1.
Athy
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Athy is a market town at the meeting of the River Barrow and the Grand Canal in south-west County Kildare, Ireland,72 kilometres southwest of Dublin. A population of 10,490 makes it the sixth largest town in Kildare, from the first official records in 1813 until 1891 and again in 1926–46 and 1951–61 Athy was the largest town in Kildare. In 1837 the population was 4,494 and it has recently entered the news because of a suspect device found by a member of the public on 15 November 2016. Athy or Baile Átha Í is named after a 2nd-century chieftain, Ae, the earliest maps show development on the river Barrow i the area, Ptolemys map of Ireland circa 150AD clearly names the Rheban district as Rheba. The town developed from a 12th-century Anglo-Norman settlement to an important stronghold on the estates of the FitzGerald earls of Kildare. The town was bombarded by cannon fire many times and the Dominican Monastery, the local castles, the current bridge, the Crom-a-Boo Bridge, was built in 1796. The first town charter dates from 1515 and the hall was constructed in the early 18th century. The completion of the Grand Canal in 1791, linking here with the River Barrow, from early on in its history Athy was a garrison town loyal to the Crown. English garrisons stayed in the barracks in Barrack Lane after the Crimean War, home for centuries to English soldiers, Athy gave more volunteer soldiers to the Great War of 1914–18 than any other of similar sized town in Ireland. Athy has evolved as a centre for Hiberno-English, the mix of the Irish and English language traditions, a dialect starting with old Irish beginnings, evolved through Norman and English influences, dominated by a church whose first language was Latin and educated through Irish. Athy in particular was a pot of languages that led to modern Hiberno-English. Many locals words borrow from the Irish tradition, such as bokety, fooster or sleeveen, while words like kip and this tradition of spoken word led to a lyrical approach to composition and perhaps explains the disproportionate number of writers Athy has produced. Athy becomes subject and object of creative endeavours – the traditional folk song, other songs in this tradition include Lanigans Ball and Maid of Athy. Another song of note from the area is called The Curragh Of Kildare, Athy is referenced by Patrick Kavanagh in his poem Lines Written on a Seat on the Grand Canal, Dublin, And look. A barge comes bringing from Athy/And other far-flung towns mythologies, on Thursday,2 July 1903 the Gordon Bennett Cup ran through Athy. It was the first international race to be held in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The editor of the Dublin Motor News, Richard J, local laws had to be adjusted, ergo the Light Locomotives Bill was passed on 27 March 1903. Eventually Kildare was chosen, partly on the grounds that the straightness of the roads would be a safety benefit, the route consisted of two loops that comprised a figure of eight
2.
Ireland
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Ireland is an island in the North Atlantic. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, Ireland is the second-largest island of the British Isles, the third-largest in Europe, and the twentieth-largest on Earth. Politically, Ireland is divided between the Republic of Ireland, which covers five-sixths of the island, and Northern Ireland, in 2011, the population of Ireland was about 6.4 million, ranking it the second-most populous island in Europe after Great Britain. Just under 4.6 million live in the Republic of Ireland, the islands geography comprises relatively low-lying mountains surrounding a central plain, with several navigable rivers extending inland. The island has lush vegetation, a product of its mild, thick woodlands covered the island until the Middle Ages. As of 2013, the amount of land that is wooded in Ireland is about 11% of the total, there are twenty-six extant mammal species native to Ireland. The Irish climate is moderate and classified as oceanic. As a result, winters are milder than expected for such a northerly area, however, summers are cooler than those in Continental Europe. Rainfall and cloud cover are abundant, the earliest evidence of human presence in Ireland is dated at 10,500 BC. Gaelic Ireland had emerged by the 1st century CE, the island was Christianised from the 5th century onward. Following the Norman invasion in the 12th century, England claimed sovereignty over Ireland, however, English rule did not extend over the whole island until the 16th–17th century Tudor conquest, which led to colonisation by settlers from Britain. In the 1690s, a system of Protestant English rule was designed to materially disadvantage the Catholic majority and Protestant dissenters, with the Acts of Union in 1801, Ireland became a part of the United Kingdom. Northern Ireland saw much civil unrest from the late 1960s until the 1990s and this subsided following a political agreement in 1998. In 1973 the Republic of Ireland joined the European Economic Community while the United Kingdom, Irish culture has had a significant influence on other cultures, especially in the fields of literature. Alongside mainstream Western culture, an indigenous culture exists, as expressed through Gaelic games, Irish music. The culture of the island shares many features with that of Great Britain, including the English language, and sports such as association football, rugby, horse racing. The name Ireland derives from Old Irish Eriu and this in turn derives from Proto-Celtic *Iveriu, which is also the source of Latin Hibernia. Iveriu derives from a root meaning fat, prosperous, during the last glacial period, and up until about 9000 years ago, most of Ireland was covered with ice, most of the time
3.
Podium
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A podium is a platform used to raise something to a short distance above its surroundings. It derives from the Greek πόδι, in architecture a building can rest on a large podium. Podia can also be used to people, for instance the conductor of an orchestra stands on a podium as do many public speakers. Common parlance has shown a use of podium in American English to describe a lectern. In sports, a type of podium is used to honor the top three competitors in such as the Olympics. In the Olympics a three-level podium is used, traditionally, the highest level in the center holds the gold medalist. To their right is a lower platform for the silver medalist. At the 2016 Summer Games in Rio, however, the Silver, in many sports, results in the top three of a competition are often referred to as podiums or podium finishes. In some individual sports, podiums is a statistic, referring to the number of top three results an athlete has achieved over the course of a season or career. The word may also be used, chiefly in the United States, as a verb, to podium, meaning to attain a podium place. Podia were first used at the 1930 British Empire Games in Hamilton, Ontario and subsequently during the 1932 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, the winner stands in the middle, with the second placed driver to his right and the third place driver to his left. Also present are the selected by the race organisers who will present the trophies. In many forms of motorsport, the three top-placed drivers in a stand on a podium for the trophy ceremony. The recordings are versions of the national anthems, ensuring the podium ceremony does not exceeded its allocated time. Should a driver experience problems with his car on a lap in Formula One. The drivers will generally refrain from spraying if a fatality or major accident occurs during the event. Also, in countries where alcohol sponsorship or drinking is prohibited, alcoholic beverages may be replaced by other drinks, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, the highest level of stock car racing in the United States, does not use a podium in post-game events or statistics. Instead, the team celebrates in victory lane, and top-five
4.
German Empire
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The German Empire was the historical German nation state that existed from the unification of Germany in 1871 to the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1918, when Germany became a federal republic. The German Empire consisted of 26 constituent territories, with most being ruled by royal families and this included four kingdoms, six grand duchies, five duchies, seven principalities, three free Hanseatic cities, and one imperial territory. Although Prussia became one of kingdoms in the new realm, it contained most of its population and territory. Its influence also helped define modern German culture, after 1850, the states of Germany had rapidly become industrialized, with particular strengths in coal, iron, chemicals, and railways. In 1871, it had a population of 41 million people, and by 1913, a heavily rural collection of states in 1815, now united Germany became predominantly urban. During its 47 years of existence, the German Empire operated as an industrial, technological, Germany became a great power, boasting a rapidly growing rail network, the worlds strongest army, and a fast-growing industrial base. In less than a decade, its navy became second only to Britains Royal Navy, after the removal of Chancellor Otto von Bismarck by Wilhelm II, the Empire embarked on a bellicose new course that ultimately led to World War I. When the great crisis of 1914 arrived, the German Empire had two allies, Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Italy, however, left the once the First World War started in August 1914. In the First World War, German plans to capture Paris quickly in autumn 1914 failed, the Allied naval blockade caused severe shortages of food. Germany was repeatedly forced to send troops to bolster Austria and Turkey on other fronts, however, Germany had great success on the Eastern Front, it occupied large Eastern territories following the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. German declaration of unrestricted submarine warfare in early 1917 was designed to strangle the British, it failed, but the declaration—along with the Zimmermann Telegram—did bring the United States into the war. Meanwhile, German civilians and soldiers had become war-weary and radicalised by the Russian Revolution and this failed, and by October the armies were in retreat, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire had collapsed, Bulgaria had surrendered and the German people had lost faith in their political system. The Empire collapsed in the November 1918 Revolution as the Emperor and all the ruling monarchs abdicated, and a republic took over. The German Confederation had been created by an act of the Congress of Vienna on 8 June 1815 as a result of the Napoleonic Wars, German nationalism rapidly shifted from its liberal and democratic character in 1848, called Pan-Germanism, to Prussian prime minister Otto von Bismarcks pragmatic Realpolitik. He envisioned a conservative, Prussian-dominated Germany, the war resulted in the Confederation being partially replaced by a North German Confederation in 1867, comprising the 22 states north of the Main. The new constitution and the title Emperor came into effect on 1 January 1871, during the Siege of Paris on 18 January 1871, William accepted to be proclaimed Emperor in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles. The second German Constitution was adopted by the Reichstag on 14 April 1871 and proclaimed by the Emperor on 16 April, the political system remained the same. The empire had a parliament called the Reichstag, which was elected by universal male suffrage, however, the original constituencies drawn in 1871 were never redrawn to reflect the growth of urban areas
5.
Camille Jenatzy
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Camille Jenatzy was a Belgian race car driver. He is known for breaking the speed record three times and being the first man to break the 100 km/h barrier. He was nicknamed Le Diable Rouge after the colour of his beard, on 17 January 1899 at Achères, Yvelines near Paris, France, he reached the speed of 66.66 km/h over the kilometer, driving a CGA Dogcart. That same day, the record was broken by Gaston de Chasseloup-Laubat and this record was again broken by Chasseloup-Laubat, who applied rudimentary streamlining to his Jeantaud. In 1902, he lost the land speed record to Léon Serpollet, Jenatzy won the 1903 Gordon Bennet Cup in Athy, Ireland, at the wheel of a Mercedes. Jenatzy died in 1913 in a hunting accident and he went behind a bush and made animal noises as a prank on his friends who were hunting with him. Alfred Madoux, director of the journal LEtoile Belge, fired, when they realised it was Jenatzy, they rushed him to hospital by car, he bled to death en route, fulfilling his own prophecy he would die in a Mercedes. He is buried at the Laeken Cemetery in Brussels
6.
Belgium
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Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a sovereign state in Western Europe bordered by France, the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, and the North Sea. It is a small, densely populated country which covers an area of 30,528 square kilometres and has a population of about 11 million people. Additionally, there is a group of German-speakers who live in the East Cantons located around the High Fens area. Historically, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg were known as the Low Countries, the region was called Belgica in Latin, after the Roman province of Gallia Belgica. From the end of the Middle Ages until the 17th century, today, Belgium is a federal constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. It is divided into three regions and three communities, that exist next to each other and its two largest regions are the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders in the north and the French-speaking southern region of Wallonia. The Brussels-Capital Region is a bilingual enclave within the Flemish Region. A German-speaking Community exists in eastern Wallonia, Belgiums linguistic diversity and related political conflicts are reflected in its political history and complex system of governance, made up of six different governments. Upon its independence, declared in 1830, Belgium participated in the Industrial Revolution and, during the course of the 20th century, possessed a number of colonies in Africa. This continuing antagonism has led to several far-reaching reforms, resulting in a transition from a unitary to a federal arrangement during the period from 1970 to 1993. Belgium is also a member of the Eurozone, NATO, OECD and WTO. Its capital, Brussels, hosts several of the EUs official seats as well as the headquarters of major international organizations such as NATO. Belgium is also a part of the Schengen Area, Belgium is a developed country, with an advanced high-income economy and is categorized as very high in the Human Development Index. A gradual immigration by Germanic Frankish tribes during the 5th century brought the area under the rule of the Merovingian kings, a gradual shift of power during the 8th century led the kingdom of the Franks to evolve into the Carolingian Empire. Many of these fiefdoms were united in the Burgundian Netherlands of the 14th and 15th centuries, the Eighty Years War divided the Low Countries into the northern United Provinces and the Southern Netherlands. The latter were ruled successively by the Spanish and the Austrian Habsburgs and this was the theatre of most Franco-Spanish and Franco-Austrian wars during the 17th and 18th centuries. The reunification of the Low Countries as the United Kingdom of the Netherlands occurred at the dissolution of the First French Empire in 1815, although the franchise was initially restricted, universal suffrage for men was introduced after the general strike of 1893 and for women in 1949. The main political parties of the 19th century were the Catholic Party, French was originally the single official language adopted by the nobility and the bourgeoisie
7.
Mercedes (marque)
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Mercedes was a brand of the Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft. DMG began to develop in 1900, after the death of its co-founder, by Jellineks contract, the new model contained a newly designed engine designated Daimler-Mercedes. This engine name is the first instance of the use of the name, Mercedes, the automobile design would later be called, the Mercedes 35 hp. Later he contracted with DMG for a series of dedicated sports cars containing an engine that officially bore his daughters name. He raced them successfully, gaining recognition that increased interest in customers. This model was a significant advancement in the history of automobiles, Jellinek seems to have become obsessed with the name and even had his name changed to Jellinek-Mercedes. Maybach quit DMG in 1907 and started up his own business, and Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft in that year. Since Jellinek was a member of the board of directors by the time of the merger, Mercedes was a brand in the Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft which began to develop in 1901, after the death of its co-founder, Gottlieb Daimler. This caused DMG to abandon racing, the contract also included an order for 36 standard DMG8 hp cars. The first one was not delivered to Jellinek until 22 December, however, Jellinek laid down strict specifications for the new model stating I dont want a car for today or tomorrow, it will be the car of the day after tomorrow. Over the next few months, Jellinek oversaw the development of the new car—at first by daily telegrams—and later by traveling to Stuttgart. He took delivery of the first one on 22 December 1900, at Nices railway station—it had already sold to the Baron Henry of Rothschild. In 1901, the car amazed the automobile world, Jellinek again won the Nice races, easily beating his opponents in all the capacity classes and reaching 60 km/h. The director of the French Automobile Club, Paul Meyan, stated, We have entered the Mercedes era, the records set by the new Mercedes 35 hp model amazed the entire automobile world. The number of employees increased from 340 in 1900 to 2,200 in 1904
8.
France
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France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans 643,801 square kilometres and had a population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary republic with the capital in Paris. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse, during the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome, which held Gaul until 486, France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years War strengthening state-building and political centralisation. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a colonial empire was established. The 16th century was dominated by civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. France became Europes dominant cultural, political, and military power under Louis XIV, in the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire, whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War, the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all the colonies became independent in the 1960s with minimal controversy and typically retained close economic. France has long been a centre of art, science. It hosts Europes fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually, France is a developed country with the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, France remains a great power in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone. It is also a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or country of the Franks
Camille Jenatzy (BEL)
René de Knyff (FRA)
Selwyn Edge (GBR)
Percy Owen (USA)
