Thomas Hill was an English-born American artist of the 19th century. He produced many fine paintings of the California landscape, in particular of the Yosemite Valley, as well as the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Thomas Hill was born in Birmingham, England on September 11, 1829, his younger brother, Edward Hill became a successful landscape painter. At the age of 15, he emigrated to the United States with his family. In 1851, he married Charlotte Elizabeth Hawkes. At the age of 24, Hill attended evening classes at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and studied under American painter Peter Frederick Rothermel. During his years as a student, Hill traveled to the White Mountains in New Hampshire as early as 1854 and sketched alongside members of the Hudson River School, such as Benjamin Champney. In 1856, Hill and his family moved to California. With painter Virgil Williams and photographer Carleton Watkins, Hill made his first trip to the Yosemite Valley in 1865; the next year, Hill traveled to Europe.

He established his family on the East Coast but continued to take sketching trips to the West Coast and to attend meetings of the San Francisco Art Association. He moved his family back to San Francisco in 1873. Hill made yearly sketching trips to Yosemite, Mount Shasta, back east, to the White Mountains. Hill ran an art art supply store, he acted as the interim director for the SFAA School of Design and went to Alaska on a commission for environmentalist John Muir. He lived on his stock market investments as well as his art proceeds, his marriage ended in the 1880s. Toward the end of his life, he maintained a studio at Yosemite’s Wawona Hotel. After suffering a stroke, Hill left Yosemite and traveled up and down the California coast, including stops in Coronado, San Diego and Santa Barbara, he died in Raymond, California, on June 30, 1908, is buried at Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland, California. Hill’s work was driven by a vision resulting from his experiences with nature. For Thomas Hill, Yosemite Valley and the White Mountains of New Hampshire were his sources of inspiration to begin painting and captured his direct response to nature.

Hill was loosely associated with the Hudson River School of painters. The Hudson River School celebrated nature with a sense of awe for its natural resources, which brought them a feeling of enthusiasm when thinking of the potential it held; the earlier members of the Hudson River School, around the 1850-60’s, displayed man as in unison with nature in their landscape paintings by painting men on a small scale compared to the vast landscape. Thomas Hill brought this technique into his own paintings in for example in his painting, Yosemite Valley 1889, he made early trips to the White Mountains with his friend Benjamin Champney and painted White Mountain subjects throughout his career. An example of his White Mountain subjects is Mount Lafayette in Winter. Hill acquired the technique of painting en plein air; these paintings in the field served as the basis for larger finished works. In plein air means to “paint outdoors and directly from the landscape”, which Hill incorporated into many of his paintings.

Hill’s landscape paintings demonstrate how he combined his powers of observation with powerful motifs in each painting. Hill’s move to California in 1861 brought him new material for his paintings, he chose monumental vistas, like Yosemite. During his lifetime, Hill’s paintings were popular in California, costing as much as $10,000. Hill's best works are considered to be these monumental subjects, including Great Canyon of the Sierra, Vernal Falls and Yosemite Valley, his 1865 View of the Yosemite Valley was chosen to be the backdrop of the head table at Barack Obama's inaugural luncheon, to commemorate Lincoln's 1864 signing of the Yosemite Grant. A painting has been chosen for every inaugural luncheon since 1985. Hill's most famous and enduring work is of the driving of the "Last Spike" at Promontory Summit, UT, on May 10, 1869, to join the rails of the CPRR and UPRR; the huge 8 x 12 foot painting, which features detailed portraits of 71 individuals associated with the First Transcontinental Railroad, hangs at the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento, California.

Thomas Hill's works Early California Artists White Mountain art List of Hudson River School artists Thomas Hill 1829-1908 Thomas Hill 1829-1908 Biography

The United Nations Educational and Cultural Organization World Heritage Sites are places of importance to cultural or natural heritage as described in the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, established in 1972. Mexico accepted the convention on 23 February 1984, making its historical sites eligible for inclusion on the list; as of 2018, there are thirty-five World Heritage Sites in Mexico, including twenty-seven cultural sites, six natural sites and two mixed sites. The country ranks first in the Americas and seventh worldwide by number of Heritage sites. Mexico's first six sites, Sian Ka'an, Pre-Hispanic City and National Park of Palenque, Historic Centre of Mexico City and Xochimilco, Pre-Hispanic City of Teotihuacan, Historic Centre of Oaxaca and Archaeological site of Monte Albán, Historic Centre of Puebla, were inscribed on the list at the 11th Session of the World Heritage Committee, held at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France in 1987. In addition to its inscribed sites, Mexico maintains twenty-one properties on its tentative list, considered for future nomination.

There are 9 traditions and celebrations which considered Intangible Cultural Heritage of Mexico: Indigenous festivals dedicated to the dead, The ceremony of the Voladores, The Peña de Bernal, The traditional January party of Chiapa de Corzo, The traditional song of the P’urhépechas, Traditional Mexican cuisine, The Mariachi, The charrería and The pilgrimage of Zapopan. Site. If available, the size of the buffer zone has been noted as well. A lack of value implies. Centro Histórico de la Ciudad de México. Ciudad Universitaria. Xochicalco. Monasteries on the slopes of Popocatépetl. Luis Barragan House and Studio. Teotihuacan. Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve. Aqueduct of Padre Tembleque Legend: World Cultural Heritage Site; the point shown on the map is an approximate midpoint between historic Mexico City, the southernmost site, the town of Valle de Allende, the most northern site. For a description and location of each site, see the UNESCO entry. In addition to sites inscribed on the World Heritage list, member states can maintain a list of tentative sites that they may consider for nomination.

Nominations for the World Heritage list are only accepted if the site was listed on the tentative list. As of 2017, Mexico maintains twenty-one properties on its tentative list: Chapultepec Woods and Castle Historic Town of Alamos Church of Santa Prisca and its Surroundings Pre-Hispanic City of Cantona Great City of Chicomostoc-La Quemada Historic Town of San Sebastián del Oeste Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo's Home-Study Museum Valle de los Cirios Flora and Fauna Protection Area of Cuatro Ciénegas Historical Town The Royal of the Eleven Thousand Virgins of Cosala in Sinaloa Huichol Route through the sacred sites to Wirikuta Lacan-Tún – Usumacinta Region Banco Chinchorro Biosphere Reserve Tecoaque Cuetzalan and its Historical and Natural Surrounding Historical city of Izamal Los Petenes-Río Celestún Las Pozas, Xilitla Arch of Time of La Venta River Ring of cenotes of Chicxulub Crater, Yucatan Las Labradas, Sinaloa archaeological site In 2014, the idea to nominate the Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade Route was initiated by the Mexican ambassador to UNESCO with the Filipino ambassador to UNESCO.

An Experts' Roundtable Meeting was held at the University of Santo Tomas on April 23, 2015 as part of the preparation of the Philippines for the possible transnational nomination of the Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade Route to the World Heritage List. The nomination will be made jointly with Mexico; the following are the experts and the topics they discussed during the roundtable meeting: Dr. Celestina Boncan on the Tornaviaje. Rene Javellana, S. J. on Fortifications in the Philippines. Maria on Food; the papers presented and discussed during the roundtable meeting will be synthesized into a working document to establish the route's Outstanding Universal Value. The Mexican side reiterated that they will follow suit with the preparations for the route's nomination. Spain has backed the nomination of the route in the World Heritage List and has suggested the archives related to the route under the possession of the Philippines and Spain to be nominated as part of another UNESCO list, the Memory of the World Register.

In 2017, the Philippines established the Manila-Acapulco Galleon Museum in Metro Manila

Brooke-Alvinston is a township municipality in the Canadian province of Ontario, located within Lambton County. It was formed on January 1, 2001, when the Township of Brooke was amalgamated with the Village of Alvinston; the municipality comprises the communities of Alvinston, Inwood, Sutorville and Weidman. Alvinston, the biggest urban centre of the municipality, is 55 kilometres east from Sarnia; the Brooke Alvinston Inwood Community Centre located in Alvinston contains an arena, auditorium with banquet facilities for 500, several meeting rooms. It is home to figure minor hockey. A. W. Campbell Conservation Area operated by the St. Clair Region Conservation Authority is located near Alvinston, it offers camping, walking trails and picnic areas. It is the site an annual maple syrup festival where visitors can view demonstrations of syrup production; the Brooke Alvinston Watford Fall Fair is held annually in Alvinston. It features a tractor pull, demolition derby, evening dance, food concessions, exhibits in animal husbandry, field crops, baking and photography, school exhibits.

The Alvinston to Watford Optimist Road Race is a 16 kilometre race that begins in Alvinston and ends in Watford. The race, held annually, started in 1958. Alvinston holds a town-wide garage sale annually in May, a classic car and antique tractor show in June, Canada Day celebrations in July, a Santa Claus Parade in December. Brooke-Alvinston has two public libraries, in Inwood respectively. Both libraries are part of the Lambton County Library system, which services 25 branches throughout Lambton County; the Lambton Kent District School Board operates an elementary public school near Alvinston. Community news is chiefly reported through two newspapers: the Glencoe-Alvinston Transcript & Free Press and the Watford Guide-Advocate. Both publications are owned by Hayter-Walden Publishing; the community is served by Sarnia and Lambton County This Week, the Strathroy Focus, both owned by Sun Media Corporation. Populations prior to amalgamation: Population total in 1996: 2,894 Alvinston: 1,037 Brooke: 1,857 Population in 1991: Alvinston: 920 Brooke: 1,902 List of townships in Ontario Township of Brooke-Alvinston