Robert Boyle was an Anglo-Irish natural philosopher, chemist and inventor. Boyle is regarded today as the first modern chemist, therefore one of the founders of modern chemistry, one of the pioneers of modern experimental scientific method, he is best known for Boyle's law, which describes the inversely proportional relationship between the absolute pressure and volume of a gas, if the temperature is kept constant within a closed system. Among his works, The Sceptical Chymist is seen as a cornerstone book in the field of chemistry, he is noted for his writings in theology. Boyle was born at Lismore Castle, in County Waterford, the seventh son and fourteenth child of The 1st Earl of Cork and Catherine Fenton. Lord Cork known as Richard Boyle, had arrived in Dublin from England in 1588 during the Tudor plantations of Ireland and obtained an appointment as a deputy escheator, he had amassed enormous wealth and landholdings by the time Robert was born, had been created Earl of Cork in October 1620.

Catherine Fenton, Countess of Cork, was the daughter of Sir Geoffrey Fenton, the former Secretary of State for Ireland, born in Dublin in 1539, Alice Weston, the daughter of Robert Weston, born in Lismore in 1541. As a child, Boyle was fostered to a local family. Boyle received private tutoring in Latin and French and when he was eight years old, following the death of his mother, he was sent to Eton College in England, his father's friend, Sir Henry Wotton, was the provost of the college. During this time, his father hired a private tutor, Robert Carew, who had knowledge of Irish, to act as private tutor to his sons in Eton. However, "only Mr. Robert sometimes desires it and is a little entered in it", but despite the "many reasons" given by Carew to turn their attentions to it, "they practice the French and Latin but they affect not the Irish". After spending over three years at Eton, Robert travelled abroad with a French tutor, they visited Italy in 1641 and remained in Florence during the winter of that year studying the "paradoxes of the great star-gazer" Galileo Galilei, elderly but still living in 1641.

Robert returned to England from continental Europe in mid-1644 with a keen interest in scientific research. His father, Lord Cork, had died the previous year and had left him the manor of Stalbridge in Dorset as well as substantial estates in County Limerick in Ireland that he had acquired. Robert made his residence at Stalbridge House, between 1644 and 1652, conducted many experiments there. From that time, Robert devoted his life to scientific research and soon took a prominent place in the band of enquirers, known as the "Invisible College", who devoted themselves to the cultivation of the "new philosophy", they met in London at Gresham College, some of the members had meetings at Oxford. Having made several visits to his Irish estates beginning in 1647, Robert moved to Ireland in 1652 but became frustrated at his inability to make progress in his chemical work. In one letter, he described Ireland as "a barbarous country where chemical spirits were so misunderstood and chemical instruments so unprocurable that it was hard to have any Hermetic thoughts in it."In 1654, Boyle left Ireland for Oxford to pursue his work more successfully.

An inscription can be found on the wall of University College, the High Street at Oxford, marking the spot where Cross Hall stood until the early 19th century. It was here that Boyle rented rooms from the wealthy apothecary. Reading in 1657 of Otto von Guericke's air pump, he set himself, with the assistance of Robert Hooke, to devise improvements in its construction, with the result, the "machina Boyleana" or "Pneumatical Engine", finished in 1659, he began a series of experiments on the properties of air. An account of Boyle's work with the air pump was published in 1660 under the title New Experiments Physico-Mechanical, Touching the Spring of the Air, its Effects. Among the critics of the views put forward in this book was a Jesuit, Francis Line, it was while answering his objections that Boyle made his first mention of the law that the volume of a gas varies inversely to the pressure of the gas, which among English-speaking people is called Boyle's Law after his name; the person who formulated the hypothesis was Henry Power in 1661.

Boyle in 1662 included a reference to a paper written by Power, but mistakenly attributed it to Richard Towneley. In continental Europe the hypothesis is sometimes attributed to Edme Mariotte, although he did not publish it until 1676 and was aware of Boyle's work at the time. In 1663 the Invisible College became The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, the charter of incorporation granted by Charles II of England named Boyle a member of the council. In 1680 he declined the honour from a scruple about oaths, he made a "wish list" of 24 possible inventions which included "the prolongation of life", the "art of flying", "perpetual light", "making armour light and hard", "a ship to sail with all winds, a ship not to be sunk", "practicable and certain way of finding longitudes", "potent drugs to alter or exalt imagination, waking and other functions and appease pain, procure innocent sleep, harmless dreams, etc." They are extraordinary. It was during his time at Oxford; the Chevaliers are thought to have been established by

The Elephant Fayre was held in the stately home of Port Eliot, St Germans. A "fayre" in every sense of the word, it featured a host of different types of performances, experimental theatre and rock, punk and reggae music; the first Fayre was tiny, attracting only 1500 or so, but the attendance increased over the years as the organisers booked better known acts, such as Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Cure, The Fall. The organisers decided to close down the festival after 1986 because of hard drug vandalism. In 1980 a small festival which had outgrown its site at Polgooth in mid-Cornwall approached the Port Eliot estate and asked if it could be held in the idyllic grounds; the estate office agreed a price, there began the Elephant Fayre, one of the most eclectic festivals of the 1980s, named after the elephant in the Eliot family’s crest. A prime attraction of the event was a giant wooden elephant which could be mounted via an internal ladder; the festival ran from 1981–1986, beginning with some 1,500 visitors over four days, featured a mix of music and visual arts.

Over the years the festival grew, attracting crowds of up to 30,000 and bands such as The Cure, The Fall and Siouxsie and the Banshees. By 1986 the festival, like so many of the time, had become victim of its own success; the tolerance of the free festival culture of the 70s was over, as New Age Travellers became a focus for disorder across the country. Despite the tolerance of the Lord Eliot and fellow festival benefactor Michael Eavis at Glastonbury the travellers put paid, it was said, to the Elephant Fayre and compromised Glastonbury. Whilst the festival at Port Eliot had built up a reputation as one of the best in the country, with extraordinary acts and the liberal attitude of the organisers, it was alleged the travellers had taken advantage and destroyed the festival; the burning down of the oldest tree in the park, looting of the village surgery and the robbing of stall-holders prompted Lord Eliot and fellow organisers to make the 1986 festival the last. The Elephant Fayre is now the Port Eliot Festival.

It describes itself as having "All the brains of a literary festival. All the soul of a music festival." It is held mid summer. List of historic rock festivals New Age travellers History of the Elephant Fayre

The North American Indian Women's Association is a non-profit educational and service association, which seeks to promote intertribal-communications, betterment of home, family life and community, betterment of health and education, awareness of Indian cultures, fellowship among North American Indian people. NAIWA was the first national Native American women's group. Marie Cox, from Midwest City, Oklahoma served as founding president at the inaugural meeting, held in Fort Collins, Colorado. During the 1970s adoption reform was one of its greatest concerns. Cox's presidency was followed by Agnes Dill of the Isleta Pueblo, in New Mexico in 1973, in turn succeeded by Mary Jane Fate from Fairbanks, Alaska in 1975. Only women from federally recognized Indian tribes can be members; the association named Muriel Hazel Wright the outstanding Indian woman of the 20th century in 1971