The Battle of Navarino was a naval battle fought on 20 October 1827, during the Greek War of Independence, in Navarino Bay, on the west coast of the Peloponnese peninsula, in the Ionian Sea. Allied forces from Britain and Russia decisively defeated Ottoman and Egyptian forces trying to suppress the Greeks, thereby making Greek independence much more likely. An Ottoman armada which, in addition to imperial warships, included squadrons from the eyalets of Egypt and Tunis, was destroyed by an Allied force of British and Russian warships, it was the last major naval battle in history to be fought with sailing ships, although most ships fought at anchor. The Allies' victory was achieved through superior gunnery; the context of the three Great Powers' intervention in the Greek conflict was the Russian Empire's long-running expansion at the expense of the decaying Ottoman Empire. Russia's ambitions in the region were seen as a major geostrategic threat by the other European powers, which feared the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire and the establishment of Russian hegemony in the Eastern Mediterranean.

The precipitating factor was Orthodox Russia's strong emotional support for their Greek co-religionists, who had rebelled against their Ottoman overlords in 1821. Despite official British interest in maintaining the Ottoman Empire, the British public supported the Greeks. Fearing unilateral Russian action and France bound Russia by treaty to a joint intervention which aimed to secure Greek autonomy whilst still preserving Ottoman territorial integrity as a check on Russia; the Powers agreed, by the Treaty of London, to force the Ottoman government to grant the Greeks autonomy within the empire and despatched naval squadrons to the eastern Mediterranean to enforce their policy. The naval battle happened more by accident than by design as a result of a manoeuvre by the Allied commander-in-chief, Admiral Edward Codrington, aimed at coercing the Ottoman commander to obey Allied instructions; the sinking of the Ottomans' Mediterranean fleet saved the fledgling Greek Republic from collapse. But it required two more military interventions—by Russia in the form of the Russo-Turkish War of 1828–9 and by a French expeditionary force to the Peloponnese to force the withdrawal of Ottoman forces from central and southern Greece—to secure Greek independence.

The Ottoman Turks had conquered the Greek-controlled Byzantine empire during the 15th century, taking over its territory and its capital and becoming its effective successor-state. In 1821, Greek nationalists revolted against the Ottomans, aiming to liberate ethnic Greeks from four centuries of Ottoman rule. Fighting raged for several years but by 1825, a stalemate had developed, with the Greeks unable to drive the Ottomans out of most of Greece, but the Ottomans were unable to crush the revolt definitively. However, in 1825, the Sultan succeeded in breaking the stalemate, he persuaded his powerful wali of Egypt, Muhammad Ali Pasha, technically his vassal but in practice autonomous, to deploy his Western-trained and equipped army and navy against the Greeks. In return, the Sultan promised to grant the rebel heartland, the Peloponnese, as a hereditary fief to Ali's eldest son, Ibrahim. In February 1825, Ibrahim led an expeditionary force of 16,000 into the Peloponnese, soon overran its western part.

The Greek revolutionaries remained defiant, appointed experienced philhellenic British officers at the head of the army and fleet: Maj Sir Richard Church and Lord Cochrane. By this time however, the Greek provisional government's land and sea forces were far inferior to those of the Ottomans and Egyptians: in 1827, Greek regular troops numbered less than 5,000, compared to 25,000 Ottomans in central Greece and 15,000 Egyptians in the Peloponnese; the Greek government was bankrupt. Many of the key fortresses on what little territory it controlled were in Ottoman hands, it seemed only a matter of time. At this critical juncture, the Greek cause was rescued by the decision of three Great Powers—Great Britain and Russia—to intervene jointly in the conflict. From the inception of the Greek revolt until 1826, British and Austrian diplomacy aimed at ensuring the non-intervention of the great powers in the conflict, their objective was to stall Russian military intervention in support of the Greeks, in order to give the Ottomans time to defeat the rebellion.

However, the Ottomans proved unable to suppress the revolt during the long period of non-intervention secured by British and Austrian diplomacy. By the time the Ottomans were making serious progress, it was too late. In December 1825, the diplomatic landscape changed with the death of Tsar Alexander and the succession of his younger brother Nicholas I to the Russian throne. Nicholas was a more decisive and risk-taking character than his brother, as well as being far more nationalistic. Britain's response to the new situation was to move towards joint intervention. Britain and Russia signed the Treaty of London on 6 July 1827; the treaty called for an immediate armistice between the belligerents, in effect demanding a cessation of Ottoman military operations in Greece just when the Ottomans had victory in their grasp. It offered Allied mediation in the negotiations on a final settlement that were to follow the armistice; the treaty called on the Ottomans to grant Greece a degree of autonomy, but envisaged it remaining under Ottoman suzerainty.

A secret clause in the agreement provided that if the Ottomans failed to accept the armistice within a month, each signator

The 2011–12 season was West Bromwich Albion's second consecutive season in the Premier League, their sixth in total. During the season, they competed in the FA Cup. Albion finished the season in 10th place after their last league game was a 2–3 loss against Arsenal; the club introduced the "Baggies Brick Road" outside the East Stand of their home ground, The Hawthorns. Supporters were given the opportunity to purchase personalised bricks to add to the walkway; the first bricks were laid by broadcaster Adrian Chiles and comedian Frank Skinner, both of whom are Albion fans. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. West Brom played no early home pre-season friendlies this season, because of development and leveling of the pitch at The Hawthorns.

As of 31 May 2012 Last updated: 6 June 2011Source: Competitive match reports. Competitive matches only Matches started as captain onlyCountry: FIFA nationality. Games: Number of games started as captain. Last updated on 20 May 2012

Michigan Molecular Institute ceased operations in 2015 after nearly 45 years of outstanding service in pursuit of applied research in polymer science and technology. MMI opened its doors under the name Midland Macromolecular Institute in the fall of 1972, although the facility had been in operation for the previous year; the building had broken ground in the spring of 1970, it, like many of Midland's buildings from that era, was designed by local architect Alden B. Dow; the institute hosted a three-day dedication beginning September 28, 1972 with opening ceremonies that featured more than 400 scientists from throughout the world, chamber music from the Cleveland Quartet, several presentations and public tours. The featured speakers for the ceremonies were Dr. Herman Francis Mark, considered by many to be the father of macromolecular sciences, Dr. Paul J. Flory, who two years would be awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry. Two other speakers were prof. dr. Donald Lyman and prof. dr. Edgar Andrews.

Other luminaries on hand included Dr. Melvin Calvin, the 1961 winner of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry. MMI's first director was Dr. H. G. Elias, who came to Midland from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich. Beyond funding from MFAR, early financial supporters of MMI were the Herbert H. & Grace A. Dow Foundation, The Rollin M. Gerstacker Foundation and the Charles J. Strosacker Foundation. In the institute's early days, Elias said MMI would be run much like a university department, although its founders expected MMI would advance macromolecular science knowledge in a way that universities could not. One similarity: MMI opened its doors as a not-for-profit organization, which it remains today. MMI's first 15 years of research of advanced composite materials and polymer technology contributed to Michigan's ability to entice plastics- and composite-related industries to build in the state, its affiliation with Central Michigan University and Michigan Technological University allowed it to offer master's and doctorate degrees in related research fields.

In the early 1990s, MMI began to shift its focus toward creating technology that could be licensed for commercialization. Over the years, six men have led the institute as President and/or CEO, including Elias. MMI's emphasis from the beginning on the education portion of its mission led to a steady stream of outside experts through the institute, including the visiting professor program, established in 1973 and renamed in 1981 as a living memorial to the late Dr. Turner Alfrey, Jr; each year, a leading scientist is invited to teach a short course, visit sponsoring organizations and deliver additional research seminars, benefitting many people by providing a point of connection between local scientists and engineers with the world leaders of the polymer science field. TAVP speakers from around the world have been invited to present the latest, most up-to-date information in their particular polymer expertise areas; these courses were delivered in an intensive, one-week, daily lecture format.

Visiting professors spent additional time at MMI, participating in one-on-one and research group discussions at the Institute, in collaborations and discussions with other nearby industrial and academic researchers. They prepared and delivered a set of on-site seminars for many of the sponsoring organizations that parallel and supplement the formal course lectures. Financial co-sponsors of the Turner Alfrey Visiting Professor program included The Dow Chemical Company, Dow Corning Corporation, Michigan State University, Central Michigan University, Saginaw Valley State University, the Mid-Michigan Section of the Society of Plastics Engineers, the Midland Section of the American Chemical Society; the list of Turner Alfrey Visiting Professors includes several Nobel Prize winners