1.
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
2.
Louisiana
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Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Louisiana is the 31st most extensive and the 25th most populous of the 50 United States and its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the state in the U. S. with political subdivisions termed parishes. The largest parish by population is East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana is bordered by Arkansas to the north, Mississippi to the east, Texas to the west, and the Gulf of Mexico to the south. Much of the lands were formed from sediment washed down the Mississippi River, leaving enormous deltas and vast areas of coastal marsh. These contain a rich southern biota, typical examples include birds such as ibis, there are also many species of tree frogs, and fish such as sturgeon and paddlefish. In more elevated areas, fire is a process in the landscape. These support a large number of plant species, including many species of orchids. Louisiana has more Native American tribes than any other state, including four that are federally recognized, ten that are state recognized. Before the American purchase of the territory in 1803, the current Louisiana State had been both a French colony and for a period, a Spanish one. In addition, colonists imported numerous African people as slaves in the 18th century, many came from peoples of the same region of West Africa, thus concentrating their culture. Louisiana was named after Louis XIV, King of France from 1643 to 1715, when René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle claimed the territory drained by the Mississippi River for France, he named it La Louisiane. The suffix -ana is a Latin suffix that can refer to information relating to an individual, subject. Thus, roughly, Louis + ana carries the idea of related to Louis, the Gulf of Mexico did not exist 250 million years ago when there was but one supercontinent, Pangea. As Pangea split apart, the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico opened, Louisiana slowly developed, over millions of years, from water into land, and from north to south. The oldest rocks are exposed in the north, in such as the Kisatchie National Forest. The oldest rocks date back to the early Tertiary Era, some 60 million years ago, the history of the formation of these rocks can be found in D. Spearings Roadside Geology of Louisiana. The sediments were carried north to south by the Mississippi River
3.
World Chess Championship
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The World Chess Championship is played to determine the World Champion in chess. From 1886 to 1946, the set the terms, requiring any challenger to raise a sizable stake. From 1948 to 1993, the championship was administered by FIDE, in 1993, the reigning champion broke away from FIDE, which led to the creation of the rival PCA championship. The titles were unified at the World Chess Championship 2006, other separate events and titles are the Womens World Chess Championship, the World Junior Chess Championship, and the World Senior Chess Championship. There is also a World Computer Chess Championship, which is the only event computers may participate in, the concept of a world chess champion started to emerge in the first half of the 19th century, and the phrase world champion appeared in 1845. Until 1948 world championship contests were matches arranged privately between the players, as a result, the players also had to arrange the funding, in the form of stakes provided by enthusiasts who wished to bet on one of the players. In the early 20th century this was sometimes a barrier that prevented or delayed challenges for the title, however these attempts were unsuccessful in practice, as the same issues continued to delay or prevent challenges. The first attempt by an organization to manage the world championship was in 1887–89. A system for managing regular contests for the title went into operation in 1948, under the control of FIDE, however, in that year reigning champion Kasparov and challenger Short were so dissatisfied with FIDEs arrangements for their match that they set up a break-away organization. The first match proclaimed by the players as for the championship was the match that Wilhelm Steinitz won against Johannes Zukertort in 1886. However, a line of players regarded as the strongest in the world extends back hundreds of years beyond them, and they include Ruy López de Segura around 1560, Paolo Boi and Leonardo da Cutri around 1575, Alessandro Salvio around 1600, and Gioachino Greco around 1623. At present de La Bourdonnais, like Alexander the Great, is without heir, the earliest recorded use of the term World Champion was in 1845, when Howard Staunton was described as the Chess Champion of England, or. The winner of the battle in Paris should not be proud of his special position. Although Kennedy was a member of the committee for the tournament. The 1851 London tournament was won by the German Adolf Anderssen, Anderssen has been described as the first modern chess master. Anderssen was himself defeated in an 1858 match against the American Paul Morphy. Morphy played matches against several leading players, crushing them all, soon after, Morphy offered pawn and move odds to anyone who played him. Finding no takers, he retired from chess the following year
4.
Chess
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Chess is a two-player strategy board game played on a chessboard, a checkered gameboard with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. Chess is played by millions of people worldwide, both amateurs and professionals, each player begins the game with 16 pieces, one king, one queen, two rooks, two knights, two bishops, and eight pawns. Each of the six piece types moves differently, with the most powerful being the queen, the objective is to checkmate the opponents king by placing it under an inescapable threat of capture. To this end, a players pieces are used to attack and capture the opponents pieces, in addition to checkmate, the game can be won by voluntary resignation by the opponent, which typically occurs when too much material is lost, or if checkmate appears unavoidable. A game may result in a draw in several ways. Chess is believed to have originated in India, some time before the 7th century, chaturanga is also the likely ancestor of the Eastern strategy games xiangqi, janggi and shogi. The pieces took on their current powers in Spain in the late 15th century, the first generally recognized World Chess Champion, Wilhelm Steinitz, claimed his title in 1886. Since 1948, the World Championship has been controlled by FIDE, the international governing body. There is also a Correspondence Chess World Championship and a World Computer Chess Championship, online chess has opened amateur and professional competition to a wide and varied group of players. There are also many variants, with different rules, different pieces. FIDE awards titles to skilled players, the highest of which is grandmaster, many national chess organizations also have a title system. However, these are not recognised by FIDE, the term master may refer to a formal title or may be used more loosely for any skilled player. Until recently, chess was a sport of the International Olympic Committee. Chess was included in the 2006 and 2010 Asian Games, since the 1990s, computer analysis has contributed significantly to chess theory, particularly in the endgame. The computer IBM Deep Blue was the first machine to overcome a reigning World Chess Champion in a match when it defeated Garry Kasparov in 1997, the rise of strong computer programs that can be run on hand-held devices has led to increasing concerns about cheating during tournaments. The official rules of chess are maintained by FIDE, chesss international governing body, along with information on official chess tournaments, the rules are described in the FIDE Handbook, Laws of Chess section. Chess is played on a board of eight rows and eight columns. The colors of the 64 squares alternate and are referred to as light, the chessboard is placed with a light square at the right-hand end of the rank nearest to each player
5.
Chess title
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A chess title is a title created by a chess governing body and bestowed upon players based on their performance and rank. Such titles are granted for life. The most prestigious titles are granted by the international chess governing body FIDE. In general, a master is a player of such skill that he or she can usually beat most amateurs. Among chess players, the term is abbreviated to master. The establishment of the world body, Fédération Internationale des Échecs. In 1950 FIDE created the titles Grandmaster and International Master, the requirements for which were increasingly formalized over the years, in 1978 FIDE created the lesser title of FIDE Master. From the beginning of recorded chess, to the establishment of the first chess organizations, strong players demonstrated their strength in play, and gained the informal reputation of being chess masters. As chess became more widespread in the half of the 19th century. One of the most prestigious events of the time was the DSB Congress, the DSBs standard for the title of Master was the Meisterdrittel, i. e. to win at least one third of the games in the premiere tournament at a DSB Congress. The winner of the Hauptturnier or reserve event was entitled to compete in the event in the next congress. Grandmaster is awarded to world-class chess masters, apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain. There are also other milestones a player can achieve to attain the title, the conditions are similar to GM, but less demanding. The minimum rating for the IM title is 2400, the usual way for a player to qualify for the FIDE Master title is by achieving a FIDE Rating of 2300 or more. Similar to FM, but with a FIDE Rating of at least 2200, all the titles listed above are open to men and women. Separate women-only titles, such as Woman Grandmaster, are also available, beginning with Nona Gaprindashvili in 1978, many women have also earned the unsegregated GM title. Some national chess federations award titles such as National Master, National chess federations are free to set whatever standards they want for such titles, which are not recognized by FIDE. In some cases, it may extend to honorary titles awarded to prominent chess administrators, since the introduction of the FIDE Master title in 1978, some federations such as those of Ireland and Germany have ceased awarding National Master titles, apparently regarding them as obsolete
6.
Chess prodigy
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Chess prodigies are children who can beat experienced adult players and even Masters at chess. Expectations can be high for chess prodigies, while some become World Champions, others show little or no progress in adulthood. Morphy went on to be unofficial World Champion, Capablanca became the third World Champion, one measure of chess prodigies is the age at which they gain the Grandmaster title. Below are players who have held the record for youngest grandmaster, the record has been held by Sergey Karjakin since 2002. The age listed is the age at which they qualified for the title and this is not equal to the age at which they officially became Grandmasters, because GM titles can only be awarded at FIDE congresses. Note, all players are listed by their nationality at the time of gaining the title, not their current or later nationality
7.
Bobby Fischer
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Robert James Bobby Fischer was an American chess grandmaster and the eleventh World Chess Champion. Many consider him to be the greatest chess player of all time, in 1975, Fischer refused to defend his title when an agreement could not be reached with FIDE, the games international governing body, over one of the conditions for the match. This allowed Soviet GM Anatoly Karpov, who had won the qualifying Candidates cycle, Fischer showed skill at an early age. At age 13, he won a brilliancy that became known as The Game of the Century, starting at age 14, Fischer played in eight United States Championships, winning each by at least a one-point margin. At age 15, Fischer became both the youngest grandmaster up to time and the youngest candidate for the World Championship. At age 20, Fischer won the 1963–64 U. S, Championship with 11/11, the only perfect score in the history of the tournament. His book My 60 Memorable Games is regarded as a work of chess literature. Fischer won the 1970 Interzonal Tournament by a record 3½-point margin and won 20 consecutive games, in July 1971, he became the first official FIDE number-one-rated player. After losing his title as World Chess Champion, Fischer became reclusive and sometimes erratic, in 1992 he reemerged to win an unofficial rematch against Spassky. It was held in Yugoslavia, which was under a United Nations embargo at the time and his participation led to a conflict with the U. S. government, which sought income tax on Fischers match winnings, and ultimately issued a warrant for his arrest. After that, he lived his life as an émigré, in 2004 he was arrested in Japan and held for several months for using a passport that had been revoked by the U. S. government. Eventually, he was granted an Icelandic passport and citizenship by an act of the Icelandic Althing, allowing him to live in Iceland until his death in 2008. In the 1990s, Fischer patented a modified chess timing system and he also invented a new variant of chess named Fischerandom. Fischer made numerous contributions to chess. Bobby Fischer was born at Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago, Illinois and his birth certificate listed his father as Hans-Gerhardt Fischer, also known as Gerardo Liebscher, a German biophysicist. His mother, Regina Wender Fischer, was a US citizen, Regina was born in Switzerland, raised in St. Louis, Missouri, Regina became a teacher, registered nurse, and later a physician. After graduating from college in her teens, Regina traveled to Germany to visit her brother and it was there she met geneticist and future Nobel Prize winner Hermann Joseph Muller, who persuaded her to move to Moscow to study medicine. She enrolled at I. M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, where she met Hans-Gerhardt, in 1938, Hans and Regina had a daughter, Joan Fischer
8.
Alexander Meek
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Alexander Beaufort Meek (July 17,1814 – November 30,1865 was an American politician, lawyer, judge, chess player, writer and poet. He served as Alabamas Attorney General in 1836, an oration before the Phi Kappa and Demosthenian societies of the University of Georgia, at Athens, August 8,1844, Charleston, Burges and James, printers,1844,39 p. A digest of the laws of the state of Alabama, with John Gaston Aikin, tuscaloosa, Ala. D. Woodruff,1836, 664p. A poem of the South, New York, D. Appleton & company,1855,108 p. Montgomery, the Paragon press,1914 Romantic passages in southwestern history, including orations, sketches and essays, New York, Mobile, S. H. Reprint Co.1975 Songs and poems of the South, New York, Mobile, the South west, its history, character, and prospects, Tuscalossa, C. B
9.
Louis Paulsen
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Louis Paulsen was a German chess player. In the 1860s and 1870s, he was among the top five players in the world and he was a younger brother of Wilfried Paulsen. Paulsen was one of the first players to challenge the notion that an attack could be constructed out of brilliance and he put forward the idea that any brilliant attack would have failed against correct defence. Paul Morphy and Paulsen were early masters of the game and of blindfold chess, in 1862 Paulsen challenged Adolf Anderssen for the world championship. The eight-game match was a tie and Anderssen remained a world champion. Paulsen defeated Anderssen in matches in 1876 and 1877, Paulsen has many contributions in the opening theory such as the Sicilian Dragon, the Sicilian Paulsen variation, French Defense Paulsen Attack and Vienna Game Paulsen variation. Paulsen Pawns is a term coined by Nimzowitsch for a pawn centre with two pawns on squares d6 and e6 for Black or d3 and e3 for White, often coupled with an open c-file. This restricted centre makes it difficult for the opponent to whip up an attack by advancing his centre. Paulsen pawns are the stalwart of the Paulsen Variation of the Sicilian Defence, the modern form of the Dragon was originated by Paulsen around 1880. It was played frequently by Henry Bird that decade, then received general acceptance around 1900, in chess, the Dragon Variation is one of the main lines of the Sicilian Defence and begins with the moves,1. Nc3 g6 In the Dragon, Black fianchettoes his bishop on the h8–a1 diagonal, the line is one of the sharpest variations of the Sicilian Defence, making it one of the sharpest of all chess openings. A less famous variation in the Sicilian defence is the Paulsen variation. The line goes as follows,1. e4 c52. Nf3 e63. d4 cxd44. Nxd4 a6 or 1. e4 c52. Nf3 e63. d4 cxd44. Nxd4 Nc65. Nc3 a6 The move 7. Bb5 in the Scotch Game is associated with Paulsens name, as the Paulsen Attack,1, louis Paulsen player profile and games at Chessgames. com
10.
Howard Staunton
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Howard Staunton was an English chess master who is generally regarded as having been the worlds strongest player from 1843 to 1851, largely as a result of his 1843 victory over Saint-Amant. He promoted a set of clearly distinguishable pieces of standardised shape—the Staunton pattern promulgated by Nathaniel Cook—that is still the style required for competitions. From 1840 onwards he became a chess commentator, and won matches against top players of the 1840s. In 1847 he entered a career as a Shakespearean scholar. Ill health and his two writing careers led him to give up competitive chess after 1851, in 1858 attempts were made to organise a match between Staunton and Paul Morphy, but they failed. Modern commentators consider Stauntons understanding of play to have been far ahead of his contemporaries. Although not an all-out attacking player, he attacked when his preparations were complete and his chess articles and books were widely read and encouraged the development of chess in the United Kingdom, and his Chess-Players Handbook was a reference for decades. The chess openings the English Opening and Staunton Gambit were named for his advocacy of them, Staunton has been a controversial figure since his own time, and his chess writings could be spiteful. On the other hand, he maintained good working relationships with strong players and influential chess enthusiasts. Most information about Stauntons early life is based on claims he made, record of his birth or baptism has never been found. The chess historian H. J. R, in 1836 Staunton came to London, where he took out a subscription for William Greenwood Walkers Games at Chess, actually played in London, by the late Alexander McDonnell Esq. Staunton was apparently twenty-six when he took a serious interest in chess and he said that at that time the strongest players he saw in London, Saint-Amant and George Walker, could easily have given him rook odds. In 1838 he played games with Captain Evans, inventor of the Evans Gambit. He had improved sufficiently by 1840 to win a match against the German master H. W. Popert, from May to December 1840 Staunton edited a chess column for the New Court Gazette. Early in 1843 Staunton prevailed in a series of games against John Cochrane. Chessmetrics treats these games incorrectly as one match when it was in fact a series of matches, a little later that year he lost a short match in London against the visiting French player Saint-Amant, who was generally regarded as the worlds strongest active player. Staunton challenged Saint-Amant to a match to be played in Paris for a stake of £100. Then he prepared new opening lines, especially those beginning 1. c4 and he also took Thomas Worrall and Harry Wilson to Paris as his assistants, this is the first known case where seconds were used in a match
11.
Spaniards
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Within Spain there are a number of nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the countrys complex history and diverse culture. There are several commonly spoken languages, most notably Basque. There are many populations outside Spain with ancestors who emigrated from Spain, the Roman Republic conquered Iberia during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC. As a result of Roman colonization, the majority of languages, with the exception of Basque. The Germanic Vandals and Suebi, with part of the Iranian Alans under King Respendial conquered the peninsula in 409 AD. The Iberian Peninsula was conquered and brought under the rule of the Arab Umayyads in 711 and by the Berber North African dynasties the Almohads, in the early 16th century the Kingdom of Navarre was also conquered. In parallel, a wave of emigration began to the Americas began with over 16 million people emigrating to the Americas during the colonial period. In the post-colonial period, a further 3.5 million Spanish left for the Americas, particularly Argentina, Uruguay, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, as a result, Spanish-descendants in Latin America number in the hundreds of millions. Spain is home to one of the largest communities of Romani people, the Spanish Roma, which belong to the Iberian Kale subgroup, are a formerly-nomadic community, which spread across Western Asia, North Africa, and Europe, first reaching Spain in the 15th century. The population of Spain is became increasingly diverse due to recent immigration, the earliest modern humans inhabiting Spain are believed to have been Neolithic peoples who may have arrived in the Iberian Peninsula as early as 35, 000–40,000 years ago. In more recent times the Iberians are believed to have arrived or developed in the region between the 4th millennium BC and the 3rd millennium BC, initially settling along the Mediterranean coast, celts settled in Spain during the Iron Age. Some of those tribes in North-central Spain, which had contact with the Iberians, are called Celtiberians. In addition, a known as the Tartessians and later Turdetanians inhabited southwestern Spain. The seafaring Phoenicians, Greeks, and Carthaginians successively founded trading colonies along the Mediterranean coast over a period of several centuries, the Second Punic War between the Carthaginians and Romans was fought mainly in what is now Spain and Portugal. The Roman Republic conquered Iberia during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC transformed most of the region into a series of Latin-speaking provinces, hispania emerged as an important part of the Roman Empire and produced notable historical figures such as Trajan, Hadrian, Seneca and Quintilian. The Germanic Vandals and Suebi, with part of the Iranian Alans under King Respendial, the Suebi became the first Germanic kingdom to convert officially to Roman Catholicism in 447 AD. under king Rechiar. After two centuries of domination by the Visigothic Kingdom, the Iberian Peninsula was invaded by a Muslim force under Tariq Bin Ziyad in 711 and this army consisted mainly ethnic Berbers from the Ghomara tribe, which were reinforced by Arabs from Syria once the conquest was complete. Muslim Iberia became part of the Umayyad Caliphate and would be known as Al-Andalus, the Berbers of Al Andalus revolted as early as 740 AD, halting Arab expansion across the Pyrenees into France
12.
Portuguese people
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Portuguese people are an ethnic group indigenous to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and their predominant religion is Christianity, Portuguese people were a key factor to the Age of Exploration, discovering several lands unknown to the Europeans in the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania, helping to pave the way for Globalization. There are around 10 million native Portuguese in Portugal, out of a population of 10.34 million. A small minority of about 15,000 speak the Mirandese language, in the municipalities of Miranda do Douro, Vimioso, all of the speakers are bilingual with Portuguese. An even smaller minority of no more than 2,000 people speak Barranquenho, some people from the former colonies have been migrating to Portugal since the 1900s. More recently, a number of Slavs, especially Ukrainians, Moldovans, Romanians and Russians. There is also a Chinese minority, in addition, there is a small minority Gypsies of about 40,000 people, Muslims about 34,000 people and an even smaller minority of Jews of about 5,000 people. Between 1886 and 1966, Portugal lost to more than any West European country except Ireland. From the middle of the 19th century to the late 1950s, about 40 million Brazilians have relatively recent Portuguese background, due to massive immigration in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. About 1.2 million Brazilian citizens are native Portuguese, significant verified Portuguese minorities exist in several countries. Portuguese Sephardic Jews are also in Israel, the Netherlands, the United States, France, Venezuela, Brazil, in Brazil many of the colonists were also originally Sephardic Jews, who, converted, were known as New Christians. In the United States, there are Portuguese communities in New Jersey, the New England states, in the Pacific, Hawaii has a sizable Portuguese element that goes back 150 years, Australia and New Zealand also have Portuguese communities. Canada, particularly Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia, has developed a significant Portuguese community since 1940, argentina and Uruguay had Portuguese immigration in the early 20th century. So has Chile where an estimated 50,000 descendants live, an estimated 800,000 Portuguese returned to Portugal as the countrys African possessions gained independence in 1975, after the Carnation Revolution, while others moved to Brazil and South Africa. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Equatorial Guinea, in 1989 some 4,000,000 Portuguese were living abroad, mainly in France, Germany, Brazil, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Canada, Venezuela, and the United States. Portuguese constitute 13% of the population of Luxembourg, in areas such as Thetford and the crown dependencies of Jersey and Guernsey, the Portuguese form the largest ethnic minority groups at 30% of the population, 20% and 3% respectively. The British capital London is home to the largest number of Portuguese people in the UK, with the majority being found in the boroughs of Kensington and Chelsea, Lambeth and Westminster. The Portuguese diaspora communities still are very attached to their language, their culture and their national dishes, in colonial times, over 700,000 Portuguese settled in Brazil, and most of them went there during the gold rush of the 18th century
13.
Irish people
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The Irish people are a nation and ethnic group native to the island of Ireland, who share a common Irish ancestry, identity and culture. Ireland has been inhabited for about 9,000 years according to archaeological studies, for most of Irelands recorded history, the Irish have been primarily a Gaelic people. Today, Ireland is made up of the Republic of Ireland, the people of Northern Ireland hold various national identities, including Irish, Northern Irish, British, or some combination thereof. The Irish have their own customs, language, music, dance, sports, cuisine, although Irish was their main language in the past, today the huge majority of Irish people speak English as their first language. Historically, the Irish nation was made up of kin groups or clans, there have been many notable Irish people throughout history. After Irelands conversion to Christianity, Irish missionaries and scholars exerted great influence on Western Europe, the 6th-century Irish monk and missionary Columbanus is regarded as one of the fathers of Europe, followed by saints Cillian and Fergal. The scientist Robert Boyle is considered the father of chemistry, famous Irish writers include Oscar Wilde, W. B. Yeats, George Bernard Shaw, Bram Stoker and James Joyce, notable Irish explorers include Brendan the Navigator, Robert McClure, Ernest Shackleton and Tom Crean. By some accounts, the first European child born in North America had Irish descent on both sides, many presidents of the United States have had some Irish ancestry. The population of Ireland is about 6.3 million, but it is estimated that 50 to 80 million people around the world have Irish forebears, historically, emigration from Ireland has been the result of conflict, famine and economic issues. People of Irish descent are mainly in English-speaking countries, especially the United Kingdom. There are also significant numbers in Argentina, Mexico and New Zealand, the United States has the most people of Irish descent, while in Australia those of Irish descent are a higher percentage of the population than in any other country. Many Icelanders have Irish and Scottish Gaelic forebears, in its summary of their article Who were the Celts. The National Museum Wales notes It is possible that genetic studies of ancient. However, early studies have, so far, tended to produce implausible conclusions from very small numbers of people and using outdated assumptions about linguistics, nineteenth century anthropology studied the physical characteristics of Irish people in minute detail. During the past 10,000 years of inhabitation, Ireland has witnessed some different peoples arrive on its shores, the ancient peoples of Ireland—such as the creators of the Céide Fields and Newgrange—are almost unknown. Neither their languages nor terms they used to describe themselves have survived, as late as the middle centuries of the 1st millennium the inhabitants of Ireland did not appear to have a collective name for themselves. Ireland itself was known by a number of different names, including Banba, Fódla, Ériu by the islanders, Iouerne and Hiverne to the Greeks, other Latin names for people from Ireland in Classic and Mediaeval sources include Attacotti and Gael
14.
Louisiana Creole people
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Louisiana Creole people, are persons descended from the inhabitants of colonial Louisiana during the period of both French and Spanish rule. The term creole was originally used by French settlers to distinguish persons born in Louisiana from those born in the country or elsewhere. As in many other societies around the world, creole was a term used to mean those who were native-born. It also came to be applied to African-descended slaves and Native Americans who were born in Louisiana, Louisiana Creoles share cultural ties, such as the traditional use of the French language and a predominance of practice of Catholicism. As more refugees were allowed in Louisiana, Haitian émigrés who had first gone to Cuba also arrived and these groups had strong influences on the city and its culture. Later immigrants to New Orleans, such as Irish, Germans and Italians, Louisiana Creoles are mostly Catholic in religion. Through the 19th century, most spoke French and were connected to French colonial culture. Only the small Spanish Creole communities of Saint Bernard Parish and Galveztown spoke Spanish and they have maintained cultural traditions from the Canary Islands, where their ancestors came from, to the present. The varieties of Louisiana Creoles shaped the culture, particularly in the southern areas around New Orleans. Louisiana is known as the Creole State, other enclaves of Creole culture have been located in south Louisiana, Frilot Cove, Bois Mallet, Grand Marais, Palmetto, Lawtell, Soileau and others. These communities have had a history of cultural independence. Another area where many creoles can be found is within the River Parishes, St. Charles, St. John, and St. James. Through both the French and Spanish regimes, parochial and colonial governments used the term Creole for ethnic French, parisian French was the predominant language among colonists in early New Orleans. Later the regional French evolved to contain local phrases and slang terms, the French Creoles spoke what became known as Colonial French. Because of isolation, the language in the colony developed differently from that in France and it was spoken by the ethnic French and Spanish and their Creole descendants. The commonly accepted definition of Louisiana Creole today is a person descended from ancestors in Louisiana before the Louisiana Purchase by the United States in 1803. An estimated 7,000 European immigrants settled in Louisiana during the 18th century, Louisiana attracted considerably fewer French colonists than did its West Indian colonies. After the crossing of the Atlantic Ocean, which lasted more than two months, the colonists had numerous challenges ahead of them in the Louisiana frontier
15.
Chess strategy
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Chess strategy is the aspect of chess playing concerned with evaluation of chess positions and setting of goals and long-term plans for future play. Chess strategy is distinguished from chess tactics, which is the aspect of role playing concerned with the setting up of threats. Some authors distinguish static strategic imbalances, which tend to persist for many moves, from dynamic imbalances and this distinction affects the immediacy with which a sought-after plan should take effect. Until players reach the level of master, chess tactics tend to ultimately decide the outcomes of games more often than strategy does. Many chess coaches thus emphasize the study of tactics as the most efficient way to improve results in serious chess play. The most basic way to ones position is to count the total value of pieces on both sides. The point values used for this purpose are based on experience, usually pawns are considered to be worth one point, knights and bishops three points each, rooks five points, and queens nine points. The fighting value of the king in the endgame is approximately four points and these basic values are modified by other factors such as the position of the pieces, coordination between pieces, and the type of position. Another important factor in the evaluation of positions is the pawn structure or pawn skeleton. Since pawns are the most immobile and least valuable of the chess pieces, weaknesses in the pawn structure, such as isolated, doubled, or backward pawns and holes, once created, are usually permanent. Care must therefore be taken to them unless they are compensated by another valuable asset. A material advantage applies both strategically and tactically, generally more pieces or an aggregate of more powerful pieces means greater chances of winning. A fundamental strategic and tactical rule is to capture opponent pieces while preserving ones own, bishops and knights are called minor pieces. A knight is about as valuable as a bishop, but less valuable than a rook, rooks and the queen are called major pieces. Having two bishops is a powerful weapon, especially if the opposing player lacks one or both of their bishops. Three pawns are likely to be more useful than a knight in the endgame, but in the middlegame, two minor pieces are stronger than a single rook, and two rooks are slightly stronger than a queen. One commonly used scoring system is, The scoring system Stockfish uses is, Under a system like this. This ignores complications such as the current position and freedom of the pieces involved, in an open position, bishops are more valuable than knights, conversely, in a closed position, bishops are less valuable than knights
16.
Winfield Scott
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Winfield Scott was a United States Army general and unsuccessful presidential candidate of the Whig Party in 1852. He served as Commanding General of the United States Army for twenty years, a national hero after the Mexican–American War, he served as military governor of Mexico City. Such was his stature that, in 1852, the Whig Party passed over its own incumbent President of the United States, Millard Fillmore, at six feet five inches in height, he remains the tallest man ever nominated by a major party. He was educated by tutors and in the schools, and briefly attended the College of William. He then studied law in the office of attorney David Robinson, Scott attained admission to the bar, and made a brief attempt to practice law. He also gained his military experience as a corporal of cavalry in the Virginia militia near Petersburg in 1807. He was subsequently commissioned as a captain in the Light Artillery in May 1808, Scotts early career in the army was tumultuous. Scotts commission was suspended for one year, and after returning to duty, Scott earned the nickname Old Fuss and Feathers for his insistence on military bearing, courtesy, appearance and discipline. In his own campaigns after reaching high rank, Scott preferred to use a core of Army regulars augmented by volunteers whenever possible, Scott perennially concerned himself with the welfare of his men, as demonstrated by his quarrel with Wilkinson over the New Orleans bivouac site. In another instance, when cholera broke out at a post under his command, the army promoted Scott to lieutenant colonel of the 2nd Artillery Regiment in July 1812. Scott served primarily on the Niagara Campaign front in the War of 1812 and he took command of an American landing party during the Battle of Queenston Heights on October 13,1812. The British held Scott as a prisoner of war, the British considered Irish-American prisoners of war British subjects and traitors and executed 13 such Americans captured at Queenstown Heights. The British paroled and released Scott in a prisoner exchange, upon release, Scott returned to Washington to pressure the Senate to take punitive action against British prisoners of war in retaliation for the British executions of Irish-American soldiers. The Senate wrote a bill after this urging, but President James Madison believed the execution of prisoners of war unworthy of civilized nations. Scott was promoted to colonel in March 1813, Scott planned and led the capture of Fort George, Upper Canada, on the Niagara River. By crossing the Niagara and landing on the Lake Ontario shore, Colonel Scott was wounded in this battle, which is considered among the best-planned and best-executed U. S. operations of the war. Scott was promoted to general on March 19,1814. He was only 27 years old at the time, one of the youngest generals in the history of the U. S. Army, Scott commanded the 1st Brigade, and was instrumental in the American success at the Battle of Chippawa on July 5,1814
17.
Chess piece
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A chess piece, or chessman, is any of the 32 movable objects deployed on a chessboard used to play the game of chess. The rules of chess prescribe the types of move a player can make with each type of chess piece, the pieces that belong to each player are distinguished by color. The lighter colored pieces are referred to as white, and the player plays them. The darker colored pieces are referred to as black, and their player, in chess, the word piece has three meanings, depending on the context. It may mean any of the pieces of the set. When used this way, piece is synonymous with chessman or simply man, in play, the term is usually used to exclude pawns, referring only to a queen, rook, bishop, knight, or king. In this context, the pieces can be broken down into three groups, major pieces, minor pieces, and the king, in phrases such as winning a piece, losing a piece or sacrificing a piece, it refers only to a bishop or knight. The queen, rook, and pawn are specified by name in these cases, for example, winning a queen, losing a rook, the context should make the intended meaning clear. Each piece type moves in a different way, the rook moves any number of vacant squares forwards, backwards, left, or right in a straight line. It also takes part, along with the king, in a move called castling. The bishop moves any number of vacant squares diagonally in a straight line, consequently, a bishop stays on squares of the same color throughout a game. The two bishops each player starts with move on squares of opposite colors, the queen moves any number of vacant squares in any direction, forwards, backwards, left, right, or diagonally, in a straight line. The king moves exactly one vacant square in any direction, forwards, backwards, left, right and it can also castle in conjunction with a rook. The knight moves on a diagonal from one corner of any 2×3 rectangle of squares to the furthest opposite corner. Consequently, the knight alternates its square color each time it moves, the knight is the only piece that jumps over any intervening piece when moving. The pawn moves forward one space, or optionally, two spaces when on its starting square, toward the opponents side of the board. When there is a piece one square diagonally ahead of the pawn, either left or right. A pawn can perform a type of capture of an enemy pawn called en passant
18.
Glossary of chess
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This page explains commonly used terms in chess in alphabetical order. Some of these have their own pages, like fork and pin, absolute pin A pin against the king is called absolute since the pinned piece cannot legally move out of the line of attack. Describes a piece that controls a number of squares, or a piece that has a number of available for its next move. An active defense is a defense employing threat or counterattack, adjournment Suspension of a chess game with the intention to finish it later. It was once common in high-level competition, often occurring soon after the first time control. Adjudication Decision by a chess player on the outcome of an unfinished game. This practice is now uncommon in over-the-board events, but does happen in online chess when one refuses to continue after an adjournment. Adjust To adjust the position of a piece on its square without being required to move it, a player may only do this on his or her turn to move, and he or she must first say I adjust, or the French equivalent Jadoube. Advanced pawn A pawn that is on the side of the board. An advanced pawn may be if it is overextended, lacking support and difficult to defend. An advanced passed pawn that threatens to promote can be especially strong, advantage A better position with the chance of winning the game. Evaluation factors can include space, time, material, and threats, alekhines gun A formation in which a queen backs up two rooks on the same file. Algebraic notation The standard way to record the moves of a chess game, Amateur The distinction between professional and amateur is not very important in chess as amateurs may win prizes, accept appearance fees, and earn any title, including World Champion. In the 19th century, Amateur was sometimes used in published game scores to conceal the name of the player in a Master vs. Amateur contest. It was thought to be impolite to use a name without permission. See also NN or N. N. analysis The study of a position to determine best play for both sides, annotation Written commentary on a game using a combination of comments, chess symbols or notation. Antipositional A move or a plan that is not in accordance with the principles of positional play, antipositional is used to describe moves that are part of an incorrect plan rather than a mistake made when trying to follow a correct plan. Antipositional moves are often pawn moves, since pawns cannot move backwards to return to squares they have left, anti-Sicilian An opening variation that White uses against the Sicilian Defense other than the most common plan of 2. Nf3 followed by 3. d4 cxd44. Nxd4
19.
Draw (chess)
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In chess, a draw is the result of a game ending in a tie. Usually, in tournaments a draw is worth a point to each player, while a win is worth one point to the victor. For the most part, a draw occurs when it appears that neither side will win, draws are codified by various rules of chess including stalemate, threefold repetition, and the fifty-move rule. A draw also occurs when player has sufficient material to checkmate the opponent or when no sequence of legal moves can lead to checkmate. Unless specific tournament rules forbid it, players may agree to a draw at any time, ethical considerations may make a draw uncustomary in situations where at least one player has a reasonable chance of winning. For example, a draw could be called after a move or two, but this would likely be thought unsporting, until 1867, tournament games that were drawn were replayed. The Paris tournament of 1867 had so many games to be replayed that it caused organisational problems. In 1868 the British Chess Association decided to each player half a point instead of replaying the game. In games played under time control, a draw may result under additional conditions, a stalemate is an automatic draw, as is a draw because of insufficient material to checkmate. A draw by repetition or the fifty-move rule may be claimed by one of the players with the arbiter. A claim of a draw first counts as an offer of a draw, once a claim or draw offer has been made, it cannot be withdrawn. If the claim is verified or the offer accepted, the game is over. Otherwise, the offer or claim is nullified and the game continues, an offer of a draw should be made after a player makes a move but before he presses his game clock. The other player also declines the offer if he makes a move, the offer of a draw should be recorded by each player in their scoresheet using the symbol as per Appendix C.12 of FIDE Laws of Chess. Article 5 of the FIDE Laws of Chess gives the ways a game may end in a draw, Stalemate – if the player on turn has no legal move but is not in check, this is stalemate and the game is automatically a draw. In such a case the draw is not automatic - a player must claim it if he wants the draw. When the position will occur for the time after the players intended next move, he writes the move on his scoresheet but does not make the move on the board. If the claim is not made on the move in which the repetition occurs, of course, the opportunity may present itself again
20.
Spring Hill College
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Spring Hill College is a private, Roman Catholic Jesuit liberal arts college in the Spring Hill neighborhood of Mobile, Alabama, United States. It was founded in 1830 by Most Rev. Michael Portier and it was the first Catholic college in the South, is the fifth-oldest Catholic college in the United States, and is the third-oldest of the 28-member Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities. It is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges, in 2010, U. S. News & World Report reported that Spring Hill College ranked 14th among the top colleges in the South offering both bachelors and masters level degrees. There are May and June mini-sessions, and summer school during June, Spring Hill College was founded by the first bishop of Mobile, Michael Portier, who was from France. After purchasing a site for the college on a hill near Mobile, Bishop Portier went to France to recruit teachers, Portier recruited two priests and four seminarians from France to staff the school. A friend of Portier, Cardinal Joseph Fesch, Archbishop of Lyons, was a benefactor to the fledgling College, donating his philosophical and theological library. Pauline Jaricot, founder of the Society of the Propagation of the Faith, donated 38,000 francs, the bishop himself taught theology to the ecclesiastical students, who numbered six the first year. Upon his return from France, Portier rented a hotel next to the grounds and started the first semester on May 1,1830. Spring Hill is the oldest institution of education in Alabama. On July 4 of the year, the bishop laid the cornerstone of the first permanent building. It stood on the site of the present Administration Building and opened for classes in November 1831, Spring Hill is among the oldest colleges in the South. It is the third-oldest Jesuit college in the United States, in 1836 the governor of Alabama, Clement C. This power was used in the year,1837, when four graduates received their degrees. The first two presidents of the College were called away to be bishops, one to Dubuque, Iowa, the third president, Father Mauvernay, died after a brief term of office. Bishop Portier transferred the College, first to the French Fathers of Mercy, and next to the Society of Jesus and Mary and he persuaded the Fathers of the Lyonnais Province of the Society of Jesus to take possession of the College. The new regime was inaugurated with Father Francis Gautrelet, S. J. as president in September 1847, since that time the institution has continued under Jesuit direction. Many boys were sent to Spring Hill during the American Civil War as they neared the draft age, but numerous students wanted to be part of the war effort. The college eventually formed two military companies, some of Spring Hills Jesuit fathers became chaplains for the Confederacy
21.
Tulane University
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Tulane University is a private, nonsectarian research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. It is generally considered the top university and the most selective institution of education in the state of Louisiana. From a nationwide perspective, U. S. News & World Report categorizes Tulane as most selective, the school is known to attract a geographically diverse student body, with 85% of undergraduate students coming from over 300 miles away. The school was founded as a medical college in 1834. The institution was privatized under the endowments of Paul Tulane and Josephine Louise Newcomb in 1884, Tulane is the 9th oldest private university in the Association of American Universities, which consists of major research universities in the United States and Canada. The Tulane University Law School and Tulane University Medical School are considered the 12th oldest and 15th oldest law and medical schools, respectively, members of Congress, heads of Federal agencies, two Surgeon Generals of the United States, U. S. At least two Nobel laureates have been affiliated with the University, the university was founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 partly as a response to the fears of smallpox, yellow fever, and cholera in the United States. The university became only the medical school in the South. In 1847, the legislature established the school as the University of Louisiana, a public university. Subsequently, in 1851, the university established its first academic department, the first president chosen for the new university was Francis Lister Hawks, an Episcopalian priest and prominent citizen of New Orleans at the time. The university was closed from 1861 to 1865 during the American Civil War, after reopening, it went through a period of financial challenges because of an extended agricultural depression in the South which affected the nations economy. Paul Tulane, owner of a dry goods and clothing business. This donation led to the establishment of a Tulane Educational Fund and this act created the Tulane University of Louisiana. The university was privatized, and is one of only a few American universities to be converted from a public institution to a private one. In 1884, William Preston Johnston became the first president of Tulane and he had succeeded Robert E. Lee as president of Washington and Lee University after Lees death. He had moved to Louisiana and become president of Louisiana State University, in 1885, the university established its graduate division, later becoming the Graduate School. One year later, gifts from Josephine Louise Newcomb totaling over $3.6 million, Newcomb was the first coordinate college for women in the United States and became a model for such institutions as Pembroke College and Barnard College. In 1894 the College of Technology formed, which would become the School of Engineering
22.
American Chess Congress
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The American Chess Congress was a series of chess tournaments held in the United States, a predecessor to the current U. S. It had nine editions, the first played in 1857 and the last in 1923, the first American Chess Congress, organized by Daniel Willard Fiske and held in New York, October 6 to November 10,1857, was won by Paul Morphy. It was a tournament in which draws did not count. The top sixteen American players were invited, Morphy refused any money, but accepted a silver service consisting of a pitcher, four goblets, and a tray. Morphy’s prize was given to him by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. Shown on the right is lithograph of the First American Chess Congress 1857, all members of the Congress are shown, including those who did not play in the main tournament. Top row, Colonel Charles Mead, George Hammond, Frederic Perrin, Daniel Willard Fiske, Hiram Kennicott, left column, Hubert Knott, Louis Paulsen, and William Allison. Bottom row, Theodore Lichtenhein, James Thompson, Charles Henry Stanley, Alexander Beaufort Meek, Samuel Robert Calthrop, right column, William James Fuller, Paul Morphy, and Benjamin Raphael. The second American Chess Congress was held in Cleveland on December 4–15,1871, the first prize was $100 and the total prize fund was $290. It was a round robin tournament with a time limit of 12 moves an hour. With the retirement of Morphy, this tournament was intended to recognize the best player in the United States. The third American Chess Congress was held in Chicago on July 7–16,1874, there were eight players and they had to pay a $20 entry fee. The tournament was again round robin, but for the first time draws were not replayed, the time control was 15 moves per hour. Elder and Kennicott withdraw before completing half their games, but their scores still counted, the fourth American Chess Congress was held in Philadelphia on August 17–31,1876 and won by James Mason. The fifth American Chess Congress was held in New York on January 6–26,1880, there were 10 players, Cohnfeld, Congdon, Eugene Delmar, Grundy, Judd, Mackenzie, Mohle, Ryan, Sellman, and Ware. The sixth American Chess Congress was held in New York in 1889, the event was won by Mikhail Chigorin and Max Weiss. Both finished with a score of 29 but Chigorin defeated Weiss in their individual game, the top American finisher was S. Lipschütz, who took sixth place. Mikhail Chigorin and Max Weiss tied for first, and remained tied after drawing all four games of a playoff, Weiss was not interested in playing a championship match, but Isidor Gunsberg, the third-place finisher, exercised his right and challenged Chigorin to a World Championship match. In 1890, he drew a match against Chigorin
23.
Alexander Beaufort Meek
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Alexander Beaufort Meek (July 17,1814 – November 30,1865 was an American politician, lawyer, judge, chess player, writer and poet. He served as Alabamas Attorney General in 1836, an oration before the Phi Kappa and Demosthenian societies of the University of Georgia, at Athens, August 8,1844, Charleston, Burges and James, printers,1844,39 p. A digest of the laws of the state of Alabama, with John Gaston Aikin, tuscaloosa, Ala. D. Woodruff,1836, 664p. A poem of the South, New York, D. Appleton & company,1855,108 p. Montgomery, the Paragon press,1914 Romantic passages in southwestern history, including orations, sketches and essays, New York, Mobile, S. H. Reprint Co.1975 Songs and poems of the South, New York, Mobile, the South west, its history, character, and prospects, Tuscalossa, C. B
24.
Winslow Homer
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Winslow Homer was an American landscape painter and printmaker, best known for his marine subjects. He is considered one of the foremost painters in 19th-century America, largely self-taught, Homer began his career working as a commercial illustrator. He subsequently took up oil painting and produced major studio works characterized by the weight and he also worked extensively in watercolor, creating a fluid and prolific oeuvre, primarily chronicling his working vacations. Born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1836, Homer was the second of three sons of Charles Savage Homer and Henrietta Benson Homer, both from long lines of New Englanders and his mother was a gifted amateur watercolorist and Homers first teacher. She and her son had a relationship throughout their lives. Homer took on many of her traits, including her quiet, strong-willed, terse, sociable nature, her dry sense of humor, Homer had a happy childhood, growing up mostly in then rural Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was a student, but his art talent was evident in his early years. Homers father was a volatile, restless businessman who was looking to make a killing. When Homer was thirteen, Charles gave up the store business to seek a fortune in the California gold rush. When that failed, Charles left his family and went to Europe to raise capital for other schemes that didnt materialize. After Homers high school graduation, his father saw a newspaper advertisement, Homers apprenticeship at the age of 19 to J. H. Bufford, a Boston commercial lithographer, was a formative but treadmill experience. He worked repetitively on sheet music covers and other work for two years. By 1857, his career was underway after he turned down an offer to join the staff of Harpers Weekly. From the time I took my nose off that lithographic stone, Homer later stated, I have had no master, Homers career as an illustrator lasted nearly twenty years. His quick success was due to this strong understanding of graphic design. Before moving to New York in 1859, Homer lived in Belmont and his uncles Belmont mansion, the 1853 Homer House, was the inspiration for a number of his early illustrations and paintings, including several of his 1860s croquet pictures. The Homer House, owned by the Belmont Womans Club, is open for public tours, in 1859, he opened a studio in the Tenth Street Studio Building in New York City, the artistic and publishing capital of the United States. Until 1863, he attended classes at the National Academy of Design, and studied briefly with Frédéric Rondel, in only about a year of self-training, Homer was producing excellent oil work
25.
Gleason's Pictorial Drawing-Room Companion
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Gleasons Pictorial Drawing-Room Companion was a 19th-century illustrated periodical published in Boston, Massachusetts. The magazine was founded by Frederick Gleason in 1851 and it became Ballous Pictorial Drawing-Room Companion in 1855, after managing editor Maturin Murray Ballou bought out the interest of Gleason. The magazine absorbed the Illustrated News of New York in 1853, gardner, Joseph Holt Ingraham, Grace Lee, Mary A. Lowell, Mary L. Meany, Ellen Alice Moriarty, Arthur Morton, Frances P. Pepperell, Mary E. Robinson, M. V. St. Leon, Frederick Ward Saunders, Sue M. Scott, Maurice Silingsby, Frederick Stanhope, staniford, John Thornberry, Winnie Woodfern, and Joseph Wolf. A Drawing by Winslow Homer, Corner of Winter, Washington, V. 7-8, v. 9-10, v. 11-12, v. 13-14, v. 15-16, v.17. An index of illustrations by artist Winslow Homer that appeared in Ballous Pictorial
26.
The Illustrated London News
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The Illustrated London News appeared first on Saturday 14 May 1842, as the worlds first illustrated weekly news magazine. Founded by Herbert Ingram, it appeared weekly until 1971, then less frequently thereafter, the company continues today as Illustrated London News Ltd, a publishing, content and digital agency in London, which holds the publication and business archives of the magazine. As a newsagent, Ingram was struck by the increase in newspaper sales when they featured pictures. Ingram began to plan a weekly newspaper that would contain pictures in every edition, Ingram rented an office, recruited artists and reporters, and employed as his editor Frederick William Naylor Bayley, formerly editor of the National Omnibus. The first issue of The Illustrated London News appeared on Saturday,14 May 1842, Ingram hired 200 men to carry placards through the streets of London promoting the first edition of his new newspaper. Costing sixpence, the first issue sold 26,000 copies, despite this initial success, sales of the second and subsequent editions were disappointing. Its circulation soon increased to 40,000 and by the end of its first year was 60,000, in 1851, after the newspaper published Joseph Paxtons designs for the Crystal Palace before even Prince Albert had seen them, the circulation rose to 130,000. Andrew Spottiswoodes Pictorial Times lost £20,000 before it was sold to Ingram by Henry Vizetelly, Ingram folded it into another purchase, The Ladys Newspaper, which became The Ladys Newspaper and Pictorial Times. Vitezelly was also behind a competitor, The Illustrated Times in 1855. Ingrams other early collaborators left the business in the 1850s, nathanial Cooke, his business partner and brother-in-law, found himself in a subordinate role in the business and parted on bad terms around 1854. 1858 saw the departure of William Little, who, in addition to providing a loan of £10,000, was printer and publisher of the paper for 15 years, littles relationship with Ingram deteriorated over Ingrams harassment of their mutual sister-in-law. By 1863, The Illustrated London News was selling more than 300,000 copies every week, the death of Herbert and his eldest son left the company without a director and manager. Control passed to Ingrams widow Ann, and his friend Sir Edward William Watkin, once Ingrams two younger sons, William and Charles, were old enough, they took over as managing directors, although it was William who took the lead. It was also a period of expansion and increased competition for the ILN, as reading habits and the illustrated news market changed, the ILN bought or established a number of new publications, evolving from a single newspaper to a larger-scale publishing business. As with Herbert Ingrams purchases in the 1850s, this expansion was also a way of managing competition, dominating markets. As too with the acquisitions of the 1850s, several similar illustrated publications were established in this period by former employees of The Illustrated London News. Serious competition for the ILN appeared in 1869, with the establishment of The Graphic, Thomas was a former wood engraver for The Illustrated London News, and brought his expertise in illustrated publishing to his new magazine. The Graphic was highly popular, particularly for its coverage of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, William Ingram became chief proprietor of The Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News, and The Ladys Pictorial, which may have been a later title of The Ladys Newspaper and Pictorial Times
27.
William Shakespeare
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William Shakespeare was an English poet, playwright, and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the worlds pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called Englands national poet, and the Bard of Avon and his extant works, including collaborations, consist of approximately 38 plays,154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright, Shakespeare was born and brought up in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children, Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Sometime between 1585 and 1592, he began a career in London as an actor, writer. He appears to have retired to Stratford around 1613, at age 49, Shakespeare produced most of his known work between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were primarily comedies and histories, which are regarded as some of the best work ever produced in these genres. He then wrote mainly tragedies until about 1608, including Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, in his last phase, he wrote tragicomedies, also known as romances, and collaborated with other playwrights. Many of his plays were published in editions of varying quality and it was prefaced with a poem by Ben Jonson, in which Shakespeare is hailed, presciently, as not of an age, but for all time. In the 20th and 21st centuries, his works have been adapted and rediscovered by new movements in scholarship. His plays remain highly popular and are studied, performed. William Shakespeare was the son of John Shakespeare, an alderman and a successful glover originally from Snitterfield, and Mary Arden and he was born in Stratford-upon-Avon and baptised there on 26 April 1564. His actual date of birth unknown, but is traditionally observed on 23 April. This date, which can be traced back to an 18th-century scholars mistake, has proved appealing to biographers because Shakespeare died on 23 April 1616 and he was the third child of eight and the eldest surviving son. At the age of 18, Shakespeare married 26-year-old Anne Hathaway, the consistory court of the Diocese of Worcester issued a marriage licence on 27 November 1582. The next day, two of Hathaways neighbours posted bonds guaranteeing that no lawful claims impeded the marriage, twins, son Hamnet and daughter Judith, followed almost two years later and were baptised 2 February 1585. Hamnet died of unknown causes at the age of 11 and was buried 11 August 1596, after the birth of the twins, Shakespeare left few historical traces until he is mentioned as part of the London theatre scene in 1592. The exception is the appearance of his name in the bill of a law case before the Queens Bench court at Westminster dated Michaelmas Term 1588 and 9 October 1589
28.
Paris
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Paris is the capital and most populous city of France. It has an area of 105 square kilometres and a population of 2,229,621 in 2013 within its administrative limits, the agglomeration has grown well beyond the citys administrative limits. By the 17th century, Paris was one of Europes major centres of finance, commerce, fashion, science, and the arts, and it retains that position still today. The aire urbaine de Paris, a measure of area, spans most of the Île-de-France region and has a population of 12,405,426. It is therefore the second largest metropolitan area in the European Union after London, the Metropole of Grand Paris was created in 2016, combining the commune and its nearest suburbs into a single area for economic and environmental co-operation. Grand Paris covers 814 square kilometres and has a population of 7 million persons, the Paris Region had a GDP of €624 billion in 2012, accounting for 30.0 percent of the GDP of France and ranking it as one of the wealthiest regions in Europe. The city is also a rail, highway, and air-transport hub served by two international airports, Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Paris-Orly. Opened in 1900, the subway system, the Paris Métro. It is the second busiest metro system in Europe after Moscow Metro, notably, Paris Gare du Nord is the busiest railway station in the world outside of Japan, with 262 millions passengers in 2015. In 2015, Paris received 22.2 million visitors, making it one of the top tourist destinations. The association football club Paris Saint-Germain and the rugby union club Stade Français are based in Paris, the 80, 000-seat Stade de France, built for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, is located just north of Paris in the neighbouring commune of Saint-Denis. Paris hosts the annual French Open Grand Slam tennis tournament on the red clay of Roland Garros, Paris hosted the 1900 and 1924 Summer Olympics and is bidding to host the 2024 Summer Olympics. The name Paris is derived from its inhabitants, the Celtic Parisii tribe. Thus, though written the same, the name is not related to the Paris of Greek mythology. In the 1860s, the boulevards and streets of Paris were illuminated by 56,000 gas lamps, since the late 19th century, Paris has also been known as Panam in French slang. Inhabitants are known in English as Parisians and in French as Parisiens and they are also pejoratively called Parigots. The Parisii, a sub-tribe of the Celtic Senones, inhabited the Paris area from around the middle of the 3rd century BC. One of the areas major north-south trade routes crossed the Seine on the île de la Cité, this place of land and water trade routes gradually became a town
29.
Daniel Harrwitz
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Daniel Harrwitz was a Jewish German chess master. Harrwitz was born in Breslau in the Prussian Province of Silesia and he established his reputation in Paris, particularly as a player of blindfold games. He lost a match in England to Howard Staunton in 1846 at odds of a pawn, Harrwitz lived in England from 1849, and founded the British Chess Review. In 1856 he moved to Paris, where he won a match against Jules Arnous de Rivière, in 1858 he played a match against Paul Morphy in Paris. Harrwitz won the first two games, but lost the match 5½-2½, Harrwitz withdrew from the match, allegedly on grounds of ill health. He subsequently retired to the Austro-Hungarian county of Tyrol, dying in Bolzano in 1884, although he had a negative record against Morphy, he was one of a few masters who beat Morphy with the black pieces
30.
Leech
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Half-Life is a series of first-person shooter video games that share a single science fiction alternate history. The games in the series all utilize either the GoldSrc or Source engines and are linear, narrative, Valve Corporation is the developer, and partly the publisher and distributor, for their signature games of the series. The major titles in the feature the player as the protagonist, Gordon Freeman. Two of these games, Half-Life and Half-Life 2 are full length titles, while two more, Half-Life 2, Episode One and Half-Life 2, Episode Two, are shorter, episodic titles. A final episode, Half-Life 2, Episode Three, was scheduled to appear around Christmas 2007. A puzzle-based first-person series, set in the fictional universe as the Half-Life games, was created with Portal in 2007, followed by a sequel, Portal 2. Half-Life, the first game in the series, takes place at the fictional Black Mesa Research Facility in New Mexico circa the turn of the 21st century. As Freeman and the try to flee, a Marine Recon unit is brought in to contain the situation. Freeman ultimately makes his way to Xen and eliminates the alien leader, the Nihilanth, but then is confronted by the G-Man, Half-Life, Opposing Force follows Recon soldier Adrian Shephard as he helps to quell another alien invasion within the Black Mesa facility. Within Half-Life, Blue Shift, Black Mesa security worker Barney Calhoun works to escape the facility from both forces and the Recon soldiers with Dr. Rosenberg and two other scientists. Half-Life 2 starts about twenty years following the first game, with the death of the Nihilanth, the Black Mesa dimensional rift grew out of control, creating portal storms across Earth and further spread of alien creatures. Surviving humans now are forced to live in former cities converted to internment camps and patrolled by the Combine, G-Man wakes Freeman up to this new world, sending him to City 17. They confront Wallace Breen, the spokesman for the Combine. Within Half-Life 2, Episode One, the destruction of the Citadels reactor has started a reaction that will take all of City 17 with it. Aided in part by the G-Man and the Vortigaunt, Freeman and Alyx escape the explosions and work to try to slow the reaction. However, they find that the Combine are attempting to accelerate the process, Freeman and his allies safely make their way out of City 17 in time. In Half-Life 2, Episode Two, the explosion has created a superportal which could allow the full Combine force onto Earth. Freeman and his allies help to secure safety for the survivors from City 17
31.
Adolf Anderssen
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Karl Ernst Adolf Anderssen was a German chess master. He is considered to have been the leading chess player for much of the 1850s and 1860s. He was quite soundly defeated by Paul Morphy who toured Europe in 1858 and he achieved most of these successes when he was over the age of 50. Anderssen is famous today for his brilliant sacrificial attacking play, particularly in the Immortal Game. He was an important figure in the development of chess problems, driving forward the transition from the Old School of problem composition to the elegance. He was also one of the most likeable of chess masters and became a statesman of the game. Anderssen was born in Breslau, in the Prussian Province of Silesia and he lived there for most of his life, sharing a house with and supporting his widowed mother and his unmarried sister. He graduated from the gymnasium in Breslau and then attended university. After graduating in 1847 at the age of 29, he took a position at the Friedrichs-Gymnasium as an instructor, Anderssen lived a quiet, stable, responsible, respectable middle-class life. His career was teaching mathematics, while his hobby and passion was playing chess, when Anderssen was nine years old, his father taught him how to play chess. Anderssen said that as a boy, he learned the strategy of the game from a copy of William Lewis book Fifty Games between Labourdonnais and McDonnell. Anderssen first came to the attention of the world when he published Aufgabe für Schachspieler. He continued to publish problems for years, both in magazines and as a second collection in 1852. These brought him to the attention of the Berlin Pleiades group, which included some of the strongest players of the time, Anderssens development as a player was relatively slow, largely because he could spare neither the time nor the money to play many matches against strong players. Nevertheless, by 1846 he was able to put up a fight against another Pleiades member, Tassilo von Heydebrand und der Lasa. In 1846, he became the editor of the magazine Schachzeitung der Berliner Schachgesellschaft when its founder Ludwig Bledow, one of the Berlin Pleiades, Anderssen held this post until 1865. In 1848 Anderssen drew a match with the professional player Daniel Harrwitz, on the basis of this match and his general chess reputation, he was invited to represent German chess at the first international chess tournament, to be held in London in 1851. Anderssen was reluctant to accept the invitation, as he was deterred by the travel costs, however the tournaments principal organizer, Howard Staunton, offered to pay Anderssens travel expenses out of his own pocket if necessary, should Anderssen fail to win a tournament prize
32.
Blindfold chess
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Blindfold chess is a form of chess play wherein the players do not see the positions of the pieces or touch them. This forces players to maintain a model of the positions of the pieces. Moves are communicated via a recognized chess notation, Blindfold chess was considered miraculous for centuries, but now there is greater recognition of people who can keep track of more than one simultaneous blindfolded game. In simultaneous blindfold play, an intermediary usually relays the moves between the players, Blindfold chess was first played quite early on in the history of chess, with perhaps the first game being played by Said bin Jubair in the Middle East. In Europe, playing chess blindfolded became popular as a means of handicapping a chess master when facing a weaker opponent, the first known blindfold event in Europe took place in Florence in 1266. Paul Morphy held in 1858 a blindfold exhibition against the eight strongest players in Paris with the result of six wins. It was seen by these masters as a source of income. As time went by the records for blindfold exhibitions increased, in 1900 Harry Nelson Pillsbury played 20 games simultaneously in Philadelphia, not long after attempting the unusual feat of playing 15 chess and 15 checkers games simultaneously. The Czechoslovak player Richard Réti and Russian World Champion Alexander Alekhine were the next to significantly further the record. In 1924 at the Alamac Hotel of New York Alekhine played 26 simultaneous blindfold games against very strong opponents, with the score of 16 wins,5 losses and this was probably the strongest of any blindfold exhibitions ever held. The next year in February in Paris he faced 28 teams of four each, with the impressive result of 22 wins,3 losses. In the same year, Réti bettered this record by playing 29 players simultaneously in São Paulo, on July 16,1934 in Chicago, Alekhine set the new world record by playing 32 blindfold games, with 19 wins, four losses, and nine draws. Edward Lasker was the referee for this event and he won 24 games and lost 10, over a period of 13 hours. The record was included in the Guinness Book of Records, later, both Miguel Najdorf and János Flesch claimed to have broken that record, but their efforts were not properly monitored the way that Koltanowskis was. He increased this record to 45 opponents in São Paulo in 1947, with the result of 39 wins, four draws, the Guinness Book of Records does not acknowledge Najdorfs record, because he allegedly had access to the scoresheets, and there were multiple opponents per board. Koltanowski claimed that he could have managed 100 games under those conditions, however, Najdorfs record is considered legitimate by other sources. Hungarian Janos Flesch claimed to have bettered this record in Budapest in 1960, playing 52 opponents with 31 wins,3 draws, however, this record attempt was somewhat sullied by the fact that Flesch was permitted to verbally recount the scores of the games in progress. It also took place over a short period of time, around five hours
33.
Duchy of Brunswick
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The Duchy of Brunswick was a historical German state. Its capital was the city of Brunswick and it was established as the successor state of the Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel by the Congress of Vienna in 1815. In the course of the 19th-century history of Germany, the duchy was part of the German Confederation and it was disestablished after the end of World War I, its territory incorporated into the Weimar Republic as the Free State of Brunswick. The title Duke of Brunswick and Lüneburg was held, from 1235 on and these holdings did not have all of the formal characteristics of a modern unitary state, being neither compact nor indivisible. The unifying element of all territories was that they were ruled by male-line descendants of Duke Otto I. After several early divisions, Brunswick-Lüneburg re-unified under Duke Magnus II, following his death, his three sons jointly ruled the Duchy. After the murder of their brother Frederick I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, brothers Bernard and Henry redivided the land, received the southern half of Brunswick-Lüneburg as Prince of Wolfenbüttel while his brother John became Prince of Lüneburg. Wolfenbüttel fell to his brother Albert II, Otto the Mild 1318–1344, son of Albert II, was Prince of Wolfenbüttel and Prince of Göttingen. After his death his son Ernest became Prince of Göttingen 1344–1367, Magnus the Pious became Prince of Wolfenbüttel 1344–1369. Magnus son Magnus II with the Necklace, Prince of Wolfenbüttel 1369–1373, the War of the Lüneburg Succession continued until 1388. Frederick 1373–1400, son of Magnus II, conquered Lüneburg in 1388, succeeded by his brothers, Henry the Mild, 1400–1408 Bernard, 1409–1428. Returned control of Wolfenbüttel to his nephew, Henrys son, was deprived by his brother, Henry the Peaceful 1432–1473, moved the residence to Wolfenbüttel. William regained control of Wolfenbüttel after his brothers death, and left the Principality to his two sons, Frederick III 1482–1484, imprisoned and deprived of power by his younger brother, William IV 1484–1491. Took control of all of Wolfenbüttel, then ceded Wolfenbüttel to his sons, co-rulers, sons of William IV, Eric I 1491–1494. Divided the territory in 1494, taking Calenberg, sole ruler in Wolfenbüttel from 1494. Acquired Calenberg in 1584 on the death of his cousin Eric II, last of the male descendants of Albert the Tall. On Frederick Ulrichs death, his complex of territories passed to a line of distant cousins ruling in Lüneburg, Wolfenbüttel was eventually awarded to Augustus, son of Henry of Dannenberg. Augustus 1635–1666 Augustuss sons succeeded him, sometimes ruling together, Rudolph Augustus 1666–1704 Anthony Ulrich 1685–1702, deposed 1702–1704 for allying with France in the War of the Spanish Succession
34.
Opera house
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An opera house is a theatre building used for opera performances that consists of a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and set building. While some venues are constructed specifically for operas, other houses are part of larger performing arts centers. In contrast, there was no house in London when Henry Purcell was composing. Early United States opera houses served a variety of functions in towns and cities, hosting community dances, fairs, plays, with the rise of bourgeois and capitalist social forms in the 19th century, European culture moved away from its patronage system to a publicly supported system. In the 2000s, most opera and theatre companies raise funds from a combination of government and institutional grants, ticket sales, the Teatro San Carlo in Naples introduces the plant horseshoe, the oldest in the world, a model for the Italian theater. On this model were built following theaters of Italy and Europe, among others, the theater of the Palace of Caserta. Given the popularity of opera in 18th and 19th century Europe, opera houses are large, with generally more than 1,000 seats. Modern opera houses of the century such as New Yorks Metropolitan Opera. Many operas are better suited to being presented in smaller theatres, in a traditional opera house, the auditorium is U-shaped, with the length of the sides determining the audience capacity. Around this are tiers of balconies, and often, nearer to the stage, are boxes and this is especially true of Wagners Bayreuth Festspielhaus where the pit is almost completely covered. The size of an opera orchestra varies, but for some operas, oratorios and other works, it may be large, for some romantic period works. Similarly, an opera may have a large cast of characters, chorus, dancers, therefore, a major opera house will have extensive dressing room facilities. Opera houses often have on-premises set and costume building shops and facilities for storage of costumes, make-up, masks, and stage properties, major opera houses throughout the world often have highly mechanized stages, with large stage elevators permitting heavy sets to be changed rapidly. At the Metropolitan Opera, for instance, sets are changed during the action, as the audience watches. This occurs in the Mets productions of such as Aida. Much the same happened in the remodeling of Milans La Scala opera house between 2002 and 2004, since the 1990s, however, many opera houses have begun using a subtle form of sound reinforcement called acoustic enhancement. Often, operas are presented in their languages, which may be different from the first language of the audience. For example, a Wagnerian opera presented in London may be in German, therefore, since the 1980s modern opera houses have assisted the audience by providing translated supertitles, projections of the words above or near to the stage
35.
House of Golitsyn
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The Golitsyn family, one of the largest and most princely of the noble houses of Russia, originated in the Duchy of Lithuania. Since the extinction of the Korecki family in the 17th century, notable members include Vasily Vasilyevich Golitsyn, Boris Alexeyevich Golitsyn and Dmitry Mikhaylovich Golitsyn. Alternative transliterations of the include, Galitzine, Galitzin, Galitsin, Golitsin, Golitsyne. The family descends from a Lithuanian prince George, son of Patrikas and he immigrated to the court of Vasily I and married Vasilys sister. His children and grandchildren, Vassian Patrikeyev, were considered premier Russian boyars, one of them, Prince Mikhail Bulgakov-Golitsa, earned the nickname Golitsa for an iron glove he wore in the Battle of Orsha in 1514. His younger brother, another Mikhail Mikhailovich Golitsyn was general admiral of the Russian fleet, and Mikhails son Alexander Mikhailovich was a diplomat and soldier, who likewise rose to be field-marshal and governor of St. Petersburg. Another son of Mikhails, Dmitry Mikhailovich, was the Russian ambassador in Vienna during the reign of Catherine the Great, primarily remembered for the splendid Golitsyn Hospital he opened in Moscow, he should also be noted as a great friend and patron of Mozart. He is currently under investigation for possible Sainthood, his current title is Servant of God, Prince Dmitri Vladimirovich Golitsyn fought bravely during the Napoleonic wars, was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General and governed Moscow for 25 years. Prince Alexander Nikolayevich Golitsyn was a minister of education in the government of Alexander I. He headed an investigation into masonic involvement in the Decembrist uprising of 1825, Princess Yelizaveta Alexeyevich Golitsyna Roman Catholic nun. Prince Nikolay Borisovich Galitzin was an amateur cellist who commissioned Beethoven to write his last string quartets, Prince Alexei Vasilyevich Golitsyn was a friend of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Like the composer, Golitsyn was homosexual, but unlike the composer, he lived openly with his lover, Prince Grigory Sergeyevich Golitsin was a general and the Governor of Transcaucasia in 1897-1904. Prince Lev Sergeyevich 24 June 1845–8 January 1916 was one of the founders of winemaking in the Crimea, in his Crimean estate of Novyi Svet he built the first Russian factory of champagne wines. In 1889 the production of this won the Gold Medal at the Paris exhibition in the nomination for sparkling wines. He became the surveyor of imperial vineyards at Abrau-Dyurso in 1891, Prince Boris Borisovich was a prominent physicist who invented the first electromagnetic seismograph in 1906. Prince Nikolai Dmitriyevich Golitsyn was the last Tsarist prime minister of Russia, Prince Leo Golitsyn escaped from Soviet Russia during World War I and came to settle in Canada by 1929 in Edson, Alberta. He and his wife purchased 420 acres of land, one-quarter section from M. Silva, most of the property bordered the McLeod River. Other than the 110 acres of land, they owned 5 pairs of foxes, poultry, horses
36.
Siberia
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Siberia is an extensive geographical region, and by the broadest definition is also known as North Asia. Siberia has historically been a part of Russia since the 17th century, the territory of Siberia extends eastwards from the Ural Mountains to the watershed between the Pacific and Arctic drainage basins. It stretches southwards from the Arctic Ocean to the hills of north-central Kazakhstan and to the borders of Mongolia. With an area of 13.1 million square kilometres, Siberia accounts for 77% of Russias land area and this is equivalent to an average population density of about 3 inhabitants per square kilometre, making Siberia one of the most sparsely populated regions on Earth. If it were a country by itself, it would still be the largest country in area, the origin of the name is unknown. Some sources say that Siberia originates from the Siberian Tatar word for sleeping land, another account sees the name as the ancient tribal ethnonym of the Sirtya, a folk, which spoke a language that later evolved into the Ugric languages. This ethnic group was assimilated to the Siberian Tatar people. The modern usage of the name was recorded in the Russian language after the Empires conquest of the Siberian Khanate, a further variant claims that the region was named after the Xibe people. The Polish historian Chycliczkowski has proposed that the name derives from the word for north. He said that the neighbouring Chinese, Arabs and Mongolians would not have known Russian and he suggests that the name is a combination of two words, su and bir. The region is of significance, as it contains bodies of prehistoric animals from the Pleistocene Epoch. Specimens of Goldfuss cave lion cubs, Yuka and another woolly mammoth from Oymyakon, a rhinoceros from the Kolyma River. The Siberian Traps were formed by one of the largest known volcanic events of the last 500 million years of Earths geological history. They continued for a million years and are considered a cause of the Great Dying about 250 million years ago. At least three species of human lived in Southern Siberia around 40,000 years ago, H. sapiens, H. neanderthalensis, the last was determined in 2010, by DNA evidence, to be a new species. Siberia was inhabited by different groups of such as the Enets, the Nenets, the Huns, the Scythians. The Khan of Sibir in the vicinity of modern Tobolsk was known as a prominent figure who endorsed Kubrat as Khagan of Old Great Bulgaria in 630, the Mongols conquered a large part of this area early in the 13th century. With the breakup of the Golden Horde, the autonomous Khanate of Sibir was established in the late 15th century, turkic-speaking Yakut migrated north from the Lake Baikal region under pressure from the Mongol tribes during the 13th to 15th century
37.
Saint Petersburg
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Saint Petersburg is Russias second-largest city after Moscow, with five million inhabitants in 2012, and an important Russian port on the Baltic Sea. It is politically incorporated as a federal subject, situated on the Neva River, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea, it was founded by Tsar Peter the Great on May 271703. In 1914, the name was changed from Saint Petersburg to Petrograd, in 1924 to Leningrad, between 1713 and 1728 and 1732–1918, Saint Petersburg was the capital of imperial Russia. In 1918, the government bodies moved to Moscow. Saint Petersburg is one of the cities of Russia, as well as its cultural capital. The Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments constitute a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Saint Petersburg is home to The Hermitage, one of the largest art museums in the world. A large number of consulates, international corporations, banks. Swedish colonists built Nyenskans, a fortress, at the mouth of the Neva River in 1611, in a then called Ingermanland. A small town called Nyen grew up around it, Peter the Great was interested in seafaring and maritime affairs, and he intended to have Russia gain a seaport in order to be able to trade with other maritime nations. He needed a better seaport than Arkhangelsk, which was on the White Sea to the north, on May 1703121703, during the Great Northern War, Peter the Great captured Nyenskans, and soon replaced the fortress. On May 271703, closer to the estuary 5 km inland from the gulf), on Zayachy Island, he laid down the Peter and Paul Fortress, which became the first brick and stone building of the new city. The city was built by conscripted peasants from all over Russia, tens of thousands of serfs died building the city. Later, the city became the centre of the Saint Petersburg Governorate, Peter moved the capital from Moscow to Saint Petersburg in 1712,9 years before the Treaty of Nystad of 1721 ended the war, he referred to Saint Petersburg as the capital as early as 1704. During its first few years, the city developed around Trinity Square on the bank of the Neva, near the Peter. However, Saint Petersburg soon started to be built out according to a plan, by 1716 the Swiss Italian Domenico Trezzini had elaborated a project whereby the city centre would be located on Vasilyevsky Island and shaped by a rectangular grid of canals. The project was not completed, but is evident in the layout of the streets, in 1716, Peter the Great appointed French Jean-Baptiste Alexandre Le Blond as the chief architect of Saint Petersburg. In 1724 the Academy of Sciences, University and Academic Gymnasium were established in Saint Petersburg by Peter the Great, in 1725, Peter died at the age of fifty-two. His endeavours to modernize Russia had met opposition from the Russian nobility—resulting in several attempts on his life
38.
Russia
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Russia, also officially the Russian Federation, is a country in Eurasia. The European western part of the country is more populated and urbanised than the eastern. Russias capital Moscow is one of the largest cities in the world, other urban centers include Saint Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod. Extending across the entirety of Northern Asia and much of Eastern Europe, Russia spans eleven time zones and incorporates a range of environments. It shares maritime borders with Japan by the Sea of Okhotsk, the East Slavs emerged as a recognizable group in Europe between the 3rd and 8th centuries AD. Founded and ruled by a Varangian warrior elite and their descendants, in 988 it adopted Orthodox Christianity from the Byzantine Empire, beginning the synthesis of Byzantine and Slavic cultures that defined Russian culture for the next millennium. Rus ultimately disintegrated into a number of states, most of the Rus lands were overrun by the Mongol invasion. The Soviet Union played a role in the Allied victory in World War II. The Soviet era saw some of the most significant technological achievements of the 20th century, including the worlds first human-made satellite and the launching of the first humans in space. By the end of 1990, the Soviet Union had the second largest economy, largest standing military in the world. It is governed as a federal semi-presidential republic, the Russian economy ranks as the twelfth largest by nominal GDP and sixth largest by purchasing power parity in 2015. Russias extensive mineral and energy resources are the largest such reserves in the world, making it one of the producers of oil. The country is one of the five recognized nuclear weapons states and possesses the largest stockpile of weapons of mass destruction, Russia is a great power as well as a regional power and has been characterised as a potential superpower. The name Russia is derived from Rus, a state populated mostly by the East Slavs. However, this name became more prominent in the later history, and the country typically was called by its inhabitants Русская Земля. In order to distinguish this state from other states derived from it, it is denoted as Kievan Rus by modern historiography, an old Latin version of the name Rus was Ruthenia, mostly applied to the western and southern regions of Rus that were adjacent to Catholic Europe. The current name of the country, Россия, comes from the Byzantine Greek designation of the Kievan Rus, the standard way to refer to citizens of Russia is Russians in English and rossiyane in Russian. There are two Russian words which are translated into English as Russians
39.
Winter Palace
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The Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg, Russia, was, from 1732 to 1917, the official residence of the Russian monarchs. Today, the restored palace forms part of a complex of housing the Hermitage Museum. The storming of the palace in 1917 as depicted in Soviet paintings, the palace was constructed on a monumental scale that was intended to reflect the might and power of Imperial Russia. From the palace, the Tsar ruled over 22,400,000 square kilometers and it was designed by many architects, most notably Bartolomeo Rastrelli, in what came to be known as the Elizabethan Baroque style. The green-and-white palace has the shape of a rectangle. The Winter Palace has been calculated to contain 1,786 doors,1,945 windows,1,500 rooms and 117 staircases. Following the February Revolution of 1917, the palace was for a time the seat of the Russian Provisional Government. Later that same year, the palace was stormed by a detachment of Red Army soldiers, on a less glorious note, the month-long looting of the palaces wine cellars during this troubled period led to what has been described as the greatest hangover in history. This policy was manifested in bricks and mortar by the creation of a new city, Saint Petersburg, in 1703. The Tsar intended that his new city would be designed in a Flemish renaissance style, later known as Petrine Baroque, and this was the style he selected for his new palace in the city. The first Royal residence on the site had been a log cabin then known as the Domik Petra I, built in 1704. In 1711 it was transported to the Petrovskaya Embankment, where it still stands, with the site cleared, the Tsar then embarked on the building of a larger house between 1711 and 1712. This house, today referred to as the first Winter Palace, was designed by Domenico Trezzini, the 18th century was a period of great development in European royal architecture, as the need for a fortified residence gradually lessened. This process, which had begun in the late 16th century, accelerated, one of the earliest and most notable examples was Louis XIVs Versailles. Largely completed by 1710, Versailles—with its size and splendour—heightened rivalry amongst the sovereigns of Europe, Peter the Great of Russia, keen to promote all western concepts, wished to have a modern palace like his fellow sovereigns. However, unlike some of his successors, Peter I never aspired to rival Versailles, the first Winter Palace was a modest building of two main floors under a slate roof. It seems that Peter soon tired of the first palace, for in 1721 and it was here that Peter the Great died in 1725. The Winter Palace was not the palace in the unfinished city, or even the most splendid, as Peter had ordered his nobles to construct residences
40.
Queen Victoria
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Victoria was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she adopted the title of Empress of India. Victoria was the daughter of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, both the Duke of Kent and King George III died in 1820, and Victoria was raised under close supervision by her German-born mother Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. She inherited the throne aged 18, after her fathers three brothers had all died, leaving no surviving legitimate children. The United Kingdom was already a constitutional monarchy, in which the sovereign held relatively little direct political power. Privately, Victoria attempted to influence government policy and ministerial appointments, publicly, Victoria married her first cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, in 1840. Their nine children married into royal and noble families across the continent, tying them together, after Alberts death in 1861, Victoria plunged into deep mourning and avoided public appearances. As a result of her seclusion, republicanism temporarily gained strength and her Golden and Diamond Jubilees were times of public celebration. Her reign of 63 years and seven months is known as the Victorian era and it was a period of industrial, cultural, political, scientific, and military change within the United Kingdom, and was marked by a great expansion of the British Empire. She was the last British monarch of the House of Hanover and her son and successor, Edward VII, belonged to the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the line of his father. Victorias father was Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, until 1817, Edwards niece, Princess Charlotte of Wales, was the only legitimate grandchild of George III. Her death in 1817 precipitated a crisis that brought pressure on the Duke of Kent. In 1818 he married Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, a widowed German princess with two children—Carl and Feodora —by her first marriage to the Prince of Leiningen and her brother Leopold was Princess Charlottes widower. The Duke and Duchess of Kents only child, Victoria, was born at 4.15 a. m. on 24 May 1819 at Kensington Palace in London. Victoria was christened privately by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Charles Manners-Sutton, on 24 June 1819 in the Cupola Room at Kensington Palace and she was baptised Alexandrina, after one of her godparents, Emperor Alexander I of Russia, and Victoria, after her mother. Additional names proposed by her parents—Georgina, Charlotte, and Augusta—were dropped on the instructions of the Dukes eldest brother, George, the Duke of Clarence and the Duke of Kent married on the same day in 1818, but both of Clarences daughters died as infants. Victorias father died in January 1820, when Victoria was less than a year old, a week later her grandfather died and was succeeded by his eldest son, George IV. The Duke of York died in 1827, when George IV died in 1830, he was succeeded by his next surviving brother, William IV, and Victoria became heir presumptive
