1.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
2.
Beckwourth, California
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Beckwourth is a census-designated place in Plumas County, California, United States. Beckwourth is located on the Middle Fork Feather River 5 miles east of Portola, the population was 432 at the 2010 census, up from 342 at the 2000 census. The community was named for James P. Beckwourth, an explorer who discovered Beckwourth Pass in 1851, the Beckwith post office opened in 1870 and changed its name to Beckwourth in 1932. Beckwourth is located at 39°49′39″N 120°24′13″W, according to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 11.7 square miles,99. 96% of it land and 0. 04% of it water. Nervino Airport is plotted three quarters of a mile east of Beckwourth along State Route 70 on the Reconnaissance Peak and it has a 4, 600-foot runway and is located at 39°49′05″N 120°21′20″W. The US Geological Survey says variant names for the airport are Beckwourth Airport, State facilities in the town may include a State of California, Department of Water Resources maintenance yard and a Caltrans Maintenance Station. This region experiences warm and dry summers, with no average monthly temperatures above 71.6 °F, according to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Beckwourth has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate, abbreviated Csb on climate maps. The 2010 United States Census reported that Beckwourth had a population of 432, the population density was 37.0 people per square mile. The racial makeup of Beckwourth was 402 White,0 African American,11 Native American,2 Asian,1 Pacific Islander,7 from other races, Hispanic or Latino of any race were 29 persons. The Census reported that 432 people lived in households,0 lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, there were 8 unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 0 same-sex married couples or partnerships. 53 households were made up of individuals and 15 had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older, the average household size was 2.20. There were 131 families, the family size was 2.64. The median age was 53.9 years, for every 100 females there were 118.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 121.5 males, there were 342 housing units at an average density of 29.3 per square mile, of which 169 were owner-occupied, and 27 were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 8. 6%, the vacancy rate was 0%. 363 people lived in owner-occupied housing units and 69 people lived in housing units. As of the census of 2000, there were 342 people,147 households, the population density was 29.3 people per square mile. There were 225 housing units at a density of 19.3 per square mile
3.
California
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California is the most populous state in the United States and the third most extensive by area. Located on the western coast of the U. S, California is bordered by the other U. S. states of Oregon, Nevada, and Arizona and shares an international border with the Mexican state of Baja California. Los Angeles is Californias most populous city, and the second largest after New York City. The Los Angeles Area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nations second- and fifth-most populous urban regions, California also has the nations most populous county, Los Angeles County, and its largest county by area, San Bernardino County. The Central Valley, an agricultural area, dominates the states center. What is now California was first settled by various Native American tribes before being explored by a number of European expeditions during the 16th and 17th centuries, the Spanish Empire then claimed it as part of Alta California in their New Spain colony. The area became a part of Mexico in 1821 following its war for independence. The western portion of Alta California then was organized as the State of California, the California Gold Rush starting in 1848 led to dramatic social and demographic changes, with large-scale emigration from the east and abroad with an accompanying economic boom. If it were a country, California would be the 6th largest economy in the world, fifty-eight percent of the states economy is centered on finance, government, real estate services, technology, and professional, scientific and technical business services. Although it accounts for only 1.5 percent of the states economy, the story of Calafia is recorded in a 1510 work The Adventures of Esplandián, written as a sequel to Amadis de Gaula by Spanish adventure writer Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo. The kingdom of Queen Calafia, according to Montalvo, was said to be a land inhabited by griffins and other strange beasts. This conventional wisdom that California was an island, with maps drawn to reflect this belief, shortened forms of the states name include CA, Cal. Calif. and US-CA. Settled by successive waves of arrivals during the last 10,000 years, various estimates of the native population range from 100,000 to 300,000. The Indigenous peoples of California included more than 70 distinct groups of Native Americans, ranging from large, settled populations living on the coast to groups in the interior. California groups also were diverse in their organization with bands, tribes, villages. Trade, intermarriage and military alliances fostered many social and economic relationships among the diverse groups, the first European effort to explore the coast as far north as the Russian River was a Spanish sailing expedition, led by Portuguese captain Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, in 1542. Some 37 years later English explorer Francis Drake also explored and claimed a portion of the California coast in 1579. Spanish traders made unintended visits with the Manila galleons on their trips from the Philippines beginning in 1565
4.
Palm Springs, California
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Palm Springs is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Coachella Valley. It is located approximately 55 mi east of San Bernardino,107 mi east of Los Angeles,123 mi northeast of San Diego, the population was 44,552 as of the 2010 census. Palm Springs covers approximately 94 square miles, making it the largest city in the county by land area, biking, golf, hiking, horseback riding, swimming, and tennis in the nearby desert and mountain areas are major forms of recreation in Palm Springs. The city is famous for its mid-century modern architecture and design elements. Archaeological research has shown that the Cahuilla people have lived in the area for the past 350–500 years, the Cahuilla name for the area was Se-Khi. The alternating non-reservation sections were granted to the Southern Pacific Railroad as an incentive to bring rail lines through the open desert, presently the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians is composed of several smaller bands who live in the modern day Coachella Valley and San Gorgonio Pass areas. The Agua Caliente Reservation occupies 32,000 acres, of which 6,700 acres lie within the city limits, as of 1821 Mexico was independent of Spain and in March 1823 the Mexican Monarchy ended. With the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, the region was ceded to the United States in 1848, one possible origin of palm in the place name comes from early Spanish explorers who referred to the area as La Palma de la Mano de Dios or The Palm of Gods hand. The earliest use of the name Palm Springs is from United States Topographical Engineers who used the term in 1853 maps, other early names were Palmetto Spring and Big Palm Springs. The first European resident in Palm Springs itself was Jack Summers, fourteen years later, the Southern Pacific railroad was laid 6 miles to the north, isolating the station. By 1885, when San Francisco attorney John Guthrie McCallum began buying property in Palm Springs, the area was named Palm Valley when McCallum incorporated the Palm Valley Land and Water Company with partners O. C. He also asked Dr. Welwood Murray to establish a hotel across the street from his residence, the crops and irrigation systems suffered flooding in 1893 from record rainfall, and then an 11-year drought caused further damage. The city became a resort in the 1900s when health tourists arrived with conditions that required dry heat. Because of the heat, however, the population dropped markedly in the summer months, Early illustrious visitors included John Muir and his daughters, U. S. Vice President Charles Fairbanks, and Fanny Stevenson, widow of Robert Louis Stevenson, still, Murrays hotel was closed in 1909, nellie N. Coffman and her physician husband Harry established The Desert Inn as a hotel and sanitarium in 1909. It was expanded as a hotel in 1927 and continued on until 1967. Coffman herself was a force in the citys tourism industry until her death in 1950. James Wonders of the Colorado Desert was followed in 1920 by J. Smeaton Chases Our Araby, Palm Springs and the Garden of the Sun, which also served to promote the area
5.
International Tennis Hall of Fame
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The International Tennis Hall of Fame is located in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. It honors players and contributors to the sport of tennis and includes a museum, grass courts, an indoor tennis facility. By the 1950s, the retreat was struggling financially and was in danger of being demolished for modern retail space, in 1954, Jimmy Van Alen established the Tennis Hall of Fame and Museum in the Casino. The combination of matches and the museum allowed the building to be saved. It is an example of Victorian Shingle Style architecture, Van Alen intended the facility to be a shrine to the ideals of the game, and was elected president of the hall in 1957. The International Tennis Hall of Fame was officially sanctioned by the United States Tennis Association on its foundation in 1954, the first Hall of Fame members were inducted in 1955, as of 2010, there are 218 inductees from 19 countries. Martina Hingis became the first Global Ambassador for the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2015, the collection is displayed year-round in the museums 13,000 square feet of exhibit space. For a description of each award and a list of its recipients, part of the mens ATP World Tour, the tournament is the only grass court event in North America. Top male players come to Newport directly from Wimbledon to compete for the Van Alen Cup at the International Tennis Hall of Fame, past champions include Americans John Isner, and Mardy Fish, as well as two-time champion Fabrice Santoro of France. For a list of inductees—alphabetically, by country, and by year of induction—see footnote, note, Inductees are listed below in two categories. Tenniseum Official website 11 Intriguing Items at the International Tennis Hall of Fame article International Tennis Hall of Fame article
6.
French Open
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The French Open, often referred to as Roland Garros, is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks between late May and early June at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. Roland Garros is the only Grand Slam event held on clay, French spelling rules dictate that in the name of a place or event named after a person, the elements of the name are joined together with a hyphen. Therefore, the names of the stadium and the tournament are hyphenated as Roland-Garros, in 1891 the Championnat de France, which is commonly referred to in English as the French Championships, was begun. It was only open to players who were members of French clubs. The first winner was a Briton—H, the first womens singles tournament, with four entries, was held in 1897. The mixed doubles event was added in 1902 and the doubles in 1907. This French club members only tournament was played until 1924, using four different venues during that period, Île de Puteaux, in Puteaux, the Racing Club de France, played on clay. For one year,1909, it was played at the Société Athlétique de la Villa Primrose in Bordeaux, Tennis Club de Paris, at Auteuil, Paris, played on clay. Another tournament, the World Hard Court Championships, is considered the precursor to the French Open as it was open to international competitors. Winners of this tournament included world no, 1s such as Tony Wilding from New Zealand and Bill Tilden from the US. In 1924 there was no World Hard Court Championships due to tennis being played at the Paris Olympic Games, in 1925, the French Championships became open to all amateurs internationally and was designated a major championship by the ILTF. It was held at the Stade Français in Saint-Cloud in 1925 and 1927, in 1926 the Racing Club de France hosted the event in Paris, site of the previous French club members only Championship, also on clay. In 1928, the Roland Garros stadium was opened and the event has held there ever since. After the Mousquetaires or Philadelphia Four won the Davis Cup on American soil in 1927, the Stade de France had offered the tennis authorities three hectares of land with the condition that the new stadium must be named after the World War I pilot, Roland Garros. The new Stade de Roland Garros, and its Center Court hosted that Davis Cup challenge, during World War II the tournament was held from 1941 through 1945 on the same grounds but these editions are not recognized by the French governing body, Fédération Française de Tennis. From 1946 through 1947, the French Championships were held after Wimbledon, in 1968, the French Championships became the first Grand Slam tournament to go open, allowing both amateurs and professionals to compete. Since 1981, new prizes have been presented, the Prix Orange, the Prix Citron, in another novelty, since 2006 the tournament has begun on a Sunday, featuring 12 singles matches played on the three main courts. Additionally, on the eve of the opening, the traditional Benny Berthet exhibition day takes place
7.
The Championships, Wimbledon
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The Championships, Wimbledon, commonly known simply as Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, and is widely considered the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London, Wimbledon is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the others being the Australian Open, the French Open and the US Open. Since the Australian Open shifted to hardcourt in 1988, Wimbledon is the only major still played on grass. The tournament takes place two weeks in late June and early July, culminating with the Ladies and Gentlemens Singles Final. Five major, junior, and invitational events are each year. Wimbledon traditions include a dress code for competitors and Royal patronage. The tournament is notable for the absence of sponsor advertising around the courts. In 2009, Wimbledons Centre Court was fitted with a roof to lessen the loss of playing time due to rain. The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club is a club founded on 23 July 1868. Its first ground was off Worple Road, Wimbledon, in 1876, lawn tennis, a game devised by Major Walter Clopton Wingfield a year or so earlier and originally given the name Sphairistikè, was added to the activities of the club. In spring 1877, the club was renamed The All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club, a new code of laws, replacing the code administered by the Marylebone Cricket Club, was drawn up for the event. Todays rules are similar except for such as the height of the net and posts. The inaugural 1877 Wimbledon Championship started on 9 July 1877 and the Gentlemens Singles was the event held. It was won by Spencer Gore, an old Harrovian rackets player, about 200 spectators paid one shilling each to watch the final. The lawns at the ground were arranged so that the court was in the middle with the others arranged around it. The name was retained when the Club moved in 1922 to the present site in Church Road, however, in 1980 four new courts were brought into commission on the north side of the ground, which meant the Centre Court was once more correctly defined. The opening of the new No.1 Court in 1997 emphasised the description, by 1882, activity at the club was almost exclusively confined to lawn tennis and that year the word croquet was dropped from the title. However, for reasons it was restored in 1899
8.
US Open (tennis)
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The United States Open Tennis Championships is a hardcourt tennis tournament. The tournament is the version of one of the oldest tennis championships in the world. The US Open is held annually, starting on the last Monday in August, the main tournament consists of five event championships, mens and womens singles, mens and womens doubles, and mixed doubles, with additional tournaments for senior, junior, and wheelchair players. Since 1978, the tournament has played on acrylic hard courts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Queens. The US Open is owned and organized by the United States Tennis Association, net proceeds from ticket sales, sponsorships, and television deals are used to promote the development of tennis in the United States. The US Open is the only Grand Slam that employs tiebreakers in every set of a match, the first edition was won by Richard Sears, who went on to win seven consecutive singles titles. In the first years of the U. S. National Championship only men competed and this was followed by the introduction of the U. S. Womens National Doubles Championship in 1899 and the U. S. The womens tournament used a system from 1888 through 1918. This view was opposed by another group of players which included eight former national singles champions, the contentious issue was brought to a vote at the annual USNLTA meeting on February 5,1915 and with 128 votes in favor and 119 against it was decided to relocate. From 1921 through 1923, the tournament was played at the Germantown Cricket Club in Philadelphia and it returned to Forest Hills in 1924 following the completion of the newly constructed 14,000 seat concrete Forest Hills Stadium. Though regarded unofficially by many as a major championship beforehand, the tournament was officially designated as one of the tournaments by the ILTF commencing in 1924. At the 1922 U. S. National Championships the draw for the first time included seeded players in order to avoid leading players drawing against each other in the early rounds. Open era The open era began in 1968 when all five events were merged into the US Open, the 1968 combined tournament was open to professionals for the first time. That year,96 men and 63 women entered the event, from 1970 to 1974 the US Open used a best-of-nine point, sudden death tiebreaker before moving to the ITF best-of-twelve point system. In 1973 the US Open became the first Grand Slam tournament to award equal prize money to men and women with that years singles champions John Newcombe, another US Open innovation came in 1975 when floodlights enabled night play for the first time. In 1978 the tournament moved from the West Side Tennis Club, Forest Hills, Queens to the larger USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, Queens, three miles to the north. In the process, the tournament switched the court surface from clay, jimmy Connors is the only individual to have won US Open singles titles on all three surfaces, while Chris Evert is the only woman to win on two surfaces. The US Open is the only Grand Slam tournament that has played every year since its inception
United States
Helen Jacobs
Nancye Wynne
Kay Stammers
Simonne Mathieu 
Jadwiga Jędrzejowska