The Hope Diamond is one of the most famous jewels in the world, with ownership records dating back four centuries. Its much-admired rare blue color is due to trace amounts of boron atoms. Weighing 45.52 carats, its exceptional size has revealed new findings about the formation of gemstones. The jewel is believed to have originated in India, where the original stone was purchased in 1666 by French gem merchant Jean-Baptiste Tavernier as the Tavernier Blue; the Tavernier Blue was cut and yielded the French Blue, which Tavernier sold to King Louis XIV in 1668. Stolen in 1791, it was recut, with the largest section acquiring its "Hope" name when it appeared in the catalogue of a gem collection owned by a London banking family called Hope in 1839. After going through numerous owners, it was sold to Washington socialite Evalyn Walsh McLean, seen wearing it, it was purchased in 1949 by New York gem merchant Harry Winston, who toured it for a number of years before giving it to the National Museum of Natural History of the United States in 1958, where it has since remained on permanent exhibition.

The Hope Diamond has long been rumored to carry a curse due to agents trying to arouse interest in the stone. It was last reported to be insured for $250 million; the Hope Diamond known as Le Bijou du Roi, Le bleu de France, the Tavernier Blue, is a large, 45.52-carat, deep-blue diamond. It is now housed in the National Gem and Mineral collection at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D. C, it is blue to the naked eye because of trace amounts of boron within its crystal structure, exhibits a red phosphorescence under exposure to ultraviolet light. It is classified as a Type IIb diamond, has changed hands numerous times on its way from India to France to Britain and to the United States, where it has been on public display since, it has been described as the "most famous diamond in the world". Weight: In December 1988, the Gemological Institute of America's Gem Trade Lab determined that the diamond weighed 45.52 carats. Size and shape: The diamond has been compared in size and shape to a pigeon egg, walnut, a "good sized horse chestnut", "pear shaped."

The dimensions in terms of length and depth are 25.60 mm × 21.78 mm × 12.00 mm. Color: It has been described as being "fancy dark greyish-blue" as well as being "dark blue in color" or having a "steely-blue" color; as colored-diamond expert Stephen Hofer points out, blue diamonds similar to the Hope can be shown by colorimetric measurements to be grayer than blue sapphires. In 1996, the Gemological Institute of America's Gem Trade Lab examined the diamond and, using their proprietary scale, graded it fancy deep grayish blue. Visually, the gray modifier is so dark that it produces an "inky" effect appearing blackish-blue in incandescent light. Current photographs of the Hope Diamond use high-intensity light sources that tend to maximize the brilliance of gemstones. In popular literature, many superlatives have been used to describe the Hope Diamond as a "superfine deep blue" comparing it to the color of a fine sapphire, "blue of the most beautiful blue sapphire", describing its color as "a sapphire blue".

Tavernier had described it as a "beautiful violet". Emits a red glow: The stone exhibits an unusually intense and colored type of luminescence: after exposure to short-wave ultraviolet light, the diamond produces a brilliant red phosphorescence that persists for some time after the light source has been switched off, this strange quality may have helped fuel "its reputation of being cursed." The red glow helps scientists "fingerprint" blue diamonds, allowing them to "tell the real ones from the artificial." The red glow indicates that a different mix of boron and nitrogen is within the stone, according to Jeffrey Post in the journal Geology. People think of the Hope Diamond as a historic gem, but this study underscores its importance as a rare scientific specimen that can provide vital insights into our knowledge of diamonds and how they are formed in the earth. Clarity: The clarity was determined to be VS1, with whitish graining present. Cut: The cut was described as being "cushion antique brilliant with a faceted girdle and extra facets on the pavilion."

Chemical composition: In 2010, the diamond was removed from its setting in order to measure its chemical composition. According to Smithsonian curator Dr. Jeffrey Post, the boron may be responsible for causing the blue color of the stones after tests using infrared light measured a spectrum of the gems. Touch and feel: When Associated Press reporter Ron Edmonds was allowed by Smithsonian officials to hold the gem in his hand in 2003, he wrote that the first thought that had come into his mind was: "Wow!" It was described as "cool to the touch." He wrote:You cradle the 45.5-carat stone—about the size of a walnut and heavier than its translucence makes it appear—turning it from side to side as the light flashes from its facets, knowing it's the hardest natural material yet fearful of dropping it. Hardness: Diamonds in general, including the Hope Diamond, are considered to be the hardest natural mineral on the Earth, but because of diamond's crystalline structure, there are weak planes in the bonds which permit jewelers to slice a diamond and, in so doing, to cause it to sparkle by refracting light in different ways.

The Hope Diamond was formed deep within the Earth approx

MV Bukoba was a Lake Victoria ferry that carried passengers and cargo between the Tanzanian ports of Bukoba and Mwanza. Bukoba had capacity for 850 tons of cargo and 430 passengers. On 21 May 1996, Bukoba sank 30 nautical miles off Mwanza in 25 metres of water, killing up to 1,000 people; the official deaths record is 894. The manifest for her final voyage showed 443 passengers in her first and second class cabins, but her cheaper third class accommodation had no manifest. Abu Ubaidah al-Banshiri, second in command of al Qaeda, died in the disaster. President Benjamin Mkapa declared three days of national mourning. Criminal charges were brought against nine Tanzania Railway Corporation officials, including the captain of the Bukoba and the manager of TRC's Marine Division. Possible causes were identified by Captain Joseph Muguthi of the Kenya Navy, writing in the pages of the Daily Nation as a marine navigation consultant, he labelled it an accident waiting to happen, as Lake Victoria ferries disregarded safety regulations.

Specifically: lack of life jackets, life belts, lifeboats. More overarchingly, Muguthi blamed the incident on governments' marine departments being staffed by civil servants and politicians who have no understanding of ships and marine decisions; the lack of equipment and divers were to blame for slowness in the salvage operation. Rescue teams from South Africa, including Navy divers, were flown in to salvage the ship and retrieve bodies. Lake Victoria ferries 2011 Zanzibar ferry sinking Sinking of the MV Nyerere

Ethel Lavenu was a British stage actress. She was the mother of stage and silent screen actor Tyrone Power, Sr. and grandmother of the Hollywood film star Tyrone Power. Born in Chelsea as Eliza Lavenu, the third of six daughters of the cellist and music impresario Lewis Henry Lavenu by his wife Julia, daughter of Col. John Blossett, head of the British expedition to assist Simon Bolivar in the war of independence in Venezuela, her father was away on tour, in 1855 left for Sydney leaving the family in London. In 1861 Ethel was living with her mother at 128, Long Acre, Covent Garden, her elder sister Ada, younger sister Alice were all listed as Professional, her youngest sister Bessie was later to become an actress, she had more success than her sisters, by 1863 appearing in various plays at the Royal Lyceum Theatre, London. In 1866, she married the youngest son of the Irish actor Tyrone Power, she had two sons, George Arthur, born in 1868, an actor, known as Littledale Power, who appeared on Broadway, Frederick Tyrone Edmond, known as Tyrone Power, Sr..

The Duke's January, 1863, Theatre Royal Lyceum. A Day After The Fair, March, 1864, Royal Lyceum Theatre. Bel Demonio, March, 1864 with Kate Terry, Royal Lyceum Theatre. Nursey Chickweed, December, 1865, Royal Lyceum Theatre; the Master of Ravenswood, May, 1866, Royal Lyceum Theatre. The Corsican Brothers, June, 1866, Royal Lyceum Theatre