Early life and personality.

Born at the Royal Palace of Turin, he was a son of Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia and his second wife Polyxena of Hesse-Rotenburg. He was styled the "Duke of Savoy" from birth until he succeeded to his father's throne. He was the eldest son of his parents and was the heir apparent from birth which was greeted with much celebration. His father had had a son with his first wife, Countess Palatine Anne Christine of Sulzbach who was also named Victor Amadeus, Duke of Aosta, but died in 1725. His education was entrusted to Gerdil Giacinto Sigismondo, with a particular emphasis on military training. Throughout his life he would have a great interest in the state military on which he lavished attention.  As a young prince, he surrounded himself with intellectuals and ministers, many of whom would come to prominence in his reign. He was privately conservative and very religious person, who, as a young boy, stayed far from public life. His father felt him to be unsuitable to hold power.  Good-natured but naive, Savoy would be loved by his subjects for his generosity.

Marriage.

He married Infanta Maria Antonia of Spain (1729–1785), youngest daughter of Philip V of Spain and Elisabeth Farnese. They were married on 31 May 1750 at Oulx and later had twelve children. He had a loving relationship with his wife who exerted little influence over her husband. The marriage had been arranged by Maria Antonietta's half brother, the ruling Ferdinand VI of Spain. The Spanish Infanta had been previously rejected by Louis, Dauphin of France. The union was used to strengthen relations between Madrid and Turin having fought on opposing sides in the War of the Austrian Succession. The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle ended the war.

King of Sardinia.

When Victor Amadeus came to the throne in 1773 he started working on bureaucratic and military aspects of the reign. He was suspicious of anything innovative. However, he did implement several public works as well as paying a great deal of attention to his administration and armed forces. He approved and set up two new important cultural state institutions on the advice of the bourgeoisie and aristocracy alike. He started works of improvements in the port of Nice, and had dams in the Arce and the road of the Côte built.  At the outbreak of the French Revolution, Victor Amadeus III allowed his two sons-in-law, the Counts of Artois, Provence and the Princesses Marie Adélaïde and Victoire to stay in his kingdom under his protection. After four years of fighting, the French under Bonaparte had finally beaten the Piedmontese army in the Battle of Montenotte (12 April 1796), the Battle of Millesimo (13–14 April 1796) and the Battle of Mondovi (21 April 1796). On April 26 the French proclaimed the Republic of Alba on the occupied territories. Two days later, with the Armistice of Cherasco, the Republic was ceded back to Victor Amadeus. He was forced to sign the Treaty of Paris on May 15 abandoning the First Coalition against the French Republic. The terms of the treaty required him to cede the fortresses of Cuneo, Ceva, Alessandria and Tortona to France, and allow free passage of the latter's armies towards Italy. He was also compelled to cede Nice and Savoy.  He died on 16 October, 1796 at the Castle of Moncalieri having suffered an attack of apoplexy. Victor Amadeus died leaving an economically damaged kingdom and two key provinces – Savoy and Nice – devastated having suffered at the hands of French revolutionary forces. He was buried at the Basilica of Superga in Turin.

Legacy.

In 1786 Victor Amadeus III moved many of his ancestors and kinsmen to the Basilica of Superga where he himself rests today. He established the Gold Medal of Military Valor 21 May 1793. Like his parents, he carried out improvements to the Palazzina di caccia of Stupinigi outside Turin. Victor Amadeus III also encouraged the extension of the Orto Botanico dell'Università di Torino as well as the Società Agraria di Torino which he created in 1785. His first cousin the Landgrave of Hesse-Rotenburg was named after him.

Victor Amadeus III (Vittorio Amadeo Maria; 26 June 1726 – 16 October 1796) was King of Sardinia from 1773 to his death. Although he was politically conservative, he carried out numerous administrative reforms until he declared war on Revolutionary France in 1792. He was the father of the last three mainline Kings of Sardinia.


Biography.

Tárrega was born on 21 November 1852, in Villarreal, Province of Castellón, Spain. It is said that Francisco's father played flamenco and several other music styles on his guitar; when his father was away working as a watchman at the Convent of San Pascual, Francisco would take his father's guitar and attempt to make the beautiful sounds he had heard. Francisco's nickname as a child was "Quiquet".  As a child, he ran away from his nanny and fell into an irrigation channel and injured his eyes. Fearing that his son might lose his sight completely, his father moved the family to Castellón de la Plana to attend music classes because as a musician he would be able to earn a living, even if blind. Both his first music teachers, Eugeni Ruiz and Manuel González, were blind.  In 1862, concert guitarist Julián Arcas, on tour in Castellón, heard the young Tárrega play and advised Tárrega's father to allow Francisco to come to Barcelona to study with him. Tárrega's father agreed, but insisted that his son take piano lessons as well. The guitar was viewed as an instrument to accompany singers, while the piano was quite popular throughout Europe. However, Tárrega had to stop his lessons shortly after, when Arcas left for a concert tour abroad. Although Tárrega was only ten years old, he ran away and tried to start a musical career on his own by playing in coffee houses and restaurants in Barcelona. He was soon found and brought back to his father, who had to make great sacrifices to advance his son's musical education.  Three years later, in 1865, he ran away again, this time to Valencia where he joined a gang of gypsies. His father looked for him and brought him back home once more, but he ran away a third time, again to Valencia. By his early teens, Tárrega was proficient on both the piano and the guitar. For a time, he played with other musicians at local engagements to earn money, but eventually he returned home to help his family. Tárrega entered the Madrid conservatory in 1874, under the sponsorship of a wealthy merchant named Antonio Canesa. He had brought along with him a recently purchased guitar, made in Seville by Antonio de Torres. Its superior sonic qualities inspired him both in his playing and in his view of the instrument's compositional potential. At the conservatory, Tárrega studied composition under Emilio Arrieta who convinced him to focus on guitar and abandon the idea of a career with the piano.  By the end of the 1870s, Tárrega was teaching the guitar (Emilio Pujol, Miguel Llobet, and Daniel Fortea were pupils of his) and giving regular concerts. Tárrega received much acclaim for his playing and began traveling to other areas of Spain to perform. By this time he was composing his first works for guitar, which he played in addition to works of other composers.  During the winter of 1880, Tárrega replaced his friend Luis de Soria, in a concert in Novelda, Alicante, where, after the concert, an important man in town asked the artist to listen to his daughter, María José Rizo, who was learning to play guitar. Soon they were engaged.  In 1881, Tárrega played in the Opera Theatre in Lyon and then the Paris Odeon, in the bicentenary of the death of Pedro Calderón de la Barca. He also played in London, but he liked neither the language nor the weather. There is a story about his visit to England. After a concert, some people saw that the musician was in low spirits. "What is the matter, maestro?" they asked him. "Do you miss home? Your family, perhaps?" They advised him to capture that moment of sadness in his music. Thus he conceived the theme of one of his most memorable works, "Lágrima" (literally meaning teardrop). After playing in London he came back to Novelda for his wedding. At Christmas 1882, Tárrega married María José Rizo.  To enlarge his guitar repertory and, no doubt, to make use of his considerable knowledge of keyboard music, he soon began transcribing piano works of Beethoven, Chopin, Mendelssohn and others. Tárrega and his wife moved to Madrid, gaining their living by teaching privately and playing concerts, but after the death of an infant daughter during the winter, Maria Josefa de los Angeles Tárrega Rizo, they settled permanently in Barcelona in 1885. Among his friends in Barcelona were Isaac Albéniz, Enrique Granados, Joaquín Turina and Pablo Casals.  Francisco Tárrega and María José (María Josefa) Rizo had three more children: Paquito (Francisco), Maria Rosatia (María Rosalia) (best known as Marieta) and Concepción. On a concert tour in Valencia shortly afterward, Tárrega met a wealthy widow, Conxa Martinez, who became a valuable patron to him. She allowed him and his family use of a house in Barcelona, where he would write the bulk of his most popular works. Later she took him to Granada, where the guitarist conceived the theme for "Recuerdos de la Alhambra", which he composed on his return and dedicated to his friend Alfred Cottin, a Frenchman who had arranged his Paris concerts.  From the later 1880s up to 1903, Tárrega continued composing, but limited his concerts to Spain. In 1900, Tárrega visited Algiers, where he heard a repetitive rhythm played on an Arabian drum. The following morning he composed "Danza Mora" based on that rhythm. In about 1902, he cut his fingernails and created a sound that would become typical of those guitarists associated with his school. The following year he went on tour to Italy, giving highly successful concerts in Rome, Naples, and Milan.  In January 1906, he was afflicted with paralysis on his right side, and though he would eventually return to the concert stage, he never completely recovered. He finished his last work, "Oremus", on 2 December 1909. He died in Barcelona thirteen days later, on 15 December, at the age of 57.

Musical style.

As a composer Tárrega was conservative, with a style similar to the general trends of the second half of the 19th century. A virtuoso on his instrument, he was known as the "Sarasate of the guitar".  Tárrega is considered to have laid the foundations for 20th century classical guitar and for increasing interest in the guitar as a recital instrument. Tárrega preferred small intimate performances over the concert stage.

Compositions.

Francisco Tárrega composed 78 original scores and 120 transcriptions – mostly for his own use.  As with several of his Spanish contemporaries, such as his friend Isaac Albéniz, he had an interest in combining the prevailing Romantic trend in classical music with Spanish folk elements, and transcribed several of Albéniz's piano pieces. The contemporary guitarist and composer Angelo Gilardino has written that Tárrega's 9 "Preludios" are "... the deepest musical thought of Tárrega in the most concentrated form."  He is also the composer of "Gran Vals", an excerpt of which was used in the iconic Nokia ringtone.

Guitars.

The guitars used by Tárrega include:

Francisco de Asís Tárrega y Eixea (21 November 185215 December 1909) was a Spanish composer and classical guitarist of the Romantic period. He is known for such pieces as "Recuerdos de la Alhambra". He is often called "the father of classical guitar" and is considered one of the greatest guitarists of all time.


Band history.

The beginning.

In 1988, Martial and Cédric began hosting a radio show on a local FM station, with Martial rapping in the show and Cédric as DJ. The show ended in two years and built up a following of fans. When the show ended, Cédric managed to get a job at the radio station Skyrock.  Several years later, Cédric met R.V., who had come into the station to perform a live session with his group MeanWhile. R.V. had just finished seven years of schooling at the prestigious Paris Conservatoire, and was now able to play guitar, bass, accordion, and keyboard. Cédric and R.V. hit it off immediately and began talking about making a group.  Meanwhile, Martial had been developing a career as a songwriter. One of his brother's friends had introduced him to the joys of Celtic culture, and he picked up on it immediately, discovering the work of Breton folk stars such as Dan Ar Braz, Yann-Fanch Kemener and the group Tri Yann. Martial's early songs were also greatly influenced by Jean Markale's novel "L'épopée Celte," an amazing account of ancient Celtic folklore, peopled with Druids and Celtic warlords.

Formation as a group.

Shortly after Cédric and R.V.'s meeting, they teamed up with Martial to form the group Manau. They set to work on a unique fusion of Celtic rhythms and rap beats. One of their demo tapes landed on the desk of the creative director at Polydor. Impressed by their highly original sound, he immediately offered them a recording contract.  The band set to work on their new single, "La Tribu de Dana" and it was released in May 1998. The song rocketed to the top of the charts, selling a huge 1.7 million copies to date, 1.5 million of them in the first few months after its release. "La tribu de Dana" means "the tribe of Dana," and is the name of a group of figures in Irish mythology, also described in "L'épopée Celte." For further information see "Tuatha Dé Danann".  Although the song was very popular, it sounded very familiar to older music fans. And with good reason. The chorus of Manau's single was actually a cover of the melody line from Alan Stivell's famous 1970s folk hit "Tri Martolod". Stivell promptly sued the group. Manau maintains that the song was simply a baseline, and was modified enough to not be considered plagiarism.

Success.

Marketing directors at Polydor were encouraged by the single's success and asked the band to create a debut album. Although they had an extremely tight deadline, Manau set to work. They enlisted the help of Loïc Taillebrest, a well-known folk musician renowned for his performances on the bagpipes and the bombarde.  They went on to finish their debut album, "Panique celtique", after just a few weeks' work in the studio. The album was released in July 1998 and, as expected, it soared to the top of the French album charts, selling over 500,000 copies almost immediately and reaching the one million mark a year later.  Manau's popularity increased exponentially. They were soon invited to several music festivals, including the famous Francofolies festival in la Rochelle, and the annual music festival in Marseilles. They also were able to perform with the legendary French folk group Tri Yann at the Saint-Renan festival in Brittany.

1999 Victoires de la Musique.

The group embarked upon a major national tour at the beginning of 1999 and, right in the middle of the tour, received the award for Best Rap/Groove Album of the year at "Victoires de la Musique" (the annual French Music Awards) held in Paris in February. The group claimed their win felt ""pretty weird"" as, with the music they make, they didn't see themselves as ""truly representative of rap as a genre"". The group's win also garnered criticism from rap groups such as IAM, Fonky Family, and NTM who called into question the judgement of the "Victoires de la Musique". Manau also faced ridicule from rappers who doubted their talent in rap.

Changes.

Shortly after the group received the award for Best Rap/Groove Album of the year at "Victoires de la Musique", Hervé decided to leave the group and devote himself to his old band MeanWhile.  The chart-topping trio had become a chart-topping duo. But this didn't seem to bother the fans, as they kept coming out in droves to cheer on Martial and Cédric.

Further albums.

Manau came storming back into the French music news in the autumn of 2000 with a second album entitled "Fest Noz de Paname". Manau spent a year in the studio perfecting their sound and, after eight months of practically non-stop touring, their sound had matured considerably. Moving away from the "Celtic rap fusion" style which had made their name, the group began experimenting with new genres and working with different artists. Their second album includes two "duets" with Maurane and Dee Dee Bridgewater. The success was not what was expected, but still enormous. The departure of RV was noticeable on this album. The style was more blues/jazz and less Celtic, but not to the extent of that of the next album "on peut tous rever", in which they tried a more commercial style of rap/hiphop. Manau published a new album, "Nouvelle Vague" on 8 November 2019.

Manau () is a French hip hop group formed in 1998, known for their fusing of traditional Celtic melodies with modern hip hop beats. It was initially composed of Martial Tricoche, Cédric Soubiron, and R.V. (Hervé) Lardic until R.V.'s departure and replacement by Gregor Gandon. Although the band is currently based in Paris, all of the members can trace their roots back to Brittany. The group's name comes from the old Gaelic name for the Isle of Man.


Biography.

Born in Versec (modern-day Vršac) into a Serb family as Dimitrije Stojaković (), Sztójay joined the Austro-Hungarian Army as a young man and served as a colonel during World War I. After the war, Sztójay served in Admiral Miklós Horthy’s counter-revolutionary army, specializing in counter-espionage. After Horthy became Regent of Hungary, Sztójay was promoted to general and served as a military attaché in Berlin from 1925 to 1933. He Magyarized his name to Sztójay in 1927. From 1933 to 1935, Sztójay served in the Ministry of Defence. In 1935, Prime Minister Gyula Gömbös named Sztójay as Hungarian ambassador to Germany, a position he would hold until 1944. As ambassador, Sztójay formed strong ties with the Third Reich and often voiced support for German policies to his superiors in Hungary.  In Operation Margarethe in March 1944, the German Army occupied Hungary and forced Horthy to remove Prime Minister Miklós Kállay from office. Kállay, like Horthy, knew that Germany was losing the war, and had put out numerous feelers to the West. On 9 September 1943 László Veress, an employee of the Ministry of Exterior signed a secret agreement to surrender unconditionally to the Western Allies. Although Kállay and his government had promised on numerous occasions to surrender to the Western Allies as soon as they reached Hungary, Veress' agreement was unauthorized, as in Kállay's consideration it effectively gave up Hungary's sovereignty.  Nevertheless, the agreement didn't sit well with Berlin. When they took over the country, the Germans gave Horthy a choice between choosing a new prime minister who would cooperate with the Germans or undisguised occupation. Knowing that the latter would likely mean a gauleiter who would treat Hungary in the same manner as the other Nazi-occupied countries, Horthy chose the former. The German Plenipotentiary for Hungary, Edmund Veesenmayer, proposed that Horthy reappoint Béla Imrédy, who had been prime minister earlier in the war (and who had, ironically, a Jewish great-grandfather). However, Horthy balked at appointing the strongly pro-German Imrédy and suggested Sztójay instead. Though Sztójay had been ambassador to Berlin for a decade and was known to be pro-German, Horthy believed that at bottom he was a soldier first and would not totally give in to German demands. The Germans readily approved of Horthy's choice, and on 23 March 1944, Sztójay was appointed Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs.  As prime minister, Sztójay legalized Ferenc Szálasi’s Arrow Cross Party, increased Hungarian troop levels on the Eastern Front, dissolved the nation's labor unions, jailed political opponents, and cracked down on left wing politicians and activists. He also significantly ramped up the pace of forced deportations of Hungarian Jews, but at the same time tried to reduce the consequences. Horthy quickly became appalled by Sztójay's actions and demanded his removal as prime minister, but Veesenmayer, backed by Adolf Hitler, sternly refused to do so. Horthy refused to give in entirely, however, and used his influence to stop the deportations of Hungary's Jews and to force Imrédy out of Sztójay's cabinet. The Germans finally submitted to Horthy's pressure in August 1944 and Sztójay resigned as prime minister in favour of Géza Lakatos.  When Horthy was removed from power by the Germans in October 1944, Sztójay was not reappointed prime minister due to poor health. Sztójay subsequently fled Hungary when the Germans were driven out of the country by the Red Army in April 1945. Sztójay was later captured by American troops and extradited to Hungary in October 1945, after which time he was tried by a People's Tribunal in Budapest. He was found guilty of war crimes and crimes against the Hungarian people, sentenced to death, and executed by a firing squad in Budapest in 1946.

Döme Sztójay (5 January 1883 – 22 August 1946) was a Hungarian soldier and diplomat of Serb origin, who served as Prime Minister of Hungary in 1944, during World War II.


Biography.

He was a younger son of King Augustus III of Poland (who was also Elector of Saxony) and Maria Josepha of Austria, a first cousin of Empress Maria Theresa, being the eldest daughter of Emperor Joseph I. Prince Albert of Saxony, Duke of Teschen, was also one of the godparents to his namesake, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.  Young Albert was specifically chosen by Archduchess Maria Christina of Austria to be her husband. This was a special favour granted by her mother, Empress Maria Theresa of Austria, because marriages of imperial children were usually used for diplomatic purposes. Still, the betrothal and wedding had to wait until the death of her father, Emperor Francis I, and the wedding decorations were black because it occurred during the official mourning period after his death. From his father-in-law's estate, Albert received the territory of Teschen in Austrian Silesia and was accordingly given the title of "Duke of Teschen." Since he became a member of the Habsburg-Lorraine family, the title of "Archduke" was also given to him.  The Silesian Duchy of Teschen had been inherited by Emperor Francis through his father's Gonzaga ancestry, as compensation for the lost Duchy of Montferrat, taken from them in favor of the dukes of Savoy. Archduchess Maria Christina, the daughter of Francis of Lorraine, received the duchy among her dowry. Prince Albert of Saxony thus became the Duke of Teschen, the only non-Habsburg to become such after the title passed into Habsburg control. Their marriage remained childless except for a daughter that died as a baby, and upon the death of the widowed Albert in 1822, Teschen was granted to their adopted son, Archduke Charles of Austria, who became Duke of Teschen and started the Habsburg-Lorraine branch of Dukes of Teschen.  Albert was royal governor of Hungary from 1765 to 1781, with his seat at Bratislava Castle and his summer residence in Halbturn Castle at Neusiedl. He was then made Governor of the Austrian Netherlands, along with his wife. In Brussels, they built a palace in Laeken (the present-day home of the Belgian royal family) as their seat. There, he assembled the beginnings of his vast art collection, which he took with him when the couple had to flee from Brussels to Vienna in 1793, due to the French Revolution and following his military defeat by invasion forces at the Battle of Jemappes.  In Vienna, a palace adjoining the Hofburg, originally designed by Emanuel Teles Silva-Tarouca, was enlarged for them by architect Louis Montoyer. That palace is today called the Albertina, after Albert, and houses the collection he started. Only two-thirds of his collection survives, because one of the cargo ships bringing it from Brussels sank "en route". After his return to Vienna, he used as an advisor Adam von Bartsch, the Curator of the Imperial prints collection and the greatest prints scholar of his age.  After the early death of his wife in 1798 of typhus, he lived only for his art collection, which he bequeathed to his (wife's) nephew and adopted son Archduke Charles of Austria.  Next door to his palace, in the "Augustinerkirche", Albert had a famous memorial to his wife carved by Antonio Canova. The couple are buried in tombs 111 and 112 in the Tuscan Vault of the Imperial Crypt in Vienna, with their hearts in urns 40 and 28 in the nearby Herzgruft, and their viscera in urns 75 and 63 of the Ducal Crypt in Vienna's cathedral.

Prince Albert Casimir of Saxony, Duke of Teschen (11 July 1738, Moritzburg, Electorate of Saxony – 10 February 1822, Vienna) was a Saxon prince from the House of Wettin who married into the Habsburg imperial family. He was noted as an art collector and founded the Albertina in Vienna, one of the largest and finest collections of old master prints and drawings in the world.


Early life.

Trenck was born into a military family on 1 January 1711, in Reggio in south Italy, where his father Johann Heinrich Trenck served as an Austrian officer. Although born in Italy, Trenk was actually a Prussian with Austrian citizenship, and with large estates in Croatia, more precisely Slavonia. He spent his childhood mostly in Italy, Croatia and Hungary, which was not unusual since his father's job required frequent relocation. He was educated by the Jesuits at Ödenburg.

Military career.

Trenck entered the Imperial army in 1728 but resigned in disgrace three years later and decided to live peacefully in Požega, Slavonia. He married and lived on his estate for a few years. Upon the death of his wife who had perished in the black plague of 1737, he offered to raise an irregular corps of pandurs for service against the Turks, but this offer was refused, after which he entered the Imperial Russian Army as a mercenary. In Russia he met and befriended Ernst Gideon von Laudon. But after serving against the Turks and Tatars during the Russo-Turkish War for a short time as captain and major of cavalry he was accused of bad conduct, brutality and disobedience and condemned to death. Despite showing insubordination he had gained popularity for defying an order to retreat. His sentence was commuted by Field Marschal Münnich to degradation and imprisonment.  After a time Trenck returned to Austria, where his father was governor of a small fortress, but there he came into conflict with everyone and actually took sanctuary in a convent in Vienna. Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine, interesting himself in this strange man, obtained for him an amnesty and a commission in a corps of irregulars. In this command, besides his usual truculence and bad manners, he displayed conspicuous personal bravery, and in spite of the general dislike into which his vices brought him his services were so valuable that he was promoted to lieutenant-colonel (1743) and colonel (1744).  Trenck earned most of his fame during the War of the Austrian Succession, as the leader and commander of a unit of pandurs, or paramilitary troops in the Austrian army which specialized in frontier warfare, guerrilla tactics and surprise hit-and-run actions, into which he recruited mostly Croatian mercenaries, experienced fighters from the Austro-Ottoman Military Frontier. The Trenck's Pandurs soon became infamous for the atrocities they committed on the civilian population, some actions deemed brutal even by the standards of the day.  When the War of the Austrian Succession broke out Trenck rallied volunteers and marched for Vienna to assist Maria Theresa of Austria. While in Vienna, Trenck's Pandurs marched the streets before invading Prussia. At the battle of Soor he and his irregulars plundered when they should have been fighting and Trenck was accused of having allowed the king of Prussia himself to escape.

Imprisonment and death.

After a time he was brought before a court-martial in Vienna, which convicted him of having sold and withdrawn commissions to his officers without the permission of the empress, having punished his men without heed of the military code, and having drawn pay and allowance for fictitious men. Much was allowed to an irregular officer in all these respects, but Trenck had far outrun the admitted limits, and above all his brutalities and robberies had made him detested throughout Austria and Silesia. A death sentence followed, but the composition of the court-martial and its proceedings were thought to have been such as from the first forbade a fair trial as such, though most modern historians think the sentence to have been correct, even so. Nonetheless, concerns about the apparently arbitrary form of the proceedings meant that eventually the sentence was commuted by the Empress into one of cashiering and imprisonment. The rest of his life was spent in mild captivity in the fortress of Spielberg () in Brno, where he died on October 4, 1749. In his last will he left the sum of 30,000 gulden to the small town of Marienburg which had been sacked, burned and razed to the ground by his troops.  Trenck's mummified remains can presently be seen on display in the crypt of Brno's Capuchin Monastery.

Baron Franz von der Trenck (German: "Franz Freiherr von der Trenck", Croatian: "Barun Franjo Trenk") (Reggio di Calabria. January 1, 1711 – Brno. October 4, 1749) was an Austrian soldier.


Biography.

He was born in the Castle of Rivoli in Piedmont, the only child of Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy and Margaret of France, Duchess of Berry. He became duke on 30 August 1580.  Well-educated, and intelligent, he spoke Italian, French and Spanish, as well as Latin. He proved an able warrior although short and hunchbacked. Being also ambitious and confident, he pursued a policy of expansion for his duchy, seeking to expand it into a kingdom. In the autumn of 1588, taking advantage of the civil war weakening France during the reign of his first cousin Henry III, he occupied the Marquisate of Saluzzo, which was under French protection. The new king, Henry IV, demanded the restitution of that land, but Charles Emmanuel refused, and war ensued. The broader conflict involving France and Spain ended with the Peace of Vervins (2 May 1598), which left the current but separate question of Saluzzo unsolved. After the Duke started talks with Spain, Henry threatened to return to war until, with the Treaty of Lyon (17 January 1601), Saluzzo went to Savoy in exchange for Bresse and other territories over the Alps. By terms of the treaty, the eradication of Protestants was to be carried on in the duchy.  In 1602 Charles Emmanuel attacked the city of Geneva. On 11 December that year he led his troops to the city during the night and they surrounded the city walls by two in the morning. The Savoyard cuirassiers were ordered to dismount and climb the city walls in full armour as a shock tactic. However, the alarm was raised by a night watchman and Geneva's militia rose to meet the invaders. The attempted raid was a disastrous failure, and 54 Savoyards were killed, and many more were captured. Charles Emmanuel's army retreated in a panic and the Savoyard prisoners were executed.  The heavy helmets worn by Charles Emmanuel's troops, with visors made in a stylized imitation of a human face, were known as "Savoyard" helmets after this notorious incident. A number of these suits of armour were captured by the Swiss and kept as trophies. The Geneva militia's successful defence of the city's walls is still celebrated as an act of heroism during the annual festival of L'Escalade.  With the Treaty of Bruzolo (25 April 1610), Charles Emmanuel allied with France against Spain, but the assassination of Henry IV changed the situation, as the treaty was not recognized by Marie de' Medici, who immediately assumed regency for Henry's son Louis XIII, a minor. Nevertheless, Charles Emmanuel obtained the help of French troops to free Alba from the Spaniards (January 1617), as the new king resumed his father's alliance with Savoy. His sister Christine Marie was married to Charles Emmanuel's son, Victor Amadeus in 1619. In the First Genoese-Savoyard War of 1625, Charles Emmanuel tried with the help of France to obtain access to the Mediterranean Sea at the expense of Genoa. After Spanish intervention, the status-quo was restored in the Treaty of Monçon. However, when the French occupied Casale Monferrato during the War of the Mantuan Succession, Charles Emmanuel allied with Spain. When Richelieu invaded Piedmont and conquered Susa, the duke changed sides again and returned to an alliance with France. However, when Philip IV of Spain sent two invasion forces from Genoa and Como, Charles Emmanuel declared himself neutral, and in 1630 Richelieu ordered a French army to march into Savoy to force the duke to comply with the pacts. The French troops, soon backed by another army, occupied Pinerolo and Avigliana. The Savoy army under Victor Amadeus was defeated in Lower Valsusa.  Charles Emmanuel was one of the most wanted candidates for the crown of a restored Serbian kingdom, hypothetically presumed after a Christian crusade against the Ottoman Empire during planning for the Great Conspiracy of the late 16th and early 17th centuries under the auspices of Serbian Patriarch Jovan, Herzegovinian Duke Grdan and other chiefs of the Serb clans.. At the 1608 Council of monastery Morača, during a gathering of representatives of the Serb clans and the Serbian Church, Charles was elected "King of Serbia" and invited to convert to Eastern Orthodoxy (as a precondition for being crowned by Patriarch John) and to vow to protect Orthodox Christianity.. The conspirators, bearing closely in mind the failures of the 1590 decade, did not want to expose themselves in any action before direct support from the West was forthcoming. Thus no broad uprising of the Balkan Christian peoples against the rule of the Ottoman Turks was sparked, as Charles Emmanuel lacked the financial resources to take the crown and restore the Serbian statehood extinguished in the 15th century.  In 1609, Charles Emmanuel came in contact with Albanian mercenaries like Giovanni Renesi, his brother Demetrio Renesi and a relative Don Joanne Renesi, who intended to revolt against the Ottomans at the Convention of Kuçi in 1614.  The duke died suddenly of a stroke at Savigliano in late July 1630. He was succeeded by his son Victor Amadeus.

Marriage and issue.

In 1584 he married his first cousin-once-removed, Infanta Catherine Michelle of Spain, daughter of Philip II of Spain and Elizabeth of Valois, who bore him ten children:  In Riva di Chieri on 28 November 1629, he secretly married his long-time and official mistress, Marguerite de Rossillon, "Marchesa" di Riva di Chieri (bap. 24 December 1599 – 10 November 1640), with whom he had four children, legitimized after the wedding but without succession rights:  In addition he had several illegitimate children:  — With Luisa de During Maréchal:  — With Virginia Pallavicino:  — With Argentina Provana:  — With Anna Felizita Cusani:  — With unknown mistress:

Charles Emmanuel I (; 12 January 1562 – 26 July 1630), known as the Great, was the Duke of Savoy from 1580 to 1630. He was nicknamed "Testa d'feu" ("the Hot-Headed") for his rashness and military aggression.


Early life.

Spyridon Louis was born in the town of Marousi, north of Athens, into a poor family. Louis's father sold mineral water in Athens, which at the time lacked a central water supply, and Spyridon helped him by transporting it.

Preparation.

After Pierre de Coubertin's decision in 1894 to revive the Olympic Games, preparations were made to organise the first modern Olympics in Athens. One of the races would be the marathon, an event which had never been held before. It had been suggested by Frenchman Michel Bréal, who was inspired by the legend of the messenger Pheidippides, who had run from Marathon to Athens to announce the Athenian victory in the Battle of Marathon—and then dropped dead.  The Greeks were very enthusiastic about this new event and decided to hold qualifiers for the marathon. These races were started by Colonel Papadiamantopoulos, who Louis previously served under in the military. The first qualifying race—the first ever marathon race—was held on 22 March, and was won by Charilaos Vasilakos in 3 hours, 18 minutes. Louis participated in the second qualifying race, two weeks later, and placed fifth. Papadiamantopoulos, who knew of Louis's talent in running, had convinced him to try out.  The Olympic marathon was run on 10 April (or 29 March by the Julian calendar then in use in Greece). The Greek public had been very enthusiastic about the Games, but were disappointed in the fact that no track and field event had yet been won by a Greek competitor. The victory in the discus throw, a classical Greek event, by the American Robert Garrett had been particularly painful. Because of its close connection with Greek history, the public yearned for the marathon to be won by one of their countrymen.

The marathon race.

In Marathon, Colonel Papadiamantopoulos gave the starting signal for the small field, consisting of seventeen athletes, thirteen of them representing Greece. The early leader of the race, which led over dusty dirt roads along which throngs of Greeks had gathered to watch, was the Frenchman Albin Lermusiaux, who had placed third in the 1500 metres prior to the marathon. In the town of Pikermi, Louis is said to have made a stop at a local inn to drink a glass of wine. (Louis's grandson, also Spyridon Louis, has stated that this is incorrect; that his grandfather's girlfriend gave him half an orange and shortly afterwards he "got a glass of cognac from his future father-in-law.") After asking for the advantage of the other runners, he confidently declared he would overtake them all before the end.  After 26 km, Lermusiaux was exhausted and abandoned the race. The lead was taken over by Edwin Flack, an Australian who won the 800 and 1500 m races. Louis slowly closed in on Flack. The Australian, not used to running long distances, collapsed a few kilometers onwards, giving Louis the lead.  During the race, there was tension among the Greek spectators when Flack was in first place. However, when news was delivered to the fans that Louis overtook the lead, the cry "Hellene, Hellene!" was taken up by rapturous spectators. Louis was greeted with cheers after entering the Panathenaic Stadium for the final part of the marathon. Louis ran with Crown Prince Constantine and Prince George of Greece during the last lap, finishing with a time of 2:58:50. Louis's victory set off wild celebrations, as described in the official report of the Games:  Here the Olympionic Victor was received with full honour; the King rose from his seat and congratulated him most warmly on his success. Some of the King’s aides-de-camp, and several members of the Committee went so far as to kiss and embrace the victor, who finally was carried in triumph to the retiring room under the vaulted entrance. The scene witnessed then inside the Stadion cannot be easily described, even strangers were carried away by the general enthusiasm.  Adding to the celebrations, two more Greek runners entered the stadium to finish in second and third place. Third place finisher Spyridon Belokas was later found to have covered part of the course by carriage and was disqualified; third place was awarded to the Hungarian Gyula Kellner.

After the Olympics.

After his victory, Louis received gifts from many countrymen, ranging from jewellery to a lifelong free shave at a barber shop. It is unknown whether Louis accepted all these gifts, although he did take back home the carriage he had asked of the king. After the Olympics, Louis ended his athletic career to become a farmer and a police officer.  In 1926, Louis was arrested on charges of falsifying military documents and was imprisoned. After spending more than a year in jail, he was acquitted.  His last public appearance came in 1936, when he was invited to be a guest of honour by the organizers of the 1936 Summer Olympics, held in Berlin. After bearing the standard of the Greek team during the opening ceremonies, he was received by Adolf Hitler and offered him an olive branch from Olympia, the birthplace of the Olympic Games, as a symbol of peace. Louis recalled the moments after his victory: "That hour was something unimaginable and it still appears to me in my memory like a dream... Twigs and flowers were raining down on me. Everybody was calling out my name and throwing their hats in the air..."  Several months before the Italian invasion of Greece, Louis died. In Greece, various sports establishments are named after Louis. These include the Olympic Stadium of Athens where the 2004 Summer Olympics were held, as well as the road outside the stadium.  The Jayne Mansfield movie "It Happened in Athens" is a heavily fictionalized take on Louis and the marathon, and his story is featured in the 1984 TV miniseries "". The expression in Greek: ""yinomai Louis"" (γίνομαι Λούης), translated as "to becοme Louis," is now employed to mean "tο disappear by running fast."

Breal's Silver Cup.

The silver cup given to Louis at the first modern Olympic Games staged in Athens in 1896, was sold for £541,250 ($860,000) in London during a Christie's auction on 18 April 2012. The trophy, with a height of six inches, broke the auction record for Olympic memorabilia. The item was sold on the day Britain marked the 100 days' countdown to the 2012 London Olympics. Christie's called the auction "heated" and involved six bidders. The auctioneer later confirmed the buyer as the Stavros Niarchos Foundation.  The cup is currently displayed at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, a project of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, fulfilling the commitment of the foundation to make it available to the public and to share it with everyone, upon the project's completion. During the development of the project, the cup was temporarily displayed at the Acropolis Museum of Athens and the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, during a period that coincided with the International Marathon of Lausanne.

Spyridon Louis (, sometimes transliterated "Spiridon Loues"; 12 January 1873 – 26 March 1940), commonly known as Spyros Louis (Σπύρος Λούης), was a Greek water-carrier who won the first modern-day Olympic marathon at the 1896 Summer Olympics. Following his victory, he was celebrated as a national hero.


Biography.

Marie Tussaud was born 1 December 1761 in Strasbourg, France. Her father, Joseph Grosholtz, was killed in the Seven Years' War just two months before Marie was born. When she was six years old, her mother, Anne-Marie Walder, took her to Bern, in Switzerland. There the family moved into the home of local doctor Philippe Curtius (1741–1794), for whom Anne-Marie acted as housekeeper.  Curtius, whom Marie would call her uncle, was skilled in wax modeling. He initially used this talent to illustrate anatomy, but he later used it for portraits. He moved to Paris in 1765 to establish a "Cabinet de Portraits En Cire" (Wax portraiture firm). In that year, he made a waxwork of Louis XV's last mistress, Madame du Barry, a cast that is the oldest waxwork currently on display. A year later, Tussaud and her mother joined Curtius in Paris. The first exhibition of Curtius' waxworks was shown in 1770 and attracted a large crowd. In 1776, the exhibition was moved to the Palais Royal and, in 1782, Curtius opened a second exhibit, the Caverne des Grands Voleurs (Cavern of the Grand Thieves), a precursor to Tussaud's Chamber of Horrors, on Boulevard du Temple.  Curtius taught Tussaud the art of wax modelling. She showed talent for the technique and began working for him as an artist. In 1777, she created her first wax figure, that of Voltaire. From 1780 until the Revolution in 1789, Tussaud created many of her most famous portraits of celebrities such as those of philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Benjamin Franklin and Voltaire. She was also called upon to cast the heads of individuals executed by guillotine and whole body casts of prominent figures at the time, such as Jean-Paul Marat. During this period her memoirs claim she became employed to teach votive making to Élisabeth, the sister of Louis XVI. In her memoirs, she admitted to be privy to private conversations between the princess and her brother and members of his court. She also claimed that members of the royal family were so pleased with her work that she was invited to live at Versailles for a period of nine years, although no contemporary evidence exists to confirm her accounts.

French Revolution.

On 12 July 1789, wax heads of Jacques Necker and the duc d'Orléans made by Curtius were carried in a protest march two days before the attack on the Bastille.  Tussaud was perceived as a royal sympathiser; in the Reign of Terror she was arrested, along with Joséphine de Beauharnais, and her head was shaved in preparation for her execution by guillotine. She said she was released thanks to Collot d'Herbois' support for Curtius and his household. Tussaud said she was then employed to make death masks of the revolution's famous victims, including Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, Marat, and Robespierre.  When Curtius died in 1794, he left his collection of wax works to Tussaud. In 1795, she married François Tussaud, a civil engineer. The couple had three children: a daughter who died after birth and two sons, Joseph and François.

Great Britain.

In 1802, after the Treaty of Amiens, Tussaud went to London with her son Joseph, then four years old, to present her collection of portraits. She had accepted an invitation from Paul Philidor, a magic lantern and phantasmagoria pioneer, to exhibit her work alongside his show at the Lyceum Theatre. She did not fare particularly well financially, and left for Edinburgh in 1803.  As a result of the Napoleonic Wars, Tussaud was unable to return to France so she travelled with her collection throughout the British Isles. In 1822, she reunited with her other son, François, who joined her in the family business. Her husband remained in France and the two never saw each other again. In November, 1825 her touring exhibition was in the Wisbech Georgian theatre (now the Angles Theatre), having already been at Yarmouth, Norwich, King's Lynn and Bury St Edmunds. Entrance was 1s. In 1835, after 33 years touring Britain, she established her first permanent exhibition in Baker Street, on the upper floor of the "Baker Street Bazaar". In 1838, she wrote her memoirs. In 1842, she made a self-portrait which is now on display at the entrance of her museum. Some of the sculptures done by Tussaud herself still exist.  She died in her sleep in London on 16 April 1850 at the age of 88. There is a memorial tablet to Madame Marie Tussaud on the right side of the nave of St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, Cadogan Street, London.

Legacy.

Upon Marie Tussaud's retirement, her son François (or Francis) became chief artist for the Exhibition. He was succeeded in turn by his son Joseph, who was succeeded by his son John Theodore Tussaud.  Madame Tussaud's wax museum has now grown to become one of the major tourist attractions in London, and has expanded with branches in Amsterdam, Beijing, Bangkok, Berlin, Blackpool, Sydney, Hong Kong, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Shanghai, Washington, D.C., New York City, Orlando, Hollywood, Singapore, Vienna and recently New Delhi. As of 2019, the newest museum is in Prague. The current owner is Merlin Entertainments, a company owned by Blackstone Group.  She is one of the main characters in the book "Faces of the Dead" by Suzanne Weyn. Edward Carey's 2018 novel "Little" is a novelization of her work and life.

Anna Maria "Marie" Tussaud (; née Grosholtz; 1 December 1761 – 16 April 1850) was a French artist known for her wax sculptures and Madame Tussauds, the wax museum she founded in London.


Etymology.

The word lace is from Middle English, from Old French "las", noose, string, from Vulgar Latin *"laceum", from Latin "laqueus", noose; probably akin to "lacere", to entice or ensnare.

Types.

There are many types of lace, classified by how they are made. These include:

History.

The origin of lace is disputed by historians. An Italian claim is a will of 1493 by the Milanese Sforza family. A Flemish claim is lace on the alb of a worshiping priest in a painting about 1485 by Hans Memling. But since lace evolved from other techniques, it is impossible to say that it originated in any one place.  The late 16th century marked the rapid development of lace, both needle lace and bobbin lace became dominant in both fashion as well as home décor. For enhancing the beauty of collars and cuffs, needle lace was embroidered with loops and picots.  Lace was used by clergy of the early Catholic Church as part of vestments in religious ceremonies but did not come into widespread use until the 16th century in the northwestern part of the European continent. The popularity of lace increased rapidly and the cottage industry of lace making spread throughout Europe. In 1840, Britain's Queen Victoria was married in lace, influencing the wedding dress style until now. In North America in the 19th century, missionaries spread the knowledge of lace making to the Native American tribes. St. John Francis Regis guided many women out of prostitution by establishing them in the lace making and embroidery trade, which is why he became the Patron Saint of lace making.  The English diarist Samuel Pepys often wrote about the lace used for his, his wife's, and his acquaintances' clothing, and on 10 May 1669, noted that he intended to remove the gold lace from the sleeves of his coat "as it is fit [he] should", possibly in order to avoid charges of ostentatious living.  Catherine of Aragon while exiled in Ampthill, England, was said to have supported the lace makers there by burning all her lace, and commissioning new pieces. This may be the origin of the lacemaker's holiday - Cattern's day. On this day (25 or 26 November) lacemakers were given a day off from work, and Cattern cakes - small dough cakes made with caraway seeds, were used to celebrate.

Lace is a delicate fabric made of yarn or thread in an open weblike pattern, made by machine or by hand.


Name and history.

The Oka river was the homeland of the Eastern Slavic Vyatichi tribe. By the 5th century the land around the Oka river was inhabited by different Slavic tribes. The Baltic tribe of Galindians also lived in the western part of the Oka basin. Turkic tribes also inhabited the Oka area. The Oka river was also inhabited by Vikings and other peoples from Scandinavia. Artifacts of Scandinavian origin were found along the Oka - Volga route. There is no consensus opinion where the name Oka originated from.  From the Mongol conquest until about 1633, the Oka was the last line of defense against steppe raiders. Later Zasechnaya cherta, a chain of fortification lines, was created to protect Grand Duchy of Moscow and later the Tsardom of Russia from the Crimean-Nogai Raids. It was south of the original line along the Oka.  The river gave its name to the Upper Oka Principalities, situated upstream from Tarusa. In 1221 Grand Duke Yuri II of Vladimir founded Nizhny Novgorod, later to become one of largest Russian cities, to protect the Oka's confluence with the Volga. The Qasim Khanate, a Muslim polity, occupied the middle reaches of the Oka (around the city of Kasimov) in the 15th and 16th centuries.  Before the construction of the railways in the mid-19th century and the building of the Moscow Canal in the 1930s, the Oka, along with its tributary Moskva, served as an important transportation route connecting Moscow with the Volga. Due to the Oka's and Moskva's meandering courses, travel was not particularly fast: for example, it took Cornelis de Bruijn around 10 days to sail from Moscow down these two rivers to Nizhny Novgorod in 1703. Traveling upstream may have been even slower, as the boats had to be pulled by burlaks.

Landmarks.

The banks of the river are dotted with historical and cultural sites, including the medieval monasteries of Murom, the mosques and minarets of Kasimov, the fortified kremlins of Kolomna and Serpukhov, the memorial houses of Vasily Polenov and Sergey Yesenin, the excavated ruins of Old Ryazan and the Oka Shukhov Tower.  The Prioksko-Terrasny Biosphere Reserve lies along the left bank of the river opposite the town of Pushchino and is known for its wisent breeding nursery.

Main tributaries.

The largest tributaries of the Oka are, from source to mouth:

In culture.

The Oka appears as the title and main theme in a popular, nostalgia filled song (in which it is compared to the Vistula river in Poland) of the Polish 1st Tadeusz Kościuszko Infantry Division which was formed nearby in 1943. The unit fought all the way to Berlin alongside the Red Army. It was written by Leon Pasternak.

The Oka (, ) is a river in central Russia, the largest right tributary of the Volga. It flows through the regions of Oryol, Tula, Kaluga, Moscow, Ryazan, Vladimir and Nizhny Novgorod and is navigable over a large part of its total length, as far upstream as to the town of Kaluga. Its length is and its catchment area is. The Russian capital Moscow sits on one of the Oka's tributaries—the Moskva.


Overview.

Concept.

"Mobile Suit Gundam" was developed by animator Yoshiyuki Tomino and a changing group of Sunrise creators with the collective pseudonym of Hajime Yatate. The series was originally entitled "Freedom Fighter Gunboy" (or "Gunboy") for the robot's gun, with teen boys the primary target demographic. Early production had a number of references to freedom: the White Base was originally "Freedom's Fortress", the Core Fighter was the "Freedom Wing" and the Gunperry was the "Freedom Cruiser". The Yatate team combined the English word "gun" with the last syllable of the word "freedom" to form the portmanteau "Gundom". Tomino changed it to "Gundam", suggesting a unit wielding a gun powerful enough to hold back enemies like a hydroelectric dam holding back water. In keeping with the concept, Gundams are depicted as prototypes or limited-production, with higher capabilities than mass-produced units.  Most Gundams are large, bipedal, humanoid vehicles controlled from a cockpit by a human pilot. The cockpit is located in the torso, while the head serves as a camera to transmit images back to the cockpit. Most of the series protagonists are Newtypes, genetically advanced humans adapted for space. Newtypes have psychic abilities that enable them to sense each other across space and to utilize special mobile suits.  The series itself has been described as a space opera.

Innovation.

"Mobile Suit Gundam" reportedly pioneered the real robot subgenre of mecha anime. Unlike its super robot cousins, "Mobile Suit Gundam" attempted realism in its robot design and weaponry by running out of energy and ammunition or malfunctioning. Its technology is derived from actual science (such as Lagrange points and the O'Neill cylinder in space, and the use of Helium-3 as an energy source) or feasible technology requiring only a few fictional elements to function (such as Minovsky Physics).

Timelines.

Most of the "Gundam" animation (including the earliest series) is set in what is known as the Universal Century (UC) calendar era, with later series set in alternate calendars or timelines. Although many new Gundam stories are told in their parallel universe with independent timelines (giving them greater creative freedom), the original UC storyline continues to be popular. It established the series, setting the standard for hard science fiction in anime; the original "Gundam" marked the maturing of the giant-robot genre. Nostalgia for the oldest "Gundam" shows (and its status as a pop-culture icon in Japan) is a factor in its continuing success.

Spinoffs.

"SD Gundam", a spinoff of "Gundam" which began during the mid-1980s, features super deformed designs and emphasizes comedy and adventure. "Model Suit Gunpla Builders Beginning G", "Gundam Build Fighters", and "Gundam Build Divers" feature contemporary settings and use Gunpla as plot elements.

Media.

TV series, films, and video.

Except for "Mobile Suit Gundam 00" (which follows the current calendar era), all mainstream Gundam series are set in a fictional era which begins after a drastic event or chain of events. The scenario commonly changes as the story progresses between Earth, space, space colonies and in some cases the Moon and terraformed planets.  On July 5, 2018, it was announced at the Anime Expo 2018 that Legendary Pictures and Sunrise are teaming up to developing a Live action Gundam movie. On March 6, 2019, Deadline reports that Brian K. Vaughan will write and will also serve as an executive producer for the film.

Manga and novels.

Manga adaptations of the "Gundam" series have been published in English in North America by a number of companies, such as Viz Media, Del Rey Manga and Tokyopop, and in Singapore by Chuang Yi.

Video games.

"Gundam" has spawned over 80 video games for arcade, computer and console platforms, some with characters not found in other "Gundam" media. Some of the games, in turn inspired spinoff novels and manga. Most "Gundam" video games, except "", were released only in Japan.

Gundam models.

Hundreds of Gundam models, primarily made of plastic but sometimes with resin and metal detail parts, have been released. They range in quality from children's toy kits to hobbyist and museum-grade models, and most are in 1:35, 1:48, 1:60, 1:100 or 1:144 scale. Promotional 1:6 or 1:12 scale models are supplied to retailers and are not commercially available. For "Gundam" 30th anniversary, a full-size RX-78-2 Gundam model was constructed and displayed at Gundam Front Tokyo, in the Odaiba district; it was taken down on 5 March 2017. A new statue of the Unicorn Gundam was erected at the same location, now renamed The Gundam Base Tokyo.

Other merchandise.

Bandai, "Gundam" primary licensee, produces a variety of products. Other companies produce unofficial merchandise, such as toys, models and T-shirts. Products include Mobile Suit In Action (MSiA) action figures and Gundam model kits in several scales and design complexities. Each series generally has its own set of products, MSiA and model lines such as Master Grade and High Grade Universal Century may extend across series. The most popular action-figure line has been the Gundam Fix series, which includes the mecha in the animated series, manga and novels and accessories to create an updated version. In addition to Master Grade and High Grade Gundams, Bandai released a 30th-anniversary series of Gundam models in 2010. The Real Grade (RG) Gundam series combined the Master Grade's detailed inner structure with additional colour separation, making the 1:144-scale series complex in design and compact in size. After the introduction of the RG Gundam series, Bandai released the Metal Build series in March 2011 (beginning with the 00 Gundam).

Internet.

Bandai maintains several websites to promote "Gundam" projects; Gundam Perfect Web is the official Japanese site. Its English-language counterpart is the US-maintained Gundam Official. In 2005, the website hosted the Gundam Official User Forum. The forum was based on the existing fan forum, Gundam Watch, using many of its staff. When the project was retired, Gundam Watch was reborn and became Gundam Evolution.  A number of series-specific websites have been created, often available for a limited time (usually to promote a DVD release). Common content includes character and mecha listings, lists of related merchandise and pay-for-download content. Special pages are frequent, often presenting downloadable wallpaper or a small game. The "Superior Defender Gundam Force" website has a game in which players take the role of villain Commander Sazabi, attempting to blast his subordinate with weapons.

Global spread.

Since 1980, "Gundam" has appeared in the following countries and regions:

Impact.

"Gundam" is a Japanese cultural icon; it is a ¥50-billion-annual business of Bandai Namco, reaching ¥54.5 billion annual revenue by 2006, and annual revenue by 2014. Stamps were issued, an Agriculture Ministry employee was reprimanded for contributing to the Japanese Wikipedia Gundam-related pages, and the Japan Self-Defense Forces code-named its developing advance personal-combat system Gundam.  The impact of Gundam in Japan has been compared to the impact of "Star Wars" in the United States.

, also known as the, is a Japanese science fiction media franchise/media mix created by Yoshiyuki Tomino and Sunrise that features giant robots (mecha) with the name "Gundam" (after the original titular mecha). The franchise began on April 7, 1979 with "Mobile Suit Gundam", a TV series that defined the "real robot" mecha anime genre by featuring giant robots called mobile suits in a militaristic setting. The popularity of the series and its merchandise spawned a franchise that includes television series, OVAs, films, manga, novels and video games, as well as a whole industry of model robots known as Gunpla (plastic Gundam model).


Placement of the code.

As shown on the photographs at right, the code may be arranged either vertically (e.g. on closed wagons) on three or more lines at man's height with the letter codes next to the corresponding part of the digit code, or horizontally (e.g. on flat wagons) at the bottom of the chassis side with all digits together (with groups separated by spaces and the check digit by a dash) and all letters together. It is always found on both sides of the wagon, not on the front or back.

Calculation of the self-check digit.

The digits are multiplied individually from right to left alternately by 2 and 1, and digit summed using the Luhn algorithm. The difference between this sum and the next multiple of ten is the check digit, placed after the eleventh digit, separated by a dash.

Examples.

Wagon number: 21 81 2471 217  Wagon number: 51 80 0843 001

Country code.

At the beginning of 2006 the country replaced the owner (almost exclusively state railways), with the owner now indicated by following letters. For example, for a vehicle registered in Germany on the AAE, which had its own code as a private railway, "68 AAE" became "80 D-AAE".

Reading of numbers.

Numbers are read visually, the method of choice today (2008). No railway is able to read the number automatically with the required reliability (less than 1 error in 10,000). Using OCR readers the numbering (DB AG: Font "Gerade Normschrift" DIN 16 Variant DB) can be only be read to an accuracy of no better than 5% (1 in 20).

Numbering systems.

The UIC has the following numbering systems, as detailed in leaflets:  These agreements have not yet achieved the status of a standard or norm.

Wagon numbers (or coach numbers) are key data for railway operations. They enable a railway wagon or coach to be positively identified and form a common language between railway operators, infrastructure companies and the state authorities. The system of wagon numbering has been laid down by the International Union of Railways ("Union internationale des chemins de fer" or "UIC") and is similar to that used for the locomotives and multiple units. Vehicle numbering is now governed by the Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail and in Technical Specifications for Interoperability (TSI) of the European Union.


History.

The town's origins date back to around 1150 when Premonstratensian monks from nearby Litomyšl built a church and founded a village at a ford on the river Svitava ("pure", "clear"), from which the settlement got its name. Svitavy was first mentioned in 1256 when it was taken over by the bishop of Olomouc, Bruno von Schauenburg. Settlers were then brought in from Germany. In 1330, Svitavy was promoted to the status of a city, and at the end of the 14th century, walls were built around the city with three gates. In the 16th century the town flourished economically as a center of weavers and drapers. During the Hussite, Thirty Years', Napoleonic and Austro-Prussian wars, the city suffered as armies passed through the town. During the Thirty Years' War the town was devastated and in 1781 it burned down by accident. In the 19th century the building of a railway line through Zwittau contributed to the development of the town, especially the textile industry. Svitavy was historically a German-speaking town with a Czech minority; in 1930, 88.4% of the population was German-speaking. In the beginning of the 20th century the town saw tensions between Czech and German speaking people. In October 1938, the town was added to Sudetenland and occupied by the German army. After the end of the Second World War in 1945, the German population was expelled as a result of the Beneš decrees. The industrialist Oskar Schindler, who saved 1,200 Jews working at his factory during the war, was born in Zwittau.

Sights.

Svitavy has a valuable historical core, which includes the elongated main square with the second longest arcade in the Czech Republic and a collection of architecturally noteworthy civic buildings, several churches, remains of city walls, and baroque statues.  Among the most notable buildings in Svitavy are the old city hall and the neighboring building "U mouřenína" ("The Moor"), located on the main square. Also of particular interest are the City Museum and the Ottendorfer House. The oldest church in Svitavy is the Church of St. Giles. There are only a few remains left of the city walls, including a semi-circular bastion. There are a variety of monuments and statues in the town's public spaces.

Museums, galleries and other cultural institutions.

In addition, a branch of the museum is located on the ground floor of the Ottendorfer House:

Transport.

Svitavy is a transport hub of the area. It is well-connected by rail to other parts of the Czech Republic, including regular connections to Brno and Prague. EuroCity and InterCity trains pass through Svitavy without stopping, but some stop at Česká Třebová, a short distance from Svitavy on the same line. The town also has an intercity bus station with services to various destinations. Two major highways cross just north of Svitavy, E461/43, which goes through the town to Brno and Vienna, and E442/35 going east–west.

Twin towns – sister cities.

Svitavy is twinned with:

Svitavy (; ) is a town in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. The town has a population of 17,000 and is also the district administrative centre. It is the birthplace of Oskar Schindler and an important centre of the Czech Esperanto movement, with an Esperanto museum that is part of the city museum.


Technology.

EDGE/EGPRS is implemented as a bolt-on enhancement for 2.5G GSM/GPRS networks, making it easier for existing GSM carriers to upgrade to it. EDGE is a superset to GPRS and can function on any network with GPRS deployed on it, provided the carrier implements the necessary upgrade. EDGE requires no hardware or software changes to be made in GSM core networks. EDGE-compatible transceiver units must be installed and the base station subsystem needs to be upgraded to support EDGE. If the operator already has this in place, which is often the case today, the network can be upgraded to EDGE by activating an optional software feature. Today EDGE is supported by all major chip vendors for both GSM and WCDMA/HSPA.

Transmission techniques.

In addition to Gaussian minimum-shift keying (GMSK), EDGE uses higher-order PSK/8 phase shift keying (8PSK) for the upper five of its nine modulation and coding schemes. EDGE produces a 3-bit word for every change in carrier phase. This effectively triples the gross data rate offered by GSM. EDGE, like GPRS, uses a rate adaptation algorithm that adapts the modulation and coding scheme (MCS) according to the quality of the radio channel, and thus the bit rate and robustness of data transmission. It introduces a new technology not found in GPRS, Incremental Redundancy, which, instead of retransmitting disturbed packets, sends more redundancy information to be combined in the receiver. This increases the probability of correct decoding.  EDGE can carry a bandwidth up to 236 kbit/s (with end-to-end latency of less than 150 ms) for 4 timeslots (theoretical maximum is 473.6 kbit/s for 8 timeslots) in packet mode. This means it can handle four times as much traffic as standard GPRS. EDGE meets the International Telecommunications Union's requirement for a 3G network, and has been accepted by the ITU as part of the IMT-2000 family of 3G standards. It also enhances the circuit data mode called HSCSD, increasing the data rate of this service.

EDGE modulation and coding scheme (MCS).

The channel encoding process in GPRS as well as EGPRS/EDGE consists of two steps: first, a cyclic code is used to add parity bits, which are also referred to as the Block Check Sequence, followed by coding with a possibly punctured convolutional code. In GPRS, the Coding Schemes CS-1 to CS-4 specify the number of parity bits generated by the cyclic code and the puncturing rate of the convolutional code. In GPRS Coding Schemes CS-1 through CS-3, the convolutional code is of rate 1/2, i.e. each input bit is converted into two coded bits. In Coding Schemes CS-2 and CS-3, the output of the convolutional code is punctured to achieve the desired code rate. In GPRS Coding Scheme CS-4, no convolutional coding is applied.  In EGPRS/EDGE, the Modulation and Coding Schemes MCS-1 to MCS-9 take the place of the Coding Schemes of GPRS, and additionally specify which modulation scheme is used, GMSK or 8PSK. MCS-1 through MCS-4 use GMSK and have performance similar (but not equal) to GPRS, while MCS-5 through MCS-9 use 8PSK. In all EGPRS Modulation and Coding Schemes, a convolutional code of rate 1/3 is used, and puncturing is used to achieve the desired code rate. In contrast to GPRS, the Radio Link Control (RLC) and Media Access Control (MAC) headers and the payload data are coded separately in EGPRS. The headers are coded more robustly than the data.

Evolved EDGE.

Evolved EDGE, also called EDGE Evolution, is a bolt-on extension to the GSM mobile telephony standard, which improves on EDGE in a number of ways. Latencies are reduced by lowering the Transmission Time Interval by half (from 20 ms to 10 ms). Bit rates are increased up to 1 Mbit/s peak bandwidth and latencies down to 80 ms using dual carrier, higher symbol rate and higher-order modulation (32QAM and 16QAM instead of 8PSK), and turbo codes to improve error correction. This results in real world downlink speeds of up to 600kbit/s. Further the signal quality is improved using dual antennas improving average bit-rates and spectrum efficiency.  The main intention of increasing the existing EDGE throughput is that many operators would like to upgrade their existing infrastructure rather than invest on new network infrastructure. Mobile operators have invested billions in GSM networks, many of which are already capable of supporting EDGE data speeds up to 236.8 kbit/s. With a software upgrade and a new device compliant with Evolved EDGE (like an Evolved EDGE smartphone) for the user, these data rates can be boosted to speeds approaching 1 Mbit/s (i.e. 98.6 kbit/s per timeslot for 32QAM). Many service providers may not invest in a completely new technology like 3G networks.  Considerable research and development happened throughout the world for this new technology. A successful trial by Nokia Siemens and "one of China's leading operators" has been achieved in a live environment. With the introduction for more advanced wireless technologies like UMTS and LTE, which also focus on a network coverage layer on low frequencies and the upcoming phase-out and shutdown of 2G mobile networks, it is very unlikely that Evolved EDGE will ever see any deployment on live networks. Up to now (as of 2016) there are no commercial networks which support the Evolved EDGE standard (3GPP Rel-7).

Technology.

Reduced Latency.

With Evolved EDGE come three major features designed to reduce latency over the air interface.  In EDGE, a single RLC data block (ranging from 23 to 148 bytes of data) is transmitted over four frames, using a single time slot. On average, this requires 20 ms for one way transmission. Under the RTTI scheme, one data block is transmitted over two frames in two timeslots, reducing the latency of the air interface to 10 ms.  In addition, Reduced Latency also implies support of Piggy-backed ACK/NACK (PAN), in which a bitmap of blocks not received is included in normal data blocks. Using the PAN field, the receiver may report missing data blocks immediately, rather than waiting to send a dedicated PAN message.  A final enhancement is RLC-non persistent mode. With EDGE, the RLC interface could operate in either acknowledged mode, or unacknowledged mode. In unacknowledged mode, there is no retransmission of missing data blocks, so a single corrupt block would cause an entire upper-layer IP packet to be lost. With non-persistent mode, an RLC data block may be retransmitted if it is less than a certain age. Once this time expires, it is considered lost, and subsequent data blocks may then be forwarded to upper layers.

Downlink Dual Carrier.

With Downlink Dual Carrier, the handheld is able to receive on two different frequency channels at the same time, doubling the downlink throughput. In addition, if second receiver is present then the handheld is able to receive on an additional timeslot in single-carrier mode, because it may overlap the tuning of one receiver with other tasks.

Higher Modulation Schemes.

Both uplink and downlink throughput is improved by using 16 or 32 QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation), along with turbo codes and higher symbol rates.

Networks.

The Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA) states that, as of May 2013, there were 604 GSM/EDGE networks in 213 countries, from a total of 606 mobile network operator commitments in 213 countries.

Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) (also known as Enhanced GPRS (EGPRS), IMT Single Carrier (IMT-SC), or Enhanced Data rates for Global Evolution) is a digital mobile phone technology that allows improved data transmission rates as a backward-compatible extension of GSM. EDGE is considered a pre-3G radio technology and is part of ITU's 3G definition. EDGE was deployed on GSM networks beginning in 2003 – initially by Cingular (now AT&T) in the United States.


Biography.

Abandoned by his parents in Paris in 1794 at the height of the French Revolution, he worked as a kitchen boy at a cheap Parisian chophouse in exchange for room and board. In 1798, he was formally apprenticed to Sylvain Bailly, a famous "pâtissier" with a shop near the Palais-Royal. The post-revolutionary Palais-Royal was a high profile, fashionable neighborhood filled with vibrant life and bustling crowds. Bailly recognized his talent and ambition. By the time he was prepared to leave Bailly, he could stipulate that he should be free to leave his new employer when a better offer came along. Carême opened his own shop, the "Pâtisserie de la rue de la Paix", which he maintained until 1813.  Carême gained fame in Paris for his "pièces montées", elaborate constructions used as centerpieces, which Bailly had displayed in the pâtisserie window. He made these confections, which were sometimes several feet high, entirely out of foodstuffs such as sugar, marzipan, and pastry. He modeled them on temples, pyramids, and ancient ruins, taking ideas from architectural history books which he studied at the nearby Bibliothèque Nationale, thanks to the enlightened attitude of his first employer Bailly. He is credited with the inventions of "gros nougats" and "grosses meringues", "croquantes", made of almonds and honey, and "solilemmes".  He did freelance work creating pieces principally for the French diplomat and gourmand Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, but also other members of Parisian high society, including Napoleon. While working on his confections at many private kitchens, he quickly extended his culinary skills to main courses.  Napoleon was famously indifferent to food, but he understood the importance of social relations in the world of diplomacy. In 1804, he gave money to Talleyrand to purchase Château de Valençay, a large estate outside Paris. The château was intended to act as a kind of diplomatic gathering place. When Talleyrand moved there, he took Carême with him.  Carême was set a test by Talleyrand: to create a whole year’s worth of menus, without repetition, and using only seasonal produce. Carême passed the test and completed his training in Talleyrand's kitchens. After the fall of Napoleon, Carême went to London for a time and served as "chef de cuisine" to the Prince Regent, later George IV. Returning to the continent, he accepted the invitation of Tsar Alexander I to come to St. Petersburg, but stayed so briefly that he prepared not even a single meal for the Tsar. Upon returning to Paris, he became chef to banker James Mayer Rothschild.  Carême died in his Paris house on the Rue Neuve Saint Roche at the age of 48, due perhaps to many years inhaling the toxic fumes of the coal burning stoves over which he cooked. He is remembered as the founder of the concept of "haute cuisine" and is interred in the Montmartre Cemetery in Paris.

Influence.

In his first major position, Carême worked as "chef de cuisine" to Talleyrand, who encouraged Carême in the development of a new refined food style using herbs, fresh vegetables, and simplified sauces with few ingredients. Talleyrand became a famous host during the Congress of Vienna— by the time the congress disbanded, not only the map of Europe but also the culinary tastes of its upper classes had been thoroughly revised.  Carême's impact on culinary matters ranged from trivial to theoretical. He is credited with creating the standard chef's hat, the "toque", he devised new sauces and dishes, and he published a classification of all sauces into groups based on four mother sauces. He is also frequently credited with replacing the practice of "service à la française" (serving all dishes at once) with "service à la russe" (serving each dish in the order printed on the menu) after he returned from service in the Russian court, but others say he was a diehard supporter of "service à la française".

Works by Carême.

Carême wrote several books on cookery, above all the encyclopedic "L'Art de la Cuisine Française" (5 vols, 1833–34, of which he had completed three before his death), which included, aside from hundreds of recipes, plans for menus and opulent table settings, a history of French cookery, and instructions for organizing kitchens.

Marie Antoine (Antonin) Carême (; 8 June 178412 January 1833) was a French chef and an early practitioner and exponent of the elaborate style of cooking known as "grande cuisine", the "high art" of French cooking: a grandiose style of cookery favoured by both international royalty and by the newly rich of Paris. Carême is often considered one of the first internationally renowned celebrity chefs.


History.

Before it was named, codice_1 was a private utility written by Ken Thompson to search files. He was approached by his manager, Doug McIlroy, who expressed interest in having a similar functionality implemented. Thompson responded that he would think about such a utility overnight, but what he did was actually fixing bugs and making improvements, which took about an hour. The next day Thompson presented codice_1 to McIlroy, who said it was exactly what he wanted. Thompson's account may explain why it is believed that codice_1 was written overnight.  The first version of codice_1 was written by Ken Thompson in PDP-11 assembly language to help Lee E. McMahon analyze the text of the Federalist Papers to determine authorship of the individual papers. The ed text editor (also authored by Thompson) had regular expression support but could not be used on such a large amount of text, so Thompson excerpted that code into a standalone tool. He chose the name because in ed, the command "g/re/p" would print all lines matching a specified pattern. codice_1 was first included in Version 4 Unix. Stating that it is "generally cited as "the" prototypical software tool", Doug McIlroy credited codice_1 with "irrevocably ingraining" Thompson's tools philosophy in Unix.

Sample usage.

The following example demonstrates the output of the codice_1 command given different arguments  $ grep root /etc/passwd root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash operator:x:11:0:operator:/root:/sbin/nologin  $ grep -n root /etc/passwd 1:root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash 12:operator:x:11:0:operator:/root:/sbin/nologin  $ grep -c false /etc/passwd 7

Variations.

A variety of codice_1 implementations are available in many operating systems and software development environments. Early variants included codice_11 and codice_12, introduced in Version 7 Unix. The "codice_11" variant supports an extended regular expression syntax added by Alfred Aho after Ken Thompson's original regular expression implementation. The "codice_12" variant searches for any of a list of "fixed" strings using the Aho–Corasick string matching algorithm. Binaries of these variants persist in most modern systems, however their explicit usage has been deprecated and the functionalities of these variants are included in codice_1 as the command-line switches codice_16 and codice_17; the use of the switches is therefore the recommended method of use.  Other commands contain the word "grep" to indicate that they search (usually for regular expression matches). The codice_18 utility, for instance, displays the processes whose names match a given regular expression.  In the Perl programming language, "grep" is the name of the built-in function that finds elements in a list that satisfy a certain property. This higher-order function is typically named filter in functional programming languages.  The codice_19 command is an implementation of codice_1 that uses Perl regular expression syntax. Similar functionality can be invoked in the GNU version of codice_1 with the codice_22 flag.  Ports of codice_1 (within Cygwin and GnuWin32, for example) also run under Microsoft Windows. Some versions of Windows feature the similar codice_24 or codice_25 command.  A codice_1 command is also part of ASCII's "MSX-DOS2 Tools" for MSX-DOS version 2.  The software "Adobe InDesign" has functions GREP (since CS3 version (2007)), in the "find/change" dialog box "GREP" tab, and introduced with InDesign CS4 in "paragraph styles" "GREP styles".

Usage as a verb.

In December 2003, the "Oxford English Dictionary Online" added draft entries for "grep" as both a noun and a verb.  A common verb usage is the phrase "You can't grep dead trees"—meaning one can more easily search through digital media, using tools such as codice_1, than one could with a hard copy (i.e., one made from dead trees, paper). Compare with "google".

codice_1 is a command-line utility for searching plain-text data sets for lines that match a regular expression. Its name comes from the ed command "g/re/p" ("globally search for a regular expression and print matching lines"), which has the same effect. codice_1 was originally developed for the Unix operating system, but later available for all Unix-like systems and some others such as OS-9.


Solvability.

used a parity argument to show that half of the starting positions for the "n"-puzzle are impossible to resolve, no matter how many moves are made. This is done by considering a function of the tile configuration that is invariant under any valid move, and then using this to partition the space of all possible labeled states into two equivalence classes of reachable and unreachable states.  The invariant is the parity of the permutation of all 16 squares plus the parity of the taxicab distance (number of rows plus number of columns) of the empty square from the lower right corner. This is an invariant because each move changes both the parity of the permutation and the parity of the taxicab distance. In particular, if the empty square is in the lower right corner then the puzzle is solvable if and only if the permutation of the remaining pieces is even.  For larger versions of the "n"-puzzle, finding a solution is easy, but the problem of finding the "shortest" solution is NP-hard. It is also NP-hard to approximate the fewest slides within an additive constant, but there is a polynomial-time constant-factor approximation. For the 15-puzzle, lengths of optimal solutions range from 0 to 80 single-tile moves (there are 17 configurations requiring 80 moves) or 43 multi-tile moves; the 8-puzzle always can be solved in no more than 31 single-tile moves or 24 multi-tile moves (integer sequence A087725). The multi-tile metric counts subsequent moves of the empty tile in the same direction as one.  The number of possible positions of the 24-puzzle is ≈ which is too many to calculate God's number. In 2011, lower bounds of 152 single-tile moves or 41 multi-tile moves had been established, as well as upper bounds of 208 single-tile moves or 109 multi-tile moves. In 2016, the upper bound was improved to 205 single-tile moves.  The transformations of the fifteen puzzle form a groupoid (not a group, as not all moves can be composed); this groupoid acts on configurations.

Alternate proof.

In an alternate view of the problem, we can consider the invariant to be the sum of the parity of the number of inversions in the current order of the 15 numbered pieces and the parity of the difference in the row number of the empty square from the row number of the last row. (Let's call it row distance from the last row.) This is an invariant because each column move, when we move a piece within the same column, changes both the parity of the number of inversions (by changing the number of inversions by ±1, ±3) and the parity of the row distance from the last row (changing row distance by ±1); and each row move, when we move a piece within the same row, does not change any of the two parities. Now if we look at the solved state of the puzzle, this sum is even. Hence it is easy to prove by induction that any state of the puzzle for which the above sum is odd cannot be solvable. In particular, if the empty square is in the lower right corner (even anywhere in the last row) then the puzzle is solvable if and only if the number of inversions of the numbered pieces is even.

History.

The puzzle was "invented" by Noyes Palmer Chapman, a postmaster in Canastota, New York, who is said to have shown friends, as early as 1874, a precursor puzzle consisting of 16 numbered blocks that were to be put together in rows of four, each summing to 34. Copies of the improved Fifteen Puzzle made their way to Syracuse, New York, by way of Noyes' son, Frank, and from there, via sundry connections, to Watch Hill, Rhode Island, and finally to Hartford (Connecticut), where students in the American School for the Deaf started manufacturing the puzzle and, by December 1879, selling them both locally and in Boston, Massachusetts. Shown one of these, Matthias Rice, who ran a fancy woodworking business in Boston, started manufacturing the puzzle sometime in December 1879 and convinced a "Yankee Notions" fancy goods dealer to sell them under the name of "Gem Puzzle". In late January 1880, Dr. Charles Pevey, a dentist in Worcester, Massachusetts, garnered some attention by offering a cash reward for a solution to the Fifteen Puzzle.  The game became a craze in the U.S. in February 1880, Canada in March, Europe in April, but that craze had dissipated by July. Apparently, the puzzle was not introduced to Japan until 1889.  Noyes Chapman had applied for a patent on his "Block Solitaire Puzzle" on February 21, 1880. However, that patent was rejected, likely because it was not sufficiently different from the August 20, 1878 "Puzzle-Blocks" patent (US 207124) granted to Ernest U. Kinsey.

Sam Loyd.

Sam Loyd claimed from 1891 until his death in 1911 that he invented the puzzle, for example writing in the "Cyclopedia of Puzzles" (published 1914): "The older inhabitants of Puzzleland will remember how in the early seventies I drove the entire world crazy over a little box of movable pieces which became known as the '14-15 Puzzle'." However, Loyd had nothing to do with the invention or initial popularity of the puzzle, and in any case, the craze was in 1880, not the early 1870s. Loyd's first article about the puzzle was published in 1886 and it was not until 1891 that he first claimed to have been the inventor.  Some later interest was fuelled by Loyd offering a $1,000 prize for anyone who could provide a solution for achieving a particular combination specified by Loyd, namely reversing the 14 and 15, called by Loyd the 14-15 puzzle. This was impossible, as had been shown over a decade earlier by, as it required a transformation from an even to an odd permutation.

Miscellaneous.

The Minus Cube, manufactured in the USSR, is a 3D puzzle with similar operations to the 15-puzzle.  Bobby Fischer was an expert at solving the 15-Puzzle. He had been timed to be able to solve it within 25 seconds; Fischer demonstrated this on November 8, 1972, on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson".  Several browser games are inspired of n-puzzle mechanic, e.g., Continuity or Rooms.

The 15-puzzle (also called Gem Puzzle, Boss Puzzle, Game of Fifteen, Mystic Square and many others) is a sliding puzzle that consists of a frame of numbered square tiles in random order with one tile missing. The puzzle also exists in other sizes, particularly the smaller 8-puzzle. If the size is 3×3 tiles, the puzzle is called the 8-puzzle or 9-puzzle, and if 4×4 tiles, the puzzle is called the 15-puzzle or 16-puzzle named, respectively, for the number of tiles and the number of spaces. The object of the puzzle is to place the tiles in order by making sliding moves that use the empty space.


Early life.

Erwin Huber was born in Reisbach in the district of Dingolfing-Landau, Bavaria. He attended elementary school in Reisbach and a secondary modern in Dingolfing. His first professional job was at the Bavarian administration of the finances in 1963. After several finance jobs he entered the Bavarian State Ministry of Finance in 1970. During this period he studied Economics at the University of Munich.

Political career.

Huber was elected to the Landtag of Bavaria in 1978 and from 1988 to 1994 was Secretary-General of the Christian Social Union. He entered the Bavarian state government in 1994 and has served as Director of the Bavarian State Chancellery (1993–1994 and 1998–2005), Minister of State for Finance (1994–1998) and Minister of State for Federal Matters and Administrative Reform (2003–2005). In 2005, he was appointed as Bavarian Minister of State for Economics, Transport and Technology, a post he held until 2007 when he was once again appointed Minister of State for Finances.  In September 2007, he was elected chairman of his party. Huber, a loyalist of outgoing chairman Edmund Stoiber, received 58% of the vote, defeating the Federal Agriculture Minister Horst Seehofer, who received 39% of the vote, and party rebel Gabriele Pauli, who gained roughly 3%.  Two days after the state elections of 2008, in which the CSU received only 43,4% of the vote (down from 60,7% in the state elections of 2003), Huber announced his resignation. He was succeeded by Horst Seehofer.

Personal life.

Erwin Huber is a Roman Catholic and is married with two children.

Erwin Huber (born 26 July 1946) is a German politician. He was chairman of the Christian Social Union of Bavaria from 2007 to 2008.


History.

In its early history until 1945, the town was known as "Reichenbach"; composed of the German words "reich" (rich, strong) and "Bach" (stream), it refers to the current of the Piława River. The name was rendered in Polish as "Rychbach". To differentiate between other places named Reichenbach, the Lower Silesian town became known in German as "Reichenbach im Eulengebirge", or "Reichenbach in the Owl Mountains".

Middle Ages.

In the early Middle Ages, the area was inhabited by the tribe of Silesians. After short periods of Great Moravian and Czech rule, in the 10th century the region became part of the emerging Polish state.  Reichenbach was first mentioned in a document dating to 13 February 1258. The parish Church of St. George was also noted early on. The town was part of various Piast-ruled duchies of fragmented Poland. The coat of arms, depicting Saint George slaying a dragon, was used by 1290 at the latest. The town passed successively from the Bishopric of Wrocław, to the Duchy of Ziębice, and to the Duchy of Świdnica-Jawor. The Knights Hospitaller built a school and hospital in the town in 1338. In 1392 the town became part of the Kingdom of Bohemia. It was plundered by the Hussites during the 15th-century Hussite Wars.

Early modern era.

The Habsburg Monarchy of Austria inherited the Bohemian throne in 1526 and became the town's new lords. Reichenbach developed into a trading center, especially for textiles and linen, during the 16th century. The town suffered during the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648). After the First Silesian War in 1742, most of Silesia, including Reichenbach, became part of the Kingdom of Prussia. In 1762 during the Seven Years' War, the region between Reichenbach and Schweidnitz (Świdnica) was the setting for the Battle of Burkersdorf between Prussia and Austria. It also saw the frustration of an Austrian attempt to relieve the Prussian Siege of Schweidnitz. In 1790 representatives from Austria, Prussia, the Dutch Republic, and Poland met at Reichenbach to discuss the Ottoman wars in Europe. In 1800, the town was visited by future president of the United States John Quincy Adams.

19th and 20th century.

In 1813, Tsar Alexander I of Russia met with King Frederick William III of Prussia here to organize the War of the Sixth Coalition. From 1816–1945 Reichenbach contained the district office for "Landkreis Reichenbach" (Reichenbach district). Until 1820 the town was the seat of a Prussian district president. In the 19th century, the town became one of the leading centers of textile production in Silesia. In 1848 the Silesian Weavers' Rebellion took place here. Reichenbach was connected to a rail network in 1855. It became part of the Prussian-led German Empire in 1871. During World War II, in 1944, the Germans established the "FAL Reichenbach" subcamp of the Gross-Rosen concentration camp, mainly for Jewish women from the Netherlands. The town was occupied by the Red Army on 8 May 1945.  Reichenbach was transferred from Germany to Poland in 1945 after World War II. Many of its German inhabitants had fled earlier in 1945 before the war's end, while most of those who had stayed were subsequently expelled. The void was filled by Poles moving in, some of whom from the eastern part of the country that had been annexed by the Soviet Union.  In the period immediately following World War II, the town was known by different names. The municipal office, the local office and the railway administration all used different names for it: Rychbach (its traditional Polish name), Reichenbach and Drobniszew. In one of the Polish Ministerial decrees of 1945, another name was used: "Rychonek". In 1946 the town was renamed "Dzierżoniów" after the apiarist Jan Dzierżon; ironically, Germany also viewed Dzierżon as one of their own, and in 1936, as part of a Nazi effort to remove Slavic-sounding place names, his birthplace, Lowkowitz (now Łowkowice), was renamed "Bienendorf" ("Bee village") in his honor. During World War II there was a large concentration camp in Lower Silesia, Gross-Rosen, with important branches in Rychbach and in two additional nearby towns. There were about 20,000 Jewish survivors of the camp, many of whom were Polish Jews. They did not want to go back to their hometowns because of the decimation of their Jewish communities and the fear of antisemitic violence. They were later joined by Polish Jews repatriated from the Soviet Union, and others who had survived in hiding in Poland or returned from concentration camps in Germany.  Thus, the peak number of Jews in Dzierżoniów was 17,800 reached in November 1946 of the 50,000-Jew commune in Dzierżoniów County (incl. Bielawa, Pieszyce, Piława Górna, etc.) led by Jakub Egit from 1945–1948.  One of the town's synagogues survived the war and has been restored.  In the post-war period, the textile and electromechanical industry developed. In 1945, the first radio receiver production company in post-war Poland, "Zakłady Radiowe Diora", was founded in Dzierżoniów. Greeks, refugees of the Greek Civil War, settled in Dzierżoniów in the 1950s.

Sports.

Football team Lechia Dzierżoniów and handball team are based in Dzierżoniów. Football players Krzysztof Piątek, Patryk Klimala, Jarosław Jach, Paweł Sibik all played in Lechia Dzierżoniów in the early stages of their careers, while handball players Paweł Piwko, Jan Czuwara, Dawid Dawydzik played in Żagiew Dzierżoniów in the early stages of their careers.  The annual "Tewzadze Open" chess tournament is held in Dzierżoniów, to commemorate Georgian-Polish military officer Valerian Tevzadze.

Twin towns – sister cities.

Dzierżoniów is twinned with:  <br

Dzierżoniów (, until 1946 Rychbach; ) is a town located at the foot of the Owl Mountains in southwestern Poland, within the Lower Silesian Voivodeship (from 1975–1998 in the former Wałbrzych Voivodeship). It is the seat of Dzierżoniów County, and of Gmina Dzierżoniów (although it is not part of the territory of the latter, since the town forms a separate urban gmina).