Pierre François Bosquet
Pierre François Joseph Bosquet was a French Army general. He served during the conquest of the Crimean War. Bosquet was born in Landes. Here he soon made himself remarkable not only for technical skill but the moral qualities indispensable for high command. Becoming captain in 1839, he distinguished himself at the actions of Sidi-Lakhdar and Oued-Melah, he was soon given the command of a battalion of native tirailleurs, in 1843 was thanked in general orders for his brilliant work against the Flittahs. In 1845 he became lieutenant-colonel, in 1847 colonel of a French line regiment. In the following year he was in charge of the Oran district, where his swift suppression of an insurrection won him further promotion to the grade of general of brigade, in which rank he went through the campaign of Kabulia, receiving a severe wound. In 1853 he returned to France after a general of division. Bosquet was amongst the earliest chosen to serve in the Crimean War, at the Battle of Alma his division led the French attack.
When the Anglo-French troops formed the siege of Sevastopol, Bosquet's corps of two divisions protected them against interruption. Referring to the Charge of the Light Brigade, Bosquet muttered the memorable line: C’est magnifique, mais ce n’est pas la guerre: c'est de la folie, his timely intervention at the Battle of Inkerman secured the victory for the allies. During 1855 Bosquet's corps occupied the right wing of the besieging armies opposite the Mamelon and Malakov, he himself led his corps at the storming of the Mamelon, at the grand assault of 8 September he was in command of the whole of the storming troops. In the struggle for the Malakov he received another serious wound. At the age of forty-five Bosquet, now one of the foremost soldiers in Europe, became a senator and a Marshal of France, but he was in poor health, he lived only a few years longer, he was awarded the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath, the Grand Cross of the Légion d'honneur and the Order of the Medjidie 1st Class.
Légion d'honneur Knight Officer Commander Grand Officer Grand Cross Médaille militaire Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Crimea Medal
Alingsås
Alingsås is a locality and the seat of Alingsås Municipality in Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 24,482 inhabitants in 2010. Geographically the city is situated by the outlet of the small rivulet Säveån into lake Mjörn. Communications are provided by the western main line railroad between Stockholm and Gothenburg, by motorway through the European route E20. Next to Alingsås you can find a small village called Sollebrunn. Alingsås was founded as inhabitants from the city Nya Lödöse were made homeless as Danish troops burnt it down. Gustavus Adolphus granted Alingsås its Royal Charter in 1619, which makes it older than Västra Götaland's largest city—Gothenburg, granted its charter in 1621. Among its historical inhabitants is Jonas Alströmer, born in Alingsås in 1685. Alströmer is credited for introducing the potato plant to Sweden, he established a large scale draper's industry there, which before long became Sweden's largest. However, some too-optimistic calculations, devastating fires and political setbacks forced its closure in 1779.
Alingsås is known for 26 in total. In different locations in Alingsås you can find several round craters carved in the rock; these are called Giant's Kettles, can vary a lot in size and depth. The biggest ones you can find in Brobacka, located on the way to Gräfsnäs; the Giant's Kettles are common visiting sites for schoolclasses in secondary school. Gräfsnäs slottsruin is a castle ruin located by the lake Anten, just outside Alingsås, it was built 1550 by the count Sten Eriksson Leijonhufvud, whom owned a castle on the other side of the lake, in Loholmen. After Erikssons death, 1568, his wife Ebba Månsson Leijonhufvud took care of the castle, it stayed in the care of the family until 1724. 1634 the castle burnt to the ground, but was rebuilt as a magnificent castle late renaissance style. 1734 it burned down again. 1834 two hundred years it had burnt for the first time, the castle was sold to Otto Ulfsparre for 110 000 barrels of schnapps. The day that the papers on the purchase were to be signed, the castle burnt - for the third time, with 100 years between each of the three occasions.
The last person living permanently in the castle was the fisherman Nils Andersson, who paid his rent in fish. When he died, the roof was removed due to the partying that the youths in the village were doing in the old castle. 1911 it was restored by Västergötland-Göteborgs Järnvägs AB, since 1930 it is cared for by Alingsås Municipality. Alingsås museum was founded in 1928, contains memorial collections of photographs, the archive of the municipality and host several exhibitions, it is. Karin Boye, a Swedish writer, committed suicide in a forest in the Alingsås city district Nolby in 1941; the place is now a memorial site, a popular visiting site for schoolclasses, taking the "Karin Boye tour". Alingsås has a rich cultural life, hosts a few different cultural events throughout the year. In October, Lights in Alingsås is held for one month. To help them, they get about 65 international students of architecture, together they have one week to create the vision of the lightning designers, who act as workshop leaders.
The public can either walk the tour themselves or in guided groups, it has over the years become popular internationally. The project is a cooperation between Alingsås Kommun and Professional Lighting Designers' Association since 2000. In the summer, a festival is hosted by Alingsås Kommun, called Potatisfestivalen, it is a city festival such as concerts and performances. Alingsås has several sports associations. Swimming, figure skating, ice hockey and field, soccer and floorball are some of the more popular sports. There are two health centres, which host different types of group training as well as providing training machines. AHK, the handball association of Alingsås, yearly hosts a tournament where teams from all over the country can join and play against each other, it is, according to the city's nickname, called Potatiscupen. The teams use the different schools in the area for accommodation. Holmalunds IF and Alingsås IF football clubs play in Division 3 Mellersta Götaland. Hjälmared Röhult Rosendal Dammhultet Västra Ängabo Östra Ängabo Gråbo Dammen Prästeryd Klinten Hjortgården Alefors Grimsholmen Nolby Kapell Kristineholm Holmalund Stampen Brogården Nolby Noltorp Enehagen Tegelbruket Nolhaga Sörhaga Kulingsberg Alfhem Lövekulle Eriksberg Mariedal Stadsskogen There is a data center here
Fabien Vehlmann
Fabien Vehlmann is a French comics writer best known for Green Manor and Seuls. Yvan Delporte dubbed him "The René Goscinny of the third millennium". Fabien Vehlmann, born in 1972 in Mont-de-Marsan, grew up in the Savoie, he studied in Nantes. He started writing comics in 1996, but only got to work for Spirou magazine the next year, where he provided short stories for the weekly summary of the magazine. Soon, some stories of a few pages followed, with artwork by a number of different artists, including Eric Maltaite and René Follet, his first recurring series was Green Manor with Denis Bodart. With Bruno Gazzotti he created Seuls. In January 2009, it was announced in Spirou magazine #3694 that Jean-David Morvan and José-Luis Munuera would be succeeded as the creative team behind the series Spirou et Fantasio by Yoann and Vehlmann, who had together created the first volume of Une aventure de Spirou et Fantasio par.... Their first album in the regular series is announced for October 2009. 2002: Iris award at the Prix Saint-Michel for Le Marquis d'Anaon 2002: nominated for the Angoulême International Comics Festival Award for Best Scenario for Green Manor 2002: nominated for the Angoulême International Comics Festival Award for First Comic Book for Samedi et Dimanche 2005: nominated for the Angoulême International Comics Festival Award for Best Scenario for Le Marquis d'Anaon 2006: nominated for Best comic at the Prix Saint-Michel for Seuls 2007: Prix des libraires BD, awarded by Canal BD, for Les cinq conteurs de Bagdad 2008: nominated for Best Youth Comic at the Prix Saint-Michel for Seuls 3 Biography at Dupuis Biographie at Evene.fr
Dassault Mirage IV
The Dassault Mirage IV was a French jet-propelled supersonic strategic bomber and deep-reconnaissance aircraft. Developed by Dassault Aviation, the aircraft entered service with the French Air Force in October 1964. For many years it was a vital part of the nuclear triad of the Force de Frappe, France's nuclear deterrent striking force; the Mirage IV was retired from the nuclear strike role in 1996, the type was retired from operational service in 2005. During the 1960s, there were plans of export sales for the Mirage IV; the Mirage IV was not adopted by any other operators beyond the French Air Force. During the 1950s, France embarked on an extensive military program to produce nuclear weapons. Thus, the development of a supersonic bomber designed to carry out the delivery mission started in 1956 as a part of the wider development of France's independent nuclear deterrent. In May 1956, the Guy Mollet government drew up a specification for an aerially-refuelable supersonic bomber capable of carrying a 3-metric-ton, 5.2-meter-long nuclear bomb 2,000 km.
According to aviation authors Bill Gunston and Peter Gilchrist, the specification's inclusion of supersonic speed was "surprising" to many at the time. The final specifications, jointly defined by government authorities and Dassault staff, were approved on 20 March 1957. Sud Aviation and Nord Aviation both based on existing aircraft. Dassault's proposal for what became the Mirage IV was chosen on the basis of lower cost and anticipated simpler development, being based upon a proposed early 1956 twin-engined night-fighter derived from the Dassault Mirage III fighter and the unbuilt Mirage II interceptor. In April 1957, Dassault were informed. Dassault's resulting prototype, dubbed Mirage IV 01, looked a lot like the Mirage IIIA though it had double the wing surface, two engines instead of one, twice the unladen weight; the Mirage IV carried three times more internal fuel than the Mirage III. The aircraft's aerodynamic features were similar to the III's but required an new structure and layout.
This prototype was 20 metres long, had a 11 metres wingspan, 62 square metres of wing area, weighed 25,000 kilograms. It was more advanced than the Mirage III, incorporating new features such as machined and chem-milled planks, tapered sheets, a small amount of titanium, integral fuel tanks in many locations including the leading portion of the tailfin; the 01 was an experimental prototype built to explore and solve the problems stemming from prolonged supersonic flight. The sizable technological and operational uncertainties were only one part of the problem; the weapon-related issues were the other. It took 18 months to build the 01 in Dassault's Saint-Cloud plant near Paris. In late 1958, the aircraft was transferred to the Melun-Villaroche flight testing area for finishing touches and ground tests. On 17 June 1959, French General Roland Glavany, on a five-year leave from the French Air Force since 1954, took the 01 into the air for its maiden flight. For its third flight, on 20 June 1959, the 01 was authorized to fly over the Paris Air Show at Le Bourget airport in front of France's President Charles de Gaulle.
On 19 September 1960, René Bigand increased the world record for speed on a 1000-kilometre closed circuit to 1,822 km/h around Paris and the Melun air force base. Flight 138, on 23 September, corroborated the initial performance and pushed the record on a 500 km closed circuit to an average of 1,972 km/h, flying between Mach 2.08 and Mach 2.14. The Mirage IV 01 prototype underwent minor modifications during testing in the autumn of 1959, most noticeably, the tail was enlarged. In order to increase range, studies were made of a larger Mirage IVB design, powered by two SNECMA license-built Pratt & Whitney J75 engines and having a wing area of 120 m² compared to 70 m² of the prototype IV, as well as a speed of Mach 2.4 and a gross weight of 64,000 kilograms. The Mirage IVB proposal had been instigated as a response to interest by Charles de Gaulle in ensuring that two-way strike missions could be flown. However, development of the aircraft was cancelled in July 1959 due to the greater cost involved, a decision having been taken to rely upon aerial refueling instead being a factor.
With the Mirage IVB considered to be too expensive, the medium-sized Mirage IVA larger than the first prototype, was chosen for three more prototypes to be produced. This aircraft had a wing area of 77.9 square metres and weighed about 32,000 kilograms On 4 April 1960, a formal order for 50 production Mirage IVA aircraft was issued. The three prototype aircraft were built between 1961 and 1963, with first flights on 12 October 1961, 1 June 1962, 23 January 1963. By 1962, the second prototype had conducted simulated nuclear bombing runs in the trials range a
Donjon Lacataye
The Donjon Lacataye is the keep of a 14th-century castle, constructed by order of Gaston Phébus in the commune of Mont-de-Marsan in the Landes département of France. Today, it houses a museum. La Cataye consists of two joined Romanesque houses, which one sees while entering the current museum whose central internal wall includes Romanesque windows, a sign that one of the two houses was built before the second; these houses belonged to the Viscount's family and were more or less abandoned starting from the 15th century, when the Viscounts moved away from their town of origin. During the 16th century, their upper parts were modified and they were equipped with crenellations; the material used is a local sedimentary rock. The name Cataye comes from the Spanish verb "castar", it is possible that these houses replaced a preceding mound structure with tower because the site is called: “pujorin”, i.e. “pouy jorin”. In 1860, Antoine Lacaze and owner of the keep, gave it to the town to house troops, it became the departmental barracks until 1875, when the soldiers moved to the Bosquet barracks in the town.
The keep preserved the name Caserne Lacaze for nearly a century, in spite of a succession of civil uses: boarding school for young girls, gymnastics centre, municipal workshop. In 1968, mayor Charles Lamarque-Cando inaugurated in the keep a museum of modern figurative sculpture, dedicated to two local artists, Charles Despiau and Robert Wlérick, it has been listed since 1942 as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture. List of castles in France Despiau-Wlérick Museum official website French Ministry of Culture listing for Donjon Lacataye
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic premise – to identify which of two or more horses is the fastest over a set course or distance – has been unchanged since at least classical antiquity. Horse races vary in format and many countries have developed their own particular traditions around the sport. Variations include restricting races to particular breeds, running over obstacles, running over different distances, running on different track surfaces and running in different gaits. While horses are sometimes raced purely for sport, a major part of horse racing's interest and economic importance is in the gambling associated with it, an activity that in 2008 generated a worldwide market worth around US$115 billion. Horse racing has a long and distinguished history and has been practised in civilisations across the world since ancient times. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in Ancient Greece, Babylon and Egypt.
It plays an important part of myth and legend, such as the contest between the steeds of the god Odin and the giant Hrungnir in Norse mythology. Chariot racing was one of the most popular ancient Greek and Byzantine sports. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC and were important in the other Panhellenic Games, it continued although chariot racing was dangerous to both driver and horse, which suffered serious injury and death. In the Roman Empire and mounted horse racing were major industries. From the mid-fifteenth century until 1882, spring carnival in Rome closed with a horse race. Fifteen to 20 riderless horses imported from the Barbary Coast of North Africa, were set loose to run the length of the Via del Corso, a long, straight city street. In times, Thoroughbred racing became, remains, popular with aristocrats and royalty of British society, earning it the title "Sport of Kings". Equestrians honed their skills through games and races. Equestrian sports provided entertainment for crowds and displayed the excellent horsemanship needed in battle.
Horse racing of all types evolved from impromptu competitions between drivers. The various forms of competition, requiring demanding and specialized skills from both horse and rider, resulted in the systematic development of specialized breeds and equipment for each sport; the popularity of equestrian sports through the centuries has resulted in the preservation of skills that would otherwise have disappeared after horses stopped being used in combat. There are many different types of horse racing, including: Flat racing, where horses gallop directly between two points around a straight or oval track. Jump racing, or Jumps racing known as Steeplechasing or, in the UK and Ireland, National Hunt racing, where horses race over obstacles. Harness racing, where horses trot or pace while pulling a driver in a sulky. Saddle Trotting, where horses must trot from a starting point to a finishing point under saddle Endurance racing, where horses travel across country over extreme distances ranging from 25 to 100 miles.
Different breeds of horses have developed. Breeds that are used for flat racing include the Thoroughbred, Quarter Horse, Arabian and Appaloosa. Jump racing breeds include the Thoroughbred and AQPS. In harness racing, Standardbreds are used in Australia, New Zealand and North America, when in Europe and French Trotter are used with Standardbred. Light cold blood horses, such as Finnhorses and Scandinavian coldblood trotter are used in harness racing within their respective geographical areas. There are races for ponies: both flat and jump and harness racing. Flat racing is the most common form of racing seen worldwide. Flat racing tracks are oval in shape and are level, although in Great Britain and Ireland there is much greater variation, including figure of eight tracks like Windsor and tracks with severe gradients and changes of camber, such as Epsom Racecourse. Track surfaces vary, with turf most common in Europe, dirt more common in North America and Asia, newly designed synthetic surfaces, such as Polytrack or Tapeta, seen at some tracks.
Individual flat races are run over distances ranging from 440 yards up to two and a half miles, with distances between five and twelve furlongs being most common. Short races are referred to as "sprints", while longer races are known as "routes" in the United States or "staying races" in Europe. Although fast acceleration is required to win either type of race, in general sprints are seen as a test of speed, while long distance races are seen as a test of stamina; the most prestigious flat races in the world, such as the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, Melbourne Cup, Japan Cup, Epsom Derby, Kentucky Derby and Dubai World Cup, are run over distances in the middle of this range and are seen as tests of both speed and stamina to some extent. In the most prestigious races, horses are allocated the same weight to carry for fairness, with allowances given to younger horses and female horses running against males; these races offer the biggest purses. There is another category of races called handicap races where each horse is assigned a different weight to carry based on its ability.
Beside the weight they carry, horses' performance can be influenced by position relative to the inside barrier, gender and training. Jump racing in Gr
Sweden
Sweden the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Scandinavian Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north and Finland to the east, is connected to Denmark in the southwest by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund, a strait at the Swedish-Danish border. At 450,295 square kilometres, Sweden is the largest country in Northern Europe, the third-largest country in the European Union and the fifth largest country in Europe by area. Sweden has a total population of 10.2 million. It has a low population density of 22 inhabitants per square kilometre; the highest concentration is in the southern half of the country. Germanic peoples have inhabited Sweden since prehistoric times, emerging into history as the Geats and Swedes and constituting the sea peoples known as the Norsemen. Southern Sweden is predominantly agricultural, while the north is forested. Sweden is part of the geographical area of Fennoscandia; the climate is in general mild for its northerly latitude due to significant maritime influence, that in spite of this still retains warm continental summers.
Today, the sovereign state of Sweden is a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy, with a monarch as head of state, like its neighbour Norway. The capital city is Stockholm, the most populous city in the country. Legislative power is vested in the 349-member unicameral Riksdag. Executive power is exercised by the government chaired by the prime minister. Sweden is a unitary state divided into 21 counties and 290 municipalities. An independent Swedish state emerged during the early 12th century. After the Black Death in the middle of the 14th century killed about a third of the Scandinavian population, the Hanseatic League threatened Scandinavia's culture and languages; this led to the forming of the Scandinavian Kalmar Union in 1397, which Sweden left in 1523. When Sweden became involved in the Thirty Years War on the Reformist side, an expansion of its territories began and the Swedish Empire was formed; this became one of the great powers of Europe until the early 18th century. Swedish territories outside the Scandinavian Peninsula were lost during the 18th and 19th centuries, ending with the annexation of present-day Finland by Russia in 1809.
The last war in which Sweden was directly involved was in 1814, when Norway was militarily forced into personal union. Since Sweden has been at peace, maintaining an official policy of neutrality in foreign affairs; the union with Norway was peacefully dissolved in 1905. Sweden was formally neutral through both world wars and the Cold War, albeit Sweden has since 2009 moved towards cooperation with NATO. After the end of the Cold War, Sweden joined the European Union on 1 January 1995, but declined NATO membership, as well as Eurozone membership following a referendum, it is a member of the United Nations, the Nordic Council, the Council of Europe, the World Trade Organization and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Sweden maintains a Nordic social welfare system that provides universal health care and tertiary education for its citizens, it has the world's eleventh-highest per capita income and ranks in numerous metrics of national performance, including quality of life, education, protection of civil liberties, economic competitiveness, equality and human development.
The name Sweden was loaned from Dutch in the 17th century to refer to Sweden as an emerging great power. Before Sweden's imperial expansion, Early Modern English used Swedeland. Sweden is derived through back-formation from Old English Swēoþēod, which meant "people of the Swedes"; this word is derived from Sweon/Sweonas. The Swedish name Sverige means "realm of the Swedes", excluding the Geats in Götaland. Variations of the name Sweden are used in most languages, with the exception of Danish and Norwegian using Sverige, Faroese Svøríki, Icelandic Svíþjóð, the more notable exception of some Finnic languages where Ruotsi and Rootsi are used, names considered as referring to the people from the coastal areas of Roslagen, who were known as the Rus', through them etymologically related to the English name for Russia; the etymology of Swedes, thus Sweden, is not agreed upon but may derive from Proto-Germanic Swihoniz meaning "one's own", referring to one's own Germanic tribe. Sweden's prehistory begins in the Allerød oscillation, a warm period around 12,000 BC, with Late Palaeolithic reindeer-hunting camps of the Bromme culture at the edge of the ice in what is now the country's southernmost province, Scania.
This period was characterised by small bands of hunter-gatherer-fishers using flint technology. Sweden is first described in a written source in Germania by Tacitus in 98 AD. In Germania 44 and 45 he mentions the Swedes as a powerful tribe with ships that had a prow at each end. Which kings ruled these Suiones is unknown, but Norse mythology presents a long line of legendary and semi-legendary kings going back to the last centuries BC; as for literacy in Sweden itself, the runic script was in use among the south Scandinavian elite by at least the 2nd century AD, but all that has come down to the present from the Roman Period is curt inscriptions on artefacts of male names, demonstrating th
Tudela, Navarre, Spain
Alingsås, Sweden
