Sir Christopher Sydney Cockerell CBE RDI FRS was an English engineer, best known as the inventor of the hovercraft. Cockerell was born in Cambridge, where his father, Sir Sydney Cockerell, was curator of the Fitzwilliam Museum, having been the secretary of William Morris, his mother was designer Florence Kingsford Cockerell. Christopher attended the preparatory school of St Faith's. Christopher was educated at Gresham's School, Norfolk, he matriculated to Peterhouse, Cambridge to read mechanical engineering and was tutored by William Dobson Womersley. He was to return to Cambridge to study radio and electronics, he began his career working for W. H. Sons of Bedford. After returning to the University of Cambridge in 1934 to study radio and electronics, he went to work at the Radio Research Company. In 1935 he went to work at the Marconi Company, soon afterwards he married Margaret Elinor Belsham, they lived at the now Grade II listed Gay Bowers Cottage in Danbury, Essex from 1940 to 1951. During his time in Chelmsford, he led a research team in the famous Marconi hut at Writtle and worked on many systems, including radar.

After the war he contributed to the development of several sophisticated pieces of equipment, including radio location technology, the first equipment used by the BBC in Alexandra Palace. After he left the Marconi Company, he bought Ripplecraft Ltd. a small Norfolk boat and caravan hire company, with a legacy left by his father-in-law. The firm made little money, Cockerell began to think how the craft could be made to go faster, he was led to earlier work by the Thornycroft company, in which a small vessel had been raised out of the water by a small engine. Cockerell's greatest invention, the hovercraft, grew out of this work, it occurred to him that if the entire craft were lifted from the water, the craft would have no drag. This, he conjectured, would give the craft the ability to attain a much higher maximum speed than could be achieved by the boats of the time. Cockerell's theory was that instead of just pumping air under the craft, as Thornycroft had, if the air were to be instead channelled to form a narrow jet around the perimeter of the craft, the moving air would form a momentum curtain, a wall of moving air that would limit the amount of air that would leak out.

This meant that the same cushion of high pressure air could be maintained by a much smaller engine. Cockrell tested his designs in the broadland village of Somerleyton, Suffolk He tested his theories using a vacuum cleaner and two tin cans, his hypothesis was found to have potential, but the idea took some years to develop, he was forced to sell personal possessions to finance his research. By 1955, he had built a working model from balsa wood and had filed his first patent for the hovercraft, No GB 854211. Cockerell had found it impossible to interest the private sector in developing his idea, as both the aircraft and the shipbuilding industries saw it as lying outside their core business, he therefore approached the British Government with a view to interesting them in possible defence applications. The leaders of the defence groups were not interested in providing funding and put the idea of the hovercraft on the government's secret list. Being on the secret list stopped Cockerell from making his design public.

It remained classified until 1958, upon news of similar developments on the continent, it was declassified, Cockerell was introduced to the NRDC. In the autumn of 1958, the NRDC placed an order with Saunders-Roe for the first full-scale hovercraft; this prototype craft was designated the SR-N1 and was manufactured under licence from the NRDC. On 11 June 1959, the SR-N1 was first shown to the public, capable of carrying four men at a speed of 28 miles per hour. Weeks it was shipped over to France, it crossed the English Channel between Calais and Dover on 25 July 1959, 50 years to the day after the historic crossing by Bleriot. In January 1959, the NRDC formed. Cockerell was the Technical Director and the company controlled the patents which it used to license several private sector firms to manufacture craft under the registered trademark of Hovercraft. Cockerell received an Honorary Doctorate from Heriot-Watt University in 1971. In life, Cockerell developed many other improvements to the hovercraft, invented various other applications for the air cushion principle, such as the hovertrain.

He attended many hovercraft related events, such as the unveiling of many hoverports across the United Kingdom. After a short illness, Christopher Cockerell died at Hythe, Hampshire on 1 June 1999. In life Cockerell developed the Cockerell Raft, a wave power hydraulic device which may have implications in the future for electricity generation. 1965 Awarded the Howard N. Potts Medal 1966 Made a CBE 1967 Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society 1968 Awarded Elmer A. Sperry Award for his development of the Hovercraft 1969 Knighted for his services to engineering In his life, the SR. N4 hovercraft GH2008 Sir Christopher was named after its inventor, it was operated by Hoverlloyd across the channel from 1972 to 1991. A plaque in Cockerell Rise, East Cowes, Isle of Wight, marks the location of White Cottage, where Cockerell lived and worked; the Cottage has been demolished. The plaque was erected by Friends of East Cowes with financial support from the Big Lottery Fund. Cockerell's workshop, including his left-handed lathe, was gifted to the Lowestoft Maritime

The English Assassin: A Romance of Entropy is a 1972 novel by British fantasy and science fiction writer Michael Moorcock, first published in the UK by Allison & Busby and in the US by Harper & Row. Subtitled "A romance of entropy" it was the third part of his long-running Jerry Cornelius series. Cornelius is the "English Assassin" of the title, although he spends much of the book near death himself. Darker in tone than other volumes in the series, the novel offers eight alternative catastrophes in a world of chaos and barbarous collapse; the usual glittering array of supporting characters such as the anarchist Una Persson, the evil Miss Brunner, Professor Hira and the grotesque Bishop Beesley make their appearances amid the rubble of swinging London with the rest of Jerry's colourful clan—his blousy mother, villainous brother Frank and the doomed angelic Catherine. Joanna Russ described the novel as "less vividly raw" but "sadder, more crafted, sometimes more beautiful, far more complex" than the series' opening volume.

"Internet Speculative Fiction Database". Retrieved 2007-12-16. "Moorcock's Miscellany". Retrieved 2007-12-16. Brown, Charles N.. "The Locus Index to Science Fiction". Retrieved 2007-12-16

USNS Kingsport was built as SS Kingsport Victory, a United States Maritime Commission VC2-S-AP3 type cargo ship. During the closing days of World War II the ship was operated by the American Hawaiian Steamship Company under an agreement with the War Shipping Administration. After a period of layup the ship was operated as USAT Kingsport Victory by the Army under bareboat charter effective 8 July 1948; when Army transports were transferred to the Navy's Military Sea Transportation Service the ship continued as USNS Kingsport Victory, a cargo transport. On 14 November 1961, after conversion into the first satellite communication ship, the ship was renamed Kingsport, reclassified as a general auxiliary, operated as USNS Kingsport; the ship was sent to Lagos, Nigeria as the control station for Syncom 2 becoming the site of the first two way call by satellite by heads of state. The call was between Nigerian Prime Minister Abubakar Balewa aboard the Kingsport and President John F. Kennedy on 23 August 1963.

In 1967 the ship underwent conversion and became a bathymetric and acoustic survey ship for the installation and maintenance of the classified Sound Surveillance System under the unclassified name of Project Caesar, Kingsport Victory, a United States Maritime Commission VC2-S-AP3 type cargo ship, was laid down 4 April 1944 with launch on 29 May and completion on 12 July 1944 with delivery to the War Shipping Administration on the same day at Los Angeles. She was built under the Emergency Shipbuilding program under cognizance of the U. S. Maritime Commission. Basic dimensions, not counting modifications for satellite communications, were length 436 feet 6 inches, 62 feet beam and 7,653 GRT. Kingsport Victory was placed under operation by the American Hawaiian Steamship Company under War Shipping Administration general agency agreement. Kingsport Victory serviced a cargo ship to supply troops in the Pacific War. Kingsport Victory made trips between the California to Pearl Harbor, she steamed from California on 17 October 1944 arriving at New Guinea on 2 November.

She moved cargo for the war to US troops and ships at Eniwetok, Iwo Jima, Ulithi atoll and Okinawa. After the war on December 1945 steamed from Okinawa to Hong Kong Calcutta. Through the Suez Canal she arrived at New York City on 27 February 1946. During 1946 she moved cargo from the US West Coasts. Kingsport Victory was active in delivering support for the Battle of Iwo Jima from 19 February to 26 March 1945. In each battle she had to use her deck guns to defend against air attacks. Kingsport Victory received one Battle stars for her World War II service. After the war, on 29 September 1947, she was taken out of service and placed in the reserve fleet at Lee Hall, Virginia. On 8 April 1948 the ship was taken out of reserve and bareboat chartered to the War Department for operation as the USAT"Kingsport Victory a US Army Transport. During this time the ship was involved in a legal case, Johansen, v. United States, involving rights of an Army civil service employee crew member in personal injury cases.

On 1 March 1950 she was transferred the US Navy. Kingsport Victory was among large Army ships transferred to the Navy's Military Sea Transportation Service with Kingsport Victory being transferred effective 1 March 1950; the ship carried military cargo for the next eleven years as USNS Kingsport Victory. Kingsport Victory is seen in an Air Force documentary film on the construction of the Dew Line loading supplies at Norfolk and unloading at Halifax, Nova Scotia. Assigned to duty supporting the U. S. Army Satellite Communications Agency USNS Kingsport was further modified and, in August 1963 while in Lagos harbor, transmitted the first satellite voice call between heads of state when John F. Kennedy and Nigerian Prime Minister Abubakar Balewa aboard Kingsport spoke in a two-way call. A demonstration of transmission of oceanographic data was made between a research vessel off Africa via the ship and satellite to Washington; the first air to ship satellite communication took place when Navy aircraft off Virginia established voice communication with Kingsport, off Morocco.

Further satellite communications work took place in the Indian Oceans. Kingsport supported Project Gemini into March 1966. After conversion from satellite configuration removal of the large and visible dome, Kingsport was engaged in acoustic work for the Navy supporting undersea surveillance programs. On 24 September 1961, she was delivered to the Portland, Oregon facilities of Willamette Iron & Steel Company where she underwent conversion to become the first satellite communications ship. On 14 November 1961 she was renamed Kingsport and reclassified AG-164. Designed for use by the United States Army Satellite Communications Agency in the defense satellite communications programs, Project ADVENT, USNS Kingsport underwent extensive alteration during conversion. A special high frequency radio station was installed for ship-to-shore communications, she received advanced telemetry equipment and anti-roll stabilization tanks. In addition, a 30-foot, gyro-stabilized, computer-oriented, parabolic antenna was installed on her afterdeck.

Housed in a 53-foot, air-pressurized radome, this antenna permitted precision tracking of a high altitude satellite at any angle above the horizon. Kingsport sailed to Lagos, Nigeria after Syncom 2 had been launched on 26 July 1963 to serve as the terminal control station during testing and evaluation of the satellite. On 23 August 1963, President John F. Kennedy in Washington, D. C. telephoned Nigerian Prime Minister Abubakar Balewa aboard the Kingspo

Forrest Grady "Spec" Towns was an American track and field athlete. He was the 1936 Olympic champion in the 110 m hurdles and broke the world record in that event three times. Born in Fitzgerald, Towns grew up in Augusta, where he played football in high school at Richmond Academy. In 1933, he earned a football scholarship to the University of Georgia after a sports journalist had seen him high jumping in his backyard. Rather than high jumping, Towns specialized in the high hurdles, winning NCAA and AAU titles in the 120 y hurdles event in 1935, it was the beginning of a 60 race winning streak, lasting until 1937. In 1936, Towns was named to the American Olympic team. During the Olympics in Berlin, Towns became the world record holder with 14.1, he won the Olympic gold in 14.2. He became the first Georgian to earn Olympic Gold. Shortly after the Games, he became the first hurdler under 14 seconds. At a race in Oslo, he improved the world record to 13.7 – a time that would stand until 1950. After college, Towns became Head Track and Field coach at UGA, a position he held until 1975.

In 1991, he died of a heart attack in Athens, Georgia at age 77. He was honored at the University with the naming of the Spec Towns Track, an annual meet called the Spec Towns Invitational. Towns was the official starter for the first-ever Peachtree Road Race on July 4, 1970. Olympic medalists in athletics Greek bibliography: Andreou,Evangelos: "The star of champion shone..." Ed. EUARCE 2011 Ευάγγελος Ανδρέου, Το αστέρι του πρωταθλητή άναψε... / ο βαλκανιονίκης του μεσοπολέμου Γιάννης Σκιαδάς, EUARCE 2011 ISBN 978-960-99566-0-4 Extensive biography Georgia Sports Hall of Fame profile

Douglas Gordon Arthur Lowe was a British double Olympic Games champion, winning gold medals in 1924 and 1928. On both occasions he set British 800-metres records of 1:52.4 and 1:51.8 the latter being an Olympic record. Born in Manchester, Douglas Lowe first attended Harrow but moved at the age of 14 to Highgate School, where unusually he was made Head Boy for two years before leaving in July 1921. An all-round school sportsman, he excelled as a middle distance runner, winning the Public Schools' 880 yd title in 1920. At Pembroke College, where he studied law, he played football and won the 880 yd against Oxford in 1922 and 1923, both the mile and the quarter-mile race against them in 1924. In the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, Lowe won the 800 metres gold medal in a new European record time of 1:52.4. He beat the fellow Cambridge runner H. B. Stallard, considered the pre-race favourite. Stallard could only finish fourth. Lowe came fourth in the 1,500 metres in a time of 3:57.0. Lowe was defeated in a famous 880 yards race with Germany's Otto Peltzer at the 1926 AAA Championships.

Peltzer won by three yards in a time of 1:51.6 with Lowe inside the world record of 1:52.2. Lowe was a British champion in 440 yd and 880 yd in 1927 and 1928. At the Amsterdam Olympics Lowe won the 800 metres in a personal best performance of 1:51.8, a full second and eight yards ahead of a world class field. He anchored the British 4×400 metres relay team that finished 5th. Lowe set a world record of 1:10.6 for 600 yards in 1926, a distance recognized by the IAAF for record purposes. His other personal bests included: 440 yards – 48.8. Lowe retired from athletics at the end of the 1928 season and took up law at the Inner Temple in London, where he was elected a Bencher in 1955. First elected to the Bar Council in 1958, he was President from 1961 to 1964, he was appointed QC in 1964, was made Recorder of Lincoln in the same year. He was a Governor of Highgate School from 1939 to 1975, he was Chairman of the Universities Athletic Union from 1928 to 1936, Honorary Secretary of the Amateur Athletic Association from 1931 to 1938, a Council member of the British Olympic Association in 1928–38 and an IAAF representative in 1931–40.

Prior to the making of the film Chariots of Fire, Lowe's support declined. In consequence, the fictional character of Lindsay was created in his stead. Quercentani, Roberto & Kok, Nejat: Wizards of the Middle Distances: A history of the 800 metres Watman, Mel: Encyclopedia of Track and Field Athletics Peter Matthews & Ian Buchanan: All-Time Greats of British & Irish Sport Wallechinsky, David: The Complete Book of the Olympics Lowe, DGA and Porritt, AE: Athletics Lowe, DGA: Track and Field Athletics

Nahazari is a census town and a gram panchayat within the jurisdiction of the Bishnupur police station in the Bishnupur II CD block in the Alipore Sadar subdivision of the South 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. The Alipore Sadar subdivision is the most urbanized part of the South 24 Parganas district. 59.85% of the population lives in the urban areas and 40.15% lives in the rural areas. In the southern portion of the subdivision there are 15 census towns; the entire district is situated in the Ganges Delta and the subdivision, on the east bank of the Hooghly River, is an alluvial stretch, with industrial development. Note: The map alongside presents some of the notable locations in the subdivision. All places marked in the map are linked in the larger full screen map. Nahazari is located at 22°26′05″N 88°14′55″E, it has an average elevation of 9 metres. According to the 2011 Census of India, Nahazari had a total population of 17,422, of which 8809 were males and 8,613 were females.

There were 2,423 persons in the age range of 0 to 6 years. The total number of literate persons in Nahazari was 10,693. According to the District Census Handbook 2011, Nahazari covered an area of 6.5772 km2. Among the civic amenities, it had 16 km roads with open drains, the protected water supply involved over-head tank and service reservoir, it had 1,507 domestic electric connections. Among the medical facilities it had 2 dispensaries / health centres. Among the educational facilities it had were 6 primary schools, 1 middle school, 1 secondary school, the nearest senior secondary school at Raspunja, 5 km away. Three important commodities it produced were paddy, vegetables. Nahazari Muslimpara Junior High School is a Bengali-medium coeducational institution established in 2010, it has facilities for teaching from class VI to class VII. The Samali Block Primary Health Cenre at Samali, PO Nahazari functions with 10 beds