The Basilica of Sant' Apollinare in Classe is an important monument of Byzantine art near Ravenna, Italy. When the UNESCO inscribed eight Ravenna sites on the World Heritage List, it cited this basilica as "an outstanding example of the early Christian basilica in its purity and simplicity of its design and use of space and in the sumptuous nature of its decoration"; when the basilica of Sant'Apollinare was built 1500 years ago it was on the seashore at Classe, ancient home port of the Roman fleet. Due to the accumulation of silt, the coastline has moved 9 km to the east; the imposing brick structure was erected at the beginning of 6th century by order of Bishop Ursicinus, using money from the Greek banker Iulianus Argentarius. It was located next to a Christian cemetery, quite on top of a pre-existing pagan one, as some of the ancient tombstones were re-used in its construction. Sant'Apollinare in Classe was consecrated on 9 May 549 by Bishop Maximian and dedicated to Saint Apollinaris, first bishop of Ravenna and Classe.

The Basilica is thus contemporary with the Basilica of San Vitale of Ravenna. In 856, the relics of Saint Apollinaris were transferred from the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe to the Basilica of Sant' Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna; the exterior has a large façade with two simple uprights and one mullioned window with three openings. The narthex and building to the right of the entry are additions, as is the fine 9th century round bell tower with mullioned windows; the church is on two aisles. An ancient altar in the mid of the nave covers the place of the saint's martyrdom; the church ends with a polygonal apse, sided by two chapels with apses. The nave contains 24 columns of Greek marble; the carved capitals of the columns depict acanthus leaves, but unlike most such carvings the leaves appear twisted as if being buffeted by the wind. The faded frescos depict some of the archbishops of Ravenna, date to the 18th century; the lateral walls are bare, but were once covered with gorgeous mosaics.

These were demolished by the Venetians in 1449, although they left the mosaic decoration in the apse and on the triumphal arch, the church's most striking features. The upper section of the triumphal arch depicts, inside a medallion, Christ. At the sides, within a sea of clouds, are the winged symbols of the four Evangelists: the Eagle, the Winged Man, the Lion, the Calf; the lower section has, at its two edges, the walls showing precious gems from which twelve lambs exit. The sides of the arch show two palms; the decoration of the apse date to the 6th century, can be divided into two parts: in the upper one, a large disc encloses a starry sky in, a cross with gems and the face of Christ. Over the cross is a hand protruding from the clouds, the theme of the Hand of God. At the side of the disc are the figures of Elijah and Moses; the three lambs in the lower sector symbolize the saints Peter and John, alluding the Transfiguration of Jesus on Mount Tabor. in the lower one is a green valley with rocks, bush and birds.

In the middle is the figure of Saint Apollinaris, portrayed in the act of praying God to give grace to his faithful, symbolized by twelve white lambs. In the spaces between the windows are the four bishops who founded the main basilicas in Ravenna: Ursicinus, Ursus and Ecclesius, all with a book in a hand. At the sides of the apse are two 7th-century panels: the left one, much restored, portrays the Byzantine Emperor Constantine IV granting privileges to an envoy of the Ravenna's archbishop. In the right panel are Abraham and Melchisedek around an altar, on which they offer a sacrifice to God; the choice of the subject is linked to the fight against Arianism, as it restates the both divine and human nature of Christ, the former negated by the Arians. In addition, the representation of Apollinaris among the apostles was a legitimation to Maximian as the first bishop of a diocese directly related to the early followers of Jesus, being Apollinaris, according to the legend, a disciple of St. Peter.

The Basilica's walls are lined by numerous sarcophagi from different centuries. They attest the changes of style from the 5th to the 8th centuries: from reliefs with human figures of the Roman sarcophagi, to Byzantine symbolism, to the increasing abstraction and simplification of these symbologies. Basilica of San Vitale, another 6th-century church in Ravenna famous for its Justinian mosaic. Bishop Maximianus of Ravenna, credited with building the Basilica Weitzmann, Kurt, ed. Age of spirituality: late antique and early Christian art, third to seventh century, no. 505, 1979, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, ISBN 9780870991790 Media related to Sant'Apollinare in Classe at Wikimedia Commons Photos Ravenna Tourism site

James Charles Norton was a professional American football player. He was an original member of the Houston Oilers of the American Football League, he played at strong safety and punter for their first nine seasons, 1960 to 1968. Norton holds the league's record for career interceptions, his jersey No. 43 was the first of six retired by the Oilers / Titans franchise. Born and raised in Southern California, Norton graduated from Fullerton Union High School in 1956 and played college football for head coach Skip Stahley at Idaho, alongside future pros Jerry Kramer, Wayne Walker, Jim Prestel in the Pacific Coast Conference. Nicknamed "Flamingo," Norton played defensive back and tight end, punted and returned kicks for the Vandals. Selected in the seventh round of in the 1960 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions and the Dallas Texans in the AFL's inaugural draft in 1960, he signed as an original Houston Oiler. Although Norton intercepted only one pass in his rookie season in 1960, he went on to become the AFL's all-time interception leader.

In 1961, his first starting season, he punted with a 40.7-yard average. In a tight defensive duel in the AFL Championship Game, his four booming punts helped Houston defeat the San Diego Chargers, 10-3, claiming their second AFL championship in as many seasons. While nursing a slim half-game lead in the Eastern Division in Week 12 of the 1962 AFL season, Norton tormented Denver Broncos quarterback Frank Tripucka, he stopped three Bronco drives with interceptions as the Oilers stole a 34-17 victory and a berth in their third straight AFL Championship Game. That thriller for the 1962 AFL crown was the league's longest game, a double-overtime contest won by the Dallas Texans, 20-17; as a defensive back, Norton was a steady tackler with a nose for the football. His play earned him All-AFL honors for 1961,'62,'63, and'67, when he scored the only touchdown of his career, returning an interception 56 yards, his number 43 was the first retired by the Oilers, acknowledging his club-record 45 career interceptions, which he returned for 592 yards and a touchdown, 519 punts.

The Oilers retired the numbers of Elvin Bethea, Earl Campbell, Mike Munchak, Bruce Matthews, Warren Moon. List of American Football League players Miller, Jeff. Going Long: The Wild Ten-Year Saga of the Renegade American Football League In the Words of Those Who Lived It. McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07-141849-0. Gruver, Ed; the American Football League: A Year-By-Year History, 1960–1969. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 0-7864-0399-3. Idaho Vandals Athletics Hall of Fame profile Career statistics and player information from NFL.com · Pro-Football-Reference · Tennessee Titans – Titans/Oilers Hall of Fame Jim Norton at Find a Grave

The 1974 Zhaotong earthquake occurred at 19:25 UTC on 10 May. It had a magnitude, measured at 7.0 on the moment magnitude scale and 7.1 on the surface wave magnitude scale. It had a maximum perceived intensity of IX on the Mercalli intensity scale; the epicenter was located in Zhaotong prefecture in Yunnan province and it caused between 1,641 and 20,000 deaths. The earthquake has been ascribed to slip on a thrust fault trending north-south with a dip of 60° to the east, from geodetic data analysis, it has been interpreted to result from strike-slip faulting along a steeply-dipping NW-SE trending fault. The isoseismal lines for the earthquake were poorly defined, due to variations both in topography and ground conditions; the earthquake consisted of more than ten separate sub-events. The sequence began with a few shocks in the first two to three seconds with magnitudes less than 5; these were followed by several shocks approaching magnitude 7 over a period of about a minute. The areal distribution of the individual shocks showed no progression along the fault plane as would be expected with a propagating fracture.

The earthquake triggered many landslides in the epicentral area. The bedrock geology in the area contains rocks of all ages from Neoproterozoic through to Quaternary. Landslides were confined to areas that experienced intensities of VII or greater and had slopes of moderate dip. In all but one case, the landslides involved Quaternary material, the exception being a slide, controlled by bedding planes in a Permian limestone. Rock avalanches occurred on steeper slopes affecting jointed and weathered Permian limestone and Triassic sandstone/shale sequences. An area of about 400,000 square kilometres was affected by the earthquake. 28,000 houses collapsed and a further 38,000 were damaged. Houses with wooden frames in the epicentral area remained undamaged; the number of deaths reported. The largest landslide formed a dam up to 30 m high across the Yangtze River, turning the valley above it into a lake. List of earthquakes in 1974 List of earthquakes in China The International Seismological Centre has a bibliography and/or authoritative data for this event