survey PREVIOUS PAGE | NEXT PAGE 3. The Law: The First Five Books The first five books of the Bible are sometimes called the Pentateuch which means “five books.” They are also known as the books of the law because they contain the laws and instruction given by the Lord through Moses to the people of Israel. These books were written by Moses, except for the last portion of Deuteronomy because it tells about the death of Moses. These five books lay the foundation for the coming of Christ in that here God chooses and brings into being the nation of Israel. As God’s chosen people, Israel became the custodians of the Old Testament, the recipients of the covenants of promise, and the channel of Messiah (Rom. 3:2; 9:1-5). GENESIS (The Book of Beginnings) Author: 1450-1410 B.C. Name of the Book: The name Genesis is taken from the Septuagint (LXX), the Greek translation of the Old Testament. Theme and Purpose: Even a casual reading of the Book of Genesis reveals the prominence of the theme of blessing and cursing. For obedience and faith, there is blessing as in the Garden of Eden, but for disobedience, there is cursing. The entire book turns on this theme and its antithetical opposite, cursing. But perhaps the main theme is the choice of a nation through Abraham and the Abrahamic covenant. Through Abraham God promised to bless the nations (Gen. 12:1-3; 15:1-21). Key Words: “Generations” or “account.” A key word or phrase is “these are the generations of” or “this is the account of.” It is used some eleven times to introduce the reader to the next section which gives the narrative about what happened in connection with the key events and persons of the book from the creation of the heavens and the earth to all the patriarchs of Israel. Key Idea: Beginnings: Genesis not only means ‘beginning’, but it is the book of beginnings. The book of Genesis gives us our historical point of reference, from which all subsequent revelation proceeds. In the book of Genesis all the major themes of the Bible have their origin. It is a book of many beginnings: in it we see the beginning of the universe, of man and woman, of human sin and the fall of the race, the beginning of God’s promises of salvation, and the beginning of the nation Israel as the chosen people of God because of God’s special purpose for them as the channel for Messiah and Savior. In Genesis we learn about Adam and Eve, about Satan the tempter, about Noah, the flood, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph and his brothers. But here we also have the beginning of marriage, family, work, sin, murder, capitol punishment, sacrifice, races, languages, civilization, Sabbath, the first attempt at a united nations, and Babylonianism. The Bible is, through and through, a historical revelation. It is the account of God’s activity in history. Key Chapters: Since the call of Abraham and the promises of blessing to the nations through his seed is the prominent message of Genesis, the key chapters are those relating to the Abrahamic covenant and its reiteration, 12:1-3; 15:1-21; 17:1-9. Key People: Adam, Eve, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, Esau, Jacob, Rachel, Joseph. Christ as Seen in Genesis: Prophetically: Immediately after the fall, the promise of salvation is given in the seed of the woman (3:15), but then the Messianic links are made clear throughout Genesis: the line of Seth (4:25), the offspring of Shem (9:26), the family of Abraham (12:3), the seed of Isaac (26:3), the sons of Jacob (46:3), and the tribe of Judah (49:10). Typologically: There are several key types that portray the Savior in Genesis. (1) Adam is a type of Christ (Rom. 5:14). As Adam is the head of the old creation, so Christ is the head of the new spiritual creation. (2) Abel’s offering of a blood sacrifice points to Christ who would die for us. Abel’s murder by Cain may also illustrate Christ’s death. (3) Melchizedek is also a type of Christ (see Heb. 7:3). (4) Joseph, who was loved dearly by his father, betrayed by his brothers, an


Which computer programming language was named after Charles Babbadge's assistant, Lady Lovelace?

Ada Lovelace | Babbage Engine | Computer History Museum The Analytical Engine weaves algebraic patterns just as the Jacquard loom weaves flowers and leaves. 1843 Ada Lovelace (1815-1852) was born Augusta Ada Byron, the only legitimate child of Annabella Milbanke and the poet Lord Byron. Her mother, Lady Byron, had mathematical training (Byron called her his 'Princess of Parallelograms') and insisted that Ada, who was tutored privately, study mathematics too - an unusual education for a woman. Ada met Babbage at a party in 1833 when she was seventeen and was entranced when Babbage demonstrated the small working section of the Engine to her. She intermitted her mathematical studies for marriage and motherhood but resumed when domestic duties allowed. In 1843 she published a translation from the French of an article on the Analytical Engine by an Italian engineer, Luigi Menabrea, to which Ada added extensive notes of her own. The Notes included the first published description of a stepwise sequence of operations for solving certain mathematical problems and Ada is often referred to as 'the first programmer'. The collaboration with Babbage was close and biographers debate the extent and originality of Ada's contribution. Perhaps more importantly, the article contained statements by Ada that from a modern perspective are visionary. She speculated that the Engine 'might act upon other things besides number... the Engine might compose elaborate and scientific pieces of music of any degree of complexity or extent'. The idea of a machine that could manipulate symbols in accordance with rules and that number could represent entities other than quantity mark the fundamental transition from calculation to computation. Ada was the first to explicitly articulate this notion and in this she appears to have seen further than Babbage. She has been referred to as 'prophet of the computer age'. Certainly she was the first to express the potential for computers outside mathematics. In this the tribute is well-founded. © Computer History Museum | Credits


Who became the First Minister of Scotland when the Scottish Parliament was established in 1999?

Who have been Scotland's first ministers? - BBC News BBC News Who have been Scotland's first ministers? 16 May 2016 Read more about sharing. Close share panel Image caption Five politicians have served a first minister since the devolved Scottish Parliament was created in 1999 Nicola Sturgeon is set to continue as Scotland's first minister following the SNP's victory in the Scottish Parliament election on 5 May 2016. Ms Sturgeon became first minister on 20 November 2014, following the resignation of Alex Salmond. She is the fifth politician to head Scotland's devolved government (not counting Jim Wallace, who served as acting first minister three times.) Here's a quick look at Scotland's leaders, past and present, and the legacies they have left. Donald Dewar: 13 May 1999 - 11 October 2000 Image copyright PA Donald Dewar secured his place in history when he became first minister of the first Scottish Parliament in almost 300 years, but his time in the role was cut sadly short. He was known for an astute legal brain, fierce, fast and formidable debating skills and squaring up to the opposition benches. Not a typical Labour man, he was born in Glasgow on 21 August 1937 into a middle class family and studied law before entering the Commons in 1966 as MP for Aberdeen South and, later, represented the seat of Glasgow Garscadden. His loyalty in the shadow cabinet during Labour's wilderness years saw him rewarded with the post of secretary of state for Scotland by Tony Blair in 1997 - the vehicle by which he helped bring about devolution two years later, earning him the title "Father of the Nation". Mr Dewar became MSP for Glasgow Anniesland, but his new administration was soon embroiled in an access-to-ministers scandal, the Holyrood building fiasco and the repeal of Section 28. He admitted the first year was "towsy". Despite an operation to replace a leaky heart valve and being two years off becoming a pensioner, he was determined to resume his key role in politics. On 10 October 2000, Mr Dewar fell on the pavement outside his official residence and later died from a brain haemorrhage. Mr Dewar's legacy lives on through the devolved parliament itself, and a towering statue of the man himself in Glasgow city centre. Henry McLeish: 26 October 2000 - 8 November 2001 Image copyright PA Whatever Henry McLeish's achievements in politics, his tenure in office will always be marked by having been the only Scottish first minister forced to resign from the job. The former professional footballer cut his political teeth in Fife in the early 1970s, working his way through the echelons of Kirkcaldy District Council and Fife Regional Council to be elected Labour MP for Fife Central in 1987. He served on the shadow benches before becoming a devolution minister in the former Scottish Office, playing a key role in delivering the Scottish Parliament in 1999. Mr McLeish was regarded as a competent parliamentary performer, and was seen as a safe pair of hands to take over the reins following the death of Donald Dewar. But there were doubts about the presence of a "common touch" and the ability to control rebellion in the ranks. Nevertheless, he masterminded the introduction of Scotland's historic scheme to provide free personal care for the elderly. The Fife MSP's downfall came during a row over his Westminster constituency office expenses, dubbed "Officegate". The episode was made worse by Mr McLeish's inability to resolve the matter in the eyes of the public and media, and he eventually stood down as first minister, describing his actions as "a muddle, not a fiddle". Mr McLeish's post-Holyrood years have seen him lecture widely in the United States. He has also served on several SNP government investigations and commissions looking into a range of issues, including prisons, football, broadcasting and colleges. That, along with his post-2007 commentary about Labour's woes, during which he lambasted the party's "culture of denial", led some observers to cheekily question whether he was "going Nat". Jack McConnell: 22 November 2001 - 16 May 2007


Who was the founder of Harrow Public School?

Schools: Harrow School | British History Online Schools: Harrow School Schools: Harrow School Pages 299-302 This free content was digitised by double rekeying . All rights reserved. Citation: HARROW SCHOOL Harrow School Azure a lion rampant in dexter chief two arrows in saltire points downward tied in the centre with a bow and enfiled with a wreath laurel all argent[Granted 1929] In February 1572 John Lyon, a yeoman of Preston in Harrow, secured from Elizabeth I a charter to re-found a free grammar school for the boys of the parish of Harrow, to send two scholars to Cambridge and two to Oxford, and to improve the highways between Edgware and London. (fn. 1) These intentions were amplified by Lyon's 'Orders, Statutes and Rules' (often called his will) drawn up in 1591. The schoolmaster was to be at least an M.A. and the usher a B.A., with salaries of £20 and £10 respectively, which were to be increased to 40 marks and 20 marks if Lyon left no heir. The schoolmaster might also teach fee-paying 'foreigners' provided that this did not adversely affect the children of the parish. Texts were prescribed for each of the five forms. There was to be no playtime except sometimes on fine Thursdays; church attendance was compulsory, but punishment with the rod was permitted only 'moderately' on pain of dismissal. No English was to be spoken above the First Form; two monitors were to be appointed to report (but not to punish) these and other faults, and a third was secretly to watch the other two. Parents were to provided paper, ink, pens, books, candles, and bows and arrows. (fn. 2) On the death of Lyon's widow in 1608 the Governors elected Anthony Rate to be master, although he does not appear to have been a university graduate and did not draw the full salary. In 1615 a new school building (the west wing of the present Old Schools) was ready; the Revd. William Lance, was appointed master with his brother Thomas as usher, the son of the vicar became the first recorded pupil, and the school settled down to follow the pattern provided in the Statutes. (fn. 3) The first notable Harrovian was William Baxter (1650-1723), a nephew of Richard Baxter the nonconformist divine, and a Welsh speaker at the time of his admission. (fn. 4) William Horne, headmaster 1669-85, the first of several Etonians to hold office, appears to have been successful. A letter written by a boy's mother in 1682 reveals that there were then about 120 boys and many boarding houses; in the master's house the fee for board and schooling was £22, but in a dame's boarding house only £14. During Horne's time a playing field was purchased, the school yard levelled, and the Silver Arrow archery competition instituted. (fn. 5) Under Thomas Brian (1691-1730), another Etonian, the school continued to flourish, although there was a period of depression towards the end of Anne's reign. With the accession of George I in 1714 Harrow became popular with the Whig aristocracy, since Tory Eton was suspected of Jacobitism. Harrow also enjoyed the patronage of James Brydges, later Duke of Chandos, a man of outstanding business capacity and a governor from 1713 to 1740, but the same period saw the number of free scholars decline to 14, while the Lyon exhibitions at the universities were often held by non-Harrovians or not at all. (fn. 6) The Revd. Dr. James Cox, usher under Brian, was appointed to succeed him, but according to the governors' minute he led a disorderly, drunken, idle life, and by 1746, when his debts forced him to abscond, numbers were down to 46. (fn. 7) In this crisis the governors appointed Dr. Thomas Thackeray, an Etonian and former Eton master whose strong Whig sympathies had made him unwelcome there. Numbers rose, additional masters were appointed, a further playing field was secured, and there was some reform of the curriculum, although this last improvement was only made possible by allowing assistant masters and even independent tutors to charge fees for private lessons in nonclassical subjects. Naturally this widened the breach between the foreigners (boarders,


Spurn Point Lighthouse is situated at the mouth of which river estuary?

River Humber | estuary, England, United Kingdom | Britannica.com estuary, England, United Kingdom River Tamar River Humber, North Sea inlet on the east coast of England , one of the major deepwater estuaries of the United Kingdom . The River Humber originates at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Trent and forms the historic boundary between the counties of Yorkshire and Lincolnshire . The Humber is about 40 miles (64 km) long, extends west to east, and, with associated rivers and canals, drains 9,550 square miles (24,750 square km). The estuary itself is more than 0.75 mile (1.2 km) across at its farthest inland point and widens to more than 7 miles (11 km) near its mouth; there Spurn Head, a sand and shingle spit with lighthouse, lifeboat station, and bird sanctuary, extends into the estuary. The great width of the estuary has prevented unified economic development of its traditionally quite different north and south banks. The Humber Bridge (opened in 1981), spanning the estuary, was constructed chiefly to aid further development. Measuring 4,626 feet (1,410 metres) in length, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world when it was built and remains the longest in the United Kingdom. The River Humber is lined by the major ports of Kingston upon Hull , Grimsby , and Immingham . Humber Bridge over the River Humber, near Kingston upon Hull, Eng. Tonyharp


Which was the first British postage stamp to be issued with perforations?

Your Guide to Collecting Queen Victoria Stamps | eBay Your Guide to Collecting Queen Victoria Stamps Share 29 June 2016 Stamp collecting as a hobby began around the same time the first stamp was issued, in the mid-19th Century. Collectors take up the hobby for several reasons, including philatelic investment. Queen Victoria stamps hold a special place in philately, because Great Britain issued the first postage stamps during the reign of Queen Victoria. In fact, the very first postage stamp ever issued, the Penny Black, displayed the profile of a young Queen Victoria. Several Queen Victoria stamps are included in lists of the rarest and most valuable stamps from Great Britain. Collectors of Queen Victoria stamps can find stamps at auctions, through stamp dealers, and at stamp markets called "bourses". Collecting stamps, especially old, rare, and valuable ones, requires a great deal of knowledge. Collectors should be familiar with the different types of Queen Victoria stamps, how they are graded, and how to determine a particular stamp's value. Collectors must also know how to use proper equipment to handle and store stamps safely. Classifications of Queen Victoria Stamps The major classifications of Queen Victoria stamps are based on changes in the way the stamps were printed, and changes to the design of the stamps. Some of the most common classifications are discussed in detail below. Imperforate Line Engraved Imperforate stamps printed using line engraving technology are called imperforate line engraved stamps.. The first stamps produced did not have the perforations that are now a feature of every postage stamp around the world. They had to be cut out of a sheet using scissors. Such stamps are called "imperforate". Line engraving is a time consuming printing process that results in very sharp and crisp designs. In this method, recesses are cut into a metal die, line-by-line, and dot-by-dot. Ink is then applied to the engraved plate, and the plate is wiped clean, leaving ink only in the engraved recesses. Paper, sometimes moistened, is then applied to the die under great pressure. The paper is forced into the recesses, and the ink prints the stamp's design. Line engraved stamps feature extremely fine and intricate details that are usually absent in later stamps. Imperforate line engraved Queen Victoria stamps were issued from 1840 to 1853. Perforated Line Engraved Soon after postage stamps were first issued, perforations were introduced to simplify the process of removing individual stamps from a sheet. Perforated line engraved stamps are simply stamps that are printed (using line engraved dies) onto a sheet, and then perforated. Line Engraved with Plate Numbers Line engraving used numbered plates made from the original die. Plates would wear out after some time, and would have to be replaced. The Penny Black and the Penny Red Brown stamps, both Queen Victoria stamps, were printed in sheets of 240 stamps. Starting with the 71st plate of Die II of the Penny Black, plate numbers were engraved on stamps. This practice began in 1858. Embossed Stamps Embossed stamps were developed to prevent stamp forgery. Embossed Queen Victoria stamps bear the head of Queen Victoria in cameo relief. Embossing successfully foiled forgery, but greatly slowed the printing process. Line engraving required only one movement of the machine, but each embossed stamp needed an additional pressing. A sheet of 24 stamps required 24 pressings, instead of one. Embossed stamps were not very popular, and were only printed for ten years. Surface Printed Issues Queen Victoria stamps printed using the surface printing method are called surface printed issues.. These are some of the most sought after stamps from this period. Surface printed issues are further divided into four so called "families": No corner letters Large, white corner letters Large, coloured corner letters Surface printing is also called "relief printing". The die or plate used features raised areas on its surface, which receive ink, and print the design onto the paper of the stamp. This


Which amendment to the American Constitution abolished slavery?

13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Primary Documents of American History (Virtual Programs & Services, Library of Congress) Primary Documents in American History 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution Thomas Nast. Reproduction Number: LC-USZ62-2573 The          13th Amendment to the Constitution declared that "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." Formally abolishing slavery in            the United States, the 13th Amendment was passed by the            Congress on January 31, 1865, and ratified by the states          on December 6, 1865. A          Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation This collection contains congressional publications from 1774 to 1875, including debates, bills, laws, and journals. The text of the 13th Amendment can be found the United States Statutes at Large, volume 13, page 567 (13 Stat. 567) and in volume 13, pages 774-75 (13 Stat. 774). References to debate on the 13th Amendment (S.J. Res. 16) can be found in the Congressional Globe on the following dates: March 31, 1864 - Debated in the Senate (S.J. Res. 16). April 7, 1864 - Debated in the Senate. April 8, 1864 - The             Senate passed the 13th Amendment (S.J. Res. 16) by a vote of 38 to 6. June 14, 1864 - Debated in the House of Representatives. June 15, 1864 - The House of Representatives initially defeated the 13th Amendment             (S.J. Res. 16) by a vote of 93 in favor, 65 opposed, and 23 not voting, which    is less than the two-thirds majority needed to pass a Constitutional Amendment. December 6, 1864 - Abraham Lincoln's Fourth Annual Message to Congress was printed in the Congressional Globe: "At the last session of Congress a proposed amendment             of the Constitution, abolishing slavery throughout the United States, passed             the Senate, but failed for lack of the requisite two-thirds vote in the House             of Representatives. Although the present is the same Congress, and nearly             the same members, and without questioning the wisdom or patriotism of those             who stood in opposition, I venture to recommend the reconsideration and passage            of the measure at the present session." January 6, 1865 - Debated in the House of Representatives (S.J. Res. 16). January 28, 1865 - Debated in the House of Representatives. January 31, 1865 - The House of Representatives passed the 13th Amendment             (S.J. Res. 16) by a vote of 119 to 56. February 1, 1865 - President             Abraham Lincoln signed a Joint Resolution submitting             the proposed 13th Amendment to the states. December 18, 1865 - Secretary             of State William Seward issued a statement             verifying the ratification of the 13th Amendment. Abraham           Lincoln Papers at the Library of Congress The complete Abraham Lincoln Papers at the Library of Congress consists of approximately 20,000 documents. The collection is organized into three "General Correspondence" series which include incoming and outgoing correspondence and enclosures, drafts of speeches, and notes and printed material. Most of the 20,000 items are from the 1850s through Lincoln's presidential years, 1860-65. A selection of highlights from this collection includes: The Alfred Whital Stern Collection of Lincolniana This            collection documents the life of Abraham Lincoln             both through writings by and about Lincoln as well as a            large body of publications concerning the issues of the            times including slavery, the Civil War, Reconstruction,            and related topics. From           Slavery to Freedom: The Afri


Which Japanese mountaineer was the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest?

The first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest, The First Female to scale Mount Everest Home > China Travel Guide > Mount Everest The First Woman to Reach the Summit of Mount Everest Junko Tabei, a Japanese mountaineer, is the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest. She climbed to the top on May 16, 1975.   Early Expeditions When Tabei studied in Showa Women's University, she had already been a member of the Mountain Climbing Club. After she got the English literature degree and graduated from University, she formed the "Ladies Climbing Club: Japan (LCC)" in 1969. Before climbing Mount Everest, she climbed Mount Fuji, Matterhorn in Swiss Alps and other mountains. Tabei was recognized as a mountain climber in Japan in 1972.   Climbing Mount Everest Nihon Television and Yomiuri newspaper joint to sent an all-woman team to attempt an Everest expedition. They selected 15 women from hundreds of applicants, Tabei was one of them.   They had trained for a long period, and began to climb in 1975. There are 9 Sherpa guide with them. The route they used was the same one Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay took in 1953. It was in early May. With the help of the nine Sherpa guide, they began the expedition. Unfortunately, only a few days later, they came across and avalanche, and the 9 guides and all the climbers were buried under the snow. A guide dug Tabei out when she was unconscious for several minutes. But the avalanche did not beat her down. 12 days later, Tabei became the first woman set on the summit of Mount Everest. “The mountain teaches me a lot of things. It makes me realize how trivial my personal problems are,” she said. “It also teaches me that life should not be taken for granted.”   The Seven Summits Tabei had scaled Junko Tabei is also known as the first female to scale the “Seven Summits”, which are the highest mountains separating on seven continents.   Mount Everest, world’s highest mountain, 8848m (29,029 ft), on the border of China’s Tibet and Nepal Denali, or Mount Mckinley, highest mountain in North America, 6193m (20,320ft), in night the temperature go down to -40℃ Elbrus, an inactive volcano in Russia, 5642m (18,442 ft) above the sea level Aconcagua, a part of Andes in South America, 6959m (22,841ft) above the sea level Carstensz Pyramid, in Indonesia, 4883.4m (16,023ft) above the sea level Kilimanjaro, located in Tanzania of Africa, with a height of 5963m (15,092 ft) Vinson Massif, in Antarctica, with a height of 4892m (16,050 ft)


Britain's first credit card was issued by which bank?

Discover The History of Payment Cards| The UK Cards Association UK domestic cheque guarantee scheme is established. 1972 NatWest, Midland, Lloyds & RBS join together to issue the Access credit card under the Joint Credit Card Company (JCCC). 1972 Lloyds Bank ‘Cashpoint’ is the first on-line verified ATM using payment cards with a magnetic stripe. 1974 Consumer Credit Act (Section 75) provides protection to consumers buying goods costing between £30 and £10,000 (£100 and £30,000 in 2005) on their credit card: if the product turns out to be sub-standard, or fails to be delivered, the cardholder can claim compensation from the card-issuing bank. The Act (Section 84) also limits customer liability to no more than £50 if cards are stolen, and used by someone else. 1977 Barclaycard issues the first UK company card – hitherto cards had been issued only to individuals. 1977 Consumer Credit Act comes into force on July 1st 1977 1980s The UK moves to ‘duality’, i.e. banks begin to issue both Visa and Access cards. Subsequently, the Access consortium begins to break-up, and disappears as a brand as MasterCard gains recognition in the UK. This move brings world-wide acceptance to UK-issued cards. Early/mid 80s saw the introduction of electronic point of sale terminals. 1985/86 LINK cash machine network established (33 members including Abbey National, Nationwide, Co-Operative Bank, Girobank etc), essentially enabled by the 1986 Building Societies Act. 1986 Matrix cash machine network established (A&L, Anglia, Bradford & Bingley, Bristol & West, Leeds, National & Provincial, Woolwich etc) 1987 1987 Debit cards introduced: Barclays were the first UK bank on the scene issuing the Visa Delta card under the Connect brand in June. 1987 Four bank cash machine network established (Barclays, Lloyds, RBS, BoS) 1988 Switch debit card launched by Midland, NatWest and RBS with the first Switch transaction occurring in October 1988. 1988 Visa test the world’s first multi-function chip card, the SuperSmart card, in Japan. 1989 £100 and £250 UK cheque guarantee limits introduced. 1989 MINT cash machine network established (Midland, NatWest, TSB, Clydesdale, Northern Bank). 1989 LINK and Matrix cash machine networks merge. 1990s The early 1990s see increased competition, notably with an influx of card issuers from the USA. Emergence of affinity cards and cards issued by non-financial institutions. 1990 France introduces chip and PIN based upon France-only B0’ standard. (for French domestic use only) 1990 Cashback emerges as a means of acquiring cash (7m transactions in 1990). 1992 MasterCard launch the Maestro brand for its international debit card. 1993 Half of UK adults are regular users of cash machines. 1994 Half of UK adults hold a debit card. 1995 UK debit card volumes exceed credit card volumes for the first time. 1995 Mondex public trials start in Swindon on July 3rd 1995 Product innovation leads to the issuing of gold cards and, eventually, other ‘status symbol’ cards with additional features. 1996 One-billionth cash machine transaction processed by LINK. 1996 The average UK cash machine withdrawal exceeds £50 for the first time. 1996 Visa Electron launched and… 1997 …the Solo card is introduced to offer a closer level of financial management. As every transaction is pre-authorised, banks are able to market the card to a wider range of customers, especially to younger card holders such as students, and to link cards to savings/investment products.1998 UK debit card payments exceed personal cheques, and account for more than half of all non-cash spending in supermarkets. 1997 UK chip trials in Northampton and Dunfermline ran between October 1997, with over 117,000 cards issued, 535 terminals installed in 463 outlets, and 14 ATMs. 1998 UK’s first cash machine not owned by a financial institution installed by Bank Machine. 1998 UK debit card payments exceed personal cheques, and account for more than half of all non-cash spending in supermarkets. 1999 Half of all UK adults hold a credit card. The average value of a credit card purchases exceed


Who is the only U.S. President to have held a patent?

Abraham Lincoln's Patent © Abraham Lincoln Online Lincoln's Patent On May 22, 1849, Abraham Lincoln received Patent No. 6469 for a device to lift boats over shoals, an invention which was never manufactured. However, it eventually made him the only U.S. president to hold a patent. Shown here is a replica of his scale model at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. Lincoln's Love of Inventions Lincoln displayed a lifelong fascination with mechanical things. William H. Herndon, his last law partner, attributed this to his father, saying, "he evinced a decided bent toward machinery or mechanical appliances, a trait he doubtless inherited from his father who was himself something of a mechanic and therefore skilled in the use of tools." Henry Whitney, another lawyer friend of Lincoln's, recalled "While we were traveling in ante-railway days, on the circuit, and would stop at a farm-house for dinner, Lincoln would improve the leisure in hunting up some farming implement, machine or tool, and he would carefully examine it all over, first generally and then critically;" Lincoln also delivered lectures on discoveries and inventions before he became president. "Man is not the only animal who labors; but he is the only one who improves his workmanship," he noted in 1858. In 1859 he praised the patent laws for having "secured to the inventor, for a limited time, the exclusive use of his invention; and thereby added the fuel of interest to the fire of genius, in the discovery and production of new and useful things." Lincoln and River Navigation Lincoln learned river navigation early in life and took a flatboat down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers as a teenager. As he explained in his 1860 autobiography, "When he was nineteen, still residing in Indiana, he made his first trip upon a flatboat to New Orleans. He was a hired hand merely, and he and a son of the owner, without other assistance, made the trip." A few years later, Lincoln moved to Illinois and made a second flatboat trip to New Orleans. He recalled, "Abraham, together with his stepmother's son, John D. Johnston, and John Hanks, yet residing in Macon County, hired themselves to Denton Offutt to take a flatboat from Beardstown, Illinois, to New Orleans; and for that purpose were to join him -- Offutt -- at Springfield, Illinois, so soon as the snow should go off. When it did go off, which was about the first of March, 1831, the county was so flooded as to make traveling by land impracticable; to obviate which difficulty they purchased a large canoe, and came down the Sangamon River in it. This is the time and the manner of Abraham's first entrance into Sangamon County. They found Offutt at Springfield, but learned from him that he had failed in getting a boat at Beardstown. This led to their hiring themselves to him for twelve dollars per month each, and getting the timber out of the trees and building a boat at Old Sangamon town on the Sangamon River, seven miles northwest of Springfield, which boat they took to New Orleans, substantially upon the old contract." What Lincoln omitted from this account was a story of his ingenuity. Before the flatboat could get to the Illinois River, it became stranded on a milldam at New Salem , a small pioneer settlement along the Sangamon. As the boat took on water, Lincoln sprang to action. He had  part of the cargo unloaded to right the boat, then secured an auger from the village cooper shop. After drilling a hole in the bow, he let the water run out. Then he plugged the hole, helped move the boat over the dam, and proceeded to New Orleans. In 1832, as a candidate for the Illinois General Assembly from Sangamon County, Lincoln published his first political announcement , in which he stressed, not surprisingly, the improvement of navigation on the Sangamon River. © Abraham Lincoln Online Lincoln's Patent Idea Lincoln started work on his invention between sessions of Congress in 1848. On his way home to Illinois his boat became stranded on a sandbar. As Herndon told the story,


What is the correct verbal title used when addressing a Baron?

Correct Forms of Address Correct Forms of Address   I provide the following summary charts for your convenience, with three important caveats: 1.  Please do not use this page in a vacuum.  Most of the usages   listed here are explained in greater detail elsewhere in these pages, which is why I have   resisted including charts at all until now.  These charts are for convenience and   reference.  2. Most of the information on this page comes directly from the 1932   edition of Black's Correct Form .   Books like this which purport to demonstrate "correct forms of address" are   aimed at a specific audience:  commoners, i.e., those of us who were not   raised "in the system" and haven't married into it.  Usage among families   and social equals could vary considerably from what is presented here, for all I know.   Furthermore, I'm not even certain that period letters and memoirs help, because   there could be different forms for (even informal) writing and in speech, and forms of   course further vary in correspondence depending upon the recipient.  Until a peer's   daughter joins the Heyer Mailing List and tells me what's what, I welcome corrections on   anything on this page from anyone in a position to know better, especially from first-hand   experience. 3. These charts assume for illustrative purposes that eldest sons of peers   bear a courtesy title only one degree lower than their father's, but that is not always   the case.    Specific Usages 1.  First Names  First names were almost never used in speech, except in extremely limited  circumstances, before this century.  I have studied memoirs and letters of the late  18th/early 19th centuries and have formed a tentative hypothesis that use of first names  was resticted almost exclusively to children growing up together, or in some cases boys at  school together.  They would continue to use their childhood forms of address  throughout their lives.  Parents might also ignore titles when addressing their  children, but very often if there was a title available, say an eldest son's courtesy  title, even a mother would use it, albeit alone, e.g., Hartington.  In Lady  Harriet Cavendish's letters to her family, she always refers to her brother, the Marquis  of Hartington, as "Hart" or "Hartington," as did their mother.   She calls her cousin, Lady Caroline Ponsonby, "Caro" or "Caroline," as  she likewise called her half-sister, Caroline de St. Jules.   She also calls many of  the Lambs by their first names.  They were all raised together.  (Both Carolines  married Lambs, and so after their marriages Lady Harriet would distinguish between them as "Caro-William" and "Caro-George," respectively.)  But Lady  Harriet never refers to anyone outside this close circle of people she knew from infancy  by their Christian names;  she always uses their correct titles.  (However,  these references are in written correspondence, and may or may not reflect the terms used  in actual speech.) Among men, rather than first names, intimacy was usually shown by using  the title alone, e.g., Sherringham, Wrotham (or some diminutive of it, like "Sherry" or "Hart"), or by using the last name alone, e.g.,  Fairfax.  Occasionally first names were used among very close friends who, as  mentioned above, attended boarding school together from a young age, especially if the boy  didn't have the peerage while he was in school, but inherited it later (which is why Lord  Wrotham's friends call him "George," while they call Lord Sherringham "Sherry":  Sherry had already inherited his peerage when he met them all in  school, while George inherited his after they had all grown up).  Even spouses often maintained more formal modes of address than Christian  names, even in private.  Most often a lady would call her husband by his title alone,  as his intimate friends or his family would, e.g., Chatham.  Obviously it  would depend upon the couple, and many factors might contribute, such as age disparity or  actual intimacy, but a wife would almost always ref


Which member of the 'The Spice Girls' released the 2001 single, 'Lullaby'?

Melanie Brown - Biography - IMDb Melanie Brown Biography Showing all 58 items Jump to: Overview  (4) | Mini Bio  (2) | Spouse  (2) | Trade Mark  (2) | Trivia  (31) | Personal Quotes  (17) Overview (4) 5' 5" (1.65 m) Mini Bio (2) Born on the 29th May 1975 in Leeds, England, Melanie Brown became a member of Spice Girls in 1994. Their three albums sold than 40 million copies worldwide and they had nine singles at number 1 in the UK. "Hot" was her first solo album, released on 9th October 2000. It entered the UK charts at #28. Despite producing 2 Top 5 singles (3, if you include the hit "I Want You Back"), the album only ever re-entered the chart once after dropping out of the Top 100 - peaking at #95 when "Feels So Good" was being promoted in February 2001. To date, the album has sold about 50,000 copies in the UK. The album sold 8,000 copies in its first week. After she parted with Virgin Records, she started a new successful career as TV presenter and actress. In 2001, her own show This Is My Moment (2001) was a great success and, after the second series, she made a documentary about Africans voodoos. In 2002, she was one of the protagonists of the BBC3's sit-com Burn It (2003) and made her theater debut with "The Vagina Monologues" in London. She has a lead role in two upcoming movies: the horror LD 50 Lethal Dose (2003) and the comedy The Seat Filler (2004) (with Kelly Rowland of Destiny's Child ). From April to September 2004, she played the role of "Mimi" in the famous musical "Rent" on Broadway. In 2005, Melanie released her second solo album, "L.A. State Of Mind", featuring the single "Today". Both the single and the album flopped... - IMDb Mini Biography By: me Melanie Brown, aka "Mel B", best known as "Scary Spice" of the worldwide sensation singing group "The Spice Girls", is a chart-topping musical artist, actress, author, television personality and groundbreaking entrepreneur who is set to launch her own fashion line. Few artists have moved so effortlessly from one artistic medium to another as Mel B. As a recording artist, Mel B's achievements with the Spice Girls are legendary: 55 million records sold worldwide, nine number one singles in the UK, 11 gold records as well as a total of 24 platinum and multi-platinum records. The Spice Girls reunion World Tour was a critical and popular triumph and the group was recently named Best Band by the U.K. Glamour Awards. Mel B has continued the same successful ways as a solo artist. Her 1998 single "I Want You" with Missy Elliott sold 80,000 copies in its first week, and gave Mel B her first solo #1. Her debut solo album, "Hot" released in 2000, produced three top five singles. She followed up with the release "LA State of Mind" in 2005 and is currently at work with top producers on a new album she expects to be ready for release in late 2008. Mel B has also shone brightly as both an actress and television personality. She starred as "Mimi" in the smash hit Broadway musical "Rent", performed in the Vagina Monologues in London, had key roles in the feature films "LD 50 Lethal Dose", the Will Smith co-production "The Seat Filler", and appeared as a comedic performer in the British show "Burn It". Mel B has made a significant impact in the world of television, hosting "This Is My Moment", "The MOBO Awards", "Pure Naughty", "Voodoo Princess", "Top of the Pops", "Party in the Park for the Prince's Trust", and "The All Star Animal Awards" in addition to her role as a correspondent on the highly-rated "Access Hollywood." Mel B's most recent triumph was taking America by storm by on ABC's smash hit "Dancing with the Stars". Mel B and her partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy were the highest scoring couple during the 2007 season and made it to the finals, earning a perfect score on their final dance. Recently Mel B announced the launch of her own reality show for TLC, "The Singing Office." The show, executive produced by Mel B and her husband Stephen Belafonte, pits Mel B and Joey Fatone against each other to find the best workplace singers in America. Mel B and Stephen are also develop


Which actress plays 'Lynn Bracken' in the 1997 film, 'L.A. Confidential'?

Kim Basinger - Bio, Facts, Family | Famous Birthdays Kim Basinger Actress Born In Georgia#29 About Won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Lynn Bracken in the 1997 film L.A. Confidential. She has also starred in such films as Batman, The Natural, Never Say Never Again, 8 Mile and Cellular. Before Fame She studied ballet for over ten years. She worked as a cover girl for five years before debuting in Charlie's Angels. Trivia She provided her voice for a 1998 episode of The Simpsons entitled "When You Dish Upon a Star." Family Life She married Alec Baldwin in 1993 and then divorced him in 2002. The couple had a daughter named Ireland in 1995. She was also previously married to Ron Snyder from 1980 to 1989.