text
stringlengths 0
10.6k
|
|---|
= = = August Thyssen = = = |
August Thyssen (; Eschweiler, 17 May 1842 – Landsberg Castle, Ratingen, near Kettwig, 4 April 1926) was a German industrialist. |
After he had completed his studies at the Politechnische Schule Karlsruhe and a commercial school at Antwerpen he like his brother Joseph Thyssen joined the bank of his father Friedrich Thyssen. |
In 1867 Thyssen and several members of his family founded the iron works "Thyssen-Foussol & Co" in Duisburg. When this company was dissolved in 1870, he used the new capital to establish with his father the "Walzwerk Thyssen & Co" that would become the base of an industrial empire in the industrialized Mülheim an der Ruhr, where the high of iron and steel prizes contributed to the making of his fortune. Initially he managed different companies separately in a decentralized fashion, but eventually he united them through a holding company. The largest company of his was the coal mining company "Gewerkschaft Deutscher Kaiser" in Hamborn (now part of Duisburg) that he had acquired in 1891. |
He built the first 500-ton blast furnace in Germany, the first 100-ton Martin furnace, and the first large tube (iron pipe size) works. Together with Hugo Stinnes Thyssen was a cofounder of RWE. |
On 3 December 1872 in Mülheim an der Ruhr he married Hedwig Pelzer (1854–1940), daughter of Johann-Heinrich Pelzer and wife Hedwig Troost. They divorced in 1885. The four children during the marriage were Fritz, August, Heinrich and Hedwig. To avoid the possibility that his divorce would lead to a partitioning of his industrial empire, Thyssen transferred the property to his children, but retained the management rights for himself during his lifetime. |
The Thyssen conglomerate became the nucleus of Vereinigte Stahlwerke AG, the biggest mining and steel cartel in the world, prior to World War II. Thyssen was refounded in 1953 and joined with KruppHoesch to become ThyssenKrupp AG in 1997. |
Thyssen purchased most of Beeckerwerth, including Haus Knipp, in the early 20th century. |
He was the first in his family to start acquiring a collection of works of art, including six pieces by his friend sculptor Auguste Rodin. |
Thyssen's firm was a vertically integrated company, controlling all aspects of the steelmaking process. He owned his own fleet of ships, a network of docks and a railroad. Although he was one of the richest men in Germany, to the day he died his ethos was "If I rest, I rust." He lived a simple life; he ran his empire from a dingy office in Mülheim, drove an old car, wore off-the-peg suits, and was known to drink and eat with his workers. He was also an ardent republican. |
Thyssen died in 1926 of pneumonia following complications from eye surgery. |
His children were: |
= = = Swaledale sheep = = = |
Swaledale is a breed of domestic sheep named after the Yorkshire valley of Swaledale in England. They are found throughout the more mountainous areas of Great Britain, but particularly in the Yorkshire Dales, County Durham, and around the pennine fells of Cumbria. |
Swaledales are noted for their off-white wool, curled horns and white around their nose and eyes. They are used for the production of lamb/mutton, the North of England Mule sheep, and as Pedigree breeding stock. Together with the Rough Fell, Herdwick, and Dalesbred sheep, they are one of the four variations associated with the English Lake District. |
Well suited to the exposed regions in which they predominantly live, the Swaledales are very hardy, thick coated, able bodied, and bold. The ewes make excellent mothers and are known for being able to rear lambs well, even in adverse conditions. They are of a medium build, with black faces marked with bright white around the nose and eyes, and both males and females grow curled horns, however the males horns are much larger. Their coats are thick and very coarse, and are considered a uniform white or off-white colour. The wool they produce, although durable, resilient and usable for a number of applications, is worth very little, with the British Wool Marketing Board paying approximately 40 pence per kilo of wool. The marketed fleece and fibre may contain kemp that is not white, so some yarns and prepared fibres from the Swaledale are grey. The sheep are also known for their tender and good-flavoured lamb and mutton. |
The Swaledales as a breed are related to Scottish Blackface and Rough Fell sheep, both of which are also predominant in upland locations in the United Kingdom and noted for their ability to thrive in exposed locations. Although the specific origins of the breed are unknown, a non-indigenous and exotic ancestor for the Swaledale was considered by two noted names of the eighteenth century, John Naismyth and Charles Findlater. Published in 1796, Naismyth's opinion in "Young's Annals of Agriculture" was that the origin of the black-faced highland breeds was "impossible to trace". Robert Trow-Smith in his book "A History of British Livestock Husbandry, 1700–1900" wrote: "... it has already been suggested that this family stood outside the main stream of ancient British sheep..." and that the root of the Swaledale and Scottish Blackface breeds could be the Argali. This tenuous link between domestic sheep and the wild Argali has since been proved to be insupportable due to a significant difference in genetic make-up and number of chromosomes. |
Before the Swaledale, Scottish Blackface, and Rough Fell emerged as distinct breeds, their 17th-century forerunner was the Linton. It was named after the West Linton market in Peeblesshire, which specialised in selling the hardy Lintons for Scottish Highland and other upland farming. At the beginning of the 18th century, the market is recorded as having sold upwards of 9,000 sheep in a single day, numbers which surely helped establish the breed firmly in upland areas. |
The Swaledale Sheep Breeders Association was founded in 1919 and originally consisted of farmers living within a seven-mile radius of the Tan Hill Inn, on the North Yorkshire moors. The association is an active organisation point for Swaledale sales, shows, breeding, and products. |
There are approximately 1,200 flocks of pedigree Swaledale sheep in the United Kingdom. Fine pedigree tups (rams) sell for approximately £2,000 to £5,000 on average, though the highest price paid at auction for a prized ram was £101,000. Being a hardy breed, farmers are able to rear their Swaledale flocks in remote and exposed locations, generally without needing to provide indoor accommodation. |
The sheep produce commercially viable mutton and wool. Swaledale mutton has good flavour and tenderness. Wool colour and coarseness prevents Swaledale wool from fetching high prices, but its strong and durable properties make it suitable for carpets, rugs, and insulation. However, the wool is also used for spinning and knitting of clothing, though on a lesser scale to its other uses. |
The Swaledale sheep is an official symbol of the Yorkshire Dales. In 2003, plans were submitted to build a Swaledale sheep visitor centre in Kirkby Stephen, Cumbria, declaring Kirkby Stephen as the "spiritual home of the Swaledale sheep". These plans drew strong opposition from the town of Hawes, in Yorkshire, a strong competitor in terms of Swaledale sales, and which had its own plans for a visitor centre. |
A control flock of Swaledales has been used to study and develop scrapie-resistant sheep. An infectious, persistent, and spontaneous disease, animals infected with scrapie must be quarantined and destroyed. The experimental breeding involved selecting a group of Swaledale sheep with low suspectability to the disease, injecting them with the agents of the disease, and breeding from the survivors. The research has concluded that the offspring of the infected sheep are more able to survive scrapie. |
A commercially successful breed, the North of England Mule, has been produced from the Swaledale ewes, by mating with Bluefaced Leicesters. The offspring of this cross are now one of the most prolific lowland sheep. |
Swaledale cheese is an award-winning cheese that is manufactured in the Swaledale area, though not exclusively from sheep of this breed. |
= = = Operation Christmas Drop = = = |
Operation Christmas Drop is a tradition that started in 1952 that serves as a training mission for the U.S. Air Force. It has since become the longest-running U.S. Department of Defense mission in full operation, and the longest-running humanitarian airlift in the world. Supported by the local communities of Guam, it is primarily conducted from Andersen Air Force Base and Yokota Air Base, and targets Micronesia. |
The operation was first conducted in 1951. Then, the aircrew of a WB-29 aircraft assigned to the 54th Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, formerly assigned to Andersen Air Force Base in Guam, was flying a mission to the south of Guam over the Micronesian atoll of Kapingamarangi. When they saw the islanders waving to them, the crew quickly gathered some items they had on the plane, placed them in a container with a parachute attached and dropped the cargo as they circled again. |
A witness to the first drop on the island of Agrigan said "We saw these things come out of the back of the airplane and I was yelling: 'There are toys coming down'". At the time the island had no electricity or running water, and the islands were periodically hit by typhoons. Some of the first containers failed to arrive where intended, and islanders swam out to retrieve some, while others were discovered months later some miles away. |
Today this unique Christmas tradition is continued with the donations from the residents and businesses of Guam. Each box dropped from a C-130 aircraft weighs nearly and contains items such as fishing nets, construction materials, powdered milk, canned goods, rice, coolers, clothing, shoes, toys and school supplies. |
It is the oldest ongoing Department of Defense mission which remains in full operation, and the longest running humanitarian airlift in the world. By 2006, more than of supplies were delivered. The operation gives troops the chance to practice humanitarian aid drops, as the troops will later be expected to conduct drops over Iraq or Afghanistan after deployment. |
Volunteers from Andersen Air Force Base, including 734th Air Mobility Squadron, and both crew and aircraft from the 36th Airlift Squadron at Yokota Air Base, Japan, participate in the operation. Members of the Guam community also help the operation. Money is raised for the operation by sponsored activities such as golf tournaments and sponsored runs, as well as local businesses sponsoring individual boxes. |
The 2006 operation saw 140 boxes dropped to 59 islands. The 2011 operation included dropping twenty five boxes of IV fluids to Fais Island in order to combat a local outbreak of dengue fever. The containers are dropped in water just off the beaches in order to avoid them hitting any of the locals. |
In 2014, The Pacific Air Forces delivered 50,000 pounds of supplies to 56 Micronesian Islands. |
In 2015, the Japan Air Self-Defense Force and the Royal Australian Air Force participated in the operation along with the United States Air Force. Japan and Australia each provided one C-130 Hercules to join the three C-130's provided by the United States. The JASDF and RAAF also participated in the 2016 and 2017 operations. |
December of 2017 marked the inaugural training event for the new C-130J from Yokota AB as well as the first quad-lateral event with the JASDF, RAAF and Philippine Air Force. |
= = = John McCabe (composer) = = = |
John McCabe, (21 April 1939 – 13 February 2015) was a British composer and pianist. He created works in many different forms, including symphonies, ballets, and solo works for the piano. He served as principal of the London College of Music from 1983 to 1990. Guy Rickards described him as "one of Britain's finest composers in the past half-century" and "a pianist of formidable gifts and wide-ranging sympathies" . |
McCabe was born in Huyton, Liverpool on 21 April 1939 (; ; ; ; ). His father was a physicist . McCabe was badly burned in an accident when he was a child and was home schooled for eight years . During this time, McCabe said that there was "a lot of music in the house", which inspired his future career . He explained "My mother was a very good amateur violinist and there were records and printed music everywhere. I thought that if all these guys – Beethoven, Brahms, Schubert – can do it, then so can I!" . By the age of 11 McCabe had composed 13 symphonies, but he later suppressed them, believing they were not good enough (; ). He subsequently attended Liverpool Institute . |
After studies at the Royal Manchester College of Music (now the Royal Northern) and in Munich, with composers Humphrey Proctor-Gregg, Thomas Pitfield, Harald Genzmer and others (; ; ), he embarked upon a career as both a composer and a virtuoso pianist (; ). Guy Rickards considers McCabe's early works to have been overlooked because he was perceived as a pianist rather than a composer . One of his early successes was the orchestral song cycle "Notturni ed Alba" (1970), based on a set of poems in medieval Latin about the theme of night (; ), which was described in "Gramophone" as "an intoxicating creation, full of tingling atmosphere and slumbering passion" (quoted in }}). His Concerto for Orchestra (1982) brought him international recognition , but it was not until the 1990s that he came to be viewed primarily as a composer, with the successes of the piano work "Tenebrae" (1992–93), which marked the deaths in 1992 of musicians Sir Charles Groves, William Mathias and Stephen Oliver, and was written for Barry Douglas; his Fourth Symphony, "Of Time and the River" (1993–94); and his third ballet "Edward II" (1995) , which won the 1998 Barclays Theatre Award . |
He worked in almost every genre, though large-scale forms lie at the heart of his catalogue with seven symphonies, two dozen concertante works and eight ballet scores to his name . His numerous concerti include four for his own instrument, the piano (1966–76), three for one or two violins (1959, 1980, 2003) as well as for viola (1962), harpsichord (1968), oboe d'amore (1972), clarinet (1977), orchestra (1982), trumpet (1987) and flute (1990), and double concertos for viola and cello (1965) and clarinet and oboe (1988). His chamber works include seven string quartets, the third of which (1979) was inspired by the landscape of the Lake District . His solo instrumental music was mainly written for the piano; he composed 13 studies for the instrument, including "Gaudí" (1970), inspired by the architect; "Mosaic" (1980), inspired by Islamic art; and a series of seven (2000–9) each explicitly drawing inspiration from a different composer (; }. Other significant piano works include the "Haydn Variations" (1983), written to commemorate the 250th anniversary of Haydn's birth (; ; ). |
McCabe's style evolved gradually from an initial lyrical constructivism through a serialist phase, with a fascination with repetitive patterns leading to a more complex combination of processes to achieve more subtle forms of continuity . Rickards states that his influences included Vaughan Williams, Britten, Tippett and Karl Amadeus Hartmann , and he was also influenced by non-classical music including rock and jazz . |
He had a long-lasting association with the Presteigne Festival . |
McCabe first became known as a pianist. His repertoire was wide, from pre-classical to modern composers . He specialised in twentieth-century music, particularly by English composers. He gave the UK premiere of John Corigliano's Piano Concerto . Another specialism was the music of Haydn; McCabe's "definitive" mid-1970s recording of Haydn's complete piano sonatas was described in "Gramophone" as "one of the great recorded monuments of the keyboard repertoire" (quoted in ). He recorded several CDs with the cellist Julian Lloyd Webber . |
From 1965 to 1968 McCabe was pianist‐in‐residence at University College, Cardiff . He served as principal of the London College of Music from 1983 to 1990, where his efforts to enhance the college's profile resulted in its merging with Thames Valley University (; . He also held visiting professorships at the universities of Melbourne, Australia and Cincinnati, USA during the 1990s . Among his notable pupils is Canadian composer Gary Kulesha . |
McCabe wrote guides to the music of Haydn, Bartók and Rachmaninoff, and a book on contemporary English composer Alan Rawsthorne . |
McCabe was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1985 for his services to music (; ; ) He was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Liverpool . |
In 2014, McCabe won the Classical Music Award at the 59th Ivor Novello Awards . |
He married Monica Smith, a former head of the Sittingbourne Music Society, in 1974 (; ). In December 2012 McCabe was diagnosed with a brain tumour. He continued to compose music during his treatment (; ). |
John McCabe died after a long illness on 13 February 2015 . |
= = = Fazal-ur-Rehman (cricketer) = = = |
Sheikh Fazal-ur-Rehman (; born 11 June 1935, Amritsar, India) is a former Pakistani cricketer who played in one Test in 1958. |
He was educated at Islamia College, Lahore. After he retired from cricket, he completed a Master's degree in Islamic Studies and became a devout Muslim, giving weekly sermons. |
= = = John McCabe = = = |
John McCabe may refer to: |
= = = Second-order election = = = |
Second-order election is a term that appeared for the first time in Karlheinz Reif and Hermann Schmitt's "Nine second-order national elections – A conceptual framework for the analysis of European election results" article for the [European Journal of Political Research, in 1980]. It was used to analyze the first European Parliament elections, held in 1979 in the, then, nine member states of the European Economic Community. According to the "second-order elections" approach, European Parliament elections were "second-order" in that they were viewed as less important by voters, parties and the media than first-order elections. |
First-order elections are those that determine the government and/or executive power in a political system, i.e., national elections. They are first-order in that they are seen as more important by parties, voters and the media. Local and regional elections are also considered second-order elections. |
Second-order elections present the following characteristics: turnout is expected to be lower than in national elections, voters are more prone to vote for protest parties, or parties in the periphery of the political system, rather than the usual mainstream parties they would vote for in a national election. As a result, second-order elections are often used by voters to punish or reward the current governing parties. |
Regarding EP elections, empirical evidence has shown that all six EP elections (1979, 1985, 1989, 1994, 1999, 2004) have been second-order elections. However, the second-order elections approach has not been confirmed for the twelve new member states of the European Union (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia). |
= = = Octoraro Railway = = = |
The Octoraro Railway was a shortline railroad that operated in Pennsylvania from 1977 to 1994. |
The company was formed in 1976. It obtained a lease from SEPTA to operate freight trains on the Octoraro Branch, a former Pennsylvania Railroad branch line, between Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania and the state line near Sylmar, Maryland. It also leased the Wilmington and Northern Railroad, a former Reading Company branch, from Elsmere Jct. (Wilmington, Delaware) to South Modena (Modena, Pennsylvania). The company then created a connection between the two lines at Chadds Ford. |
The Octoraro Railway ceased operations on June 30, 1994. The Delaware Valley Railway acquired the company on July 1, 1994. |
Delaware Valley, a subsidiary of RailAmerica, operated the line until 1999, followed by the Brandywine Valley Railroad (BVRY). The Morristown and Erie Railway provided freight service from July 1, 2003, to November 18, 2004, but operated under the trade name of Octoraro Railroad. East Penn Railway took over operation in 2004 and purchased the right of way from SEPTA. In 2007 the company merged to become East Penn Railroad and operates the Octoraro line. |
= = = Joel Oppenheimer = = = |
Joel Lester Oppenheimer (Jacob Hammer) (February 18, 1930 – October 11, 1988) was an American poet associated with both the Black Mountain poets and the New York School. He was the first director of the St. Marks Poetry Project (1966–68). Though a poet, Oppenheimer was perhaps better known for his columns in the "Village Voice" from 1969 to 1984. |
Oppenheimer was born in Yonkers, New York, attended Cornell University for one year in 1948, spent less than one semester at the University of Chicago, and in 1950 enrolled at Black Mountain College in North Carolina. At Black Mountain, he studied with Paul Goodman and poet Charles Olson, became friends with Fielding Dawson and Ed Dorn, and worked in the school's print shop. |
In his earliest poetry, Oppenheimer shows clearly the influence of William Carlos Williams, but he soon developed his own style. While at Black Mountain, Oppenheimer met and married his first wife, Rena Furlong. He left the school in January 1953 without taking a degree, eventually settling in New York and working in a print shop while continuing to write poetry. |
His first publications were "The Dancer" (1951), as "Jargon", no. 2, 1951, by The Sad Devil Press/Black Mountain College; "The Dutiful Son" (1956) by Jonathan Williams's Jargon Society, reprinted by LeRoi Jones's Totem Press in 1961, "The Love Bit and Other Poems" (1962), again with Totem. His satiric Western drama "The Great American Desert" was the first play produced by Robert Nichols, directed by Lawrence Kornfeld, who had been with the Living Theatre, at the Judson Poets' Theatre. It opened on November 18, 1961. |
Oppenheimer's poetry has been collected in two volumes: Robert J. Bertholf (editor, introduction), "Collected Later Poems of Joel Oppenheimer," with eleven drawings by John Dobbs, The Poetry Collection, 1997 and "Names & Local Habitations (Selected Earlier Poems 1951-1972)," editor Jonathan Williams, The Jargon Society, 1988. |
He also published two nonfiction works, "The Wrong Season," Bobbs-Merrill 1973, about the New York Mets, and "Marilyn Lives," Delilah, 1984, on Marilyn Monroe. "Drawing from Life", posthumously published in 1997, gathered 92 columns written for the "Village Voice". Library Journal wrote that "Drawing from Life" "emphasizes several favorite themes: baseball, politics, and the role of the changing seasons in our lives". |
Oppenheimer died at 58 of lung cancer in Henniker, New Hampshire on October 11, 1988. |
"Don’t Touch the Poet: The Life and Times of Joel Oppenheimer," by Lyman Gilmore, was published by Talisman Press in 1998. |
= = = Songs from Pete Kelly's Blues = = = |
Songs from Pete Kelly's Blues is an album by jazz singer Peggy Lee that contains songs from the film "Pete Kelly's Blues" (1955). Lee starred in the film and re-recorded some of the songs for this album. This album should not be confused with the soundtrack. Lee was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the Academy Awards for her portrayal of a troubled singer. Given that the film occurs in the 1920s, the album is a combination of Dixieland and 1950s swing with help from jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald. |
= = = N-2 = = = |
The N-2 is an Armenian multiple rocket launcher designed and produced by the Garni-ler company starting no later than 2011. Armenia has not released much information regarding the rocket system, however it is apparent that the N-2 is being mass-produced, and is in active use by the Armenian Armed Forces, and likely the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army. The system was developed onto the GAZ-3308, a Russian military truck. The launcher is mainly used with Armenian TB-1 thermobaric missiles and RPG-7 grenades, but is designed to be compatible with a wide variety of ammunition from many different countries. The launcher, holding up to 12 rockets, is fired using a remote electrical panel, and can be fired in single shots or in a salvo for up to 10 seconds. |