St Helens R.F.C.
St Helens R. F. C. is a professional rugby league club in St Helens, Merseyside who compete in the Super League, the top tier of competition for rugby league in Europe. Formed in 1873, St Helens are one of the 22 original members of the Northern Rugby Football Union and have been league champions on 13 occasions. St Helens are the third most successful side in the Challenge Cup with 12 wins in 21 Final appearances. St Helens are founding members of the Super League and are one of only four teams to have appeared in every season since its creation in 1996. Since 1961 the club's home colours have been white, with a red "V" on the jersey. St Helens play their home games at the Totally Wicked Stadium in St Helens, having moved from their previous home, Knowsley Road, in 2012. St Helens are one of the oldest members of the Rugby Football League. Founded as St Helens Football Club on 19 November 1873 at the Fleece Hotel by William Douglas Herman, they played their first match on 31 January 1874 against Liverpool Royal Infirmary.
They became known as St Helens Rangers up until the 1880s. The club moved from the City Ground in 1890 where they had shared with St Helens Recs when neither were members of the Northern Rugby Football Union, they defeated Manchester Rangers in the first match played at Knowsley Road. In 1895 the club were one of 22 clubs that resigned from the Rugby Football Union and established the Northern Union; the first match of the new code was an 8—3 win at home to Rochdale Hornets before 3,000 spectators, Bob Doherty scoring St Helens' first try. They played in a vertically striped blue and white jersey—a stark contrast to the well known broad red band which would become the kit for the club later; the club reverted to this kit for one season during the rugby league centenary season in 1995. The Challenge Cup was launched in 1897 and it was St Helens who contested its first final with Batley, at Headingley, Leeds; the "Gallant Youths" of Batley emerged victorious 10—3, with Dave "Red" Traynor scoring the lone St Helens' try.
Between 1897 and 1901, St Helens were not successful generally considered a mid—table side. They finished second to bottom in the 1900—01 Lancashire League season, meaning they did not qualify to compete in the national league the year later. In the 1901—02 season, they did finish third in the Lancashire league. In 1902 -- 03, the combined Lancashire and Yorkshire leagues saw. St Helens finished next to bottom and suffered relegation. Promotion was gained at the 1st attempt, only for another poor year to see them finish once again in a relegation position; however the two Divisions became one League to save the club from a 2nd relegation. The Champion fortunes that St Helens fans' greet today were not apparent in this period, with the club finishing fourth to bottom in 1907, third to bottom in 1908, mid—table between 1909 and 1913. On 14 June 1913, St Helens Recs joined the Northern Union after defecting from rugby union and association football; the Recs were based individually at the City Road ground, after sharing with St Helens, before their move to Knowsley Road, when neither played rugby league.
The Recs played their first game on 6 September 1913. St Helens now had two professional rugby league teams. In both sides first year in co—existence, St Helens finished yet again in a disappointing low mid—table finish. During the First World War, St Helens struggled to compete and failed to complete the full fixture list of the Emergency War League on two occasions, with the club finishing mid—table in the first year of the war, as well as being beaten by 37 points to 3 by Huddersfield in that year's Challenge Cup Final; the aftermath of the war was still taking its toll on national sport, not the club's ability to compete and complete fixtures, on 31 Jan 1918'close down' due to a lack of finances following a 22-0 defeat by Widnes. Saints re-open on 25 December 1918 and are beaten 20 points to nil by St Helens Recs in a friendly fixture at City Road. In the shortened 1918—1919 season, St Helens played only nine times; the clubs lack of success and disappointing league finishes continued for another seven seasons.
The club defeated town rivals the Recs in the Lancashire County Cup Final by 10 points to 2 in the 1926–27 season. The season after, they were trophyless. One year after the Challenge Cup's début at Wembley, St Helens reached the final there where they were defeated by 10 points to 3 by Widnes in 1930, they won their first National Championship in the 1931–32 season, defeating Huddersfield 9—5 in the final. This was the same season that they won their second Lancashire League, the first coming in the 1929–30 season, they lost the 1933 Lancashire Cup Final to Warrington, whilst finishing in no competitive position in the league once more. St Helens achieved any more honours during the remainder of the 1930s. What appeared to be building as something of an inter—town derby between the two St Helens clubs was struck down as St Helens Recs played their last game on 29 April 1939, as, due to the economic depression, it was not possible for the town to sustain two teams. Like during the First World War, the club could not enjoy having a full—time squad during the Second World War and struggled to compete.
They did not compete in the National Championship until a 17 team Emergency War League was formed in the 1941—42 season, did not win any regional honours. They finished bottom of the EWL in seasons 1942—43 and 1943—44 and next-to-bottom in 1944—45; the club's fortunes that had seen them be successful so the decade previous did not change in the 1940s. After the commitments of the Second World War, St Helens still found it hard to compete, the tren
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League is a league of professional men's rugby league teams in Australia. Run by the Australian Rugby League Commission, the NRL's main competition is known as the Telstra Premiership due to sponsorship from Telstra Corporation and is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand, it attended rugby league club competition in the world. The National Rugby League is Australia's top-level domestic men's rugby-league club competition, it contains clubs from the original Sydney club Rugby League competition, running continuously since 1908. The NRL formed in the aftermath of the 1990s' Super League war as a joint partnership between the Australian governing body, the Australian Rugby League and media giant News Corporation-controlled Super League, after both organisations ran premierships parallel to each other in 1997; this partnership was dissolved in February 2012, with control of the NRL going to the independently formed Australian Rugby League Commission.
NRL matches are played in New Zealand from March to October. The season culminates in the premiership-deciding game, the NRL Grand Final, traditionally one of Australia's most popular sporting events and one of the world's largest attended sporting championship games. In addition, the NRL premiers play in the World Club Challenge, a pre-season match against the champions of the Super League competition; the reigning premiers are the Sydney Roosters winning their fourteenth official premiership. The New South Wales Rugby League ran the major rugby league competition of New South Wales from its inception in 1908 until 1994. Following the introduction of a new format for interstate rugby league, the State of Origin series in 1980, the decade of the 1980s brought about expansion of the NSWRL premiership, with the introduction of commercial sponsorship, the Winfield Cup, the addition of non-Sydney-based teams and Illawarra in 1982. Although this move brought more interest in the competition statewide in New South Wales, it would spell the beginning of the demise of some of the traditional Sydney-based clubs as well as having a negative effect on the Brisbane Rugby League premiership.
Following the 1983 season, Sydney foundation club Newtown Jets were forced to withdraw from the competition because of financial difficulties. Further expansion of the league followed in 1988, with another three teams based outside Sydney introduced to the competition; the Brisbane and Newcastle sides proved to be successful and popular and paved the way towards a push for a national competition. This was attempted in 1995 with control of the premiership passing from the NSWRFL to the Australian Rugby League, who invited four more teams from outside NSW to participate in 1995; this competition failed, but in its demise the National Rugby League was born, incorporating the traditional Sydney clubs coercing the Sydney market to follow the newly created national competition. The prospect of a national rugby league competition in addition to the introduction of pay television in Australia attracted the attention of global media organisation, News Corporation, it followed that professional rugby league was shaken to its foundations in the mid-1990s with the advent of the Super League war.
A conflict over broadcasting rights, it became a dispute as to who controlled the sport and which traditional clubs would survive into the new national era, as News Limited formed their own Super League and admitted some former ARL clubs, poaching players from the original ARL league with high salaries. With twenty-two teams of varying quality playing in two competitions that year, crowd attendances and corporate sponsorships were spread thinly, many teams found themselves in financial difficulty; the ARL undertook moves to invite the traditional clubs that had moved to the Super League competition back into a re-unified competition. Following a period of negotiation with News Corporation, on 23 September 1997 the ARL announced that it was forming a new company to conduct the competition in 1998. On 7 October News' Manaaki Ranginui announced that he was confident that there would be a single competition in 1998. On 19 December, representatives of clubs affiliated with the Australian Rugby League gathered at the Sydney Football Stadium to decide whether to accept News Limited's offer of a settlement – voting in favour by 36 votes to 4.
As a result, in the following months the National Rugby League, jointly owned by the ARL and News Limited, was formed. It was announced that the inaugural National Rugby League season of 1998 would have 20 teams competing, 19 remaining Super League and ARL teams plus the Melbourne Storm, who were created by Super League for their 1998 season. Clubs on both sides of the war were shut down. Super League decided to close the Hunter Mariners and the financially ruined Perth Reds, who were $10 million in debt at the end of 1997, while the ARL decided to close down the South Queensland Crushers, who were in severe financial trouble. Additionally, at the end of 1998 the NRL decided to close down former Super League club, the Adelaide Rams and former ARL club, the Gold Coast Chargers, despite the Gold Coast franchise being one of the few clubs to make a profit during the Super League war. One condition of the peace agreement between the ARL and News Limited was that there would be a 14 team competition in 2000.
The 20 clubs that played in 1998 would be assessed on various items such as sponsorship, crowds, on-field success and the like. It was announced that clubs that merged would
Wigan Warriors
The Wigan Warriors are a professional rugby league club in Wigan, who compete in the Super League, are the current/defending Champions. Formed in 1872 as Wigan Football Club, Wigan was a founding member of the Northern Rugby Football Union following the schism from the Rugby Football Union in 1895. Wigan have won 22 19 Challenge Cups and 4 World Club Challenges. Wigan is the most successful club in English rugby league and had a period of sustained success from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s, winning eight successive Challenge Cups and eight League Championships; the club plays home matches at the DW Stadium, having played at Central Park between 1902 and 1999. The head coach is Adrian Lam. On 21 November 1872, Wigan Football Club was founded by members of Wigan Cricket Club following a meeting at the Royal Hotel, Standishgate. Wigan F. C. played near Upper Dicconson Street. The first match took place on 30 November when members played against each other in a practice match at Folly Field. After a series of trial and practice matches, they travelled to Warrington to play their first competitive match on 18 January 1873.
The game ended in a draw. Financial problems and an inability to recruit quality players led to the club amalgamating with Upholland F. C. in 1876. The club became Wigan & District F. C; the club moved and played its home games at the Wigan Cricket Club at Prescott Street just off Frog Lane. It is unlikely that the club fulfilled its fixtures in 1877 before disbanding at the end of the 1879 cricket season. On 22 September 1879, the club was reformed as Wigan Wasps by many ex-members of the original Wigan Football Club, following a meeting in the Dicconson Arms; the club moved away from Prescott Street back to Folly Field. In 1884, Wigan won the West Lancashire Cup; the club played in blue and white hooped jerseys before changing in 1886 to cherry and white hoops. In 1888 they beat a touring New Zealand side. Wigan were suspended by the RFU for breaking the strict amateur code despite their argument that broken-time payments were necessary to avoid undue hardship for their working class players. In 1895 Wigan joined with other clubs from Yorkshire and Lancashire to found the Northern Union which led to the sport of rugby league.
This was a result of the breakaway from the Rugby Football Union. This was when the "Wasps" tag was dropped and the club became known as Wigan; the County Championship was introduced in October 1895 with Cheshire entertaining Lancashire. The Red Rose side contained three players from Wigan: Unsworth and Brown. In 1896–97 due to the increased number of Northern Union teams the Northern League was abandoned in favour of two County Senior leagues; the second half of the season saw the introduction of the Northern Union Cup. Wigan reached the third round before being knocked out by St. Helens. In 1904, fourteen clubs resigned from the two county leagues to form a new Northern Rugby League for season 1901–02. Wigan however remained in the Lancashire Senior Competition. Wigan became sub-tenants of Springfield Park, which they shared with Wigan United AFC, playing their first game there on 14 September 1901. A crowd of 4,000 saw them beat Morecambe 12–0. During this season Wigan won the Lancashire Senior Competition.
Wigan's record crowd at Springfield was 10,000 when they beat Widnes on 19 March 1902. The last game was on 28 April 1902. Two meetings were held by Wigan members during the season to discuss the possibility of turning the club into a Limited Company but the idea did not take off. On 6 September 1902, Wigan played at Central Park for the first time in the opening match of the newly formed First Division. An estimated crowd of 9,000 spectators saw Wigan beat Batley 14–8. In the 1905 -- 06 season they won their first cup, in the Lancashire County Cup. Between 1906 and 1923 Wigan won the Lancashire League another seven times and the Lancashire Cup another four times. Wigan were the first winners of the Lancashire cup. Wigan played New Zealand on 9 November 1907 and ran out winners by 12 points to 8 in front of a crowd of around 30,000. Great Britain known as the Northern Union, played their first test against New Zealand on 25 January 1908. James "Jim" Leytham, Bert Jenkins, John "Johnny" Thomas of Wigan were in the home side and James "Jim" Leytham scored a try.
Bert Jenkins, John "Johnny" Thomas had played in the first Welsh game against New Zealand on 1 January 1908. On Saturday 28 October 1911, Wigan played a match against the Australasian team which visited England on the 1911–12 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and won. On 12 May 1921, Wigan became a limited company. In June 1922 Jim Sullivan joined Wigan from Cardiff RFC when he was only 17, his cash value was put at £750, a staggering signing-on fee for an adolescent who had not yet played 13-a-side rugby. His first game was at home against Widnes on 27 August 1921, he scored ten points in a 21–0 win. Jim Sullivan scored the first points in the first Challenge Cup Final to be played at Wembley Stadium, kicking a penalty after only three minutes of the inaugural Challenge Cup Final against Dewsbury in 1929 in which he led Wigan to a 13–2 victory. Sullivan became player-coach in 1932. Wigan won their first Challenge Cup in the 1923 -- 24 season -- 4 in Rochdale. In 1933 the Prince of Wales attended Central Park, becoming the first royal to watch a rugb
Steve Prescott
Stephen Prescott was a professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. Prescott made his début for St Helens in 1993, soon established himself as the club's first choice fullback, he made his senior international début in 1996, playing both games for England in their 1996 European Championship victory. That year he helped Saints win the Championship and Challenge Cup for the first time in two decades, he went on to win a second consecutive Challenge Cup with the club in 1997, but was sold to Hull Sharks at the end of the season. After spending two years at Hull, Prescott joined Wakefield Trinity in 2000, but rejoined Hull a year after being released by Wakefield Trinity due to the club's financial difficulties, he changed his international allegiance to Ireland, who he represented at the 2000 Rugby League World Cup. He made one appearance for Lancashire in 2003, but suffered a serious knee injury while playing for the team, which ended his playing career. In 2006, Prescott was given months to live.
He set up the Steve Prescott Foundation in 2007, went on to organise a series of money-raising initiatives. He raised half a million pounds for charity through the foundation, was awarded an MBE in 2009 for his efforts. After a long battle with the disease, he died aged 39. In October 2013 a small group of people started a campaign to get the highest honour in English Rugby League the Man of Steel Award to be renamed after Steve. On 5 March 2014 the RFL announced that the Man of Steel award will be renamed after Steve and is now known as the Steve Prescott Man of Steel Award. Steve Prescott was born in St. Helens, England on 26 December 1973, he attended De La Salle High School, he was the son of the rugby league footballer. Steve Prescott was introduced to sports from an early age playing both football and rugby league on the same weekend. Prescott trialled with several football clubs, including Liverpool, before opting to focus on rugby league during his teens, he was playing for local amateur side Nutgrove before signing for St Helens in 1992.
Although he was deemed too small to make the grade by Saints, Prescott secured his future at the club with some impressive performances for the reserve team. He made his début for the first team in September 1993 against Leigh, scored his first try that year against Hull F. C, he made 15 appearances and kicked 29 goals during his début season, playing as a winger, or deputising for Dave Lyon at fullback. Although there were still concerns about his size, he established himself as the team's first-choice fullback during the 1994–95 season, with Lyon moving to the centres. On 20 December 1994, he scored his first career hat-trick in a 50–22 win against Batley in a Regal Trophy third-round replay. A couple of days he was rewarded with a new four-year contract, he was a near-ever present throughout the season, appearing 34 times and scoring 20 tries. Steve Prescott played fullback in St. Helens' 16-25 defeat by Wigan in the 1995–96 Regal Trophy Final during the 1995–96 at Alfred McAlpine Stadium, Huddersfield on Saturday 13 January 1996.
Prescott won his first silverware during the inaugural Super League season in 1996, scoring four tries against Sheffield Eagles in the penultimate game of the season as the club went on to secure its first league championship since 1975. He played for Saints at fullback in the 1996 Challenge Cup Final, scoring two tries in the first seventeen minutes and helping his team to a 40–32 victory against Bradford Bulls. At the start of the following season, one of the lowest-paid first team players at the club, was transfer listed at his own request after failing to negotiate an improved contract with the club, he remained in the first team however, was part of the side that won the 1997 Challenge Cup, once again defeating Bradford Bulls in the Challenge Cup Final. The rest of Prescott's season was interrupted by a number of injuries, on 25 July 1997 he played what would be his last game for the club in a 70–6 defeat against World Club Challenge opponents Auckland Warriors. In November 1997, he was signed by newly promoted Hull Sharks, along with Alan Hunte and Simon Booth, for a combined transfer fee of £350,000.
In his 117 games for the club, he scored 52 kicked 66 goals. In February 1998, Prescott made his début for Hull in the Challenge Cup against Whitehaven, scored his first try for the club in the next round against Ellenborough Rangers. In April 1998, he scored two tries against Sheffield Eagles in his first Super League game for the club, became the club's regular goal kicker that year. In the 1999 season, Prescott missed two months of the season through injury due to a dislocated elbow. With Hull struggling near the bottom of the table, the club being unable to afford his wages, Prescott confirmed he was to leave when his contract expired in the winter. Hull won their last game for the season against Sheffield, with Prescott kicking six goals, finished in 13th place – one position above bottom club Huddersfield due to a superior goal difference. Prescott signed for Wakefield Trinity Wildcats in 2000, scoring 3 tries in 25 games, but his contract was terminated after one season to ease the club's financial problems.
He subsequently rejoined Hull. In April 2001, Prescott was one of 12 former Wakefield Trinity Wildcats players to take the club to an employment tribunal claiming unfair dismissal, was awarded compensation after the club was found to be in breach of contract. At the start of the 2003 season, Prescott scored a hat trick in the opening Super League fixture against former c
Kirklees Stadium
Kirklees Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, England. Since 1994, it has been the home ground of football club Huddersfield Town and rugby league side Huddersfield Giants, both of whom moved from Leeds Road; the stadium was a venue at the Rugby League World Cup in 1995, 2000 and 2013, in addition to the 1999 Rugby World Cup. It is owned by both clubs, as well as Kirklees Council, its naming rights have passed from constructors Alfred McAlpine to pharmaceutical company Galpharm International in 2004 to John Smith's Brewery eight years later. During planning and construction, the stadium was referred to as the Kirklees Stadium, it was built by Alfred McAlpine, designed by Populous and was awarded the RIBA Building of the Year award for 1995. The decision to build a new stadium for Huddersfield Town was made in August 1992. Construction began the following year and it was completed in time for the 1994–95 season, enabling the club to move to its new base after 86 years at Leeds Road.
When the stadium opened only the two side stands were ready. The South Stand was opened in December 1994. Construction on the North Stand began in 1996 and it was completed in 1998, bringing the overall capacity of the stadium to 24,500; the estimated cost of construction was £40 million. A ski slope will be built next to the stadium; the stadium was owned by a consortium made up of Kirklees Metropolitan Council, Huddersfield Town A. F. C. and Huddersfield Giants in a 40:40:20 proportion. Following the purchase of Huddersfield Town A. F. C. from the administrators, Ken Davy became chairman of both sports clubs, which are owned by companies he controls. The present ownership of the stadium is Kirklees Metropolitan Council 40%, Huddersfield Town FC 40%, Huddersfield Giants 20%; the current Managing director of the stadium company is Gareth Davis who succeeded Ralph Rimmer in 2010. On 24 December 2009, Huddersfield Town announced that 40% of the shares owned by Huddersfield Sporting Pride would be transferred to the football club, owned by current chairman Dean Hoyle, but the deal was delayed due to a rent dispute between Davy and Hoyle.
The deal was completed on 3 September 2013. From 1994 until 2004 the stadium was known as the Alfred McAlpine Stadium. Alfred McAlpine had been the main construction contractor and its name was part of the payment contract for ten years; the company elected not to renew its sponsorship, taken up by Galpharm Healthcare, leading to the new name. Individual stands are sponsored by local businesses. On 19 July 2012, it was announced that the brewery firm, Heineken had bought the sponsorship rights for the stadium using their domestic John Smith's Brewery as the beneficiary, as such the stadium was renamed as The John Smith's Stadium on 1 August as part of a five-year deal. In December 2016, this was extended for a further five years. Capacity – The North Stand, known as the Fantastic Media Stand for sponsorship reasons, is located behind the goal post at the north end of the ground, it has two tiers and houses 16 hospitality boxes and is seated. The lower tier contains temporary seats that can be removed for other events.
Capacity- 7,000 The East Stand known as the Kilner Bank Stand or the Britannia Rescue Stand for sponsorship reasons is a large single tier stand that runs along the side of the pitch and is covered seating. The stand holds the TV gantry. Capacity- 4,054 The John Smiths South Stand as it is known for sponsorship reasons is an all seated stand built into a bank and is covered as well as having the big screen; the stand used to be for away fans but it is now shared with home fans with segregation netting. From 2017–18 a new segregation system was implemented with away fans given 2,500 tickets instead of 2,000. Capacity- The West stand is the main stand and is known as the Revell Ward Stand for sponsorship or Riverside Stand, it has two tiers and 26 hospitality boxes and incorporates the player changing rooms, dug out, ticket office and club shop. It hosted its first match on 20 August 1994 when Huddersfield Town lost 1–0 to Wycombe Wanderers in the Second Division. Only the two touchline stands had been completed, 13,334 spectators attended.
Simon Garner scored the goal for the visitors. On 4 June 1999, it hosted England under-21 in a 2000 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group 5 match against Sweden, a 3–0 win for England; the record for a football match is 24,129 for an FA Cup fifth round match between Huddersfield Town and Manchester City on 18 February 2017, a goalless draw. On 20 August, it held its first Premier League game, with Huddersfield's Aaron Mooy scoring the only goal of a 1–0 win over Newcastle United in front of a crowd one spectator lower than the record. Rugby League World Cup matches were held at the stadium in 1995, 2000 and 2013. Seven Great Britain rugby league internationals have been held at the ground, from 1998 to 2007. Since the Great Britain team was split into home nations, it has hosted four England rugby league internationals, including a 42–0 win over Ireland in the group stage of the 2013 World Cup, in front of 24,375 spectators, it was the ground's first sell-out crowd, its record attendance.
On 29 January 2019, it was announced that the John Smith's Stadium would play host to a quarter-final of the 2021 Rugby League World Cup. The results of international matches are as follows. Wigan Warriors won on both occasions; the stadium has hosted three of Bradford Bull
Apollo 11
Apollo 11 was the spaceflight that landed the first two people on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin, both American, landed the Apollo Lunar Module Eagle on July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC. Armstrong became the first person to step onto the lunar surface six hours on July 21 at 02:56:15 UTC, they spent about two and a quarter hours together outside the spacecraft, collected 47.5 pounds of lunar material to bring back to Earth. Command module pilot Michael Collins flew the command module Columbia alone in lunar orbit while they were on the Moon's surface. Armstrong and Aldrin spent 21.5 hours on the lunar surface before rejoining Columbia in lunar orbit. Apollo 11 was launched by a Saturn V rocket from Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island, Florida, on July 16 at 13:32 UTC, was the fifth crewed mission of NASA's Apollo program; the Apollo spacecraft had three parts: a command module with a cabin for the three astronauts, the only part that returned to Earth. After being sent to the Moon by the Saturn V's third stage, the astronauts separated the spacecraft from it and traveled for three days until they entered lunar orbit.
Armstrong and Aldrin moved into Eagle and landed in the Sea of Tranquillity. The astronauts used Eagle's ascent stage to lift off from the lunar surface and rejoin Collins in the command module, they jettisoned Eagle before they performed the maneuvers that blasted them out of lunar orbit on a trajectory back to Earth. They returned to Earth and splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on July 24 after more than eight days in space. Armstrong's first step onto the lunar surface was broadcast on live TV to a worldwide audience, he described the event as "one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." Apollo 11 ended the Space Race and fulfilled a national goal proposed in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy: "before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth." In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the United States was engaged in the Cold War, a geopolitical rivalry with the Soviet Union. On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched the first artificial satellite.
This surprise success fired imaginations around the world. It demonstrated that the Soviet Union had the capability to deliver nuclear weapons over intercontinental distances, challenged American claims of military and technological superiority; this precipitated the Sputnik crisis, triggered the Space Race. President Dwight D. Eisenhower responded to the Sputnik challenge by creating the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, initiating Project Mercury, which aimed to launch a man into Earth orbit, but on April 12, 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first person in space, the first to orbit the Earth. It was another body blow to American pride. Nearly a month on May 5, 1961, Alan Shepard became the first American in space, completing a 15-minute suborbital journey. After being recovered from the Atlantic Ocean, he received a congratulatory telephone call from Eisenhower's successor, John F. Kennedy. Kennedy believed that it was in the national interest of the United States to be superior to other nations, that the perception of American power was at least as important as the actuality.
It was therefore intolerable that the Soviet Union was more advanced in the field of space exploration. He was determined that the United States should compete, sought a challenge that maximized its chances of winning. Since the Soviet Union had better booster rockets, he required a challenge, beyond the capacity of the existing generation of rocketry, one where the US and Soviet Union would be starting from a position of equality. Something spectacular if it could not be justified on military, economic or scientific grounds. After consulting with his experts and advisors, he chose such a project. On May 25, 1961, he addressed the United States Congress on "Urgent National Needs" and declared:I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth. No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space. We propose to accelerate the development of the appropriate lunar space craft.
We propose to develop alternate liquid and solid fuel boosters, much larger than any now being developed, until certain, superior. We propose additional funds for other engine development and for unmanned explorations-explorations which are important for one purpose which this nation will never overlook: the survival of the man who first makes this daring flight, but in a real sense, it will not be one man going to the Moon-if we make this judgment affirmatively, it will be an entire nation. For all of us must work to put him there; the effort to land a man on the Moon had a name: Project Apollo. An early and crucial decision was choosing lunar orbit rendezvous over both direct ascent and Earth orbit rendezvous. A space rendezvous is an orbital maneuver in which two spacecraft navigate through space and meet up. On July 11, 1962, James Webb announced the decision to use lunar orbit rendezvous; this resulted in a much smaller launch vehicle, in the Apollo spacecraft being composed of three major parts: a command module with a cabin for the three astr
Dubai
Dubai is the largest and most populous city in the United Arab Emirates. On the southeast coast of the Persian Gulf, it is the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, one of the seven emirates that make up the country. Dubai is a global business hub of the Middle East, it is a major global transport hub for passengers and cargo. Oil revenue helped accelerate the development of the city, a major mercantile hub, but Dubai's oil reserves are limited and production levels are low: today, less than 5% of the emirate's revenue comes from oil. A growing centre for regional and international trade since the early 20th century, Dubai's economy today relies on revenues from trade, aviation, real estate, financial services. Dubai has attracted world attention through large construction projects and sports events, in particular the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa; as of 2012, Dubai was the most expensive city in the Middle East. In 2014, Dubai's hotel rooms were rated as the second most expensive in the world.
Many theories have been proposed as to the origin of the word "Dubai". One theory suggests the word was used to describe the souq, similar to the souq in Ba. An Arabic proverb says "Daba Dubai", meaning "They came with a lot of money." According to Fedel Handhal, a scholar on the UAE's history and culture, the word Dubai may have come from the word daba, referring to the slow flow of Dubai Creek inland. The poet and scholar Ahmad Mohammad Obaid traces it to the same word, but to its alternative meaning of "baby locust" due to the abundant nature of locusts in the area before settlement; the history of human settlement in the area now defined by the United Arab Emirates is rich and complex, points to extensive trading links between the civilisations of the Indus Valley and Mesopotamia, but as far afield as the Levant. Archaeological finds in the emirate of Dubai at Al-Ashoosh, Al Sufouh and the notably rich trove from Saruq Al Hadid show settlement through the Ubaid and Hafit periods, the Umm Al Nar and Wadi Suq periods and the three Iron Ages in the UAE.
The area was known to the Sumerians as Magan, was a source for metallic goods, notably copper and bronze. The area was covered with sand about 5,000 years ago as the coast retreated inland, becoming part of the city's present coastline. Pre-Islamic ceramics have been found from the 4th centuries. Prior to the introduction of Islam to the area, the people in this region worshiped Bajir. After the spread of Islam in the region, the Umayyad Caliph of the eastern Islamic world invaded south-east Arabia and drove out the Sassanians. Excavations by the Dubai Museum in the region of Al-Jumayra found several artefacts from the Umayyad period; the earliest recorded mention of Dubai is in 1095 in the Book of Geography by the Andalusian-Arab geographer Abu Abdullah al-Bakri. The Venetian pearl merchant Gasparo Balbi visited the area in 1580 and mentioned Dubai for its pearling industry. Dubai is thought to have been established as a fishing village in the early 18th century and was, by 1822, a town of some 7–800 members of the Bani Yas tribe and subject to the rule of Sheikh Tahnun bin Shakhbut of Abu Dhabi.
In 1833, following tribal feuding, members of the Al Bu Falasah tribe seceded from Abu Dhabi and established themselves in Dubai. The exodus from Abu Dhabi was led by Obeid bin Saeed and Maktoum bin Butti, who became joint leaders of Dubai until Ubaid died in 1836, leaving Maktum to establish the Maktoum dynasty. Dubai signed the General Maritime Treaty of 1820 along with other Trucial States, following the British punitive expedition against Ras Al Khaimah of 1819, which led to the bombardment of the coastal communities of the Persian Gulf; this led to the 1853 Perpetual Maritime Truce. Dubai – like its neighbours on the Trucial Coast – entered into an exclusivity agreement in which the United Kingdom took responsibility for the emirate's security in 1892. In 1841, a smallpox epidemic broke out in the Bur Dubai locality, forcing residents to relocate east to Deira. In 1896, fire broke out in Dubai, a disastrous occurrence in a town where many family homes were still constructed from barasti - palm fronds.
The conflagration consumed half the houses of Bur Dubai, while the district of Deira was said to have been destroyed. The following year, more fires broke out. A female slave was subsequently put to death. In 1901, Maktoum bin Hasher Al Maktoum established Dubai as a free port with no taxation on imports or exports and gave merchants parcels of land and guarantees of protection and tolerance; these policies saw a movement of merchants not only directly from Lingeh, but those who had settled in Ras Al Khaimah and Sharjah to Dubai. An indicator of the growing importance of the port of Dubai can be gained from the movements of the steamer of the Bombay and Persia Steam Navigation Company, which from 1899 to 1901 paid five visits annually to Dubai. In 1902 the company's vessels made 21 visits to Dubai and from 1904 on, the steamers called fortnightly – in 1906, trading seventy thousand tonnes of cargo; the frequency of these vessels only helped to accelerate Dubai's role as an emerging port and trading hub of preference.
Lorimer notes the transfer from Lingeh'bids fair to become complete and permanent', that the town had by 1906 supplanted Lingeh as the chief entrepôt of the Trucial States. The'great storm' of 1908 struck the pearling boats of Dubai and the coastal emirates t
