La Roche-sur-Yon is a commune in the Vendée department in the Pays de la Loire region in western France. It is the capital of the department; the demonym for its inhabitants is Yonnais. The town expanded after Napoleon I chose the site as the new préfecture of the Vendée on 25 May 1804, replacing Fontenay-le-Comte. At the time, most of La Roche had been eradicated in the Vendée Revolt. Napoléonville was designed to accommodate 15,000 people; the town was called successively: La Roche-sur-Yon Napoléon-sur-Yon Bourbon-Vendée Napoléon-Vendée The river Yon flows southward through the commune and crosses the town. The Communauté d'agglomération "La Roche-sur-Yon Agglomération" contains 15 communes: Aubigny Chaillé-sous-les-Ormeaux La Chaize-le-Vicomte Les Clouzeaux Dompierre-sur-Yon La Ferrière Fougeré Landeronde Mouilleron-le-Captif Nesmy La Roche-sur-Yon Saint-Florent-des-Bois Le Tablier Thorigny VenansaultLa Roche-sur-Yon is the chief town of the Arrondissement of La Roche-sur-Yon, which covers 11 cantons, 92 communes, has a population of 230,386.

La-Roche-sur-Yon is chief town of two cantons, Canton of La Roche-sur-Yon-1 and Canton of La Roche-sur-Yon-2. The Gare de La Roche-sur-Yon railway station offers connections to Nantes, Les Sables-d'Olonne and several regional destinations; the A87 motorway connects La Roche-sur-Yon with Les Sables-d'Olonne and Angers, the A83 with Nantes and Niort. The commune has designated attendance zones for its primary schools. Schools include: 2 public preschools 2 public elementary schools 13 public school groups of combined preschools and elementary schools 6 private elementary schools Public junior high schools: Collège Auguste et Jean-Renoir, Collège mixte Les Gondoliers, Collège mixte Edouard Herriot, Collège Haxo Private junior high schools: Collège mixte du Sacré-Coeur, Collège mixte Richelieu, Collège mixte Saint-Louis Public senior high schools: Lycée Nature, Lycée d'état mixte Alfred-Kastler, Lycée polyvalent Jean de Lattre-de-Tassigny, Lycée polyvalent Pierre-Mendès-France, Lycée professionnel Edoaurd Branly Private senior high schools: Lycée Saint-François d'Assise, Lycée d'enseignement général et technologique Notre-Dame-du-Roc, Lycée les Etablières One grande école: Institut catholique d'arts et métiers In 2014 La Roche-sur-yon hosted the 2014 French championship of table tennisLa Roche-sur-Yon's Vendéspace hosted one of the first round ties of the 2014 Davis Cup tennis tournament over the weekend of 31 January - 2 February 2014.

France hosted Australia as both teams competed for a place in the World Group quarterfinals. In 2015 La Roche-sur-Yon, will host the 2015 FIRS Men's Roller Hockey World Cup, the first time that a World Cup of roller hockey is held in France. In June 2015 La Roche-sur-Yon's Vendéspace will host the qualification tournament for the World Championships in Savate Combat La Roche-sur-Yon is twinned with: Gummersbach, Germany Coleraine, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom Drummondville, Canada Cáceres, since 1982 Tizi Ouzou, since 1989 Burg bei Magdeburg, since 2005 Communes of the Vendée department INSEE Official website

Gongsar Ugyen Wangchuck was the first Druk Gyalpo from 1907–1926. In his lifetime he made great efforts to gain the trust of the people. Ugyen Wangchuck was born in Wangducholing Palace, Bumthang in 1862 and died in 1926 in Thinley Rabten Palace, Phodrang. Both of these places are in "Choekhor" valley in Bumthang. King Ugyen Wangchuck was strategist, he was a pious practitioner of Buddhism during his years. He was apprenticed at the court of Druk Desi Jigme Namgyal in the art of leadership and warfare at a young age; because he grew up in an embattled period, Ugyen Wangchuck was trained as a skilled combatant. At the age of 17, he headed his troops in the battle against the 20th Paro Penlop Tshewang Norbu; when Ugyen Wangchuck was 21, his father Druk Desi Jigme Namgyel died, leaving him to strike his own role as a leader in the country. In 1885, following the death of his father, when he was 23 years old, he led 2400 troops in a series of battles that culminated in Changlimethang. Bhutan had been ruled under 57 successive Druk Desis for 256 years until Buddhist monarchy was established.

Ugyen Wangchuck founded the monarchy in 1907, although he had been more or less the actual ruler for a decade. In British records, he is referred as the 12th Trongsa Penlop – the ruler of Bhutan. On 17 December 1907, Trongsa Penlop Ugyen Wangchuck was elected unanimously by the representatives of the people, the officials and the clergy and enthroned as the first hereditary King of Bhutan in Punakha Dzong. A legal document on the institution of monarchy was attested with signet-rings and thumbprints, on that day. British political officer, Sir Claude White, represented the British government at the enthronement ceremony. Since that day, 17 December is celebrated as the National Day of Bhutan. Ugyen Wangchuck 12th Trongsa Penlop, joined the Younghusband Expedition to Tibet in 1904, as a mediator between Britain and Tibet, his next official visit abroad took place in 1906 when he travelled to Kolkata to meet the Prince of Wales. Penlop Ugyen Wangchuck was not yet formally the King, but the role he took suggests that he was indeed the ruler for all practical purpose for many years before he was crowned King in 1907.

King Ugyen Wangchuck’s last visit to India took place in 1911, when he went to Delhi to meet King George V, the Prince of Wales when they met earlier in 1906 in Kolkata, the seat of Viceroy of India. The British Political Officer for Bhutan was Sir John Claude White until 1908 when he was succeeded by Charles Alfred Bell. John Claude White developed a deep respect for King Ugyen Wangchuck, wrote: "I have never met a native I liked and respected more than I do Sir Ugyen, he was upright, honest and straightforward." White took the photographs at the King's 1907 coronation. His Majesty King Ugyen Wangchuck was acutely conscious that Bhutan must to be protected through times of regional conflict and rivalries, his Majesty was exquisitely farsighted in updating the treaty of 1865 in 1910, with an additional clause. The new clause was; the clause was drawn up in the context of the British suspicion about the influence of the Chinese and Russians in Tibet, beyond. King Ugyen Wangchuck had close relationship with many Buddhist spiritual masters such as Lama Serkong Dorji Chang, Tertön Zilnon Namkha Dorji, the 15th Karmapa Khachyab Dorji.

In 1894, aged 33, he undertook the construction of Kurjey temple, one of the landmarks of Vajrayana Buddhism in the world. The middle lhakhang in Kurjey, with its towering Guru statue, was built in 1894 by King Ugyen Wangchuck, his Majesty was a great benefactor to the dratshangs throughout the country. As part of his vision for scholarship and education of young Bhutanese, he sent two groups of Bhutanese to study up to geshey level in Tibet. Twice, in 1915 and 1917, he sent batches of young monks to Zhenphen Choki Nangwa in Dokham, they returned to Bhutan and became influential geshes and lamas, serving as radiant sources of Buddhist teachings. One of the iconic pilgrimage centres of Buddhism is the Swayambhunath Temple in Kathmandu, a monastic enclave held by Bhutan, it was renovated with King Ugyen Wangchuck’s personal funds. Kagyu Lama Togden Shacha Shri, with whom King Ugyen Wangchuck corresponded a great deal, supervised the renovation on behalf of King Ugyen Wangchuck. King Ugyen's commitment was not only confined to spreading monastic education.

Following his visits to Kolkata and Delhi, he began to establish schools. The first were established in Lame Goenpa and Wangducholing, with 14 Bhutanese boys from both eastern and western Bhutan; the number increased to 46. By students were being sent to missionary schools in Kalimpong; those members of the first batch of students became important officials in 1940s. King Ugyen took the initiative to sow the seeds of western education, as well as strengthen the roots of dharma in Bhutan. In 1926, aged 64, King Ugyen died at Thinley Rabten Palace in Phodrang. Source: British Raj: Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire. Knight Commander of the Order of the Star of India. Delhi Durbar Gold Medal. Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire

Sherman Willard Tribbitt was an American merchant and politician from Odessa in New Castle County, Delaware. He was a veteran of World War II and was a member of the Democratic Party who served in the Delaware General Assembly, as the 17th Lieutenant Governor of Delaware and as the 67th Governor of Delaware. Tribbitt was born at Denton, the son of Sherman L. and Minnie Thawley Tribbitt. He married Jeanne Webb in 1943, they had three children, James and Sherman "Tip" and were members of the Presbyterian Church. He studied accounting at Beacom College in Wilmington and worked at the Security Trust Company in Wilmington. During World War II he served in the United States Navy. In early 1945 he was aboard the destroyer USS Frost in the North Atlantic when his unit received a Presidential Citation for sinking five U-Boats. Following World War II, he and his father-in-law operated the Odessa Supply Company in Odessa, where they lived. In 1956, Tribbitt was elected to the first of four terms in the Delaware House of Representatives, where he served from the 1957–58 session through the 1963–64 session.

He was the Speaker from the 1959–60 session through the 1963–64 session. Tribbitt prevailed in a difficult convention contest for the nomination and was elected Lieutenant Governor of Delaware in 1964, defeating William T. Best, a State Representative from Rehoboth Beach, he served as Lieutenant Governor from January 19, 1965 to January 21, 1969. Surprised to find Governor Charles L. Terry, Jr. wanted to serve two terms, Tribbitt had no choice but to run for a second term himself. Like Terry, he was narrowly defeated in the 1968 Republican landslide by Eugene D. Bookhammer, a State Senator from Lewes. Patiently planning a political recovery, Tribbitt was elected again to the Delaware House of Representatives in 1970 and was elected minority leader for the 1971–72 session; when Governor Russell W. Peterson stumbled over the state's finances, Tribbitt had another opportunity for the governorship and was elected Governor in 1972, defeating the incumbent Governor. Tribbitt inherited the same state financial picture.

In this time of high inflation there was constant pressure to raise salaries for teachers. The income tax rates were among the highest in the nation and the real answer was not obvious. There was an effort to levy a large tax on the one oil refinery in the state, but, derailed when the owner, J. Paul Getty, threatened to close the refinery; the union workers there opposed the legislation out of fear for their jobs. But the most serious financial crises involved the near-collapse of the Farmers' Bank of Delaware, it was the state's official bank, where all its funds were kept, as well as the place where large number of private investors had their life savings. The whole last year of Tribbitt's administration was spent trying to rectify the situation; the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation agreed to make a large investment in the bank, as well as buying many of its loans, but the state had to invest many millions as well. In 1981, in the next administration, the bank was sold. Tribbitt took other steps to raise revenue, including the beginning of the Delaware Lottery.

He created a new Department of Community Affairs and Economic Development to attract new industry to the state. Tribbitt sought a second term in 1976, but because of the unresolved financial situation, was defeated by U. S. Representative and scion of the du Pont family, Pierre S. du Pont, IV. Tribbitt made yet another bid for the office in 1984, losing the Democratic primary to former Delaware Supreme Court justice, William T. Quillen. In an unusual campaign tactic, Tribbitt refused to debate his court room trained opponent, saying that he would lose the debate. After leaving office he worked with the Delaware River Basin Commission and the Diamond Group consulting firm, he relocated his residence to Dover and to Rehoboth Beach. Sherman Tribbitt died on August 14, 2010, at a week after a severe fall, he had suffered from Alzheimer's disease. Jack Markell, Governor of Delaware at the time, ordered state flags lowered to half staff in Tribbitt's honor. Elections are held the first Tuesday after November 1.

Members of the Delaware General Assembly take office the second Tuesday of January. State Representatives have a two-year term; the Governor and Lieutenant Governor take office the third Tuesday of January and each has a four-year term. Delaware lunar sample displays Boyer, William W.. Governing Delaware. Newark, Delaware: University of Delaware Press. ISBN 1-892142-23-6. Hoffecker, Carol E.. Democracy in Delaware. Wilmington, Delaware: Cedar Tree Books. ISBN 1-892142-23-6. Martin, Roger A.. History of Delaware Through its Governors. Wilmington, Delaware: McClafferty Press. Martin, Roger A.. Memoirs of the Senate. Newark, Delaware: Roger A. Martin. Hall of Governors Portrait Gallery. Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States Delaware’s Governors The Political Graveyard Delaware Historical Society.