1.
Rhineland-Palatinate
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Rhineland-Palatinate is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of 19,846 square kilometres and about four million inhabitants, Rhineland-Palatinate is located in western Germany and borders Belgium, Luxembourg and France, and the German states of North Rhine-Westphalia, Hesse, Baden-Württemberg and Saarland. The state of Rhineland-Palatinate dates from 30 August 1946, as of 201044. 9% of the population of the state adhered to the Roman Catholic Church,30. 6% to the Evangelical Church in Germany. 22. 0% of the population is irreligious or adheres to other religions, muslims made up 2. 5% of the total. The league of ShUM-cities in the later Rhineland-Palatinate comprised the Jewish communities of Mainz, Speyer, the Takkanot Shum, or Enactments of ShUM were a set of decrees formulated and agreed upon over a period of decades by their Jewish community leaders. Rhineland-Palatinate leads all German states with a rate of approximately 50%. Important sectors are the industry, chemical industry, pharmaceutical industry. Distinctive regional industries includes gemstone industry, ceramic and glass industry, small and medium enterprises are considered the backbone of the economy in Rhineland-Palatinate. The principal employer is the chemical and plastics processing industry which is represented by BASF in Ludwigshafen, boehringer, Joh. A. Benckiser, SGE Deutsche Holding, Schott Glassworks concludes the top 5 companies in the state. Rhineland-Palatinate is Germanys leading producer of wine in terms of grape cultivation, of thirteen wine regions producing quality wine in Germany, six are located in Rhineland-Palatinate, with 65% to 70% of the production of wine grapes in Germany having their origin within the state. 13,000 wine producers generate 80% to 90% of the German wine export, traditional grape varieties and a wide range of varieties developed during the last 125 years are characteristic for the region. Classical white varieties are cultivated at 63,683 hectares and these comprise the famous Rieslings 14,446 hectares, Müller-Thurgau, Silvaner and Kerner. The share of red varieties grew constantly during the last decades, dornfelder, a new cultivar, is the leading red grape cultivated on 7,626 hectares, which is more than a third. Blauer Portugieser and Spätburgunder show also appreciable cultivated shares, the state supports the wine industry by providing a comprehensive consultancy and education program in the service supply centers of the land. The Geilweilerhof Institute for Grape Breeding is fully financed by the state, many well known new breeds, such as Morio-Muskat, Bacchus, Optima and Regent have been created in these institutes. The worldwide leader in sparkling wine production, producing 245 million bottles in 2006, is the renowned Schloss Wachenheim Group and this company is headquartered in Trier, with operations in several locations in Rhineland-Palatinate
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Germany
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Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a federal parliamentary republic in central-western Europe. It includes 16 constituent states, covers an area of 357,021 square kilometres, with about 82 million inhabitants, Germany is the most populous member state of the European Union. After the United States, it is the second most popular destination in the world. Germanys capital and largest metropolis is Berlin, while its largest conurbation is the Ruhr, other major cities include Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf and Leipzig. Various Germanic tribes have inhabited the northern parts of modern Germany since classical antiquity, a region named Germania was documented before 100 AD. During the Migration Period the Germanic tribes expanded southward, beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation, in 1871, Germany became a nation state when most of the German states unified into the Prussian-dominated German Empire. After World War I and the German Revolution of 1918–1919, the Empire was replaced by the parliamentary Weimar Republic, the establishment of the national socialist dictatorship in 1933 led to World War II and the Holocaust. After a period of Allied occupation, two German states were founded, the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, in 1990, the country was reunified. In the 21st century, Germany is a power and has the worlds fourth-largest economy by nominal GDP. As a global leader in industrial and technological sectors, it is both the worlds third-largest exporter and importer of goods. Germany is a country with a very high standard of living sustained by a skilled. It upholds a social security and universal health system, environmental protection. Germany was a member of the European Economic Community in 1957. It is part of the Schengen Area, and became a co-founder of the Eurozone in 1999, Germany is a member of the United Nations, NATO, the G8, the G20, and the OECD. The national military expenditure is the 9th highest in the world, the English word Germany derives from the Latin Germania, which came into use after Julius Caesar adopted it for the peoples east of the Rhine. This in turn descends from Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz popular, derived from *þeudō, descended from Proto-Indo-European *tewtéh₂- people, the discovery of the Mauer 1 mandible shows that ancient humans were present in Germany at least 600,000 years ago. The oldest complete hunting weapons found anywhere in the world were discovered in a mine in Schöningen where three 380, 000-year-old wooden javelins were unearthed
3.
Berkeley, California
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Berkeley is a city on the east shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California. It is named after the 18th-century Anglo-Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley and it borders the cities of Oakland and Emeryville to the south and the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington to the north. Its eastern border with Contra Costa County generally follows the ridge of the Berkeley Hills, the 2010 census recorded a population of 112,580. It also has the Graduate Theological Union, one of the largest religious studies institutions in the world and it is one of the most politically liberal cities in the United States. The site of todays City of Berkeley was the territory of the Chochenyo/Huchiun band of the Ohlone people when the first Europeans arrived, other artifacts were discovered in the 1950s in the downtown area during remodeling of a commercial building, near the upper course of the creek. The first people of European descent arrived with the De Anza Expedition in 1776, today, this is noted by signage on Interstate 80, which runs along the San Francisco Bay shoreline of Berkeley. The De Anza Expedition led to establishment of the Spanish Presidio of San Francisco at the entrance to San Francisco Bay, luis Peralta was among the soldiers at the Presidio. For his services to the King of Spain, he was granted a vast stretch of land on the east shore of San Francisco Bay for a ranch, luis Peralta named his holding Rancho San Antonio. The primary activity of the ranch was raising cattle for meat and hides, eventually, Peralta gave portions of the ranch to each of his four sons. What is now Berkeley lies mostly in the portion that went to Peraltas son Domingo, with a little in the portion that went to another son, no artifact survives of the Domingo or Vicente ranches, but their names survive in Berkeley street names. However, legal title to all land in the City of Berkeley remains based on the original Peralta land grant, the Peraltas Rancho San Antonio continued after Alta California passed from Spanish to Mexican sovereignty after the Mexican War of Independence. The lands of the brothers Domingo and Vicente were quickly reduced to reservations close to their respective ranch homes, the rest of the land was surveyed and parceled out to various American claimants. Politically, the area that became Berkeley was initially part of a vast Contra Costa County, on March 25,1853, Alameda County was created from a division within Contra Costa County, as well as from a small portion of Santa Clara County. The area of Berkeley was at this period mostly a mix of land, farms and ranches. It was not yet Berkeley, but merely the part of the Oakland Township subdivision of Alameda County. In 1866, Oaklands private College of California looked for a new site, according to the Centennial Record of the University of California, In 1866…at Founders Rock, a group of College of California men watched two ships standing out to sea through the Golden Gate. Although the philosophers name is pronounced bark-lee, the pronunciation of the name has evolved to suit American English as burk-lee. The College of Californias College Homestead Association planned to raise funds for the new campus by selling off adjacent parcels of land, to this end, they laid out a plat and street grid that became the basis of Berkeleys modern street plan
4.
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
5.
Freiberg University of Mining and Technology
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The Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg is a German university of technology with about 5000 students in the city of Freiberg, Saxony. The chemical elements indium and germanium were discovered by scientists of Freiberg University, the polymath Alexander von Humboldt studied mining at the Bergakademie Freiberg in 1791/1792. Admission to all programs from Bachelor through PhD is without tuition fees, Website of the Freiberg University of Mining and Technology Website of the International Center Alexander von Humboldt
6.
University of Zurich
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The University of Zurich, located in the city of Zürich, is the largest university in Switzerland, with over 26,000 students. It was founded in 1833 from the colleges of theology, law, medicine. Currently, the university has seven faculties, Philosophy, Human Medicine, Economic Sciences, Law, Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Theology, the university offers the widest range of subjects and courses of any Swiss higher education institution. It was the first university in Europe to be founded by the rather than a monarch or church. Eventually, the authorities offered Strauss a pension before he had a chance to start his duties, the university allowed women to attend philosophy lectures from 1847, and admitted the first female doctoral student in 1866. The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine was added in 1901, the second-oldest such faculty in the world, in 1914, the university moved to new premises designed by the architect Karl Moser on Rämistrasse 71. The university is scattered all over the city of Zurich, members of the university can use several libraries, including the ETH-library, and the Zurich Central Library, with over 5 million volumes. In 1962, the faculty of science proposed to establish the Irchelpark campus on the Strickhofareal, the first stage the construction of the university buildings was begun in 1973, and the campus was inaugurated in 1979. The construction of the stage lasted from 1978 to 1983. The campus also houses the anthropological museum Anthropologisches Museum, and the cantonal Staatsarchiv Zürich, the Institute and Museum for the History of Medicine is part of the university. The University of Zurich as a whole also ranks in the top ten of Europe, notably in the fields of bioscience and finance, there is a close-knit collaboration between the University of Zurich and the ETH. Their faculty of medicine is six years. Shanghai Jiao Tong University Ranking 54th globally and 15th in Europe, THES – QS World University Rankings 61st globally and 14th in Europe. QS World University Rankings 2014 57th globally, professional Ranking of World Universities 32nd globally and 10th in Europe. University Ranking by Academic Performance 2010 52nd globally and 1st in Switzerland, according to Handelsblatt, the Department of Economics was ranked first in the German-speaking area and in 2009 the faculty of Business Administration was ranked third in the German-speaking area. Bachelor courses are taught in Swiss Standard German, but use of English is increasing in many faculties, the only bachelors program taught entirely in English is the English Language and Literature program. All Master courses at the Faculty of Science are held in English, in some highly competitive and international programs, such as the Master of Science in Quantitative Finance, all lectures are held in English. Associated with the university are 12 Nobel Prize recipients, primarily in Physics, corpus Córporum, digital library created and maintained by the University’s Institute for Greek and Latin Philology
7.
Heidelberg University
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Heidelberg University is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386 on instruction of Pope Urban VI, Heidelberg is Germanys oldest university and it was the third university established in the Holy Roman Empire. Heidelberg has been an institution since 1899. The university consists of twelve faculties and offers programmes at undergraduate, graduate. The language of instruction is usually German, while a number of graduate degrees are offered in English. Associated with 31 Nobel Prize laureates, the university places an emphasis on research, modern scientific psychiatry, psychopharmacology, psychiatric genetics, environmental physics, and modern sociology were introduced as scientific disciplines by Heidelberg faculty. Approximately 1,000 doctorates are completed every year, with more than one third of the students coming from abroad. International students from some 130 countries account for more than 20 percent of the student body. The universitys noted alumni include eleven domestic and foreign Heads of State or Heads of Government, the Great Schism of 1378 made it possible for Heidelberg, a relatively small city and capital of the Electorate of the Palatinate, to gain its own university. The Great Schism was initiated by the election of two popes after the death of Pope Gregory XI in the same year, one successor resided in Avignon and the other in Rome. Rupert I recognized the opportunity and initiated talks with the Curia, as specified in the papal charter, the university was modelled after University of Paris and included four faculties, philosophy, theology, jurisprudence, and medicine. On 18 October 1386 a special Pontifical High Mass in the Heiliggeistkirche was the ceremony that established the university, on 19 October 1386 the first lecture was held, making Heidelberg the oldest university in Germany. In November 1386, Marsilius of Inghen was elected first rector of the university, the rector seal motto was semper apertus—i. e. The book of learning is always open, the university grew quickly and in March 1390,185 students were enrolled at the university. This resulted in establishing a reputation for the university and its professors. Due to the influence of Marsilius, the university initially taught the nominalism or via moderna, the transition from scholastic to humanistic culture was effected by the chancellor and bishop Johann von Dalberg in the late 15th century. Humanism was represented at Heidelberg University particularly by the founder of the older German Humanistic School Rudolph Agricola, Conrad Celtes, Jakob Wimpfeling, and Johann Reuchlin. Æneas Silvius Piccolomini was chancellor of the university in his capacity of provost of Worms, in 1482, Pope Sixtus IV permitted laymen and married men to be appointed professors in the ordinary of medicine through a papal dispensation
8.
Soil science
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Sometimes terms which refer to branches of soil science, such as pedology and edaphology, are used as if synonymous with soil science. The diversity of names associated with this discipline is related to the various associations concerned, Soil occupies the pedosphere, one of Earths spheres that the geosciences use to organize the Earth conceptually. This is the perspective of pedology and edaphology, the two main branches of soil science. Pedology is the study of soil in its natural setting, edaphology is the study of soil in relation to soil-dependent uses. Both branches apply a combination of physics, soil chemistry. Due to the interactions between the biosphere, atmosphere and hydrosphere that are hosted within the pedosphere, more integrated. Many concepts essential to understanding soil come from individuals not identifiable strictly as soil scientists and this highlights the interdisciplinary nature of soil concepts. Dependence on and curiosity about soil, exploring the diversity and dynamics of this continues to yield fresh discoveries. New avenues of research are compelled by a need to understand soil in the context of climate change, greenhouse gases. Interest in maintaining the biodiversity and in exploring past cultures has also stimulated renewed interest in achieving a more refined understanding of soil. Most empirical knowledge of soil in nature comes from soil survey efforts, Soil survey, or soil mapping, is the process of determining the soil types or other properties of the soil cover over a landscape, and mapping them for others to understand and use. It relies heavily on distinguishing the individual influences of the five classic soil forming factors and this effort draws upon geomorphology, physical geography, and analysis of vegetation and land-use patterns. Primary data for the survey are acquired by field sampling. As of 2006, the World Reference Base for Soil Resources and it replaces the previous FAO soil classification. The WRB borrows from modern soil classification concepts, including USDA soil taxonomy, the classification is based mainly on soil morphology as an expression pedogenesis. A major difference with USDA soil taxonomy is that climate is not part of the system. Many other classification schemes exist, including vernacular systems, the structure in vernacular systems are either nominal, giving unique names to soils or landscapes, or descriptive, naming soils by their characteristics such as red, hot, fat, or sandy. Soils are distinguished by obvious characteristics, such as appearance, performance
9.
University of Mississippi
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The University of Mississippi is an American public research university located in Oxford, Mississippi. It is the state of Mississippis flagship and largest university, with an enrollment of 24,250 in fall 2016. It is both a sea-grant and space-grant institution and is classified as an R1, Doctoral University — Highest Research Activity. Across all its campuses, it comprises approximately 2,200 faculty members,10,600 staff members, and 24,000 students, and has a total budget of roughly $2 billion. About 55 percent of its undergraduates and 60 percent overall come from Mississippi, the Mississippi Legislature chartered the University of Mississippi on February 24,1844. The university opened its doors to its first class of 80 students four years later in 1848, for 23 years, the university was Mississippis only public institution of higher learning, and for 110 years it was the states only comprehensive university. When the university opened, the campus consisted of six buildings, constructed from 1846 to 1848, the Lyceum is the oldest building on campus. Originally, the Lyceum housed all of the classrooms and faculty offices of the university, the buildings north and south wings were added in 1903, and the Class of 1927 donated the clock above the eastern portico. The Lyceum is now the home of the administration offices. The columned facade of the Lyceum is represented on the official crest of the university, in 1854, the university established the fourth state-supported, public law school in the United States, and also began offering engineering education. With the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, classes were interrupted when almost the entire student body from the University of Mississippi enlisted in the Confederate army. The Lyceum was used as a hospital during the Civil War for both Union and Confederate soldiers, especially those who were wounded at the battle of Shiloh, two hundred-fifty soldiers who died in the campus hospital were buried in a cemetery on the grounds of the university. During the post-war period, the university was led by former Confederate general A. P. Stewart and he served as Chancellor from 1874-1886. The university became coeducational in 1882 and was the first such institution in the Southeast to hire a female faculty member, Sarah McGehee Isom, the student yearbook was published for the first time in 1897. A contest was held to solicit suggestions for a title from the student body. Elma Meek, a student, submitted the entry of Ole Miss. Meeks source for the term is unknown, some historians theorize she made a diminutive of old Mississippi or derived the term from ol missus and this sobriquet was not only chosen for the yearbook, but also became the name by which the university was informally known. Ole Miss is defined as the schools intangible spirit, which is separate from the tangible aspects of the university, the university began medical education in 1903, when the University of Mississippi School of Medicine was established on the Oxford campus
10.
University of Michigan
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The University of Michigan, frequently referred to simply as Michigan, is a public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817 in Detroit as the Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania,20 years before the Michigan Territory became a state, in 1821, the university was officially renamed the University of Michigan. It moved to Ann Arbor in 1837 onto 40 acres of what is now known as Central Campus, the University was a founding member of the Association of American Universities. Considered one of the foremost research universities in the United States, Michigans body of living alumni comprises more than 540,000 people, one of the largest alumni bases of any university in the world. Besides academic life, Michigans athletic teams compete in Division I of the NCAA and are known as the Wolverines. They are members of the Big Ten Conference, the University of Michigan was established in Detroit on August 26,1817 as the Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania, by the governor and judges of Michigan Territory. Judge Augustus B. Woodward specifically invited The Rev. John Monteith and Father Gabriel Richard, Monteith became its first President and held seven of the professorships, and Richard was Vice President and held the other six professorships. Concurrently, Ann Arbor had set aside 40 acres in the hopes of being selected as the state capital, but when Lansing was chosen as the state capital, the city offered the land for a university. What would become the university moved to Ann Arbor in 1837 thanks to Governor Stevens T. Mason, the original 40 acres was the basis of the present Central Campus. The first classes in Ann Arbor were held in 1841, with six freshmen, eleven students graduated in the first commencement in 1845. By 1866, enrollment increased to 1,205 students, many of whom were Civil War veterans, Women were first admitted in 1870. U-M also became the first American university to use the method of study. Among the early students in the School of Medicine was Jose Celso Barbosa, who in 1880 graduated as valedictorian and he returned to Puerto Rico to practice medicine and also served in high-ranking posts in the government. In 1920 the university reorganized the College of Engineering and formed a committee of 100 industrialists to guide academic research initiatives. The university became a choice for bright Jewish students from New York in the 1920s and 1930s. Because of its standards, U-M gained the nickname Harvard of the West. During World War II, U-Ms research supported military efforts, such as U. S. Navy projects in proximity fuzes, PT boats, and radar jamming. After the war, enrollment expanded rapidly and by 1950, it reached 21,000, as the Cold War and the Space Race took hold, U-M received numerous government grants for strategic research and helped to develop peacetime uses for nuclear energy
11.
University of California, Berkeley
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The University of California, Berkeley, is a public research university located in Berkeley, California. In 1960s, UC Berkeley was particularly noted for the Free Speech Movement as well as the Anti-Vietnam War Movement led by its students. S, Department of Energy, and is home to many world-renowned research institutes and organizations including Mathematical Sciences Research Institute and Space Sciences Laboratory. Faculty member J. R. Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb, Lawrence Livermore Lab also discovered or co-discovered six chemical elements. The Academic Ranking of World Universities also ranks the University of California, Berkeley, third in the world overall, in 1866, the private College of California purchased the land comprising the current Berkeley campus. Ten faculty members and almost 40 students made up the new University of California when it opened in Oakland in 1869, billings was a trustee of the College of California and suggested that the college be named in honor of the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkeley. In 1870, Henry Durant, the founder of the College of California, with the completion of North and South Halls in 1873, the university relocated to its Berkeley location with 167 male and 22 female students and held its first classes. In 1905, the University Farm was established near Sacramento, ultimately becoming the University of California, by the 1920s, the number of campus buildings had grown substantially, and included twenty structures designed by architect John Galen Howard. Robert Gordon Sproul served as president from 1930 to 1958, by 1942, the American Council on Education ranked UC Berkeley second only to Harvard University in the number of distinguished departments. During World War II, following Glenn Seaborgs then-secret discovery of plutonium, UC Berkeley physics professor J. Robert Oppenheimer was named scientific head of the Manhattan Project in 1942. Along with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley is now a partner in managing two other labs, Los Alamos National Laboratory and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, originally, military training was compulsory for male undergraduates, and Berkeley housed an armory for that purpose. In 1917, Berkeleys ROTC program was established, and its School of Military Aeronautics trained future pilots, including Jimmy Doolittle, both Robert McNamara and Frederick C. Weyand graduated from UC Berkeleys ROTC program, earning B. A. degrees in 1937 and 1938, in 1926, future fleet admiral Chester W. Nimitz established the first Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps unit at Berkeley. The Board of Regents ended compulsory military training at Berkeley in 1962, during the McCarthy era in 1949, the Board of Regents adopted an anti-communist loyalty oath. A number of faculty members objected and were dismissed, ten years passed before they were reinstated with back pay, in 1952, the University of California became an entity separate from the Berkeley campus. Each campus was given autonomy and its own Chancellor. Then-president Sproul assumed presidency of the entire University of California system, Berkeley gained a reputation for student activism in the 1960s with the Free Speech Movement of 1964 and opposition to the Vietnam War. In the highly publicized Peoples Park protest in 1969, students and the school conflicted over use of a plot of land, then governor of California Ronald Reagan called the Berkeley campus a haven for communist sympathizers, protesters, and sex deviants. Modern students at Berkeley are less active, with a greater percentage of moderates and conservatives
12.
Robert Bunsen
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Robert Wilhelm Eberhard Bunsen was a German chemist. He investigated emission spectra of heated elements, and discovered caesium and rubidium with the physicist Gustav Kirchhoff, Bunsen developed several gas-analytical methods, was a pioneer in photochemistry, and did early work in the field of organoarsenic chemistry. With his laboratory assistant, Peter Desaga, he developed the Bunsen burner, the Bunsen–Kirchhoff Award for spectroscopy is named after Bunsen and Kirchhoff. Robert Bunsen was born at Göttingen in 1811, in what is now the state of Lower Saxony in Germany, Bunsen was the youngest of four sons of the University of Göttingens chief librarian and professor of modern philology, Christian Bunsen. Sources disagree on Robert Bunsens exact birth date, according to his biographer Georg Lockemann, Bunsen himself celebrated his birthday on the 31st in his later years. Lockemann nevertheless regarded the 30th as the correct date, in 1833 Bunsen became a lecturer at Göttingen and began experimental studies of the solubility of metal salts of arsenous acid. His discovery of the use of iron oxide hydrate as an agent is still today the most effective antidote against arsenic poisoning. This interdisciplinary research was carried on and published in conjunction with the physician Arnold Adolph Berthold, in 1836, Bunsen succeeded Friedrich Wöhler at the Polytechnic School of Kassel. Bunsen taught there for three years, and then accepted a professorship at the University of Marburg, where he continued his studies on cacodyl derivatives. He was promoted to professorship in 1841. While at University of Marburg, Bunsen participated in the 1846 expedition for the investigation of Icelands volcanoes, Bunsens work brought him quick and wide acclaim, partly because cacodyl, which is extremely toxic and undergoes spontaneous combustion in dry air, is so difficult to work with. Bunsen almost died from poisoning, and an explosion with cacodyl cost him sight in his right eye. In 1841, Bunsen created the Bunsen cell battery, using an electrode instead of the expensive platinum electrode used in William Robert Groves electrochemical cell. Early in 1851 he accepted a professorship at the University of Breslau, in late 1852 Bunsen became the successor of Leopold Gmelin at the University of Heidelberg. There he used electrolysis to produce pure metals, such as chromium, magnesium, aluminum, manganese, a long collaboration with Henry Enfield Roscoe began in 1852, in which they studied the photochemical formation of hydrogen chloride from hydrogen and chlorine. From this work, the reciprocity law of Bunsen and Roscoe originated and he discontinued his work with Roscoe in 1859 and joined Gustav Kirchhoff to study emission spectra of heated elements, a research area called spectrum analysis. For this work, Bunsen and his assistant, Peter Desaga, had perfected a special gas burner by 1855. The newer design of Bunsen and Desaga, which provided a very hot and clean flame, is now called simply the Bunsen burner, there had been earlier studies of the characteristic colors of heated elements, but nothing systematic
13.
German Americans
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The German American ethnic group consists of Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. With an estimated size of approximately 46 million in 2014, German Americans are the largest of the groups reported by the US Census Bureau in its American Community Survey. The group accounts for about 1⁄3 of the total ethnic German population in the world, none of the German states had American colonies. In the 1670s the first significant groups of German immigrants arrived in the British colonies, settling primarily in New York, immigration continued in very large numbers during the 19th century, with eight million arrivals from Germany. Between 1820 and 1870 over seven and a half million German immigrants came to the United States — more than doubling the population of the country. By 2010, their population grew to 49.8 million immigrants, there is a German belt that extends all the way across the United States, from eastern Pennsylvania to the Oregon coast. The state of Pennsylvania has 3.5 million people of German ancestry and they were pulled by the attractions of land and religious freedom, and pushed out of Europe by shortages of land and religious or political oppression. Many arrived seeking religious or political freedom, others for economic opportunities greater than those in Europe, the arrivals before 1850 were mostly farmers who sought out the most productive land, where their intensive farming techniques would pay off. After 1840, many came to cities, where Germania—German-speaking districts—soon emerged, German Americans established the first kindergartens in the United States, introduced the Christmas tree tradition, and introduced popular foods such as hot dogs and hamburgers to America. The great majority of people with some German ancestry have become Americanized and hardly can be distinguished, traditional Oktoberfest celebrations and the German-American Day are popular festivities. There are major events in cities with German heritage including Chicago, Cincinnati, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, San Antonio. The Germans included many quite distinct subgroups with differing religious and cultural values and they generally opposed womens suffrage but this was used as argument in favor of suffrage when German Americans became pariahs during World War I. The first English settlers arrived at Jamestown, Virginia in 1607 and he was followed in 1608 by five glassmakers and three carpenters or house builders. The first permanent German settlement in what became the United States was Germantown, Pennsylvania, large numbers of Germans migrated from the 1680s to 1760s, with Pennsylvania the favored destination. They migrated to America for a variety of reasons, often immigrants paid for their passage by selling their labor for a period of years as indentured servants. Large sections of Pennsylvania and upstate New York attracted Germans, most were Lutheran or German Reformed, many belonged to small religious sects such as the Moravians and Mennonites. German Catholics did not arrive in number until after the War of 1812, in 1709, Protestant Germans from the Pfalz or Palatine region of Germany escaped conditions of hardship, traveling first to Rotterdam and then to London. Anne, Queen of Great Britain, helped them get to her colonies in America, the trip was long and difficult to survive because of the poor quality of food and water aboard ships and the infectious disease typhus
14.
Pedology
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Pedology is the study of soils in their natural environment. It is one of two branches of soil science, the other being edaphology. Pedology deals with pedogenesis, soil morphology, and soil classification, while edaphology studies the way soils influence plants, fungi, during its formation and genesis, the soil profile slowly deepens and develops characteristic layers, called horizons, while a steady state balance is approached. Soil users showed initially little concern in the dynamics of soil and they saw it as medium whose chemical, physical and biological properties were useful for the services of agronomic productivity. On the other hand, pedologists and geologists did not initially focus on the applications of the soil characteristics but upon its relation to the nature. Today, theres an integration of the two disciplinary approaches as part of landscape and environmental sciences and they understand that the current balance is fragile and that only a thorough knowledge of its history makes it possible to ensure its sustainable use. Important pedological concepts include, Complexity in soil genesis is more common than simplicity, soils lie at the interface of Earths atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere. Contemporary soils carry imprints of pedogenic processes that were active in the past, five major, external factors of formation, and several smaller, less identifiable ones, drive pedogenic processes and create soil patterns. Characteristics of soils and soil landscapes, e. g. Distinctive bioclimatic regimes or combinations of pedogenic processes produce distinctive soils. Thus, distinctive, observable morphological features, e. g. illuvial clay accumulation in B horizons, are produced by combinations of pedogenic processes operative over varying periods of time. Pedogenic processes act to create and destroy order within soils, these processes can proceed simultaneously. The resulting soil profile reflects the balance of processes, present. These processes do, however, have varying degrees of expression and intensity over space and time. A succession of different soils may have developed, eroded and/or regressed at any site, as soil genetic factors and site factors, e. g. vegetation, sedimentation, geomorphology. There are very few old soils because they can be destroyed or buried by geological events, little of the soil continuum dates back beyond the Tertiary period and most soils and land surfaces are no older than the Pleistocene Epoch. However, preserved/lithified soils are an almost ubiquitous feature in terrestrial environments throughout most of geologic time, since they record evidence of ancient climate change, they present immense utility in understanding climate evolution throughout geologic history. Knowledge and understanding of the genesis of a soil is important in its classification, soil classification systems cannot be based entirely on perceptions of genesis, however, because genetic processes are seldom observed and because pedogenic processes change over time. Knowledge of soil genesis is imperative and basic to soil use, human influence on, or adjustment to, the factors and processes of soil formation can be best controlled and planned using knowledge about soil genesis
15.
Soil
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Soil is a mixture of minerals, organic matter, gases, liquids, and countless organisms that together support life on Earth. Soil is called the Skin of the Earth and interfaces with the lithosphere, the hydrosphere, the atmosphere, the term pedolith, used commonly to refer to the soil, literally translates ground stone. Soil consists of a phase of minerals and organic matter, as well as a porous phase that holds gases. Accordingly, soils are often treated as a system of solids, liquids. Soil is a product of the influence of climate, relief, organisms, Soil continually undergoes development by way of numerous physical, chemical and biological processes, which include weathering with associated erosion. Given its complexity and strong internal connectedness soil has been considered as an ecosystem by soil ecologists. Most soils have a dry bulk density between 1.1 and 1.6 g/cm3, while the particle density is much higher. Little of the soil of planet Earth is older than the Pleistocene and none is older than the Cenozoic, Soil science has two basic branches of study, edaphology and pedology. Edaphology is concerned with the influence of soils on living things, pedology is focused on the formation, description, and classification of soils in their natural environment. In engineering terms, soil is referred to as regolith, or loose material that lies above the solid geology. Soil is commonly referred to as earth or dirt, technically, as soil resources serve as a basis for food security, the international community advocates its sustainable and responsible use through different types of soil governance. Soil is a component of the Earths ecosystem. The worlds ecosystems are impacted in far-reaching ways by the carried out in the soil, from ozone depletion and global warming, to rainforest destruction. Following the atmosphere, the soil is the next largest carbon reservoir on Earth, as the planet warms, soils will add carbon dioxide to the atmosphere due to its increased biological activity at higher temperatures. Thus, soil carbon losses likely have a positive feedback response to global warming. Since soil has a range of available niches and habitats. A gram of soil can contain billions of organisms, belonging to thousands of species, mostly microbial, Soil has a mean prokaryotic density of roughly 108 organisms per gram, whereas the ocean has no more than 107 procaryotic organisms per milliliter of seawater. Since plant roots need oxygen, ventilation is an important characteristic of soil and this ventilation can be accomplished via networks of interconnected soil pores, which also absorb and hold rainwater making it readily available for plant uptake
16.
Climate
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Climate is the statistics of weather, usually over a 30-year interval. Climate differs from weather, in that weather only describes the conditions of these variables in a given region. A regions climate is generated by the system, which has five components, atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, lithosphere. The climate of a location is affected by its latitude, terrain, climates can be classified according to the average and the typical ranges of different variables, most commonly temperature and precipitation. The most commonly used classification scheme was the Köppen climate classification, the Bergeron and Spatial Synoptic Classification systems focus on the origin of air masses that define the climate of a region. Paleoclimatology is the study of ancient climates, Climate models are mathematical models of past, present and future climates. Climate change may occur long and short timescales from a variety of factors. For example, a 3°C change in mean annual temperature corresponds to a shift in isotherms of approximately 300–400 km in latitude or 500 m in elevation, therefore, species are expected to move upwards in elevation or towards the poles in latitude in response to shifting climate zones. Climate is commonly defined as the weather averaged over a long period, the standard averaging period is 30 years, but other periods may be used depending on the purpose. Climate also includes statistics other than the average, such as the magnitudes of day-to-day or year-to-year variations, the classical period is 30 years, as defined by the World Meteorological Organization. These quantities are most often surface variables such as temperature, precipitation, Climate in a wider sense is the state, including a statistical description, of the climate system. The World Meteorological Organization describes climate normals as reference points used by climatologists to compare current climatological trends to that of the past or what is considered normal, a Normal is defined as the arithmetic average of a climate element over a 30-year period. A30 year period is used, as it is enough to filter out any interannual variation or anomalies. The WMO originated from the International Meteorological Organization which set up a commission for climatology in 1929. At its 1934 Wiesbaden meeting the commission designated the thirty-year period from 1901 to 1930 as the reference time frame for climatological standard normals. In 1982 the WMO agreed to update climate normals, and in these were completed on the basis of climate data from 1 January 1961 to 31 December 1990. The difference between climate and weather is usefully summarized by the popular phrase Climate is what you expect, weather is what you get. Over historical time spans there are a number of nearly constant variables that determine climate, including latitude, altitude, proportion of land to water and these change only over periods of millions of years due to processes such as plate tectonics
17.
Land reclamation
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Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, and also known as land fill, is the process of creating new land from ocean, riverbeds, or lake beds. The land reclaimed is known as ground or land fill. In a number of jurisdictions, including parts of the United States. In Alberta, Canada, for example, reclamation is defined by the government as The process of reconverting disturbed land to its former or other productive uses. In Oceania it is referred to as land rehabilitation. Land reclamation can be achieved with a number of different methods, the most simple method involves simply filling the area with large amounts of heavy rock and/or cement, then filling with clay and dirt until the desired height is reached. The process is called infilling and the used to fill the space is generically called infill. Draining of submerged wetlands is often used to land for agricultural use. Deep cement mixing is used typically in situations in which the material displaced by either dredging or draining may be contaminated, the creation of new land was for the need of human activities. Notable examples include, Much of the coastlines of Mumbai, India and it took over 150 years to join the original seven islands of Mumbai. Much of the coastlines of Mainland China, Hong Kong, North Korea and it is estimated that nearly 65% of tidal flats around the Yellow Sea have been reclaimed. Inland lowlands in the Yangtze valley, China, including the areas of important cities like Shanghai, Much of the coastline of Karachi, Pakistan. A part of the Hamad International Airport in Qatar, around 36 square kilometres, the entire island of The Pearl-Qatar situated in West Bay, Qatar. The city-state of Singapore, where land is in supply, is also famous for its efforts on land reclamation. The Palm Islands, The World and hotel Burj al-Arab off Dubai in the United Arab Emirates The Yas Island in Abu Dhabi and it is one of the six divisions of Malé City. The Eko Atlantic in Lagos, Nigeria, mexico City, the chinampas are a famous example. Parts of Panama City urban and street development are based on reclaimed land, aeroparque Jorge Newbery, in Buenos Aires, Argentina One of the earliest large scale projects was the Beemster Polder in the Netherlands, realized in 1612 adding 70 square kilometres of land. In Hong Kong the Praya Reclamation Scheme added 20 to 24 hectares of land in 1890 during the phase of construction
18.
Palatinate (region)
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The Palatinate, historically also Rhenish Palatinate, is a region in southwestern Germany. It occupies more than a quarter of the German federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate, in the west, the Palatinate borders on Saarland, historically also comprising the states Saarpfalz District. In the northwest, the Hunsrück mountain range forms the border with the Rhineland region, in the south, the German-French border separates the Palatinate from Alsace. One-third of the region is covered by the Palatinate Forest, including the Palatinate Forest Nature Park popular with hikers and it is Germanys largest contiguous forested area with about 1,771 km2 and is part of the Franco-German Palatinate Forest-North Vosges Biosphere Reserve. The western and northern part of the Palatinate is densely forested and its highest mountain is the Donnersberg with a height of 687 m, situated in the North Palatine Uplands near Kirchheimbolanden. Most of the major Palatinate towns lie in the eastern part of the Upper Rhine Plain down to the River Rhine. Here the German Wine Route passes through the renowned Palatinate wine region, major rivers include the Upper Rhine tributaries Lauter, Queich and Speyerbach, as well as Schwarzbach and Glan in the west. Historically the Electoral Palatinate and several territories were part of the Palatinate. The Palatinate is divided into four non-administrative sub-regions, comprising the rural districts and independent towns and cities, North Palatinate. Like most of Europe, the Palatinate is part of the climate zone influenced by the Atlantic. Wet air from the westerly and southwesterly winds leads to precipitation in the Mittelgebirge ranges. Here the clemency of the weather permits the cultivating of almond and fig trees, stone pines, Mediterranean Cypress, palms, the lower hilly regions are known for their extended chestnut forests, sometimes referred to as German Tuscany in tourist advertising. Formerly a Celtic region, this area was conquered by the Roman Empire under Emperor Augustus in about 12 BCE, during the decay of the Empire, Alamanni tribes settled here, their territory was conquered by Francia under King Clovis I about 496. From 511 onwards the area belonged to the part of Frankish Austrasia. From the Middle Ages until 1792, the Palatinate was divided into 45 secular and ecclesiastical territories, the largest and most important of these was the Electorate of the Palatinate, a number of territories on both sides of the Rhine formerly held by the Counts palatine of Lotharingia. In 1214 the Bavarian House of Wittelsbach was enfeoffed with these estates and they lost control with the reunification with Bavaria under Elector Charles Theodore in 1777. The major ecclesiastical territory in the region was the Bishopric of Speyer, the Imperial city of Landau joined the Alsacien Décapole in 1521 to preserve its status. Nevertheless, it was seized by France after the Thirty Years War, other larger regional entities included the Duchy of Zweibrücken and the Prince-Bishopric of Speyer
19.
Ludwig I of Bavaria
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Ludwig I was king of Bavaria from 1825 until the 1848 revolutions in the German states. Born in the Hôtel des Deux-Ponts in Strasbourg, he was the son of Count Palatine Maximilian Joseph of Zweibrücken by his first wife Augusta Wilhelmine of Hesse-Darmstadt, at the time of his birth, his father was an officer in the French army stationed at Strasbourg. He was the godson and namesake of Louis XVI of France and his father assumed the title of King of Bavaria on 1 January 1806. Starting in 1803 Ludwig studied in Landshut where he was taught by Johann Michael Sailer, on 12 October 1810 he married Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen, the daughter of Frederick, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen. The wedding was the occasion of the first-ever Oktoberfest, as commander of the 1st Bavarian Division in VII Corps, he served under Marshal François Joseph Lefebvre in 1809. He led his division in action at the Battle of Abensberg on 20 April, on 14 October, Bavaria made a formal declaration of war against Napoleonic France. The treaty was passionately backed by Crown Prince Ludwig and by Marshal von Wrede, already at the 1815 Congress of Vienna, Ludwig advocated a German national policy. Until 1816 the crown prince served as governor-general of the Duchy of Salzburg and his second son Otto, the later King of Greece, was born there. Between 1816 and 1825, he spent his years in Würzburg and he also made numerous trips to Italy and stayed often in the Villa Malta in Rome, which he later also bought. Ludwig supported generously as a Philhellene the Greek War of Independence, in 1817 Ludwig was also involved in the fall of Prime Minister Count Max Josef von Montgelas whose policies he had opposed. He succeeded his father on the throne in 1825, Ludwigs rule was strongly affected by his enthusiasm for the arts and women and by his overreaching royal assertiveness. An enthusiast for the German Middle Ages, Ludwig ordered the re-erection of several monasteries in Bavaria which had closed during the German Mediatisation. He reorganized the regions of Bavaria in 1837 and re-introduced the old names Upper Bavaria, Lower Bavaria, Franconia, Swabia. He changed his royal titles to Ludwig, King of Bavaria, Duke of Franconia, Duke in Swabia, Ludwigs plan to reunite the eastern part of the Palatinate with Bavaria could not be realized. In 1815, Badens possession of Manheim and Heidelberg was confirmed, Ludwig founded the city of Ludwigshafen there as a Bavarian rival to Mannheim. Ludwig moved the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität from Landshut to Munich in 1826, the king also encouraged Bavarias industrialization. He initiated the Ludwig Canal between the rivers Main and the Danube, in 1835 the first German railway was constructed in his domain, between the cities of Fürth and Nuremberg. Bavaria joined the Zollverein in 1834, as Ludwig had supported the Greek fight of independence his second son Otto was elected king of Greece in 1832
20.
Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette
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A close friend of George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and Thomas Jefferson, Lafayette was a key figure in the French Revolution of 1789 and the July Revolution of 1830. Born in Chavaniac, in the province of Auvergne in south central France and he followed its martial tradition, and was commissioned an officer at age 13. He became convinced that the American cause in its war was noble. There, he was made a general, however, the 19-year-old was initially not given troops to command. Wounded during the Battle of Brandywine, he managed to organize an orderly retreat. He served with distinction in the Battle of Rhode Island, in the middle of the war, he returned home to lobby for an increase in French support. He again sailed to America in 1780, and was given positions in the Continental Army. In 1781, troops in Virginia under his command blocked forces led by Cornwallis until other American, Lafayette returned to France and, in 1787, was appointed to the Assembly of Notables, which was convened in response to the fiscal crisis. He was elected a member of the Estates-General of 1789, where representatives met from the three orders of French society—the clergy, the nobility, and the commoners. He helped write the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, after the storming of the Bastille, Lafayette was appointed commander-in-chief of the National Guard and tried to steer a middle course through the French Revolution. In August 1792, the radical factions ordered his arrest, fleeing through the Austrian Netherlands, he was captured by Austrian troops and spent more than five years in prison. Lafayette returned to France after Napoleon Bonaparte secured his release in 1797, after the Bourbon Restoration of 1814, he became a liberal member of the Chamber of Deputies, a position he held for most of the remainder of his life. During Frances July Revolution of 1830, Lafayette declined an offer to become the French dictator, instead, he supported Louis-Philippe as king, but turned against him when the monarch became autocratic. Lafayette died on 20 May 1834, and is buried in Picpus Cemetery in Paris, for his accomplishments in the service of both France and the United States, he is sometimes known as The Hero of the Two Worlds. Lafayettes lineage was likely one of the oldest and most distinguished in Auvergne and, perhaps, males of the Lafayette family enjoyed a reputation for courage and chivalry and were noted for their contempt for danger. One of Lafayettes early ancestors, Gilbert de Lafayette III, a Marshal of France, had been a companion-at-arms of Joan of Arcs army during the Siege of Orléans in 1429, according to legend, another ancestor acquired the crown of thorns during the Sixth Crusade. Lafayettes father likewise died on the battlefield, on 1 August 1759, Michel de Lafayette was struck by a cannonball while fighting a British-led coalition at the Battle of Minden in Westphalia. Lafayette became marquis and Lord of Chavaniac, but the estate went to his mother, in 1768, when Lafayette was 11, he was summoned to Paris to live with his mother and great-grandfather at the comtes apartments in Luxembourg Palace
21.
Le Havre
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Le Havre is an urban French commune and city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northwestern France. It is situated on the bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux. Modern Le Havre remains deeply influenced by its employment and maritime traditions and its port is the second largest in France, after that of Marseille, for total traffic, and the largest French container port. The name Le Havre means the harbour or the port and its inhabitants are known as Havrais or Havraises. Administratively the commune is located in the Normandy region and, with Dieppe, is one of the two sub-prefectures of the Seine-Maritime department, Le Havre is the capital of the canton and since 1974 has been the see of the diocese of Le Havre. Le Havre is the most populous commune of Upper Normandy, although the population of the greater Le Havre conurbation is smaller than that of Rouen. It is also the second largest subprefecture in France, the city and port were founded by the King Francis I of France in 1517. Economic development in the Early modern period was hampered by wars, conflicts with the English, epidemics. It was from the end of the 18th century that Le Havre started growing, after the 1944 bombings the firm of Auguste Perret began to rebuild the city in concrete. Changes in years 1990–2000 were numerous, the right won the municipal elections and committed the city to the path of reconversion, seeking to develop the service sector and new industries. The Port 2000 project increased the capacity to compete with ports of northern Europe, transformed the southern districts of the city. In 2005 UNESCO inscribed the city of Le Havre as a World Heritage Site. The André Malraux Modern Art Museum is the second of France for the number of impressionist paintings, the city has been awarded two flowers by the National Council of Towns and Villages in Bloom in the Competition of cities and villages in Bloom. Le Havre is a major French city located some 50 kilometres west of Rouen on the shore of the English Channel, numerous roads link to Le Havre with the main access roads being the A29 autoroute from Amiens and the A13 autoroute from Paris linking to the A131 autoroute. Administratively, Le Havre is a commune in the Haute-Normandie region in the west of the department of Seine-Maritime, the urban area of Le Havre corresponds roughly to the territory of the Agglomeration community of Le Havre which includes 17 communes and 250,000 people. It occupies the tip of the natural region of Pays de Caux where it is the largest city. Le Havre is sandwiched between the coast of the Channel from south-west to north-west and the estuary of the Seine to the south, Le Havre belongs to the MLG community Paris Basin which was formed in the Mesozoic period. The Paris Basin consists of sedimentary rocks, the commune of Le Havre consists of two areas separated by a natural cliff edge, one part in the lower part of the town to the south including the harbour, the city centre and the suburbs
22.
New Orleans
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New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The population of the city was 343,829 as of the 2010 U. S. Census, the New Orleans metropolitan area had a population of 1,167,764 in 2010 and was the 46th largest in the United States. The New Orleans–Metairie–Bogalusa Combined Statistical Area, a trading area, had a 2010 population of 1,452,502. The city is named after the Duke of Orleans, who reigned as Regent for Louis XV from 1715 to 1723, as it was established by French colonists and it is well known for its distinct French and Spanish Creole architecture, as well as its cross-cultural and multilingual heritage. New Orleans is also famous for its cuisine, music, and its celebrations and festivals, most notably Mardi Gras. The city is referred to as the most unique in the United States. New Orleans is located in southeastern Louisiana, straddling the Mississippi River, the city and Orleans Parish are coterminous. The city and parish are bounded by the parishes of St. Tammany to the north, St. Bernard to the east, Plaquemines to the south, and Jefferson to the south and west. Lake Pontchartrain, part of which is included in the city limits, lies to the north, before Hurricane Katrina, Orleans Parish was the most populous parish in Louisiana. As of 2015, it ranks third in population, trailing neighboring Jefferson Parish, La Nouvelle-Orléans was founded May 7,1718, by the French Mississippi Company, under the direction of Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, on land inhabited by the Chitimacha. It was named for Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, who was Regent of the Kingdom of France at the time and his title came from the French city of Orléans. The French colony was ceded to the Spanish Empire in the Treaty of Paris, during the American Revolutionary War, New Orleans was an important port for smuggling aid to the rebels, transporting military equipment and supplies up the Mississippi River. Bernardo de Gálvez y Madrid, Count of Gálvez successfully launched a campaign against the British from the city in 1779. New Orleans remained under Spanish control until 1803, when it reverted briefly to French oversight, nearly all of the surviving 18th-century architecture of the Vieux Carré dates from the Spanish period, the most notable exception being the Old Ursuline Convent. Napoleon sold Louisiana to the United States in the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, thereafter, the city grew rapidly with influxes of Americans, French, Creoles, and Africans. Later immigrants were Irish, Germans, and Italians, Major commodity crops of sugar and cotton were cultivated with slave labor on large plantations outside the city. The Haitian Revolution ended in 1804 and established the republic in the Western Hemisphere. It had occurred several years in what was then the French colony of Saint-Domingue
23.
Christmas
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In several countries, celebrating Christmas Eve on December 24 has the main focus rather than December 25, with gift-giving and sharing a traditional meal with the family. Although the month and date of Jesus birth are unknown, by the fourth century the Western Christian Church had placed Christmas on December 25. Today, most Christians celebrate on December 25 in the Gregorian calendar and this is not a disagreement over the date of Christmas as such, but rather a preference of which calendar should be used to determine the day that is December 25. Although it is not known why December 25 became a date of celebration, December 25 was the date the Romans marked as the winter solstice, the shortest, and therefore darkest day of the year. Jesus was identified with the Sun based on an Old Testament verse, the date is exactly nine months following Annunciation, when the conception of Jesus is celebrated. Finally, the Romans had a series of pagan festivals near the end of the year, so Christmas may have been scheduled at this time to appropriate, or compete with, one or more of these festivals. The celebratory customs associated in various countries with Christmas have a mix of pre-Christian, Christian, the economic impact of Christmas has grown steadily over the past few centuries in many regions of the world. Christmas is a form of Christs mass. It is derived from the Middle English Cristemasse, which is from Old English Crīstesmæsse, crīst is from Greek Khrīstos, a translation of Hebrew Māšîaḥ, Messiah, meaning anointed, and mæsse is from Latin missa, the celebration of the Eucharist. The form Christenmas was also used, but is now considered archaic and dialectal, it derives from Middle English Cristenmasse. In addition to Christmas, the holiday has been known by other names throughout its history. The Anglo-Saxons referred to the feast as midwinter, or, more rarely, Nativity, meaning birth, is from Latin nātīvitās. In Old English, Gēola referred to the corresponding to December and January. Noel entered English in the late 14th century and is from the Old French noël or naël, itself ultimately from the Latin nātālis, the canonical gospels of Luke and Matthew both describe Jesus as being born in Bethlehem in Judea, to a virgin mother. In the Gospel of Luke account, Joseph and Mary travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem for the census and it says that angels proclaimed him a savior for all people, and shepherds came to adore him. In the Matthew account, magi follow a star to Bethlehem to bring gifts to Jesus, King Herod orders the massacre of all the boys less than two years old in Bethlehem, but the family flees to Egypt and later settles in Nazareth. The Nativity stories of Matthew and Luke are prominent in the gospels, the first recorded Christmas celebration was in Rome in 336. Christmas played a role in the Arian controversy of the fourth century, the feast regained prominence after 800, when Charlemagne was crowned emperor on Christmas Day
24.
Mississippi River
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The Mississippi River is the chief river of the largest drainage system on the North American continent. Flowing entirely in the United States, it rises in northern Minnesota, with its many tributaries, the Mississippis watershed drains all or parts of 31 U. S. states and 2 Canadian provinces between the Rocky and Appalachian Mountains. The Mississippi ranks as the fourth longest and fifteenth largest river in the world by discharge, the river either borders or passes through the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Native Americans long lived along the Mississippi River and its tributaries, most were hunter-gatherers, but some, such as the Mound Builders, formed prolific agricultural societies. The arrival of Europeans in the 16th century changed the way of life as first explorers, then settlers. The river served first as a barrier, forming borders for New Spain, New France, and the early United States, and then as a vital transportation artery and communications link. Formed from thick layers of the silt deposits, the Mississippi embayment is one of the most fertile agricultural regions of the country. In recent years, the river has shown a shift towards the Atchafalaya River channel in the Delta. The word itself comes from Messipi, the French rendering of the Anishinaabe name for the river, see below in the History section for additional information. In addition to historical traditions shown by names, there are at least two measures of a rivers identity, one being the largest branch, and the other being the longest branch. Using the largest-branch criterion, the Ohio would be the branch of the Lower Mississippi. Using the longest-branch criterion, the Middle Mississippi-Missouri-Jefferson-Beaverhead-Red Rock-Hellroaring Creek River would be the main branch and its length of at least 3,745 mi is exceeded only by the Nile, the Amazon, and perhaps the Yangtze River among the longest rivers in the world. The source of this waterway is at Browers Spring,8,800 feet above sea level in southwestern Montana and this is exemplified by the Gateway Arch in St. Louis and the phrase Trans-Mississippi as used in the name of the Trans-Mississippi Exposition. It is common to qualify a regionally superlative landmark in relation to it, the New Madrid Seismic Zone along the river is also noteworthy. These various basic geographical aspects of the river in turn underlie its human history and present uses of the waterway, the Upper Mississippi runs from its headwaters to its confluence with the Missouri River at St. Louis, Missouri. The source of the Upper Mississippi branch is traditionally accepted as Lake Itasca,1,475 feet above sea level in Itasca State Park in Clearwater County, however, the lake is in turn fed by a number of smaller streams. From its origin at Lake Itasca to St. Louis, Missouri, fourteen of these dams are located above Minneapolis in the headwaters region and serve multiple purposes, including power generation and recreation. The remaining 29 dams, beginning in downtown Minneapolis, all locks and were constructed to improve commercial navigation of the upper river
25.
St. Louis
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St. Louis is an independent city and major U. S. port in the state of Missouri, built along the western bank of the Mississippi River, on the border with Illinois. Prior to European settlement, the area was a regional center of Native American Mississippian culture. The city of St. Louis was founded in 1764 by French fur traders Pierre Laclède and Auguste Chouteau, in 1764, following Frances defeat in the Seven Years War, the area was ceded to Spain and retroceded back to France in 1800. In 1803, the United States acquired the territory as part of the Louisiana Purchase, during the 19th century, St. Louis developed as a major port on the Mississippi River. In the 1870 Census, St. Louis was ranked as the 4th-largest city in the United States and it separated from St. Louis County in 1877, becoming an independent city and limiting its own political boundaries. In 1904, it hosted the Louisiana Purchase Exposition and the Summer Olympics, the economy of metro St. Louis relies on service, manufacturing, trade, transportation of goods, and tourism. This city has become known for its growing medical, pharmaceutical. St. Louis has 2 professional sports teams, the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball, the city is commonly identified with the 630-foot tall Gateway Arch in Downtown St. Louis. The area that would become St. Louis was a center of the Native American Mississippian culture and their major regional center was at Cahokia Mounds, active from 900 AD to 1500 AD. Due to numerous major earthworks within St. Louis boundaries, the city was nicknamed as the Mound City and these mounds were mostly demolished during the citys development. Historic Native American tribes in the area included the Siouan-speaking Osage people, whose territory extended west, European exploration of the area was first recorded in 1673, when French explorers Louis Jolliet and Jacques Marquette traveled through the Mississippi River valley. Five years later, La Salle claimed the region for France as part of La Louisiane. The earliest European settlements in the area were built in Illinois Country on the east side of the Mississippi River during the 1690s and early 1700s at Cahokia, Kaskaskia, migrants from the French villages on the opposite side of the Mississippi River founded Ste. In early 1764, after France lost the 7 Years War, Pierre Laclède, the early French families built the citys economy on the fur trade with the Osage, as well as with more distant tribes along the Missouri River. The Chouteau brothers gained a monopoly from Spain on the fur trade with Santa Fe, French colonists used African slaves as domestic servants and workers in the city. In 1780 during the American Revolutionary War, St. Louis was attacked by British forces, mostly Native American allies, the founding of St. Louis began in 1763. Pierre Laclede led an expedition to set up a fur-trading post farther up the Mississippi River, before then, Laclede had been a very successful merchant. For this reason, he and his trading partner Gilbert Antoine de St. Maxent were offered monopolies for six years of the fur trading in that area
26.
Farm
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A farm is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops, it is the basic facility in food production. It includes ranches, feedlots, orchards, plantations and estates, smallholdings and hobby farms, in modern times the term has been extended so as to include such industrial operations as wind farms and fish farms, both of which can operate on land or sea. Farming originated independently in different parts of the world, as hunter gatherer societies transitioned to food production rather than, food capture. It may have started about 12,000 years ago with the domestication of livestock in the Fertile Crescent in western Asia, modern farms in developed countries are highly mechanized. In Europe, traditional farms are giving way to larger production units. In Australia, some farms are large because the land is unable to support a high stocking density of livestock because of climatic conditions. In less developed countries, small farms are the norm, the word is from the medieval Latin noun firma, also the source of the French word ferme, meaning a fixed agreement, contract, from the classical Latin adjective firmus meaning strong, stout, firm. Farming has been innovated at multiple different points and places in human history and it was the worlds first historically verifiable revolution in agriculture. Subsequent step-changes in human farming practices were provoked by the British Agricultural Revolution in the 18th century, farming spread from the Middle East to Europe and by 4,000 BC people that lived in the central part of Europe were using oxen to pull plows and wagons. A farm may operate under a system or with a variety of cereal or arable crops. Specialist farms are often denoted as such, thus a dairy farm, fish farm, some farms may not use the word at all, hence vineyard, orchard, market garden or truck farm. Some farms may be denoted by their location, such as a hill farm. Many other terms are used to describe farms to denote their methods of production, as in collective, corporate, intensive, organic or vertical. There are many breeds of cattle that can be milked some of the best producing ones include Holstein, Norwegian Red, Kostroma, Brown Swiss, in most Western countries, a centralized dairy facility processes milk and dairy products, such as cream, butter, and cheese. In the United States, these dairies are usually local companies, dairy farms generally sell male calves for veal meat, as dairy breeds are not normally satisfactory for commercial beef production. Many dairy farms also grow their own feed, typically including corn, alfalfa and this is fed directly to the cows, or stored as silage for use during the winter season. Additional dietary supplements are added to the feed to milk production. Poultry farms are devoted to raising chickens, turkeys, ducks, a pig farm is one that specializes in raising pigs or hogs for bacon, ham and other pork products and may be free range, intensive, or both
27.
Belleville, Illinois
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Belleville is a city in St. Clair County, Illinois, United States, co-extensive with Belleville Township. The population was 42,034 according to the Census Bureaus 2015 estimates and it is the eighth-most populated city outside the Chicago Metropolitan Area and the most populated city south of Springfield in the state of Illinois. It is the county seat of St. Clair County, and the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Belleville, Belleville is the most populated city in the Metro-East region of the St. Louis Metropolitan Area and in Southern Illinois. Due to its proximity to Scott Air Force Base, the population receives a boost from military and federal civilian personnel, defense contractors, george Blair named the city of Belleville in 1814. Blair donated an acre of his land for the Town Square, Belleville was incorporated as a village in 1819, and became a city in 1850. It is said that Blair named the city Belleville because he believed that a French name would attract new residents, since major immigration in the mid-19th century occurred following revolutions in Germany, most of the population is of German heritage. Many of the people fled their homeland after the failure of the German Revolution in 1848. Belleville was the center of the first important German settlement in Illinois, by 1870, an estimated 90% of the citys population was either German born or of German descent. After the Civil War, Belleville became a manufacturing center producing nails, printing presses, gray iron castings, agricultural equipment, Belleville became known as The Stove Capital of the World. The first brewery in Illinois was established in Belleville and in 1868, an immense deposit of bituminous coal was found in St. Clair County. By 1874, some farmers had become coal miners, one hundred shaft mines were in operation in and around Belleville. The coal brought the railroad to town, which allowed for the transport of many tons of coal to be shipped daily from Belleville to St. Louis. Later, Belleville would have the first electric trolley in the state, the first style of homes in Belleville was simple brick cottages, known locally as German street houses or row houses. However, there is a variety of architectural style with American Foursquare, French Second Empire, Greek Revival, Gothic Revival, Italianate, Queen Anne. The Belleville Historic District, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976, the Old Belleville Historic District, was formed in 1974 and is the city’s first historic district. The city also had two historic districts, Hexenbukel and Oakland. Belleville’s early German immigrants were scholarly, with most of them having graduated from German universities and they were nicknamed “Latin Farmers” because of this. After 1836 Gustav Koerner contributed to establish the public library
28.
El Dorado
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The legends surrounding El Dorado changed over time, as it went from being a man, to a city, to a kingdom, and then finally an empire. A second location for El Dorado was inferred from rumors, which inspired several unsuccessful expeditions in the late 1500s in search of a city called Manõa on the shores of Lake Parime, two of the most famous of these expeditions were led by Sir Walter Raleigh. In pursuit of the legend, Spanish conquistadors and numerous others searched Colombia, Venezuela, in the course of these explorations, much of northern South America, including the Amazon River, was mapped. By the beginning of the 19th century most people dismissed the existence of the city as a myth. The Muisca occupied the highlands of Cundinamarca and Boyacá departments of Colombia in two migrations from outlying areas, one starting ~1270 BCE, and a second between 800 BCE and 500 BCE. At those times, other ancient civilizations also flourished in the highlands. The Muisca Confederation was as advanced as the Aztec, Maya, in the mythology of the Muisca, Mnya the Gold or golden color, represents the energy contained in the trinity of Chiminigagua, which constitutes the creative power of everything that exists. Chiminigagua is related to Bachué, Cuza, Chibchacum, Bochica, the original narrative can be found in the rambling chronicle El Carnero of Juan Rodriguez Freyle. People gathered here to perform rituals and sacrifices mostly with gold, important lakes were Lake Guatavita, Lake Iguaque, Lake Fúquene, Lake Tota, the Siecha Lakes, Lake Teusacá and Lake Ubaque. El Dorado is applied to a story in which precious stones were found in fabulous abundance along with gold coins. The concept of El Dorado underwent several transformations, and eventually accounts of the myth were also combined with those of a legendary lost city. The resulting El Dorado myth enticed European explorers for two centuries, among the earliest stories was the one told on his deathbed by Juan Martinez, a captain of munitions for Spanish adventurer Diego de Ordaz, who claimed to have visited the city of Manoa. Martinez had allowed a store of gunpowder to fire and was condemned to death. The emperor, after he had him, knew him to be a Christian, and caused him to be lodged in his palace. He was brought all the way blindfold, led by the Indians, until he came to the entrance of Manoa itself. But Martinez, not desirous to stay, obtained the favour of Inga to depart, during the 16th and 17th centuries, Europeans, still fascinated by the New World, believed that a hidden city of immense wealth existed. Numerous expeditions were mounted to search for treasure, all which ended in failure. The illustration of El Dorados location on maps only made matters worse, the mythical city of El Dorado on Lake Parime was marked on numerous maps until its existence was disproved by Alexander von Humboldt during his Latin America expedition
29.
Botany
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Botany, also called plant science, plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who specialises in this field, the term botany comes from the Ancient Greek word βοτάνη meaning pasture, grass, or fodder, βοτάνη is in turn derived from βόσκειν, to feed or to graze. Nowadays, botanists study approximately 410,000 species of plants of which some 391,000 species are vascular plants. Medieval physic gardens, often attached to monasteries, contained plants of medical importance and they were forerunners of the first botanical gardens attached to universities, founded from the 1540s onwards. One of the earliest was the Padua botanical garden and these gardens facilitated the academic study of plants. Efforts to catalogue and describe their collections were the beginnings of plant taxonomy, in the last two decades of the 20th century, botanists exploited the techniques of molecular genetic analysis, including genomics and proteomics and DNA sequences to classify plants more accurately. Modern botany is a broad, multidisciplinary subject with inputs from most other areas of science, dominant themes in 21st century plant science are molecular genetics and epigenetics, which are the mechanisms and control of gene expression during differentiation of plant cells and tissues. Botany originated as herbalism, the study and use of plants for their medicinal properties, many records of the Holocene period date early botanical knowledge as far back as 10,000 years ago. This early unrecorded knowledge of plants was discovered in ancient sites of human occupation within Tennessee, the early recorded history of botany includes many ancient writings and plant classifications. Examples of early works have been found in ancient texts from India dating back to before 1100 BC, in archaic Avestan writings. His major works, Enquiry into Plants and On the Causes of Plants, constitute the most important contributions to science until the Middle Ages. De Materia Medica was widely read for more than 1,500 years, important contributions from the medieval Muslim world include Ibn Wahshiyyas Nabatean Agriculture, Abū Ḥanīfa Dīnawarīs the Book of Plants, and Ibn Bassals The Classification of Soils. In the early 13th century, Abu al-Abbas al-Nabati, and Ibn al-Baitar wrote on botany in a systematic and scientific manner and these gardens continued the practical value of earlier physic gardens, often associated with monasteries, in which plants were cultivated for medical use. They supported the growth of botany as an academic subject, lectures were given about the plants grown in the gardens and their medical uses demonstrated. Botanical gardens came much later to northern Europe, the first in England was the University of Oxford Botanic Garden in 1621, throughout this period, botany remained firmly subordinate to medicine. German physician Leonhart Fuchs was one of the three German fathers of botany, along with theologian Otto Brunfels and physician Hieronymus Bock, Fuchs and Brunfels broke away from the tradition of copying earlier works to make original observations of their own. Bock created his own system of plant classification, physician Valerius Cordus authored a botanically and pharmacologically important herbal Historia Plantarum in 1544 and a pharmacopoeia of lasting importance, the Dispensatorium in 1546. Naturalist Conrad von Gesner and herbalist John Gerard published herbals covering the medicinal uses of plants, naturalist Ulisse Aldrovandi was considered the father of natural history, which included the study of plants
30.
Chemistry
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Chemistry is a branch of physical science that studies the composition, structure, properties and change of matter. Chemistry is sometimes called the science because it bridges other natural sciences, including physics. For the differences between chemistry and physics see comparison of chemistry and physics, the history of chemistry can be traced to alchemy, which had been practiced for several millennia in various parts of the world. The word chemistry comes from alchemy, which referred to a set of practices that encompassed elements of chemistry, metallurgy, philosophy, astrology, astronomy, mysticism. An alchemist was called a chemist in popular speech, and later the suffix -ry was added to this to describe the art of the chemist as chemistry, the modern word alchemy in turn is derived from the Arabic word al-kīmīā. In origin, the term is borrowed from the Greek χημία or χημεία and this may have Egyptian origins since al-kīmīā is derived from the Greek χημία, which is in turn derived from the word Chemi or Kimi, which is the ancient name of Egypt in Egyptian. Alternately, al-kīmīā may derive from χημεία, meaning cast together, in retrospect, the definition of chemistry has changed over time, as new discoveries and theories add to the functionality of the science. The term chymistry, in the view of noted scientist Robert Boyle in 1661, in 1837, Jean-Baptiste Dumas considered the word chemistry to refer to the science concerned with the laws and effects of molecular forces. More recently, in 1998, Professor Raymond Chang broadened the definition of chemistry to mean the study of matter, early civilizations, such as the Egyptians Babylonians, Indians amassed practical knowledge concerning the arts of metallurgy, pottery and dyes, but didnt develop a systematic theory. Greek atomism dates back to 440 BC, arising in works by such as Democritus and Epicurus. In 50 BC, the Roman philosopher Lucretius expanded upon the theory in his book De rerum natura, unlike modern concepts of science, Greek atomism was purely philosophical in nature, with little concern for empirical observations and no concern for chemical experiments. Work, particularly the development of distillation, continued in the early Byzantine period with the most famous practitioner being the 4th century Greek-Egyptian Zosimos of Panopolis. He formulated Boyles law, rejected the four elements and proposed a mechanistic alternative of atoms. Before his work, though, many important discoveries had been made, the Scottish chemist Joseph Black and the Dutchman J. B. English scientist John Dalton proposed the theory of atoms, that all substances are composed of indivisible atoms of matter. Davy discovered nine new elements including the alkali metals by extracting them from their oxides with electric current, british William Prout first proposed ordering all the elements by their atomic weight as all atoms had a weight that was an exact multiple of the atomic weight of hydrogen. The inert gases, later called the noble gases were discovered by William Ramsay in collaboration with Lord Rayleigh at the end of the century, thereby filling in the basic structure of the table. Organic chemistry was developed by Justus von Liebig and others, following Friedrich Wöhlers synthesis of urea which proved that organisms were, in theory
31.
Physics
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Physics is the natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion and behavior through space and time, along with related concepts such as energy and force. One of the most fundamental disciplines, the main goal of physics is to understand how the universe behaves. Physics is one of the oldest academic disciplines, perhaps the oldest through its inclusion of astronomy, Physics intersects with many interdisciplinary areas of research, such as biophysics and quantum chemistry, and the boundaries of physics are not rigidly defined. New ideas in physics often explain the mechanisms of other sciences while opening new avenues of research in areas such as mathematics. Physics also makes significant contributions through advances in new technologies that arise from theoretical breakthroughs, the United Nations named 2005 the World Year of Physics. Astronomy is the oldest of the natural sciences, the stars and planets were often a target of worship, believed to represent their gods. While the explanations for these phenomena were often unscientific and lacking in evidence, according to Asger Aaboe, the origins of Western astronomy can be found in Mesopotamia, and all Western efforts in the exact sciences are descended from late Babylonian astronomy. The most notable innovations were in the field of optics and vision, which came from the works of many scientists like Ibn Sahl, Al-Kindi, Ibn al-Haytham, Al-Farisi and Avicenna. The most notable work was The Book of Optics, written by Ibn Al-Haitham, in which he was not only the first to disprove the ancient Greek idea about vision, but also came up with a new theory. In the book, he was also the first to study the phenomenon of the pinhole camera, many later European scholars and fellow polymaths, from Robert Grosseteste and Leonardo da Vinci to René Descartes, Johannes Kepler and Isaac Newton, were in his debt. Indeed, the influence of Ibn al-Haythams Optics ranks alongside that of Newtons work of the same title, the translation of The Book of Optics had a huge impact on Europe. From it, later European scholars were able to build the devices as what Ibn al-Haytham did. From this, such important things as eyeglasses, magnifying glasses, telescopes, Physics became a separate science when early modern Europeans used experimental and quantitative methods to discover what are now considered to be the laws of physics. Newton also developed calculus, the study of change, which provided new mathematical methods for solving physical problems. The discovery of new laws in thermodynamics, chemistry, and electromagnetics resulted from greater research efforts during the Industrial Revolution as energy needs increased, however, inaccuracies in classical mechanics for very small objects and very high velocities led to the development of modern physics in the 20th century. Modern physics began in the early 20th century with the work of Max Planck in quantum theory, both of these theories came about due to inaccuracies in classical mechanics in certain situations. Quantum mechanics would come to be pioneered by Werner Heisenberg, Erwin Schrödinger, from this early work, and work in related fields, the Standard Model of particle physics was derived. Areas of mathematics in general are important to this field, such as the study of probabilities, in many ways, physics stems from ancient Greek philosophy
32.
Washington, D.C.
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Washington, D. C. formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D. C. is the capital of the United States. The signing of the Residence Act on July 16,1790, Constitution provided for a federal district under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Congress and the District is therefore not a part of any state. The states of Maryland and Virginia each donated land to form the federal district, named in honor of President George Washington, the City of Washington was founded in 1791 to serve as the new national capital. In 1846, Congress returned the land ceded by Virginia, in 1871. Washington had an population of 681,170 as of July 2016. Commuters from the surrounding Maryland and Virginia suburbs raise the population to more than one million during the workweek. The Washington metropolitan area, of which the District is a part, has a population of over 6 million, the centers of all three branches of the federal government of the United States are in the District, including the Congress, President, and Supreme Court. Washington is home to national monuments and museums, which are primarily situated on or around the National Mall. The city hosts 176 foreign embassies as well as the headquarters of international organizations, trade unions, non-profit organizations, lobbying groups. A locally elected mayor and a 13‑member council have governed the District since 1973, However, the Congress maintains supreme authority over the city and may overturn local laws. D. C. residents elect a non-voting, at-large congressional delegate to the House of Representatives, the District receives three electoral votes in presidential elections as permitted by the Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified in 1961. Various tribes of the Algonquian-speaking Piscataway people inhabited the lands around the Potomac River when Europeans first visited the area in the early 17th century, One group known as the Nacotchtank maintained settlements around the Anacostia River within the present-day District of Columbia. Conflicts with European colonists and neighboring tribes forced the relocation of the Piscataway people, some of whom established a new settlement in 1699 near Point of Rocks, Maryland. 43, published January 23,1788, James Madison argued that the new government would need authority over a national capital to provide for its own maintenance. Five years earlier, a band of unpaid soldiers besieged Congress while its members were meeting in Philadelphia, known as the Pennsylvania Mutiny of 1783, the event emphasized the need for the national government not to rely on any state for its own security. However, the Constitution does not specify a location for the capital, on July 9,1790, Congress passed the Residence Act, which approved the creation of a national capital on the Potomac River. The exact location was to be selected by President George Washington, formed from land donated by the states of Maryland and Virginia, the initial shape of the federal district was a square measuring 10 miles on each side, totaling 100 square miles. Two pre-existing settlements were included in the territory, the port of Georgetown, Maryland, founded in 1751, many of the stones are still standing
33.
Julius Erasmus Hilgard
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Julius Erasmus Hilgard was a German-American engineer. Julius Erasmus Hilgard was born at Zweibrücken, Rhenish Bavaria, January 7,1825, the journey from his native place to Havre was made in wagons. After a voyage of 62 days, the family landed at New Orleans at Christmas, and journeyed up the Mississippi to St. Louis, as the oldest son, Julius gave valuable help by his practical talents. His education was carried on at home, music, chemistry, ancient and modern languages and mathematics, occupied his attention until 1843, when he went to Philadelphia to study engineering and to obtain employment. In that city he made the acquaintance of Professor Bache, and commenced a friendship with Elisha Kent Kane. The first work obtained was in the surveys of the Bear Mountain Railroad. Soon, however, Professor Bache, recognizing his abilities, procured young Hilgard a position in the Coast Survey, in service he continued, with short interruptions. Throughout the American Civil War he served the Union army and navy by the construction of maps and charts and by surveys as well as by tidal and other information. Though it seems fitting that Hilgard should have become Superintendent upon the death of Bache, he did not receive the appointment until 1881, at that time his health was so impaired that, as he said, it came too late. He was soon forced to resign and he also had great satisfaction in being instrumental in bringing to a successful ending the operations for the telegraphic determination of transatlantic longitudes. In 1872 he was one of the members of the International Metric Commission at Paris and was made a member of the permanent committee, in 1875 he was president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Among his other services, Hilgard delivered in 1876 a course of twenty lectures at Johns Hopkins University on the subject of Extended Territorial Surveying. Resigning his position in July,1885, he lived in retirement for five years, at Philadelphia he soon formed the acquaintance of several prominent families, among them those of Judges Patterson and Kane. In reply Mr. Bache wrote to the man of nineteen. He entered at once upon the work assigned him in the computing division, among the field-work of the following year was the measurement of the Dauphin island base, made by Superintendent Bache, assisted by Hilgard. Fauntleroy and Davidson, he commenced the measurement of base and main triangulation of Galveston bay, during all this time, when not in the field he was engaged in computations and investigations at the office, largely under the immediate direction of the superintendent. In August,1848, he was married at Washington to Miss Katherine Clements, Hilgard, in charge of the computing department, and to commend the zeal, promptitude, and accuracy of every member of that department. Among his work of this year was the perfecting of a reflecting signal vane revolved by the wind, very simple and effective, and extensively used since
34.
U.S. National Geodetic Survey
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United States Coast Survey and United States Coast and Geodetic Survey redirect here. Since its foundation in its present form in 1970, it has been part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Geodetic Surveys history and heritage are intertwined with those of other NOAA offices. As the U. S. Coast Survey and U. S, upon the creation of the Environmental Science Services Administration in 1965, the commissioned corps was separated from the Survey to become the Environmental Science Services Administration Corps. Thus, the National Geodetic Surveys ancestor organizations are also the ancestors of todays NOAA Corps, in addition, todays National Institute of Standards and Technology, although long since separated from the Survey, got its start as the Surveys Office of Weights and Measures. The National Geodetic Survey is an office of NOAAs National Ocean Service, NGS is responsible for defining the NSRS and its relationship with the International Terrestrial Reference Frame. The NSRS enables precise and accessible knowledge of things are in the United States. The NSRS may be divided into its geometric and physical components, the official geodetic datum of the United States, NAD83 defines the geometric relationship between points within the United States in three-dimensional space. The datum may be accessed via NGSs network of marks or through the Continuously Operating Reference Station network of GPS reference antennas. NGS is responsible for computing the relationship between NAD83 and the ITRF, the physical components of the NSRS are reflected in its height system, defined by the vertical datum NAVD88. This datum is a network of orthometric heights obtained through spirit leveling, NGS will release new datums in 2022. The North American Terrestrial Reference Frame of 2022 will supersede NAD83 in defining the relationship between the North American plate and the ITRF. United States territories on the Pacific, Caribbean, and Mariana plates will have their own respective geodetic datums, the North American-Pacific Geopotential Datum of 2022 will separately define the height system of the United States and its territories, replacing NAVD88. It will use a geoid model accurate to 1 centimeter to relate orthometric height to ellipsoidal height measured by GPS, NGS provides a number of other public services. The Online Positioning and User Service processes user-input GPS data and outputs position solutions within the NSRS, the agency offers other tools for conversion between datums. A Swiss immigrant with expertise in surveying and the standardization of weights and measures, Ferdinand R. Hassler, was selected to lead the Survey. Hassler departed on August 29,1811, but eight months later, while he was in England, Hassler did not return to the United States until August 16,1815. The Survey finally began surveying operations in 1816, when Hassler started work in the vicinity of New York City, the first baseline was measured and verified in 1817. S. S. Army and U. S. Navy responsibility for coastal surveys, Hassler was reappointed as the Surveys superintendent that year
35.
Joseph Henry
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Joseph Henry was an American scientist who served as the first Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. He was the secretary for the National Institute for the Promotion of Science and he was highly regarded during his lifetime. While building electromagnets, Henry discovered the phenomenon of self-inductance. He also discovered mutual inductance independently of Michael Faraday, though Faraday was the first to make the discovery, Henry developed the electromagnet into a practical device. He invented a precursor to the doorbell and electric relay. The SI unit of inductance, the henry, is named in his honor, Henrys work on the electromagnetic relay was the basis of the practical electrical telegraph, invented by Samuel F. B. Morse and Sir Charles Wheatstone, separately. Henry was born in Albany, New York, to Scottish immigrants Ann Alexander Henry and his parents were poor, and Henrys father died while he was still young. For the rest of his childhood, Henry lived with his grandmother in Galway and he attended a school which would later be named the Joseph Henry Elementary School in his honor. After school, he worked at a store, and at the age of thirteen became an apprentice watchmaker. Josephs first love was theater and he came close to becoming a professional actor and his interest in science was sparked at the age of sixteen by a book of lectures on scientific topics titled Popular Lectures on Experimental Philosophy. In 1819 he entered The Albany Academy, where he was free tuition. Even with free tuition he was so poor that he had to himself with teaching. He intended to go into medicine, but in 1824 he was appointed an assistant engineer for the survey of the State road being constructed between the Hudson River and Lake Erie, from then on, he was inspired to a career in either civil or mechanical engineering. Henry excelled at his studies and in 1826 was appointed Professor of Mathematics, some of his most important research was conducted in this new position. His curiosity about terrestrial magnetism led him to experiment with magnetism in general, using this technique, he built the strongest electromagnet at the time for Yale. The latter made the telegraph feasible, because of his early experiments in electromagnetism some historians credit Henry with discoveries pre-dating Faraday and Hertz, however, Henry is not credited due to not publishing his work. Using his newly developed electromagnetic principle, Henry in 1831 created one of the first machines to use electromagnetism for motion and this was the earliest ancestor of modern DC motor. It did not make use of rotating motion, but was merely an electromagnet perched on a pole, rocking back and this apparatus allowed Henry to recognize the property of self inductance
36.
Spencer Fullerton Baird
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Spencer Fullerton Baird was an American naturalist, ornithologist, ichthyologist, herpetologist, and museum curator. Baird was the first curator to be named at the Smithsonian Institution and he would eventually serve as assistant Secretary of the Smithsonian from 1850 to 1878, and as Secretary from 1878 until 1887. He was dedicated to expanding the history collections of the Smithsonian which he increased from 6,000 specimens in 1850 to over 2 million by the time of his death. He published over 1,000 works during his lifetime, Spencer Fullerton Baird was born in Reading, Pennsylvania in 1823. His father was also a big influence on Bairds interest in nature, taking Baird on walks and he died of cholera when Baird was ten years old. As a young boy he attended Nottingham Academy in Port Deposit, Maryland and public school in Carlisle, Baird attended Dickinson College and earned his bachelors and masters degrees, finishing the former in 1840. After graduation he moved to New York City with an interest in studying medicine at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and he returned to Carlisle two years later. He taught natural history at Dickinson starting in 1845, while at Dickinson, he did research, participated in collecting trips, did specimen exchanges with other naturalists, and traveled frequently. He married Mary Helen Churchill in 1846, in 1848, their daughter, Lucy Hunter Baird, was born. He was awarded a grant, in 1848, from the Smithsonian Institution to explore bone caves, in 1849 he was given $75 by the Smithsonian Institution to collect, pack and transport specimens for them. It was during this time that he met Smithsonian Secretary Joseph Henry, the two would become close friends and colleagues. Throughout the 1840s Baird traveled extensively throughout the northeastern and central United States, often traveling by foot, Baird hiked more than 2,100 miles in 1842 alone. Upon his arrival in Washington, he brought two railroad box cars worth of his personal collection, Baird would create a museum program for the Smithstonian, requesting that the organization focus on natural history in the United States. His program also allowed him to create a network of collectors through an exchange system and he would ask that members of the Army and Navy collect rare animals and plant specimens from west of the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. In order to balance the collection, Baird sent duplicate specimens to museums around the country. During the 1850s he described over 50 new species of reptiles, some by himself and their 1853 catalog of the Smithsonians snake collection is a benchmark work in North American herpetology. Baird also was a mentor to herpetologist Robert Kennicott who died prematurely, eventually, he became the Assistant Secretary, serving under Joseph Henry. As Assistant, Baird would help develop a publication and journal exchange and he supported the work of William Stimpson, Robert Kennicott, Henry Ulke and Henry Bryant
37.
Alexander Dallas Bache
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Alexander Dallas Bache was an American physicist, scientist, and surveyor who erected coastal fortifications and conducted a detailed survey to map the mideastern United States coastline. Alexander Bache was born in Philadelphia, the son of Richard Bache, Jr. and he came from a prominent family as he was the nephew of Vice-President George M. Dallas and Naval Hero Alexander J. Dallas. He was the grandson of Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Dallas and was the great-grandson of Benjamin Franklin, after graduating from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1825, as first in his class, he was an assistant professor of engineering there for some time. As a second lieutenant in the United States Army Corps of Engineers, he was engaged in the construction of Fort Adams in Newport, Bache resigned from the Army on June 1,1829. Bache was a professor of philosophy and chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania from 1828 to 1841. He spent 1836–1838 in Europe on behalf of the trustees of what became Girard College, abroad, he examined European education systems, and on his return he published a valuable report. From 1839 to 1842, he served as the first president of Central High School of Philadelphia, in 1843, on the death of Professor Ferdinand Rudolph Hassler, Bache was appointed superintendent of the United States Coast Survey. In addition, magnetic and meteorological data were collected, Bache served as head of the Coast Survey for 24 years. He was elected an Associate Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh on 15 March 1858, and a Foreign Member of the Royal Society on 24 May 1860. After the Civil War, Bache was elected a 3rd Class Companion of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States in consideration of his contributions to the war effort and he married Nancy Clark Fowler on September 30,1838, at Newport, Rhode Island. She was born in Newport and died on January 13,1870 in Philadelphia and she assisted in the publication of much of his work. They were the parents of one son, Henry Wood Bache and he died at Newport, Rhode Island, on February 17,1867, from softening of the brain. He was buried in the Congressional Cemetery in Washington, D. C. under a monument designed by architect Henry Hobson Richardson, two survey ships were named for him, the A. D. Bache of 1871 and its successor in 1901. Baynes, T. S. ed. Alexander Dallas Bache, Encyclopædia Britannica,3, New York, Charles Scribners Sons, chisholm, Hugh, ed. Alexander Dallas Bache, Encyclopædia Britannica,3, Cambridge University Press, pp. 131–132. Alexander Dallas Bache, Building the American Nation through Science and Education in the Nineteenth Century Book,352 pp. ISBN 978-3-593-39355-1 Slotten, Hugh Richard. Patronage, Practice and the Culture of American Science, Alexander Dallas Bache, Alexander Dallas Bache, Building the American Nation through Science and Education in the Nineteenth Century. EAN9783593393551 C. J. Obituary, Alexander Dallas Bache, monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. The One Hundredth Anniversary Of The Establishment Of The Alexander Dallas Bache Magnetic Observatory, odgers, Merle M. Alexander Dallas Bache, Scientist and Educator Gould, Benjamin Apthorp
38.
Philadelphia
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In 1682, William Penn, an English Quaker, founded the city to serve as capital of the Pennsylvania Colony. Philadelphia was one of the capitals in the Revolutionary War. In the 19th century, Philadelphia became an industrial center. It became a destination for African-Americans in the Great Migration. The areas many universities and colleges make Philadelphia a top international study destination, as the city has evolved into an educational, with a gross domestic product of $388 billion, Philadelphia ranks ninth among world cities and fourth in the nation. Philadelphia is the center of activity in Pennsylvania and is home to seven Fortune 1000 companies. The Philadelphia skyline is growing, with a market of almost 81,900 commercial properties in 2016 including several prominent skyscrapers. The city is known for its arts, culture, and rich history, Philadelphia has more outdoor sculptures and murals than any other American city. Fairmount Park, when combined with the adjacent Wissahickon Valley Park in the watershed, is one of the largest contiguous urban park areas in the United States. The 67 National Historic Landmarks in the city helped account for the $10 billion generated by tourism, Philadelphia is the only World Heritage City in the United States. Before Europeans arrived, the Philadelphia area was home to the Lenape Indians in the village of Shackamaxon, the Lenape are a Native American tribe and First Nations band government. They are also called Delaware Indians and their territory was along the Delaware River watershed, western Long Island. Most Lenape were pushed out of their Delaware homeland during the 18th century by expanding European colonies, Lenape communities were weakened by newly introduced diseases, mainly smallpox, and violent conflict with Europeans. Iroquois people occasionally fought the Lenape, surviving Lenape moved west into the upper Ohio River basin. The American Revolutionary War and United States independence pushed them further west, in the 1860s, the United States government sent most Lenape remaining in the eastern United States to the Indian Territory under the Indian removal policy. In the 21st century, most Lenape now reside in the US state of Oklahoma, with communities living also in Wisconsin, Ontario. The Dutch considered the entire Delaware River valley to be part of their New Netherland colony, in 1638, Swedish settlers led by renegade Dutch established the colony of New Sweden at Fort Christina and quickly spread out in the valley. In 1644, New Sweden supported the Susquehannocks in their defeat of the English colony of Maryland
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James Curtis Booth
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James Curtis Booth was a United States chemist who was the melter and refiner at the U. S. Mint in Philadelphia for many years. Booth was born in Philadelphia on 28 July 1810, and was educated at the Hartsville Seminary, Booth graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1829, and later studied at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute at Troy, New York from 1831 to 1832. For the remainder of his time in Europe he attended lectures and visited manufacturing facilities on the continent, Booth assisted in the Geological Survey of Pennsylvania in 1836, making the discovery that the mountains that form the middle belt of that state consist of two separate formations. He was head of the Geological Survey of Delaware from 1837 to 1838 and he became a member of the American Philosophical Society in January 1839. He opened a laboratory in Pennsylvania in 1836 for teaching purposes. As the demand for teaching and chemical analysis increased, he was assisted by Dr. Martin Hans Boyè until 1845, from 1848, Thomas H. Garrett was his associate, and in 1881 the firm became Booth, Garrett and Blair. According to the Scientific American, a course in Booths laboratory was considered necessary for the chemist of that time, students who went on to have notable scientific careers included John Fries Frazer, Richard Sears McCulloh, Campbell Morfit and Clarence Morfit. Booth lectured at the Franklin Institute between 1836 and 1845, in 1843 he published the Encyclopedia of Chemistry, writing most of the articles. In 1845, Booth spent some time in Mine la Mott in Missouri mining cobalt, in 1849 he was appointed melter and refiner in the Mint by President Zachary Taylor, working there until he retired in 1887. However, he continued to teach at the university until 1855, while at the mint he designed a new form of wind furnace for melting the huge amount of gold being mined in California. His analysis of the ores of Pennsylvania led to the use of nickel as a component of the cent issued in 1857. The University of Lewisburg conferred the degree of LL. D. on him in 1867, and he was a member of the American Philosophical Society, and was president of the American Chemical Society from 1883 to 1884. James Curtis Booth married in 1853 and became the father of three children and he died at his home in West Haverford, Pennsylvania, on 21 March 1888. Memoir of the survey of the State of Delaware, including the application of the geological observations to agriculture. On recent improvements in the chemical arts, cS1 maint, Uses authors parameter James Curtis Booth. The phonographic instructor, being an introduction to the style of phonography. Victor Regnault, Thomas Forrest Betton, James Curtis Booth, William L. Faber, elements of chemistry, for the use of colleges, academies, and schools, Volume 1. The encyclopedia of chemistry, practical and theoretical, embracing its application to the arts, metallurgy, mineralogy, geology, medicine, vol.40,1891 Edgar Fahs Smith
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Franklin Institute
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The Franklin Institute is a science museum and the center of science education and research in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US. It is named after the American scientist and statesman, Benjamin Franklin, founded in 1824, the Franklin Institute is one of the oldest centers of science education and development in the United States. On February 5,1824, Samuel Vaughan Merrick and William H. Keating founded the Franklin Institute of the State of Pennsylvania for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts, in the late twentieth century the Institutes research roles gave way to educating the general public through its museum. The Bartol Research Foundation of the Franklin Institute, founded in 1924 to conduct research in the sciences, is now part of the University of Delaware. The Franklin Institute Laboratories for Research and Development operated from the Second World War into the 1980s, many scientists have demonstrated groundbreaking new technology at the Franklin Institute. From September 2 to October 11,1884, it hosted the International Electrical Exhibition of 1884, the worlds first public demonstration of an all-electronic television system was later given by Philo Taylor Farnsworth on August 25,1934. The first female member, Elizabeth Skinner, was elected to membership in 1833, the Franklin Institute was integrated in 1870, when Philadelphia teacher and activist Octavius Catto was admitted as a member. The Institutes original building at 15 South 7th Street, now the home of the Atwater Kent Museum, eventually proved too small for the Institutes research, educational programs, and library. The Institute moved into its current home on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, near the intersection with 20th Street, in 1934. Funds to build the new Institute and Franklin Memorial came from the Poor Richard Club, the City Board of Trust, the Benjamin Franklin Memorial, Inc. and the Franklin Institute. John T. Windrims original design was a square building surrounding the Benjamin Franklin Statue. Despite the effects of the Great Depression, the Benjamin Franklin Memorial, only two of the four wings envisioned by Windrim were built, these face the Parkway and share design elements with other cultural and civic structures around Logan Circle. On March 31,1940, press agent William Castellini issued a release stating that the world would end the next day. The story was picked up by KYW, which reported, Your worst fears that the world will end are confirmed by astronomers of Franklin Institute, scientists predict that the world will end at 3 p. m. Eastern Standard Time tomorrow. This is no April Fool joke, confirmation can be obtained from Wagner Schlesinger, director of the Fels Planetarium of this city. This caused a panic in the city which only subsided when the Franklin Institute assured people it had no such prediction. James Ronaldson Samuel V. Merrick John C, cresson William Sellers John Vaughan Merrick Coleman Sellers Robert Empie Rogers William Penn Tatham Joseph Miller Wilson Dr. Walton Clark Dr. W. Laurence LePage Dr. Athelstan F. Spilhaus Dr. Bowen C. Dees Dr. Joel N. Bloom Dr. James L. Powell Dr. Dennis M. Wint Larry Dubinski In 2006, in 2011, the Franklin Institute received a $10 million gift from Athena and Nicholas Karabots towards the Inspire Science
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Analytical chemistry
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Analytical chemistry studies and uses instruments and methods used to separate, identify, and quantify matter. In practice separation, identification or quantification may constitute the entire analysis or be combined with another method, qualitative analysis identifies analytes, while quantitative analysis determines the numerical amount or concentration. Analytical chemistry consists of classical, wet chemical methods and modern, classical qualitative methods use separations such as precipitation, extraction, and distillation. Identification may be based on differences in color, odor, melting point, boiling point, classical quantitative analysis uses mass or volume changes to quantify amount. Instrumental methods may be used to separate samples using chromatography, electrophoresis or field flow fractionation, then qualitative and quantitative analysis can be performed, often with the same instrument and may use light interaction, heat interaction, electric fields or magnetic fields. Often the same instrument can separate, identify and quantify an analyte, Analytical chemistry is also focused on improvements in experimental design, chemometrics, and the creation of new measurement tools. Analytical chemistry has applications to forensics, medicine, science. Analytical chemistry has been important since the days of chemistry, providing methods for determining which elements. The first instrumental analysis was flame emissive spectrometry developed by Robert Bunsen, most of the major developments in analytical chemistry take place after 1900. During this period instrumental analysis becomes progressively dominant in the field, in particular many of the basic spectroscopic and spectrometric techniques were discovered in the early 20th century and refined in the late 20th century. The separation sciences follow a similar line of development and also become increasingly transformed into high performance instruments. In the 1970s many of these began to be used together as hybrid techniques to achieve a complete characterization of samples. Lasers have been used in chemistry as probes and even to initiate. Modern analytical chemistry is dominated by instrumental analysis, many analytical chemists focus on a single type of instrument. Academics tend to focus on new applications and discoveries or on new methods of analysis. The discovery of a present in blood that increases the risk of cancer would be a discovery that an analytical chemist might be involved in. An effort to develop a new method might involve the use of a laser to increase the specificity and sensitivity of a spectrometric method. Many methods, once developed, are kept purposely static so that data can be compared over long periods of time and this is particularly true in industrial quality assurance, forensic and environmental applications
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New York City
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The City of New York, often called New York City or simply New York, is the most populous city in the United States. With an estimated 2015 population of 8,550,405 distributed over an area of about 302.6 square miles. Located at the tip of the state of New York. Home to the headquarters of the United Nations, New York is an important center for international diplomacy and has described as the cultural and financial capital of the world. Situated on one of the worlds largest natural harbors, New York City consists of five boroughs, the five boroughs – Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, The Bronx, and Staten Island – were consolidated into a single city in 1898. In 2013, the MSA produced a gross metropolitan product of nearly US$1.39 trillion, in 2012, the CSA generated a GMP of over US$1.55 trillion. NYCs MSA and CSA GDP are higher than all but 11 and 12 countries, New York City traces its origin to its 1624 founding in Lower Manhattan as a trading post by colonists of the Dutch Republic and was named New Amsterdam in 1626. The city and its surroundings came under English control in 1664 and were renamed New York after King Charles II of England granted the lands to his brother, New York served as the capital of the United States from 1785 until 1790. It has been the countrys largest city since 1790, the Statue of Liberty greeted millions of immigrants as they came to the Americas by ship in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and is a symbol of the United States and its democracy. In the 21st century, New York has emerged as a node of creativity and entrepreneurship, social tolerance. Several sources have ranked New York the most photographed city in the world, the names of many of the citys bridges, tapered skyscrapers, and parks are known around the world. Manhattans real estate market is among the most expensive in the world, Manhattans Chinatown incorporates the highest concentration of Chinese people in the Western Hemisphere, with multiple signature Chinatowns developing across the city. Providing continuous 24/7 service, the New York City Subway is one of the most extensive metro systems worldwide, with 472 stations in operation. Over 120 colleges and universities are located in New York City, including Columbia University, New York University, and Rockefeller University, during the Wisconsinan glaciation, the New York City region was situated at the edge of a large ice sheet over 1,000 feet in depth. The ice sheet scraped away large amounts of soil, leaving the bedrock that serves as the foundation for much of New York City today. Later on, movement of the ice sheet would contribute to the separation of what are now Long Island and Staten Island. The first documented visit by a European was in 1524 by Giovanni da Verrazzano, a Florentine explorer in the service of the French crown and he claimed the area for France and named it Nouvelle Angoulême. Heavy ice kept him from further exploration, and he returned to Spain in August and he proceeded to sail up what the Dutch would name the North River, named first by Hudson as the Mauritius after Maurice, Prince of Orange
