1.
United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
2.
1910 in the United Kingdom
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Events from the year 1910 in the United Kingdom. 31 January - Dr. Crippen poisons his wife and buries her body in the cellar,1 February - First labour exchanges open in the UK.15 February - The Royal Aero Club is granted its Royal prefix. 19 February - Old Trafford, the largest football stadium in England with an 80,000 capacity, is opened, Manchester Uniteds first game there is a 4-3 home defeat to Liverpool in the Football League First Division. March - King Edward VII falls very ill with bronchitis in Paris, France, April - It is reported that King Edward VIIs health has deteriorated further and he is likely to die soon. 4 April - A Bill to abolish the veto of the House of Lords is introduced in the Commons. 27 April - The House of Commons passes David Lloyd Georges Peoples Budget for the second time,28 April - Frenchman Louis Paulhan completes the Daily Mails 1910 London to Manchester air race in under 24 hours, the other competitor, Claude Grahame-White, is forced to retire. 6 May - George V succeeds to the British throne as King on the death of his father,11 May - A firedamp explosion at Wellington Colliery, Whitehaven, in the Cumberland Coalfield, kills 136. 20 May - Funeral of Edward VII held, one of the largest and last gatherings of European royalty to take place,2 June - Charles Rolls becomes the first man to make a non-stop double crossing of the English Channel by plane, including the first eastbound flight. He is also the first British resident to make the crossing in a British-built plane, 14–23 June - Edinburgh Missionary Conference is held in Scotland, presided over by Nobel Peace Prize recipient John R. Mott, launching the modern ecumenical movement and the modern missions movement. 21 June - Truro Cathedral, Cornwall, completed,28 June - Consecration of the Roman Catholic Westminster Cathedral in London. 29 July - In a legal cause célèbre, the Crown drops its charge against naval cadet George Archer-Shee for stealing a postal order,31 July - Dr. Crippen arrested on board the SS Montrose after a telegraph is sent to the ships Captain. 1 September - Ninian Park football stadium is opened in Cardiff,11 September - English-born actor-aviator Robert Loraine makes an aeroplane flight from Wales across the Irish Sea, landing some 200 feet short of the Irish coast in Dublin Bay. 5 October - Portugal becomes a republic, King Manuel II flees to England,18 October Dr. Crippen put on trial for murder at the Old Bailey. First B-type double-decker bus, built and operated by the London General Omnibus Company,20 October - RMS Olympic is launched at the Harland and Wolff Shipyards in Belfast. 22 October Dr. Crippen found guilty of murder and sentenced to death, women chainmakers of Cradley Heath in the Black Country, led by Mary Macarthur, win a minimum wage following a ten-week strike, this effectively doubles their pay. 7–8 November - Conflict between striking miners and police forces in the Rhondda, South Wales, leads to the Tonypandy Riots,18 November - Black Friday,300 suffragettes clash with police outside Parliament over the failure of the Conciliation Bill. 23 November - Dr. Crippen hanged,26 November - Suffragist Hugh Franklin attempts to whip Winston Churchill, the Home Secretary, on a train over the police treatment of suffragettes. 3–19 December - The second general election of 1910 is held for the electorate to resolve the battle of wills between the Houses of Commons and Lords
3.
1913 in the United Kingdom
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Events from the year 1913 in the United Kingdom. Monarch - George V Prime Minister - H. H. Asquith 1 January - The British Board of Film Censors receives the authority to classify,13 January - Edward Carson founds the Ulster Volunteer Force by unifying several existing loyalist militias to resist home rule in Ireland. 15 January - Unemployment and Maternity benefits introduced,30 January - The House of Lords rejects the Third Irish Home Rule Bill for the second time, by 326 to 69. 10 February - News reaches London of the failure of Capt. Scotts 1912 Polar expedition,15 February - Barry Jackson opens the Birmingham Repertory Theatre. 19 February - Suffragette arson attack on a house being built for David Lloyd George near Walton Heath Golf Club, Emmeline Pankhurst claims to have incited this and other incidents. 26 February - The Royal Flying Corps establishes the first operational airfield for fixed-wing aircraft in the U. K. at Montrose in Scotland. C.1 March - British steamship Calvados disappears in the Marmara Sea with 200 on board,28 March - The Morris Oxford 2-seater car goes on sale. 2 April - Suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst sentenced to three years of penal servitude,11 April - The Nevill Grounds cricket pavilion in Royal Tunbridge Wells is destroyed in a suffragette arson attack. 21 April - The Cunard ocean liner RMS Aquitania, built by John Brown & Company, is launched on the River Clyde,9 May–11 July - Major industrial strike in the Black Country of England. 20 May - The first Chelsea Flower Show held in London,4 June - Emily Davison, a suffragette, runs out in front of the Kings horse, Anmer, at the Epsom Derby. She is trampled and dies four days later, never having regained consciousness,26 June - First female magistrate appointed, Miss Emily Dawson, in London. 7 July - The Irish Home Rule Bill is once again carried in the House of Commons,26 July -50,000 women take part in a pilgrimage in Hyde Park, London organised by the National Union of Womens Suffrage Societies. August -50 sperm whales strand on the coast of Cornwall,7 August - American-born aviation pioneer Samuel Franklin Cody is killed with his passenger when his Cody Floatplane breaks up in a flight from Farnborough, Hampshire. 13 August - Invention of stainless steel by Harry Brearley in Sheffield,31 August - Dublin Lock-out, The Dublin Metropolitan Police kill one demonstrator and injure 400 in dispersing a demonstration in Sackville Street. 6 September - Arsenal F. C. previously based in Plumstead, South London, move into their new stadium at Highbury,14 October -439 miners die in the Senghenydd Colliery Disaster, Britains worst pit disaster. 16 October - HMS Queen Elizabeth launched at Portsmouth Dockyard as the Royal Navys first oil-fired battleship,20 December - Serious fire at Portsmouth Dockyard destroys the semaphore tower. Caroline Spurgeon named Hildred Carlile professor of English literature, University of London, sir Aston Webb remodels Buckingham Palaces main East Front, in London. Carters Crisps of London introduce commercial manufacture of potato crisps to the U. K. E. C, walter de la Mares Peacock Pie, a book of rhymes
4.
1914 in the United Kingdom
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Events from the year 1914 in the United Kingdom. This year saw the start of World War I, monarch - George V Prime Minister - H. H. Asquith January–February - Leeds rent strike. 20 February - The Fethard-on-Sea life-boat capsizes on service off the County Wexford coast,9 March - The Prime Minister proposes to allow the Ulster counties to hold a vote on whether or not to join a Home Rule parliament in Dublin. 10 March - Suffragette Mary Richardson damages the Velázquez painting the Rokeby Venus in the National Gallery, London,15 March - Cover price of The Times halved to one penny. The government backs down and they are reinstated,29 March - Katherine Routledge and her husband arrive in Easter Island to make the first true study of it. 9 April - Showing of the first colour film in Britain — The World, the Flesh. 11 April - First British performance of George Bernard Shaws play Pygmalion at His Majestys Theatre in London,17 April - Suffragette arson attack on Britannia Pier, Great Yarmouth. 24–25 April - Larne Gun Running,35,000 rifles and over 3 million rounds of ammunition from Germany are landed at Larne, Bangor,28 April - Suffragette arson attack on the Bath Hotel, Felixstowe. 4 May - Suffragette Mary Wood attacks John Singer Sargents portrait of Henry James at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in London with a meat cleaver,9 May - J. T. Hearne becomes the first bowler to take 3000 first-class wickets. 21 May - A womens suffrage march on Buckingham Palace with a petition is thwarted by police,25 May - The House of Commons of the United Kingdom passes the Irish Home Rule Bill. 30 May - RMS Aquitania makes her maiden voyage,5 June - All Saints Church, Breadsall, Derbyshire, gutted by fire, blamed on a suffragette arson attack. 23 June The Royal Naval Air Service is established and it closes on 15 August and the site is used as a military depot. 14 July - The Government of Ireland Bill completes its passage through the House of Lords and it allows Ulster counties to vote on whether or not they wish to participate in Home Rule from Dublin. 18–20 July - Fleet review by the King at Spithead, 21–24 July - A conference at Buckingham Palace fails to resolve differences between Irish unionists and nationalists over Home Rule. 26 July - Howth gun-running, Erskine Childers and his wife Molly sail into Howth in his yacht Asgard,31 July - London Stock Exchange closes. 3 August Sir Edward Grey, the Foreign Secretary, makes a speech which encourages the House of Commons to support going to war with Germany. This evening, looking from the Foreign Office windows, he observes, The lamps are going out all over Europe, banks remain closed until 7 August. English language teacher Henry Hadley is shot in an altercation with a Prussian officer on a train at Gelsenkirchen in Germany,4 August World War I, The German Army invades neutral Belgium
5.
1912 in Ireland
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Events from the year 1912 in Ireland. 8 February – First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill addresses a pro Home Rule meeting in Belfast despite Ulster Unionist attempts to prevent him speaking, Churchill shares the platform with John Redmond the leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party. 11 April – Prime Minister of the United Kingdom H. H. Asquith introduces the 3rd Home Rule Bill in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom,12 April – a convention of Sinn Féin delegates led by Arthur Griffith opposes the Home Rule Bill. 14 April – RMS Titanic, the largest vessel in the world, built in Belfast and making her last call at Queenstown, collides with an iceberg and sinks within a few hours. 22 April – Englishman Denys Corbett Wilson completes the first aeroplane crossing of the Irish Sea,26 April – English-born Vivian Hewitt makes an aeroplane crossing of the Irish Sea from Holyhead to Phoenix Park, Dublin. 30 April – Winston Churchill moves the second reading of the Home Rule Bill at Westminster,9 May – the second reading of the Home Rule Bill is accepted in the British House of Commons. A Unionist amendment rejecting the Bill is defeated,10 May – at the Royal Albert Hall in London, Bonar Law speaks of Conservative Opposition to the Home Rule Bill. Elsewhere Edward Carson also voices his opposition,1 July – a serious outbreak of foot and mouth disease occurs in Counties Dublin, Meath, Kildare and Wicklow. July – Prime Minister of the United Kingdom H. H. Asquith travels to Dublin to make a speech,18 July – suffragettes attempt an arson attack on the Theatre Royal, Dublin, during Asquiths visit. 28 September – Ulster Day – Ulster Covenant to resist Home Rule is signed by almost 250,000 men throughout Ulster,229,000 women sign a parallel declaration. 23 October – large numbers of cattle are slaughtered in Mullingar due to the outbreak of foot, the golden eagle becomes extinct in Ireland. 11 April – Lennox Robinsons play Patriots is first performed, at the Abbey Theatre,20 April – Bram Stoker, author of Dracula and theatrical manager, dies in London. November – Lord Dunsanys short story collection The Book of Wonder is published, peadar Kearney and Patrick Heeneys A Soldiers Song is first published in Irish Freedom by Bulmer Hobson. Eleanor Hull publishes The Poem-Book of the Gael, translations from Irish Gaelic poetry into English prose and verse, forrest Reids coming-of-age novel Following Darkness is published. James Stephens novel The Crock of Gold is published, tritonville, another Dublin side, joins the League, but lasts just one season. Ken McArthur, born in Dervock, County Antrim, wins the race at the 1912 Summer Olympics for South Africa. 8 January – James Brophy, cricketer,5 February – Desmond Surfleet, cricketer. 14 February – Joseph Brennan, Fianna Fáil TD, Cabinet Minister,22 March – Wilfrid Brambell, actor
6.
1912
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As of the start of 1912, the Gregorian calendar was 13 days ahead of the Julian calendar, which remained in localized use until 1923. January 1 – The Republic of China is proclaimed, January 4 – The Scout Association is incorporated throughout the British Commonwealth by Royal Charter. January 5 – Moscow Art Theatre production of Hamlet opens, January 6 – New Mexico becomes the 47th state of the United States. January 6 – German geophysicist Alfred Wegener first presents his theory of continental drift, January 14 – Raymond Poincaré forms a coalition government in France, beginning his first term of office as Prime Minister on 21 January. January 17 – British polar explorer Captain Robert Falcon Scott and a team of four become the second group to reach the South Pole. January 18 – Prague Party Conference, Vladimir Lenin and the Bolshevik Party break away from the rest of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party. January 22 – The Overseas Railroad opens and the first train arrives in Key West, Florida at 10,43 AM, with Henry M. Flagler, January 23 – The International Opium Convention is signed at The Hague. February 12 – The Manchu Qing dynasty of China comes to an end after 268 years with the abdication of Emperor Puyi in favour of the Republic of China. February 14 – Arizona becomes the 48th U. S. state, february 29 – Serbia and Bulgaria secretly sign a treaty of alliance for a term of eight years, with each pledging to come to the defense of the other during war. March 1 – Albert Berry is reported to have made the first parachute jump from a flying airplane. March 6 – Italian forces became the first to use airships in war, march 7 – Roald Amundsen in Hobart, Tasmania, announces his success in reaching the South Pole the previous December. March 12 – The Girl Scouts is founded by Juliette Gordon Low in Savannah, march 16 – Lawrence Oates, dying member of Scotts South Pole expedition, leaves the tent saying, I am just going outside and may be some time. March 22 – State of Bihar is formed out of the ertswhile State of Bengal in British India, march 27 – Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo gives 3,000 cherry trees to be planted in Washington, D. C. to symbolize the friendship between the two countries. March 29 – The remaining members of Robert Falcon Scotts South Pole expedition die, march 30 – The French Third Republic establishes the French protectorate in Morocco. April 10 – White Star liner RMS Titanic departs from Southampton with 2225 passengers, april 11 – RMS Titanic makes her last call, at Queenstown in Ireland. April 14–15 – Sinking of the RMS Titanic, RMS Titanic strikes an iceberg in the northern Atlantic Ocean, the wreck will not be discovered until 1985. April 16 – Harriet Quimby becomes the first woman to fly across the English Channel, april 17 –500 striking gold miners in Siberia are killed or wounded by troops in the Lena massacre. April 18 – Cunard Line vessel RMS Carpathia arrives in New York with the 708 RMS Titanic survivors, april 20 – Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts, opens
7.
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was established as a sovereign state on 1 January 1801 by the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland. The growing desire for an Irish Republic led to the Irish War of Independence, Northern Ireland remained part of the United Kingdom, and the state was consequently renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Britain financed the European coalition that defeated France in 1815 in the Napoleonic Wars, the British Empire thereby became the foremost world power for the next century. The Crimean War with Russia and the Boer wars were relatively small operations in a largely peaceful century, rapid industrialisation that began in the decades prior to the states formation continued up until the mid-19th century. A devastating famine, exacerbated by government inaction in the century, led to demographic collapse in much of Ireland. It was an era of economic modernization and growth of industry, trade and finance. Outward migration was heavy to the colonies and to the United States. Britain also built up a large British Empire in Africa and Asia, India, by far the most important possession, saw a short-lived revolt in 1857. In foreign policy Britain favoured free trade, which enabled its financiers and merchants to operate successfully in many otherwise independent countries, as in South America. Britain formed no permanent military alliances until the early 20th century, when it began to cooperate with Japan, France and Russia, and moved closer to the United States. A brief period of limited independence for Ireland came to an end following the Irish Rebellion of 1798, the British governments fear of an independent Ireland siding against them with the French resulted in the decision to unite the two countries. This was brought about by legislation in the parliaments of both kingdoms and came into effect on 1 January 1801, however, King George III was bitterly opposed to any such Emancipation and succeeded in defeating his governments attempts to introduce it. When the Treaty of Amiens ended the war, Britain agreed to return most of the territories it had seized, in May 1803, war was declared again. In 1806, Napoleon issued the series of Berlin Decrees, which brought into effect the Continental System and this policy aimed to eliminate the threat from the British by closing French-controlled territory to foreign trade. Frances population and agricultural capacity far outstripped that of the British Isles, Napoleon expected that cutting Britain off from the European mainland would end its economic hegemony. The Spanish uprising in 1808 at last permitted Britain to gain a foothold on the Continent, after Napoleons surrender and exile to the island of Elba, peace appeared to have returned. The Allies united and the armies of Wellington and Blucher defeated Napoleon once, simultaneous with the Napoleonic Wars, trade disputes, arming hostile Indians and British impressment of American sailors led to the War of 1812 with the United States. The war was little noticed in Britain, which could devote few resources to the conflict until the fall of Napoleon in 1814, American frigates inflicted a series of defeats on the Royal Navy, which was short on manpower due to the conflict in Europe
8.
Monarchy of the United Kingdom
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The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional monarchy of the United Kingdom, its dependencies and its overseas territories. The monarchs title is King or Queen, the current monarch and head of state, Queen Elizabeth II, ascended the throne on the death of her father, King George VI, on 6 February 1952. The monarch and his or her immediate family undertake various official, ceremonial, diplomatic, as the monarchy is constitutional, the monarch is limited to non-partisan functions such as bestowing honours and appointing the Prime Minister. The monarch is, by tradition, commander-in-chief of the British Armed Forces, from 1603, when the Scottish monarch King James VI inherited the English throne as James I, both the English and Scottish kingdoms were ruled by a single sovereign. From 1649 to 1660, the tradition of monarchy was broken by the republican Commonwealth of England, the Act of Settlement 1701 excluded Roman Catholics, or those who married Catholics, from succession to the English throne. In 1707, the kingdoms of England and Scotland were merged to create the Kingdom of Great Britain, and in 1801, the British monarch became nominal head of the vast British Empire, which covered a quarter of the worlds surface at its greatest extent in 1921. After the Second World War, the vast majority of British colonies and territories became independent, George VI and his successor, Elizabeth II, adopted the title Head of the Commonwealth as a symbol of the free association of its independent member states. The United Kingdom and fifteen other Commonwealth monarchies that share the person as their monarch are called Commonwealth realms. In the uncodified Constitution of the United Kingdom, the Monarch is the Head of State, oaths of allegiance are made to the Queen and her lawful successors. God Save the Queen is the British national anthem, and the monarch appears on postage stamps, coins, the Monarch takes little direct part in Government. Executive power is exercised by Her Majestys Government, which comprises Ministers, primarily the Prime Minister and the Cabinet and they have the direction of the Armed Forces of the Crown, the Civil Service and other Crown Servants such as the Diplomatic and Secret Services. Judicial power is vested in the Judiciary, who by constitution, the Church of England, of which the Monarch is the head, has its own legislative, judicial and executive structures. Powers independent of government are legally granted to public bodies by statute or Statutory Instrument such as an Order in Council. The Sovereigns role as a monarch is largely limited to non-partisan functions. This role has been recognised since the 19th century, the constitutional writer Walter Bagehot identified the monarchy in 1867 as the dignified part rather than the efficient part of government. Whenever necessary, the Monarch is responsible for appointing a new Prime Minister, the Prime Minister takes office by attending the Monarch in private audience, and after kissing hands that appointment is immediately effective without any other formality or instrument. Since 1945, there have only been two hung parliaments, the first followed the February 1974 general election when Harold Wilson was appointed Prime Minister after Edward Heath resigned following his failure to form a coalition. Although Wilsons Labour Party did not have a majority, they were the largest party, the second followed the May 2010 general election, in which the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats agreed to form the first coalition government since World War II
9.
George V
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George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. He was the son of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales. From the time of his birth, he was third in the line of succession behind his father and his own brother, Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence. From 1877 to 1891, George served in the Royal Navy, on the death of his grandmother in 1901, Georges father became King-Emperor of the British Empire, and George was created Prince of Wales. He succeeded his father in 1910 and he was the only Emperor of India to be present at his own Delhi Durbar. His reign saw the rise of socialism, communism, fascism, Irish republicanism, the Parliament Act 1911 established the supremacy of the elected British House of Commons over the unelected House of Lords. In 1917, George became the first monarch of the House of Windsor, in 1924 he appointed the first Labour ministry and in 1931 the Statute of Westminster recognised the dominions of the Empire as separate, independent states within the Commonwealth of Nations. He had health problems throughout much of his reign and at his death was succeeded by his eldest son. George was born on 3 June 1865, in Marlborough House and he was the second son of the Prince and Princess of Wales, Albert Edward and Alexandra. His father was the eldest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert and he was baptised at Windsor Castle on 7 July 1865 by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Charles Longley. As a younger son of the Prince of Wales, there was expectation that George would become king. He was third in line to the throne, after his father and elder brother, George was only 17 months younger than Albert Victor, and the two princes were educated together. John Neale Dalton was appointed as their tutor in 1871, neither Albert Victor nor George excelled intellectually. For three years from 1879, the brothers served on HMS Bacchante, accompanied by Dalton. They toured the colonies of the British Empire in the Caribbean, South Africa and Australia, and visited Norfolk, Virginia, as well as South America, the Mediterranean, Egypt, Dalton wrote an account of their journey entitled The Cruise of HMS Bacchante. Between Melbourne and Sydney, Dalton recorded a sighting of the Flying Dutchman, after Lausanne, the brothers were separated, Albert Victor attended Trinity College, Cambridge, while George continued in the Royal Navy. He travelled the world, visiting many areas of the British Empire, during his naval career he commanded Torpedo Boat 79 in home waters then HMS Thrush on the North America station, before his last active service in command of HMS Melampus in 1891–92. From then on, his rank was largely honorary
10.
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
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The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is the head of Her Majestys Government in the United Kingdom. The prime minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Monarch, to Parliament, to their political party, the office is one of the Great Offices of State. The current prime minister, Theresa May, leader of the Conservative Party, was appointed by the Queen on 13 July 2016. The position of Prime Minister was not created, it evolved slowly and erratically over three hundred years due to acts of Parliament, political developments, and accidents of history. The office is therefore best understood from a historical perspective, the origins of the position are found in constitutional changes that occurred during the Revolutionary Settlement and the resulting shift of political power from the Sovereign to Parliament. The political position of Prime Minister was enhanced by the development of political parties, the introduction of mass communication. By the start of the 20th century the modern premiership had emerged, prior to 1902, the prime minister sometimes came from the House of Lords, provided that his government could form a majority in the Commons. However as the power of the aristocracy waned during the 19th century the convention developed that the Prime Minister should always sit in the lower house. As leader of the House of Commons, the Prime Ministers authority was further enhanced by the Parliament Act of 1911 which marginalised the influence of the House of Lords in the law-making process. The Prime Minister is ex officio also First Lord of the Treasury, certain privileges, such as residency of 10 Downing Street, are accorded to Prime Ministers by virtue of their position as First Lord of the Treasury. As the Head of Her Majestys Government the modern Prime Minister leads the Cabinet, in addition the Prime Minister leads a major political party and generally commands a majority in the House of Commons. As such the incumbent wields both legislative and executive powers, under the British system there is a unity of powers rather than separation. In the House of Commons, the Prime Minister guides the process with the goal of enacting the legislative agenda of their political party. The Prime Minister also acts as the face and voice of Her Majestys Government. The British system of government is based on an uncodified constitution, in 1928, Prime Minister H. H. Asquith described this characteristic of the British constitution in his memoirs, In this country we live. Our constitutional practices do not derive their validity and sanction from any Bill which has received the assent of the King, Lords. They rest on usage, custom, convention, often of slow growth in their early stages, not always uniform, the relationships between the Prime Minister and the Sovereign, Parliament and Cabinet are defined largely by these unwritten conventions of the constitution. Many of the Prime Ministers executive and legislative powers are actually royal prerogatives which are still vested in the Sovereign
11.
H. H. Asquith
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He had a central role in the design and passage of major liberal legislation. In August 1914, Asquith took the United Kingdom into the First World War, Asquiths father owned a small business but died when Asquith was seven. Asquith was educated at City of London School and Balliol College and he trained as a barrister and after a slow start to his career achieved great success. In 1886, he was adopted as Liberal candidate for East Fife, in 1892, he was appointed as Home Secretary in Gladstones fourth ministry, remaining in the post until the Liberals lost the 1895 election. In 1908, Asquith succeeded him as minister, with David Lloyd George as chancellor. With their first majority government since the 1880s, the Liberals were determined to advance their agenda, an impediment to this was the unelected House of Lords, dominated by the Conservatives. When Lloyd George proposed, and the House of Commons passed, the Peoples Budget of 1909, meanwhile the South Africa Act 1909 passed. Asquith called an election for January 1910, and the Liberals won, Asquith was less successful in dealing with Irish Home Rule. Repeated crises led to gun running and violence, verging on civil war, bitter rivalries inside and between the three major parties worsened when Asquith was unable to forge the coalition into a harmonious team. It was weakened by his own indecision over strategy, conscription, Lloyd George organised his overthrow and replaced him as Prime Minister in December 1916. Asquith remained as leader of the Liberal Party, but was unable to quell the internal conflict, the party rapidly declined in popularity and was ruined by the 1918 general election. Asquith accepted a peerage in 1925 and died, aged 75 and his roles in creating the modern British welfare state, 1906-1911 have been celebrated, but his weaknesses as a war leader and as a party leader after 1914 have been emphasised by historians. Asquith was born in Morley, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the couple also had three daughters, of whom only one survived infancy. The Asquiths were an old Yorkshire family, with a long nonconformist tradition and it was a matter of family pride, shared by Asquith, that an ancestor, Joseph Asquith, was imprisoned for his part in the pro-Roundhead Farnley Wood Plot of 1664. Both Asquiths parents came from families associated with the Yorkshire wool trade, Dixon Asquith inherited the Gillroyd Mill Company, founded by his father. Emilys father, William Willans, ran a successful wool-trading business in Huddersfield, both families were middle-class, Congregationalist, and politically radical. Dixon was a man, cultivated and in his sons words not cut out for a business career. He was described as a man of character who held Bible classes for young men
12.
Liberal Party (UK)
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The Liberal Party was a liberal political party which was one of the two major parties in the United Kingdom in the 19th and early 20th century. The party arose from an alliance of Whigs and free-trade Peelites and Radicals favourable to the ideals of the American, by the end of the nineteenth century, it had formed four governments under William Gladstone. Despite splitting over the issue of Irish Home Rule, the party returned to power in 1906 with a landslide victory, by the end of the 1920s, the Labour Party had replaced the Liberals as the Conservatives main rival. The party went into decline and by the 1950s won no more than six seats at general elections, apart from notable by-election victories, the partys fortunes did not improve significantly until it formed the SDP–Liberal Alliance with the newly formed Social Democratic Party in 1981. At the 1983 General Election, the Alliance won over a quarter of the vote, at the 1987 General Election, its vote fell below 23% and the Liberal and Social Democratic parties merged in 1988 to form the Liberal Democrats. A splinter group reconstituted the Liberal Party in 1989 and it was formed by party members opposed to the merger who saw the Lib Dems diluting Liberal ideals. Prominent intellectuals associated with the Liberal Party include the philosopher John Stuart Mill, the economist John Maynard Keynes, the Liberal Party grew out of the Whigs, who had their origins in an aristocratic faction in the reign of Charles II, and the early 19th century Radicals. The Whigs were in favour of reducing the power of the Crown, although their motives in this were originally to gain more power for themselves, the more idealistic Whigs gradually came to support an expansion of democracy for its own sake. The great figures of reformist Whiggery were Charles James Fox and his disciple, after decades in opposition, the Whigs returned to power under Grey in 1830 and carried the First Reform Act in 1832. The Reform Act was the climax of Whiggism, but it brought about the Whigs demise. As early as 1839 Russell had adopted the name of Liberals, the leading Radicals were John Bright and Richard Cobden, who represented the manufacturing towns which had gained representation under the Reform Act. They favoured social reform, personal liberty, reducing the powers of the Crown and the Church of England, avoidance of war and foreign alliances, for a century, free trade remained the one cause which could unite all Liberals. This allowed ministries led by Russell, Palmerston, and the Peelite Lord Aberdeen to hold office for most of the 1850s and 1860s, a leading Peelite was William Ewart Gladstone, who was a reforming Chancellor of the Exchequer in most of these governments. The formal foundation of the Liberal Party is traditionally traced to 1859 and this was brought about by Palmerstons death in 1865 and Russells retirement in 1868. After a brief Conservative government Gladstone won a victory at the 1868 election. The establishment of the party as a membership organisation came with the foundation of the National Liberal Federation in 1877. John Stuart Mill was a Liberal MP from 1865 to 1868, for the next thirty years Gladstone and Liberalism were synonymous. William Ewart Gladstone served as prime minister four times, called the Grand Old Man later in life, Gladstone was always a dynamic popular orator who appealed strongly to the working class and to the lower middle class
13.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
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It alone possesses legislative supremacy and thereby ultimate power over all other political bodies in the UK and its territories. Its head is the Sovereign of the United Kingdom and its seat is the Palace of Westminster in the City of Westminster, one of the boroughs of the British capital, the parliament is bicameral, consisting of an upper house and a lower house. The Sovereign forms the third component of the legislature, prior to the opening of the Supreme Court in October 2009, the House of Lords also performed a judicial role through the Law Lords. The House of Commons is an elected chamber with elections held at least every five years. The two Houses meet in separate chambers in the Palace of Westminster in London, most cabinet ministers are from the Commons, whilst junior ministers can be from either House. The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in 1707 following the ratification of the Treaty of Union by Acts of Union passed by the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. The UK parliament and its institutions have set the pattern for many throughout the world. However, John Bright – who coined the epithet – used it with reference to a rather than a parliament. In theory, the UKs supreme legislative power is vested in the Crown-in-Parliament. However, the Crown normally acts on the advice of the Prime Minister, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was created in 1801, by the merger of the Kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland under the Acts of Union. The principle of responsibility to the lower House did not develop until the 19th century—the House of Lords was superior to the House of Commons both in theory and in practice. Members of the House of Commons were elected in an electoral system. Thus, the borough of Old Sarum, with seven voters, many small constituencies, known as pocket or rotten boroughs, were controlled by members of the House of Lords, who could ensure the election of their relatives or supporters. During the reforms of the 19th century, beginning with the Reform Act 1832, No longer dependent on the Lords for their seats, MPs grew more assertive. The supremacy of the British House of Commons was established in the early 20th century, in 1909, the Commons passed the so-called Peoples Budget, which made numerous changes to the taxation system which were detrimental to wealthy landowners. The House of Lords, which consisted mostly of powerful landowners, on the basis of the Budgets popularity and the Lords consequent unpopularity, the Liberal Party narrowly won two general elections in 1910. Using the result as a mandate, the Liberal Prime Minister, Herbert Henry Asquith, introduced the Parliament Bill, in the face of such a threat, the House of Lords narrowly passed the bill. However, regardless of the Parliament Acts of 1911 and 1949, the Government of Ireland Act 1920 created the parliaments of Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland and reduced the representation of both parts at Westminster
14.
Robert Falcon Scott
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On the first expedition, he set a new southern record by marching to latitude 82°S and discovered the Polar Plateau, on which the South Pole is located. During the second venture, Scott led a party of five which reached the South Pole on 17 January 1912, on their return journey, Scotts party discovered plant fossils, proving Antarctica was once forested and joined to other continents. Before his appointment to lead the Discovery Expedition, Scott had followed the career of an officer in the Royal Navy. Having taken this step, his name became associated with the Antarctic. Following the news of his death, Scott became a celebrated hero, in the closing decades of the 20th century, Scott became a figure of controversy, with questions raised about his competence and character. Scott was born on 6 June 1868, the child out of six and elder son of John Edward and Hannah Scott of Stoke Damerel. Scotts father was a brewer and magistrate, there were also naval and military traditions in the family, Scotts grandfather and four uncles all having served in the army or navy. John Scotts prosperity came from the ownership of a small Plymouth brewery which he inherited from his father, Robert Falcon Scotts early childhood years were spent in comfort, but some years later, when he was establishing his naval career, the family would suffer serious financial misfortune. In accordance with the tradition, Robert and his younger brother Archie were predestined for careers in the armed services. Having passed these exams Scott began his career in 1881. In July 1883, Scott passed out of Britannia as a midshipman, by October, he was en route to South Africa to join HMS Boadicea, the flagship of the Cape squadron, the first of several ships on which he served during his midshipman years. On this occasion,1 March 1887, Markham observed Midshipman Scotts cutter winning that race across the bay. Markhams habit was to collect likely young naval officers with a view to their undertaking polar exploration work in the future and he was impressed by Scotts intelligence, enthusiasm and charm, and the 18-year-old midshipman was duly noted. In March 1888 Scott passed his examinations for sub-lieutenant, with four first class out of five. His career progressed smoothly, with service on ships and promotion to lieutenant in 1889. In 1891, after a spell in foreign waters, he applied for the two-year torpedo training course on HMS Vernon. He graduated with first class certificates in both the theory and practical examinations, a small blot occurred in the summer of 1893 when, while commanding a torpedo boat, Scott ran it aground, a mishap which earned him a mild rebuke. According to Huntford, Scott disappears from records for eight months
15.
South Pole
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The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole or Terrestrial South Pole, is one of the two points where the Earths axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on the surface of the Earth, situated on the continent of Antarctica, it is the site of the United States Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station, which was established in 1956 and has been permanently staffed since that year. The Geographic South Pole should not be confused with the South Magnetic Pole, the South Pole is at the center of the Southern Hemisphere. For most purposes, the Geographic South Pole is defined as the point of the two points where the Earths axis of rotation intersects its surface. However, the Earths axis of rotation is actually subject to very small wobbles, the geographic coordinates of the South Pole are usually given simply as 90°S, since its longitude is geometrically undefined and irrelevant. When a longitude is desired, it may be given as 0°, at the South Pole, all directions face north. For this reason, directions at the Pole are given relative to grid north, along tight latitude circles, clockwise is east, and counterclockwise is west, opposite to the North Pole. The Geographic South Pole is located on the continent of Antarctica. It sits atop a featureless, barren, windswept and icy plateau at an altitude of 2,835 metres above sea level, and is located about 1,300 km from the nearest open sea at Bay of Whales. The ice is estimated to be about 2,700 metres thick at the Pole, the polar ice sheet is moving at a rate of roughly 10 metres per year in a direction between 37° and 40° west of grid north, down towards the Weddell Sea. Therefore, the position of the station and other artificial features relative to the geographic pole gradually shift over time. The Geographic South Pole is marked by a stake in the ice alongside a small sign, these are repositioned each year in a ceremony on New Years Day to compensate for the movement of the ice. The sign records the respective dates that Roald Amundsen and Robert F. Scott reached the Pole, followed by a quotation from each man. A new marker stake is designed and fabricated each year by staff at the site, the Ceremonial South Pole is an area set aside for photo opportunities at the South Pole Station. It is located around 180 metres from the Geographic South Pole, Amundsens Tent, The tent was erected by the Norwegian expedition led by Roald Amundsen on its arrival on 14 December 1911. It is currently buried beneath the snow and ice in the vicinity of the Pole and it has been designated a Historic Site or Monument, following a proposal by Norway to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting. In 1820, several expeditions claimed to have been the first to have sighted Antarctica, with the very first being the Russian expedition led by Faddey Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev. The first landing was probably just over a year later when American Captain John Davis, the basic geography of the Antarctic coastline was not understood until the mid-to-late 19th century
16.
RMS Titanic
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Of the 2,224 passengers and crew aboard, more than 1,500 died, making it one of the deadliest commercial peacetime maritime disasters in modern history. Thomas Andrews, her architect, died in the disaster, the first class accommodation was designed to be the pinnacle of comfort and luxury, with an on-board gymnasium, swimming pool, libraries, high-class restaurants and opulent cabins. A high-power radiotelegraph transmitter was available for sending passenger marconigrams and for the operational use. Titanic only carried enough lifeboats for 1,178 people—slightly more than half of the number on board, after leaving Southampton on 10 April 1912, Titanic called at Cherbourg in France and Queenstown in Ireland before heading west to New York. On 14 April, four days into the crossing and about 375 miles south of Newfoundland, the collision caused the ships hull plates to buckle inwards along her starboard side and opened five of her sixteen watertight compartments to the sea, she could only survive four flooding. Meanwhile, passengers and some members were evacuated in lifeboats. A disproportionate number of men were left aboard because of a women and children first protocol for loading lifeboats, at 2,20 a. m. she broke apart and foundered—with well over one thousand people still aboard. Just under two hours after Titanic sank, the Cunard liner RMS Carpathia arrived at the scene, where she brought aboard an estimated 705 survivors. The disaster was greeted with shock and outrage at the huge loss of life. Public inquiries in Britain and the United States led to improvements in maritime safety. One of their most important legacies was the establishment in 1914 of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, which still governs maritime safety today. Additionally, several new regulations were passed around the world in an effort to learn from the many missteps in wireless communications—which could have saved many more passengers. The wreck of Titanic, first discovered over 70 years after the sinking, remains on the seabed, since her discovery in 1985, thousands of artifacts have been recovered and put on display at museums around the world. Titanic has become one of the most famous ships in history, her memory is kept alive by numerous works of culture, including books, folk songs, films, exhibits. Titanic is the second largest ocean liner wreck in the world, only beaten by her sister HMHS Britannic, the name Titanic was derived from Greek mythology and meant gigantic. They were by far the largest vessels of the British shipping company White Star Lines fleet, Teutonic was replaced by Olympic while Majestic was replaced by Titanic. Majestic would be back into her old spot on White Stars New York service after Titanics loss. The ships were constructed by the Belfast shipbuilders Harland and Wolff, cost considerations were relatively low on the agenda and Harland and Wolff was authorised to spend what it needed on the ships, plus a five percent profit margin
17.
Southampton
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Southampton, on the south coast of England, is the largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire. It is 75 miles south-west of London and 19 miles north-west of Portsmouth, Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest. It lies at the northernmost point of Southampton Water at the confluence of the Rivers Test and Itchen, the city, which is a unitary authority, has an estimated population of 253,651. The citys name is abbreviated in writing to Soton or Soton. Significant employers in the city include the University of Southampton, Southampton Solent University, Southampton Airport, Ordnance Survey, BBC South, Southampton has a large shopping centre and retail park, Westquay. In 2014, the city approved a follow-up from the Westquay park, WestQuay Watermark. This built-up area is part of the area known as South Hampshire. With a population of over 1.5 million this makes the one of the United Kingdoms most populous metropolitan areas. Archaeological finds suggest that the area has been inhabited since the stone age, following the Roman invasion of Britain in AD43 and the conquering of the local Britons in 70 AD the fortress settlement of Clausentum was established. It was an important trading port and defensive outpost of Winchester, Clausentum was defended by a wall and two ditches and is thought to have contained a bath house. Clausentum was not abandoned until around 410, the Anglo-Saxons formed a new, larger, settlement across the Itchen centred on what is now the St Marys area of the city. The settlement was known as Hamwic, which evolved into Hamtun, archaeological excavations of this site have uncovered one of the best collections of Saxon artefacts in Europe. It is from this town that the county of Hampshire gets its name, viking raids from 840 onwards contributed to the decline of Hamwic in the 9th century, and by the 10th century a fortified settlement, which became medieval Southampton, had been established. Following the Norman Conquest in 1066, Southampton became the port of transit between the then capital of England, Winchester, and Normandy. By the 13th century Southampton had become a port, particularly involved in the import of French wine in exchange for English cloth. The Franciscan friary in Southampton was founded circa 1233, the friars constructed a water supply system in 1290, which carried water from Conduit Head some 1.7 kilometres to the site of the friary inside the town walls. Further remains can be observed at Conduit House on Commercial Road, the friars granted use of the water to the town in 1310. The town was sacked in 1338 by French, Genoese and Monegasque ships, on visiting Southampton in 1339, Edward III ordered that walls be built to close the town
18.
General Post Office
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The General Post Office was officially established in England in 1660 by Charles II and it eventually grew to combine the functions of state postal system and telecommunications carrier. Similar General Post Offices were established across the British Empire, in 1969 the GPO was abolished and the assets transferred to The Post Office, changing it from a Department of State to a statutory corporation. For the more recent history of the system in the United Kingdom, see the article Royal Mail. Originally, the GPO was a monopoly covering the despatch of items from a sender to a specific receiver. The postal service was known as the Royal Mail because it was built on the system for royal. In 1661 the office of Postmaster General was created to oversee the GPO, the GPO created a network of post offices where senders could submit items. All post was transferred from the post office of origination to distribution points called sorting stations, initially it was the recipient of the post who paid the fee, and he had the right to refuse to accept the item if he did not wish to pay. The charge was based on the distance the item had been carried so the GPO had to keep an account for each item. The first general post office in London opened in 1643, just 8 years after King Charles I legalised use of the posts for private correspondence. It was probably on Cloak Lane near Dowgate Hill, coffee houses in the City such as Lloyds and Garraways organised private transport of mail among their patrons. The Royal Mail moved its headquarters to Lombard Street in the City in 1678 to better curtail such practices, when the Central London Railway was built in 1900 its nearby station was named Post Office. Smirkes building was felt to be too small by this time, however, in 1912, the former GPO East was demolished, the current headquarters of BT, a post World War II building, occupies the site of the old Telegraph Office. The theory was used to state control of the mail service into every form of electronic communication possible on the basis that every sender used some form of distribution service. These distribution services were considered in law as forms of electronic post offices and this applied to telegraph and telephone switching stations. In the mid 19th century several private companies were established in the UK. The responsibility for the electric telegraphs was officially transferred to the GPO on Friday,4 February 1870, overseas telegraphs did not fall within the monopoly. The private telegraph companies that existed were bought out. The new combined telegraph service had 1,058 telegraph offices in towns,6,830,812 telegrams were transmitted in 1869 producing revenue of £550,000
19.
National Telephone Company
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The National Telephone Company was a British telephone company from 1881 until 1911 which brought together smaller local companies in the early years of the telephone. Under the Telephone Transfer Act 1911 it was taken over by the General Post Office in 1912. Three years after the first telephone company, The Telephone Company Ltd. appeared in London, NTC was formed on 10 March 1881, as a provincial subsidiary of the United Telephone Company Limited. The NTC was initially formed to develop and operate services in Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Ulster and parts of Scotland. The UTC developed other similar provincial companies throughout the British Isles between 1881 and 1885, the UTC then wished to create a new company for the amalgamation of all their associated companies. However, the government declined to issue the new company with a licence to operate or to allow the transfer of an existing licence. The National Telephone Company Limited name being retained, in 1886 it built an ornate red brick and terracotta building 19, Newhall Street, now grade I listed, for its Birmingham Central exchange, opened in 1887. In 1899 it commissioned Telephone House in Londons Temple Lane, the building still bears the companys NT logo and some cherubs holding what appear to be old style telephone handsets. Throughout this period the NTC also took over smaller telephone companies, following the Telegraph Acts of 1892 and 1896, NTC trunk lines were acquired and transferred to the Post Office between 1896-97. In 1901, the Postmaster General and the NTC signed an agreement to prevent unnecessary duplication of plant, on 31 December 1911 the NTC ceased to formally trade. The Postmaster General took over the NTC and its telephone systems, the National Telephone Company also issued stamps in various values to enable the public to pre pay for telephone calls made from company premises. Records of the National Telephone Company, c. 1880s–c.1946 are held by BT Archives
20.
Roald Amundsen
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Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen was a Norwegian explorer of polar regions. He led the Antarctic expedition of 1910–12 which was the first to reach the South Pole, in 1926, he was the first expedition leader for the air expedition to the North Pole. Amundsen is recognized as the first person, without dispute, as having reached both poles and he is also known as having the first expedition to traverse the Northwest Passage in the Arctic. In June 1928, while taking part in a mission for the airship Italia. Amundsen was a key leader during the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration, in the class of Douglas Mawson, Robert Falcon Scott. Amundsen was born to a family of Norwegian shipowners and captains in Borge and his parents were Jens Amundsen and Hanna Sahlqvist. Roald was the son in the family. His mother wanted him to avoid the family trade and encouraged him to become a doctor. He promptly quit university for a life at sea, Amundsen had hidden a lifelong desire inspired by Fridtjof Nansens crossing of Greenland in 1888 and Franklins lost expedition. He decided on a life of exploration of wilderness places. Amundsen joined the Belgian Antarctic Expedition as first mate and this expedition, led by Adrien de Gerlache using the ship the RV Belgica, became the first expedition to winter in Antarctica. The Belgica, whether by mistake or design, became locked in the sea ice at 70°30′S off Alexander Island, the crew endured a winter for which they were poorly prepared. By Amundsens own estimation, the doctor for the expedition, the American Frederick Cook, probably saved the crew from scurvy by hunting for animals and feeding the crew fresh meat. In cases where citrus fruits are lacking, fresh meat from animals that make their own vitamin C contains enough of the vitamin to prevent scurvy and this was an important lesson for Amundsens future expeditions. In 1903, Amundsen led the first expedition to successfully traverse Canadas Northwest Passage between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and he planned a small expedition of six men in a 45-ton fishing vessel, Gjøa, in order to have flexibility. His ship had relatively shallow draft and his technique was to use a small ship and hug the coast. Amundsen had the ship outfitted with a gasoline engine. They traveled via Baffin Bay, the Parry Channel and then south through Peel Sound, James Ross Strait, Simpson Strait and they spent two winters at King William Island in the harbor of what is today Gjoa Haven, Nunavut, Canada
21.
Githa Sowerby
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Katherine Githa Sowerby, also known under her penname K. G. Sowerby, was an English playwright, childrens writer, and member of the Fabian Society. A feminist, she was well-known during the twentieth century for her 1912 hit play Rutherford & Son. Rutherford & Son was first revived in 1980, and since there have been several productions, including one at the Royal National Theatre in 1994 and, most recently. A biography of Sowerby by Pat Riley, Looking for Githa, in addition to several plays, Sowerby wrote books of poetry and short stories for children, illustrated by her sister Millicent Sowerby. Her papers and memorabilia are in the collections at the Tyne, Sowerby was born in 1876 in Gateshead, England, into the Sowerbys, a glass-making family. Her father, John G. Sowerby, was an artist and grandson of naturalist James Sowerby, Sowerby married John Kendall, and her daughter, Joan Smith, still lives in London. Rutherford & Son was a sensation and a success in its 1912 London debut. Literary critic Barrett Harper Clark, writing in 1915, declared it among the most powerful works of the younger generation and it was also produced in Canada and Australia, and translated into numerous other languages, including German, French, Italian, Russian, and Bohemian. Originally produced under the penname G. K. Sowerby, it was later revealed that the author of the hit play was a woman. Sowerbys writing was compared to Henrik Ibsens at that point, while known only by the gender-neutral initials G. K. Riley, womans Hour on BBC Githa Sowerby, The Orlando Project Works by or about Githa Sowerby at Internet Archive
22.
With Our King and Queen Through India
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With Our King and Queen Through India is a British documentary. The film is silent and made in the Kinemacolor additive color process, the film records the 12 December 1911 celebrations in India which marked the coronation of George V and his proclamation as Emperor of India. The films is often referred to as The Delhi Durbar or The Durbar at Delhi, different showings of With Our King and Queen Through India would be made up of different sets of the films, so that the show was exhibited in several different lengths. Today only one survives, showing a review of troops after the main ceremony. The film showcased the use of Kinemacolor, which had been launched by Charles Urban in 1908 as the first successful colour motion picture process. It was produced by Urbans Natural Color Kinematograph Company and he took five camera operators with him, Joseph De Frenes, Albuin Mariner, Alfred Gosden, Hiram Horton, British filmmakers had previously filmed the Delhi Durbar marking the coronation of King Edward VII in 1903. The music echoed that played at the ceremonies in Delhi. The stage set featured a mock-up of the Taj Mahal, live commentary was provided by the Scalas stage manager St John Hamund. An article in the American periodical Munseys Magazine praised the music, with Our King and Queen Through India made a huge impact worldwide because of its colour, length and multi-media spectacle. It had an appeal for middle class audiences that had previously avoided film shows because of their low social status. George V saw it at the Scala on 11 May 1912, accompanied by Queen Mary, Queen Alexandra, the Empress wrote to her son Nicholas II of Russia about the show. We are lunching today with Georgie and May at Buckingham Palace, last night we saw their journey to India. Kinemacolor is wonderfully interesting and very beautiful and gives one the impression of having seen it all in reality, the films were also shown at Buckingham Palace on 12 December 1912
23.
Kinemacolor
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Kinemacolor was the first successful color motion picture process, used commercially from 1908 to 1914. It was invented by George Albert Smith of Brighton, England in 1906 and he was influenced by the work of William Norman Lascelles Davidson and, more directly, Edward Raymond Turner. It was launched by Charles Urbans Urban Trading Co. of London in 1908, from 1909 on, the process was known as Kinemacolor. It was an additive color process, photographing and projecting a black-and-white film behind alternating red. How to Make and Operate Moving Pictures published by Funk and Wagnalls in 1917 notes the following, the greatest amount of attention so far has been attracted by a system invented by George Albert Smith, and commercially developed by Charles Urban under the name of Kinemacolor. In this system, only two colour filters are used in taking the negatives and only two in projecting the positives and this filter is an aluminium skeleton wheel. Having four segments, two ones, G and H, one filled in with red-dyed gelatine, E F. The camera is so geared that exposures are made alternately through the red gelatine, panchromatic film is used, and the negative is printed from in the ordinary way, and it will be understood that there is no colour in the film itself. The first motion picture exhibited in Kinemacolor was a short filmed in Brighton titled A Visit to the Seaside. On 26 February 1909, the public first saw Kinemacolor in a programme of twenty-one short films shown at the Palace Theatre in London. The process was first seen in the United States on 11 December 1909, at an exhibition staged by Smith, in 1910, Kinemacolor released the first dramatic film made in the process, Checkmated. With Our King and Queen Through India and the dramas The World, the Flesh and the Devil, unfortunately, these latter two features were also among the last films released by Kinemacolor. Kinemacolor enjoyed the most commercial success in the UK where, between 1909 and 1918, it was shown at more than 250 entertainment venues, the system was made available to exhibitors either by licence or from 1913 through a series of touring companies. Although in most cases the system stayed at licensed venues for only a few there were instances where it remained at a hall for up to two years. Four dramatic short films were produced by Kinemacolor in the United States in 1912–1913. However, the company was never a success, partly due to the expense of installing special Kinemacolor projectors in cinemas, also, the process suffered from fringing and haloing of the images, an unsolvable problem as long as Kinemacolor remained a successive frame process. The first version of Prizma Color, developed by William Van Doren Kelley in the U. S. from 1913 to 1917, in the U. K. William Friese-Greene developed another additive color system for film called Biocolour. However, in 1914 George Albert Smith sued Friese-Greene for infringing Kinemacolors patents, slowing the development of Biocolour by Friese-Greene and his son Claude in the 1920s
24.
Feature film
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A film, also called a movie, motion picture, theatrical film or photoplay, is a series of still images which, when shown on a screen, creates the illusion of moving images due to the phi phenomenon. This optical illusion causes the audience to perceive continuous motion between separate objects viewed rapidly in succession, the process of filmmaking is both an art and an industry. The word cinema, short for cinematography, is used to refer to the industry of films. Films were originally recorded onto plastic film through a photochemical process, the adoption of CGI-based special effects led to the use of digital intermediates. Most contemporary films are now fully digital through the process of production, distribution. Films recorded in a form traditionally included an analogous optical soundtrack. It runs along a portion of the film exclusively reserved for it and is not projected, Films are cultural artifacts created by specific cultures. They reflect those cultures, and, in turn, affect them, Film is considered to be an important art form, a source of popular entertainment, and a powerful medium for educating—or indoctrinating—citizens. The visual basis of film gives it a power of communication. Some films have become popular worldwide attractions by using dubbing or subtitles to translate the dialog into the language of the viewer, some have criticized the film industrys glorification of violence and its potentially negative treatment of women. The individual images that make up a film are called frames, the perception of motion is due to a psychological effect called phi phenomenon. The name film originates from the fact that film has historically been the medium for recording and displaying motion pictures. Many other terms exist for a motion picture, including picture, picture show, moving picture, photoplay. The most common term in the United States is movie, while in Europe film is preferred. Terms for the field, in general, include the big screen, the screen, the movies, and cinema. In early years, the sheet was sometimes used instead of screen. Preceding film in origin by thousands of years, early plays and dances had elements common to film, scripts, sets, costumes, production, direction, actors, audiences, storyboards, much terminology later used in film theory and criticism apply, such as mise en scène. Owing to the lack of any technology for doing so, the moving images, the magic lantern, probably created by Christiaan Huygens in the 1650s, could be used to project animation, which was achieved by various types of mechanical slides
25.
Delhi Durbar
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The Delhi Durbar, meaning Court of Delhi, was a mass assembly at Coronation Park, Delhi, India, to mark the succession of an Emperor or Empress of India. Also known as the Imperial Durbar, it was three times, in 1877,1903, and 1911, at the height of the British Empire. The 1911 Durbar was the only one attended by the sovereign, the term was derived from common Mughal term durbar. The 1877 Durbar was largely an official event and not a popular occasion with mass participation like later durbars in 1903 and 1911 and it was attended by the 1st Earl of Lytton—Viceroy of India, maharajas, nawabs and intellectuals. This was the culmination of transfer of control of much of India from the British East India Company to The Crown and it was at this glittering durbar that a man in homespun spotless white khadi rose to read a citation on behalf of the Pune Sarvajanik Sabha. Ganesh Vasudeo Joshi put forth a demand couched in polite language. With this demand, it can be said that the campaign for a free India was formally launched, the durbar would later be seen as controversial because it directed funds away from the Great Famine of 1876–78. The durbar was held to celebrate the succession of Edward VII and Alexandra of Denmark as Emperor, the two full weeks of festivities were devised in meticulous detail by Lord Curzon, Viceroy of India. It was a display of pomp, power and split second timing. Neither the earlier Delhi Durbar of 1877, nor the later Durbar held there in 1911, souvenir guide books were sold and maps of the camping ground distributed. A special Delhi Durbar Medal was struck, firework displays, exhibitions, the assembly awaiting them displayed possibly the greatest collection of jewels to be seen in one place. Each of the Indian princes was adorned with the most spectacular of his gems from the collections of centuries, on the first day, the Curzons entered the area of festivities, together with the maharajahs, riding on elephants, some with huge gold candelabras stuck on their tusks. The durbar ceremony itself fell on New Years Day and was followed by days of polo and other sports, dinners, balls, military reviews, bands, the world’s press dispatched their best journalists, artists and photographers to cover proceedings. The popularity of movie footage of the event, shown in cinemas throughout India, is often credited with having launched the country’s early film industry. The India Post issued a set of two commemorative souvenir sheets with special cancellation struck on 1 January 1903 -12 noon, a sought after item for the stamp collectors today. Practically every ruling prince and nobleman in India, plus thousands of landed gentry and other persons of note, the official ceremonies lasted from 7 December to 16 December, with the Durbar itself occurring on Tuesday,12 December.05 ounces. His action was interpreted at the time as a sign of dissent to British rule, afterwards, the royal couple ascended to the domed royal pavilion, where the King-Emperor announced the move of Indias capital from Calcutta to Delhi. Then on 14 December the King-Emperor presided over a parade of 50,000 troops
26.
Charles Urban
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Charles Urban was an Anglo-American film producer and distributor, and one of the most significant figures in British cinema before the First World War. He was a pioneer of the documentary, educational, propaganda and scientific film, Urban was born Carl Urban in Cincinnati, Ohio, the second child of Joseph Urban, originally from Ronsberg, Austro-Hungary, and Anna Sophie, from Koenigsberg, East Prussia. He lost the sight in his left eye aged twelve after a baseball accident and he changed his names to Charles after leaving school in 1882, then worked as a book agent across Ohio, before managing a stationery store in Detroit, Michigan. Urban first entered the industry in 1895 when he exhibited the Kinetoscope in Detroit. He moved to Britain in August 1897, and became managing director of the Warwick Trading Company, the building, at 89-91 Wardour Street, still bears the name Urbanora House. In August 1903, he launched his Unseen World film show at the Alhambra Theatre in London, the Unseen World went on to run for an unbroken nine months at the Alhambra and confirmed Urbans belief in the entertainment value of scienitific and educational films. Urban made many kinds of film at the Charles Urban Trading Company, including travel films, war reportage, exploration films, sports films, advertising films. Smith made one of Urbans most successful films, The Balancing Bluebottle, in 1906, Urban made a 1, 275-feet documentary film called The Streets of London. The film shows Londoners going about their business on a typical day, Urbans own website states that ten minutes of footage rediscovered at the National Film and Sound Archive in Australia in 2007 is from this documentary. The National Film and Sound Archive claims, however, that film expert Ian Christie has identified it as being part of Urbans 1904 documentary Living London. He also made films, of which the most notable examples are the proto-science fiction films of Walter R. Booth such as The Airship Destroyer. Among his other interests was a French production company in Paris called Éclipse. His connection with that company lasted until 1909 and he also established Kineto Limited in 1907, primarily for the production of scientific and non-fiction films. In 1906, his associate George Albert Smith developed a two-colour additive motion picture system, from 1909 it was known as Kinemacolor. This enjoyed great success worldwide until 1914, Kinemacolor companies were formed in France, the USA, Germany, Switzerland, Brazil, Holland, Italy, Canada and Japan. Urban had nothing to do with film or with the Kinemacolor Company of America once he had sold the rights to Kinemacolor. He made Kinemacolor fiction films, with studios in Hove and Nice, including By Order of Napoleon, the western Fate, and the feature-length The World, the Flesh, though Urban won the initial hearing, the verdict was overturned on appeal. Lord Justice Buckley wrote, The patent is I think invalid because it does not achieve the result which the patentee says it will achieve, the matter may be summarised thus, The patentee says his process will reproduce the natural colours or approximately so
27.
London
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London /ˈlʌndən/ is the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames in the south east of the island of Great Britain and it was founded by the Romans, who named it Londinium. Londons ancient core, the City of London, largely retains its 1. 12-square-mile medieval boundaries. London is a global city in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism. It is crowned as the worlds largest financial centre and has the fifth- or sixth-largest metropolitan area GDP in the world, London is a world cultural capital. It is the worlds most-visited city as measured by international arrivals and has the worlds largest city airport system measured by passenger traffic, London is the worlds leading investment destination, hosting more international retailers and ultra high-net-worth individuals than any other city. Londons universities form the largest concentration of education institutes in Europe. In 2012, London became the first city to have hosted the modern Summer Olympic Games three times, London has a diverse range of people and cultures, and more than 300 languages are spoken in the region. Its estimated mid-2015 municipal population was 8,673,713, the largest of any city in the European Union, Londons urban area is the second most populous in the EU, after Paris, with 9,787,426 inhabitants at the 2011 census. The citys metropolitan area is the most populous in the EU with 13,879,757 inhabitants, the city-region therefore has a similar land area and population to that of the New York metropolitan area. London was the worlds most populous city from around 1831 to 1925, Other famous landmarks include Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Piccadilly Circus, St Pauls Cathedral, Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square, and The Shard. The London Underground is the oldest underground railway network in the world, the etymology of London is uncertain. It is an ancient name, found in sources from the 2nd century and it is recorded c.121 as Londinium, which points to Romano-British origin, and hand-written Roman tablets recovered in the city originating from AD 65/70-80 include the word Londinio. The earliest attempted explanation, now disregarded, is attributed to Geoffrey of Monmouth in Historia Regum Britanniae and this had it that the name originated from a supposed King Lud, who had allegedly taken over the city and named it Kaerlud. From 1898, it was accepted that the name was of Celtic origin and meant place belonging to a man called *Londinos. The ultimate difficulty lies in reconciling the Latin form Londinium with the modern Welsh Llundain, which should demand a form *lōndinion, from earlier *loundiniom. The possibility cannot be ruled out that the Welsh name was borrowed back in from English at a later date, and thus cannot be used as a basis from which to reconstruct the original name. Until 1889, the name London officially applied only to the City of London, two recent discoveries indicate probable very early settlements near the Thames in the London area
28.
Suffragette
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Suffragettes were members of womens organizations in the late-19th and early-20th centuries which advocated the extension of the franchise, or the right to vote in public elections, to women. It particularly refers to militants in the United Kingdom such as members of the Womens Social and Political Union, suffragist is a more general term for members of the suffrage movement. The term suffragette is particularly associated with activists in the British WSPU, led by Emmeline and Christabel Pankhurst, Women in South Australia achieved the same right and became the first to obtain the right to stand for parliament in 1895. Women in Britain over the age of 30, meeting certain property qualifications, were given the right to vote in 1918, opinion amongst historians today is divided as to whether the militant tactics of the suffragettes helped or hindered their cause. British suffragettes were mostly women from upper and middle-class backgrounds, frustrated by their social, mill introduced the idea of womens suffrage on the platform he presented to the British electorate in 1865. He was subsequently joined by men and women fighting for the same cause. The term suffragette was first used as a term of derision by the journalist Charles E, hands in the London Daily Mail to describe activists in the movement for womens suffrage, in particular members of the Womens Social and Political Union. But the women he intended to ridicule embraced the term saying suffraGETtes implied not only that they wanted the vote, the National Union of Womens Suffrage Societies, founded in 1897, was formed from local suffrage societies. The union was led by Millicent Fawcett, who believed in constitutional campaigning, issuing leaflets, organising meetings and presenting petitions, in 1903 Emmeline Pankhurst founded a new organisation, the Womens Social and Political Union. She thought the movement would have to become radical and militant if it was going to be effective, the Daily Mail gave them the name Suffragettes. Some radical techniques used by the suffragettes, especially hunger strikes, were learned from Russian exiles from tsarism who had escaped to England, many suffragists at the time, and most historians since, have argued that the actions of the militant suffragettes damaged their cause. Opponents at the time saw evidence that women were too emotional, from 1909, the Pank-A-Squith board game was sold by the WSPU to raise awareness of their campaign and raise money. The name is derived from Pankhurst the surname of the leaders of the WSPU, and Asquith, the surname of the Prime Minister at the time and a largely hated figure by the movement. The Peoples History Museum in Manchester has a Pank-A-Squith board game on display in the main galleries, one suffragette, Emily Davison, died under the Kings horse Anmer at the Epsom Derby of 4 June 1913. It is debated whether she was trying to pin a Votes for Women banner on the Kings horse or not, many of her fellow suffragettes were imprisoned and refused food as a scare tactic against the government. The Liberal government of the day led by Asquith responded with the Cat, another prominent British Suffragette, Sophia Duleep Singh was almost forgotten for 70 years. In the early-20th century until the First World War, approximately one thousand suffragettes were imprisoned in Britain, most early incarcerations were for public order offences and failure to pay outstanding fines. The first suffragettes to be imprisoned were Christabel Pankhurst and Annie Kenney in October 1905 and this cause was taken up by the Womens Social and Political Union, a large organisation in Britain, that lobbied for womens suffrage led by militant suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst
29.
Oxford Street
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Oxford Street is a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, running from Marble Arch to Tottenham Court Road via Oxford Circus. It is Europes busiest shopping street, with half a million daily visitors. It is designated as part of the A40, a road between London and Fishguard, though it is not signed as such, and traffic is regularly restricted to buses. The road was originally a Roman road, part of the Via Trinobantina between Essex and Hampshire via London and it was known as Tyburn Road through the Middle Ages and was once notorious as a street where prisoners from Newgate Prison would be transported towards a public hanging. The first department stores in Britain opened on Oxford Street in the early 20th century, including Selfridges, John Lewis, unlike nearby shopping streets such as Bond Street, it has retained an element of downmarket street trading alongside more prestigious retail stores. The street suffered heavy bombing during World War II, and several longstanding stores including John Lewis were completely destroyed, the annual switching on of Christmas lights by a celebrity has been a popular event since 1959. However, the combination of a popular retail area and a main thoroughfare for London buses and taxis has caused significant problems with traffic congestion, safety. Various traffic management schemes have proposed by Transport for London, including a ban on private vehicles during daytime hours on weekdays and Saturdays. Oxford Street runs for approximately 1.2 miles, the eastward continuation is New Oxford Street, and then Holborn. The road is entirely within the City of Westminster and it is within the London Congestion Charging Zone. Numerous bus routes run along Oxford Street, including 10,25,55,73,98,390 and Night Buses N8, N55, N73, N98 and N207. Oxford Street follows the route of a Roman road, the Via Trinobantina, between the 12th century and 1782, it was variously known as Tyburn Road, Uxbridge Road, Worcester Road and Oxford Road. Despite being a major coaching route, there were several obstacles along it, a turnpike trust was established in the 1730s to improve upkeep of the road. It became notorious as the route taken by prisoners on their journey from Newgate Prison to the gallows at Tyburn near Marble Arch. Spectators drunkenly jeered at prisoners as they carted along the road, by about 1729, the road had become known as Oxford Street. The street began to be redeveloped in the 18th century after many of the fields were purchased by the Earl of Oxford. In 1739, local gardener Thomas Huddle began to build property on the north side, John Rocques Map of London, published in 1746, shows urban buildings as far as North Audley Street, but only intermittent rural property thereafter. Buildings began to be erected on the corner of Oxford Street, further development along the street occurred between 1763 and 1793
30.
Lawrence Oates
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Captain Lawrence Edward Grace Titus Oates was an English army officer, and later an Antarctic explorer, who died during the Terra Nova Expedition. Oates, afflicted with gangrene and frostbite, walked from his tent into a blizzard and his death is seen as an act of self-sacrifice when, aware that his ill health was compromising his three companions chances of survival, he chose certain death. Oates was born in Putney, London, England in 1880 and his family was wealthy, having had land at Gestingthorpe, Essex, for centuries. His father moved the family there when his children were small after succeeding to the Manor of Over Hall and he had one sister, a year older than himself, named Lillian, who married the Irish baritone and actor Frederick Ranalow. An uncle was the naturalist and African explorer Frank Oates, Oates lived in Putney from 1885–91, from the ages of 5 to 11 at 263 Upper Richmond Road. He was one of the first pupils to attend the prep Willington School around the corner in Colinette Road and he was further educated at Eton College, which he left after less than two years owing to ill health. He then attended an army crammer, South Lynn School, Eastbourne and his father died of typhoid fever in Madeira in 1896 when Oates was aged 16. In 1898, Oates was commissioned into the 3rd Battalion of the West Yorkshire Regiment and he saw military service during the Second Boer War as a junior officer in the 6th Dragoons, having been transferred to that cavalry regiment as a second lieutenant in May 1900. He took part in operations in the Transvaal, the Orange River Colony, in March 1901, he suffered a gunshot wound to his left thigh which shattered his leg and, when it healed, left it an inch shorter than his right leg. In that skirmish he was called upon to surrender, and replied, We came to fight. He was recommended for the Victoria Cross for his actions and was brought to public attention and he was promoted to lieutenant on 8 February 1902, and left Cape Town for England in June that year, after peace had been signed in South Africa the previous month. He was mentioned in despatches by Lord Kitchener in his final despatch dated 23 June 1902, promotion to captain came in 1906. He later served in Ireland, Egypt, and India and he was often referred to by the nickname Titus Oates, after the historical figure. Scott eventually selected him as one of the party who would travel the final distance to the Pole. Oates disagreed with Scott many times on issues of management of the expedition and their natures jarred on one another, a fellow expedition member recalled. When he first saw the ponies that Scott had brought on the expedition, Oates was horrified at the £5 animals, which he said were too old for the job and he later said, Scotts ignorance about marching with animals is colossal. He also wrote in his diary Myself, I dislike Scott intensely and would chuck the whole thing if it were not that we are a British expedition. He is not straight, it is himself first, the rest nowhere. However, he wrote that his harsh words were often a product of the hard conditions
31.
Minimum wage
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A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers must legally pay their workers. Equivalently, it is the floor below which workers may not sell their labor. Although minimum wage laws are in effect in many jurisdictions, differences of opinion exist about the benefits, supporters of the minimum wage say it increases the standard of living of workers, reduces poverty, reduces inequality, boosts morale and forces businesses to be more efficient. Modern minimum wage laws trace their origin to the Ordinance of Labourers, King Edward III, who was a wealthy landowner, was dependent, like his lords, on serfs to work the land. In the autumn of 1348, the Black Plague reached England, the severe shortage of labor caused wages to soar and encouraged King Edward III to set a wage ceiling. Subsequent amendments to the ordinance, such as the Statute of Labourers, while the laws governing wages initially set a ceiling on compensation, they were eventually used to set a living wage. An amendment to the Statute of Labourers in 1389 effectively fixed wages to the price of food, as time passed, the Justice of the Peace, who was charged with setting the maximum wage, also began to set formal minimum wages. The practice was eventually formalized with the passage of the Act Fixing a Minimum Wage in 1604 by King James I for workers in the textile industry. By the early 19th century, the Statutes of Labourers was repealed as increasingly capitalistic England embraced laissez-faire policies which disfavored regulations of wages, the subsequent 19th century saw significant labor unrest affect many industrial nations. As trade unions were decriminalized during the century, attempts to control wages through collective agreement were made, however, this meant that a uniform minimum wage was not possible. It was not until the 1890s that the first modern attempts to regulate minimum wages were seen in New Zealand. The movement for a wage was initially focused on stopping sweatshop labor. The sweatshops employed large numbers of women and young workers, paying them what were considered to be substandard wages, the sweatshop owners were thought to have unfair bargaining power over their employees, and a minimum wage was proposed as a means to make them pay fairly. Over time, the changed to helping people, especially families. The first modern national minimum wage law was enacted by the government of New Zealand in 1894, followed by Australia in 1896, in the United States, statutory minimum wages were first introduced nationally in 1938, and they were reintroduced and expanded in the United Kingdom in 1998. There is now legislation or binding collective bargaining regarding minimum wage in more than 90 percent of all countries, in the European Union,22 member states out of 28 currently have national minimum wages. Currently the American federal minimum wage rests at seven dollars, twenty-five cents per hour, however, some states do not recognize the minimum wage law such as Louisiana and Tennessee. Other states operate below the minimum wage such as Georgia
32.
The Boat Race 1912
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The 69th Boat Race took place on 30 March 1912 with a re-row on 1 April. Held annually, the event is a rowing race between crews from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge along the River Thames. Oxford went into the race as reigning champions, having won the years race. Umpired by former Cambridge rower Frederick I, Pitman, this years race ended with Cambridge sinking and Oxford waterlogged. Pitman declared the result as No Race and in the subsequent re-row on the following Monday, the Dark Blues fourth consecutive victory took the overall record in the event to 38–30 in their favour. The Boat Race is a rowing competition between the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge. The race was first held in 1829, and since 1845 has taken place on the 4. 2-mile Championship Course on the River Thames in southwest London. The rivalry is a point of honour between the two universities, it is followed throughout the United Kingdom and, as of 2014, broadcast worldwide. Oxford went into the race as reigning champions, having won the years race by three-and-three-quarter lengths. Oxford, however, held the lead with 37 victories to Cambridges 30. Bourne who had rowed for the university in the 1882 and 1883 races, Harcourt Gilbey Gold, Cambridge were coached by John Houghton Gibbon who rowed for the Light Blues in the 1899 and 1900 races. For the ninth year the umpire was old Etonian Frederick I, Pitman who rowed for Cambridge in the 1884,1885 and 1886 races. Author and former Oxford rower George Drinkwater noted that the Dark Blue crew was by no means so quick in the water, despite being struck by influenza, the training was never really hampered. Conversely, Cambridge suffered misfortune after misfortune and they persisted with D. C. Collins at stroke in spite of his inexperience but he was replaced by Sidney Swann. F. E. Hellyer was selected to row at number seven yet was forced to depart, suffering from influenza, C. F. Burnand was also forced to leave the crew through illness. Despite this, upon arrival at Putney, the Light Blues made astonishing improvement, the Oxford crew weighed an average of 12 st 5.875 lb,7.625 pounds per rower more than their opponents. Cambridge saw five return to the boat, including R. W. M. Arbuthnot at stroke. Oxfords crew also contained five participants with Boat Race experience, including Robert Bourne who was making his appearance in the event
33.
Royal Flying Corps
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The Royal Flying Corps was the air arm of the British Army before and during the First World War, until it merged with the Royal Naval Air Service on 1 April 1918 to form the Royal Air Force. During the early part of the war, the RFC supported the British Army by artillery co-operation, at the start of World War I the RFC, commanded by Brigadier-General Sir David Henderson, consisted of five squadrons – one observation balloon squadron and four aeroplane squadrons. These were first used for spotting on 13 September 1914. Aerial photography was attempted during 1914, but again only became effective the next year, by 1918, photographic images could be taken from 15,000 feet and were interpreted by over 3,000 personnel. By this time parachutes had been used by balloonists for three years, on 17 August 1917, South African General Jan Smuts presented a report to the War Council on the future of air power. On 1 April 1918, the RFC and the RNAS were amalgamated to form a new service, after starting in 1914 with some 2,073 personnel, by the start of 1919 the RAF had 4,000 combat aircraft and 114,000 personnel in some 150 squadrons. The recommendations of the committee were accepted and on 13 April 1912 King George V signed a royal warrant establishing the Royal Flying Corps, the Air Battalion of the Royal Engineers became the Military Wing of the Royal Flying Corps a month later on 13 May. The Flying Corps initial allowed strength was 133 officers, and by the end of year it had 12 manned balloons and 36 aeroplanes. The RFC originally came under the responsibility of Brigadier-General Henderson, the Director of Military Training, and had branches for the Army. Major Sykes commanded the Military Wing and Commander C R Samson commanded the Naval Wing, the RFCs motto was Per ardua ad astra. This remains the motto of the Royal Air Force and other Commonwealth air forces, the RFCs first fatal crash was on 5 July 1912 near Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain. Loraine and his observer, Staff Sergeant R. H. V, an order was issued after the crash stating Flying will continue this evening as usual, thus beginning a tradition. Four months later on 11 December 1912 Parke was killed when the Handley Page monoplane in which he was flying from Hendon to Oxford crashed. The Naval Wing, with pilots and aircraft than the Military Wing. In November 1914 the Royal Flying Corps, even taking the loss of the Naval Wing into account, had expanded sufficiently to warrant the creation of wings consisting of two or more squadrons and these wings were commanded by lieutenant-colonels. In October 1915 the Royal Flying Corps had undergone further expansion which justified the creation of brigades, further expansion led to the creation of divisions, with the Training Division being established in August 1917 and RFC Middle East, being raised to divisional status in December 1917. Finally, the air raids on London and the south-east of England led to the creation of the London Air Defence Area in August 1917 under the command of Ashmore who was promoted to major-general. Two of the first three RFC squadrons were formed from the Air Battalion of the Royal Engineers, No.1 Company becoming No.1 Squadron, RFC, a second heavier-than-air squadron, No.2 Squadron, RFC, was also formed on the same day
34.
Sinking of the RMS Titanic
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The largest passenger liner in service at the time, Titanic had an estimated 2,224 people on board when she struck an iceberg at around 23,40 on Sunday,14 April 1912. Titanic received six warnings of sea ice on 14 April but was travelling near her maximum speed when her lookouts sighted the iceberg, unable to turn quickly enough, the ship suffered a glancing blow that buckled her starboard side and opened five of her sixteen compartments to the sea. Titanic had been designed to stay afloat with four of her forward compartments flooded but no more, and they used distress flares and radio messages to attract help as the passengers were put into lifeboats. Compounding this, poor management of the evacuation meant many boats were launched before they were completely full, thus, when Titanic sank, over a thousand passengers and crew were still on board. Almost all those who jumped or fell into the water drowned within minutes due to the effects of hypothermia. RMS Carpathia arrived on the scene about an hour and a half after the sinking and rescued the last of the survivors by 09,15 on 15 April, some nine and a half hours after the collision. The disaster caused widespread outrage over the lack of lifeboats, lax regulations, at the time of her entry into service on 2 April 1912, Royal Mail Ship Titanic was the second of three Olympic-class ocean liner sister ships, and was the largest ship in the world. She and her sister, RMS Olympic, were almost one and half times the gross tonnage of Cunards RMS Lusitania and RMS Mauretania, the previous record holders. Titanic could carry 3,547 people in speed and comfort and her reciprocating engines were the largest that had ever been built, standing 40 feet high and with cylinders 9 feet in diameter requiring the burning of 600 long tons of coal per day. The Parlour Suites with private promenade cost over $4,350 for a transatlantic passage. Titanics maiden voyage began shortly after noon on 10 April 1912 when she left Southampton on the first leg of her journey to New York, a few hours later she called at Cherbourg in northern France, a journey of 80 nautical miles, where she took on passengers. Her next port of call was Queenstown in Ireland, which she reached around midday on 11 April and she left in the afternoon after taking on more passengers and stores. By the time she departed westwards across the Atlantic she was carrying 892 crew members and 1,320 passengers. This was only half of her full passenger capacity of 2,435, as it was the low season. The ship was commanded by 62-year-old Captain Edward John Smith, the most senior of the White Star Lines captains and he had four decades of seafaring experience and had served as captain of RMS Olympic, from which he was transferred to command Titanic. The ice conditions were attributed to a winter that caused large numbers of icebergs to shift off the west coast of Greenland. This caused exceptionally high tides that may have resulted in a number of icebergs than usual reaching the shipping lanes a few months later. A fire had begun in one of Titanics coal bunkers approximately 10 days prior to the departure, and continued to burn for several days into its voyage
35.
White Star Line
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The Oceanic Steam Navigation Company or White Star Line of Boston Packers, more commonly known as just White Star Line, was a prominent British shipping company. Founded in 1845, the line operated a fleet of ships that sailed between Britain and Australia. Today it is most famous for their innovative vessel Oceanic of 1870, in 1934, White Star merged with its chief rival, Cunard Line, which operated as Cunard-White Star Line until 1950. Cunard Line then operated as an entity until 2005 and is now part of Carnival Corporation & plc. As a lasting reminder of the White Star Line, modern Cunard ships use the term White Star Service to describe the level of customer care expected of the company. The first company bearing the name White Star Line was founded in Liverpool, England, by John Pilkington and it focused on the UK–Australia trade, which increased following the discovery of gold in Australia. The fleet initially consisted of the sailing ships RMS Tayleur, Blue Jacket, White Star, Red Jacket, Ellen, Ben Nevis, Emma, Mermaid. Tayleur, the largest ship of its day, wrecked on its voyage to Australia at Lambay Island, near Ireland. In 1863, the company acquired its first steamship, Royal Standard, the original White Star Line merged with two other small lines, The Black Ball Line and The Eagle Line, to form a conglomerate, the Liverpool, Melbourne and Oriental Steam Navigation Company Limited. This did not prosper and White Star broke away, White Star concentrated on Liverpool to New York City services. Heavy investment in new ships was financed by borrowing, but the companys bank, White Star was left with an incredible debt of £527,000, and was forced into bankruptcy. Ismay established the headquarters at Albion House, Liverpool. Ismay was approached by Gustav Christian Schwabe, a prominent Liverpool merchant, and his nephew, Schwabe offered to finance the new line if Ismay had his ships built by Wolffs company, Harland and Wolff. Ismay agreed, and a partnership with Harland and Wolff was established, the shipbuilders received their first orders on 30 July 1869. The agreement was that Harland and Wolff would build the ships at cost plus a fixed percentage, in 1870, William Imrie joined the managing company. As the first ship was being commissioned, Ismay formed the Oceanic Steam Navigation Company to operate the steamers under construction, White Star began with six ships of the Oceanic class, Oceanic, Atlantic, Baltic, and Republic, followed by the slightly larger Celtic and Adriatic. White Star began operating again in 1871 between New York and Liverpool and it has long been customary for many shipping lines to have a common theme for the names of their ships. White Star gave their ships names ending in -ic, such as Titanic, the first substantial loss for the company came only four years after its founding, occurring in 1873 with the sinking of the SS Atlantic and the loss of 535 lives near Halifax, Nova Scotia
36.
Ocean liner
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An ocean liner is a ship designed to transport people from one seaport to another along regular long-distance maritime routes according to a schedule. Liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes, cargo vessels running to a schedule are sometimes called liners. The category does not include ferries or other vessels engaged in trading, nor dedicated cruise ships where the voyage itself. Nor does it include tramp steamers, even those equipped to handle limited numbers of passengers, some shipping companies refer to themselves as lines and their container ships, which often operate over set routes according to established schedules, as liners. Ocean liners are usually built with a high freeboard to withstand rough seas. Additionally, they are designed with thicker hull plating than is found on cruise ships. Once the dominant form of travel between continents, ocean liners were rendered obsolete by the emergence of long-distance aircraft after World War II. Advances in automobile and railway also played a role. As of 2015, RMS Queen Mary 2 was the ship still in service as an ocean liner. Ocean liners were the mode of intercontinental travel for over a century. In addition to passengers, liners carried mail and cargo, ships contracted to carry British Royal Mail used the designation RMS. Liners were also the way to move gold and other high-value cargoes. The busiest route for liners was on the North Atlantic with ships travelling between Europe and North America and it was on this route that the fastest, largest and most advanced liners travelled. Shipping lines are companies engaged in shipping passengers and cargo, often on established routes and schedules, regular scheduled voyages on a set route are called line voyages and vessels trading on these routes to a timetable are called liners. The alternative to liner trade is tramping whereby vessels are notified on a basis as to the availability of a cargo to be transported. The term ocean liner has come to be used interchangeably with passenger liner, beginning at the advent of the Jet Age, where transoceanic ship service declined, a gradual transition from passenger ships as mean of transportation to nowadays cruise ships started. In order for ocean liners to remain profitable, cruise lines have modified some of them to operate on routes, such as the Queen Elizabeth 2. The Italian Lines SS Michelangelo and SS Raffaello, the last ocean liners to be primarily for crossing the North Atlantic
37.
Iceberg
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An iceberg or ice mountain is a large piece of freshwater ice that has broken off a glacier or an ice shelf and is floating freely in open water. It may subsequently become frozen into pack ice, as it drifts into shallower waters, it may come into contact with the seabed, a process referred to as seabed gouging by ice. Almost 91% of an iceberg is below the surface of the water, the word iceberg is a partial loan translation from Dutch ijsberg, literally meaning ice mountain, cognate to Danish isbjerg, German Eisberg, Low Saxon Iesbarg and Swedish isberg. Because the density of ice is about 920 kg/m³. The shape of the underwater portion can be difficult to judge by looking at the portion above the surface and this has led to the expression tip of the iceberg, for a problem or difficulty that is only a small manifestation of a larger problem. Icebergs generally range from 1 to 75 metres above sea level, the largest known iceberg in the North Atlantic was 168 metres above sea level, reported by the USCG icebreaker East Wind in 1958, making it the height of a 55-story building. These icebergs originate from the glaciers of western Greenland and may have a temperature of −15 to −20 °C. Icebergs are usually confined by winds and currents to move close to the coast, the largest icebergs recorded have been calved, or broken off, from the Ross Ice Shelf of Antarctica. Iceberg B-15, photographed by satellite in 2000, measured 295 by 37 kilometres and this iceberg was larger than Belgium. When a piece of ice melts, it makes a fizzing sound called Bergie Seltzer. This sound is made when the water-ice interface reaches compressed air trapped in the ice. As this happens, each bubble bursts, making a popping sound, the bubbles contain air trapped in snow layers very early in the history of the ice, that eventually got buried to a given depth and pressurized as it transformed into firn then to glacial ice. About a month later, this split into two pieces upon crashing into Joe Island in the Nares Strait next to Greenland. In June 2011, large fragments of the Petermann Ice Islands were observed off the Labrador coast, iceberg B-17B140 km2,1999, shipping alert issued December 2009. In addition to classification, icebergs can be classified on the basis of their shape. The two basic types of forms are tabular and non-tabular. Tabular icebergs have steep sides and a top, much like a plateau. This type of iceberg, also known as an ice island, can be quite large, Antarctic icebergs formed by breaking off from an ice shelf, such as the Ross Ice Shelf or Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf, are typically tabular
38.
Syndicalist
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Syndicalism is a proposed type of economic system, considered a replacement for capitalism. It suggests that workers, industries, and organisations be systematized into confederations or syndicates and it is a system of economic organization in which industries are owned and managed by the workers. Its theory and practice is the advocacy of multiple cooperative productive units composed of specialists and representatives of workers in each field to negotiate, industry in a syndicalist system would be run through co-operative confederations and mutual aid. Local syndicates may communicate with other syndicates through the Bourse du Travail which would cooperatively determine distributions of commodities, Syndicalism is also used to refer to the political movement and the tactic of bringing about this social arrangement, typically expounded by anarcho-syndicalism and De Leonism. It aims to achieve a strike, a workers outward refusal of their current modes of production, followed by organisation into federations of trade unions. Throughout its history, the reformist section of syndicalism has been overshadowed by its revolutionary section, although the terms anarcho-syndicalism and revolutionary syndicalism are often used interchangeably, the anarcho-syndicalist label was not widely used until the early 1920s. Traditionally the revolutionary syndicalism of figures such as Rudolph Rocker has overshadowed the more reformist or economically-focused syndicalism. Related theories include anarchism, socialism, national syndicalism, Marxism, Leninism and communism, syndicalisme/Sindicalismo is a French/Spanish word meaning trade unionism. The earliest expressions of syndicalist structure and methods were formulated in the International Workingmens Association or First International, in 1895, the Confédération Générale du Travail in France expressed fully the organisational structure and methods of revolutionary syndicalism influencing labour movements the world over. Through a general strike, workers would take control of industry and services and self-manage society, the Central Organisation of the Workers of Sweden, formed in 1910, are a notable example of an anarcho-syndicalist union influenced by the CGT. Today, the SAC is one of the largest anarcho-syndicalist unions in the world in proportion to the population, the International Workers Association, formed in 1922, is an international syndicalist federation of various labour unions from different countries. At its peak, the International Workers Association represented millions of workers and competed directly for the hearts and minds of the class with social democratic unions. The Spanish Confederación Nacional del Trabajo played a role in the Spanish labour movement. Another Spanish anarcho-syndicalist union, the Confederacion General del Trabajo de España, is now the fourth largest union in Spain, the Industrial Workers of the World, although explicitly not syndicalist, were informed by developments in the broader revolutionary syndicalist milieu at the turn of the twentieth-century. An emphasis on industrial organisation was a feature of syndicalism when it began to be identified as a distinct current at the beginning of the 20th century. Although all syndicalists emphasise industrial organisation, not all political action altogether. Much of Spains economy was put under control, in anarchist strongholds like Catalonia. Their eventual defeat and World War II led to the prominent theory being repressed
39.
Daily Herald (UK newspaper)
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The Daily Herald was a British daily newspaper, published in London from 1912 to 1964. It underwent several changes of management before ceasing publication in 1964, in December 1910 the printers union, the London Society of Compositors, became engaged in an industrial struggle to establish a 48-hour week and started a daily strike bulletin called The World. Will Dyson, an Australian artist in London, contributed a cartoon, from 25 January 1911 it was renamed the Daily Herald and was published until the end of the strike in April 1911. At its peak it had sales of 25,000. The initial organising group included Tillett, T. E. Naylor of the LSC, George Lansbury, socialist politician, Robert Williams of the Transport Workers, W. N. Ewer, retaining the strike sheet name they formed a Daily Herald company. Readers and supporters formed local branches of the Daily Herald League, the first issue appeared on 15 April 1912, edited by William H. Seed. A key feature was Dyson’s cartoons, which made a contribution to the political tone. Its politics were broadly syndicalist, it gave support to strikers. It also gave support to suffragettes and to anticolonial struggles. Staff writers included W. P. Ryan, Langdon Everard, G. K. Chesterton was a frequent contributor. His brother Cecil and Hilaire Belloc were occasional contributors, after Seed was removed as editor, Rowland Kenney, C. Sheridan Jones and finally Charles Lapworth held the position. In June 1913, the Daily Herald company was forced into liquidation, Lansbury and Lapworth formed a new company, the Limit Printing and Publishing Company. The shortfall in production costs was guaranteed by wealthy friends of Lansbury, from December 1912 until August 1914 one of the main financial supporters was H. D. Harben, also a founder of the New Statesman. From this point the members of the Daily Herald League had no influence on the paper. In late 1913 Lapworth was asked by the two board members to resign as editor. Lansbury and the financial backers were disturbed by Lapworth and other writers’ attacks on individuals. Hatred of conditions by all means, but not of persons was how Lapworth quoted Lansbury, the aftermath was aired in the letter pages of The New Age between December 1913 and April 1914. The new paper struggled financially but somehow survived, with Lansbury playing a role in keeping it afloat
1912 in the United Kingdom 
