History of the Vienna State Opera

132 years house on the Ring

(you can see pictures by clicking on the link at the end of page!)

State Opera (K.K. Court Opera) 1901

About three and a half centuries, until the early Baroque period, the tradition of Viennese opera goes back. Emperor Franz Joseph I decreed in December 1857 to tear down the old city walls and fortifications around the city center of Vienna and to lay out a wide boulevard with new buildings for culture and politics, the ring road.

The two Court Theatres (a speech and a musical theater) should find a new place on the ring. For the Imperial and Royal Court Opera House was chosen a prominent place in the immediate area of ​​the former Kärntnertortheatre. This by the public that much loved opera theater was demolished in 1709 due to its confinement .

State Opera (K.K. Court Opera) 1903

The new opera house was built by the Viennese architect August Sicardsburg, who designed the basic plan, and Eduard van der Null, who designed the interior decoration. But other eminent artists had been involved: just think of Moritz von Schwind, who painted the frescoes in the foyer and the famous "Magic Flute", cycle of frescoes in the loggia. The two architects did not experience the opening of "their" opera house any more. The sensitive van der Null committed suicide since the Wiener (Viennes people) denigrated the new house as lacking in style, his friend Sicardsburg succumbed a little later to a stroke.

1869 - 1955

On 25 May 1869 the House was with Mozart's DON JUAN in the presence of Emperor Franz Joseph, the highest building owner, and Empress Elisabeth opened.

However, with the artistic charisma under the first directors Franz von Dingelstedt, Johann Herbeck, Franz Jauner and Wilhelm Jahn grew the popularity of the building. A first highlight experienced the Vienna Opera under the director Gustav Mahler, renewing the outdated performance system from scratch, strengthening precision and ensemble spirit and also using significant visual artists (including Alfred Roller) for the shaping of the new stage aesthetic.

In the ten-year-period of his Directorate (1897-1907) continued Gustav Mahler, this very day, in the concert halls of the world as the most important member of a Symphony Orchestra at the turn of the 20th century omnipresent, the intensive fostering of Wagner, Mozart's operas and Beethoven's Fidelio were redesigned, the with Richard Strauss initiated connection to Verdi was held upright. Austrian composers were promoted (Hugo Wolf), the Court Opera was opened to European modernism.

Image: Emperor Franz Joseph I and Emperor Wilhelm II during a gala performance at the Vienna Court Opera in 1900 resulting from the "Book of the Emperor", edited by Max Herzig.

Technique: Lithography

from www.aeiou.at

In addition to the classics of the Italian repertoire were and are especially Mozart, Wagner and Richard Strauss (himself 1919-1924 director of the House), the musical protection gods of the Vienna State Opera.

staatsoper_81.jpg (28138 bytes)

The modern also always had its place: the twenties and thirties witnessed the Vienna premieres of Krenek's Jonny spielt auf, Cardillac Hindemith, Korngold MIRACLE OF Héliane and Berg's Wozzeck (under President Clemens Krauss). This tradition was interrupted with the seizure of power by the National Socialists, yes, after the devastating bomb hits, on 12 March 1945 the house on the ring largely devastating, the care of the art form itself was doubtful.

The Viennese, who had preserved a lively cultural life during the war, were deeply shocked to see the symbol of the Austrian musical life in ruins.

But the spirit of the opera was not destroyed. On 1 May 1945 "State Opera Volksoper" was opened with a brilliant performance of Mozart's THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO, on 6 October 1945 was followed by the re-opening of the hastily restored Theater an der Wien with Beethoven's Fidelio. Thus there were two venues for the next ten years, while the actual main building was rebuilt at great expense.

staatsoper_84.jpg (14707 bytes)

Visitors flock to the opera. Reopening on 5th November, 1955.

Image from © www.staatsvertrag.at / bildarchiv austria / ÖGZ / Hilscher

As early as 24 May 1945 the State Secretary of Public Works, Julius Raab, had announced the reconstruction of the Vienna State Opera, which should be placed in the hands of the Austrian architects Erich Boltenstern and Otto Prossinger. Only the main façade, the grand staircase and the Schwindfoyer (evanescence foyer) had been spared from the bombs - with a new auditorium and modernized technology, the Vienna State Opera was brilliant with Beethoven's Fidelio under Karl Böhm on 5 November 1955 reopened. The opening ceremonies were broadcasted from Austrian television and in the whole world at the same time as a sign of life of the resurrected 2nd Republic understood.

staatsoper_83.jpg (33866 bytes)

State ceremony to the reopening on 5 November 1955. On the far right under the box of the Federal President a television camera of the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation is visible which broadcasted the event. Image from © www.staatsvertrag.at / ÖGZ / Cermak

1955 to 1992

The dictum that the Vienna State Opera survives every director, is attributed to Egon Seefehlner which himself for many years run the businessses of the house. And yet marked he and the thirty-one other directors of the Vienna State Opera since 1869, great musicians or musical administrators, in their own way the profile of this world-famous institution:

staatsoper_82.jpg (13379 bytes)

Performance for the reopening of the Vienna State Opera on 5 November, 1955.

Image from © www.staatsvertrag.at / bildarchiv austria / ÖGZ / Hilscher

After the Second World War there were first the conductors directors Karl Böhm and Herbert von Karajan - the latter insisted on the title "Artistic Director" and opened the Ensemble house to the international singer market, had the opera rehearsed in original language and oriented his plans to "co-productions" with foreign opera houses, however, which were only realized after his term.

It followed as directors Egon Hilbert, Heinrich Reif-Gintl, Rudolf Gamsjäger and the mentioned Egon Seefehlner, who was appointed for a second time at the top of the house after the departure of his successor in office Lorin Maazel. Claus Helmut Drese (State Opera director from 1986 to 1991) stood with Claudio Abbado an internationally renowned music director by his side. At the beginning of the 90s the forrmer star baritone Eberhard Waechter, at that time director of the Volksoper (People's Opera), charged with the direction. Only seven months have been granted to him as a director.

The era Ioan Holender (1992 to 2010)

After Waechter's tragic death in March 1992 took over general secretary Ioan Holender, a former singer (baritone) and owner of a singer Agency, the office to continue the tradition of perhaps the most important opera institution in the world over the millennium to 2010.

His play plan design relies besides an extremely wide repertoire with the columns Mozart, Wagner, Verdi and Strauss mainly on premieres. Mention may be made of Bellini's I Puritani (1993 /94), Massenet Hérodiade (1994 /95), Verdi's Jerusalem and Britten's PETER GRIMES (1995 /96), Verdi's Stiffelio and Enescu OEDIPE (1996 /97), Rossini's GUILLAUME TELL and Lehár's operetta THE MERRY WIDOW (1998/99) and Schoenberg's THE JAKOBSLEITER, Hiller's PETER PAN, Donizetti's ROBERTO DEVEREUX, Britten's Billy Budd, Verdi's Nabucco (2000/ 01), Bellini's LA SONNAMBULA, Gounod's Roméo et Juliette, Janácek's Jenufa (2001/02), Verdi's SIMON BOCCANEGRA, Krenek's Jonny spielt auf, Donizetti's La Favorite, Hiller's PINOCCHIO, Wagner's TRISTAN UND ISOLDE (2002/ 03), Verdi's FALSTAFF, Wagner's FLYING DUTCHMAN and PARSIFAL, Strauss's Daphne (2003/ 04) and the world premiere of the original French version of Verdi's DON CARLOS (2003/ 04). A particular success of the recent past, the rediscovery of Fromental Halévy's La Juive Grand (1999 ) must be considered. Two premières concerned 1995 Adriana Hölszky's THE WALLS (co-production with the Vienna Festival at the Theater an der Wien ) and Alfred Schnittke's Gesualdo. On 15 June 2002 also THE GIANT OF STONE FIELD (Music: Peter Turrini: Friedrich Cerha libretto) premiered with great success, another commissioned work of the Vienna State Opera.

State Opera - © Oliver Thomann - FOTOLIA

Image : Vienna State Opera

In recent years it came up, in each case on 18 May, the anniversary of the death of Gustav Mahler, to concerts of the Vienna Philharmonic at the Vienna State Opera. These were under the direction of Seiji Ozawa (who since the 2002 /03 season the Vienna State Opera director Holender as music director of the house stands to the side) (1995), Carlo Maria Giulini (1996), Riccardo Muti (1997), Lorin Maazel (1998), Zubin Mehta (1999), Giuseppe Sinopoli (2000 ), Riccardo Muti (2001) and again Seiji Ozawa (2004).

Furthermore, was on 16 June, 2002 for the first time by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra (conducted by Seiji Ozawa) a CONCERT FOR AUSTRIA organized. More CONCERTS FOR AUSTRIA followed on 26 October 2003 (Zubin Mehta) and 26 October 2004 (under Valery Gergiev).

At the Theater an der Wien Mozart's Così fan tutte experienced a triumphant new production conducted by Riccardo Muti. This Mozart cycle under Muti continued with DON GIOVANNI and 2001 LE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO, 1999.

more...

Directors since 1869

Franz von Dingelstedt 07/01/1867 - 18/12/1870

Opening 5/25/1869

Johann von Herbeck 12/19/1870 - 30/04/1875

Franz von Jauner 01/05/1875 - 18/06/1880

Director College:

Karl Mayerhofer, Gustav Walter and

Emil Scaria 19.06.1880 - 31.12.1880

Wilhelm Jahn 01.01.1881 - 10.14.1897

Gustav Mahler 10/15/1897 - 31/12/1907

Felix Weingartner 01.01.1908 - 28.02.1911

Hans Gregor 01.03.1911 - 14.11.1918

Franz Schalk 15.11.1918 - 08.15.1919

Richard Strauss/Franz Schalk 16/08/1919 - 31/10/1924

Franz Schalk 1/11/1924 - 8/31/1929

Clemens Krauss 01/09/1929 - 15/12/1934

Felix Weingartner, 01.01.1935 - 08.31.1936

Erwin Kerber 09/01/1936 - 08/31/1940

Henry K. Strohm 09.01.1940 - 19.04.1941

Walter Thomas 02.01.1941 - 19.04.1941

Ernst August Schneider 04/20/1941 - 02/28/1943

Karl Böhm 03.01.1943 - 30.04.1945

Alfred Jerger,

State Opera in the Volksoper 01.05.1945 - 14.06.1945

Franz Salmhofer,

State Opera in the Theater an der Wien, 18.06.1945 - 31.08.1955

Karl Böhm 01.09.1954 - 31.08.1956

Herbert von Karajan 01.09.1956 - 31.03.1962

Herbert von Karajan/Walter Erich Schäfer 01.04.1962 - 08.06.1963

Herbert von Karajan/Egon Hilbert 09.06.1963 - 31.08.1964

Egon Hilbert 01.09.1964 - 18.01.1968

Heinrich Reif- Gintl 19.01.1968 - 31.08.1972

Rudolf Gamsjager 01.09.1972 - 31.08.1976

Egon Seefehlner 01.09.1976 - 31.08.1982

Lorin Maazel 01.09.1982 - 31.08.1984

Egon Seefehlner 01.09.1984 - 31.08.1986

Dr. Claus Helmut Drese 01.09.1986 - 31.08.1991

Eberhard Waechter 01.09.1991 - 29.03.1992

Ioan Holender 01.04.1992 - 31.08.2010

Dominique Meyer since 01/09/2010

 

Opera world premieres

Abbreviations:

Od = the Odeon

Ron = Ronacher

TW = the Theater an der Wien

 

1875 10:03. Goldmark The Queen of Sheba

1877 04:10. Brüller Der Landfriede

1880 26.05. Riedel The Accolade

15.12. Brüller Bianca

1883 04.01. Leschetitzky The first fold

21.02. Bachrich Muzzedin

1884 26.03. Bachrich Heini of Styria

1886 30.03. Hellmesberger jun. Fata Morgana

4:10 . Hager Marffa

19.11. Goldmark Merlin

1887 03:04. Harold pepper

1889 27.03. Fox The Bride King

4:10. Smareglia The vassal of Szigeth

1891 19:02. Mader Refugees

1892 01.01. J. Strauss Ritter Pasman

16.02. Massenet Werther

19.11. Bulk Signor Formica

1894 20.01. Heuberger Miriam

1896 21.03. Goldmark The Cricket on the Hearth

1899 17:01. The Goldmark prisoners of war

1900 22:01. Zemlinsky It was once

1902 28.02. Forster The dot mon

1904 18:02. Wolf The Corregidor

1908 02.01. Goldmark The Winter's Tale

1910 12:04. The musician Bittner

18.05. Goldmark Götz von Berlichingen

1911 09:11. Bittner The mountain lake

1912 16.03. Oberleithner Aphrodite

1913 15.03. Schreker The game works and the Princess

1914 01.04. Schmidt Notre Dame

1916 04:10. R. Strauss Ariadne auf Naxos (Vienna version)

1917 23.11. Zaiszek-Blankenau Ferdinand and Luise

1919 10.10. R. Strauss Die Frau ohne Schatten

1920 13.05. Weingartner Champion Andrea/The Village School

1921 09.04. The Bittner Kohlhaymerin

1924 20.09. Beethoven/R. Strauss The Ruins of Athens

1925 24.02. Kienzl Sanctissimum

27.03. Frank The image of the Madonna

1931 20.06. Wellesz The Bacchae

1932 10:11. Heger The beggar Nameless

1934 20.01. Lehár Giuditta

08.12. Bittner The violet

1935 26.12. Salmhofer lady in dream

1937 06.02. Wenzl - Traun rock the atonement

17.04. Frank The strange woman

18.11. Weinberger Wallenstein

1938 09.03. Salmhofer Ivan Tarasenko

1939 02:02. Will King ballad

1941 04:04. Wagner Régeny Johanna Balk

1956 17.06. Martin The Storm

1971 23.05. The visit of an old lady

1976 17.12. A Love and Intrigue

1989 25.11. The blind Furrer (OD)

1990 06:12. Krenek last dance at St. Stephen's (Ron)

1995 20.05. Hölszky The walls (TW)

26.05. Schnittke Gesualdo

2002 15.06. Cerha Der Riese vom Steinfeld

2007 15:04 Naske The Omama in the apple tree

2010 28.02. Reimann Medea

2010 10:05. Eröd dots and Anton

www.wien-vienna.at/index.php?ID=484

Gautama Buddha, also known as Siddhārtha Gautama, Shakyamuni, or simply the Buddha, was a sage on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. He is believed to have lived and taught mostly in northeastern India sometime between the sixth and fourth centuries BCE.

 

The word Buddha means "awakened one" or "the enlightened one". "Buddha" is also used as a title for the first awakened being in a Yuga era. In most Buddhist traditions, Siddhartha Gautama is regarded as the Supreme Buddha (Pali sammāsambuddha, Sanskrit samyaksaṃbuddha) of the present age. Gautama taught a Middle Way between sensual indulgence and the severe asceticism found in the śramaṇa movement common in his region. He later taught throughout regions of eastern India such as Magadha and Kosala.

 

Gautama is the primary figure in Buddhism and accounts of his life, discourses, and monastic rules are believed by Buddhists to have been summarized after his death and memorized by his followers. Various collections of teachings attributed to him were passed down by oral tradition and first committed to writing about 400 years later.

 

CONTENTS

HISTORICAL SIDDHARTA GAUTAMA

Scholars are hesitant to make unqualified claims about the historical facts of the Buddha's life. Most accept that he lived, taught and founded a monastic order during the Mahajanapada era during the reign of Bimbisara, the ruler of the Magadha empire, and died during the early years of the reign of Ajasattu, who was the successor of Bimbisara, thus making him a younger contemporary of Mahavira, the Jain tirthankara. Apart from the Vedic Brahmins, the Buddha's lifetime coincided with the flourishing of other influential śramaṇa schools of thoughts like Ājīvika, Cārvāka, Jainism, and Ajñana. It was also the age of influential thinkers like Mahavira, Pūraṇa Kassapa , Makkhali Gosāla, Ajita Kesakambalī, Pakudha Kaccāyana, and Sañjaya Belaṭṭhaputta, whose viewpoints the Buddha most certainly must have been acquainted with and influenced by. Indeed, Sariputta and Moggallāna, two of the foremost disciples of the Buddha, were formerly the foremost disciples of Sañjaya Belaṭṭhaputta, the skeptic. There is also evidence to suggest that the two masters, Alara Kalama and Uddaka Ramaputta, were indeed historical figures and they most probably taught Buddha two different forms of meditative techniques. While the general sequence of "birth, maturity, renunciation, search, awakening and liberation, teaching, death" is widely accepted, there is less consensus on the veracity of many details contained in traditional biographies.

 

The times of Gautama's birth and death are uncertain. Most historians in the early 20th century dated his lifetime as circa 563 BCE to 483 BCE. More recently his death is dated later, between 411 and 400 BCE, while at a symposium on this question held in 1988, the majority of those who presented definite opinions gave dates within 20 years either side of 400 BCE for the Buddha's death. These alternative chronologies, however, have not yet been accepted by all historians.

 

The evidence of the early texts suggests that Siddhārtha Gautama was born into the Shakya clan, a community that was on the periphery, both geographically and culturally, of the northeastern Indian subcontinent in the 5th century BCE. It was either a small republic, in which case his father was an elected chieftain, or an oligarchy, in which case his father was an oligarch. According to the Buddhist tradition, Gautama was born in Lumbini, nowadays in modern-day Nepal, and raised in the Shakya capital of Kapilavastu, which may have been in either present day Tilaurakot, Nepal or Piprahwa, India. He obtained his enlightenment in Bodh Gaya, gave his first sermon in Sarnath, and died in Kushinagar.

 

No written records about Gautama have been found from his lifetime or some centuries thereafter. One Edict of Asoka, who reigned from circa 269 BCE to 232 BCE, commemorates the Emperor's pilgrimage to the Buddha's birthplace in Lumbini. Another one of his edicts mentions several Dhamma texts, establishing the existence of a written Buddhist tradition at least by the time of the Maurya era and which may be the precursors of the Pāli Canon. The oldest surviving Buddhist manuscripts are the Gandhāran Buddhist texts, reported to have been found in or around Haḍḍa near Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan and now preserved in the British Library. They are written in the Gāndhārī language using the Kharosthi script on twenty-seven birch bark manuscripts and date from the first century BCE to the third century CE.

 

TRADITIONAL BIOGRAPHIES

BIOGRAPHICAL SOURCES

The sources for the life of Siddhārtha Gautama are a variety of different, and sometimes conflicting, traditional biographies. These include the Buddhacarita, Lalitavistara Sūtra, Mahāvastu, and the Nidānakathā. Of these, the Buddhacarita is the earliest full biography, an epic poem written by the poet Aśvaghoṣa, and dating around the beginning of the 2nd century CE. The Lalitavistara Sūtra is the next oldest biography, a Mahāyāna/Sarvāstivāda biography dating to the 3rd century CE. The Mahāvastu from the Mahāsāṃghika Lokottaravāda tradition is another major biography, composed incrementally until perhaps the 4th century CE. The Dharmaguptaka biography of the Buddha is the most exhaustive, and is entitled the Abhiniṣkramaṇa Sūtra, and various Chinese translations of this date between the 3rd and 6th century CE. The Nidānakathā is from the Theravada tradition in Sri Lanka and was composed in the 5th century by Buddhaghoṣa.

 

From canonical sources, the Jataka tales, the Mahapadana Sutta (DN 14), and the Achariyabhuta Sutta (MN 123) which include selective accounts that may be older, but are not full biographies. The Jātakas retell previous lives of Gautama as a bodhisattva, and the first collection of these can be dated among the earliest Buddhist texts. The Mahāpadāna Sutta and Achariyabhuta Sutta both recount miraculous events surrounding Gautama's birth, such as the bodhisattva's descent from the Tuṣita Heaven into his mother's womb.

 

NATURE OF TRADITIONAL DEPICTIONS

In the earliest Buddhists texts, the nikāyas and āgamas, the Buddha is not depicted as possessing omniscience (sabbaññu) nor is he depicted as being an eternal transcendent (lokottara) being. According to Bhikkhu Analayo, ideas of the Buddha's omniscience (along with an increasing tendency to deify him and his biography) are found only later, in the Mahayana sutras and later Pali commentaries or texts such as the Mahāvastu. In the Sandaka Sutta, the Buddha's disciple Ananda outlines an argument against the claims of teachers who say they are all knowing while in the Tevijjavacchagotta Sutta the Buddha himself states that he has never made a claim to being omniscient, instead he claimed to have the "higher knowledges" (abhijñā). The earliest biographical material from the Pali Nikayas focuses on the Buddha's life as a śramaṇa, his search for enlightenment under various teachers such as Alara Kalama and his forty five year career as a teacher.

 

Traditional biographies of Gautama generally include numerous miracles, omens, and supernatural events. The character of the Buddha in these traditional biographies is often that of a fully transcendent (Skt. lokottara) and perfected being who is unencumbered by the mundane world. In the Mahāvastu, over the course of many lives, Gautama is said to have developed supra-mundane abilities including: a painless birth conceived without intercourse; no need for sleep, food, medicine, or bathing, although engaging in such "in conformity with the world"; omniscience, and the ability to "suppress karma". Nevertheless, some of the more ordinary details of his life have been gathered from these traditional sources. In modern times there has been an attempt to form a secular understanding of Siddhārtha Gautama's life by omitting the traditional supernatural elements of his early biographies.

 

Andrew Skilton writes that the Buddha was never historically regarded by Buddhist traditions as being merely human:

It is important to stress that, despite modern Theravada teachings to the contrary (often a sop to skeptical Western pupils), he was never seen as being merely human. For instance, he is often described as having the thirty-two major and eighty minor marks or signs of a mahāpuruṣa, "superman"; the Buddha himself denied that he was either a man or a god; and in the Mahāparinibbāna Sutta he states that he could live for an aeon were he asked to do so.The ancient Indians were generally unconcerned with chronologies, being more focused on philosophy. Buddhist texts reflect this tendency, providing a clearer picture of what Gautama may have taught than of the dates of the events in his life. These texts contain descriptions of the culture and daily life of ancient India which can be corroborated from the Jain scriptures, and make the Buddha's time the earliest period in Indian history for which significant accounts exist. British author Karen Armstrong writes that although there is very little information that can be considered historically sound, we can be reasonably confident that Siddhārtha Gautama did exist as a historical figure. Michael Carrithers goes a bit further by stating that the most general outline of "birth, maturity, renunciation, search, awakening and liberation, teaching, death" must be true.

 

BIOGRAPHY

CONCEPTION AND BIRTH

The Buddhist tradition regards Lumbini, in present-day Nepal to be the birthplace of the Buddha. He grew up in Kapilavastu. The exact site of ancient Kapilavastu is unknown. It may have been either Piprahwa, Uttar Pradesh, present-day India, or Tilaurakot, present-day Nepal. Both places belonged to the Sakya territory, and are located only 15 miles apart from each other.

 

Gautama was born as a Kshatriya, the son of Śuddhodana, "an elected chief of the Shakya clan", whose capital was Kapilavastu, and who were later annexed by the growing Kingdom of Kosala during the Buddha's lifetime. Gautama was the family name. His mother, Maya (Māyādevī), Suddhodana's wife, was a Koliyan princess. Legend has it that, on the night Siddhartha was conceived, Queen Maya dreamt that a white elephant with six white tusks entered her right side, and ten months later Siddhartha was born. As was the Shakya tradition, when his mother Queen Maya became pregnant, she left Kapilvastu for her father's kingdom to give birth. However, her son is said to have been born on the way, at Lumbini, in a garden beneath a sal tree.

 

The day of the Buddha's birth is widely celebrated in Theravada countries as Vesak. Buddha's Birthday is called Buddha Purnima in Nepal and India as he is believed to have been born on a full moon day. Various sources hold that the Buddha's mother died at his birth, a few days or seven days later. The infant was given the name Siddhartha (Pāli: Siddhattha), meaning "he who achieves his aim". During the birth celebrations, the hermit seer Asita journeyed from his mountain abode and announced that the child would either become a great king (chakravartin) or a great sadhu. By traditional account, this occurred after Siddhartha placed his feet in Asita's hair and Asita examined the birthmarks. Suddhodana held a naming ceremony on the fifth day, and invited eight Brahmin scholars to read the future. All gave a dual prediction that the baby would either become a great king or a great holy man. Kondañña, the youngest, and later to be the first arhat other than the Buddha, was reputed to be the only one who unequivocally predicted that Siddhartha would become a Buddha.

 

While later tradition and legend characterized Śuddhodana as a hereditary monarch, the descendant of the Suryavansha (Solar dynasty) of Ikṣvāku (Pāli: Okkāka), many scholars think that Śuddhodana was the elected chief of a tribal confederacy.

 

Early texts suggest that Gautama was not familiar with the dominant religious teachings of his time until he left on his religious quest, which is said to have been motivated by existential concern for the human condition. The state of the Shakya clan was not a monarchy, and seems to have been structured either as an oligarchy, or as a form of republic. The more egalitarian gana-sangha form of government, as a political alternative to the strongly hierarchical kingdoms, may have influenced the development of the śramanic Jain and Buddhist sanghas, where monarchies tended toward Vedic Brahmanism.

 

EARLY LIFE AND MARRIAGE

Siddhartha was brought up by his mother's younger sister, Maha Pajapati. By tradition, he is said to have been destined by birth to the life of a prince, and had three palaces (for seasonal occupation) built for him. Although more recent scholarship doubts this status, his father, said to be King Śuddhodana, wishing for his son to be a great king, is said to have shielded him from religious teachings and from knowledge of human suffering.

 

When he reached the age of 16, his father reputedly arranged his marriage to a cousin of the same age named Yaśodharā (Pāli: Yasodharā). According to the traditional account, she gave birth to a son, named Rāhula. Siddhartha is said to have spent 29 years as a prince in Kapilavastu. Although his father ensured that Siddhartha was provided with everything he could want or need, Buddhist scriptures say that the future Buddha felt that material wealth was not life's ultimate goal.

 

RENUNCIATION AND ASCETIC LIFE

At the age of 29, the popular biography continues, Siddhartha left his palace to meet his subjects. Despite his father's efforts to hide from him the sick, aged and suffering, Siddhartha was said to have seen an old man. When his charioteer Channa explained to him that all people grew old, the prince went on further trips beyond the palace. On these he encountered a diseased man, a decaying corpse, and an ascetic. These depressed him, and he initially strove to overcome aging, sickness, and death by living the life of an ascetic.

 

Accompanied by Channa and riding his horse Kanthaka, Gautama quit his palace for the life of a mendicant. It's said that, "the horse's hooves were muffled by the gods" to prevent guards from knowing of his departure.

 

Gautama initially went to Rajagaha and began his ascetic life by begging for alms in the street. After King Bimbisara's men recognised Siddhartha and the king learned of his quest, Bimbisara offered Siddhartha the throne. Siddhartha rejected the offer, but promised to visit his kingdom of Magadha first, upon attaining enlightenment.

 

He left Rajagaha and practised under two hermit teachers of yogic meditation. After mastering the teachings of Alara Kalama (Skr. Ārāḍa Kālāma), he was asked by Kalama to succeed him. However, Gautama felt unsatisfied by the practice, and moved on to become a student of yoga with Udaka Ramaputta (Skr. Udraka Rāmaputra). With him he achieved high levels of meditative consciousness, and was again asked to succeed his teacher. But, once more, he was not satisfied, and again moved on.

 

Siddhartha and a group of five companions led by Kaundinya are then said to have set out to take their austerities even further. They tried to find enlightenment through deprivation of worldly goods, including food, practising self-mortification. After nearly starving himself to death by restricting his food intake to around a leaf or nut per day, he collapsed in a river while bathing and almost drowned. Siddhartha was rescued by a village girl named Sujata and she gave him some payasam (a pudding made from milk and jaggery) after which Siddhartha got back some energy. Siddhartha began to reconsider his path. Then, he remembered a moment in childhood in which he had been watching his father start the season's ploughing. He attained a concentrated and focused state that was blissful and refreshing, the jhāna.

 

AWAKENING

According to the early Buddhist texts, after realizing that meditative dhyana was the right path to awakening, but that extreme asceticism didn't work, Gautama discovered what Buddhists call the Middle Way - a path of moderation away from the extremes of self-indulgence and self-mortification, or the Noble Eightfold Path, as was identified and described by the Buddha in his first discourse, the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta. In a famous incident, after becoming starved and weakened, he is said to have accepted milk and rice pudding from a village girl named Sujata. Such was his emaciated appearance that she wrongly believed him to be a spirit that had granted her a wish.

 

Following this incident, Gautama was famously seated under a pipal tree - now known as the Bodhi tree - in Bodh Gaya, India, when he vowed never to arise until he had found the truth. Kaundinya and four other companions, believing that he had abandoned his search and become undisciplined, left. After a reputed 49 days of meditation, at the age of 35, he is said to have attained Enlightenment. According to some traditions, this occurred in approximately the fifth lunar month, while, according to others, it was in the twelfth month. From that time, Gautama was known to his followers as the Buddha or "Awakened One" ("Buddha" is also sometimes translated as "The Enlightened One").

 

According to Buddhism, at the time of his awakening he realized complete insight into the cause of suffering, and the steps necessary to eliminate it. These discoveries became known as the "Four Noble Truths", which are at the heart of Buddhist teaching. Through mastery of these truths, a state of supreme liberation, or Nirvana, is believed to be possible for any being. The Buddha described Nirvāna as the perfect peace of a mind that's free from ignorance, greed, hatred and other afflictive states, or "defilements" (kilesas). Nirvana is also regarded as the "end of the world", in that no personal identity or boundaries of the mind remain. In such a state, a being is said to possess the Ten Characteristics, belonging to every Buddha.

 

According to a story in the Āyācana Sutta (Samyutta Nikaya VI.1) - a scripture found in the Pāli and other canons - immediately after his awakening, the Buddha debated whether or not he should teach the Dharma to others. He was concerned that humans were so overpowered by ignorance, greed and hatred that they could never recognise the path, which is subtle, deep and hard to grasp. However, in the story, Brahmā Sahampati convinced him, arguing that at least some will understand it. The Buddha relented, and agreed to teach.

 

FORMATION OF THE SANGHA

After his awakening, the Buddha met Taphussa and Bhallika — two merchant brothers from the city of Balkh in what is currently Afghanistan - who became his first lay disciples. It is said that each was given hairs from his head, which are now claimed to be enshrined as relics in the Shwe Dagon Temple in Rangoon, Burma. The Buddha intended to visit Asita, and his former teachers, Alara Kalama and Udaka Ramaputta, to explain his findings, but they had already died.

 

He then travelled to the Deer Park near Varanasi (Benares) in northern India, where he set in motion what Buddhists call the Wheel of Dharma by delivering his first sermon to the five companions with whom he had sought enlightenment. Together with him, they formed the first saṅgha: the company of Buddhist monks.

 

All five become arahants, and within the first two months, with the conversion of Yasa and fifty four of his friends, the number of such arahants is said to have grown to 60. The conversion of three brothers named Kassapa followed, with their reputed 200, 300 and 500 disciples, respectively. This swelled the sangha to more than 1,000.

 

TRAVELS AND TEACHING

For the remaining 45 years of his life, the Buddha is said to have traveled in the Gangetic Plain, in what is now Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and southern Nepal, teaching a diverse range of people: from nobles to servants, murderers such as Angulimala, and cannibals such as Alavaka. Although the Buddha's language remains unknown, it's likely that he taught in one or more of a variety of closely related Middle Indo-Aryan dialects, of which Pali may be a standardization.

 

The sangha traveled through the subcontinent, expounding the dharma. This continued throughout the year, except during the four months of the Vāsanā rainy season when ascetics of all religions rarely traveled. One reason was that it was more difficult to do so without causing harm to animal life. At this time of year, the sangha would retreat to monasteries, public parks or forests, where people would come to them.

 

The first vassana was spent at Varanasi when the sangha was formed. After this, the Buddha kept a promise to travel to Rajagaha, capital of Magadha, to visit King Bimbisara. During this visit, Sariputta and Maudgalyayana were converted by Assaji, one of the first five disciples, after which they were to become the Buddha's two foremost followers. The Buddha spent the next three seasons at Veluvana Bamboo Grove monastery in Rajagaha, capital of Magadha.

 

Upon hearing of his son's awakening, Suddhodana sent, over a period, ten delegations to ask him to return to Kapilavastu. On the first nine occasions, the delegates failed to deliver the message, and instead joined the sangha to become arahants. The tenth delegation, led by Kaludayi, a childhood friend of Gautama's (who also became an arahant), however, delivered the message.

 

Now two years after his awakening, the Buddha agreed to return, and made a two-month journey by foot to Kapilavastu, teaching the dharma as he went. At his return, the royal palace prepared a midday meal, but the sangha was making an alms round in Kapilavastu. Hearing this, Suddhodana approached his son, the Buddha, saying:

 

"Ours is the warrior lineage of Mahamassata, and not a single warrior has gone seeking alms."

 

The Buddha is said to have replied:

 

"That is not the custom of your royal lineage. But it is the custom of my Buddha lineage. Several thousands of Buddhas have gone by seeking alms."

 

Buddhist texts say that Suddhodana invited the sangha into the palace for the meal, followed by a dharma talk. After this he is said to have become a sotapanna. During the visit, many members of the royal family joined the sangha. The Buddha's cousins Ananda and Anuruddha became two of his five chief disciples. At the age of seven, his son Rahula also joined, and became one of his ten chief disciples. His half-brother Nanda also joined and became an arahant.

 

Of the Buddha's disciples, Sariputta, Maudgalyayana, Mahakasyapa, Ananda and Anuruddha are believed to have been the five closest to him. His ten foremost disciples were reputedly completed by the quintet of Upali, Subhoti, Rahula, Mahakaccana and Punna.

 

In the fifth vassana, the Buddha was staying at Mahavana near Vesali when he heard news of the impending death of his father. He is said to have gone to Suddhodana and taught the dharma, after which his father became an arahant.The king's death and cremation was to inspire the creation of an order of nuns. Buddhist texts record that the Buddha was reluctant to ordain women. His foster mother Maha Pajapati, for example, approached him, asking to join the sangha, but he refused. Maha Pajapati, however, was so intent on the path of awakening that she led a group of royal Sakyan and Koliyan ladies, which followed the sangha on a long journey to Rajagaha. In time, after Ananda championed their cause, the Buddha is said to have reconsidered and, five years after the formation of the sangha, agreed to the ordination of women as nuns. He reasoned that males and females had an equal capacity for awakening. But he gave women additional rules (Vinaya) to follow.

 

MAHAPARINIRVANA

According to the Mahaparinibbana Sutta of the Pali canon, at the age of 80, the Buddha announced that he would soon reach Parinirvana, or the final deathless state, and abandon his earthly body. After this, the Buddha ate his last meal, which he had received as an offering from a blacksmith named Cunda. Falling violently ill, Buddha instructed his attendant Ānanda to convince Cunda that the meal eaten at his place had nothing to do with his passing and that his meal would be a source of the greatest merit as it provided the last meal for a Buddha. Mettanando and Von Hinüber argue that the Buddha died of mesenteric infarction, a symptom of old age, rather than food poisoning. The precise contents of the Buddha's final meal are not clear, due to variant scriptural traditions and ambiguity over the translation of certain significant terms; the Theravada tradition generally believes that the Buddha was offered some kind of pork, while the Mahayana tradition believes that the Buddha consumed some sort of truffle or other mushroom. These may reflect the different traditional views on Buddhist vegetarianism and the precepts for monks and nuns.

 

Waley suggests that Theravadin's would take suukaramaddava (the contents of the Buddha's last meal), which can translate as pig-soft, to mean soft flesh of a pig. However, he also states that pig-soft could mean "pig's soft-food", that is, after Neumann, a soft food favoured by pigs, assumed to be a truffle. He argues (also after Neumann) that as Pali Buddhism was developed in an area remote to the Buddha's death, the existence of other plants with suukara- (pig) as part of their names and that "(p)lant names tend to be local and dialectical" could easily indicate that suukaramaddava was a type of plant whose local name was unknown to those in the Pali regions. Specifically, local writers knew more about their flora than Theravadin commentator Buddhaghosa who lived hundreds of years and kilometres remote in time and space from the events described. Unaware of an alternate meaning and with no Theravadin prohibition against eating animal flesh, Theravadins would not have questioned the Buddha eating meat and interpreted the term accordingly.

 

Ananda protested the Buddha's decision to enter Parinirvana in the abandoned jungles of Kuśināra (present-day Kushinagar, India) of the Malla kingdom. The Buddha, however, is said to have reminded Ananda how Kushinara was a land once ruled by a righteous wheel-turning king that resounded with joy:

 

44. Kusavati, Ananda, resounded unceasingly day and night with ten sounds - the trumpeting of elephants, the neighing of horses, the rattling of chariots, the beating of drums and tabours, music and song, cheers, the clapping of hands, and cries of "Eat, drink, and be merry!"

 

The Buddha then asked all the attendant Bhikkhus to clarify any doubts or questions they had. They had none. According to Buddhist scriptures, he then finally entered Parinirvana. The Buddha's final words are reported to have been: "All composite things (Saṅkhāra) are perishable. Strive for your own liberation with diligence" (Pali: 'vayadhammā saṅkhārā appamādena sampādethā'). His body was cremated and the relics were placed in monuments or stupas, some of which are believed to have survived until the present. For example, The Temple of the Tooth or "Dalada Maligawa" in Sri Lanka is the place where what some believe to be the relic of the right tooth of Buddha is kept at present.

 

According to the Pāli historical chronicles of Sri Lanka, the Dīpavaṃsa and Mahāvaṃsa, the coronation of Emperor Aśoka (Pāli: Asoka) is 218 years after the death of the Buddha. According to two textual records in Chinese (十八部論 and 部執異論), the coronation of Emperor Aśoka is 116 years after the death of the Buddha. Therefore, the time of Buddha's passing is either 486 BCE according to Theravāda record or 383 BCE according to Mahayana record. However, the actual date traditionally accepted as the date of the Buddha's death in Theravāda countries is 544 or 545 BCE, because the reign of Emperor Aśoka was traditionally reckoned to be about 60 years earlier than current estimates. In Burmese Buddhist tradition, the date of the Buddha's death is 13 May 544 BCE. whereas in Thai tradition it is 11 March 545 BCE.

 

At his death, the Buddha is famously believed to have told his disciples to follow no leader. Mahakasyapa was chosen by the sangha to be the chairman of the First Buddhist Council, with the two chief disciples Maudgalyayana and Sariputta having died before the Buddha.

 

While in the Buddha's days he was addressed by the very respected titles Buddha, Shākyamuni, Shākyasimha, Bhante and Bho, he was known after his parinirvana as Arihant, Bhagavā/Bhagavat/Bhagwān, Mahāvira, Jina/Jinendra, Sāstr, Sugata, and most popularly in scriptures as Tathāgata.

 

BUDDHA AND VEDAS

Buddha's teachings deny the authority of the Vedas and consequently [at least atheistic] Buddhism is generally viewed as a nāstika school (heterodox, literally "It is not so") from the perspective of orthodox Hinduism.

 

RELICS

After his death, Buddha's cremation relics were divided amongst 8 royal families and his disciples; centuries later they would be enshrined by King Ashoka into 84,000 stupas. Many supernatural legends surround the history of alleged relics as they accompanied the spread of Buddhism and gave legitimacy to rulers.

 

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

An extensive and colorful physical description of the Buddha has been laid down in scriptures. A kshatriya by birth, he had military training in his upbringing, and by Shakyan tradition was required to pass tests to demonstrate his worthiness as a warrior in order to marry. He had a strong enough body to be noticed by one of the kings and was asked to join his army as a general. He is also believed by Buddhists to have "the 32 Signs of the Great Man".

 

The Brahmin Sonadanda described him as "handsome, good-looking, and pleasing to the eye, with a most beautiful complexion. He has a godlike form and countenance, he is by no means unattractive." (D, I:115)

 

"It is wonderful, truly marvellous, how serene is the good Gotama's appearance, how clear and radiant his complexion, just as the golden jujube in autumn is clear and radiant, just as a palm-tree fruit just loosened from the stalk is clear and radiant, just as an adornment of red gold wrought in a crucible by a skilled goldsmith, deftly beaten and laid on a yellow-cloth shines, blazes and glitters, even so, the good Gotama's senses are calmed, his complexion is clear and radiant." (A, I:181)

 

A disciple named Vakkali, who later became an arahant, was so obsessed by the Buddha's physical presence that the Buddha is said to have felt impelled to tell him to desist, and to have reminded him that he should know the Buddha through the Dhamma and not through physical appearances.

 

Although there are no extant representations of the Buddha in human form until around the 1st century CE (see Buddhist art), descriptions of the physical characteristics of fully enlightened buddhas are attributed to the Buddha in the Digha Nikaya's Lakkhaṇa Sutta (D, I:142). In addition, the Buddha's physical appearance is described by Yasodhara to their son Rahula upon the Buddha's first post-Enlightenment return to his former princely palace in the non-canonical Pali devotional hymn, Narasīha Gāthā ("The Lion of Men").

 

Among the 32 main characteristics it is mentioned that Buddha has blue eyes.

 

NINE VIRTUES

Recollection of nine virtues attributed to the Buddha is a common Buddhist meditation and devotional practice called Buddhānusmṛti. The nine virtues are also among the 40 Buddhist meditation subjects. The nine virtues of the Buddha appear throughout the Tipitaka, and include:

 

- Buddho – Awakened

- Sammasambuddho – Perfectly self-awakened

- Vijja-carana-sampano – Endowed with higher knowledge and ideal conduct.

- Sugato – Well-gone or Well-spoken.

- Lokavidu – Wise in the knowledge of the many worlds.

- Anuttaro Purisa-damma-sarathi – Unexcelled trainer of untrained people.

- Satthadeva-Manussanam – Teacher of gods and humans.

- Bhagavathi – The Blessed one

- Araham – Worthy of homage. An Arahant is "one with taints destroyed, who has lived the holy life, done what had to be done, laid down the burden, reached the true goal, destroyed the fetters of being, and is completely liberated through final knowledge."

 

TEACHINGS

TRACING THE OLDEST TEACHINGS

Information of the oldest teachings may be obtained by analysis of the oldest texts. One method to obtain information on the oldest core of Buddhism is to compare the oldest extant versions of the Theravadin Pali Canon and other texts. The reliability of these sources, and the possibility to draw out a core of oldest teachings, is a matter of dispute. According to Vetter, inconsistencies remain, and other methods must be applied to resolve those inconsistencies.

 

According to Schmithausen, three positions held by scholars of Buddhism can be distinguished:

 

"Stress on the fundamental homogeneity and substantial authenticity of at least a considerable part of the Nikayic materials;"

"Scepticism with regard to the possibility of retrieving the doctrine of earliest Buddhism;"

"Cautious optimism in this respect."

 

DHYANA AND INSIGHT

A core problem in the study of early Buddhism is the relation between dhyana and insight. Schmithausen, in his often-cited article On some Aspects of Descriptions or Theories of 'Liberating Insight' and 'Enlightenment' in Early Buddhism notes that the mention of the four noble truths as constituting "liberating insight", which is attained after mastering the Rupa Jhanas, is a later addition to texts such as Majjhima Nikaya 36

 

CORE TEACHINGS

According to Tilmann Vetter, the core of earliest Buddhism is the practice of dhyāna. Bronkhorst agrees that dhyana was a Buddhist invention, whereas Norman notes that "the Buddha's way to release [...] was by means of meditative practices." Discriminating insight into transiency as a separate path to liberation was a later development.

 

According to the Mahāsaccakasutta, from the fourth jhana the Buddha gained bodhi. Yet, it is not clear what he was awakened to. "Liberating insight" is a later addition to this text, and reflects a later development and understanding in early Buddhism. The mentioning of the four truths as constituting "liberating insight" introduces a logical problem, since the four truths depict a linear path of practice, the knowledge of which is in itself not depicted as being liberating:

 

[T]hey do not teach that one is released by knowing the four noble truths, but by practicing the fourth noble truth, the eightfold path, which culminates in right samadhi.

 

Although "Nibbāna" (Sanskrit: Nirvāna) is the common term for the desired goal of this practice, many other terms can be found throughout the Nikayas, which are not specified.

 

According to Vetter, the description of the Buddhist path may initially have been as simple as the term "the middle way". In time, this short description was elaborated, resulting in the description of the eightfold path.

 

According to both Bronkhorst and Anderson, the four truths became a substitution for prajna, or "liberating insight", in the suttas in those texts where "liberating insight" was preceded by the four jhanas. According to Bronkhorst, the four truths may not have been formulated in earliest Buddhism, and did not serve in earliest Buddhism as a description of "liberating insight". Gotama's teachings may have been personal, "adjusted to the need of each person."

 

The three marks of existence may reflect Upanishadic or other influences. K.R. Norman supposes that these terms were already in use at the Buddha's time, and were familiar to his listeners.

 

The Brahma-vihara was in origin probably a brahmanic term; but its usage may have been common to the Sramana traditions.

  

LATER DEVELOPMENTS

In time, "liberating insight" became an essential feature of the Buddhist tradition. The following teachings, which are commonly seen as essential to Buddhism, are later formulations which form part of the explanatory framework of this "liberating insight":

 

- The Four Noble Truths: that suffering is an ingrained part of existence; that the origin of suffering is craving for sensuality, acquisition of identity, and fear of annihilation; that suffering can be ended; and that following the Noble Eightfold Path is the means to accomplish this;

- The Noble Eightfold Path: right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration;

- Dependent origination: the mind creates suffering as a natural product of a complex process.

 

OTHER RELIGIONS

Some Hindus regard Gautama as the 9th avatar of Vishnu. The Buddha is also regarded as a prophet by the Ahmadiyya Muslims and a Manifestation of God in the Bahá'í Faith. Some early Chinese Taoist-Buddhists thought the Buddha to be a reincarnation of Lao Tzu.

 

The Christian Saint Josaphat is based on the Buddha. The name comes from the Sanskrit Bodhisattva via Arabic Būdhasaf and Georgian Iodasaph. The only story in which St. Josaphat appears, Barlaam and Josaphat, is based on the life of the Buddha. Josaphat was included in earlier editions of the Roman Martyrology (feast day 27 November) — though not in the Roman Missal — and in the Eastern Orthodox Church liturgical calendar (26 August).

 

Disciples of the Cao Đài religion worship the Buddha as a major religious teacher. His image can be found in both their Holy See and on the home altar. He is revealed during communication with Divine Beings as son of their Supreme Being (God the Father) together with other major religious teachers and founders like Jesus, Laozi, and Confucius.

 

In the ancient Gnostic sect of Manichaeism the Buddha is listed among the prophets who preached the word of God before Mani.

 

WIKIPEDIA

01 / 365

january 01, 2013

 

so i decided to jump on the 365 day project bandwagon (mostly because jenna is back) but this time around will be WAY different. i have to take a picture every day but not of myself. i am SO tired of self portraits i can't even tell you... so yay. no rules. except that i have to take a picture every day... preferably with my canon.

 

i'm committed to you, flickr! ;o)

 

The Postcard

 

A postcard bearing no publisher's name that was posted in Great Yarmouth on Thursday the 7th. August 1924 to:

 

Miss A. Morton,

2, Hyde Park Place,

Bayswater,

London.

 

The message on the divided back of the card was as follows:

 

"Just a card to let you

know we are having a

good time.

The weather is fair. I'm

at Yarmouth for the day.

Hoping you are quite

well.

From Edward".

 

Great Yarmouth

 

Great Yarmouth is a seaside resort and minster town in Norfolk straddling the River Yare, 20 miles (30 km) east of Norwich. A population of 38,693 in the 2011 Census made it Norfolk's third most populous place.

 

Its fishing industry, mainly for herring, fell steeply after the mid-20th. century, and has all but vanished. North Sea oil from the 1960's brought an oil-rig supply industry that now services offshore natural gas rigs. More recent offshore wind power and other renewable energy have created further support services.

 

Yarmouth has been a seaside resort since 1760, and a gateway from the Norfolk Broads to the North Sea. Tourism was boosted when a railway opened in 1844, which gave visitors easier, cheaper access and triggered some settlement.

 

Wellington Pier opened in 1854 and Britannia Pier in 1858. Through the 20th. century, Yarmouth was a booming resort, with a promenade, pubs, trams, fish-and-chip shops and theatres.

 

There is also the Pleasure Beach, the Sea Life Centre, the Hippodrome Circus and the Time and Tide Museum, as well as a surviving Victorian seaside Winter Garden in cast iron and glass.

 

Great Yarmouth in the Past

 

The town was the site of a bridge disaster and drowning tragedy on the 2nd. May 1845, when a suspension bridge crowded with children collapsed killing 79. They had gathered to watch a clown in a barrel being pulled by geese down the river. As he passed under the bridge the weight shifted, causing the chains on the south side to snap, tipping over the bridge deck.

 

Great Yarmouth had an electric tramway system from 1902 to 1933. From the 1880's until the Great War, the town was a regular destination for Bass Excursions, when 15 trains would take 8000–9000 employees of Bass's Burton brewery on an annual trip to the seaside.

 

During the Great War, Great Yarmouth suffered the first aerial bombardment in the UK, by Zeppelin L3 on the 19th. January 1915. That same year on the 15th. August, Ernest Jehan became the first and only man to sink a steel U-Boat with a sail-rigged Q-ship, off the coast of Great Yarmouth.

 

Great Yarmouth was bombarded by the German Navy on the 24th. April 1916. The town also suffered Luftwaffe bombing during World War II because it was the last significant place Germans could drop bombs before returning home.

 

Nevertheless despite war damage, much is left of the old town, including the original 2,000-metre (1.2 mi) protective medieval wall, of which two-thirds has survived. Of the 18 towers, 11 are left.

 

On the South Quay is a 17th.-century Merchant's House, as well as Tudor, Georgian and Victorian buildings. Behind South Quay is a maze of alleys and lanes known as 'The Rows'. Originally there were 145. Despite bombing, several have remained.

 

Great Yarmouth was badly affected by the North Sea flood of 1953. More recent flooding has also been a problem, with four floods in 2006, the worst being in September. Torrential rain caused drains to block and an Anglian Water pumping station to break down. This caused flash flooding in which 90 properties were flooded up to a depth of 5 ft (1.5 m).

 

Great Yarmouth Sights and Amenities

 

The Tollhouse with its dungeons, dating from the late 13th. century, is one of Britain's oldest former jails and oldest civic buildings. Major sections of the medieval town walls survive around the parish cemetery and in parts of the old town.

 

Great Yarmouth Minster (The Minster Church of St Nicholas, founded in the 12th. century as an act of penance) stands in Church Plain, just off the market place. It is the third-largest parish church in England, after Beverley Minster in East Yorkshire and Christchurch Priory in Dorset.

 

Church Plain also has the 17th.-century timber-framed house, in which Anna Sewell (1820–1878), author of Black Beauty, was born.

 

The market place, one of the largest in England, has been operating since the 13th. century. It is also home to the town's shopping sector and the famous Yarmouth chip stalls. The smaller area south of the market is used as a performance area for community events.

 

The Scroby Sands Wind Farm of 30 generators is within sight of the seafront. Also visible are grey seals during their breeding season. The country's only full-time circus, the Hippodrome Circus, is just off the seafront.

 

The Two Piers

 

Great Yarmouth has two piers, Britannia Pier (which is Grade II listed) and Wellington Pier. The theatre building on the latter was demolished in 2005 and reopened in 2008 as a family entertainment centre, including a ten-pin bowling alley overlooking the beach.

 

Britannia Pier holds the Britannia Theatre, which during the summer has featured acts such as Jim Davidson, the comedian Jethro, Basil Brush, Cannon and Ball, Chubby Brown, the Chuckle Brothers and the Searchers. It is one of the few end-of-the pier theatres surviving in England.

 

Great Yarmouth Winter Gardens

 

Great Yarmouth Winter Gardens (on the left) is a Grade II* listed building in Great Yarmouth, England. It was built of glass and iron in Torquay over the course of three years, starting in 1878.

 

It was moved by barge to Great Yarmouth in 1904, purportedly without the loss of a single pane of glass. Over the years, it has been used as ballroom, roller skating rink and beer garden.

 

In the 1990's it was converted into a nightclub by Jim Davidson, and has since been used as a family leisure venue.

 

In 2018, it was named among the top ten endangered buildings of the Victorian and Edwardian eras in a survey released by the Victorian Society.

 

In July 2021 it received a £10 million National Lottery Heritage Fund grant in order to support its repair and reopening.

 

The Marine Parade

 

Great Yarmouth's seafront, known as 'The Golden Mile' attracts millions of visitors each year to its sandy beaches, indoor and outdoor attractions and amusement arcades.

 

Great Yarmouth's Marine Parade has twelve Amusement Arcades within 2 square miles. Their names draw heavily on Las Vegas and include: The Flamingo, Circus Circus, The Golden Nugget, The Mint, The Silver Slipper, The Showboat, Magic City, Quicksilver and The Gold Rush.

 

In addition to the two piers, tourist attractions on Marine Parade include Joyland, Pirates' Cove Adventure Golf, Yesterday's World, the Marina Centre, Retroskate, the Arnold Palmer Putting Green, the Sea Life Centre, Merrivale Model Village and the Pleasure Beach and Gardens.

 

The Great Yarmouth Floral Clock

 

Alas, the clock in Marine Parade is no more - it had to be removed in 2005 following repeated attacks by mindless vandals.

 

The Yarmouth In Bloom group, who had regularly planted flowers and attended the displays, were dismayed by the continual trampling of plants and breakages to the clock hands, and decided that enough was enough.

 

The Venetian Waterways

 

In August 2019, the Venetian Waterways and gardens re-opened. The waterways, running parallel to the main beach, were a feature constructed as a work-creation scheme in 1926–1928, consisting of canals and formal gardens, with rowing boats, pedalos and gondolas.

 

The waterways had been allowed to silt up, decay and become abandoned. With a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund of £1.7 m and the labour of volunteers, the flowerbeds have been restored with 20,000 plants, and the 1920's cafe has been restored. That and the boat hire are being run by a social enterprise.

 

The Nelson Monument

 

The South Denes area is home to the Grade I listed Norfolk Naval Pillar, known locally as the Britannia Monument or Nelson's Monument. This tribute to Nelson was completed in 1819, 24 years before the completion of Nelson's Column in London. The monument, designed by William Wilkins, shows Britannia standing atop a globe holding an olive branch in her right hand and a trident in her left.

 

There is a popular assumption in the town that the statue of Britannia was supposed to face out to sea but now faces inland due to a mistake during construction, although it is thought she is meant to face Nelson's birthplace at Burnham Thorpe.

 

The monument was originally planned to mark Nelson's victory at the Battle of the Nile, but fund-raising was not completed until after his death, and it was instead dedicated to England's greatest naval hero. It is currently surrounded by an industrial estate but there are plans to improve the area.

 

Charles Dickens

 

Charles Dickens used Great Yarmouth as a key location in his novel David Copperfield and described the town as 'The finest place in the universe'. The author stayed at the Royal Hotel on the Marine Parade while writing the novel.

 

Great Yarmouth Museums

 

The Norfolk Nelson Museum on South Quay houses the Ben Burgess collection of Nelson memorabilia and is the only dedicated Nelson museum in Britain, other than one in Monmouth. Its several galleries look at Nelson's life and personality, and at what life was like for men who sailed under him.

 

The Time and Tide Museum in Blackfriars Road was nominated in the UK Museums Awards in 2005. It was built as part of a regeneration of the south of the town in 2003. Its location in an old herring smokery harks back to the town's status as a major fishing port.

 

Sections of the historic town wall stand opposite the museum, next to the Great Yarmouth Potteries, part of which is housed in another former smoke house. The town wall is among the most complete medieval town walls in the country, with 11 of the 18 original turrets still standing.

 

Other museums in the town include the National Trust's Elizabethan House, the Great Yarmouth Row Houses, managed by English Heritage, and the privately owned Blitz and Pieces, based on the Home Front during World War II.

 

Kenneth Kendall

 

So what else happened on the day that Edward posted the card?

 

Well, the 7th. August 1924 marked the birth of the British journalist and TV presenter Kenneth Kendall.

 

Kenneth Kendall worked for many years as a newsreader for the BBC, where he was a contemporary of fellow newsreaders Richard Baker and Robert Dougall. He is also remembered as the host of the Channel 4 game show Treasure Hunt, which ran between 1982 and 1989, as well as the host of "The World Tonight" in the 1968 science fiction film 2001: A Space Odyssey.

 

Kenneth Kendall - The Early Years

 

Kenneth Kendall was born in British India where his father, Frederic William Kendall, who died on the 30th. May 1945, worked. He was brought up in Cornwall.

 

Kenneth was educated at Felsted School in Essex, England. He read Modern Languages at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, for one year before being called up to the British Army.

 

Kenneth Kendall's Military Service

 

Kendall joined the Coldstream Guards where he was commissioned as a lieutenant. He arrived in Normandy ten days after D Day but was wounded about a month later.

 

In 1945, he was among 100,000 British military personnel sent to Palestine. In 1946 he was demobilised from the Guards as a captain.

 

Kenneth Kendall's Broadcasting Career

 

After leaving the army, Kendall returned to Oxford to complete his Modern Language degree. He had hoped to join the Foreign Office, but instead joined the BBC in 1948 as a radio newsreader.

 

In 1954 he transferred to television. Although he was not the first newsreader on BBC television, in 1955 Kendall was the first to appear in front of a camera reading the news.

 

As he was employed on a freelance basis by the BBC, he also worked as an actor for a repertory company based in Crewe, and briefly at the menswear retailer Austin Reed in Regent Street, where he met actor John Inman and offered him a job in the Crewe theatre company.

 

Kendall became known for his elegant dress sense and was voted best-dressed newsreader by Style International, and No. 1 newscaster by Daily Mirror readers in 1979.

 

Kenneth left the BBC in 1961, and from 1961 to 1969 was a freelance newsreader, working occasionally for ITN and presenting Southern Television's Day By Day.

 

He appeared as himself in the Adam Adamant episode "The Doomsday Plan", in which he is kidnapped and impersonated. He also appeared in the Doctor Who serial "The War Machines".

 

Kenneth Kendall - The Later Years

 

Kenneth rejoined the BBC in 1969, and finally retired from news reading on the 23rd. December 1981.

 

Kendall's retirement allowed him to work on the popular Channel Four programme Treasure Hunt throughout its first run (1982–1989). The series featured Anneka Rice as a "Skyrunner". He also presented the television programme Songs of Praise.

 

Soon after retirement from news reading, Kendall lent his voice to the BBC Micro as part of Acorn Computers' hardware speech synthesis system.

 

In 2010 he took part in BBC series The Young Ones in which six well-known people in their 70's and 80's attempt to overcome some of the problems of ageing by harking back to the 1970's.

 

Kenneth Kendall's Personal Life

 

Kendall lived in Cowes on the Isle of Wight with his partner Mark Fear, whom he had been with since 1989. Fear was the owner of a marine art gallery and was also a beekeeper. The couple entered into a civil partnership in 2006.

 

The Death of Kenneth Kendall

 

Kenneth died in Cowes on the 14th. December 2012, following a stroke a few weeks earlier. He was 88 years of age when he died.

 

On the 29th. April 2013, his partner Mark Fear was found hanging from the bannisters in the house that they had shared. An inquest concluded that he had committed suicide because he was overcome by grief.

Tommy was horrible. I don’t even want to begin listing the misdeeds he committed while in his teens and it wouldn’t take much to google his ever growing list of atrocities as an adult.

 

Tommy wanted power and to him that meant gifts. He’d received countless gifts as a child, but he was never satisfied. He wanted them all. He wanted to be the first Billionaire of Gifts.

 

He had read a conspiracy theory that Santa’s power came from his long white beard. Tommy reasoned that if he could steal Santa’s beard he would have all of Santa’s powers including the ability to create an endless supply of gifts plus flying reindeer to take him places.

 

On Christmas Eve as Tommy was sharpening his knife, which he intended to use to cut Santa’s beard, he felt a tap on his shoulder. He whirled around to see the Bearded One who snatched the knife from Tommy’s hand. With a couple of deft strokes Santa cut off his beard and dribbled the hairs over Tommy’s head.

 

“Knock yourself out,” Santa said, turned on heel and vanished up the chimney.

 

The beard hairs granted Tommy no powers even though he used double-stick Scotch tape to hold them to his chin.

 

Did Tommy learn his lesson? Are you kidding? Tommy eventually ended up in prison for very long time and when he was released he became a greeter at Walmart.

 

So it goes.

 

Hybrid Stable Diffusion:Photoshop 25

Committed take-off on a large wave

DeJarnette Children's Asylum

That little shat is so misguided. according to him Hitler committed no crimes whatsoever, the holocaust didn't happen and it was just a trick by the jews..... And he constantly talks about how bad jews are....... but, he blocked me! I'm so proud of myself. :P

PRESIDIO OF MONTEREY, Calif. -- The COVID-19 pandemic has created many operational challenges for the military. However, service members, DoD civilians and military families across the globe have adapted to overcome the challenges to stay ready and support the whole-of-government response.

 

While many service members and DoD civilians who work at the Presidio of Monterey and Defense Language Institute are teleworking – essential employees report to work daily to carry on the mission. Employees are strictly following CDC and DoD guidance of social distancing and face coverings to protect themselves and those around them.

 

The health and safety of all employees, regardless if they are essential employees or teleworking, is the command’s highest priority.

 

Our service members and DoD civilians are committed to mission success and remain trained and ready to defend the nation.

  

Photo by Joseph Kumzak, Presidio of Monterey Public Affairs

  

Marble, AD 1-79

 

These architectural decorations represent the theatrical masks worn by Roman actors performing tragic scenes. Nero’s biographer, Suetonius, wrote that the emperor performed the roles of Orestes and Oedipus, mythical fgures who committed matricide and incest respectively. Both parts offered the opportunity to recite strong monologues and provided insight into the human psyche. However, Suetonius may have edited this list deliberately in order to link Nero to alleged crimes against his mother Agrippina.

[British Museum]

  

Nero: the Man Behind the Myth

(May - Oct 2021)

 

Nero is known as one of Rome's most infamous rulers, notorious for his cruelty, debauchery and madness.

The last male descendant of the emperor Augustus, Nero succeeded to the throne in AD 54 aged just 16 and died a violent death at 30. His turbulent rule saw momentous events including the Great Fire of Rome, Boudicca's rebellion in Britain, the execution of his own mother and first wife, grand projects and extravagant excesses.

Drawing on the latest research, this major exhibition questions the traditional narrative of the ruthless tyrant and eccentric performer, revealing a different Nero, a populist leader at a time of great change in Roman society.

Through some 200 spectacular objects, from the imperial palace in Rome to the streets of Pompeii, follow the young emperor’s rise and fall and make up your own mind about Nero. Was he a young, inexperienced ruler trying his best in a divided society, or the merciless, matricidal megalomaniac history has painted him to be?

 

Nero was the 5th emperor of Rome and the last of Rome’s first dynasty, the Julio-Claudians, founded by Augustus (the adopted son of Julius Caesar). Nero is known as one of Rome’s most infamous rulers, notorious for his cruelty and debauchery. He ascended to power in AD 54 aged just 16 and died at 30. He ruled at a time of great social and political change, overseeing momentous events such as the Great Fire of Rome and Boudica’s rebellion in Britain. He allegedly killed his mother and two of his wives, only cared about his art and had very little interest in ruling the empire.

Most of what we know about Nero comes from the surviving works of three historians – Tacitus, Suetonius and Cassius Dio. All written decades after Nero’s death, their accounts have long shaped our understanding of this emperor’s rule. However, far from being impartial narrators presenting objective accounts of past events, these authors and their sources wrote with a very clear agenda in mind. Nero’s demise brought forward a period of chaos and civil war – one that ended only when a new dynasty seized power, the Flavians. Authors writing under the Flavians all had an interest in legitimising the new ruling family by portraying the last of the Julio-Claudians in the worst possible light, turning history into propaganda. These accounts became the ‘historical’ sources used by later historians, therefore perpetuating a fabricated image of Nero, which has survived all the way to the present.

Nero was born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus on 15 December AD 37.

He was the son of Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus and Agrippina the Younger. Both Gnaeus and Agrippina were the grandchildren of Augustus, making Nero Augustus’ great, great grandson with a strong claim to power.

Nero was only two years old when his mother was exiled and three when his father died. His inheritance was taken from him and he was sent to live with his aunt. However, Nero’s fate changed again when Claudius became emperor, restoring the boy’s property and recalling his mother Agrippina from exile.

In AD 49 the emperor Claudius married Agrippina, and adopted Nero the following year. It is at this point that Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus changed his name to Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus. In Roman times it was normal to change your name when adopted, abandoning your family name in favour of your adoptive father’s. Nero was a common name among members of the Claudian family, especially in Claudius’ branch.

Nero and Agrippina offered Claudius a politically useful link back to Augustus, strengthening his position.

Claudius appeared to favour Nero over his natural son, Britannicus, marking Nero as the designated heir.

When Claudius died in AD 54, Nero became emperor just two months before turning 17.

As he was supported by both the army and the senate, his rise to power was smooth. His mother Agrippina exerted a significant influence, especially at the beginning of his rule.

The Roman historians Tacitus, Suetonius and Cassius Dio all claim that Nero, fed up with Agrippina’s interference, decided to kill her.

Given the lack of eyewitnesses, there is no way of knowing if or how this happened. However, this did not stop historians from fabricating dramatic stories of Agrippina’s murder, asserting that Nero tried (and failed) to kill her with a boat engineered to sink, before sending his men to do the job.

Agrippina allegedly told them to stab her in the womb that bore Nero, her last words clearly borrowed from stage plays.

It is entirely possible, as claimed by Nero himself, that Agrippina chose (or was more likely forced) to take her own life after her plot against her son was discovered.

Early in his rule, Nero had to contend with a rebellion in the newly conquered province of Britain.

In AD 60–61, Queen Boudica of the Iceni tribe led a revolt against the Romans, attacking and laying waste to important Roman settlements. The possible causes of the rebellion were numerous – the greed of the Romans exploiting the newly conquered territories, the recalling of loans made to local leaders, ongoing conflict in Wales and, above all, violence against the family of Prasutagus, Boudica’s husband and king of the Iceni.

Boudica and the rebels destroyed Colchester, London and St Albans before being heavily defeated by Roman troops. After the uprising, the governor of Britain Suetonius Paulinus introduced harsher laws against the Britons, until Nero replaced him with the more conciliatory governor Publius Petronius Turpilianus.

The marriage between Nero and Octavia, aged 15 and 13/14 at the time, was arranged by their parents in order to further legitimise Nero’s claim to the throne. Octavia was the daughter of the emperor Claudius from a previous marriage, so when Claudius married Agrippina and adopted her son Nero, Nero and Octavia became brother and sister. In order to arrange their marriage, Octavia had to be adopted into another family.

Their marriage was not a happy one. According to ancient writers, Nero had various affairs until his lover Poppaea Sabina convinced him to divorce his wife. Octavia was first exiled then executed in AD 62 on adultery charges. According to ancient writers, her banishment and death caused great unrest among the public, who sympathised with the dutiful Octavia.

No further motives were offered for Octavia’s death other than Nero’s passion for Poppaea, and we will probably never know what transpired at court. The fact that Octavia couldn’t produce an heir while Poppaea was pregnant with Nero’s daughter likely played an important role in deciding Octavia’s fate.

On 19 July AD 64, a fire started close to the Circus Maximus. The flames soon encompassed the entire city of Rome and the fire raged for nine days. Only four of the 14 districts of the capital were spared, while three were completely destroyed.

Rome had already been razed by flames – and would be again in its long history – but this event was so severe it came to be known as the Great Fire of Rome.

Later historians blamed Nero for the event, claiming that he set the capital ablaze in order to clear land for the construction of a vast new palace. According to Suetonius and Cassius Dio, Nero took in the view of the burning city from the imperial residence while playing the lyre and singing about the fall of Troy. This story, however, is fictional.

Tacitus, the only historian who was actually alive at the time of the Great Fire of Rome (although only 8 years old), wrote that Nero was not even in Rome when the fire started, but returned to the capital and led the relief efforts.

Tacitus, Suetonius and Cassius Dio all describe Nero as being blinded by passion for his wife Poppaea, yet they accuse him of killing her, allegedly by kicking her in an outburst of rage while she was pregnant.

Interestingly, pregnant women being kicked to death by enraged husbands is a recurring theme in ancient literature, used to explore the (self) destructive tendencies of autocrats. The Greek writer Herodotus tells the story of how the Persian king Cambyses kicked his pregnant wife in the stomach, causing her death. A similar episode is told of Periander, tyrant of Corinth. Nero is just one of many allegedly ‘mad’ tyrants for which this literary convention was used.

Poppaea probably died from complications connected with her pregnancy and not at Nero’s hands. She was given a lavish funeral and was deified.

Centred on greater Iran, the Parthian empire was a major political and cultural power and a long-standing enemy of Rome. The two powers had long been contending for control over the buffer state of Armenia and open conflict sparked again during Nero’s rule. The Parthian War started in AD 58 and, after initial victories and following set-backs, ended in AD 63 when a diplomatic solution was reached between Nero and the Parthian king Vologases I.

According to this settlement Tiridates, brother of the Parthian king, would rule over Armenia, but only after having travelled all the way to Rome to be crowned by Nero.

The journey lasted 9 months, Tiridates’ retinue included 3,000 Parthian horsemen and many Roman soldiers. The coronation ceremony took place in the summer of AD 66 and the day was celebrated with much pomp: all the people of Rome saw the new king of Armenia kneeling in front of Nero. This was the Golden Day of Nero’s rule

In AD 68, Vindex, the governor of Gaul (France), rebelled against Nero and declared his support for Galba, the governor of Spain. Vindex was defeated in battle by troops loyal to Nero, yet Galba started gaining more military support.

It was at this point that Nero lost the support of Rome’s people due to a grain shortage, caused by a rebellious commander who cut the crucial food supply from Egypt to the capital. Abandoned by the people and declared an enemy of the state by the senate, Nero tried to flee Rome and eventually committed suicide.

Following his death, Nero’s memory was condemned (a practice called damnatio memoriae) and the images of the emperor were destroyed, removed or reworked. However, Nero was still given an expensive funeral and for a long time people decorated his tomb with flowers, some even believing he was still alive.

After Nero’s death, civil war ensued. At the end of the so-called ‘Year of the Four Emperors’ (AD 69), Vespasian became emperor and started a new dynasty: the Flavians.

[Francesca Bologna, curator, for British Museum]

 

Taken in the British Museum

This is Bobby Bostic. Bobby was sentenced to 241 years in prison for two robberies he committed on the same day as a child. Nobody was seriously injured. He has now been in prison in Missouri for 25 years, and is serving the longest sentence ever given there to a juvenile for non-homicide offenses. You can read Bobby's full story on Wikipedia or BBC News, among other sources.

 

Even the judge who sentenced Bobby, Evelyn Baker, has publicly stated she regrets giving him such a harsh sentence, and is now campaigning for his release. None of Bobby's victims are opposed to him being granted clemency, and some have written letters of support for his release.

 

If you'd like to help end Bobby's unjust and unconstitutional sentence, please sign the petitions below. You can also follow @FreeBobbyBostic on both Instagram and Twitter, for more information.

 

www.aclu-mo.org/en/support-clemency-bobby-bostic

 

www.change.org/p/stop-bobby-bostic-from-serving-an-uncons...

 

Done with F, B, 2B, 3B and 4B graphite pencils.

Gautama Buddha, also known as Siddhārtha Gautama, Shakyamuni, or simply the Buddha, was a sage on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. He is believed to have lived and taught mostly in northeastern India sometime between the sixth and fourth centuries BCE.

 

The word Buddha means "awakened one" or "the enlightened one". "Buddha" is also used as a title for the first awakened being in a Yuga era. In most Buddhist traditions, Siddhartha Gautama is regarded as the Supreme Buddha (Pali sammāsambuddha, Sanskrit samyaksaṃbuddha) of the present age. Gautama taught a Middle Way between sensual indulgence and the severe asceticism found in the śramaṇa movement common in his region. He later taught throughout regions of eastern India such as Magadha and Kosala.

 

Gautama is the primary figure in Buddhism and accounts of his life, discourses, and monastic rules are believed by Buddhists to have been summarized after his death and memorized by his followers. Various collections of teachings attributed to him were passed down by oral tradition and first committed to writing about 400 years later.

 

CONTENTS

HISTORICAL SIDDHARTA GAUTAMA

Scholars are hesitant to make unqualified claims about the historical facts of the Buddha's life. Most accept that he lived, taught and founded a monastic order during the Mahajanapada era during the reign of Bimbisara, the ruler of the Magadha empire, and died during the early years of the reign of Ajasattu, who was the successor of Bimbisara, thus making him a younger contemporary of Mahavira, the Jain tirthankara. Apart from the Vedic Brahmins, the Buddha's lifetime coincided with the flourishing of other influential śramaṇa schools of thoughts like Ājīvika, Cārvāka, Jainism, and Ajñana. It was also the age of influential thinkers like Mahavira, Pūraṇa Kassapa , Makkhali Gosāla, Ajita Kesakambalī, Pakudha Kaccāyana, and Sañjaya Belaṭṭhaputta, whose viewpoints the Buddha most certainly must have been acquainted with and influenced by. Indeed, Sariputta and Moggallāna, two of the foremost disciples of the Buddha, were formerly the foremost disciples of Sañjaya Belaṭṭhaputta, the skeptic. There is also evidence to suggest that the two masters, Alara Kalama and Uddaka Ramaputta, were indeed historical figures and they most probably taught Buddha two different forms of meditative techniques. While the general sequence of "birth, maturity, renunciation, search, awakening and liberation, teaching, death" is widely accepted, there is less consensus on the veracity of many details contained in traditional biographies.

 

The times of Gautama's birth and death are uncertain. Most historians in the early 20th century dated his lifetime as circa 563 BCE to 483 BCE. More recently his death is dated later, between 411 and 400 BCE, while at a symposium on this question held in 1988, the majority of those who presented definite opinions gave dates within 20 years either side of 400 BCE for the Buddha's death. These alternative chronologies, however, have not yet been accepted by all historians.

 

The evidence of the early texts suggests that Siddhārtha Gautama was born into the Shakya clan, a community that was on the periphery, both geographically and culturally, of the northeastern Indian subcontinent in the 5th century BCE. It was either a small republic, in which case his father was an elected chieftain, or an oligarchy, in which case his father was an oligarch. According to the Buddhist tradition, Gautama was born in Lumbini, nowadays in modern-day Nepal, and raised in the Shakya capital of Kapilavastu, which may have been in either present day Tilaurakot, Nepal or Piprahwa, India. He obtained his enlightenment in Bodh Gaya, gave his first sermon in Sarnath, and died in Kushinagar.

 

No written records about Gautama have been found from his lifetime or some centuries thereafter. One Edict of Asoka, who reigned from circa 269 BCE to 232 BCE, commemorates the Emperor's pilgrimage to the Buddha's birthplace in Lumbini. Another one of his edicts mentions several Dhamma texts, establishing the existence of a written Buddhist tradition at least by the time of the Maurya era and which may be the precursors of the Pāli Canon. The oldest surviving Buddhist manuscripts are the Gandhāran Buddhist texts, reported to have been found in or around Haḍḍa near Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan and now preserved in the British Library. They are written in the Gāndhārī language using the Kharosthi script on twenty-seven birch bark manuscripts and date from the first century BCE to the third century CE.

 

TRADITIONAL BIOGRAPHIES

BIOGRAPHICAL SOURCES

The sources for the life of Siddhārtha Gautama are a variety of different, and sometimes conflicting, traditional biographies. These include the Buddhacarita, Lalitavistara Sūtra, Mahāvastu, and the Nidānakathā. Of these, the Buddhacarita is the earliest full biography, an epic poem written by the poet Aśvaghoṣa, and dating around the beginning of the 2nd century CE. The Lalitavistara Sūtra is the next oldest biography, a Mahāyāna/Sarvāstivāda biography dating to the 3rd century CE. The Mahāvastu from the Mahāsāṃghika Lokottaravāda tradition is another major biography, composed incrementally until perhaps the 4th century CE. The Dharmaguptaka biography of the Buddha is the most exhaustive, and is entitled the Abhiniṣkramaṇa Sūtra, and various Chinese translations of this date between the 3rd and 6th century CE. The Nidānakathā is from the Theravada tradition in Sri Lanka and was composed in the 5th century by Buddhaghoṣa.

 

From canonical sources, the Jataka tales, the Mahapadana Sutta (DN 14), and the Achariyabhuta Sutta (MN 123) which include selective accounts that may be older, but are not full biographies. The Jātakas retell previous lives of Gautama as a bodhisattva, and the first collection of these can be dated among the earliest Buddhist texts. The Mahāpadāna Sutta and Achariyabhuta Sutta both recount miraculous events surrounding Gautama's birth, such as the bodhisattva's descent from the Tuṣita Heaven into his mother's womb.

 

NATURE OF TRADITIONAL DEPICTIONS

In the earliest Buddhists texts, the nikāyas and āgamas, the Buddha is not depicted as possessing omniscience (sabbaññu) nor is he depicted as being an eternal transcendent (lokottara) being. According to Bhikkhu Analayo, ideas of the Buddha's omniscience (along with an increasing tendency to deify him and his biography) are found only later, in the Mahayana sutras and later Pali commentaries or texts such as the Mahāvastu. In the Sandaka Sutta, the Buddha's disciple Ananda outlines an argument against the claims of teachers who say they are all knowing while in the Tevijjavacchagotta Sutta the Buddha himself states that he has never made a claim to being omniscient, instead he claimed to have the "higher knowledges" (abhijñā). The earliest biographical material from the Pali Nikayas focuses on the Buddha's life as a śramaṇa, his search for enlightenment under various teachers such as Alara Kalama and his forty five year career as a teacher.

 

Traditional biographies of Gautama generally include numerous miracles, omens, and supernatural events. The character of the Buddha in these traditional biographies is often that of a fully transcendent (Skt. lokottara) and perfected being who is unencumbered by the mundane world. In the Mahāvastu, over the course of many lives, Gautama is said to have developed supra-mundane abilities including: a painless birth conceived without intercourse; no need for sleep, food, medicine, or bathing, although engaging in such "in conformity with the world"; omniscience, and the ability to "suppress karma". Nevertheless, some of the more ordinary details of his life have been gathered from these traditional sources. In modern times there has been an attempt to form a secular understanding of Siddhārtha Gautama's life by omitting the traditional supernatural elements of his early biographies.

 

Andrew Skilton writes that the Buddha was never historically regarded by Buddhist traditions as being merely human:

It is important to stress that, despite modern Theravada teachings to the contrary (often a sop to skeptical Western pupils), he was never seen as being merely human. For instance, he is often described as having the thirty-two major and eighty minor marks or signs of a mahāpuruṣa, "superman"; the Buddha himself denied that he was either a man or a god; and in the Mahāparinibbāna Sutta he states that he could live for an aeon were he asked to do so.The ancient Indians were generally unconcerned with chronologies, being more focused on philosophy. Buddhist texts reflect this tendency, providing a clearer picture of what Gautama may have taught than of the dates of the events in his life. These texts contain descriptions of the culture and daily life of ancient India which can be corroborated from the Jain scriptures, and make the Buddha's time the earliest period in Indian history for which significant accounts exist. British author Karen Armstrong writes that although there is very little information that can be considered historically sound, we can be reasonably confident that Siddhārtha Gautama did exist as a historical figure. Michael Carrithers goes a bit further by stating that the most general outline of "birth, maturity, renunciation, search, awakening and liberation, teaching, death" must be true.

 

BIOGRAPHY

CONCEPTION AND BIRTH

The Buddhist tradition regards Lumbini, in present-day Nepal to be the birthplace of the Buddha. He grew up in Kapilavastu. The exact site of ancient Kapilavastu is unknown. It may have been either Piprahwa, Uttar Pradesh, present-day India, or Tilaurakot, present-day Nepal. Both places belonged to the Sakya territory, and are located only 15 miles apart from each other.

 

Gautama was born as a Kshatriya, the son of Śuddhodana, "an elected chief of the Shakya clan", whose capital was Kapilavastu, and who were later annexed by the growing Kingdom of Kosala during the Buddha's lifetime. Gautama was the family name. His mother, Maya (Māyādevī), Suddhodana's wife, was a Koliyan princess. Legend has it that, on the night Siddhartha was conceived, Queen Maya dreamt that a white elephant with six white tusks entered her right side, and ten months later Siddhartha was born. As was the Shakya tradition, when his mother Queen Maya became pregnant, she left Kapilvastu for her father's kingdom to give birth. However, her son is said to have been born on the way, at Lumbini, in a garden beneath a sal tree.

 

The day of the Buddha's birth is widely celebrated in Theravada countries as Vesak. Buddha's Birthday is called Buddha Purnima in Nepal and India as he is believed to have been born on a full moon day. Various sources hold that the Buddha's mother died at his birth, a few days or seven days later. The infant was given the name Siddhartha (Pāli: Siddhattha), meaning "he who achieves his aim". During the birth celebrations, the hermit seer Asita journeyed from his mountain abode and announced that the child would either become a great king (chakravartin) or a great sadhu. By traditional account, this occurred after Siddhartha placed his feet in Asita's hair and Asita examined the birthmarks. Suddhodana held a naming ceremony on the fifth day, and invited eight Brahmin scholars to read the future. All gave a dual prediction that the baby would either become a great king or a great holy man. Kondañña, the youngest, and later to be the first arhat other than the Buddha, was reputed to be the only one who unequivocally predicted that Siddhartha would become a Buddha.

 

While later tradition and legend characterized Śuddhodana as a hereditary monarch, the descendant of the Suryavansha (Solar dynasty) of Ikṣvāku (Pāli: Okkāka), many scholars think that Śuddhodana was the elected chief of a tribal confederacy.

 

Early texts suggest that Gautama was not familiar with the dominant religious teachings of his time until he left on his religious quest, which is said to have been motivated by existential concern for the human condition. The state of the Shakya clan was not a monarchy, and seems to have been structured either as an oligarchy, or as a form of republic. The more egalitarian gana-sangha form of government, as a political alternative to the strongly hierarchical kingdoms, may have influenced the development of the śramanic Jain and Buddhist sanghas, where monarchies tended toward Vedic Brahmanism.

 

EARLY LIFE AND MARRIAGE

Siddhartha was brought up by his mother's younger sister, Maha Pajapati. By tradition, he is said to have been destined by birth to the life of a prince, and had three palaces (for seasonal occupation) built for him. Although more recent scholarship doubts this status, his father, said to be King Śuddhodana, wishing for his son to be a great king, is said to have shielded him from religious teachings and from knowledge of human suffering.

 

When he reached the age of 16, his father reputedly arranged his marriage to a cousin of the same age named Yaśodharā (Pāli: Yasodharā). According to the traditional account, she gave birth to a son, named Rāhula. Siddhartha is said to have spent 29 years as a prince in Kapilavastu. Although his father ensured that Siddhartha was provided with everything he could want or need, Buddhist scriptures say that the future Buddha felt that material wealth was not life's ultimate goal.

 

RENUNCIATION AND ASCETIC LIFE

At the age of 29, the popular biography continues, Siddhartha left his palace to meet his subjects. Despite his father's efforts to hide from him the sick, aged and suffering, Siddhartha was said to have seen an old man. When his charioteer Channa explained to him that all people grew old, the prince went on further trips beyond the palace. On these he encountered a diseased man, a decaying corpse, and an ascetic. These depressed him, and he initially strove to overcome aging, sickness, and death by living the life of an ascetic.

 

Accompanied by Channa and riding his horse Kanthaka, Gautama quit his palace for the life of a mendicant. It's said that, "the horse's hooves were muffled by the gods" to prevent guards from knowing of his departure.

 

Gautama initially went to Rajagaha and began his ascetic life by begging for alms in the street. After King Bimbisara's men recognised Siddhartha and the king learned of his quest, Bimbisara offered Siddhartha the throne. Siddhartha rejected the offer, but promised to visit his kingdom of Magadha first, upon attaining enlightenment.

 

He left Rajagaha and practised under two hermit teachers of yogic meditation. After mastering the teachings of Alara Kalama (Skr. Ārāḍa Kālāma), he was asked by Kalama to succeed him. However, Gautama felt unsatisfied by the practice, and moved on to become a student of yoga with Udaka Ramaputta (Skr. Udraka Rāmaputra). With him he achieved high levels of meditative consciousness, and was again asked to succeed his teacher. But, once more, he was not satisfied, and again moved on.

 

Siddhartha and a group of five companions led by Kaundinya are then said to have set out to take their austerities even further. They tried to find enlightenment through deprivation of worldly goods, including food, practising self-mortification. After nearly starving himself to death by restricting his food intake to around a leaf or nut per day, he collapsed in a river while bathing and almost drowned. Siddhartha was rescued by a village girl named Sujata and she gave him some payasam (a pudding made from milk and jaggery) after which Siddhartha got back some energy. Siddhartha began to reconsider his path. Then, he remembered a moment in childhood in which he had been watching his father start the season's ploughing. He attained a concentrated and focused state that was blissful and refreshing, the jhāna.

 

AWAKENING

According to the early Buddhist texts, after realizing that meditative dhyana was the right path to awakening, but that extreme asceticism didn't work, Gautama discovered what Buddhists call the Middle Way - a path of moderation away from the extremes of self-indulgence and self-mortification, or the Noble Eightfold Path, as was identified and described by the Buddha in his first discourse, the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta. In a famous incident, after becoming starved and weakened, he is said to have accepted milk and rice pudding from a village girl named Sujata. Such was his emaciated appearance that she wrongly believed him to be a spirit that had granted her a wish.

 

Following this incident, Gautama was famously seated under a pipal tree - now known as the Bodhi tree - in Bodh Gaya, India, when he vowed never to arise until he had found the truth. Kaundinya and four other companions, believing that he had abandoned his search and become undisciplined, left. After a reputed 49 days of meditation, at the age of 35, he is said to have attained Enlightenment. According to some traditions, this occurred in approximately the fifth lunar month, while, according to others, it was in the twelfth month. From that time, Gautama was known to his followers as the Buddha or "Awakened One" ("Buddha" is also sometimes translated as "The Enlightened One").

 

According to Buddhism, at the time of his awakening he realized complete insight into the cause of suffering, and the steps necessary to eliminate it. These discoveries became known as the "Four Noble Truths", which are at the heart of Buddhist teaching. Through mastery of these truths, a state of supreme liberation, or Nirvana, is believed to be possible for any being. The Buddha described Nirvāna as the perfect peace of a mind that's free from ignorance, greed, hatred and other afflictive states, or "defilements" (kilesas). Nirvana is also regarded as the "end of the world", in that no personal identity or boundaries of the mind remain. In such a state, a being is said to possess the Ten Characteristics, belonging to every Buddha.

 

According to a story in the Āyācana Sutta (Samyutta Nikaya VI.1) - a scripture found in the Pāli and other canons - immediately after his awakening, the Buddha debated whether or not he should teach the Dharma to others. He was concerned that humans were so overpowered by ignorance, greed and hatred that they could never recognise the path, which is subtle, deep and hard to grasp. However, in the story, Brahmā Sahampati convinced him, arguing that at least some will understand it. The Buddha relented, and agreed to teach.

 

FORMATION OF THE SANGHA

After his awakening, the Buddha met Taphussa and Bhallika — two merchant brothers from the city of Balkh in what is currently Afghanistan - who became his first lay disciples. It is said that each was given hairs from his head, which are now claimed to be enshrined as relics in the Shwe Dagon Temple in Rangoon, Burma. The Buddha intended to visit Asita, and his former teachers, Alara Kalama and Udaka Ramaputta, to explain his findings, but they had already died.

 

He then travelled to the Deer Park near Varanasi (Benares) in northern India, where he set in motion what Buddhists call the Wheel of Dharma by delivering his first sermon to the five companions with whom he had sought enlightenment. Together with him, they formed the first saṅgha: the company of Buddhist monks.

 

All five become arahants, and within the first two months, with the conversion of Yasa and fifty four of his friends, the number of such arahants is said to have grown to 60. The conversion of three brothers named Kassapa followed, with their reputed 200, 300 and 500 disciples, respectively. This swelled the sangha to more than 1,000.

 

TRAVELS AND TEACHING

For the remaining 45 years of his life, the Buddha is said to have traveled in the Gangetic Plain, in what is now Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and southern Nepal, teaching a diverse range of people: from nobles to servants, murderers such as Angulimala, and cannibals such as Alavaka. Although the Buddha's language remains unknown, it's likely that he taught in one or more of a variety of closely related Middle Indo-Aryan dialects, of which Pali may be a standardization.

 

The sangha traveled through the subcontinent, expounding the dharma. This continued throughout the year, except during the four months of the Vāsanā rainy season when ascetics of all religions rarely traveled. One reason was that it was more difficult to do so without causing harm to animal life. At this time of year, the sangha would retreat to monasteries, public parks or forests, where people would come to them.

 

The first vassana was spent at Varanasi when the sangha was formed. After this, the Buddha kept a promise to travel to Rajagaha, capital of Magadha, to visit King Bimbisara. During this visit, Sariputta and Maudgalyayana were converted by Assaji, one of the first five disciples, after which they were to become the Buddha's two foremost followers. The Buddha spent the next three seasons at Veluvana Bamboo Grove monastery in Rajagaha, capital of Magadha.

 

Upon hearing of his son's awakening, Suddhodana sent, over a period, ten delegations to ask him to return to Kapilavastu. On the first nine occasions, the delegates failed to deliver the message, and instead joined the sangha to become arahants. The tenth delegation, led by Kaludayi, a childhood friend of Gautama's (who also became an arahant), however, delivered the message.

 

Now two years after his awakening, the Buddha agreed to return, and made a two-month journey by foot to Kapilavastu, teaching the dharma as he went. At his return, the royal palace prepared a midday meal, but the sangha was making an alms round in Kapilavastu. Hearing this, Suddhodana approached his son, the Buddha, saying:

 

"Ours is the warrior lineage of Mahamassata, and not a single warrior has gone seeking alms."

 

The Buddha is said to have replied:

 

"That is not the custom of your royal lineage. But it is the custom of my Buddha lineage. Several thousands of Buddhas have gone by seeking alms."

 

Buddhist texts say that Suddhodana invited the sangha into the palace for the meal, followed by a dharma talk. After this he is said to have become a sotapanna. During the visit, many members of the royal family joined the sangha. The Buddha's cousins Ananda and Anuruddha became two of his five chief disciples. At the age of seven, his son Rahula also joined, and became one of his ten chief disciples. His half-brother Nanda also joined and became an arahant.

 

Of the Buddha's disciples, Sariputta, Maudgalyayana, Mahakasyapa, Ananda and Anuruddha are believed to have been the five closest to him. His ten foremost disciples were reputedly completed by the quintet of Upali, Subhoti, Rahula, Mahakaccana and Punna.

 

In the fifth vassana, the Buddha was staying at Mahavana near Vesali when he heard news of the impending death of his father. He is said to have gone to Suddhodana and taught the dharma, after which his father became an arahant.The king's death and cremation was to inspire the creation of an order of nuns. Buddhist texts record that the Buddha was reluctant to ordain women. His foster mother Maha Pajapati, for example, approached him, asking to join the sangha, but he refused. Maha Pajapati, however, was so intent on the path of awakening that she led a group of royal Sakyan and Koliyan ladies, which followed the sangha on a long journey to Rajagaha. In time, after Ananda championed their cause, the Buddha is said to have reconsidered and, five years after the formation of the sangha, agreed to the ordination of women as nuns. He reasoned that males and females had an equal capacity for awakening. But he gave women additional rules (Vinaya) to follow.

 

MAHAPARINIRVANA

According to the Mahaparinibbana Sutta of the Pali canon, at the age of 80, the Buddha announced that he would soon reach Parinirvana, or the final deathless state, and abandon his earthly body. After this, the Buddha ate his last meal, which he had received as an offering from a blacksmith named Cunda. Falling violently ill, Buddha instructed his attendant Ānanda to convince Cunda that the meal eaten at his place had nothing to do with his passing and that his meal would be a source of the greatest merit as it provided the last meal for a Buddha. Mettanando and Von Hinüber argue that the Buddha died of mesenteric infarction, a symptom of old age, rather than food poisoning. The precise contents of the Buddha's final meal are not clear, due to variant scriptural traditions and ambiguity over the translation of certain significant terms; the Theravada tradition generally believes that the Buddha was offered some kind of pork, while the Mahayana tradition believes that the Buddha consumed some sort of truffle or other mushroom. These may reflect the different traditional views on Buddhist vegetarianism and the precepts for monks and nuns.

 

Waley suggests that Theravadin's would take suukaramaddava (the contents of the Buddha's last meal), which can translate as pig-soft, to mean soft flesh of a pig. However, he also states that pig-soft could mean "pig's soft-food", that is, after Neumann, a soft food favoured by pigs, assumed to be a truffle. He argues (also after Neumann) that as Pali Buddhism was developed in an area remote to the Buddha's death, the existence of other plants with suukara- (pig) as part of their names and that "(p)lant names tend to be local and dialectical" could easily indicate that suukaramaddava was a type of plant whose local name was unknown to those in the Pali regions. Specifically, local writers knew more about their flora than Theravadin commentator Buddhaghosa who lived hundreds of years and kilometres remote in time and space from the events described. Unaware of an alternate meaning and with no Theravadin prohibition against eating animal flesh, Theravadins would not have questioned the Buddha eating meat and interpreted the term accordingly.

 

Ananda protested the Buddha's decision to enter Parinirvana in the abandoned jungles of Kuśināra (present-day Kushinagar, India) of the Malla kingdom. The Buddha, however, is said to have reminded Ananda how Kushinara was a land once ruled by a righteous wheel-turning king that resounded with joy:

 

44. Kusavati, Ananda, resounded unceasingly day and night with ten sounds - the trumpeting of elephants, the neighing of horses, the rattling of chariots, the beating of drums and tabours, music and song, cheers, the clapping of hands, and cries of "Eat, drink, and be merry!"

 

The Buddha then asked all the attendant Bhikkhus to clarify any doubts or questions they had. They had none. According to Buddhist scriptures, he then finally entered Parinirvana. The Buddha's final words are reported to have been: "All composite things (Saṅkhāra) are perishable. Strive for your own liberation with diligence" (Pali: 'vayadhammā saṅkhārā appamādena sampādethā'). His body was cremated and the relics were placed in monuments or stupas, some of which are believed to have survived until the present. For example, The Temple of the Tooth or "Dalada Maligawa" in Sri Lanka is the place where what some believe to be the relic of the right tooth of Buddha is kept at present.

 

According to the Pāli historical chronicles of Sri Lanka, the Dīpavaṃsa and Mahāvaṃsa, the coronation of Emperor Aśoka (Pāli: Asoka) is 218 years after the death of the Buddha. According to two textual records in Chinese (十八部論 and 部執異論), the coronation of Emperor Aśoka is 116 years after the death of the Buddha. Therefore, the time of Buddha's passing is either 486 BCE according to Theravāda record or 383 BCE according to Mahayana record. However, the actual date traditionally accepted as the date of the Buddha's death in Theravāda countries is 544 or 545 BCE, because the reign of Emperor Aśoka was traditionally reckoned to be about 60 years earlier than current estimates. In Burmese Buddhist tradition, the date of the Buddha's death is 13 May 544 BCE. whereas in Thai tradition it is 11 March 545 BCE.

 

At his death, the Buddha is famously believed to have told his disciples to follow no leader. Mahakasyapa was chosen by the sangha to be the chairman of the First Buddhist Council, with the two chief disciples Maudgalyayana and Sariputta having died before the Buddha.

 

While in the Buddha's days he was addressed by the very respected titles Buddha, Shākyamuni, Shākyasimha, Bhante and Bho, he was known after his parinirvana as Arihant, Bhagavā/Bhagavat/Bhagwān, Mahāvira, Jina/Jinendra, Sāstr, Sugata, and most popularly in scriptures as Tathāgata.

 

BUDDHA AND VEDAS

Buddha's teachings deny the authority of the Vedas and consequently [at least atheistic] Buddhism is generally viewed as a nāstika school (heterodox, literally "It is not so") from the perspective of orthodox Hinduism.

 

RELICS

After his death, Buddha's cremation relics were divided amongst 8 royal families and his disciples; centuries later they would be enshrined by King Ashoka into 84,000 stupas. Many supernatural legends surround the history of alleged relics as they accompanied the spread of Buddhism and gave legitimacy to rulers.

 

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

An extensive and colorful physical description of the Buddha has been laid down in scriptures. A kshatriya by birth, he had military training in his upbringing, and by Shakyan tradition was required to pass tests to demonstrate his worthiness as a warrior in order to marry. He had a strong enough body to be noticed by one of the kings and was asked to join his army as a general. He is also believed by Buddhists to have "the 32 Signs of the Great Man".

 

The Brahmin Sonadanda described him as "handsome, good-looking, and pleasing to the eye, with a most beautiful complexion. He has a godlike form and countenance, he is by no means unattractive." (D, I:115)

 

"It is wonderful, truly marvellous, how serene is the good Gotama's appearance, how clear and radiant his complexion, just as the golden jujube in autumn is clear and radiant, just as a palm-tree fruit just loosened from the stalk is clear and radiant, just as an adornment of red gold wrought in a crucible by a skilled goldsmith, deftly beaten and laid on a yellow-cloth shines, blazes and glitters, even so, the good Gotama's senses are calmed, his complexion is clear and radiant." (A, I:181)

 

A disciple named Vakkali, who later became an arahant, was so obsessed by the Buddha's physical presence that the Buddha is said to have felt impelled to tell him to desist, and to have reminded him that he should know the Buddha through the Dhamma and not through physical appearances.

 

Although there are no extant representations of the Buddha in human form until around the 1st century CE (see Buddhist art), descriptions of the physical characteristics of fully enlightened buddhas are attributed to the Buddha in the Digha Nikaya's Lakkhaṇa Sutta (D, I:142). In addition, the Buddha's physical appearance is described by Yasodhara to their son Rahula upon the Buddha's first post-Enlightenment return to his former princely palace in the non-canonical Pali devotional hymn, Narasīha Gāthā ("The Lion of Men").

 

Among the 32 main characteristics it is mentioned that Buddha has blue eyes.

 

NINE VIRTUES

Recollection of nine virtues attributed to the Buddha is a common Buddhist meditation and devotional practice called Buddhānusmṛti. The nine virtues are also among the 40 Buddhist meditation subjects. The nine virtues of the Buddha appear throughout the Tipitaka, and include:

 

- Buddho – Awakened

- Sammasambuddho – Perfectly self-awakened

- Vijja-carana-sampano – Endowed with higher knowledge and ideal conduct.

- Sugato – Well-gone or Well-spoken.

- Lokavidu – Wise in the knowledge of the many worlds.

- Anuttaro Purisa-damma-sarathi – Unexcelled trainer of untrained people.

- Satthadeva-Manussanam – Teacher of gods and humans.

- Bhagavathi – The Blessed one

- Araham – Worthy of homage. An Arahant is "one with taints destroyed, who has lived the holy life, done what had to be done, laid down the burden, reached the true goal, destroyed the fetters of being, and is completely liberated through final knowledge."

 

TEACHINGS

TRACING THE OLDEST TEACHINGS

Information of the oldest teachings may be obtained by analysis of the oldest texts. One method to obtain information on the oldest core of Buddhism is to compare the oldest extant versions of the Theravadin Pali Canon and other texts. The reliability of these sources, and the possibility to draw out a core of oldest teachings, is a matter of dispute. According to Vetter, inconsistencies remain, and other methods must be applied to resolve those inconsistencies.

 

According to Schmithausen, three positions held by scholars of Buddhism can be distinguished:

 

"Stress on the fundamental homogeneity and substantial authenticity of at least a considerable part of the Nikayic materials;"

"Scepticism with regard to the possibility of retrieving the doctrine of earliest Buddhism;"

"Cautious optimism in this respect."

 

DHYANA AND INSIGHT

A core problem in the study of early Buddhism is the relation between dhyana and insight. Schmithausen, in his often-cited article On some Aspects of Descriptions or Theories of 'Liberating Insight' and 'Enlightenment' in Early Buddhism notes that the mention of the four noble truths as constituting "liberating insight", which is attained after mastering the Rupa Jhanas, is a later addition to texts such as Majjhima Nikaya 36

 

CORE TEACHINGS

According to Tilmann Vetter, the core of earliest Buddhism is the practice of dhyāna. Bronkhorst agrees that dhyana was a Buddhist invention, whereas Norman notes that "the Buddha's way to release [...] was by means of meditative practices." Discriminating insight into transiency as a separate path to liberation was a later development.

 

According to the Mahāsaccakasutta, from the fourth jhana the Buddha gained bodhi. Yet, it is not clear what he was awakened to. "Liberating insight" is a later addition to this text, and reflects a later development and understanding in early Buddhism. The mentioning of the four truths as constituting "liberating insight" introduces a logical problem, since the four truths depict a linear path of practice, the knowledge of which is in itself not depicted as being liberating:

 

[T]hey do not teach that one is released by knowing the four noble truths, but by practicing the fourth noble truth, the eightfold path, which culminates in right samadhi.

 

Although "Nibbāna" (Sanskrit: Nirvāna) is the common term for the desired goal of this practice, many other terms can be found throughout the Nikayas, which are not specified.

 

According to Vetter, the description of the Buddhist path may initially have been as simple as the term "the middle way". In time, this short description was elaborated, resulting in the description of the eightfold path.

 

According to both Bronkhorst and Anderson, the four truths became a substitution for prajna, or "liberating insight", in the suttas in those texts where "liberating insight" was preceded by the four jhanas. According to Bronkhorst, the four truths may not have been formulated in earliest Buddhism, and did not serve in earliest Buddhism as a description of "liberating insight". Gotama's teachings may have been personal, "adjusted to the need of each person."

 

The three marks of existence may reflect Upanishadic or other influences. K.R. Norman supposes that these terms were already in use at the Buddha's time, and were familiar to his listeners.

 

The Brahma-vihara was in origin probably a brahmanic term; but its usage may have been common to the Sramana traditions.

  

LATER DEVELOPMENTS

In time, "liberating insight" became an essential feature of the Buddhist tradition. The following teachings, which are commonly seen as essential to Buddhism, are later formulations which form part of the explanatory framework of this "liberating insight":

 

- The Four Noble Truths: that suffering is an ingrained part of existence; that the origin of suffering is craving for sensuality, acquisition of identity, and fear of annihilation; that suffering can be ended; and that following the Noble Eightfold Path is the means to accomplish this;

- The Noble Eightfold Path: right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration;

- Dependent origination: the mind creates suffering as a natural product of a complex process.

 

OTHER RELIGIONS

Some Hindus regard Gautama as the 9th avatar of Vishnu. The Buddha is also regarded as a prophet by the Ahmadiyya Muslims and a Manifestation of God in the Bahá'í Faith. Some early Chinese Taoist-Buddhists thought the Buddha to be a reincarnation of Lao Tzu.

 

The Christian Saint Josaphat is based on the Buddha. The name comes from the Sanskrit Bodhisattva via Arabic Būdhasaf and Georgian Iodasaph. The only story in which St. Josaphat appears, Barlaam and Josaphat, is based on the life of the Buddha. Josaphat was included in earlier editions of the Roman Martyrology (feast day 27 November) — though not in the Roman Missal — and in the Eastern Orthodox Church liturgical calendar (26 August).

 

Disciples of the Cao Đài religion worship the Buddha as a major religious teacher. His image can be found in both their Holy See and on the home altar. He is revealed during communication with Divine Beings as son of their Supreme Being (God the Father) together with other major religious teachers and founders like Jesus, Laozi, and Confucius.

 

In the ancient Gnostic sect of Manichaeism the Buddha is listed among the prophets who preached the word of God before Mani.

 

WIKIPEDIA

How Not to Square the Circle

 

Nicholas of Cusa was attacking a problem dating back to the ancient Greeks. The solution would have made him famous forever...

Tony Phillips

Stony Brook University

Email Tony Phillips

 

Mail to a friendPrint this article

Introduction

 

In 1965 my late friend and colleague John Stallings wrote "How not to prove the Poincaré conjecture." This work appeared in the Proceedings of the Wisconsin Topology Seminar and is still available on John's Berkeley website. It begins with the declaration: "I have committed the sin of falsely proving Poincaré's Conjecture. But that was in another country; and besides, until now no one has known about it." It continues with the exposition of the main ideas relating the conjecture to statements in algebra, and is certainly what Stephen Miller had in mind when he wrote, in the AMS Notices, after John's death, "His 1960s papers on the 3-dimensional Poincaré Conjecture are both brilliant and hilarious at the same time."

 

In 1445 Nicholas of Cusa wrote De Geometricis Transmutationibus (On Geometric Transmutations); my account is based on a recent translation into French of all of Nicholas' mathematical works: Nicolas de Cues, Les Écrits mathématiques by Jean-Marie Nicolle (Honoré Champion, Paris, 2007). This was the first of Cusa's writings in which he addressed the problem of squaring the circle. Literally, squaring the circle means devising the straightedge-and-compass construction of a square whose area equals that of a given circle. This means a construction relating a segment of length 1 (the radius of the circle) to a segment of length π√ (the side of the square). Nicholas's plan was start from an equilateral triangle and construct an isoperimetric circle; this is the content of the First Premise in De Geometricis Transmutationibus. If the triangle had perimeter 1, the circle would have diameter 1/π. Then the composition of two more standard straightedge and compass constructions could start from that diameter and generate first a segment of length 1/π−−−√, and from that one a segment of the reciprocal length π√.

   

Examples of straight-edge and compass arithmetic:

Left: square root. A segment AB of length x is extended by a segment BC of length 1. Choose one of the points D where the (green) circle with diameter AC intersects the perpendicular through B. Then by plane geometry DB2=AB⋅BC=AB, so DB has length x√.

Right: reciprocal. The construction starts with a segment EF of length 2 extended by FG of length 12. A circle (green) is constructed with EG as diameter. For any x between 1/2 and 2, for example 1/π−−−√, a circle (blue) of radius x is drawn with center F. Choose one of the intersection points X of the two circles and draw the line through X and F. It will intersect the green circle at a second point Y; the length y of the segment FY will be the reciprocal of x, since by standard plane geometry XF⋅FY=EF⋅FG=1.

Other circles, lines and points used in the constructions are shown in black.

Nicholas of Cusa

 

Nicholas of Cusa (1401-1464) was one of the leading intellectual figures in early 15th-century Europe. He is often described as a transitional figure between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, and in fact he was personally involved in one of the great events that mark that transition: Pope Eugene IV sent him to Constantinople in 1437 as part of a delegation to negotiate the participation of the Eastern Orthodox hierarchy in the Council of Florence. They came, with an entourage of distinguished Greek scholars who stayed, and lectured, in Florence; contributing to the surge of interest in humanistic learning which led to the new age.

 

Nicholas' principal occupations were ecclesiastical politics and administration (he was named Cardinal in 1449) and, relatedly, theology/philosophy. Those were tumultuous times for the Church; Nicholas was at the center both of bitter jurisdictional controversies and of intense disputation about the exact wording of dogmatic texts, where the placement of a comma could assume cosmic importance. In those days philosophy, theology and natural science were closely linked: the physical structure of the universe had deep theological implications. Nicholas' energetic and erudite mind, in a priori meditation, led him to scientific insights that turned out to be prophetic. For example, he understood that the earth, the sun and the moon were objects moving through space; and he rejected the idea that all orbits had to be circular or even that the universe had a center (De Docta Ignorantia, Book II). Here he was a predecessor of Kepler (who referred to him as "divine") and of Giordano Bruno.

 

Nicholas' interest in mathematics seems to have been its status as an impregnable logical system. He believed that by testing his philosophical theories in mathematics he could produce convincing evidence of their validity. He outlines the parallelism between geometry and theology in De Circuli Quadratura, dated July 1450. "Transport yourself by assimilation from these mathematics to theology. ... Just as the circle is perfection in a figure, since any perfection of figures is worked into it, its surface contains all the surface of all figures and has nothing in common with all the other figures, but is absolutely one and simple in itself; likewise absolute eternity is the form of all forms ... having nothing in common with any other form. And whatever the figure of the circle therein may be, since it has neither beginning nor end, it has resemblance with eternity ... . ... Likewise, if a triangle wanted to triangulate the circle, or a square to square it and so forth for the other polygons, thus also intellectual nature wants to understand [God]."

 

The First Premise and its "proof"

  

Nicholas of Cusa's First Premise: a is the center of the equilateral triangle bcd. "You divide the side bc into four equal parts which you mark e,f,g: I assert that, if one extends the line drawn from a to e by its fourth, which gives ah, this will be the radius of the circle whose circumference is equal to the three sides of the triangle."

One of the thought schemata Nicholas devised for use in theology was the "concidence of opposites." Here is how he applied the principle to the proof of his First Premise. The construction involves a parameter, namely the position of the point e on the line cb. Nicholas observes that when e is at the midpoint f the length of the segment ah is smaller than the desired radius, and that when e is at b the length is larger. He applies the principle: ubi est dare magis et minis, quod ibi sit dare aequale (where one can give a greater and a lesser, one can also give an equal; essentially the Intermediate Value Theorem) and concludes correctly that for some intermediate position x the length ah must be exactly equal to that radius, "and that is the point e equidistant between b and f." The last statement made with no justification.

The construction is in fact plausible: suppose the sides of the triangle have length 1. Then ef=14; similarity of triangle abf with a half-equilateral triangle, and the Pythagorean theorem, yield af=123√; so ae=748−−√, and ah=(5/4)748−−√; the First Premise states that 2π⋅ah=3, which implies π=65487−−√=3.1423... . This value, which Nicholas could have calculated but never mentions explicitly, was within the bounds [22371,227]=[3.14084...,3.14285...] established by Archimedes. Therefore, until better approximations to π were available, there was no way to prove Nicholas's construction wrong, even though there were obvious gaps in his proof.

 

Later developments: Things get worse

 

Nicholas circulated copies of his work among his friends, who included Paolo Toscanelli (1397-1482), a Florentine astronomer and physician. He had been Nicholas' classmate, and they remained good friends for life. Toscanelli wrote back with objections. To us, now, it is clear that there was no way the argument could be repaired. Nicholas' solution was to devise a different, and considerably more complicated, construction.

  

The diagram for Nicholas of Cusa's second quadrature construction, from Quadratura Circuli, 1450. The construction starts from a triangle cde, superimposes an isoperimetric square ilkm and yields rq as the radius of the isoperimetric circle.

Nicholas would have done better to stay with his first construction. The new one was reprinted and minutely analyzed by Regiomontanus (Johannes Müller, 1436-1476) who showed that the implied value for π was outside the Archimedean bounds (Nicolle calculates it as 3.154); this is part of a 60-odd page appendix to his De triangulis omnimodis, dated 1464, published in 1533. There Regiomontanus takes up all of Nicholas' constructions one by one and "does the math" (Nunc ad numeros descendendum), using his knowledge of trigonometry to show "that Nicholas' approximations to π were --except one-- not even within the limits established by Archimedes," according to Menso Folkerts, who characterizes Regiomontanus as "a gifted student of Archimedes," and Nicholas of Cusa as "an amateur in mathematics." The one exception is presumably the First Premise above.

 

The moral of the story

 

Nicholas of Cusa was attacking a problem dating back to the ancient Greeks. The solution would have made him famous forever, and might even have helped bolster his side in theological disputations. No one knew at the time that squaring the circle is impossible: the proof requires calculus, which was 200 years away; and even then it was not discovered until 1882.

 

John Stallings was also attacking a famous problem: 50 years old, a very long time in modern mathematics. In this case the problem was not impossible, but the methods that led to its solution lay far in the future. Richard Hamilton's introduction of the Ricci flow, which led to Gregory Perelman's ultimate victory, came out in 1982, some 17 years after Stallings wrote "How not to prove the Poincaré Conjecture." But Stallings discovered his error by himself, before publishing, whereas Nicholas seems to have believed until the end that he had squared the circle, but perhaps had not been able to find the right argument to substantiate his claim.

 

Here is how Stallings ends his story: "... I was unable to find flaws in my 'proof' for quite a while, even though the error is very obvious. It was a psychological problem, a blindness, an excitement, an inhibition of reasoning by an underlying fear of being wrong. Techniques leading to the abandonment of such inhibitions should be cultivated by every honest mathematician."

 

Why circle-squaring is impossible

 

We will see that any length occurring in a compass and straightedge construction starting from length one must be an algebraic number, i.e. it must be a root of a polynomial with integer coefficients. Considerably more intricate is the proof that π, and therefore π√, is transcendental, i.e. not algebraic. Some references are given here.

  

A random compass-straightedge construction: all the coordinates of the vertices produced by the construction are of a special form: they are obtained from 1 by composing a finite number of operations, which can be arithmetic (sum, product, quotient, etc.) or the extraction of a square root. For future use, let's call the set of these numbers S. In this example, the construction starts with the vertices O=(0,0) and A=(1,0); the line they span is the x-axis. The circle of center O and of radius OA intersects the circle of center A and of radius OA at B=(12,3√2), the x-axis at C=(−1,0) and the y-axis (the perpendicular bisector of AC, constructed as usual by two circles and a line) at E=(0,1). The circle of center E and radius EA intersects the line through O and B at D=(3√ 7√4,3 21√4). The circle of center A and radius AD intersects the x-axis at F=(1 AD,0)=(1 127 21−−√−3√−7√−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−√,0). As the construction continues, the number of embeddings of radicals into radicals tends to rise, but the numbers always have this general form. They are clearly algebraic, since the radicals can be peeled off by continued squaring and rearranging. In fact these constructible numbers form a special class of algebraic numbers: those that can be reached from the rational numbers by a finite number of quadratic extensions, i.e. by arithmetic operations and taking square roots a finite number of times. To show squaring the circle is impossible, "algebraic" is sufficient; but other impossibilities (duplicating the cube, trisecting the angle) require this additional information.

To see why this works in general, note first that if points P and P′ have their coordinates in S, then by the Pythagorean theorem their distance PP′ = r must also belong to S. So the circle of radius PP′ about P, say, has the equation (x−p1)2 (y−p2)2=r2. Another circle constructed from two points with coordinates in S will have a similar equation, say (x−q1)2 (y−q2)2=s2. All these coefficients lie in S. The coordinates of the intersection points of the two circles (if they intersect) will be the pairs (x,y) satisfying both equations. From the first equation we can write y=±r2−(x−p1)2−−−−−−−−−−−√ p2. Substituting this value in the second equation yields a polynomial equation in x; it looks like it might have degree 4, but the higher powers cancel and it is a quadratic equation with coefficients in S. The quadratic formula involves arithmetic and a square root, so the solutions it produces will again belong to S. For intersections of a circle and a line no cancellation is needed; the equation is quadratic; and for the intersection of two lines it is linear.

 

Squaring the circle

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Square the Circle.

 

Squaring the circle: the areas of this square and this circle are equal. In 1882, it was proven that this figure cannot be constructed in a finite number of steps with an idealized compass and straightedge.

Impossibility[edit]

 

The solution of the problem of squaring the circle by compass and straightedge demands construction of the number , and the impossibility of this undertaking follows from the fact that pi is a transcendental (non-algebraic and therefore non-constructible) number. If the problem of the quadrature of the circle is solved using only compass and straightedge, then an algebraic value of pi would be found, which is impossible. Johann Heinrich Lambert conjectured that pi was transcendental in 1768 in the same paper in which he proved its irrationality, even before the existence of transcendental numbers was proven. It was not until 1882 that Ferdinand von Lindemann proved its transcendence.

The transcendence of pi implies the impossibility of exactly "circling" the square, as well as of squaring the circle.

It is possible to construct a square with an area arbitrarily close to that of a given circle. If a rational number is used as an approximation of pi, then squaring the circle becomes possible, depending on the values chosen. However, this is only an approximation and does not meet the constraints of the ancient rules for solving the problem. Several mathematicians have demonstrated workable procedures based on a variety of approximations.

Bending the rules by allowing an infinite number of compass-and-straightedge operations or by performing the operations on certain non-Euclidean spaces also makes squaring the circle possible. For example, although the circle cannot be squared in Euclidean space, it can be in Gauss–Bolyai–Lobachevsky space. Indeed, even the preceding phrase is overoptimistic.[7][8] There are no squares as such in the hyperbolic plane, although there are regular quadrilaterals, meaning quadrilaterals with all sides congruent and all angles congruent (but these angles are strictly smaller than right angles). There exist, in the hyperbolic plane, (countably) infinitely many pairs of constructible circles and constructible regular quadrilaterals of equal area. However, there is no method for starting with a regular quadrilateral and constructing the circle of equal area, and there is no method for starting with a circle and constructing a regular quadrilateral of equal area (even when the circle has small enough radius such that a regular quadrilateral of equal area exists).

  

Some apparent partial solutions gave false hope for a long time. In this figure, the shaded figure is the Lune of Hippocrates. Its area is equal to the area of the triangle ABC (found by Hippocrates of Chios).

 

Archimedes Liu Hui Zu Chongzhi Madhava of Sangamagrama William Jones John Machin John Wrench Ludolph van Ceulen Aryabhata

History

Chronology Book

In culture

Legislation Holiday

Related topics

Squaring the circle Basel problem Feynman point Other topics related to π

v t e

Squaring the circle is a problem proposed by ancient geometers. It is the challenge of constructing a square with the same area as a given circle by using only a finite number of steps with compass and straightedge. More abstractly and more precisely, it may be taken to ask whether specified axioms of Euclidean geometry concerning the existence of lines and circles entail the existence of such a square.

In 1882, the task was proven to be impossible, as a consequence of the Lindemann–Weierstrass theorem which proves that pi (π) is a transcendental, rather than an algebraic irrational number; that is, it is not the root of any polynomial with rational coefficients. It had been known for some decades before then that the construction would be impossible if pi were transcendental, but pi was not proven transcendental until 1882. Approximate squaring to any given non-perfect accuracy, in contrast, is possible in a finite number of steps, since there are rational numbers arbitrarily close to π.

The expression "squaring the circle" is sometimes used as a metaphor for trying to do the impossible.[1]

The term quadrature of the circle is sometimes used synonymously or may refer to approximate or numerical methods for finding the area of a circle.

 

Liu Hui

Mathematical work[edit]

 

Along with Zu Chongzhi (429–500), Liu Hui was known as one of the greatest mathematicians of ancient China.[1] Liu Hui expressed all of his mathematical results in the form of decimal fractions (using metrological units), yet the later Yang Hui (c. 1238-1298 AD) expressed his mathematical results in full decimal expressions.[2][3]

Liu provided commentary on a mathematical proof identical to the Pythagorean theorem.[4] Liu called the figure of the drawn diagram for the theorem the "diagram giving the relations between the hypotenuse and the sum and difference of the other two sides whereby one can find the unknown from the known".[5]

In the field of plane areas and solid figures, Liu Hui was one of the greatest contributors to empirical solid geometry. For example, he found that a wedge with rectangular base and both sides sloping could be broken down into a pyramid and a tetrahedral wedge.[6] He also found that a wedge with trapezoid base and both sides sloping could be made to give two tetrahedral wedges separated by a pyramid. In his commentaries on the Nine Chapters, he presented:

An algorithm for calculation of pi (π) in the comments to chapter 1.[7] He calculated pi to with a 192 (= 64 × 3) sided polygon. Archimedes used a circumscribed 96-polygon to obtain the inequality , and then used an inscribed 96-gon to obtain the inequality . Liu Hui used only one inscribed 96-gon to obtain his π inequalily, and his results were a bit more accurate than Archimedes'.[8] But he commented that 3.142074 was too large, and picked the first three digits of π = 3.141024 ~3.14 and put it in fraction form . He later invented a quick method and obtained , which he checked with a 3072-gon(3072 = 512 × 6). Nine Chapters had used the value 3 for π, but Zhang Heng (78-139 AD) had previously estimated pi to the square root of 10.

Gaussian elimination.

Cavalieri's principle to find the volume of a cylinder,[9] although this work was only finished by Zu Gengzhi. Liu's commentaries often include explanations why some methods work and why others do not. Although his commentary was a great contribution, some answers had slight errors which was later corrected by the Tang mathematician and Taoist believer Li Chunfeng.

  

Survey of sea island

Liu Hui also presented, in a separate appendix of 263 AD called Haidao suanjing or The Sea Island Mathematical Manual, several problems related to surveying. This book contained many practical problems of geometry, including the measurement of the heights of Chinese pagoda towers.[10] This smaller work outlined instructions on how to measure distances and heights with "tall surveyor's poles and horizontal bars fixed at right angles to them".[11] With this, the following cases are considered in his work:

The measurement of the height of an island opposed to its sea level and viewed from the sea

The height of a tree on a hill

The size of a city wall viewed at a long distance

The depth of a ravine (using hence-forward cross-bars)

The height of a tower on a plain seen from a hill

The breadth of a river-mouth seen from a distance on land

The depth of a transparent pool

The width of a river as seen from a hill

The size of a city seen from a mountain.

Liu Hui's information about surveying was known to his contemporaries as well. The cartographer and state minister Pei Xiu (224–271) outlined the advancements of cartography, surveying, and mathematics up until his time. This included the first use of a rectangular grid and graduated scale for accurate measurement of distances on representative terrain maps.[12] Liu Hui provided commentary on the Nine Chapter's problems involving building canal and river dykes, giving results for total amount of materials used, the amount of labor needed, the amount of time needed for construction, etc.[13]

Although translated into English long beforehand, Liu's work was translated into French by Guo Shuchun, a professor from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, who began in 1985 and took twenty years to complete his translation.

Zu Chongzhi

The majority of Zu's great mathematical works are recorded in his lost text the Zhui Shu. Most scholars argue about his complexity since traditionally the Chinese had developed mathematics as algebraic and equational. Logically, scholars assume that the Zhui Shu yields methods of cubic equations. His works on the accurate value of pi describe the lengthy calculations involved. Zu used the Liu Hui's π algorithm described earlier by Liu Hui to inscribe a 12,288-gon. Zu's value of pi is precise to six decimal places and for a thousand years thereafter no subsequent mathematician computed a value this precise. Zu also worked on deducing the formula for the volume of a sphere.

  

GOVERNOR TOMBLIN DELIVERS STATE OF THE STATE ADDRESS

 

Address highlights top priorities and key pieces of legislation

 

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (January 13, 2016) - Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin today delivered the 2016 State of the State Address in the House Chamber at the State Capitol Complex.

  

Gov. Tomblin's remarks included an overview of new programs and initiatives related to his top priorities as governor, as well as a number of new pieces of legislation he plans to introduce during the 2016 Legislative Session.

  

Since becoming governor in November 2010, Gov. Tomblin has focused on issues such as workforce development, combatting substance abuse, responsible fiscal policies and job creation. Following are highlights from the State of the State speech and other legislative initiatives of Gov. Tomblin.

 

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

 

Gov. Tomblin has worked to create a positive business climate now and for decades to come, and he remains committed to working with business and industry leaders from a variety of industries to create new investments and bring jobs to West Virginia. Companies from across the nation and around the world are noticing the changes the state has made, and nationally and internationally recognized companies - including Macy's Amazon, Quad Graphics, Hino Motors, Diamond Electric, Toyota and Procter and Gamble - have chosen to locate, expand and invest in West Virginia.

  

Tonight, Gov. Tomblin added another company to the list of those that have committed to West Virginia. During the address, Gov. Tomblin announced polymer additive manufacturer Addivant has decided to stay and expand operations in Morgantown, saving nearly 100 jobs and adding at least $12 million in new investments and additional opportunities for employment.

  

While these large investments are a vital part of West Virginia's long-term success, Gov. Tomblin is also committed to ensuring small business owners have a chance to excel and grow. Tonight, Gov. Tomblin introduced the Self-Employment Assistance Act, designed to make it easier for unemployed West Virginians to get the help they need to open a business. The act allows entrepreneurs to continue receiving unemployment benefits while establishing their new business. This helps owners reinvest in their new venture and employees, while also providing a steady source of financial support for their families.

 

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

 

In working to bring new investments and create jobs, Gov. Tomblin has also made it a top priority to ensure these jobs are filled by skilled and well-trained West Virginians. With the help of his Workforce Planning Council, Gov. Tomblin has established new workforce development programs and strengthened existing initiatives to meet the needs of business and industry operating here. The state has received more than $40 million in federal grant funding to support Workforce West Virginia operations across the state, helping coal miners, their families, and those who have exhausted their unemployment benefits find careers in growing industries.

  

Through a collaborative partnership among business, industry, education and labor leaders, Gov. Tomblin has established a new Regional Job Matching Database, an online source for both educational program listings and employment opportunities available close to people's homes. This database will help match students with training programs in critical needs areas and connect them with employers seeking those same skills.

  

In addition, Gov. Tomblin also plans to introduce legislation that will expand the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources' (WVDHHR) Temporary Assistance to Need Families (TANF) pilot program. Through a partnership with the WVDHHR and Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College, the pilot program was designed to help West Virginians already receiving TANF benefits enroll in college courses, get access to financial aid and work with advisors to begin a new career path to support themselves and their families. With this program expansion, more West Virginians will receive the help and support they need to become productive, successful members of their local communities.

 

STRENGTHENING SOUTHERN WEST VIRGINIA

 

Gov. Tomblin has dedicated much of his public service to supporting West Virginia's coal miners and their families. In recent years, both the state and nation have experienced unprecedented downturns in this industry, adversely affecting local operations and devastating the lives of many hardworking West Virginians.

 

Tonight, Gov. Tomblin highlighted ongoing efforts to support and strengthen all those affected by the downturn in the coal industry. The state has submitted an application to the National Disaster Resilience Competition (NDRC), seeking more than $140 million in funding from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. This competition has the potential to help Boone, Lincoln, Logan, Mingo, McDowell and Wyoming counties adjust, adapt and advance their communities. If successful, funding will be allocated to help repair and rebuild aging infrastructure, promote land use planning and hazard reduction efforts and stimulate housing and economic development in the region.

  

Gov. Tomblin tonight also announced plans to develop of the largest industrial site in West Virginia history - the former Hobet surface mine in Boone and Lincoln counties. At 12,000 acres, this property is large enough to fit every major economic development project in recent history - with thousands of acres left over. The state is working in partnership with local landowners, Marshall University, West Virginia University and the Virginia Conservation Legacy Fund to find ways to re-develop this site and diversify southern West Virginia's economy.

 

ENERGY

 

In working to ensure West Virginia's energy sector is strong and diverse, Gov. Tomblin has also worked hard to support development of West Virginia's abundant Marcellus, Utica and Rogersville shale formations. Tonight, Gov. Tomblin stressed the need to create the processing and pipeline infrastructure necessary to ensure this industry's continued growth now and for years to come, highlighting major investment projects such as the Columbia Gas Mountaineer Xpress pipeline.

  

Gov. Tomblin also announced that while the Department of Environmental Protection continues to work on a feasibility study related to the state's Clean Power Plan Submission, it's likely that plan will include items such as reforestation and replacement of boilers to improve the efficiency of existing coal-fired power plans.

 

TACKLING SUBSTANCE ABUSE

 

Gov. Tomblin has made combatting the state's substance abuse epidemic a top priority of his administration. As communities and families across West Virginia continue to battle substance abuse from a number of fronts, Gov. Tomblin has invested a significant amount of time and funding to strengthen community-based treatment options and programs to give those struggling hope and get them on the road to recovery.

  

Tonight, Gov. Tomblin introduced legislation to support ongoing substance abuse efforts. He announced new licensing requirements for Suboxone and Methadone clinics, requiring medication-assisted treatment facilities to provide comprehensive therapies in coordination with medication to help to treat the root causes behind addictions, rather than simply supplying a short-term fix.

  

In addition, Gov. Tomblin introduced legislation to expand the Opioid Antagonist Act of 2015, making opioid antagonists, such as Narcan, available to any West Virginian without a prescription. This new legislation requires pharmacists to train those who receive this drug on how to administer opioid antagonists and helps the state track those receiving Narcan to help better focus state resources in areas hardest hit by opioid overdoses.

 

JUVENILE JUSTICE

 

Gov. Tomblin's juvenile justice reforms have also made a significant impact on our state's youth, as he has worked to improve outcomes for those currently in the juvenile justice system and provide early-intervention care to at-risk students to keep them in the classroom and out of the courtroom. During his address, Gov. Tomblin touted the success of 2015's Juvenile Justice Reform, specifically highlighting positive results of the truancy diversion program.

  

He also announced the Division of Juvenile Services has reduced the number of kids being sent to out-of-home placements by more than one-third and reduced the number of detention beds by more than 40 percent. So far the state has saved $6 million, and the Division of Juvenile Services is confident West Virginia can double that savings in coming years.

 

EDUCATION

 

Ensuring students remain in the classroom for 180 days of learning is just one of Gov. Tomblin's education priorities, as he is equally committed to ensuring West Virginia's education system stands ready to provide students with the thorough and efficient education they deserve. In addition, they should receive new learning opportunities that supply the skills and hands-on experience they need achieve long-term success in West Virginia.

  

To improve upon West Virginia's educational offerings, Gov. Tomblin has created the Innovation in Education Grant Program, which will not only supply students with special skills and hands-on training, but will also give them the opportunity to compete among their peers on a national and world-wide scale. This new program is designed to reward teachers and schools in West Virginia for innovation and creativity in the classroom. The reallocation of $2.8 million in existing West Virginia Department of Education money will support new classroom offerings that are designed to help students develop and gain these skills in high-demand fields, such as science, technology, engineering, math and entrepreneurship.

 

FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY

 

Throughout his administration, Gov. Tomblin has made sure to enact and uphold fiscally responsible policies. He understands the state is experiencing significant budget challenges, but remains committed to making difficult choices now that will help ensure West Virginia has a bright future now and for years to come.

 

Gov. Tomblin tonight introduced legislation to pay off West Virginia's old workers' compensation debt more than a decade ahead of schedule. This also will remove additional severance taxes on coal and natural gas industries earlier than anticipated, providing much-needed relief for energy businesses struggling with low prices.

  

In helping to ensure West Virginia's tax base is both stable and diverse, Gov. Tomblin tonight also proposed raising the state's tobacco tax by 45 cents to a total of $1 a pack. This increase will not only help discourage West Virginians from smoking or using tobacco products, it will also provide $71.5 million annually to support health-related costs. $43 million of this revenue will help fund PEIA, ensuring public employees do not see the dramatic benefit reductions initially proposed.

  

Gov. Tomblin also proposed legislation to eliminate a sale tax exemption that will bring our state's telecommunications tax in line with 41 other states across the country. This legislation will place the same 6 percent sales tax on cell phone and phone line usage and generate $60 million annually.

  

With these proposed changes, the 2017 budget Gov. Tomblin presented uses no money from the state's Rainy Day Fund and in fact predicts surpluses beginning in 2019.

  

Gov. Tomblin will also introduce the following pieces of legislation:

  

Workforce Innovation & Opportunity Act (WIOA) Reporting Update

 

Updates current West Virginia code to reflect 2014 federal law for compliance and continuation of federal funding from the U.S. Department of Labor.

 

Authorizes information sharing by Workforce West Virginia with the state agencies responsible for vocational rehabilitation, employment and training to better align the workforce system with education and economic development in an effort to create a collective response to economic and labor market challenges on the national, state and local levels.

 

West Virginia Workforce Development Board Updates

 

Updates the composition of the West Virginia Workforce Investment Council and changes its name to the West Virginia Workforce Development Board to comply with WIOA.

 

Borrowing from Rainy Day for Unemployment Compensation Fund

 

Authorizes borrowing in amount up to $25 million to provide additional funds for unemployment compensation.

 

Controlled Substances Monitoring Program (CSMP) Update Bill:

 

Requires practitioners (doctors, pharmacists and others) to register for the CSMP to obtain or renew a license.

 

Creates an administrative fine of $1,000 for failure to register for the CSMP, as well as an administrative fine of $500 for failure to access the CSMP as required.

 

Certificate of Need Exemption for Out-Patient Behavioral Health Community-Based Services

 

Exempts community-based behavioral health care facilities, programs or services from the certificate of need process contained in W.Va. Code 16-2D-1 et seq.

 

811 - One Call System

 

Makes underground pipelines of 4" in diameter and greater subject to "call before you dig" reporting if not otherwise required by state or federal law. Applies to gas, oil or any hazardous substance pipelines.

 

Membership in 811 requires an entity to provide mapping data indicating where their underground pipelines are located and to respond within the specified time periods when notified by the 811 administrator and be able to mark its underground pipes.

 

15 Minutes Rule

 

Requires that drilling, production and pipeline activities are subject to the state's 15-minute emergency notification law (WV Code 15-5B-3a (b)(1)).

 

Provisions apply to emergency events that involve a death or serious injuries, unplanned ignitions, fires or explosions and similar serious emergency events (confirmed emergencies) at drilling, production and pipeline sites.

 

Notification must be provided within 15 minutes to the West Virginia Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management and include preliminary information regarding the nature and extent of the emergency event, any existence or non-existence of threats to public health, substances involved or released and designated principal contact information.

 

Transportation Network Company Bill (TNC) - Uber/Lyft

 

Authorizes TNCs to operate in West Virginia by obtaining a permit from DMV.

 

Requires automobile insurance and uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage.

 

Requires a zero tolerance for drug and alcohol policy.

 

Requires TNCs to have a nondiscrimination policy and comply with nondiscrimination laws.

 

Office of Coalfield Community Development Bill

 

Continues the Office of Coalfield Community Development in Commerce (previously in Division of Energy)

 

Air Ambulance Bill

 

Provides air transportation or related emergency or treatment services providers operating in West Virginia from collecting more for service from PEIA covered persons than the currently allowable Medicare reimbursement rate.

 

Repeal Behavioral Health Severance & Privilege Tax

 

Eliminates the behavioral health severance and privilege tax and limits the sales tax exemption on durable medical goods to those purchased for home use only.

 

The change is believed to be revenue neutral and will help ensure continued federal matching funds for Medicaid and Medicare.

 

Reduce Required Annual Severance Tax Deposit to Infrastructure Bond Fund

 

Reduces the amount of severance tax proceeds deposited into the West Virginia Infrastructure General Obligation Debt Service Fund for payment of debt service on such bonds from $22.5 million annually to an amount equal to annual debt service, not to exceed $22.25 million annually.

 

Personal Income Tax update

 

Updates the Personal Income Tax code to be in compliance with federal tax laws

 

CNIT Update & Revised Filing Date

 

Updates the Corporate Net Income Tax code to be in compliance with federal tax laws.

 

Intermodal

 

Terminates funding of the Special Railroad and Intermodal Enhancement Fund beginning January 1, 2016. The source of funding is corporate net income taxes.

 

Racetrack and Historic Hotel Modernization Funds Cessation

 

Ends the Licensed Racetrack Modernization Fund and Historic Hotel Modernization Fund and moves all funds currently in such funds to the General Revenue Fund.

 

Cessation of Deposit into Road Fund from Sales Tax for FY2016

 

Eliminates for fiscal year 2016 the deposit of sales tax proceeds into the State Road Fund from sales of construction and maintenance materials acquired by a second party for use in the construction or maintenance of a highway project.

 

Such sales tax proceeds will be deposited into the General Revenue Fund in lieu of the State Road Fund.

 

State Aid Formula Changes

 

Eliminates the Growth County School Facilities Act, which allowed growth county boards of education to designate general fund revenues from new construction (increasing property taxes) for placement in a growth county school facilities act fund.

 

Adjusts the formulas for the foundation allowance for both professional educators and service personnel.

 

Adjusts and eliminates certain adjustments to the foundation allowance for transportation costs (increasing bus life from 12 to 15 years and mileage from 180,000 to 225,000 miles).

 

Adjusts the calculation for the foundation allowance to improve instructional programs.

 

Eliminates certain restrictions in the computation of the local share applicable to growth county schools.

 

Infrastructure Fund Excess Lottery Deposit Reduction

 

Decreases the annual deposit of Excess Lottery revenues to the Infrastructure Fund from $40 million to $30 million for fiscal year 2017.

 

Increases the percentage of funds that may be disbursed from the Infrastructure Fund in the form of grants from 20% to 50% for fiscal year 2017.

 

SBA Deposit Reduction

 

Decreases for fiscal year 2017 the annual deposit of sales tax proceeds into the School Building Authority's School Major Improvement Fund from $5 million to $4 million (was reduced for FY16 to $3 million).

 

Decreases for fiscal year 2017 the School Building Authority's School Construction Fund from $27,216,996 to $24,216,996 (was reduced for FY16 to $21,216,996).

  

Photos available for media use. All photos should be attributed “Photo courtesy of Office of the Governor.”

The London & North Eastern Railway had committed to electrify the Manchester-Sheffield ‘Woodhead’ Route at 1500v dc and had completed prototype locomotive number 6000 before progress was halted by the Second World War. The project was ultimately completed by British Railways but, meanwhile, the prototype locomotive was loaned to the Dutch State Railways (NS) to help with a post-war loco shortage and, at the same time, to provide British engineers with valuable operational experience that could be incorporated into the subsequent production-series locomotives. After return to the UK, it was overhauled for use on its intended line and named Tommy in a ceremony at London’s Liverpool Street Station attended by NS officials. The digital-coloured image is based on a monochrome original taken at Maastricht, which is believed to be an NS official photograph and is has been used under the fair use provisions of copyright law (the copyright assertion on the image relates to the colour overlay and not the original image) (15-Nov-23).

 

All rights reserved. Not to be posted on Facebook or anywhere else without my prior written permission. Please follow the link below for additional information about my Flickr images:

www.flickr.com/photos/northernblue109/6046035749/in/set-7....

Prof. John Pollini working STUDENTS AT OSTIA ANTICA

John Pollini in my opinion is the number 1 authority on Julio Claudian Portrait study. I have had much correspondence with Prof. Pollini and he is passionate about Roman Art. Here is his curriculum Vitae:

 

Education

B.A. Classics, University of Washington, 1/1968

M.A. Ancient History and Mediterranean Archaeology, UC Berkeley, 1/1973

Ph.D. Ancient History and Mediterranean Archaeology, UC Berkeley, 1/1978

 

Academic Appointment, Affiliation, and Employment History

Professor, Department of Art History (Adjunct Professor for Department of Classics and Department of History), University of Southern California, 1991-

Dean of the School of Fine Arts, University of Southern California, 1993-1996

Chairman of the Department of Art History, University of Southern California, 1990-1993

Associate Professor, Department of Art History and Department of Classics (adjunct appointment), University of Southern California, 1987-1991

Assistant Professor, Department of Classics, Johns Hopkins University, 1980-1987

Curator, Johns Hopkins University Archaeological Museum, 1980-1987

Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Classics, Johns Hopkins University, 1979-1980

Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Classics, Case Western Reserve University, 1978-1979

 

Description of Research

Summary Statement of Research Interests

Professor Pollini's research is concerned with methodologies of classical art and archaeology, ancient history, classical philology, epigraphy and numismatics. His other scholarly research interests include ancient religion, mythology, narratology, rhetoric and propaganda. Over the years Professor Pollini has excavated at the Greco-Roman site of Aphrodisias, Turkey, and the Etruscan site of Ghiaccio Forte, Italy, and participated in the underwater survey of the port of Tarquinia (Gravisca), Italy. Trained in the methodologies of classical art & archaeology, ancient history, classical philology, epigraphy, and numismatics, Professor Pollini is committed to interdisciplinary teaching and research. Professor Pollini has lectured widely both in the United States and abroad. He has published numerous articles and authored several books.

 

Research Specialties

Classical Art and Archaeology

 

Honors and Awards

Elected Life Member, German Archaeological Association, 2000-

American Council of Learned Societies Fellowship, awarded for second time, 2006-2007

Guggenheim Fellowship, deferred until 2007-2008, 2006-2007

Whitehead Professor at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens (Honorific Appointment), 9/1/2006-6/1/2007

Departmental Nominee for University Associates Award for Excellence in Teaching 2002, 2002-2005

Mellon Foundation Award for Excellence in Mentoring, 2004-2005

Departmental Nominee for University Associates Award for Excellence in Teaching 1998, 1998-2001

National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship, awarded for second time, 1995-1996

American Council of Learned Societies Fellowship, 1987-1988

National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship, 1983-1984

Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship, 1978-1979

Fulbright Award, Fellowship to Italy, 1975-1976

   

CURRICULUM VITAE

 

JOHN POLLINI

 

Department of Art History

Von Kleinsmid Center 351 University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA 90089-0047

  

Professor of Classical Art and Archaeology, Department of Art History

Joint Professor, Department of History

Adjunct Professor, Department of Classics

 

President, Classical Archaeological Association of Southern California (CAASC)

  

DEGREES

 

Ph. D. Ancient History and Mediterranean Archaeology, University of California at

Berkeley (1978) (interdisciplinary program involving the Departments of Art History,

Classics, and History; major field: Etruscan and Roman Art and Archaeology; minor

fields: Greek Art and Archaeology and Roman History; Ph.D. equivalency exams in

ancient Greek and Latin) [Diss.: Studies in Augustan “Historical” Reliefs]

 

M.A. Ancient History and Mediterranean Archaeology, University of California at

Berkeley (l973) [MA Thesis: Two Marble Portrait Statues of Pugilists from Carian

Aphrodisias: Iconography and Third Century A.D. Sculptural Traditions in the Roman

East]

 

B.A. magna cum laude, Classics, University of Washington (1968)

 

POSTDOCTORAL ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS

 

Dean of the School of Fine Arts, University of Southern California, with administrative,

budgetary, and fund-raising responsibilities (1993-1996)

 

Chairman of the Department of Art History, University of Southern California

(1990-1993)

 

Full Professor, University of Southern California, Department of Art History

(1991-present), with joint appointment in the Department of History and adjunct

appointment in the Department of Classics

 

Associate Professor, University of Southern California, Department of Art History, with

adjunct appointment in the Department of Classics (1987-1991)

 

Assistant Professor, Johns Hopkins University, Department of Classics (1980-1987) and

 

Curator of the Johns Hopkins University Archaeological Museum (1980-1987)

 

Visiting Assistant Professor, Johns Hopkins University, Department of Classics

(1979-1980)

 

Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow, Case Western Reserve University, Department of Classics

(1978-1979)

 

INTERNATIONAL AND NATIONAL FELLOWSHIPS, GRANTS,

AWARDS, HONORS

 

William E. Metcalf Lectureship (2008)

 

John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship (2006-2007, deferred to

2007-2008)

 

Whitehead Professor of Archaeology, American School of Classical Studies at

Athens (2006-2007)

 

American Council of Learned Societies Fellowship (2006-2007)

 

Kress Foundation Travel Grant (Summer 2006)

 

Mellon Foundation Award for Excellence in Mentoring (2005)

 

Taggart Foundation Grant: Campus Martius Virtual Reality Project (2005)

 

Distinguished Lecturer, Biblical Archaeological Society and Center for Classical

Archaeology, University of Oklahoma, Norman (2005): Series of three lectures on

Roman and Christian Religion, Art, and Ideology

 

Kress Foundation Travel Grant (2003)

 

Senior Humboldt Research Prize (nominated) to Berlin, Germany, for 2000-2001

 

Elected Member (for life) of the German Archaeological Institute (Berlin) (2000)

 

National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship for Independent Study and

Research (1995-1996)

 

Kress Foundation Travel Grant (Summer 1988)

 

American Council of Learned Societies Fellowship (1987-1988)

 

Kress Foundation Travel Grant (1987)

 

National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship for Independent Study and

Research (1983-1984)

 

Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship, Case Western Reserve University (1978-1979)

 

Mabelle McLeod Lewis Memorial Fund Fellowship to Italy (1975-1976)

 

Fulbright Fellowship, Università di Roma, Rome, Italy (1975-1976)

 

UNIVERSITY FELLOWSHIPS, GRANTS, AWARDS, HONORS

 

Departmental Nominee for University Associates Award for Excellence in Teaching

(2002-2005)

 

College Faculty Research Development Award (consecutive years: 2000-2007)

 

University of Southern California Grant for Innovative Undergraduate Teaching

(with Lynn Swartz Dodd and Nicholas Cipolla) for a virtual reality project “Imaging

Antiquity: Creating Context through Virtual Reconstructions, Digital Resources, and

Traditional Media” (2003-2004)

 

Grant for the “College Initiative for the Study of Political Violence” (2002)

 

University of Southern California Grant for Innovative Undergraduate Teaching

(with Bruce Zuckermann and Lynn Swartz Dodd) to develop a new interdisciplinary and

interdepartmental course entitled “Accessing Antiquity: Actual Objects in Virtual Space”

(2000-2001)

 

University of Southern California Senior Nominee for National Endowment for the

Humanities Summer Stipend for Faculty Research (1998-1999)

 

Departmental Nominee for University Associates Award for Excellence in Teaching

(1998-2001)

 

College Awards and Grants for Research Excellence (consecutive years: 1997-2000)

 

Hewlett Foundation Award and Grant for General Education Course Development

(1997-1998)

 

Faculty Research and Innovation Fund Grant, University of Southern California (1988)

 

University of California Traveling Fellowship (1976-1977)

 

Dean’s Fellowship, U.C. Berkeley (1973-1975)

 

Phi Beta Kappa (1968), University of Washington

 

ADDITIONAL EDUCATIONAL PREPARATION

 

Field trips sponsored by the American Academy in Rome, German Archaeological

Institute, and Comune di Roma (1975-1978)

 

Research in Rome, Italy for dissertation (1975-1978), as well as further study of Greek

and Roman art and architecture in Italy and elsewhere in Europe during this period

 

Supervised study of Greek and Roman sculpture at the J. Paul Getty Museum, with

J. Frel (1973-1975)

 

Course in Greek art and archaeology at the Universität München, Munich, Germany

with E. Homann-Wedeking (1971)

 

Study of the German language at the Goethe Institute, Grafing (Munich), Germany (1971)

 

Course work in Roman, Etruscan, and Italic art and architecture, Università di Roma,

with G. Becatti, M. Pallottino, F. Castagnoli, and M. Squarciapino (1970-1971)

 

ARCHAEOLOGICAL FIELD WORK

 

Underwater survey of port of Tarquinia (Gravisca), Italy (1977): Consultant

 

Excavation of Etruscan site of Ghiaccio Forte, Italy (1973)

 

Excavation of Greco-Roman site of Aphrodisias, Turkey (1970-1972)

 

Excavation of Spanish/Indian Mission, Guavave, Arizona (1965-1966)

 

LANGUAGES

 

Ancient: Latin and Greek

Modern: German, Italian, French, modern Greek, some Turkish

 

BOOKS

 

PUBLISHED:

 

I) The Portraiture of Gaius and Lucius Caesar (Fordham University Press, New York

1987) (with a book subvention from the National Endowment for the Humanities).

 

II) Roman Portraiture: Images of Character and Virtue, with graduate student

participation (Fisher Gallery, Los Angeles 1990).

 

III) Gallo-Roman Bronzes and the Process of Romanization:The Cobannus Hoard

(Monumenta Graeca et Romana IX) (Brill, Leiden 2002).

 

IV) The de Nion Head: A Masterpiece of Archaic Greek Sculpture (Philipp von

Zabern, Mainz 2003).

 

V) Terra Marique: Studies in Art History and Marine Archaeology in Honor of Anna

Marguerite McCann on the Receipt of the Gold Medal of the Archaeological Institute

of America (editor, designer, and contributor of introduction, publication list, and

one of 19 essays) (Oxbow Publications, Oxford 2005).

 

SUBMITTED:

 

VI) From Republic to Empire: Rhetoric, Religion, and Power in the Visual Culture of

Ancient Rome (University of Oklahoma Press), comprising eight chapters:

CHAPTER I: The Leader and the Divine: Diverse Modes of Representation in Roman Numismatics

CHAPTER II: The Cult Image of Julius Caesar: Conflicts in Religious Theology and Ideology in

Augustus’ Representational Program

CHAPTER III: From Warrior to Statesman in Augustan Art and Ideology: Augustus and the Image of

Alexander

CHAPTER IV: The Ideology of “Peace through Victory” and the Ara Pacis: Visual Rhetoric and the

Creation of a Dynastic Narrative [revised and updated essay originally published in

German]

CHAPTER V: The Acanthus of the Ara Pacis as an Apolline and Dionysiac Symbol of

Anamorphosis, Anakyklosis and Numen Mixtum [revised and updated publication].

CHAPTER VI: Divine Providence in Early Imperial Ideology: The Smaller Cancelleria Relief and

the Ara Providentiae Augustae

CHAPTER VII: The “Insanity” of Caligula or the “Insanity” of the Jews? Differences in Perception

and Religious Beliefs

CHAPTER VIII: “Star Power” in Imperial Rome: Astral Theology, Castorian Imagery, and the Dual

Heirs in the Transmission of the Leadership of the State

 

IN PROGRESS:

 

VII) Christian Destruction and Desecration of Images of Classical Antiquity: A Study

in Religious Intolerance in the Ancient World

 

VIII) Dynastic Narratives in Augustan Art and Thought: The Rhetoric and Poetry of

Visual Imagery [with DVD Virtual Reality Program of the Monuments]

 

IX) The Image of Augustus: Art, Ideology, and the Rhetoric of Leadership

 

X) Social, Sexual, and Religious Intercourse: Sacrificial Ministrants and Sex-Slaves

in Roman Art -- 3rd Century B.C. - 4th Century A.D.

  

ARTICLES

 

PUBLISHED:

 

1) “A Flavian Relief Portrait in the J. Paul Getty Museum,” in Getty Museum Journal

5 (1977) 63-66.

 

2) “Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus and the Ravenna Relief,” in Römische Mitteilungen

88 (1981) 117-40.

 

3) “A Pre-Principate Portrait of Gaius (Caligula)?” in Journal of the Walters Art

Gallery 40 (1982) 1-12.

 

4) “Damnatio Memoriae in Stone: Two Portraits of Nero Recut to Vespasian in

American Museums,” in American Journal of Archaeology 88 (1984) 547-55.

 

5) “The Meaning and Date of the Reverse Type of Gaius Caesar on Horseback,” in

American Numismatic Society Museum Notes 30 (1985) 113-17.

 

6) “Response to E. Judge’s ‘On Judging the Merits of Augustus,’” in Center for

Hermeneutical Studies: Colloquy 49 (1985) 44-46.

 

7) “Ahenobarbi, Appuleii and Some Others on the Ara Pacis,” in American Journal of

Archaeology 90 (1986) 453-60.

 

8) “The Findspot of the Statue of Augustus from Prima Porta,” in Bullettino della

Commissione Archeologica Comunale di Roma 92 (1987/88) 103-108.

 

9) “Two Acrolithic or Pseudo-Acrolithic Sculptures of the Mature Classical Period in

the Archaeological Museum of the Johns Hopkins University,” in Classical Marble:

Geochemistry,Technology, Trade (NATO ASI Series E vol. 153), edd. N. Herz and

M. Waelkens (Dordrecht 1988) 207-17.

 

10) “Man or God: Divine Assimilation and Imitation in the Late Republic and Early

Principate,” in Between Republic and Empire: Interpretations of Augustus and His

Principate, edd. K.A. Raaflaub and M. Toher (Berkeley 1990) 333-63.

 

11) “The Marble Type of the Augustus from Prima Porta: An Isotopic Analysis,” in

Journal of Roman Archaeology 5 (1992) 203-208.

 

12) “The Tazza Farnese: Principe Augusto ‘Redeunt Saturnia Regna’!” in American

Journal of Archaeology 96 (1992) 249-55, 283-300.

 

13) “The Cartoceto Bronzes: Portraits of a Roman Aristocratic Family of the Late First

Century B.C.,” in American Journal of Archaeology 97 (1993) 423-46.

 

14) “The Gemma Augustea: Ideology, Rhetorical Imagery, and the Construction of a

Dynastic Narrative,” in Narrative and Event in Ancient Art, ed. P. Holliday

(Cambridge 1993) 258-98.

 

15) “The Acanthus of the Ara Pacis as an Apolline and Dionysiac Symbol of

Anamorphosis, Anakyklosis and Numen Mixtum,” in Von der Bauforschung zur

Denkmalpflege, Festschrift für Alois Machatschek (Vienna 1993) 181-217.

 

16) “The ‘Trojan Column’ at USC: Reality or Myth?” in Trojan Family (May, 1994)

30-31.

 

17) “The Augustus from Prima Porta and the Transformation of the Polykleitan Heroic

Ideal,” in Polykleitos, the Doryphoros, and Tradition, ed. W. Moon (Madison 1995)

262-82.

 

18) “The ‘Dart Aphrodite’: A New Replica of the ‘Arles Aphrodite Type,’ the Cult Image

of Venus Victrix in Pompey’s Theater at Rome, and Venusian Ideology and Politics

in the Late Republic - Early Principate,” in Latomus 55 (1997) 757-85.

 

19) “Parian Lychnites and the Prima Porta Statue: New Scientific Tests and the Symbolic

Value of the Marble” (with N. Herz, K. Polikreti, and Y. Maniatis), in Journal of

Roman Archaeology 11 (1998) 275-84.

 

20) “The Warren Cup: Homoerotic Love and Symposial Rhetoric in Silver,” in The Art

Bulletin 81 (1999) 21-52.

 

21) “Ein mit Inschriften versehener Legionärshelm von der pannonisch-dakischen Grenze

des römischen Reiches: Besitzverhältnisse an Waffen in der römischen Armee,” in

M. Junkelmann, Römische Helme VIII Sammlung Axel Guttmann, ed. H. Born

(Mainz 2000) 169-88.

 

22) “The Marble Type of the Statue of Augustus from Prima Porta: Facts and Fallacies,

Lithic Power and Ideology, and Color Symbolism in Roman Art,” in Paria Lithos:

Parian Quarries, Marble and Workshops of Sculpture (Proceedings of the First

International Conference on the Archaeology of Paros and the Cyclades, Paros, 2-5

October 1997), edd. D.U. Schilardi and D. Katsonopoulou (Athens 2000) 237-52.

 

23) “The Riace Bronzes: New Observations,” in Acten des 14. Internationalen

Kongresses für Antike Bronzen, Kölner Jahrbuch 33 (2000) 37-56.

 

24) “Two Bronze Portrait Busts of Slave-Boys from a Shrine of Cobannus in Roman

Gaul,” in Studia Varia II: Occasional Papers on Antiquities of The J. Paul Getty

Museum 10 (2001) 115-52.

 

25) “A New Portrait of Octavian/Augustus Caesar,” in Roman Sculpture in the

Art Museum, Princeton University (Princeton 2001) 6-11.

 

26) “Two Gallo-Roman Bronze Portraits of Sacrificial Ministrants in the J. Paul Getty

Museum,” in From the Parts to the Whole 2: Acta of the 13th International Bronze

Congress, Cambridge, Massachusetts, May 28 - June 1, 1996, edd. C.C.

Mattusch, A. Brauer, and S.E. Knudsen (Portsmouth, Rhode Island 2002) 89-91.

 

27) “‘Frieden-durch-Sieg’ Ideologie und die Ara Pacis Augustae: Bildrhetorik und

die Schöpfung einer dynastischen Erzählweise,” in Krieg und Sieg: Narrative

Wanddarstellungen von Altägypten bis ins Mittelalter (Internationales

Kolloquium 23. - 30. Juli 1997 im Schloss Heindorf, Langenlois; Österreichischen

Akademie der Wissenschaften XXIV), edd. M. Bietak und M. Schwarz (Vienna

2002) 137-59.

 

28) “A New Portrait of Octavia and the Iconography of Octavia Minor and Julia Maior,”

Römische Mitteilungen 109 (2002) 11-42.

 

29) “Slave-Boys for Sexual and Religious Service: Images of Pleasure and Devotion,” in

Flavian Rome: Culture, Image, Text, edd. A.J. Boyle and W.J. Dominik (Leiden

2003) 149-66.

 

30) “The Caelian Hill Sacrificial Minister: A Marble Head of an Imperial Slave-Boy from

the Antiquarium Comunale on the Caelian Hill in Rome,” in Römische Mitteilungen

111 (2004) 1-28.

 

31) “A New Head of Augustus from Herculaneum: A Marble Survivor of a Pyroclastic

Surge,” in Römische Mitteilungen 111 (2004) 283-98.

 

32) “The Armstrong and Nuffler Heads and the Portraiture of Julius Caesar, Livia, and

Antonia Minor in Terra Marique: Studies in Honor of Anna Marguerite McCann

on the Receipt of the Gold Medal of the Archaeological Institute of America, ed.

J. Pollini (Oxbow Publications, Oxford 2005) 89-122.

 

33) “A New Marble Portrait of Tiberius: Portrait Typology and Ideology,” in Antike Kunst

48 (2005) 57-72.

 

34) “A North African Portrait of Caracalla from the Mellerio Collection and the

Iconography of Caracalla and Geta,” in Revue Archéologique (2005) 55-77.

 

35) “A Bronze Gorgon Handle Ornament of the Ripe Archaic Greek Period,” in Annuario

della Scuola Archeologica Italiana di Atene e delle Missioni Italiani in Oriente 83

(2005) 235-47.

 

36) “Ritualizing Death in Republican Rome: Memory, Religion, Class Struggle, and the

Wax Ancestral Mask Tradition’s Origin and Influence on Veristic Portraiture” in

Performing Death: Social Analyses of Funerary Ritual in the Ancient Near East

and Mediterranean (Oriental Institute Seminars 3, University of

Chicago), ed. N. Laneri (Chicago 2007) 237-85.

 

37) “A New Bronze Portrait Bust of Augustus,” in Latomus 66 (2007) 270-73.

 

FORTHCOMING:

 

38) “Gods and Emperors in the East: Images of Power and the Power of Intolerance,”

in the proceedings of an international conference on “‘Sculptural Environment’ of the

Roman Near East: Reflections on Culture, Ideology, and Power” (University of

Michigan), in Interdisciplinary Studies in Ancient Culture and Religion,

edd. E.A. Friedland, S.C. Herbert, and Y.Z. Eliav (Peeters Publ.: Leuven).

 

39) “A New Portrait Bust of Tiberius in the Collection of Michael Bianco,” in Bulletin

Antieke Beschaving 83 (2008) 133-38.

 

40) “The Desecration and Mutilation of the Parthenon Frieze by Christians and Others,” in

Athenische Mitteilungen 122 (2007).

 

41) “Problematics of Making Ambiguity Explicit in Virtual Reconstructions:

A Case Study of the Mausoleum of Augustus,” for the proceedings of an international

conference, “Computer Technology and the Arts: Theory and Practice,” sponsored by

the British Academy and the University of London.

 

42) “A Winged Goat Table Leg Support from the House of Numerius Popidius Priscus at

Pompeii,” in Pompei, Regio VII, Insula 2, pars occidentalis. Indagini, Studi,

Materiali (la Soprintendenza Archeologica di Pompei), ed. L. Pedroni.

 

43) “Augustus: Portraits of Augustus,” in Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and

Rome (2008).

 

44) “A New Bronze Lar and the Role of the Lares in the Domestic and Civic Religion of the Romans,” in Latomus (2008).

  

IN PROGRESS:

 

45) “The ‘Colville Athena’ Head and Its Typology.”

 

46) “Idealplastik and Idealtheorie: Paradeigmatic Systems, Homosexual Desire, and the

Rhetoric of Identity in Polykleitos’ Doryphoros and Diadoumenos.”

 

REVIEW ARTICLES

 

PUBLISHED:

 

D. Boschung, Die Bildnisse des Augustus (Das römische Herrscherbild I.2) (Berlin 1993),

in Art Bulletin 81 (1999) 723-35.

 

E. Varner, Mutilation and Transformation: Damnatio Memoriae and Roman Imperial

Portraiture (Monumenta Graeca et Romana 10) (Leiden 2004), in Art Bulletin 88

(2006) 591-98.

  

BOOK REVIEWS

 

PUBLISHED:

 

M. Torelli, Typology and Structure of Roman Historical Reliefs, in American Journal of

Archaeology 87 (1983) 572-73.

 

J. Ganzert, Das Kenotaph für Gaius Caesar in Limyra, in American Journal of

Archaeology 90 (1986) 134-36.

 

R. Brilliant, Visual Narratives. Storytelling in Etruscan and Roman Art in American

Journal of Philology 107 (1986) 523-27.

 

PUBLISHED IN CHOICE:

 

E. Bartman, Portraits of Livia: Imaging the Imperial Woman in Augustan Rome, in

vol. 37 (1999) 126.

 

B.S. Ridgway, Prayers in Stone: Greek Architectural Sculpture (Ca. 600 - 100 B.C.),

in vol. 37 (2000) 1095.

 

W.E. Mierse, Temples and Towns in Roman Iberia: The Social and Architectural

Dynamics of Sanctuary Designs from the Third Century B.C. to the Third Century A.D.

in vol. 37 (2000) 1458.

 

V. Karageorgis, Ancient Art from Cyprus: The Cesnola Collection in The Metropolitan

Museum of Art (New York 2000)in vol. 38 (2000) 1953.

 

Z. Hawass, Valley of the Golden Mummies (New York 2000) in vol. 38 (2001)

4036.

 

M.W. Jones, Principles of Roman Architecture (New Haven 2000) in vol. 38 (2001)

5409.

 

F. Salmon, Building on Ruins: The Rediscovery of Rome and English Architecture

(Ashgate 2000) in vol. 39 (2001) 106.

 

J. Boardman, The History of Greek Vases: Potters, Painters and Pictures (New York

2001) in vol. 39 (2002) 3755.

 

Roman Sculpture in the Art Museum, Princeton University, ed. J. M. Padgett (Princeton

2001) in vol. 39 (2002) 6218.

 

G. Hedreen, Capturing Troy: The Narrative Function of Landscape in Archaic and Early

Classical Greek Art (Ann Arbor, 2001) in vol. 40 (2002) 73.

 

A. J. Clark, M. Elston, and M.L. Hart, Understanding Greek Vases: A Guide to Terms,

Styles, and Techniques (Los Angeles 2002) in vol. 40 (2003) 3185.

 

S. Woodford, Images of Myths in Classical Antiquity (Cambridge 2003) in vol. 41

(2003) 89.

 

J. Aruz with R. Wallenfels (edd.), Art of the First Cities: The Third Millennium B.C. from

the Mediterranean to the Indus (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York) (New

Haven 2003) in vol. 41 (2004) 2584.

 

G. Curtis, Disarmed: The Story of the Venus de Milo (New York 2003) in vol. 41 (2004)

5083.

 

Games for the Gods: The Greek Athlete and the Olympic Spirit, edd. J.J. Herrmann and C.

Kondoleon (Boston Museum of Fine Arts) in vol. 42 (2004) 646.

 

E.W. Leach, The Social Life of Painting in Ancient Rome and on the Bay of Naples

(Cambridge 2004) in vol. 42 (2004) 1215-16.

 

D. Mazzoleni, Domus: Wall Painting in the Roman House (Los Angeles 2004) in vol. 42

(2005) 1809.

 

S. Fine, Art and Judaism in the Greco-Roman World: Toward a New Jewish Archaeology

(Cambridge 2005) in vol. 43 (2006) 1586-87.

 

C.H. Hallett, The Roman Nude: Heroic Portrait Statuary 200 B.C. -- A.D. 300 (Oxford

2005) in vol. 44 (2006).

 

Constantine the Great: York’s Roman Emperor, edd. E. Hartley, J. Hawkes, M. Henig, and

F. Mee (York 2006) in vol. 44 (2006).

 

M.D. Stansbury-O’Donnell, Vase Painting, Gender, and Social Identity in Archaic Athens

(Cambridge 2006) in vol. 44 (2006).

 

PRINCIPAL INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS (Hard Copy and Online):

 

Greek Art and Archaeology: Course Manual (113 pages, 23 plates) and online version of

this Course Manual with digitized images

 

Roman Art and Archaeology: Course Manual (158 pages, 58 plates) and online version

of this Course Manual with digitized images

 

Digging into the Past: Material Culture and the Civilizations of the Ancient

Mediterranean: Course Manual (43 pages)

 

Proseminar Guide to General and Specific Works on Greek and Roman Art and

Archaeology and Related Disciplines (50 pages) and online version

 

Website for AHIS 425, “Introduction to Interdisciplinary Research and Methodology

in Classical Art and Archaeology and Related Disciplines” with links to other important

websites in the fields of Art, Archaeology, Classics, and Ancient History

 

Website for AHIS 201g: “Digging into the Past: Material Culture and the

Civilizations of the Ancient Mediterranean” (with digitized images)

 

PAPERS GIVEN AT INTERNATIONAL AND NATIONAL

CONFERENCES AND SYMPOSIA

 

On Judging the Merits of Augustus: Center for Hermeneutical Studies: Colloquy,

Berkeley (April, 1985)

 

Investigating Hellenistic Sculpture: Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts,

National Gallery of Art (October, 1986)

 

Augustus: Monuments, Arts, and Religion: Brown University (March, 1987)

 

Aspects of Ancient Religion: University of California at Berkeley (April, 1987)

 

Marble and Ancient Greece and Rome: International conference sponsored by

NATO at Il Ciocco (Tuscany), Italy (May, 1988)

 

Polykleitos, the Doryphoros and Its Influence: University of Wisconsin, Madison

(October, 1989)

 

UCLA-USC Seminar in Roman Studies: UCLA, Los Angeles (December, 1992)

 

XIIIth International Bronze Congress: Harvard University (May 28 - June 1, 1996)

 

UCLA-USC Seminar in Roman Studies: Roman Representations: Subjectivity, Power

and Space: USC, Los Angeles (March, 1997)

 

International Symposium at Cuma (Naples): Flavian Poets, Artists, Architects and

Engineers in the Campi Flegrei (July, 1997)

 

International Symposium at the University of Vienna: Interdisziplinäres Kolloquium

Historische Architekturreliefs vom Alten Ägypten bis zum Mittelalter (July, 1997)

 

First International Conference on the Archaeology of Paros and the Cyclades: Paros,

Greece (October, 1997)

 

Getty Research Institute Colloquium: Work in Progress (November, 1997)

 

Annual Meetings of the Art Historians of Southern California at California State

University, Northridge, California (November, 1998)

 

XIV. Internationaler Kongress für Antike Bronzen: Werkstattkreise, Figuren und Geräte

(Sponsored by Das Römisch-Germanisches Museum der Stadt Köln und das

Archäologisches Institut der Universität zu Köln [September 1999]): Besides giving paper,

chaired the session “Bronzestatuen und -statuetten: Fundkomplexen, Fundgruppen,

Einzelstücke, und Typen”

 

First International Symposium on Roman Imperial Ideology: Politics, Art, and

Numismatics at the Villa Vergiliana, Cuma (Naples) -- keynote speaker and chaired

session on “Ideology, Historiography, and the Imperial Family” (May, 2000)

 

International Symposium at Emory University, Atlanta: Tyranny and Transformation

(October, 2000)

 

Annual Meeting of the Art Historians of Southern California at the Getty Center,

Los Angeles, California (November, 2000)

Getty Research Institute Colloquium: Work in Progress (December, 2000)

 

Second International Symposium on Roman Imperial Ideology: Politics, Art, and

Numismatics at the Villa Vergiliana, Cuma (Naples) -- chaired session on “The Image of

the Princeps and the Ruler Cult” (May, 2001)

 

UCLA-USC Seminar in Roman Studies: UCLA, Los Angeles (April, 2002)

 

Third International Symposium on Roman Imperial Ideology: Politics, Art, and

Numismatics at the Villa Vergiliana, Cuma (Naples) -- chaired session on “Roman History

and Ideology” (May, 2002)

 

Symposium on the Age of Augustus at UCLA -- (Feb., 2003)

 

Fourth International Symposium on Roman Imperial Ideology: Politics, Art, and

Numismatics at the Villa Vergiliana, Cuma (Naples) -- keynote speaker and

chaired session (May, 2003)

 

International Archaeological Congress, Harvard University (Aug. 2003): Besides giving a

paper, chaired session on “Ancient Society”

 

VIIth International ASMOSIA Conference, Thasos, Greece (Sept. 2003)

 

International Conference in the Arts and the Humanities, Honolulu, Hawaii (Jan. 2004)

 

Symposium on Roman Sculpture, Minneapolis Museum of Art (organized by Richard

Brilliant) (April, 2004)

 

International Symposium on Interaction of Indigenous and Foreign Cults in Italy at Cuma

(Naples) (May, 2004): Besides giving a paper, chaired session

 

International Conference at University of Michigan: “‘Sculptural Environment’ of the

Roman Near East: Reflections on Culture, Ideology, and Power (November 2004)

 

International Conference at Stanford University: “Seeing the Past” (February 2005)

 

International Conference at the University of London: “Computer Technology and the Arts:

Theory and Practice” (November 2005)

 

International Conference at the University of Chicago: “Performing Death: Social Analyses

of Funerary Ritual in the Mediterranean” (February 2006)

  

VIIIth International ASMOSIA Conference, Aix-en-Provence, France (June 2006)

 

Symposium “Art of Warfare”: Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University (January

2007)

 

PAPERS PRESENTED AT ANNUAL CONVENTIONS OF THE

ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE OF ARCHAEOLOGY AND THE

COLLEGE ART ASSOCIATION

 

Boston (AIA, December, 1979)

 

New Orleans (AIA, December, 1980)

 

San Francisco (AIA, December, 1981)

 

Philadelphia (AIA, December, 1982)

 

Cincinnati (AIA, December, 1983)

 

Toronto (AIA, December, 1984)

 

Washington, D.C. (AIA, December, 1985) -- invited paper, “The Promulgation of the

Image of the Leader in Roman Art,” in a special AIA plenary session on Politics and

Art

 

San Antonio (AIA, December, 1986) -- invited paper, “Time, Narrativity, and Dynastic

Constructs in Augustan Art and Thought,” at a joint AIA-APA session on topics

illustrating connections between Roman art and philology

 

Houston (CAA, February, 1988) -- invited paper, “The Gemma Augustea and the

Construction of a Dynastic Narrative,” for a CAA session on Narrative and Event in

Greek and Roman Art

 

Atlanta (AIA, December, 1994) -- discussant for a joint AIA-APA session on “Rethinking

Nero’s Legacy: New Perspectives on Neronian Art, Literature, and History”

 

New York (AIA, December, 1996) -- special poster session: “The Marble Type of the

Statue of Augustus from Prima Porta: New Scientific Tests” (prepared in collaboration

with Norman Herz, Director of Programs, Center for Archaeological Sciences, University

of Georgia)

 

Chicago (AIA, December, 1997)

 

Washington, D.C. (AIA, December, 1998) -- invited paper, “A Portrait of a Sex-Slave

‘Stud’ (?) in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York,” for a special colloquium in

honor of Anna Marguerite McCann on the receipt of the “Gold Medal” of the

Archaeological Institute of America

 

San Francisco (AIA, January, 2004) -- joint paper with N.Cipolla and L. Swartz Dodd

 

OTHER ACADEMIC AND PUBLIC LECTURES/TALKS

 

American Academy, Rome, Italy (March, 1976)

 

Cleveland Society AIA, Cleveland, Ohio (April, 1979)

 

Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md. (September, 1980)

 

Institute of Fine Arts, New York, N.Y. (October, 1980)

 

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, N.Y. (January, 1983)

 

New York Society AIA, New York, N.Y. (January, 1983)

 

Baltimore Society AIA, Baltimore, Md. (February, 1983)

 

University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada (March, 1987)

 

University of Southern California, Los Angeles, Ca. (March, 1987)

 

Columbia University, New York, N.Y. (April, 1987)

 

Classical Archaeological Society of Southern California, UCLA, Ca. (November 1989)

 

Tulane University, New Orleans, La. (February, 1990)

 

Classical Archaeological Society of Southern California, USC, Ca. (February 1990)

 

Los Angeles Society AIA, Los Angeles, Ca. (March, 1990)

 

Fisher Gallery and School of Fine Arts, University of Southern California, Los Angeles,

Ca. (March, 1990)

 

Institute of Fine Arts, New York, N.Y. (April, 1990)

 

American Academy, Rome, Italy (May, 1990)

 

University of Vienna and Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria (June, 1990)

 

San Diego Society AIA, San Diego, Ca. (September, 1990)

 

Classical Archaeological Society of Southern California, Getty Museum, Malibu, Ca.

(November, 1990).

 

University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa. (December, 1990)

 

Classical Archaeological Society of Southern California, Gamble House, Pasadena, Ca.

(March 1991)

 

Henry T. Rowell Lecturer: Baltimore Society AIA, Baltimore, Md. (November, 1991)

 

Villanova University, Villanova, Pa. (November, 1991)

 

Royal-Athena Galleries, Los Angeles, Ca. (October, 1992)

 

Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts (CASVA), National Gallery of Art,

Washington D.C. (November, 1992)

 

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, N.C. (November, 1992)

 

Duke University, Durham, N.C. (November, 1992)

 

University of California, Los Angeles: UCLA/USC Seminar in Roman Studies, Los

Angeles, Ca. (December, 1992)

 

University of Southern California, Los Angeles, Ca. (January, 1993)

 

J. Paul Getty Museum and Center for the History of Art and the Humanities, Malibu,

Ca. (February, 1993)

 

Classical Archaeological Society of Southern California, UCLA, Ca. (March 1993)

 

California State University, Long Beach, Ca. (March, 1993)

 

Stanford University, Palo Alto, Ca. (April, 1993)

 

University of California, Berkeley, Ca. (April, 1993)

 

California State University, Northridge, Ca. (April, 1993)

 

University of Arizona, Tucson, Az. (April, 1993)

 

American Academy, Rome, Italy (June, 1994)

 

Getty Center for the History of Art and the Humanities (Director’s Series) (Dec., 1994)

 

University of California, Irvine (May, 1997)

 

American Academy, Rome, Italy (July, 1997)

 

American School of Classical Studies, Athens (October, 1997)

 

Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles (March, 1998)

 

British School at Rome (June, 1998)

 

University of California, Berkeley (November, 1998)

 

Classical Archaeological Society of Southern California, University of California,

Santa Barbara (March, 1999)

 

Work in Progress: Getty Research Institute, Brentwood, California (December, 2000)

 

Classical Archaeological Society of Southern California, Getty Research Institute,

Brentwood, Ca. (April, 2001)

 

American Academy, Rome, Italy (May, 2001)

 

Loyola Marymount, Los Angeles (March, 2002)

 

Southern California Institute of Architecture (February, 2003)

 

Columbia University, New York (April, 2003)

 

University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands (May, 2003)

 

University of Nijmegen, the Netherlands (May, 2003)

 

American School of Classical Studies, Athens (September, 2003)

 

University of Oklahoma, Norman (March, 2005)

 

Cambridge University, Cambridge, England (November, 2005)

 

American School of Classical Studies at Athens, Greece (March, 2007)

 

University of Athens, Greece (May, 2007)

 

Los Angeles Society of the AIA, Los Angeles (December, 2007)

 

College of William and Mary (January, 2008)

 

Duke University, Durham (February, 2008)

 

Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA (March, 2008)

 

University of Nebraska, Lincoln (April, 2008)

 

AMERICAN SCHOOL OF CLASSICAL STUDIES AT ATHENS as Whitehead Professor of Archaeology (2006-2007)

 

Participated in all Fall trips of the School to various parts of Greece, giving

presentations on each of the trips.

 

Participated in the School’s Spring trip to Central Anatolia, giving several presentations.

 

Offered a seminar in the Winter Quarter: “Christian Destruction and Desecration of

Images and Shrines of Classical Antiquity.”

  

MISCELLANEOUS TALKS AND PRESENTATIONS

 

Lectures and talks on site regarding the architecture and topography of Rome, Ostia,

and Hadrian’s Villa for members of the Technische Universität für Architektur und

Denkmalpflege, Vienna, Austria; the Summer School of the American Academy in

Rome; St. Olaf College’s Junior Year Abroad Program; and M.A. students of

architecture in a joint summer program of the University of Southern California and the

University of Illinois; and the Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies in Rome.

 

Talks on various aspects of Classical art and archaeology at meetings of the

Archaeological Society of the Mid-Atlantic States (1980-1987)

 

Gallery talks on the ancient collections of the Archaeological Museum of the Johns

Hopkins University (in capacity as curator) and of the Walters Art Gallery (1979-1987)

 

Gallery talks on the ancient collections of the J. Paul Getty Museum and the Los Angeles

County Museum of Art (1987-present)

 

Talk for USC graduate students in the Dept. of Classics at the Ara Pacis and Mausoleum of

Augustus in Rome (May 26, 2006), organized by Prof. Claudia Moatti, Dept. of Classics

 

SPECIAL TALKS AND LECTURES AT USC

 

Seminar for Professor Claudia Moatti, Department of Classics: “Problems in Ancient Art”

(March, 2005)

 

Seminar for Dr. Daniela Bleichmar, Department of Art History: Rediscovering the

Classical Past: The Relationship of Art History, Archaeology, and Visual Culture (March,

2005)

 

University of Southern California’s 125th Celebration: For Symposium on “Trojan

Legends” presented paper: “USC's Trojan Column: An Ancient and Modern Myth”

(October, 2005)

 

MEDIA INTERVIEWS AND CONSULTATION

 

New York Times, International Herald Tribune, Los Angeles Times, The New Yorker, The

History Channel, Arts and Entertainment Channel, KPCC Radio Los Angeles, NBC, Fox

 

Featured piece on my innovative work on the marble type of the statue of Augustus from

Prima Porta: A. Elders, “Tracing the Stones of Classical Brilliance,” in Hermes -- Greece

Today 35 (1999) 20-24.

 

ORGANIZER AND LEADER OF TOURS OF MUSEUMS AND SITES

 

Turkey (for Board of Councilors and donors of the School of Fine Arts, USC, 1995; for

university students and the general public, 1998)

 

Greece (Attica and the Peloponnese) (for university students and the general public, 1999)

 

Central Italy (for university students and the general public, 2000, 2002, 2003)

 

PARTICIPATION IN OTHER COLLOQUIA AND SYMPOSIA

 

Roman Sculpture and Architecture: German Archaeological Institute, Rome

(January, 1978)

 

Roman Architecture: Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts, National Gallery

of Art (January, 1981)

 

The Age of Augustus. The Rise of Imperial Ideology: Brown University (April, 1982)

 

Pictorial Narratives in Antiquity and the Middle Ages: The Johns Hopkins University and

the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts, National Gallery of Art (March, 1984)

 

Villa Gardens of the Roman Empire: Dumbarton Oaks (May, 1984)

 

Retaining the Original -- Multiple Originals, Copies, and Reproductions: Center for

Advanced Study in the Visual Arts, National Gallery of Art (March, 1985)

 

Investigating Hellenistic Sculpture: Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts,

National Gallery of Art (October, 1986)

 

Marble -- Art Historical and Sculptural Perspectives on Ancient Sculpture: J. Paul Getty

Museum (April, 1988)

 

International Conference on Roman Archaeology and Latin Epigraphy: University of

Rome and the French School of Rome (May, 1988)

 

Roman Portraits in Context: Emory University (January, 1989)

 

Small Bronze Sculpture from the Ancient World: J. Paul Getty Museum (March, 1989)

 

Alexandria and Alexandrianism: J. Paul Getty Museum (April, 1993)

 

International Symposium: “Rome Reborn” Visual Reality Program at UCLA (December,

1996)

 

History of Restoration of Ancient Stone Sculptures, J. Paul Getty Museum (October, 2001)

 

Re-Restoring Ancient Stone Sculpture, J. Paul Getty Museum (March, 2003)

 

Marble Conference on Thasos, Liman, Thasos (Sept. 2003)

 

OTHER PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

 

Editorial Assistant (1968-1969) and Associate Editor (1969-1970), AGON: Journal of

Classical Studies

 

Editorial Board, American Journal of Philology (January, 1982-January, 1987)

 

Delegate from Baltimore Society AIA to National Convention (1984-1986)

 

Vice-President, Baltimore Society of the AIA (1985-1987)

 

Co-Director, Exhibition on Roman Portraiture, Fisher Gallery (1989)

 

Co-Founder (with Dr. Diana Buitron) of the Classical Archaeological Society of the Mid-

Atlantic States (1978-87)

 

Founder and President of the Classical Archaeological Society of Southern California

(1987-present)

 

Member of the Ancient Art Council of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (1987-

present)

 

Oversaw the publication and helped edit the newsletter “ARTFACTS” of the

School of Fine Arts (1993-1996) during my tenure as Dean of the School of Fine Arts

 

USC Representative to Advisory Council of the American Academy in Rome

(1993-present)

 

Comitato di Collaborazione Culturale to the Consul General of Italy at Los Angeles

(1995-1998)

 

Advisory Committee for the Virtual Reality Project for Ancient Rome (“Rome Reborn”)

(1996-1998)

 

Delegate from Los Angeles Society AIA to National Convention (Chicago, Dec., 1997)

 

Reviewer for the Getty Grant Program (1999)

 

Reviewer for the MacArthur Foundation Grant (2000, 2003)

 

Planning Committee for a Four-Year International Conference on “Roman Imperial

Ideology” at the Villa Vergiliana at Cuma (Naples), organized by J. Rufus Fears (2000-

2003)

 

Consultant for the Forum of Augustus Project: Sovrintendenza Archeologica Comunale,

Direzione al Foro di Augusto (2004-present)

 

Editor of the newsletter “Musings” for the Department of Art History, USC (2005)

 

Planning Committee for the Internation Bronze Congress in Athens, Greece (2006-2007)

 

Chaired two sessions -- “Roman Sculpture” and “Augustan Art” -- at the Annual Meeting

of the Archaeological Institute of America (San Diego 2007)

  

UNIVERSITY COMMITTEES AND OTHER SERVICE

 

Faculty Senate (1988-1991)

 

Advisory Committee to the Dean of the School of Fine Arts (1990-1991, 1992-1993)

 

Chairman, Personnel Committee of the School of Fine Arts (1988-1990)

 

Library Liaison Officer for Art and Architecture Library (1987-present)

 

Search Committee for Reference Librarian of the Art and Architecture Library

(1989-1990 and 2000)

University Library Committee (1989-1990, 1998-2001)

 

Recruitment Committee for the School of Fine Arts (1989-1995)

 

Space Allocation Committee, School of Fine Arts (1989-1990)

 

University Research Committee (1990-1991)

 

Promotion Committee, School of Fine Arts (1990-1995)

 

University Ad Hoc Committee on Revenue Center Management (1990-1995)

 

Committee for University Development, School of Fine Arts (1993-1995)

 

Development Task Force, the School of Fine Arts (1993-1995)

 

Consultative Committee to the Provost (Spring 1993-1995)

 

University Galleries Advisory Committee (1993-1995)

 

University Committee on Transnational and Multicultural Affairs (1993-1995)

 

Provost’s Council at USC (formerly Council of Deans) (1993-1995)

 

USC Representative to the Advisory Council of the American Academy in Rome

(1993-present)

 

Founder and Member of the Board of Councilors for the School of Fine Arts (1994-1995)

 

Consortium Council of Deans for Development at USC (1995)

 

Tenure and Promotion Committee, Department of Art History (1995-to present)

 

Recruitment Committee for Department of Art History in the College of

Letters, Arts, and Sciences (1996-2005)

 

Program Proposer for the Establishment of an Interdepartmental and Interdisciplinary

Ancient Mediterranean Studies Program (1997-1999)

 

Chinese Search Committee, Department of Art History (1998-1999)

 

Japanese Search Committee, Department of Art History (1998-1999)

 

Professor-In-Charge, USC-Getty Lecture Series, Seminar, and Faculty Dinner (honoring

Salvatore Settis) (1998-1999)

 

Curriculum Committee (Co-Chair) (1998-1999)

 

Chair, Committee for Selection of Departmental Chair (1999-2000)

 

Chair, Merit Review Committee (1999-2000)

 

Committee for the Establishment of an Undergraduate Major in Archaeology

(2002-present)

 

Greek Art Search Committee, Department of Art History and Classics (2001-2004)

 

Faculty Search Committee, Department of Art History: Senior Hiring Initiative (2003-

present)

 

Junior Faculty Review Committee, Department of Art History (2003)

 

USC’s Arts and Humanities Committee (2003-2004)

 

Chair of Oversight Committee for the Interdisciplinary Archaeology Major (Spring 2006)

  

MEMBERSHIPS IN NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

 

NATIONAL:

 

Archaeological Institute of America

 

College Art Association

 

American Philological Association

 

Association of Ancient Historians

 

Vergilian Society

 

INTERNATIONAL:

 

Deutsches Archäologisches Institut

 

Associazione Internazionale di Archeologia Classica

 

Association for the Study of Marble and Other Stones in Antiquity (AMOSIA)

 

Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies

 

If you are interested in Julio Claudian Iconography and portrait study you may enjoy these two links:

 

Julio Claudian Iconographic Association- Joe Geranio- Administrator at groups.yahoo.com/group/julioclaudian/

 

The Portraiture of Caligula- Joe Geranio- Administrator- at

portraitsofcaligula.com/

 

Both are non-profit sites and for educational use only.

 

(Under the ownership of anti-war activist, musician & actor Tim Robbins & The Rogues Gallery Band. In the same group of combined art works & literature- they also own Robin Cracknell's 'JOY' & Michael Stevens' first edition of The Road to Interzone - Reading William Burroughs Reading..: www.flickr.com/photos/denesamy/4501519283/in/photostream )

  

IV. - Title - Why Does The Unknown Soldier, Remain Forever- The Unknown Soldier ? { la douleur d'être réel } NO MORE WAR -

18" x 24.5" acid free paper, ebony pencil, black ink, white acrylic & white charcoal.

 

"For these cultures, getting rid of the pain without addressing the deeper cause would be like shutting off a fire alarm while the fire's still going." -

David Foster Wallace

  

( Obama's War: www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/obamaswar/view/#morelink )

 

"The report, released Thursday at the Pentagon, found that it was not only the stress of repeated deployments over nearly a decade in Iraq and Afghanistan that has driven the Army suicide rate above the civilian rate for the first time since the Vietnam War. Significantly, the report said that 79 percent of the soldiers who committed suicide had had only one deployment, or had not deployed at all. "

- www.nytimes.com/2010/07/30/us/30suicide.html?src=mv

  

Treating Soldier Stress: www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,2008931_2172992,00...

 

British war dead in Afghanistan- www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/onthefrontline/582734...

British war dead in Iraq- www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/onthefrontline/439875...

 

"Women always disproportionately suffer the effects of war, and to think that women's rights can be won with bullets and bloodshed is a position dangerous in its naïveté." www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/30/is-the-war-in-afghanist...

 

Samantha Power - Development and Democracy - "Samantha Power discusses the political challenges facing democracy promotion and the practical needs of effective democratization." www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUUOO5cCNVg

  

"The facts revealed by WikiLeaks are indeed shocking: wide-scale killing of civilians by US and NATO forces; torture of prisoners handed over to the Communist-dominated Afghan secret police; American death squads; endemic corruption and theft; double-dealing and demoralization of Western occupation forces facing ever fiercer Taliban resistance. " - "Politicians are petrified to oppose this nine-year war lest they be accused of being anti-patriotic, the kiss of death in hyperpatriotic America where flag-wavers root for foreign wars so long as their kids don't have to serve and they don't have to pay taxes to finance them. "

 

www.huffingtonpost.com/eric-margolis/wikigate---the-truth...

 

( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_ecology )

 

"I still feel sick to my stomach when I think of my friends who died in Vietnam and whose families are still suffering from their pointless deaths." - www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/terrible-consequenc...

  

"JA: We have to be careful there. Remember, this is a civil war. Everyone says Taliban, but in fact, the Taliban are Afghans. This is a civil war that is going on. And Taliban are a part of the will of the Afghan people. They are also part, probably, of the Pakistani secret intelligence service, and maybe, of course, part of the will of Saudi Arabia, who is giving some money to this. But in terms of the bodies on the ground, people are actually doing their work. The Taliban is part of the will of the Afghan people. And the United States and the allied forces need to recognize and understand that it’s part of the Afghan people and if you are shooting Taliban, you are shooting the Afghan people.

 

That does not mean they do not have blood on their hands.

 

This material does not paint the behaviors of any military groups in a nice light – there is blood on all sides."

rt.com/Politics/2010-08-01/taliban-wikileaks-afghan-assan...

  

"This is but one isolated example, but it is a symptom of the main reason these leaks are important: in order to form an opinion on the war, we need to be able to trust the official information coming from the field. The leaks suggest that we cannot always do so. This in turn erodes populations' trust in what their military establishments tell them. "

 

www.huffingtonpost.com/azeem-ibrahim/dont-let-anyone-fool...

 

"the aim of those who had created these techniques was not to liberate people but to control them" From: The Century of Self, by Adam Curtis part 4: video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1122532358497501036#

  

“To a personal injury plaintiffs lawyer, those are all potential clients in a tort suit against a contractor,” she said.

”So, for the ambulance chasers of the battlefield, the WikiLeaks database is a goldmine.” blog.washingtonpost.com/spy-talk/2010/07/lawyer_wikileaks...

 

( & - www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/05/vietnam_35_years_later.... )

 

Noam Chomsky's recorded address to the United National Peace Conference, 7/24/2010 : www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcIVNzcMucU

  

Innocence Lost: Ethan McCord recounts aftermath of Iraqi civilian massacre | UNPC 7/24/2010 : www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ihPGtcHjNk

  

"Afghan life, like Iraqi life, must be almost invisible, like raindrops compared to ours."- www.americablog.com/2010/07/ellsberg-obama-has-indicted-m...

 

"War has become a luxury that only small nations can afford." -

Hannah Arendt

  

"Instead, many eyes will now pore over this data from many different directions, looking for patterns and attempting to eliminate the noise, disinformation and fog of war.

Many will look to it to criticise and condemn the US presence in Afghanistan, but if those on the other side – those who support such military incursions – have any sense, they too will use it to understand better the war in which they find themselves and adapt their counsel to fit more accurately the facts on the ground.

That’s the benefit, usually, of an open society. We get to triangulate on the truth by gathering facts in the public space, then providing them to all sides to chew over. We use this against our own illusions and those of more closed societies who can only view the world through one narrow perspective.": www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/finance/2010/0730/1224275801...

 

-

  

"Capable, generous men do not create victims, they nurture them." - Julian Assange, editor & founder of Wikileaks

 

wikileaks.org/

  

"WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange on the 'War Logs- ; ''I Enjoy Crushing Bastards" www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,708518,00.html

 

- ( !! Yessssssssssssss.. Enough of bastards... )

  

-

 

"Wikileaks confirmed: A plan to kill American geologist with poison beer

 

The Wikileaks documents contain a claim that Pakistan and Afghanistan insurgents were working to poison alcoholic drinks in Afghanistan. While that's unproven, one US adviser in Afghanistan tells the Monitor he was almost poisoned that way in 2007." : www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-South-Central/2010/0728/Wiki...

  

"We journalists should be delighted that WikiLeaks exists because our central task has always been one of disclosure, of revealing public interest material that others believe wish to be kept secret.The website deserves our praise and needs to be defended against the reactionary forces that seek to avoid exposure."

edition.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/07/29/wikileaks.roy.greensla...

   

"The leak of tens of thousands of Afghanistan war-related documents tells us more than the sum total of many official communiqués about the war. On balance, more disclosure is a good thing, but the leaking of raw military intelligence is a special case that requires a careful, rather than a cavalier, approach.

 

There is not enough information about the war, and much official information is misleading. In Canada, the federal government's quarterly reports contain a few updates based on its goals in Kandahar, but little else that informs. The government has already shown itself to be an unreliable source on issues relating to Afghan detainees.

 

The situation is now too dangerous for the most trustworthy chroniclers – journalists, UN personnel – to go outside NATO-protected areas.

 

So reliable, independent information is lacking. The circumstances in this war make such information even more necessary."

 

www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/editorials/we-neede...

    

"The first phase was chilling, in part because the banter of the soldiers was so far beyond the boundaries of civilian discourse. “Just fuckin’, once you get on ’em, just open ’em up,” one of them said. The crew members of the Apache came upon about a dozen men ambling down a street, a block or so from American troops, and reported that five or six of the men were armed with AK-47s; as the Apache maneuvered into position to fire at them, the crew saw one of the Reuters journalists, who were mixed in among the other men, and mistook a long-lensed camera for an RPG. The Apaches fired on the men for twenty-five seconds, killing nearly all of them instantly."

 

Read more www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/06/07/100607fa_fact_khat...

  

"With the release of the WikiLeaks documents, Arab media may finally feel vindicated, as Western media finally start to give greater prominence to civilian casualties." newamericamedia.org/2010/07/wikileaks-documents-validate-...

 

"How to read the Afghanistan war logs: video tutorial

David Leigh, the Guardian's investigations editor, explains the online tools we have created to help you understand the secret US military files on the war in Afghanistan": www.guardian.co.uk/world/datablog/video/2010/jul/25/afgha...

 

"Jonathan Foreman, writing for the right of center National Review's Corner blog, hopes the documents will force America to deal with the possible deceptions being made by ally Pakistan. "It is possible that the publication of documents that provide actual evidence — rather than rumors — of the role of ISI personnel in Taliban planning, logistics, and strategy will give the West greater leverage in dealing with Islamabad and might force Pakistan’s political elite to confront the reality of the ISI’s secret activities. If so, that would be a silver lining to what is otherwise a military disaster abetted by the U.S. and British media."

www.nbclosangeles.com/news/politics/NATL-The-Importance-o...

  

"This is duplicitous only if you close your eyes to the Pakistani reality, which the Americans never did. There was ample evidence, as the WikiLeaks show, of covert ISI ties to the Taliban. The Americans knew they couldn't break those ties. They settled for what support Pakistan could give them while constantly pressing them harder and harder until genuine fears in Washington emerged that Pakistan could destabilize altogether. Since a stable Pakistan is more important to the United States than a victory in Afghanistan—which it wasn't going to get anyway—the United States released pressure and increased aid. If Pakistan collapsed, then India would be the sole regional power, not something the United States wants."

 

www.billoreilly.com/site/rd?satype=13&said=12&url...

 

"The real significance of the Afghan war diaries lies in what Wikileaks represents as a movement, as an evolution in journalism. One analyst has called it the emergence of open source journalism. Julian Assange makes it possible for anybody anywhere in the world to submit secret documents for publication." www.thehindu.com/opinion/columns/Sevanti_Ninan/article541...

  

A War Without End: www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,708314,00.html

  

"Julian Assange on the Afghanistan war logs: 'They show the true nature of this war'

 

Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks, explains why he decided to publish thousands of secret US military files on the war in Afghanistan Afghanistan war logs expose truth of occupation": www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2010/jul/25/julian-assange...

 

The history of US leaks: www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-10769495

 

Freedom of Information Act: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_Information_Act_(United_...

 

"A long-delayed Afghanistan war funding bill, stripped of billions for teachers and black farmers, is back before the House and walking now into the storm over the Internet leak of battlefield reports stirring old doubts about U.S. policy and relations with Pakistan.": www.politico.com/news/stories/0710/40254.html & www.politico.com/news/stories/0710/40251.html

      

This ongoing series is dedicated to everyone who has needlessly had their lives destroyed, been injured or die in this almost past decade of war. For the sources, journalists & average citizens who risk their lives to inform us.

Reuters reporters Namir Eldeen, Saeed Chmagh & the good samaritan ( father ) who died trying to save them & of course his two surviving small children who will forever be impacted by the brutality of war for decades to come.

 

Please help Private Bradley Manning- www.bradleymanning.org/

  

"One surprising consequence of the war in Iraq is the surrender of postmodernism to a victorious modernism. This has been largely overlooked in North America.

 

In reaction to the U.S. intervention in Iraq, Jacques Derrida, a famous postmodernist, signed on as co-author of an article drafted by the German philosopher Jürgen Habermas, previously an opponent of his, in an unmistakable endorsement of modernist Enlightenment principles. Derrida, the apostle of deconstructionism, is now advocating some decidedly constructive and Eurocentric activism.

 

The article appeared simultaneously in two newspapers on May 31, in German in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung as "After the War: The Rebirth of Europe," and in French in Libération, less triumphantly, as "A Plea for a Common Foreign Policy: The demonstrations of Feb. 15 against the war in Iraq designed a new European public space."

 

Other famous intellectuals joined in with supportive newspaper articles of their own: Umberto Eco (of The Name of the Rose) and Gianni Vattimo in Italy and an American philosopher, Richard Rorty. This provoked much discussion in Europe, but only a few comments so far in North America, the Boston Globe and the Village Voice being rare exceptions.

 

This week in Montreal, there was an anti-globalization riot in which windows were broken in protest against a World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting. But the Habermas-Derrida declaration praises the WTO and even the International Monetary Fund as part of Weltinnenpolitik: maddeningly hard to translate, but something like "global domestic policy" or "external internal policy."

 

Yet it is not much of a stretch to claim the young anti-globalists as disciples of postmodernism and Derrida, who has hitherto been a foe of "logocentrism" (putting reason at the centre), "phallologocentrism" (reason is an erect male organ and, as such, damnably central) and Eurocentrism (the old, old West is the homeland of all of the above).

 

Derrida added a note to the article, observing most people would recognize Habermas's style and thinking in the piece, and that he hadn't had time to write a separate piece. But notwithstanding his "past confrontations" with Habermas (Derrida had objected to being called a "Judaistic mystic," for one thing), he agreed with the article he had signed, which calls for new European responsibilities "beyond all Eurocentrism" and the strengthening of international law and international institutions."

 

More: www.16beavergroup.org/mtarchive/archives/000361.php

 

"In early 2003, both Habermas and Derrida were very active in opposing the coming Iraq War, and called for in a manifesto that later became the book Old Europe, New Europe, Core Europe for a tighter union of the states of the European Union in order to provide a power capable of opposing American foreign policy. Derrida wrote a foreword expressing his unqualified subscription to Habermas's declaration of February 2003, "February 15, or, What Binds Europeans Together: Plea for a Common Foreign Policy, Beginning in Core Europe,” in Old Europe, New Europe, Core Europe which was a reaction to the Bush administration demands upon European nations for support for the coming Iraq War[25]. Habermas has offered further context for this declaration in an interview."

 

More: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%c3%bcrgen_Habermas#Habermas_and_D...

  

Habermas: ”The asymmetry between the concentrated destructive power of the electronically controlled clusters of elegant and versatile missiles in the air and the archaic ferocity of the swarms of bearded warriors outfitted with Kalashnikovs on the ground remains a morally obscene sight

 

I consider Bush' s decision to call for a "war against terrorism" a serious mistake, both normatively and pragmatically. Normatively, he is elevating these criminals to the status of war enemies; and pragmatically, one cannot lead a war against a "network" if the term "war" is to retain any definite meaning.”

     

Derrida: “To say it all too quickly and in passing, to amplify and clarify just a bit what I said earlier about an absolute threat whose origin is anonymous and not related to any state, such "terrorist" attacks already no longer need planes, bombs, or kamikazes: it is enough to infiltrate a strategically important computer system and introduce a virus or some other disruptive element to paralyze the economic, military, and political resources of an entire country or continent. And this can be attempted from just about anywhere on earth, at very little expense and with minimal means. The relationship between earth, terra territory, and terror has changed, and it is necessary to know that this is because of knowledge, that is, because of technoscience.

 

It is technoscience that blurs the distinction between war and terrorism. In this regard, when compared to the possibilities for destruction and chaotic disorder that are in reserve, for the future, in the computerized networks of the world, "September 11" is still part of the archaic theater of violence aimed at striking the imagination. One will be able to do even worse tomorrow, invisibly, in silence, more quickly and without any bloodshed, by attacking the computer and informational networks on which the entire life (social, economic, military, and so on) of a "great nation," of the greatest power on earth, depends.”

 

www.16beavergroup.org/mtarchive/archives/000361.php

 

I am incredibly- delighted at all the vital discussions about the war & US gov that are FINALLY taking place- & on a mass scale- as a result of this leak .. Simply miraculous..

 

FREEDOM & PEACE ( transparency, diplomacy & the evolution of such ) FOR ALL WAR NATIONS.

 

-

 

( WARNING - links ( after excerpt ) are NOT for sensitive viewers- ) "Wikileaks have released over 150 supressed images. This is the tip of the iceberg, keep looking, keep publishing.In the last week Wikileaks has released over 150 censored photos and videos of the Tibet uprising and has called on bloggers around the world to help drive the footage through the Chinese internet censorship regime — the so called “Great Firewall of China”The transparency group’s move comes as a response to the the Chinese Public Security Bureau’s carte-blanche censorship of youtube, the BBC, CNN, the Guardian and other sites carrying video footage of the Tibetan people’s recent heroic stand against the inhumane Chinese occupation of Tibet."

fortuzero.wordpress.com/2008/03/31/tibet-western-media-sa...

 

file.wikileaks.org/file/tibet-protest-photos/index.html

 

FREE TIBET!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Also other dire & serious issues ( out of countless ) - that expose corruption by corporations & gov's:

 

"A documentary about intensive pig farming due to be screened at the Guardian Hay festival on Sunday is facing a legal threat from one of the companies it investigates. Pig Business criticises the practices of the world's largest pork processor, Smithfield Foods, claiming it is responsible for environmental pollution and health problems among residents near its factories."

 

www.guardian.co.uk/film/2009/may/29/pig-business-document...

 

"In an investigation broadcast on BBC Radio 5 on November 14, 2004,[79] it was reported that the site is still contaminated with 'thousands' of metric tons of toxic chemicals, including benzene hexachloride and mercury, held in open containers or loose on the ground. A sample of drinking water from a well near the site had levels of contamination 500 times higher than the maximum limits recommended by the World Health Organization.[80]

 

In 2009, a day before the 25th anniversary of the disaster, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), a Delhi based pollution monitoring lab, released latest tests from a study showing that groundwater in areas even three km from the factory up to 38.6 times more pesticides than Indian standards."

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster

 

-

 

The Blue Mask - Lou Reed - www.goear.com/listen/9960779/the-blue-mask-lou-reed ( & O Superman ) www.goear.com/listen/02cf55d/o-superman-(for-massenet)-la...

 

Lou Reed The Blue Mask

 

Lyrics:

 

They tied his arms behind

his back to teach him how to

swim They put

blood in his coffee and milk

in his gin They stood over the

soldier in

the midst of the squalor

There was war in his body and

it caused his

brain to holler

Make the sacrifice

mutilate my face

If you need someone to kill

I'm a man without a will

Wash the razor in the rain

Let me luxuriate in pain

Please don't set me free

Death means a lot to me

The pain was lean and it made

him scream he knew he was alive

They put a

pin through the nipples on his chest

He thought he was a saint

I've made love to my mother,

killed my father and my brother

What am I

to do

When a sin goes too far, it's

like a runaway car It cannot

be controlled

Spit upon his face and scream

There's no Oedipus today

This is no play you're thinking you

are in What will you say

Take the blue mask down from my face and

look me in the eye I get a

thrill from punishment

I've always been that way

I loathe and despise repentance

You are permanently stained

Your weakness buys indifference

and indiscretion in the streets

Dirty's what you are and clean is what

you're not You deserve to be

soundly beat

Make the sacrifice

Take it all the way

There's no won't high enough

To stop this desperate day

Don't take death away

Cut the finger at the joint

Cut the stallion at his mount

And stuff it in his mouth

---

  

-

  

"It looks like you can write a minimalist piece without much bleeding. And you can. But not a good one.

  

It seems important to find ways of reminding ourselves that most "familiarity" is meditated and delusive.

  

Nuclear weapons and TV have simply intensified the consequences of our tendencies, upped the stakes.

  

One of the things that makes Wittgenstein a real artist to me is that he realized that no conclusion could be more horrible than solipsism.

  

Pleasure becomes a value, a teleological end in itself. It's probably more Western than U.S. per se. "

  

"And I'm not saying that television is vulgar and dumb because the people who compose the Audience are vulgar and dumb. Television is the way it is simply because people tend to be extremely similar.. in their vulgar and prurient and dumb interests and wildly different in their refined and aesthetic and noble interests." - All by David Foster Wallace

   

www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQ-oq-u2rKM

  

STOP CENSORSHIP IN THAILAND! - ( & Egypt, China, Australia- & in the US- etc & etc!! )

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_in_Thailand

  

Committed to expired Fujifilm Provia 100 using a Konica Autoreflex T3 and 50 mm f1.4 lens. Developed using an E6 kit from Ars-Imago and scanned using an Epson V850 using Silverfast.

Gautama Buddha, also known as Siddhārtha Gautama, Shakyamuni, or simply the Buddha, was a sage on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. He is believed to have lived and taught mostly in northeastern India sometime between the sixth and fourth centuries BCE.

 

The word Buddha means "awakened one" or "the enlightened one". "Buddha" is also used as a title for the first awakened being in a Yuga era. In most Buddhist traditions, Siddhartha Gautama is regarded as the Supreme Buddha (Pali sammāsambuddha, Sanskrit samyaksaṃbuddha) of the present age. Gautama taught a Middle Way between sensual indulgence and the severe asceticism found in the śramaṇa movement common in his region. He later taught throughout regions of eastern India such as Magadha and Kosala.

 

Gautama is the primary figure in Buddhism and accounts of his life, discourses, and monastic rules are believed by Buddhists to have been summarized after his death and memorized by his followers. Various collections of teachings attributed to him were passed down by oral tradition and first committed to writing about 400 years later.

 

CONTENTS

HISTORICAL SIDDHARTA GAUTAMA

Scholars are hesitant to make unqualified claims about the historical facts of the Buddha's life. Most accept that he lived, taught and founded a monastic order during the Mahajanapada era during the reign of Bimbisara, the ruler of the Magadha empire, and died during the early years of the reign of Ajasattu, who was the successor of Bimbisara, thus making him a younger contemporary of Mahavira, the Jain tirthankara. Apart from the Vedic Brahmins, the Buddha's lifetime coincided with the flourishing of other influential śramaṇa schools of thoughts like Ājīvika, Cārvāka, Jainism, and Ajñana. It was also the age of influential thinkers like Mahavira, Pūraṇa Kassapa , Makkhali Gosāla, Ajita Kesakambalī, Pakudha Kaccāyana, and Sañjaya Belaṭṭhaputta, whose viewpoints the Buddha most certainly must have been acquainted with and influenced by. Indeed, Sariputta and Moggallāna, two of the foremost disciples of the Buddha, were formerly the foremost disciples of Sañjaya Belaṭṭhaputta, the skeptic. There is also evidence to suggest that the two masters, Alara Kalama and Uddaka Ramaputta, were indeed historical figures and they most probably taught Buddha two different forms of meditative techniques. While the general sequence of "birth, maturity, renunciation, search, awakening and liberation, teaching, death" is widely accepted, there is less consensus on the veracity of many details contained in traditional biographies.

 

The times of Gautama's birth and death are uncertain. Most historians in the early 20th century dated his lifetime as circa 563 BCE to 483 BCE. More recently his death is dated later, between 411 and 400 BCE, while at a symposium on this question held in 1988, the majority of those who presented definite opinions gave dates within 20 years either side of 400 BCE for the Buddha's death. These alternative chronologies, however, have not yet been accepted by all historians.

 

The evidence of the early texts suggests that Siddhārtha Gautama was born into the Shakya clan, a community that was on the periphery, both geographically and culturally, of the northeastern Indian subcontinent in the 5th century BCE. It was either a small republic, in which case his father was an elected chieftain, or an oligarchy, in which case his father was an oligarch. According to the Buddhist tradition, Gautama was born in Lumbini, nowadays in modern-day Nepal, and raised in the Shakya capital of Kapilavastu, which may have been in either present day Tilaurakot, Nepal or Piprahwa, India. He obtained his enlightenment in Bodh Gaya, gave his first sermon in Sarnath, and died in Kushinagar.

 

No written records about Gautama have been found from his lifetime or some centuries thereafter. One Edict of Asoka, who reigned from circa 269 BCE to 232 BCE, commemorates the Emperor's pilgrimage to the Buddha's birthplace in Lumbini. Another one of his edicts mentions several Dhamma texts, establishing the existence of a written Buddhist tradition at least by the time of the Maurya era and which may be the precursors of the Pāli Canon. The oldest surviving Buddhist manuscripts are the Gandhāran Buddhist texts, reported to have been found in or around Haḍḍa near Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan and now preserved in the British Library. They are written in the Gāndhārī language using the Kharosthi script on twenty-seven birch bark manuscripts and date from the first century BCE to the third century CE.

 

TRADITIONAL BIOGRAPHIES

BIOGRAPHICAL SOURCES

The sources for the life of Siddhārtha Gautama are a variety of different, and sometimes conflicting, traditional biographies. These include the Buddhacarita, Lalitavistara Sūtra, Mahāvastu, and the Nidānakathā. Of these, the Buddhacarita is the earliest full biography, an epic poem written by the poet Aśvaghoṣa, and dating around the beginning of the 2nd century CE. The Lalitavistara Sūtra is the next oldest biography, a Mahāyāna/Sarvāstivāda biography dating to the 3rd century CE. The Mahāvastu from the Mahāsāṃghika Lokottaravāda tradition is another major biography, composed incrementally until perhaps the 4th century CE. The Dharmaguptaka biography of the Buddha is the most exhaustive, and is entitled the Abhiniṣkramaṇa Sūtra, and various Chinese translations of this date between the 3rd and 6th century CE. The Nidānakathā is from the Theravada tradition in Sri Lanka and was composed in the 5th century by Buddhaghoṣa.

 

From canonical sources, the Jataka tales, the Mahapadana Sutta (DN 14), and the Achariyabhuta Sutta (MN 123) which include selective accounts that may be older, but are not full biographies. The Jātakas retell previous lives of Gautama as a bodhisattva, and the first collection of these can be dated among the earliest Buddhist texts. The Mahāpadāna Sutta and Achariyabhuta Sutta both recount miraculous events surrounding Gautama's birth, such as the bodhisattva's descent from the Tuṣita Heaven into his mother's womb.

 

NATURE OF TRADITIONAL DEPICTIONS

In the earliest Buddhists texts, the nikāyas and āgamas, the Buddha is not depicted as possessing omniscience (sabbaññu) nor is he depicted as being an eternal transcendent (lokottara) being. According to Bhikkhu Analayo, ideas of the Buddha's omniscience (along with an increasing tendency to deify him and his biography) are found only later, in the Mahayana sutras and later Pali commentaries or texts such as the Mahāvastu. In the Sandaka Sutta, the Buddha's disciple Ananda outlines an argument against the claims of teachers who say they are all knowing while in the Tevijjavacchagotta Sutta the Buddha himself states that he has never made a claim to being omniscient, instead he claimed to have the "higher knowledges" (abhijñā). The earliest biographical material from the Pali Nikayas focuses on the Buddha's life as a śramaṇa, his search for enlightenment under various teachers such as Alara Kalama and his forty five year career as a teacher.

 

Traditional biographies of Gautama generally include numerous miracles, omens, and supernatural events. The character of the Buddha in these traditional biographies is often that of a fully transcendent (Skt. lokottara) and perfected being who is unencumbered by the mundane world. In the Mahāvastu, over the course of many lives, Gautama is said to have developed supra-mundane abilities including: a painless birth conceived without intercourse; no need for sleep, food, medicine, or bathing, although engaging in such "in conformity with the world"; omniscience, and the ability to "suppress karma". Nevertheless, some of the more ordinary details of his life have been gathered from these traditional sources. In modern times there has been an attempt to form a secular understanding of Siddhārtha Gautama's life by omitting the traditional supernatural elements of his early biographies.

 

Andrew Skilton writes that the Buddha was never historically regarded by Buddhist traditions as being merely human:

It is important to stress that, despite modern Theravada teachings to the contrary (often a sop to skeptical Western pupils), he was never seen as being merely human. For instance, he is often described as having the thirty-two major and eighty minor marks or signs of a mahāpuruṣa, "superman"; the Buddha himself denied that he was either a man or a god; and in the Mahāparinibbāna Sutta he states that he could live for an aeon were he asked to do so.The ancient Indians were generally unconcerned with chronologies, being more focused on philosophy. Buddhist texts reflect this tendency, providing a clearer picture of what Gautama may have taught than of the dates of the events in his life. These texts contain descriptions of the culture and daily life of ancient India which can be corroborated from the Jain scriptures, and make the Buddha's time the earliest period in Indian history for which significant accounts exist. British author Karen Armstrong writes that although there is very little information that can be considered historically sound, we can be reasonably confident that Siddhārtha Gautama did exist as a historical figure. Michael Carrithers goes a bit further by stating that the most general outline of "birth, maturity, renunciation, search, awakening and liberation, teaching, death" must be true.

 

BIOGRAPHY

CONCEPTION AND BIRTH

The Buddhist tradition regards Lumbini, in present-day Nepal to be the birthplace of the Buddha. He grew up in Kapilavastu. The exact site of ancient Kapilavastu is unknown. It may have been either Piprahwa, Uttar Pradesh, present-day India, or Tilaurakot, present-day Nepal. Both places belonged to the Sakya territory, and are located only 15 miles apart from each other.

 

Gautama was born as a Kshatriya, the son of Śuddhodana, "an elected chief of the Shakya clan", whose capital was Kapilavastu, and who were later annexed by the growing Kingdom of Kosala during the Buddha's lifetime. Gautama was the family name. His mother, Maya (Māyādevī), Suddhodana's wife, was a Koliyan princess. Legend has it that, on the night Siddhartha was conceived, Queen Maya dreamt that a white elephant with six white tusks entered her right side, and ten months later Siddhartha was born. As was the Shakya tradition, when his mother Queen Maya became pregnant, she left Kapilvastu for her father's kingdom to give birth. However, her son is said to have been born on the way, at Lumbini, in a garden beneath a sal tree.

 

The day of the Buddha's birth is widely celebrated in Theravada countries as Vesak. Buddha's Birthday is called Buddha Purnima in Nepal and India as he is believed to have been born on a full moon day. Various sources hold that the Buddha's mother died at his birth, a few days or seven days later. The infant was given the name Siddhartha (Pāli: Siddhattha), meaning "he who achieves his aim". During the birth celebrations, the hermit seer Asita journeyed from his mountain abode and announced that the child would either become a great king (chakravartin) or a great sadhu. By traditional account, this occurred after Siddhartha placed his feet in Asita's hair and Asita examined the birthmarks. Suddhodana held a naming ceremony on the fifth day, and invited eight Brahmin scholars to read the future. All gave a dual prediction that the baby would either become a great king or a great holy man. Kondañña, the youngest, and later to be the first arhat other than the Buddha, was reputed to be the only one who unequivocally predicted that Siddhartha would become a Buddha.

 

While later tradition and legend characterized Śuddhodana as a hereditary monarch, the descendant of the Suryavansha (Solar dynasty) of Ikṣvāku (Pāli: Okkāka), many scholars think that Śuddhodana was the elected chief of a tribal confederacy.

 

Early texts suggest that Gautama was not familiar with the dominant religious teachings of his time until he left on his religious quest, which is said to have been motivated by existential concern for the human condition. The state of the Shakya clan was not a monarchy, and seems to have been structured either as an oligarchy, or as a form of republic. The more egalitarian gana-sangha form of government, as a political alternative to the strongly hierarchical kingdoms, may have influenced the development of the śramanic Jain and Buddhist sanghas, where monarchies tended toward Vedic Brahmanism.

 

EARLY LIFE AND MARRIAGE

Siddhartha was brought up by his mother's younger sister, Maha Pajapati. By tradition, he is said to have been destined by birth to the life of a prince, and had three palaces (for seasonal occupation) built for him. Although more recent scholarship doubts this status, his father, said to be King Śuddhodana, wishing for his son to be a great king, is said to have shielded him from religious teachings and from knowledge of human suffering.

 

When he reached the age of 16, his father reputedly arranged his marriage to a cousin of the same age named Yaśodharā (Pāli: Yasodharā). According to the traditional account, she gave birth to a son, named Rāhula. Siddhartha is said to have spent 29 years as a prince in Kapilavastu. Although his father ensured that Siddhartha was provided with everything he could want or need, Buddhist scriptures say that the future Buddha felt that material wealth was not life's ultimate goal.

 

RENUNCIATION AND ASCETIC LIFE

At the age of 29, the popular biography continues, Siddhartha left his palace to meet his subjects. Despite his father's efforts to hide from him the sick, aged and suffering, Siddhartha was said to have seen an old man. When his charioteer Channa explained to him that all people grew old, the prince went on further trips beyond the palace. On these he encountered a diseased man, a decaying corpse, and an ascetic. These depressed him, and he initially strove to overcome aging, sickness, and death by living the life of an ascetic.

 

Accompanied by Channa and riding his horse Kanthaka, Gautama quit his palace for the life of a mendicant. It's said that, "the horse's hooves were muffled by the gods" to prevent guards from knowing of his departure.

 

Gautama initially went to Rajagaha and began his ascetic life by begging for alms in the street. After King Bimbisara's men recognised Siddhartha and the king learned of his quest, Bimbisara offered Siddhartha the throne. Siddhartha rejected the offer, but promised to visit his kingdom of Magadha first, upon attaining enlightenment.

 

He left Rajagaha and practised under two hermit teachers of yogic meditation. After mastering the teachings of Alara Kalama (Skr. Ārāḍa Kālāma), he was asked by Kalama to succeed him. However, Gautama felt unsatisfied by the practice, and moved on to become a student of yoga with Udaka Ramaputta (Skr. Udraka Rāmaputra). With him he achieved high levels of meditative consciousness, and was again asked to succeed his teacher. But, once more, he was not satisfied, and again moved on.

 

Siddhartha and a group of five companions led by Kaundinya are then said to have set out to take their austerities even further. They tried to find enlightenment through deprivation of worldly goods, including food, practising self-mortification. After nearly starving himself to death by restricting his food intake to around a leaf or nut per day, he collapsed in a river while bathing and almost drowned. Siddhartha was rescued by a village girl named Sujata and she gave him some payasam (a pudding made from milk and jaggery) after which Siddhartha got back some energy. Siddhartha began to reconsider his path. Then, he remembered a moment in childhood in which he had been watching his father start the season's ploughing. He attained a concentrated and focused state that was blissful and refreshing, the jhāna.

 

AWAKENING

According to the early Buddhist texts, after realizing that meditative dhyana was the right path to awakening, but that extreme asceticism didn't work, Gautama discovered what Buddhists call the Middle Way - a path of moderation away from the extremes of self-indulgence and self-mortification, or the Noble Eightfold Path, as was identified and described by the Buddha in his first discourse, the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta. In a famous incident, after becoming starved and weakened, he is said to have accepted milk and rice pudding from a village girl named Sujata. Such was his emaciated appearance that she wrongly believed him to be a spirit that had granted her a wish.

 

Following this incident, Gautama was famously seated under a pipal tree - now known as the Bodhi tree - in Bodh Gaya, India, when he vowed never to arise until he had found the truth. Kaundinya and four other companions, believing that he had abandoned his search and become undisciplined, left. After a reputed 49 days of meditation, at the age of 35, he is said to have attained Enlightenment. According to some traditions, this occurred in approximately the fifth lunar month, while, according to others, it was in the twelfth month. From that time, Gautama was known to his followers as the Buddha or "Awakened One" ("Buddha" is also sometimes translated as "The Enlightened One").

 

According to Buddhism, at the time of his awakening he realized complete insight into the cause of suffering, and the steps necessary to eliminate it. These discoveries became known as the "Four Noble Truths", which are at the heart of Buddhist teaching. Through mastery of these truths, a state of supreme liberation, or Nirvana, is believed to be possible for any being. The Buddha described Nirvāna as the perfect peace of a mind that's free from ignorance, greed, hatred and other afflictive states, or "defilements" (kilesas). Nirvana is also regarded as the "end of the world", in that no personal identity or boundaries of the mind remain. In such a state, a being is said to possess the Ten Characteristics, belonging to every Buddha.

 

According to a story in the Āyācana Sutta (Samyutta Nikaya VI.1) - a scripture found in the Pāli and other canons - immediately after his awakening, the Buddha debated whether or not he should teach the Dharma to others. He was concerned that humans were so overpowered by ignorance, greed and hatred that they could never recognise the path, which is subtle, deep and hard to grasp. However, in the story, Brahmā Sahampati convinced him, arguing that at least some will understand it. The Buddha relented, and agreed to teach.

 

FORMATION OF THE SANGHA

After his awakening, the Buddha met Taphussa and Bhallika — two merchant brothers from the city of Balkh in what is currently Afghanistan - who became his first lay disciples. It is said that each was given hairs from his head, which are now claimed to be enshrined as relics in the Shwe Dagon Temple in Rangoon, Burma. The Buddha intended to visit Asita, and his former teachers, Alara Kalama and Udaka Ramaputta, to explain his findings, but they had already died.

 

He then travelled to the Deer Park near Varanasi (Benares) in northern India, where he set in motion what Buddhists call the Wheel of Dharma by delivering his first sermon to the five companions with whom he had sought enlightenment. Together with him, they formed the first saṅgha: the company of Buddhist monks.

 

All five become arahants, and within the first two months, with the conversion of Yasa and fifty four of his friends, the number of such arahants is said to have grown to 60. The conversion of three brothers named Kassapa followed, with their reputed 200, 300 and 500 disciples, respectively. This swelled the sangha to more than 1,000.

 

TRAVELS AND TEACHING

For the remaining 45 years of his life, the Buddha is said to have traveled in the Gangetic Plain, in what is now Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and southern Nepal, teaching a diverse range of people: from nobles to servants, murderers such as Angulimala, and cannibals such as Alavaka. Although the Buddha's language remains unknown, it's likely that he taught in one or more of a variety of closely related Middle Indo-Aryan dialects, of which Pali may be a standardization.

 

The sangha traveled through the subcontinent, expounding the dharma. This continued throughout the year, except during the four months of the Vāsanā rainy season when ascetics of all religions rarely traveled. One reason was that it was more difficult to do so without causing harm to animal life. At this time of year, the sangha would retreat to monasteries, public parks or forests, where people would come to them.

 

The first vassana was spent at Varanasi when the sangha was formed. After this, the Buddha kept a promise to travel to Rajagaha, capital of Magadha, to visit King Bimbisara. During this visit, Sariputta and Maudgalyayana were converted by Assaji, one of the first five disciples, after which they were to become the Buddha's two foremost followers. The Buddha spent the next three seasons at Veluvana Bamboo Grove monastery in Rajagaha, capital of Magadha.

 

Upon hearing of his son's awakening, Suddhodana sent, over a period, ten delegations to ask him to return to Kapilavastu. On the first nine occasions, the delegates failed to deliver the message, and instead joined the sangha to become arahants. The tenth delegation, led by Kaludayi, a childhood friend of Gautama's (who also became an arahant), however, delivered the message.

 

Now two years after his awakening, the Buddha agreed to return, and made a two-month journey by foot to Kapilavastu, teaching the dharma as he went. At his return, the royal palace prepared a midday meal, but the sangha was making an alms round in Kapilavastu. Hearing this, Suddhodana approached his son, the Buddha, saying:

 

"Ours is the warrior lineage of Mahamassata, and not a single warrior has gone seeking alms."

 

The Buddha is said to have replied:

 

"That is not the custom of your royal lineage. But it is the custom of my Buddha lineage. Several thousands of Buddhas have gone by seeking alms."

 

Buddhist texts say that Suddhodana invited the sangha into the palace for the meal, followed by a dharma talk. After this he is said to have become a sotapanna. During the visit, many members of the royal family joined the sangha. The Buddha's cousins Ananda and Anuruddha became two of his five chief disciples. At the age of seven, his son Rahula also joined, and became one of his ten chief disciples. His half-brother Nanda also joined and became an arahant.

 

Of the Buddha's disciples, Sariputta, Maudgalyayana, Mahakasyapa, Ananda and Anuruddha are believed to have been the five closest to him. His ten foremost disciples were reputedly completed by the quintet of Upali, Subhoti, Rahula, Mahakaccana and Punna.

 

In the fifth vassana, the Buddha was staying at Mahavana near Vesali when he heard news of the impending death of his father. He is said to have gone to Suddhodana and taught the dharma, after which his father became an arahant.The king's death and cremation was to inspire the creation of an order of nuns. Buddhist texts record that the Buddha was reluctant to ordain women. His foster mother Maha Pajapati, for example, approached him, asking to join the sangha, but he refused. Maha Pajapati, however, was so intent on the path of awakening that she led a group of royal Sakyan and Koliyan ladies, which followed the sangha on a long journey to Rajagaha. In time, after Ananda championed their cause, the Buddha is said to have reconsidered and, five years after the formation of the sangha, agreed to the ordination of women as nuns. He reasoned that males and females had an equal capacity for awakening. But he gave women additional rules (Vinaya) to follow.

 

MAHAPARINIRVANA

According to the Mahaparinibbana Sutta of the Pali canon, at the age of 80, the Buddha announced that he would soon reach Parinirvana, or the final deathless state, and abandon his earthly body. After this, the Buddha ate his last meal, which he had received as an offering from a blacksmith named Cunda. Falling violently ill, Buddha instructed his attendant Ānanda to convince Cunda that the meal eaten at his place had nothing to do with his passing and that his meal would be a source of the greatest merit as it provided the last meal for a Buddha. Mettanando and Von Hinüber argue that the Buddha died of mesenteric infarction, a symptom of old age, rather than food poisoning. The precise contents of the Buddha's final meal are not clear, due to variant scriptural traditions and ambiguity over the translation of certain significant terms; the Theravada tradition generally believes that the Buddha was offered some kind of pork, while the Mahayana tradition believes that the Buddha consumed some sort of truffle or other mushroom. These may reflect the different traditional views on Buddhist vegetarianism and the precepts for monks and nuns.

 

Waley suggests that Theravadin's would take suukaramaddava (the contents of the Buddha's last meal), which can translate as pig-soft, to mean soft flesh of a pig. However, he also states that pig-soft could mean "pig's soft-food", that is, after Neumann, a soft food favoured by pigs, assumed to be a truffle. He argues (also after Neumann) that as Pali Buddhism was developed in an area remote to the Buddha's death, the existence of other plants with suukara- (pig) as part of their names and that "(p)lant names tend to be local and dialectical" could easily indicate that suukaramaddava was a type of plant whose local name was unknown to those in the Pali regions. Specifically, local writers knew more about their flora than Theravadin commentator Buddhaghosa who lived hundreds of years and kilometres remote in time and space from the events described. Unaware of an alternate meaning and with no Theravadin prohibition against eating animal flesh, Theravadins would not have questioned the Buddha eating meat and interpreted the term accordingly.

 

Ananda protested the Buddha's decision to enter Parinirvana in the abandoned jungles of Kuśināra (present-day Kushinagar, India) of the Malla kingdom. The Buddha, however, is said to have reminded Ananda how Kushinara was a land once ruled by a righteous wheel-turning king that resounded with joy:

 

44. Kusavati, Ananda, resounded unceasingly day and night with ten sounds - the trumpeting of elephants, the neighing of horses, the rattling of chariots, the beating of drums and tabours, music and song, cheers, the clapping of hands, and cries of "Eat, drink, and be merry!"

 

The Buddha then asked all the attendant Bhikkhus to clarify any doubts or questions they had. They had none. According to Buddhist scriptures, he then finally entered Parinirvana. The Buddha's final words are reported to have been: "All composite things (Saṅkhāra) are perishable. Strive for your own liberation with diligence" (Pali: 'vayadhammā saṅkhārā appamādena sampādethā'). His body was cremated and the relics were placed in monuments or stupas, some of which are believed to have survived until the present. For example, The Temple of the Tooth or "Dalada Maligawa" in Sri Lanka is the place where what some believe to be the relic of the right tooth of Buddha is kept at present.

 

According to the Pāli historical chronicles of Sri Lanka, the Dīpavaṃsa and Mahāvaṃsa, the coronation of Emperor Aśoka (Pāli: Asoka) is 218 years after the death of the Buddha. According to two textual records in Chinese (十八部論 and 部執異論), the coronation of Emperor Aśoka is 116 years after the death of the Buddha. Therefore, the time of Buddha's passing is either 486 BCE according to Theravāda record or 383 BCE according to Mahayana record. However, the actual date traditionally accepted as the date of the Buddha's death in Theravāda countries is 544 or 545 BCE, because the reign of Emperor Aśoka was traditionally reckoned to be about 60 years earlier than current estimates. In Burmese Buddhist tradition, the date of the Buddha's death is 13 May 544 BCE. whereas in Thai tradition it is 11 March 545 BCE.

 

At his death, the Buddha is famously believed to have told his disciples to follow no leader. Mahakasyapa was chosen by the sangha to be the chairman of the First Buddhist Council, with the two chief disciples Maudgalyayana and Sariputta having died before the Buddha.

 

While in the Buddha's days he was addressed by the very respected titles Buddha, Shākyamuni, Shākyasimha, Bhante and Bho, he was known after his parinirvana as Arihant, Bhagavā/Bhagavat/Bhagwān, Mahāvira, Jina/Jinendra, Sāstr, Sugata, and most popularly in scriptures as Tathāgata.

 

BUDDHA AND VEDAS

Buddha's teachings deny the authority of the Vedas and consequently [at least atheistic] Buddhism is generally viewed as a nāstika school (heterodox, literally "It is not so") from the perspective of orthodox Hinduism.

 

RELICS

After his death, Buddha's cremation relics were divided amongst 8 royal families and his disciples; centuries later they would be enshrined by King Ashoka into 84,000 stupas. Many supernatural legends surround the history of alleged relics as they accompanied the spread of Buddhism and gave legitimacy to rulers.

 

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

An extensive and colorful physical description of the Buddha has been laid down in scriptures. A kshatriya by birth, he had military training in his upbringing, and by Shakyan tradition was required to pass tests to demonstrate his worthiness as a warrior in order to marry. He had a strong enough body to be noticed by one of the kings and was asked to join his army as a general. He is also believed by Buddhists to have "the 32 Signs of the Great Man".

 

The Brahmin Sonadanda described him as "handsome, good-looking, and pleasing to the eye, with a most beautiful complexion. He has a godlike form and countenance, he is by no means unattractive." (D, I:115)

 

"It is wonderful, truly marvellous, how serene is the good Gotama's appearance, how clear and radiant his complexion, just as the golden jujube in autumn is clear and radiant, just as a palm-tree fruit just loosened from the stalk is clear and radiant, just as an adornment of red gold wrought in a crucible by a skilled goldsmith, deftly beaten and laid on a yellow-cloth shines, blazes and glitters, even so, the good Gotama's senses are calmed, his complexion is clear and radiant." (A, I:181)

 

A disciple named Vakkali, who later became an arahant, was so obsessed by the Buddha's physical presence that the Buddha is said to have felt impelled to tell him to desist, and to have reminded him that he should know the Buddha through the Dhamma and not through physical appearances.

 

Although there are no extant representations of the Buddha in human form until around the 1st century CE (see Buddhist art), descriptions of the physical characteristics of fully enlightened buddhas are attributed to the Buddha in the Digha Nikaya's Lakkhaṇa Sutta (D, I:142). In addition, the Buddha's physical appearance is described by Yasodhara to their son Rahula upon the Buddha's first post-Enlightenment return to his former princely palace in the non-canonical Pali devotional hymn, Narasīha Gāthā ("The Lion of Men").

 

Among the 32 main characteristics it is mentioned that Buddha has blue eyes.

 

NINE VIRTUES

Recollection of nine virtues attributed to the Buddha is a common Buddhist meditation and devotional practice called Buddhānusmṛti. The nine virtues are also among the 40 Buddhist meditation subjects. The nine virtues of the Buddha appear throughout the Tipitaka, and include:

 

- Buddho – Awakened

- Sammasambuddho – Perfectly self-awakened

- Vijja-carana-sampano – Endowed with higher knowledge and ideal conduct.

- Sugato – Well-gone or Well-spoken.

- Lokavidu – Wise in the knowledge of the many worlds.

- Anuttaro Purisa-damma-sarathi – Unexcelled trainer of untrained people.

- Satthadeva-Manussanam – Teacher of gods and humans.

- Bhagavathi – The Blessed one

- Araham – Worthy of homage. An Arahant is "one with taints destroyed, who has lived the holy life, done what had to be done, laid down the burden, reached the true goal, destroyed the fetters of being, and is completely liberated through final knowledge."

 

TEACHINGS

TRACING THE OLDEST TEACHINGS

Information of the oldest teachings may be obtained by analysis of the oldest texts. One method to obtain information on the oldest core of Buddhism is to compare the oldest extant versions of the Theravadin Pali Canon and other texts. The reliability of these sources, and the possibility to draw out a core of oldest teachings, is a matter of dispute. According to Vetter, inconsistencies remain, and other methods must be applied to resolve those inconsistencies.

 

According to Schmithausen, three positions held by scholars of Buddhism can be distinguished:

 

"Stress on the fundamental homogeneity and substantial authenticity of at least a considerable part of the Nikayic materials;"

"Scepticism with regard to the possibility of retrieving the doctrine of earliest Buddhism;"

"Cautious optimism in this respect."

 

DHYANA AND INSIGHT

A core problem in the study of early Buddhism is the relation between dhyana and insight. Schmithausen, in his often-cited article On some Aspects of Descriptions or Theories of 'Liberating Insight' and 'Enlightenment' in Early Buddhism notes that the mention of the four noble truths as constituting "liberating insight", which is attained after mastering the Rupa Jhanas, is a later addition to texts such as Majjhima Nikaya 36

 

CORE TEACHINGS

According to Tilmann Vetter, the core of earliest Buddhism is the practice of dhyāna. Bronkhorst agrees that dhyana was a Buddhist invention, whereas Norman notes that "the Buddha's way to release [...] was by means of meditative practices." Discriminating insight into transiency as a separate path to liberation was a later development.

 

According to the Mahāsaccakasutta, from the fourth jhana the Buddha gained bodhi. Yet, it is not clear what he was awakened to. "Liberating insight" is a later addition to this text, and reflects a later development and understanding in early Buddhism. The mentioning of the four truths as constituting "liberating insight" introduces a logical problem, since the four truths depict a linear path of practice, the knowledge of which is in itself not depicted as being liberating:

 

[T]hey do not teach that one is released by knowing the four noble truths, but by practicing the fourth noble truth, the eightfold path, which culminates in right samadhi.

 

Although "Nibbāna" (Sanskrit: Nirvāna) is the common term for the desired goal of this practice, many other terms can be found throughout the Nikayas, which are not specified.

 

According to Vetter, the description of the Buddhist path may initially have been as simple as the term "the middle way". In time, this short description was elaborated, resulting in the description of the eightfold path.

 

According to both Bronkhorst and Anderson, the four truths became a substitution for prajna, or "liberating insight", in the suttas in those texts where "liberating insight" was preceded by the four jhanas. According to Bronkhorst, the four truths may not have been formulated in earliest Buddhism, and did not serve in earliest Buddhism as a description of "liberating insight". Gotama's teachings may have been personal, "adjusted to the need of each person."

 

The three marks of existence may reflect Upanishadic or other influences. K.R. Norman supposes that these terms were already in use at the Buddha's time, and were familiar to his listeners.

 

The Brahma-vihara was in origin probably a brahmanic term; but its usage may have been common to the Sramana traditions.

  

LATER DEVELOPMENTS

In time, "liberating insight" became an essential feature of the Buddhist tradition. The following teachings, which are commonly seen as essential to Buddhism, are later formulations which form part of the explanatory framework of this "liberating insight":

 

- The Four Noble Truths: that suffering is an ingrained part of existence; that the origin of suffering is craving for sensuality, acquisition of identity, and fear of annihilation; that suffering can be ended; and that following the Noble Eightfold Path is the means to accomplish this;

- The Noble Eightfold Path: right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration;

- Dependent origination: the mind creates suffering as a natural product of a complex process.

 

OTHER RELIGIONS

Some Hindus regard Gautama as the 9th avatar of Vishnu. The Buddha is also regarded as a prophet by the Ahmadiyya Muslims and a Manifestation of God in the Bahá'í Faith. Some early Chinese Taoist-Buddhists thought the Buddha to be a reincarnation of Lao Tzu.

 

The Christian Saint Josaphat is based on the Buddha. The name comes from the Sanskrit Bodhisattva via Arabic Būdhasaf and Georgian Iodasaph. The only story in which St. Josaphat appears, Barlaam and Josaphat, is based on the life of the Buddha. Josaphat was included in earlier editions of the Roman Martyrology (feast day 27 November) — though not in the Roman Missal — and in the Eastern Orthodox Church liturgical calendar (26 August).

 

Disciples of the Cao Đài religion worship the Buddha as a major religious teacher. His image can be found in both their Holy See and on the home altar. He is revealed during communication with Divine Beings as son of their Supreme Being (God the Father) together with other major religious teachers and founders like Jesus, Laozi, and Confucius.

 

In the ancient Gnostic sect of Manichaeism the Buddha is listed among the prophets who preached the word of God before Mani.

 

WIKIPEDIA

Committed to conserving energy, this cormorant chooses to air dry while it rests between dives around LBH.

 

Double-crested Cormorant

Phalacrocorax auritus

 

Little Bahia Honda Key

Bahia Honda State Park

Monroe County Florida, USA

 

Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II

OLYMPUS M.14-42mm F3.5-5.6 II R

In April of last year, then-Representative Michael "I'll break you in half — like a boy" Grimm, a former FBI agent and Marine, was indicted in federal court on a slew of charges stemming from his pre-Congressional stint as a health-food restaurateur. He was accused of underreporting wages and revenue and hiring undocumented workers at his terribly named Upper East Side restaurant, Healthalicious (slogan: "better than delicious"), as well as lying under oath in a lawsuit brought by restaurant employees.

 

Despite his legal troubles, Grimm decided to run for re-election in November, leading some to speculate that he was seeking another term largely so that he could then offer to resign as part of a plea bargain. Even with all the controversy swirling around him, he handily won re-election in a truly pitiful contest over a truly pitiful opponent, Domenic Recchia. One voter told the NY Times: "Everybody is kind of counting on Grimm getting convicted and then maybe there will be a special election . . . And maybe we’ll have better choices."

 

On December 23, a few weeks after his victory, Grimm pleaded guilty to one felony charge of tax fraud while also acknowledging that he had committed perjury and wire fraud and hired illegal immigrants, but he nevertheless vowed not to step down from Congress. Less than a week later, however, after meeting with House Speaker John Boehner, he announced that he would be resigning effective January 5, having served not even a day of his new term. Now it's early March and his former district office here on New Dorp Lane still looks the same as ever (compare: September 2012, March 2015), even though it's been nearly two months since one could accurately describe Michael G. Grimm as "Congressman".

 

UPDATE (Oct. 31, 2015): Dan Donovan, the Staten Island district attorney whose office handled the controversial (because it didn't produce an indictment) grand jury inquiry into the death of Eric Garner at the hands of the police, was selected by the voters in May to replace Grimm in Congress, and he has since taken over Grimm's old district office on New Dorp Lane. In July, Grimm was sentenced to eight months in prison, with the judge telling him: "Your moral compass, Mr. Grimm, needs some reorientation." He started serving his sentence in September at a minimum-security prison camp in western Pennsylvania.

The United Star Distance Learning Consortium (USDLC) is a nonprofit multi-state educational consortium and winner of four highly competitive United States Department of Education Star Schools Grants. USDLC is committed to excellence in di

 

thanx Ajax Quinnell for letting me know my tutorials came in handy!

 

Posted by Second Life Resident Torley Olmstead. Visit USDLC Star Island.

Committed to St. Peter, the parish chapel of Mont-Saint-Michel replaced an old haven which could perhaps date prior to the introduction of the cult of St. Michael.

Constructed upon footings which probably date to the 11th century, the structure had been increased and also elevated in the 2nd half of the Fifteenth century. The odd 16th century addition is actually on a barrel vault constructed over a street.

 

At the conclusion of the Nineteenth century, once the abbey was secularised, the chapel grew to become the aim of the pilgrimages. The refurbishment of the church devoted to the Archangel St. Michael which includes a sculpture of him in silver that was solemnly crowned within 1877, carries witness to the vigour of the cult of St. Michael in the circumstance of restored patriotism that came to be after the conflict of 1870. The numerous exotics put up on the walls are often of army origins, within homage to the patron saint of the military. The gonfalons provided by the brotherhoods of the loyal additionally demonstrate the popular personality of the pilgrimages.

 

Every one of these items more or less overshadow the handful of leftover old elements, particularly the actual 13th Century baptismal fonts, the 15th Century sculpture of the Madonna and Child, yet another 16th Century sculpture of St. Anne as well as an 18th Century crucifix. Centre of parish lifestyle within Mont Saint Michel, the chapel appears adjacent to the little township cemetery. Mere Poulard is buried right here and the inscription on her burial place says, “Here rest Victor and Anne Poulard, faithful husband and wife and excellent innkeepers. May the Lord receive them as they have always received their visitors.” [montstmichel.co.uk]

Marble, AD 1-79

 

These architectural decorations represent the theatrical masks worn by Roman actors performing tragic scenes. Nero’s biographer, Suetonius, wrote that the emperor performed the roles of Orestes and Oedipus, mythical fgures who committed matricide and incest respectively. Both parts offered the opportunity to recite strong monologues and provided insight into the human psyche. However, Suetonius may have edited this list deliberately in order to link Nero to alleged crimes against his mother Agrippina.

[British Museum]

  

Nero: the Man Behind the Myth

(May - Oct 2021)

 

Nero is known as one of Rome's most infamous rulers, notorious for his cruelty, debauchery and madness.

The last male descendant of the emperor Augustus, Nero succeeded to the throne in AD 54 aged just 16 and died a violent death at 30. His turbulent rule saw momentous events including the Great Fire of Rome, Boudicca's rebellion in Britain, the execution of his own mother and first wife, grand projects and extravagant excesses.

Drawing on the latest research, this major exhibition questions the traditional narrative of the ruthless tyrant and eccentric performer, revealing a different Nero, a populist leader at a time of great change in Roman society.

Through some 200 spectacular objects, from the imperial palace in Rome to the streets of Pompeii, follow the young emperor’s rise and fall and make up your own mind about Nero. Was he a young, inexperienced ruler trying his best in a divided society, or the merciless, matricidal megalomaniac history has painted him to be?

 

Nero was the 5th emperor of Rome and the last of Rome’s first dynasty, the Julio-Claudians, founded by Augustus (the adopted son of Julius Caesar). Nero is known as one of Rome’s most infamous rulers, notorious for his cruelty and debauchery. He ascended to power in AD 54 aged just 16 and died at 30. He ruled at a time of great social and political change, overseeing momentous events such as the Great Fire of Rome and Boudica’s rebellion in Britain. He allegedly killed his mother and two of his wives, only cared about his art and had very little interest in ruling the empire.

Most of what we know about Nero comes from the surviving works of three historians – Tacitus, Suetonius and Cassius Dio. All written decades after Nero’s death, their accounts have long shaped our understanding of this emperor’s rule. However, far from being impartial narrators presenting objective accounts of past events, these authors and their sources wrote with a very clear agenda in mind. Nero’s demise brought forward a period of chaos and civil war – one that ended only when a new dynasty seized power, the Flavians. Authors writing under the Flavians all had an interest in legitimising the new ruling family by portraying the last of the Julio-Claudians in the worst possible light, turning history into propaganda. These accounts became the ‘historical’ sources used by later historians, therefore perpetuating a fabricated image of Nero, which has survived all the way to the present.

Nero was born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus on 15 December AD 37.

He was the son of Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus and Agrippina the Younger. Both Gnaeus and Agrippina were the grandchildren of Augustus, making Nero Augustus’ great, great grandson with a strong claim to power.

Nero was only two years old when his mother was exiled and three when his father died. His inheritance was taken from him and he was sent to live with his aunt. However, Nero’s fate changed again when Claudius became emperor, restoring the boy’s property and recalling his mother Agrippina from exile.

In AD 49 the emperor Claudius married Agrippina, and adopted Nero the following year. It is at this point that Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus changed his name to Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus. In Roman times it was normal to change your name when adopted, abandoning your family name in favour of your adoptive father’s. Nero was a common name among members of the Claudian family, especially in Claudius’ branch.

Nero and Agrippina offered Claudius a politically useful link back to Augustus, strengthening his position.

Claudius appeared to favour Nero over his natural son, Britannicus, marking Nero as the designated heir.

When Claudius died in AD 54, Nero became emperor just two months before turning 17.

As he was supported by both the army and the senate, his rise to power was smooth. His mother Agrippina exerted a significant influence, especially at the beginning of his rule.

The Roman historians Tacitus, Suetonius and Cassius Dio all claim that Nero, fed up with Agrippina’s interference, decided to kill her.

Given the lack of eyewitnesses, there is no way of knowing if or how this happened. However, this did not stop historians from fabricating dramatic stories of Agrippina’s murder, asserting that Nero tried (and failed) to kill her with a boat engineered to sink, before sending his men to do the job.

Agrippina allegedly told them to stab her in the womb that bore Nero, her last words clearly borrowed from stage plays.

It is entirely possible, as claimed by Nero himself, that Agrippina chose (or was more likely forced) to take her own life after her plot against her son was discovered.

Early in his rule, Nero had to contend with a rebellion in the newly conquered province of Britain.

In AD 60–61, Queen Boudica of the Iceni tribe led a revolt against the Romans, attacking and laying waste to important Roman settlements. The possible causes of the rebellion were numerous – the greed of the Romans exploiting the newly conquered territories, the recalling of loans made to local leaders, ongoing conflict in Wales and, above all, violence against the family of Prasutagus, Boudica’s husband and king of the Iceni.

Boudica and the rebels destroyed Colchester, London and St Albans before being heavily defeated by Roman troops. After the uprising, the governor of Britain Suetonius Paulinus introduced harsher laws against the Britons, until Nero replaced him with the more conciliatory governor Publius Petronius Turpilianus.

The marriage between Nero and Octavia, aged 15 and 13/14 at the time, was arranged by their parents in order to further legitimise Nero’s claim to the throne. Octavia was the daughter of the emperor Claudius from a previous marriage, so when Claudius married Agrippina and adopted her son Nero, Nero and Octavia became brother and sister. In order to arrange their marriage, Octavia had to be adopted into another family.

Their marriage was not a happy one. According to ancient writers, Nero had various affairs until his lover Poppaea Sabina convinced him to divorce his wife. Octavia was first exiled then executed in AD 62 on adultery charges. According to ancient writers, her banishment and death caused great unrest among the public, who sympathised with the dutiful Octavia.

No further motives were offered for Octavia’s death other than Nero’s passion for Poppaea, and we will probably never know what transpired at court. The fact that Octavia couldn’t produce an heir while Poppaea was pregnant with Nero’s daughter likely played an important role in deciding Octavia’s fate.

On 19 July AD 64, a fire started close to the Circus Maximus. The flames soon encompassed the entire city of Rome and the fire raged for nine days. Only four of the 14 districts of the capital were spared, while three were completely destroyed.

Rome had already been razed by flames – and would be again in its long history – but this event was so severe it came to be known as the Great Fire of Rome.

Later historians blamed Nero for the event, claiming that he set the capital ablaze in order to clear land for the construction of a vast new palace. According to Suetonius and Cassius Dio, Nero took in the view of the burning city from the imperial residence while playing the lyre and singing about the fall of Troy. This story, however, is fictional.

Tacitus, the only historian who was actually alive at the time of the Great Fire of Rome (although only 8 years old), wrote that Nero was not even in Rome when the fire started, but returned to the capital and led the relief efforts.

Tacitus, Suetonius and Cassius Dio all describe Nero as being blinded by passion for his wife Poppaea, yet they accuse him of killing her, allegedly by kicking her in an outburst of rage while she was pregnant.

Interestingly, pregnant women being kicked to death by enraged husbands is a recurring theme in ancient literature, used to explore the (self) destructive tendencies of autocrats. The Greek writer Herodotus tells the story of how the Persian king Cambyses kicked his pregnant wife in the stomach, causing her death. A similar episode is told of Periander, tyrant of Corinth. Nero is just one of many allegedly ‘mad’ tyrants for which this literary convention was used.

Poppaea probably died from complications connected with her pregnancy and not at Nero’s hands. She was given a lavish funeral and was deified.

Centred on greater Iran, the Parthian empire was a major political and cultural power and a long-standing enemy of Rome. The two powers had long been contending for control over the buffer state of Armenia and open conflict sparked again during Nero’s rule. The Parthian War started in AD 58 and, after initial victories and following set-backs, ended in AD 63 when a diplomatic solution was reached between Nero and the Parthian king Vologases I.

According to this settlement Tiridates, brother of the Parthian king, would rule over Armenia, but only after having travelled all the way to Rome to be crowned by Nero.

The journey lasted 9 months, Tiridates’ retinue included 3,000 Parthian horsemen and many Roman soldiers. The coronation ceremony took place in the summer of AD 66 and the day was celebrated with much pomp: all the people of Rome saw the new king of Armenia kneeling in front of Nero. This was the Golden Day of Nero’s rule

In AD 68, Vindex, the governor of Gaul (France), rebelled against Nero and declared his support for Galba, the governor of Spain. Vindex was defeated in battle by troops loyal to Nero, yet Galba started gaining more military support.

It was at this point that Nero lost the support of Rome’s people due to a grain shortage, caused by a rebellious commander who cut the crucial food supply from Egypt to the capital. Abandoned by the people and declared an enemy of the state by the senate, Nero tried to flee Rome and eventually committed suicide.

Following his death, Nero’s memory was condemned (a practice called damnatio memoriae) and the images of the emperor were destroyed, removed or reworked. However, Nero was still given an expensive funeral and for a long time people decorated his tomb with flowers, some even believing he was still alive.

After Nero’s death, civil war ensued. At the end of the so-called ‘Year of the Four Emperors’ (AD 69), Vespasian became emperor and started a new dynasty: the Flavians.

[Francesca Bologna, curator, for British Museum]

 

Taken in the British Museum

Again I am called to photograph these people in concert. As an experiment I used my Canon 50 mm f 1.8. For part of the concert I used a flash, for the rest no flash. Any comments welcome and appreciated!

Committed photo for Maura Taurog's model book

Model: Maura Taurog

Photo&Edit: Daniele Eberhardt ]RagDoll[GraphicArt

 

SL Background

Marble, AD 1-79

 

These architectural decorations represent the theatrical masks worn by Roman actors performing tragic scenes. Nero’s biographer, Suetonius, wrote that the emperor performed the roles of Orestes and Oedipus, mythical fgures who committed matricide and incest respectively. Both parts offered the opportunity to recite strong monologues and provided insight into the human psyche. However, Suetonius may have edited this list deliberately in order to link Nero to alleged crimes against his mother Agrippina.

[British Museum]

  

Nero: the Man Behind the Myth

(May - Oct 2021)

 

Nero is known as one of Rome's most infamous rulers, notorious for his cruelty, debauchery and madness.

The last male descendant of the emperor Augustus, Nero succeeded to the throne in AD 54 aged just 16 and died a violent death at 30. His turbulent rule saw momentous events including the Great Fire of Rome, Boudicca's rebellion in Britain, the execution of his own mother and first wife, grand projects and extravagant excesses.

Drawing on the latest research, this major exhibition questions the traditional narrative of the ruthless tyrant and eccentric performer, revealing a different Nero, a populist leader at a time of great change in Roman society.

Through some 200 spectacular objects, from the imperial palace in Rome to the streets of Pompeii, follow the young emperor’s rise and fall and make up your own mind about Nero. Was he a young, inexperienced ruler trying his best in a divided society, or the merciless, matricidal megalomaniac history has painted him to be?

 

Nero was the 5th emperor of Rome and the last of Rome’s first dynasty, the Julio-Claudians, founded by Augustus (the adopted son of Julius Caesar). Nero is known as one of Rome’s most infamous rulers, notorious for his cruelty and debauchery. He ascended to power in AD 54 aged just 16 and died at 30. He ruled at a time of great social and political change, overseeing momentous events such as the Great Fire of Rome and Boudica’s rebellion in Britain. He allegedly killed his mother and two of his wives, only cared about his art and had very little interest in ruling the empire.

Most of what we know about Nero comes from the surviving works of three historians – Tacitus, Suetonius and Cassius Dio. All written decades after Nero’s death, their accounts have long shaped our understanding of this emperor’s rule. However, far from being impartial narrators presenting objective accounts of past events, these authors and their sources wrote with a very clear agenda in mind. Nero’s demise brought forward a period of chaos and civil war – one that ended only when a new dynasty seized power, the Flavians. Authors writing under the Flavians all had an interest in legitimising the new ruling family by portraying the last of the Julio-Claudians in the worst possible light, turning history into propaganda. These accounts became the ‘historical’ sources used by later historians, therefore perpetuating a fabricated image of Nero, which has survived all the way to the present.

Nero was born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus on 15 December AD 37.

He was the son of Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus and Agrippina the Younger. Both Gnaeus and Agrippina were the grandchildren of Augustus, making Nero Augustus’ great, great grandson with a strong claim to power.

Nero was only two years old when his mother was exiled and three when his father died. His inheritance was taken from him and he was sent to live with his aunt. However, Nero’s fate changed again when Claudius became emperor, restoring the boy’s property and recalling his mother Agrippina from exile.

In AD 49 the emperor Claudius married Agrippina, and adopted Nero the following year. It is at this point that Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus changed his name to Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus. In Roman times it was normal to change your name when adopted, abandoning your family name in favour of your adoptive father’s. Nero was a common name among members of the Claudian family, especially in Claudius’ branch.

Nero and Agrippina offered Claudius a politically useful link back to Augustus, strengthening his position.

Claudius appeared to favour Nero over his natural son, Britannicus, marking Nero as the designated heir.

When Claudius died in AD 54, Nero became emperor just two months before turning 17.

As he was supported by both the army and the senate, his rise to power was smooth. His mother Agrippina exerted a significant influence, especially at the beginning of his rule.

The Roman historians Tacitus, Suetonius and Cassius Dio all claim that Nero, fed up with Agrippina’s interference, decided to kill her.

Given the lack of eyewitnesses, there is no way of knowing if or how this happened. However, this did not stop historians from fabricating dramatic stories of Agrippina’s murder, asserting that Nero tried (and failed) to kill her with a boat engineered to sink, before sending his men to do the job.

Agrippina allegedly told them to stab her in the womb that bore Nero, her last words clearly borrowed from stage plays.

It is entirely possible, as claimed by Nero himself, that Agrippina chose (or was more likely forced) to take her own life after her plot against her son was discovered.

Early in his rule, Nero had to contend with a rebellion in the newly conquered province of Britain.

In AD 60–61, Queen Boudica of the Iceni tribe led a revolt against the Romans, attacking and laying waste to important Roman settlements. The possible causes of the rebellion were numerous – the greed of the Romans exploiting the newly conquered territories, the recalling of loans made to local leaders, ongoing conflict in Wales and, above all, violence against the family of Prasutagus, Boudica’s husband and king of the Iceni.

Boudica and the rebels destroyed Colchester, London and St Albans before being heavily defeated by Roman troops. After the uprising, the governor of Britain Suetonius Paulinus introduced harsher laws against the Britons, until Nero replaced him with the more conciliatory governor Publius Petronius Turpilianus.

The marriage between Nero and Octavia, aged 15 and 13/14 at the time, was arranged by their parents in order to further legitimise Nero’s claim to the throne. Octavia was the daughter of the emperor Claudius from a previous marriage, so when Claudius married Agrippina and adopted her son Nero, Nero and Octavia became brother and sister. In order to arrange their marriage, Octavia had to be adopted into another family.

Their marriage was not a happy one. According to ancient writers, Nero had various affairs until his lover Poppaea Sabina convinced him to divorce his wife. Octavia was first exiled then executed in AD 62 on adultery charges. According to ancient writers, her banishment and death caused great unrest among the public, who sympathised with the dutiful Octavia.

No further motives were offered for Octavia’s death other than Nero’s passion for Poppaea, and we will probably never know what transpired at court. The fact that Octavia couldn’t produce an heir while Poppaea was pregnant with Nero’s daughter likely played an important role in deciding Octavia’s fate.

On 19 July AD 64, a fire started close to the Circus Maximus. The flames soon encompassed the entire city of Rome and the fire raged for nine days. Only four of the 14 districts of the capital were spared, while three were completely destroyed.

Rome had already been razed by flames – and would be again in its long history – but this event was so severe it came to be known as the Great Fire of Rome.

Later historians blamed Nero for the event, claiming that he set the capital ablaze in order to clear land for the construction of a vast new palace. According to Suetonius and Cassius Dio, Nero took in the view of the burning city from the imperial residence while playing the lyre and singing about the fall of Troy. This story, however, is fictional.

Tacitus, the only historian who was actually alive at the time of the Great Fire of Rome (although only 8 years old), wrote that Nero was not even in Rome when the fire started, but returned to the capital and led the relief efforts.

Tacitus, Suetonius and Cassius Dio all describe Nero as being blinded by passion for his wife Poppaea, yet they accuse him of killing her, allegedly by kicking her in an outburst of rage while she was pregnant.

Interestingly, pregnant women being kicked to death by enraged husbands is a recurring theme in ancient literature, used to explore the (self) destructive tendencies of autocrats. The Greek writer Herodotus tells the story of how the Persian king Cambyses kicked his pregnant wife in the stomach, causing her death. A similar episode is told of Periander, tyrant of Corinth. Nero is just one of many allegedly ‘mad’ tyrants for which this literary convention was used.

Poppaea probably died from complications connected with her pregnancy and not at Nero’s hands. She was given a lavish funeral and was deified.

Centred on greater Iran, the Parthian empire was a major political and cultural power and a long-standing enemy of Rome. The two powers had long been contending for control over the buffer state of Armenia and open conflict sparked again during Nero’s rule. The Parthian War started in AD 58 and, after initial victories and following set-backs, ended in AD 63 when a diplomatic solution was reached between Nero and the Parthian king Vologases I.

According to this settlement Tiridates, brother of the Parthian king, would rule over Armenia, but only after having travelled all the way to Rome to be crowned by Nero.

The journey lasted 9 months, Tiridates’ retinue included 3,000 Parthian horsemen and many Roman soldiers. The coronation ceremony took place in the summer of AD 66 and the day was celebrated with much pomp: all the people of Rome saw the new king of Armenia kneeling in front of Nero. This was the Golden Day of Nero’s rule

In AD 68, Vindex, the governor of Gaul (France), rebelled against Nero and declared his support for Galba, the governor of Spain. Vindex was defeated in battle by troops loyal to Nero, yet Galba started gaining more military support.

It was at this point that Nero lost the support of Rome’s people due to a grain shortage, caused by a rebellious commander who cut the crucial food supply from Egypt to the capital. Abandoned by the people and declared an enemy of the state by the senate, Nero tried to flee Rome and eventually committed suicide.

Following his death, Nero’s memory was condemned (a practice called damnatio memoriae) and the images of the emperor were destroyed, removed or reworked. However, Nero was still given an expensive funeral and for a long time people decorated his tomb with flowers, some even believing he was still alive.

After Nero’s death, civil war ensued. At the end of the so-called ‘Year of the Four Emperors’ (AD 69), Vespasian became emperor and started a new dynasty: the Flavians.

[Francesca Bologna, curator, for British Museum]

 

Taken in the British Museum

Relentless Aaron, through hard, committed work ethics, has earned the "belt" as the number one urban lit author. Voted "Author of the year-2007", Relentless has also earned over 6 billion media significant impressions through his diligence. Relentless Aaron's books are also well positioned in better book stores throughout the country, proving that it is possible to LIVE YOUR DREAM. www.relentlessaaron.com www.myspace.com/relentlessaaron

Feed My Starving Children is a non-profit Christian organization committed to feeding God’s starving children hungry in body and spirit. The approach is simple: children and adults hand-pack meals formulated specially for starving children, and we ship the meals to nearly 70 countries around the world. Click here to learn more about FMSC and how you can become involved.

 

www.fmsc.org/Page.aspx?pid=453

 

We believe that every child has a right to be fed a nutritious meal. [Matthew 25:35 - "For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat."]

We believe that our lives are enriched when we graciously give our own time and resources to help others in need. [Luke 6:38 - "Give and it will be given to you."]

We believe partnering with other faith-based and humanitarian organizations maximizes our ability to feed God’s children.

Photographs taken by Harry Skull Jr.

 

Remarks With Canadian Foreign Minister Cannon

 

Hillary Rodham Clinton

Secretary of State

Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada

 

13 June, 2009

 

FOREIGN MINISTER CANNON: Canada and the United States have committed this morning to amending the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. This is important for both nations. These inland waters are the largest system of fresh water in the world, a foundation for billions of dollars in trade, shipping, agriculture, recreation, of course, and other sectors. The Government of Canada has taken significant efforts in the past three years to protect the Great Lakes, and today, this joint stewardship of the environment represents a cornerstone of the Canada-United States relationship. This aspect of our long history of collaboration will remain strong as we begin a second century of jointly managing our shared waters. The agreement has been a model of international cooperation and has achieved numerous successes.

 

However, as you know, the Great Lakes are still at risk and need more to be done. So we will be doing that together.

 

The Secretary of State and I also discussed the global economic downturn and the risks of protectionism, cooperation in the Americas, and Afghanistan, as well as Pakistan. Our country’s prosperity and security are inseparable from those of the United States. Americans, as you know, are our closest neighbors, allies, and trading partners.

 

(Via interpreter) Every day, there is trade to a value of $2 billion that cross our common border from Canada. And Canada is the first export market for 35 of 50 of the American states.

 

People are worried by a rising tide of protectionism developing in the United States in various circles, and our government is very concerned, in particular, about the negative impacts of Buy America legislation being felt on Canadian businesses. Now, Canada’s and the United State’s shared history demonstrated we can do great things. When we work together, we are able to, of course, serve our mutual interests. Now, this is crucial as we are engaged in emerging from this crisis, and we want to be able to emerge from this crisis stronger, better, and, of course, in a more prosperous manner.

 

Thank you. Merci.

 

SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you very much, Minister Cannon.

 

I’ve had a delightful morning here, and I want to thank my Canadian hosts, especially Foreign Minister Cannon, the members of the International Joint Commission, and the many distinguished colleagues from both sides of the border who have made this celebration so memorable.

 

We are celebrating, because the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Boundary Waters Treaty marks a recognition of a ground-breaking agreement, one of the first in the world to recognize the environmental consequences of managing our natural resources, ensuring clean drinking water, protecting the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River system, the Niagara Falls and Niagara River that are such magnificent treasures. So for me, it’s a particular delight both to have been back in Western New York; many friends from Niagara and Erie counties -- I just am delighted to see them, but also to be here in Canada, because Canada is such a trusted ally, a friend, a valued trading partner and a democratic model for the world.

 

This treaty, which we have celebrated, is not a static document. It’s a living instrument of our cooperation and partnership. It has provided an effective framework for the last 100 years, but now we have to take stock of where we are and how we’re going to be proceeding with confidence and effectiveness into the future. As we look at the strong foundation that this treaty has helped to establish between our countries, it’s truly remarkable: $1.6 billion in goods that flow across the border everyday, supporting millions of jobs; the world’s largest energy-trading relationship. I want to underscore that, because I’m not sure that enough Americans know, Minister Cannon, that you are our number one supplier of energy in the world, and we are grateful for that. We collaborate closely on citizen safety and defense, and, as both the Minister and I have noted, we have soldiers serving side-by-side together in Afghanistan to try to prevent the spread of terrorism and extremism.

 

So our common values are deeply rooted. But we have to work together even more closely. After this morning’s ceremony, the Minister and I had a chance to review some of our other important matters. Obviously, we discussed international and global concerns that we are both deeply engaged in, and we discussed our nation’s plan to revise and update the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement to protect the Great Lakes Basin for future generations. We reviewed our joint efforts in Afghanistan and elsewhere around the globe. We discussed the challenges in Pakistan, the Middle East, Iran, and elsewhere. We talked about our equal commitment to our own hemisphere, and I’m very grateful for the Canadian Government and the Minister’s particular emphasis on working with us in Haiti, working to strengthen our relationships with our neighbors to the south.

 

We also have been very focused on ensuring that nothing interferes with the trade between our countries. I deeply respect the Minister’s comments and his concerns, but as President Obama said, nothing in our legislation will interfere with our international trade obligations, including with Canada. But we want to take a hard look, and the Minister and I discussed this, as to what more we can do to ensure that the free flow of trade continues. We consider it to be in the interests of both of our countries and our people.

 

So as always, it’s great to be in Canada, and we deeply appreciate our close working relationship the Minister and I have forged over a relatively short period of time, and we look forward to continuing close collaboration and cooperation. Thank you very much.

 

QUESTION: (Off-mike).

 

SECRETARY CLINTON: We watched closely the enthusiasm and the very vigorous debate and dialogue that occurred in the lead-up to the Iranian elections. We are monitoring the situation as it unfolds in Iran.

 

But we, like the rest of the world, are waiting and watching to see what the Iranian people decide. The United States has refrained from commenting on the election in Iran. We obviously hope that the outcome reflects the genuine will and desire of the Iranian people.

 

FOREIGN MINISTER CANNON: For Canada, on behalf of Canada, Canada is deeply concerned by reports of voting irregularities in the Iranian election. We’re troubled by reports of intimidation of opposition candidate’s offices by security forces. We’ve tasked our embassy officials to – in Tehran to closely monitor the situation, and Canada is calling on Iranian authorities to conduct fair and transparent counting of all ballots.

 

(Via Interpreter) According to (inaudible) irregularities in the Iranian election, we are also deeply concerned with reports according to which there might have been intimidation, intimidation against opposition candidate’s offices, for instance; amongst them would be intimidation by security officials. I therefore asked our people in Tehran and officers in the Canadian embassy to follow the development very closely. And finally, we hope – we hope with a great deal of vigor that the counting of ballots be done transparently and that all the ballots that have been used during this election be indeed counted.

 

QUESTION: Madame Secretary, welcome to Canada.

 

SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you.

 

QUESTION: Canada’s government and many Canadian businesses have said that our economy and our bilateral relationship is being hurt by the Buy American policy. Secretary Clinton, why is it in there, and if you don’t call it protectionism, what is it? And to Minister Cannon, how deeply is this hurting Canada’s economy and our relationship with the United States?

 

SECRETARY CLINTON: Let me just reiterate that the provision is not being enforced in any way that is inconsistent with our international trade obligations. And we take that very seriously. Obviously, Canada is our number one trading partner. It is a mutually beneficial relationship that we intend to not only nurture, but see grow.

 

And I am well aware of the concerns that there may be elements of the international trade obligations or absences of agreements that should be looked at so that we can promote more procurement and other kinds of trade interactions. And I have assured Minister Cannon that we will take a very close look at that.

 

FOREIGN MINISTER CANNON: Thank you. On – I was able this morning to bring Secretary of State Clinton up-to-date, up-to-speed on the Prime Minister’s visit last week to – with Premier Charest, who, as you know, is the premier responsible for the Council of the Federation. This issue was discussed. As you know, the premiers have agreed to look at the procurement issue as being one of importance. My colleague, Minister Day, as well, did go and travel to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, so I was able to bring the Secretary of State to – up-to-speed on this issue, and at the same time, get assurances that we would look to find different options to make sure that what we already have built in terms of a solid foundation continue – can continue to flourish and to prevail.

 

So we still have work ahead of us, and we’re looking forward to doing that.

 

(Via interpreter) -- I had the opportunity to indicate to Secretary of State Clinton and bring her up-to-speed on the recent meeting with Premier Charest. Well, as the premiers, members of the Council of the Federation, Premier Charest being the chair, and the commitment from all premiers to look at the whole issue of procurement and public expenditures so that such expenditures be part and parcel of perhaps even an agreement with the Americans.

 

My colleague, Minister Stockwell Day, took the same undertaking with the Canadian Federation of Municipalities. So this enabled me to allude to these events with the Secretary of State, and also enabled me, by the same token, to look at what options might be open to us in upcoming months. As I mentioned a moment ago, there is a very solid basis upon which we can work; indeed, there are other issues to be worked on, but – and that we’ve always been able to reach an agreement with the Americans on a number of topics. I don’t think this impediment is a major one, and we will continue our dialogue.

 

QUESTION: (Off-mike)

 

SECRETARY CLINTON: First, let me say how gratified we were that the United Nations Security Council reached and agreement on a very strong resolution that contains not only new sanctions and the authorization for inspections of ships that may be carrying contraband or weapons of mass destruction or other dangerous technology from North Korea, but that the resolution represented a unified response to the provocative actions that have been taken by the North Koreans over the last several months.

 

This was a tremendous statement on behalf of the world community that North Korea’s pursuit of nuclear weapons and the capacity to deliver those weapons through missiles is not going to be accepted by the neighbors, as well as the greater international community. We intend to work with our partners, including Canada and others, to enforce the provisions of this resolution in a vigorous way, to send a clear message that we intend to do all we can to prevent continued proliferation by the North Koreas.

 

I will add, however, that the North Korean’s continuing provocative actions are deeply regrettable. They have now been denounced by everyone. They have become further isolated, and it is not in the interests of the people of North Korea for that kind of isolation to continue. So the Six-Party Framework, which the North Koreans left, turning their back on the obligations to continue with denuclearization, is still an open opportunity for them to return. And we are going to be consulting closely with our friends and allies, not only in Northeast Asia, but more generally, to determine a way forward in response to further actions.

 

But I think these sanctions and the authorizations included in this resolution give the world community the tools we need to take appropriate action against the North Korean regime.

 

FOREIGN MINISTER CANNON: Canada already, of course, abides by Resolution 1718 that was passed in 2006. And we’ve implemented that resolution and the binding sanctions, of course, that were introduced.

 

We as well are very – and we welcome the additional imposition of – by Resolution 1874. Canada, of course, is very, very pleased that the world community has come together in a united response at the (inaudible) to be able to signal to the international – to North Korea the international community’s determination that their recent conduct is inacceptable. So we’re very pleased by this Security Council resolution, as well.

 

We’re also pleased by the new resolution’s calls upon North Korea to return immediately to the Six-Party Talks and to demand, of course, that these talks that are extremely important in terms of nonproliferation and the use of nuclear weapons get going.

 

(Via interpreter) Canada, of course, is very much abiding by Resolution 1718 that was adopted in 2006, and we are very happy with that recent resolution, adopted by the UN Security Council. Canada will apply with determination all the provisions contained therein. For that matter, we’re delighted to see that the international community has sent a very clear signal to North Korea. And will add, by way of conclusion, that for our part, it’s important that the discussions amongst the six parties resume as quickly as possible, and we’re delighted that this resolution also calls upon the Government of North Korea to go back to the negotiating table, so that we might limit the proliferation of nuclear weapons.

 

QUESTION: (Off-mike).

 

SECRETARY CLINTON: I’m sorry, and what?

 

QUESTION: (Off-mike).

 

SECRETARY CLINTON: First, with respect to our shared border, there is certainly no argument that we each have to take additional security steps, given conditions in the world. I mean, I think we both regret those. We are sorry that we have to respond to them, but nevertheless, that is the reality. And we are doing everything we can in the Obama Administration to listen and work with our Canadian counterparts.

 

There have been several very productive discussions already between our Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, and her Canadian counterpart. Because we know that we want to maintain this extraordinary relationship that we have with the right amount of security to protect our citizens on both sides, without interfering in the free movement of goods and people that we value so greatly.

 

Sometimes we need to help each other really understand fully the challenges that we are each facing to make sure we achieve that common goal. I would still argue that although we do have law enforcement on our border in greater numbers than we did ten years ago, compared to a border that I know of anywhere, just about, in the world, this is a demilitarized, free, open border with appropriate law enforcement personnel and technology in the interest of protecting our two peoples.

 

So we will work very closely with the Canadian Government, and we will try to solve problems that have arisen between our governments in the past to make sure that we are doing what we need to do with security in a way that does not interfere with all of the other interests that we share.

 

We are both members of the Arctic Council. We, and Canada, with its very extensive presence on the Arctic waters, along with Russia, Norway, and -- Denmark, right? – are the members of the Arctic Council. We want to work closely together. We want to foresee issues and try to resolve them so that they don’t become problems. And we feel, as one of the five nations working with the others, that we have an opportunity here, and we intend to take this very seriously. Obviously, there are questions of sovereignty and jurisdiction that have to be acknowledged and respected, but what we don’t want is for the Arctic to become a free-for-all. If there is going to be greater maritime passageways through the Arctic, if there is going to be more exploration for natural resources, if there are going to be more security issues, I think it’s in the Canadian and the United States’ interests to try to get ahead of those, and try to make sure we know what we’re going to do to resolve them before countries that are not bordering the arctic are making claims, are behaving in ways that will cause us difficulties.

 

FOREIGN MINISTER CANNON: Let me respond by saying at the outset how very pleased I was one of the first initiatives that Secretary of State Clinton took on was to be able to host the Antarctica Joint Arctic Council Meeting in Washington a couple of months ago, which was, I think, a strong indication, once again, of our country’s commitment to not only this border here, but, of course, to our northern border. And what I can say on that is that there are no obstacles. We have been able to manage the issues as it should be between the two neighbors. We, of course, as a country, as well as the United States, Russia, and the other members of the Arctic Council, have agreed to abide by, of course, the United Nations Convention, the Law of the Seas, to go forward and do the mapping. We’ve been able to, as a Canadian Government, assume our responsibilities, assert our responsibilities in terms of sovereignty by our infrastructure programs.

 

So from that perspective, it’s going extraordinarily well, as well as, as Hillary Clinton just mentioned, Peter Van Loan, who, as you know, is our minister responsible for – I was going to say homeland security, but for border crossings and has worked extremely well with the Secretary of State, Secretary Napolitano, over the course of the last several weeks. They’ve established a working relationship, which I feel is something that is extraordinarily good in terms of moving forward. And so I’d say that on that front as well, things are going very, very well.

 

(Via interpreter) Briefly, I would say this: I congratulated Secretary of State Clinton for the initiative she took at the very outset of her mandate, and by convening in Washington a joint meeting between the Arctic Council and the Antarctica Council. At that time, we were able to examine a variety of subjects that arise in the extremities of the globe. And as I mentioned, we were – we have always been able to manage our difficulties in a very positive, healthy manner. That is what exists in the arctic part of our country.

 

We are members of the Arctic Council with three other countries. We are committed into various provisions of the UN Convention on the Law of the Seas. We have also noted, with a great deal of satisfaction and interest, the work that is being done by Minister Peter Van Loan, who is the minister responsible for public safety here in Canada, as well as with the American Secretary for Homeland Security, Mrs. Napolitano, to deal with issues that arise in common to both our countries. In that regard, many steps are being taken. So we’re very happy with the progress that has been made.

 

And I will tell you, by way of conclusion, that the relationship between Canada and the U.S. again continues to shine, and it is a real breath of fresh air and a ray of sunshine for many countries in the world when we want to see how borders should be managed and the relationship between two countries. We are great, great friends.

 

SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you. Thank you all.

 

FOREIGN MINISTER CANNON: Thank you. Merci.

North Walsham has a memorial to the War dead of WW2 in both St Nicholas Church and the memorial park itself. Unfortunately the pictures I took in the church were blurred, so for now there is just the Park Memorial.

 

1939 - 1945

 

J Aldrich (Church and Park Memorial)

No obvious Match. on CWGC

 

Choices John Maria, L\Sgt Hampshire Regiment, died Holland 04/10/1944 (Wife lives Slough, Bucks)

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2619128

John Robert, Private RASC, died North Africa 27/11/1941 (Wife lives Acomb, Yorks)

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2119040

John Wilfred Lt Royal Sussex Regt died Italy 23/12/1944 (Mother lives Hove)

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=1715504

 

T Amies (Church and Park Memorial)

 

Probably

Name: AMIES, THOMAS DAWSON

Rank: Private

Regiment: Essex Regiment

Unit Text: 5th Bn.

Age: 29

Date of Death: 02/11/1943

Service No: 6024588

Additional information: Son of Frederick William and Emma Elizabeth Amies; husband of Winifred Amies, of Palling, Norfolk.

Grave/Memorial Reference: XVII. A. 3. Cemetery: SANGRO RIVER WAR CEMETERY

CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2377161

 

Or

Name: AMIES, THOMAS FRANCIS

Rank: Aircraftman 1st Class

Service: Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve

Age: 36

Date of Death: 04/05/1943

Service No: 1458072

Additional information: Son of Thomas H. Amies and Alice Amies, of Norwich; husband of Caroline Lockwell Amies, of Norwich.

Grave/Memorial Reference: Sec. 54. Grave 494. Cemetery: NORWICH CEMETERY, Norfolk

CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2764124

 

Headstone www.flickr.com/photos/43688219@N00/5406088888/

 

On the night of October 24th 1/12 Frontier Force and 1/5 Gurkhas passed through the Royal Fusiliers and took up the running. 17th Brigade now widened its front, with the 6th Lancers in touch with Seventy-eighth Division, and the Gurkhas linked up with First Canadian Division on the left. Five miles short of the Trigno, 19th Brigade passed through 17th Brigade, with 1/5th Essex and 3/8 Punjabis leading. An ominous portent was the identification of First German Parachute Division on the front, one of the most skilful and belligerent of German formations. Nevertheless, only sharp skirmishes ensued when 19th Brigade took a firm grip on the south bank of the Trigno through occupation of Monte Mitro and Montefalcone.

In this neighbourhood the Trigno ran between steep escarpments, whose crests stood fifteen hundred feet above the bottom of the valley. In many places the banks were sheer. The river was one hundred yards wide and in full view of the enemy on the ridges to the north. Ordinarily no more than two feet deep, the stream had risen sharply as a result of the autumnal rains. All bridges were blown, and all approaches mined.

 

Intelligence reported the positions to be defended by paratroopers, who were fully aware of the purpose of the Indians.

For three days before the attack, heavy rains hampered preparations. Tracks deteriorated into quagmires. The roads had been so thoroughly destroyed that it was necessary for bulldozers to work upon by-passes and diversions, often in full view of the enemy. Under lowering skies, pelted by cold rains, the infantry waited dourly. By the end of October the approaches to the Trigno were organized, and at 0345 hours on November 2nd, 6/13 Frontier Force Rifles silently defiled into the icy stream and began to cross. The supporting barrage burst on the ridge ahead of them, and Eighth Indian Division was committed to its first action in Europe

 

Frontier Force Rifles, though out of timing with the barrage, surged up the spur for nearly 2,000 yards, and by 0800 hours had mustered on their start line for the attack on Tufillo Village. The Frontiersmen's assault was launched against a typical German "hedgehog" position. All approaches were mined and booby-trapped. A curtain of mortar bombs covered the minefield. Every house held a sniper. Attempts to close were met with showers of grenades. Quick savage sallies were flung against any ground won. Eventually the battalion was held up, a few hundred yards short of its objective.

On the left of the Frontier Force Rifles, when dawn broke, the Essex began to cross the Trigno. Enemy artillery laid down an accurate shoot on the line of the river. The leading companies pushed through the barrage and up the hillside under murderous machine-gun fire, from front and flanks. The convex curve of the slope prevented Frontier Force Rifles from aiding their British comrades as they strove to come up into line. The forward companies pushed on manfully, and reached their first objective. Mounting casualties, however, made the position untenable, and the Essex withdrew to the north bank of the Trigno, taking their wounded with them.

www.ourstory.info/library/4-ww2/Tiger/triumphs01.html

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernhardt_Line#Advance_across_the_S...

 

J Andrews (Church and Park Memorial)

 

Name: ANDREWS, JOHN

Rank: Private

Regiment: Royal Norfolk Regiment

Unit Text: 5th Bn.

Date of Death: 13/10/1943

Service No: 5777312

Additional information: Son of Oscar William and Ethel Selina Andrews, of North Walsham, Norfolk.

Grave/Memorial Reference: 9. D. 2. Cemetery: CHUNGKAI WAR CEMETERY

CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2352425

 

One of the many who would die in a Japanese PoW camp following the fall of Singapore.

 

F D G Bloom (Church and Park Memorial)

 

Name: BLOOM, FRANCIS GERALD DURRANT

Rank: Flight Sergeant

Service: Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve

Unit Text: 177 Sqdn.

Age: 22

Date of Death: 24/02/1944

Service No: 1333762

Additional information: Son of Gerald George and Annie Laura Bloom, of North Walsham, Norfolk.

Grave/Memorial Reference: Column 434. Memorial: SINGAPORE MEMORIAL

CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=1813945

 

177 Squadron were a Beaufighter ground attack squadron, flying over the jungles of Burma & Siam and tasked with disrupting Japanese troop and supply movements.

www.ww2talk.com/forum/user-introductions/24737-cant-find-...

www.myrcomm.com/beau/the-squadrons/177-squadron.html#177-...

 

In Silently into the midst of things: 177 Squadron Royal Air Force in Burma ...

By A. Sutherland Brown

In the Roll of Honour index F G Bloom is listed as a pilot, while his observer Flying Officer G W Broughton was taken Prisoner of War, (page 229), however on page 209 Broughton is listed as being a PoW from October 1944, and the observer of Warrant Officer Hill.. On the same page, W.O Hill, (Pow) is listed with Navigator Flying. Officer R F Hacker, who died. I suspect the two records have either been merged or the lay-out is not clear - it states the order is approximately the first date the individual flew with the squadron, so possibly it is meant to indicate Bloom and Broughton initially flew together, rather than were in the same crash.

 

For the record CWGC shows,

Name: HACKER, RONALD FRANCIS MORRIS

Rank: Flying Officer (Nav.)

Service: Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve Unit Text: 177 Sqdn.

Age: 23 Date of Death: 22/04/1944 Service No: 136384

Additional information: Son of Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Francis Hacker; husband of Nancy Hacker, of Cross Common, Cornwall. B.A., Hons. (Lond.).

Grave/Memorial Reference: Joint grave 28. B. 21-22. Cemetery: TAUKKYAN WAR CEMETERY

CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2085947

 

Both Warrant Officer Hill and Flying Officer Broughton were incarcerated in Rangoon jail, from which they were released by the advancing allies in 1945.

 

D A Brown (Church and Park Memorial)

 

Name: BROWN, DOUGLAS ARTHUR

Rank: Private

Service: Royal Army Service Corps

Unit Text: 1 Base Supply Depot

Age: 21

Date of Death: 17/06/1940

Service No: S/115317

Additional information: Son of Mr. and Mrs. H. Brown, of North Walsham. Norfolk. Grave/Memorial Reference: Row 1. Grave 5. Cemetery: L'EPINE COMMUNAL CEMETERY, ILE DE NOIRMOUTIER

CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2694983

 

Allied forces continued to fight for at least three weeks after the fall of Dunkirk - indeed some units rescued from the beaches there were shipped back. Other’s soldiers, isolated from their units, tried to make there way south and west to get back home. We shall never probably know why Private Brown died and was buried deep in the Vendee region of France. However it probably is connected with the loss of RMS Lancastria off nearby St Nazaire on this day, with the loss of between 4,000 and 9,000 lives.

 

The RMS Lancastria had embarked an unknown number (estimates range from 4,000 up to 9,000) of civilian refugees and RAF personnel. The ship's official capacity was 2,200. She was sunk off the French port of St. Nazaire while taking part in Operation Ariel, the evacuation of British nationals and troops from France, two weeks after the Dunkirk evacuation.

 

The sheer size of the Lancastria disaster and the fact that the troopship sank in the estuary of the River Loire, trapping many people inside the hull, means that a great many of the bodies were never recovered.

www.epibreren.com/ww2/raf/98_squadron.html

www.lancastria.org.uk/home.html

 

K Brown (Church and Park Memorial)

 

Name: BROWN, KENNETH

Rank: Serjeant

Regiment: Royal Norfolk Regiment

Age: 26

Date of Death: 18/03/1944

Service No: 5776919

Additional information: Son of Mrs. R. H. Brown, of North Walsham, Norfolk.

Grave/Memorial Reference: 12. J. 19. Cemetery: TAUKKYAN WAR CEMETERY

CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2084551

 

Serjeant Brown is likely to have served with one of the three Norfolk Battalions, 4th, 5th and 6th that marched into captivity with the surrender of Singapore.

 

M A Brundall (Church and Park Memorial)

 

Name: BRUNDALL, MAURICE ARTHUR

Rank: Pilot Officer (Pilot)

Service: Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve

Date of Death: 22/02/1941

Service No: 81347

Grave/Memorial Reference: Sec. R.R.R. Grave 1. Cemetery: NORTH WALSHAM NEW CEMETERY

CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2764108

 

(Headstone picture already posted)

www.flickr.com/photos/43688219@N00/2826398856/in/set-7215...

 

A R Chandler (Church and Park Memorial)

 

Name: CHANDLER, ARTHUR ROY

Rank: Private

Regiment: Royal Norfolk Regiment

Unit Text: 2nd Bn.

Age: 22

Date of Death: between 10/05/1940 and 19/06/1940

Service No: 5772972

Additional information: Son of Arthur James Chandler and May Blanche Chandler, of North Walsham, Norfolk.

Grave/Memorial Reference: Column 43. Memorial: DUNKIRK MEMORIAL

CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2771018

 

The 2nd Norfolks were one of those units sacrificed, holding the perimeter at Dunkirk to allow the evacuation to continue. Eventually captured, many were massacred at Le Paradis. A large number are

also unaccounted for - hence the date range.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Paradis_massacre

www.norfolkbc.fsnet.co.uk/archive_collection/strips_farro...

 

5772972 Arthur Roy Chandler was born 20 Feb 1918, enlisted in 1938 and was killed in action in France in June 1940

www.norfolkbc.fsnet.co.uk/bc_issues/bc_85_dec_95/85_dec_9...

 

J W Clarke (Church and Park Memorial)

 

Name: CLARKE, JACK WILLIAM

Rank: Private

Regiment: Royal Norfolk Regiment

Unit Text: 7th Bn.

Age: 36

Date of Death: 07/08/1944

Service No: 14610646

Additional information: Son of Thomas and Alice Clarke; husband of Esther Margaret Clarke, of North Walsham, Norfolk.

Grave/Memorial Reference: XXIII. E. 10. Cemetery: BAYEUX WAR CEMETERY

CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2955842

 

He died during an action that pitted the 7th Royal Norfolks against tanks of the 12th Panzer Division outside the village of Grimbosq on the River Orne some 17 kilometres south of Caen. In this action Major David Jamieson, commanding a 7th battalion Company, won the Victoria Cross

www.edp24.co.uk/content/edp24/news/story.aspx?brand=EDPOn...

 

Over a critical 36-hour period, and with fewer than 100 men, his company of the Royal Norfolk Regiment repulsed seven violent counter-attacks by heavily armed Panther and Tiger tanks. Even when wounded in the eye and arm, he refused to be evacuated and continued to command, calling for artillery support over his wireless and reorganising his steadily depleted company. Regardless of his personal safety, and in full view of the enemy, he walked among his men encouraging them to hold their ground. By the evening of the second day, the Germans withdrew, leaving a ring of unburied dead and mangled tanks. It was Jamieson's first action.

On 6 August 1944 three battalions of British infantry had crossed the Orne, south of Caen, and occupied the far bank. Jamieson was in command of D Company of the 7th Battalion, the Royal Norfolk Regiment, situated on the outskirts of the village of Grimosq. The following day, the Germans launched a counter- attack on the village. As they attacked, they were hit by the company's two anti-tank guns. "It was as if they didn't realise we were there," recalled Jamieson, "and gave our gunners a wonderful enfilade shoot." Three Panther tanks were blasted to a halt. The next morning the 6ft 5in young commander realised the Germans would be back in force. "I was determined that we would hang on, but I was worried," he was to recall. "My concern was that everyone would skit and run. It wasn't a happy position."

The company defending their right had been swallowed up by constant German counter-attacks and there were reports of enemy tanks approaching from the rear. Jamieson's position seemed almost untenable.

As the morning haze gave way to a brilliant sun on 8 August, Jamieson's already bleak position deteriorated alarmingly as both his anti-tank guns were taken out by devastating shell fire. German infantry advanced under cover of their tanks and the close quarter fighting became brutal and one platoon was overrun. Jamieson rallied his diminishing force to an orchard which was immediately fiercely attacked.

Some hope was offered when three Churchill tanks of the Armoured Corps took up the battle. But to Jamieson's dismay they motored directly into the line of fire of a concealed enemy tank. Jamieson tried desperately to signal the tank commander, but to no avail. He then ran and tried to use the phone at the back of the tank but could not get through. Ignoring incoming fire he clambered on to the tank. As he did so an armour piercing shell drilled a hole through the driver's compartment. Jamieson was thrown off peppered with shrapnel and badly shaken.

Yet, with his eye roughly patched and his arm in a sling, he knew that, as the sole surviving officer, he was desperately needed by his men. He gathered his by now sorely depleted company to meet what he considered would be the final onslaught. But the enemy, who had already launched seven counter-attacks and had sustained heavy losses, thought better of it and switched their attention to the Canadians advancing towards Falaise. This proved to be an unwise move.

Throughout this intense battle Jamieson's inspired leadership, defiance and skilful handling of his artillery and his men prevented the advance of the enemy. At one point in the worst of the bombardment he saw a frightened soldier leave his trench. He recalled: "I drew my revolver and pointed it at him, telling him to get back in his hole. He was a nice young fellow but I was worried, if one went back, the rest would follow." After the battle, on reaching the first aid post, and having his wounds attended to, he fell asleep for 48 hours.

Of his award of the Victoria Cross he once modestly said: "It was certainly not personally deserved. It was won by a group of men in a tight position." The final part of his citation reads:

Throughout this 36 hours of bitter and close fighting, and despite the pain of his wounds, Captain Jamieson showed superb qualities of leadership and great personal bravery. There were times when the position appeared hopeless, but on each occasion it was restored by his coolness and determination. He personally was largely responsible for the holding of this important bridgehead over the river Orne and the repulse of seven German counter-attacks with great loss to the enemy

www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/major-david-jamieso...

 

F S M Davis (Church and Park Memorial)

 

Name: DAVIS, FRANCIS SAMUEL MARSHALL

Rank: Bombardier

Regiment: Royal Artillery Unit Text: 3 Maritime Regt.

Age: 26

Date of Death: 17/08/1944

Service No: 5774172

Additional information: Son of Samuel and Daisy Davis, of Mundesley, Norfolk. Grave/Memorial Reference: Plot 3. Row E. Grave 39. Cemetery: MAZARGUES WAR CEMETERY, MARSEILLES

CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2685774

 

The Naval net site lists a number of casualties at this time of individuals from the Royal Artillery’s Maritime Regiments that have lost their lives, (many “missing presumed killed”), there is no record of Bombardier Davis at all in August 1944

www.naval-history.net/xDKCas1944-08AUG.htm

 

www.ra39-45.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/maritime/index.html

 

Operation Dragoon, the invasion of Southern France, had taken place on the 15th August, but had been relatively light in terms of casualties. By the 17th, the allies were well of the beach.

 

R Davison (Church and Park Memorial)

 

Name: DAVISON, ROBERT

Rank: Able Seaman

Service: Royal Navy

Unit Text: H.M. Submarine Urge

Age: 21

Date of Death: 06/05/1942

Service No: D/JX 190316

Additional information: Son of Robert James Davison and Agnes Davison, of North Walsham, Norfolk.

Grave/Memorial Reference: Panel 64, Column 3. Memorial: PLYMOUTH NAVAL MEMORIAL

CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2478097

 

Navy The Royal Navy Type Submarine Class U Pennant N 17 Built by Vickers Armstrong (Barrow-in-Furness, U.K.) Ordered Laid down 30 Oct 1939 Launched 19 Aug 1940 Commissioned 12 Dec 1940 Lost 6 May 1942

History

HMS Urge (Lt.Cdr. Edward Philip Tomkinson, DSO and Bar, RN) left Malta on 27 April 1942. She failed to arrive at Alexandria on 6 May 1942 and was reported overdue on that day. On 29 April she attacked the Italian sailing vessel San Giusto off Ras Hilal: in the immediate area was a small convoy of 3 German MFPs, escorted by an Italian Cr.42 biplane. As the sub was engaged in the attack against the sailer, she was dive-bombed and sunk by the plane. This is confirmed by witnesses on board the MFPs, any notion the TB Pegaso may have been involved is incorrect.

www.uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/3538.html

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Urge_(N17)

www.sportesport.it/wrecksLB025.htm

 

N R Drury (Church and Park Memorial)

 

Name: DRURY, NORMAN RICHARD

Rank: Corporal (W.Op.)

Service: Royal Air Force

Unit Text: 220 Sqdn.

Age: 23

Date of Death: 11/02/1940

Service No: 537272

Additional information: Son of Ernest Richard and Edith Ellen Drury, of North Walsham. Grave/Memorial Reference: Sec. Y.Y.Y. Grave 1. Cemetery: NORTH WALSHAM NEW CEMETERY

CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2764109

 

(Picture of headstone)

www.flickr.com/photos/43688219@N00/2825563963/

 

The winter of 1939-40 was a very severe one. On this night, Sunday the 11th of February 1940, three Hudson's took off from Thornaby for ops to Heligoland. It was a cold night and snow covered the hills. The lead aircraft failed to gain enough height on take off, probably due it icing on the aircrafts wings. It flew very low over Great Ayton and crashed into the first piece of high ground it came to, the North York Moors. The aircraft flew into the moor just below a stone wall before travelling through the wall and then onto the hill top near to Captain Cooks Monument, above Great Ayton. The crash ripped the underside of the aircraft off and it ploughed its way across the snow covered moor for a short before coming to rest in a small wood on its side. One witness who I have spoke to recalls it had one wing broken off and the remaining wing which was still attached to the main fuselage, was left sticking up in the air. Of the four crew on board, three were killed whilst only the gunner survived. After being knocked out for a while, he came too and with two injured legs, he struggled down the hillside to get help at a nearby farm close to Easby, taking a rest in old mine buildings on the way down. It was later found out that icing to the wings had been responsible for the aircraft failing to gain enough height. The Court of Inquiry states: "Ice on windscreen caused loss of visability" was the reason for the crash although it is unclear why they thought this

www.allenby.info/aircraft/planes/40/n7294.html

 

11/02/1940: Patrol

Type: Lockheed Hudson I

Serial number: N7294, NR-EOperation: Patrol

Lost: 11/02/1940

Flying Officer (Pilot) Tom M. Parker, RAF 39334, 220 Sqdn., age unknown, 11/02/1940, Thornaby-on-Tees Cemetery, UK

Sergeant (Pilot) Harold F. Bleksley, RAF 516366, 220 Sqdn., age 24, 11/02/1940, Bristol (Canford) Cemetery, UK

Corporal (W.Op.) Norman R. Drury, RAF 537272, 220 Sqdn., age 23, 11/02/1940, North Walsham New Cemetery, UK

LAC Barker - injured

Took off from Thornaby at 04.10 hrs. windscreen iced up after take-off and the Hudson crashed a few minutes later almost at the summit of Cook Monument Hill near Great Ayton. LAC Barker was the only member of the crew not killed and escaped with concussion and severe cuts. He managed to scramble down the hill to a farmhouse which he reached at about 08.00 hrs.

Sources: CWGC and Ross McNeill, 'Royal Air Force Coastal Command Losses: Aircraft and Crew Losses 1939-1941 v. 1', Midland Publishing, 2003

www.epibreren.com/ww2/raf/220_squadron.html#1 102

 

Tom MacKinlay Parker

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?cas ualty=2414207

Harold Francis Bleksley

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?cas ualty=2450648

There are pictures of them both here, along with details of the fate of the Gunner, Atholl Barkerwww.yorkshire-aircraft.co.uk/aircraft/planes/ 40/n7294.html

 

J W Edwards (Church and Park Memorial)

 

Name: EDWARDS, JOHN WILLIAM

Rank: Flight Sergeant (Pilot)

Service: Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve

Unit Text: 213 Sqdn.

Date of Death: 25/06/1942

Service No: 961547

Additional information: Son of Frederick William and Bessie Charity Edwards, of North Walsham, Norfolk.

Grave/Memorial Reference: I, E, 13. Cemetery: CASERTA WAR CEMETERY

CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2067169

 

Flight Sergeant Edwards was initially posted as missing on the 22/6

213squadronassociation.homestead.com/Secondworldwar.html#...

 

The Hurricane, perhaps more than any other aircraft, will always be associated with 213 Squadron. The Squadron operated this remarkable aircraft throughout the withdrawal of the BEF from France, over Dunkirk, throughout the Battle of Britain, and during the Syrian Campaign. Switching to the Hurricane Mk. IIc in March 1942 for the air battles over North Africa, culminating in El Alamein and then Operation Chocolate, it was finally flown on convoy protection and air defence operations until February 1944.

213squadronassociation.homestead.com/Secondworldwar.html#...

 

There’s some speculation on what happened to Flight Sergeant Edwards on this forum.

www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7290&highl...

A further possibility - was this the date his body was found, and so its become enshrined in official records that this is the date of death.

 

F R W Frostick (Church and Park Memorial)

 

Name: FROSTICK, FRANK ROBERT WILFRED

Rank: Leading Aircraftman

Service: Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve

Age: 22

Date of Death: 20/02/1943

Service No: 1463569

Additional information: Son of Frederick John and Mabel Elizabeth Frostick, of North Walsham, Norfolk, England.

Grave/Memorial Reference: R.A.F. Plot. Grave 12. Cemetery: TERRELL (OAKLAND) MEMORIAL PARK

CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2720051

 

Terrell (Oakland) Memorial Park contains a plot of 20 Commonwealth burials of the Second World War, all airmen who died while training in Texas at the Basic Flying Training School (1 BFTS).

www.cwgc.org/search/cemetery_details.aspx?cemetery=207319...

 

On February 20, 1943 a British training flight departed its airbase at Terrell, Texas—known as the No. 1 British Flying Training School—en route for the No. 3 British Flying Training School at Miami, Oklahoma.

The students were flying a formation of twelve training aircraft known as AT-6s. The AT-6—an acronym for "Advanced Trainer"—was first manufactured in 1930. It was a two-seater, one-engine trainer plane.

Their objective was to complete a low-level, cross-country training flight. Poor weather hampered the flight, however, particularly as they approached the Kiamichi Mountains of Pushmataha County, Oklahoma. According to local residents the weather was unfavorable. One, Lee Stone, described ground conditions as very foggy, with a rainy mist. Another, Calvin Moyer, who was attempting to hunt hogs, stopped due to the fog, which made it hard to see.

The pilots encountered similar conditions in the air—and had not been briefed to expect them, or what to do if encountering them. Several planes turned back to Terrell, but others continued. Twelve pilots eventually landed at Miami as planned, but three planes encountered serious difficulties.

 

One plane made a successful wheels down landing on the valley. .

 

Things took a tragic turn for the worse regarding the other two planes, which found themselves on a path several miles to the east, taking them over the rural community of Moyers, Oklahoma, behind which the mountains rise precipitously.

The pilots successfully cleared Rodney Mountain (764 feet), then passing over Moyers. Immediately behind Moyers is White Rock Mountain (1,023 feet), and one AT-6 crashed into its steep southern slope. The plane slid into a tree, killing its crew. W.E. McMahan and other local would-be rescuers who ascended the mountain believed the fliers would have lived had the plane not impacted the tree. They also believed the pilot, Vincent Henry Cockman, 20, of Ilford, England, had lived for a short time after the crash as his head was turned to face the body of his navigator, Frank Frostick, 21, of North Walsham, England.

The third missing plane managed to pass above White Rock Mountain but apparently lost control, spiraling down into the face of Big Mountain (1,145 feet). Big Mountain, which marks the southern end of the rugged and geologically significant Johns Valley, is between the rural communities of Moyers and Kosoma.

The third wreck took longer to locate, and was not found until the next day. Piloted by Mike Hosier, 19, of Swindon, England and navigated by Maurice Jenson, 19, of Bournemouth, England, the plane came straight down into the mountain,

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AT6_Monument

 

B Gardiner (Church and Park Memorial)

 

Name: GARDINER, BENJAMIN

Regiment: Royal Norfolk Regiment

Unit Text: 6th Bn.

Age: 22

Date of Death: between 25/01/1942 and 26/01/1942

Service No: 5774736

Additional information: Son of Benjamin and Violet Gardiner; husband of Eileen Margaret Gardiner, of Hempnall, Norfolk.

Grave/Memorial Reference: Column 50. Memorial: SINGAPORE MEMORIAL

CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2131778

 

Private Gardiner died during the hectic and improvised defense of Singapore,

www.britain-at-war.org.uk/WW2/royal_norfolks_in_far_east/...

 

H J Goodchild (Church and Park Memorial)

 

Name: GOODCHILD, HARRY JOHN

Rank: Warrant Officer

Service: Royal Air Force

Unit Text: 33 Sqdn.

Age: 24

Date of Death: 04/03/1941

Service No: 517435

Awards: D F M

Additional information: Son of Harry John and Leah Elizabeth Goodchild, of North Walsham, Norfolk.

Grave/Memorial Reference: Column 241. Memorial: ALAMEIN MEMORIAL

CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=1809977

(Brother of Thomas below)

 

During the morning on 4 March five Italian warships identified as two cruisers and three destroyers, sortied down the Albanian coast and commenced shelling the coastal road near Himare and Port Palermo, under cover of a strong fighter escort of G.50bis and CR42s from the 24o Gruppo C.T. The flotilla actually comprised of the destroyer Augusto Riboty, the torpedo boat Andromeda and three MAS boats.

An immediate strike was ordered by RAF units, 15 Blenheims being ordered off. Nine 211 Squadron aircraft and five from 84 Squadron (a sixth failed to start) were led to the area by Squadron Leaders Gordon-Finlayson and Jones, escorted by ten Hurricanes, followed by l7 Gladiators, l4 from ll2 Squadron and three from 80 Squadron. Four 80 Squadron Hurricanes led by Flight Lieutenant 'Pat' Pattle flew on the starboard flank of the bombers, with four from 33 Squadron to port, and two more above as ‘weavers’. At 15:00 the warships were seen ten miles south of Valona, and the Blenheims went in to bomb in line astern; several near misses were seen, but no hits were recorded.

At this point six G.50bis dived on the Hurricanes, shooting down V7801 in flames; 24-year-old Warrant Officer Harry J. Goodchild DFM (RAF No. 517435) was killed.

surfcity.kund.dalnet.se/commonwealth_cullen.htm

 

www.historyofwar.org/air/units/RAF/33_wwII.html

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marmaduke_Pattle

www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/71/a4196171.shtml

 

He gets a brief mention here while still a Flight Sergeant flying with the squadron in North Africa

surfcity.kund.dalnet.se/italy_damiani.htm

 

T W Goodchild (Church and Park Memorial)

 

Name: GOODCHILD, THOMAS WILLIAM

Rank: Flying Officer

Service: Royal Air Force Unit Text: 224 Sqdn.

Age: 24

Date of Death: 19/03/1946

Service No: 57062

Additional information: Son of Harry John and Mary Elizabeth Goodchild, of North Walsham, Norfolk.

Grave/Memorial Reference: Panel 285. Memorial: RUNNYMEDE MEMORIAL

CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=1798529

(Brother of Harry above)

 

On the 19th March 1946 an Airspeed Oxford, X7282 was lost off St Eval, Cornwall leading to the death of its one occupant. There is nothing as yet to link this with the death of Flying Officer Goodchild.

aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=25311

 

E Green (Church and Park Memorial)

 

Most probably, (although there is another individual from Sheringham)

Name: GREEN, ERIC WILFRED

Rank: Private

Regiment: Royal Norfolk Regiment

Unit Text: 5th Bn.

Age: 25 Date of Death: 14/04/1945

Service No: 5775033

Grave/Memorial Reference: 26. C. 18. Cemetery: KRANJI WAR CEMETERY

CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2228242

 

Eric features on the Roll of Honour for the nearby village of Antingham

www.roll-of-honour.com/Norfolk/Antingham.html

 

O J Griffin (Church and Park Memorial)

 

Name: GRIFFIN, OSWALD JAMES

Rank: Lance Serjeant

Regiment: Royal Norfolk Regiment

Unit Text: 5th Bn.

Age: 26 Date of Death: between 14/02/1942 and 15/02/1942

Service No: 5770986

Additional information: Husband of Alice Charlotte Griffin, of North Walsham, Norfolk. Grave/Memorial Reference: Column 47. Memorial: SINGAPORE MEMORIAL

CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2132524

 

Sergeant Griffin died during the hectic and improvised defense of Singapore,

www.britain-at-war.org.uk/WW2/royal_norfolks_in_far_east/...

 

L H Guyton (Church and Park Memorial)

 

Name: GUYTON, LESLIE HARCOURT

Rank: Lance Corporal

Regiment/Service: Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers

Date of Death: 29/10/1942

Service No: 7646262

Grave/Memorial Reference: III. D. 20. Cemetery: EL ALAMEIN WAR CEMETERY

CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2094342

 

E A Heath (Church and Park Memorial)

 

Name: HEATH, EDWIN ALFRED

Rank: Private

Regiment/Service: Welch Regiment

Unit Text: 2nd Bn.

Age: 20

Date of Death: 20/03/1945

Service No: 14392489

Additional information: Son of Doris Heath, of North Walsham, Norfolk.

Grave/Memorial Reference: 3. B. 19. Cemetery: MAYNAMATI WAR CEMETERY

CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=1057068

 

Before the war Maynamati (Bangladesh) was a hamlet of a few dozen huts, but during the war a large military camp was established there. Several ordnance depots and a number of military hospitals, both British and Indian, were in the area, including Nos. 14 and 150 British General Hospitals; and the majority of the burials in Maynamati War Cemetery were from the various hospitals. Graves from isolated places in the surrounding country, and some from as far afield as Burma, were moved into the cemetery by the Army Graves Service and later on by the Commission; and it was found necessary to transfer also graves from small cemeteries at Dacca, Faridpur, Paksay, Saidpur, Santahan and Sirajgany, where they could not be maintained.

www.cwgc.org/search/cemetery_details.aspx?cemetery=107700...

 

K Hedge (Church and Park Memorial)

 

Only match

Name: HEDGE, KENNETH GEORGE

Rank: Private

Regiment: Royal Norfolk Regiment

Unit Text: 5th Bn.

Age: 27

Date of Death: 19/01/1944

Service No: 5777094

Additional information: Son of Charles and Ellen Hedge, of Stowmarket, Suffolk. Grave/Memorial Reference: 2. E. 1. Cemetery: CHUNGKAI WAR CEMETERY

CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2353000

 

If this is the right individual, then he would most likely have been matched into Japanese captivity following the fall of Singapore in February 1942.

 

There is a John Clem Hedge , an RAF Air Gunner from the nearby village of Edingthorpe

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2763556

 

R J Jay (Church and Park Memorial)

 

Only match

Name: JAY, REGINALD JAMES

Rank: Marine

Regiment/Service: Royal Marines

Unit Text: H.M.S. Glorious.

Age: 33

Date of Death: 08/06/1940

Service No: PLY/22128

Grave/Memorial Reference: Panel 43, Column 2. Memorial: PLYMOUTH NAVAL MEMORIAL

CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2481961

 

The loss of the Glorious

www.warship.org/no11994.htm

www.scharnhorst-class.dk/scharnhorst/history/scharnjuno_g...

www.fleetairarmarchive.net/ships/glorious.html

 

There has been a lot of questions asked about how the Glorious came to be sank, but perhaps some insight is provided by this anecdote of a daughter of one of the crew members.

 

In April 1940 my mother received a telegram, saying that the ship was putting into Greenock for a few days. Immediately she got on the train to Glasgow so that they could be together, and my father could see his daughter for the first time. According to my mother, he was delighted — and said that “if a sailor came courting his daughter he would chase him off!” Too much time away from the family, in his opinion, and as all the Edwards men, for several generations, had been in the Royal Navy, he spoke from the heart. My mother told me later that during those few days he had a sense of foreboding, as did other crew members, knowing where they were going. The engines of the Glorious were ‘held together with string and sealing wax’. If they were under attack, the ship had no speed and in any case the hatches would be battened down.

www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/93/a6357693.shtml

 

W P D Johnstone (Church and Park Memorial)

 

Only match

Name: JOHNSTONE, WILLIAM PLUNKETT DUNNING

Rank: Petty Officer

Service: Royal Navy Unit

Text: H.M. Submarine Usurper

Date of Death: 12/10/1943

Service No: C/JX 151C79

Additional information: Son of Jack Sidney and Ella May Johnstone; husband of Dorothy Yvonne Johnstone, of Aldridge, Staffordshire.

Grave/Memorial Reference: 68, 1. Memorial: CHATHAM NAVAL MEMORIAL

CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2469220

 

Usurper is recorded on the Naval net site as lost on the 3rd October 1943 and Petty Officer Johnstone is included on the list of those down as “Missing presumed killed”.

www.naval-history.net/xDKCas1943-10OCT.htm

 

Usurper had left Algiers on 24 September 1943 with instruction to patrol off La Spezia. On 3 October 1943 she was ordered to move to the Gulf of Genoa. No further contact was made and she failed to return to Algiers on 12 October 1943 as expected. The German anti-submarine vessel UJ-2208/Alfred reported attacking a submarine in the Gulf of Genoa on 3 October 1943 and it is believed that this may have been the Usurper.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Usurper_(P56)

www.uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/3561.html

www.sportesport.it/wrecksLI044.htm

 

J H Kidman(Church and Park Memorial)

 

Name: KIDMAN, JAMES HERSERT

Rank: Sergeant (Air Gnr.)

Service: Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve

Unit Text: 622 Sqdn.

Age: 19

Date of Death: 20/01/1944

Service No: 1396509

Additional information: Son of Joseph and Lydia Kidman, of North Walsham, Norfolk. Grave/Memorial Reference: 17. E. 12. Cemetery: BECKLINGEN WAR CEMETERY

CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2199267

 

Lancaster R5915 Information

Type...................................Lancaster

Serial Number...................R5915

Squadron..........................622

X1D...................................GI-P

Operation..........................Berlin

Date 1...............................20th January 1944

Date 2...............................21st January 1944

 

Further Information

"Serial Range R5842 - R5917 This aircraft was one of 100 Manchesters which were ordered from Metro-Vick in 1939 and built as 43 Manchester 1s and 57 Lancaster Mk.1s transported from Mar41 to Aug42 to A.V.Roe for final assembly and flight testing. R5915 was delivered to No.9 Sqdn 20Sep42, to No.97 Sqdn 26Dec42, to 166CU 15Mar43, to No.622 Sqdn 8Jan44. Took part in the following key Operations: With No.9 Sqdn as WS-X, Wismar 23/24Sep42; Wismar 1/2Oct42; Krefeld 2/3Oct42-aborted; Kiel 6/7Oct42; Cologne 15/16Oct42; Le Creusot 17Oct42-Daylight; Milan 24Oct42-Daylight; Genoa 6/7Nov42; Turin 8/9Dec42; Turin 9/10Dec42; Cloppenburg 17/18Dec42; Duisburg 20/21Dec42; Munich 21/22Dec42; Gardening La Rochelle 29/30Dec42; With No.97 Sqdn as OF-Q, Hamburg 30/31Jan43; Lorient 13/14Feb43; Berlin 1/2Mar43; Nuremburg 8/9Mar43-aborted; To No.1660CU. With No.622 Sqdn as GI-P, Brunswick 14/15Jan44; Berlin 20/21Jan44-Lost. When lost this aircraft had a total of 693 hours. R5915 was one of two No.619 Sqdn Lancasters lost on this operation. See: R5483. Airborne 1651 20Jan44 from Mildenhall. Outbound at 22,000 feet when hit by Flak in the vicinity of Hamburg-Luneburg which set fire to the starboard wing. Exploded and crashed between Havekost and Rumstedt, 5 km ENE of Bad Bevensen. Those killed were buried at Rumstedt, five are now buried in Becklingen War cemetery while Panel 214 of the Runnymede Memorial commemorates Sgt Woodcock.

 

F/S R.A.Deacon KIA

Sgt N.Butler (P2) KIA

Sgt J.B.Strange KIA

Sgt P.J.Irwin PoW

F/L K.R.Miller PoW

Sgt A.W.Woodcock KIA

Sgt J.Cunningham KIA

Sgt J.H.Kidman KIA

 

Sgt P.J.Irwin was wounded but interned in Camps L6/357, PoW No.923. F/L K.R.Miller was interned in Camp L3, PoW No.3378. "

www.lostbombers.co.uk/bomber.php?id=1217

 

O Leeder (Church and Park Memorial)

 

Name: LEEDER, OLAF WILLIAM

Rank: Corporal

Regiment: Royal Norfolk Regiment

Unit Text: 5th Bn.

Age: 28

Date of Death: 22/01/1942

Service No: 5774599

Grave/Memorial Reference: Coll. grave 34. E. 1-8. Cemetery: KRANJI WAR CEMETERY

CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2228808

 

Corporal Leeder died during the hectic and improvised defense of Singapore,

www.britain-at-war.org.uk/WW2/royal_norfolks_in_far_east/...

 

J R Mace (Church and Park Memorial)

 

Name: MACE, JOHN RUST

Rank: Sergeant (Flt. Engr.)

Service: Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve

Unit Text: 158 Sqdn.

Age: 29

Date of Death: 14/02/1943

Service No: 1225368

Additional information: Son of Frederick and Louisa Mace, of North Walsham, husband of Kate Louisa Mace, of Brundall.

Grave/Memorial Reference: Sec. S.S.S. Grave 33. Cemetery: NORTH WALSHAM NEW CEMETERY

CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2764111

 

(Separate headstone picture)

www.flickr.com/photos/43688219@N00/2826397776/

 

1225368 Sergeant J R Mace

Flight Engineer

Royal Air Force

14th February 1943

Age 29

 

Halifax DT696 Information

Type..................................................Halifax

Serial Number................................DT696

Squadron........................................158

X1D...................................................NP-O

Operation........................................Cologne

Date 1..............................................14th February 1943

Date 2..............................................15th February 1943

Further Information

"Serial Range DT665 - DT705. 41 Halifax Mk.11. Part of a batch of 250 HP59 Halifax Mk.11. Delivered by Handley Page (Cricklewood & Radlett) between 3Sep42 and 23Oct42. DT695 was one of two 158 Sqdn Halifaxes lost during this operation. See: DT694.

 

Airborne 1816 14Feb43 from Rufforth. Cause of loss not established. Crashed 1830 at Stillingfleet, 4 miles NW of Riccall, Yorkshire. Just before the crash, the bomb load was jettisoned near the village of Appleton Roebuck. P/O Herbert's brother, Richard Vivian Herbert, was also KIA. Sgt Cains is buried in Harrogate (Stonefall) Cemetery. The other were taken to their home towns and villages.

 

P/O G.B.Herbert KIA (Gerald Bevill Herbert)

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2437299

 

Sgt J.R.Mace KIA

 

Sgt A.B.Langeland KIA (Arthur Bruce Langeland - buried Staines)

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2432868

 

P/O R.Flood KIA (Reginald Flood - buried Staveley)

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2702576

 

Sgt S.W.Cains RNZAF KIA (Sidney William Cains - buried Harrogate)

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2623429

 

Sgt D.Booker KIA (Dennis Booker - buried Wynbunbury)

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2736421

 

Sgt W.Ruth KIA (William Ruth - buried Barrow in Furness)

www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2697458

 

www.lostbombers.co.uk/bomber.php?id=9205

 

Bit more about the crash, and a dedication that was made on the 14th Feb.2008 to the crew can be found here:

www.yorkshire-aircraft.co.uk/aircraft/yorkshire/dt696.html

www.abex.org.uk/?p=40

listsearches.rootsweb.com/th/read/YORKSGEN/2008-02/120265...

 

And some additional information about crew members

pages.quicksilver.net.nz/l.rwilloughby/WWII/WWII_RNZAF/B-...

 

www.thepress.co.uk/news/analysis/readersletters/4141657.C...

 

A D Mackenzie(Church and Park Memorial)

 

Name: MACKENZIE, ALAN DUNCAN

Rank: Leading Aircraftman

Service: Royal Air Force

Unit Text: 22 Sqdn.

Age: 24

Date of Death: 26/05/1940

Service No: 623407

Additional information: Son of Finlay and Maud Ethel MacKenzie, of North Walsham, Norfolk.

Grave/Memorial Reference: Panel 23. Memorial: RUNNYMEDE MEMORIAL

CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=1079486

No match on Lost Bombers

 

25-26/05/1940: Gardening (mine laying)

 

Type: .............................Bristol Beaufort I

Serial number:...............L4450, OA-F

Operation: ....................Gardening

Lost: .............................26/05/1940

Wing Commander Harry M. Mellor, RAF 16097, 22 Sqdn., age 37, 26/05/1940, missing

Flying Officer Frederick R. Jamieson, RAF 37855, 22 Sqdn., age 27, 26/05/1940, missing

Leading Aircraftman Alan D. MacKenzie, RAF 623407, 22 Sqdn., age 24, 26/05/1940, missing

Pilot Officer Horace J. Cook, RAFVR, 22 Sqdn., age 22, 26/05/1940, missing

Took off 25/05/1940 23.00 hrs from North Coates. Lost without trace into the North Sea, off Heligoland, Germany. The crew are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.

 

Sources: CWGC and Ross McNeill, Coastal Command Losses of the Second World War, 1939-1941

www.epibreren.com/ww2/raf/XXII_squadron.html#2605

 

G Mason +(Church and Park Memorial)

 

48 possibles on CWGC, but no obvious match.

 

R Miller on Church and R Millar on the Park Memorial

 

No obvious match under Miller or Millar unless possibly

Name: MILLAR, ROBERT

Rank: Private

Regiment Royal Norfolk Regiment

Age: 21

Date of Death: 16/07/1944

Service No: 14601165

Additional information: Son of Mr. and Mrs. John Millar; husband of Dorothy Lucy Charlotte Millar, of Bromley, Kent.

Grave/Memorial Reference: Sec. G.G. Coll. Grave 328. Screen Wall. Panel 4. Cemetery: LEWISHAM (HITHER GREEN) CEMETERY

CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2429267

 

F Moore (Church and Park Memorial)

 

Name: MOORE, FREDERICK JAMES

Rank: Marine

Regiment/Service: Royal Marines

Unit Text: H.M.S. Barham.

Age: 25

Date of Death: 25/11/1941

Service No: PO/X 2290

Additional information: Son of Agnes Moore, of North Walsham, Norfolk.

Grave/Memorial Reference: Panel 59, Column 1. Memorial: PORTSMOUTH NAVAL MEMORIAL

CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2657524

 

HMS Barham

 

24th - Took part with QUEEN ELIZABETH , VALIANT and screen of eight Fleet destroyers for provision of cover to cruisers of 7th and 15th Squadrons carrying out search for military convoys on passage to Benghazi (Operation ME7). (Note: cruisers were deployed as Force B – See Naval Staff History).

25th - Under constant supervision by enemy aircraft. Under attack by U331 and hit by three torpedoes which struck between funnel and X turret on port side. Ship sank in position 32.34N 26.24N within 4 minutes after the magazine detonated. (On VALIANT, the closest ship to BARHAM when she was hit, was the Gaumont News cameraman John Turner who shot 2 minutes of movie film, all he had left in the camera, of the sinking. This film became one of the most poignant shot in the whole war)

Only 450 survived from the complement of about 1312. Note: At the subsequent Board of Inquiry it was suggested that the fires started caused the explosion of the 4in and 15in magazines. All internal communications failed and the speed of the development of a list made it impossible for many to escape.

www.naval-history.net/xGM-Chrono-01BB-Barham.htm

www.youtube.com/watch?v=TD0d_J4y_s4

 

L M Neville (Church and Park Memorial)

 

Name: NEVILLE, LEONARD MATTHEW

Rank: Private

Regiment: Royal Norfolk Regiment

Unit Text: 5th Bn.

Age: 23

Date of Death: 21/09/1944

Service No: 5775035

Additional information: Son of Matthew and Annie Neville; husband of Olive Edna Blanche Neville, of North Walsham, Norfolk.

Grave/Memorial Reference: Column 52. Memorial: SINGAPORE MEMORIAL

CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2140353

One of the many who would die as a Prisoner of War of the Japanese.

 

G D Paterson (Church and Park Memorial)

 

Name: PATERSON, GORDON DAVID

Rank: Leading Aircraftman (Pilot U/T.)

Service: Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve

Age: 19

Date of Death: 22/12/1942

Service No: 1335358

Additional information: Son of William Wallace Paterson and Gertrude Florence Paterson, of North Walsham.

Grave/Memorial Reference: Sec. I.I.I. Grave 5. Cemetery: NORTH WALSHAM NEW CEMETERY

CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2764114

(see separate picture of headstone)

www.flickr.com/photos/43688219@N00/2826401730/in/photostr...

 

On a thread on the RAF Commands Forum, LAC Paterson is noted as KOAS, (Killed on active service - frequently notes an aircrash), and that his death was registered at Sleaford, Lincs. One of the posters speculates it might be linked to the death of a Sergeant (Pilot) George Benson who is recorded as Died of Wounds or Injuries received on active service, and who was also registered at Sleaford, Lincs.

www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7566&highl...

 

D C Punt (Church and Park Memorial)

 

Name: PUNT, DOUGLAS CLEMENT

Rank: Aircraftman 2nd Class

Service: Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve

Age: 19

Date of Death: 06/07/1941

Service No: 1233814

Additional information: Son of Herbert and May Dora Punt, of North Walsham.

Grave/Memorial Reference: Sec. N.N.N. Grave 5. Cemetery: NORTH WALSHAM NEW CEMETERY

CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2764116

See separate picture of headstone

www.flickr.com/photos/43688219@N00/2826399908/

 

AC2 Punt is recorded as died on active service (DOAS). His death is registered in Westmoreland South.

www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?t=31 53&highl...

DOAS I believe would tend to indicate natural causes, illness or non-work related accident

 

A G Pycroft (Church and Park Memorial)

 

Name: PYCROFT, ARTHUR GEORGE

Rank: Leading Aircraftman (Pilot U/T)

Service: Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve

Age: 21

Date of Death: 03/02/1944

Service No: 1285550

Additional information: Son of Arthur John and Daisy Pycroft, of North Walsham, Norfolk.

Grave/Memorial Reference: Eur. War Graves Plot. Grave 131. Cemetery: HARARE (PIONEER) CEMETERY

CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2617455

 

For some background on the Empire Air Training Scheme operation in Rhodesia, (now Zimbabwe) see this article in Flight magazine.

www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1953/1953%20-%201514...

Harare was previously known as Salisbury.

 

L Reynolds (Church and Park Memorial)

 

23 Possibles, including two from Norfolk and one Norfolk Regiment man, but no direct link.

 

D Sendall (Church and Park Memorial)

 

Name: SENDALL, DERECK EDWARD

Rank: Gunner

Regiment: Royal Artillery

Unit Text: 2 Airlanding Anti-Tank Bty.

Age: 19

Date of Death: 20/09/1944

Service No: 14566572

Additional information: Son of Edward and Victoria Kate Sendall, of White Horse Common, Norfolk.

Grave/Memorial Reference: 26. A. 1. Cemetery: ARNHEM OOSTERBEEK WAR CEMETERY

CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2661546

 

His headstone can be seen here

www.paradata.org.uk/people/dereck-edward-sendall

www.marketgarden.com/database/roll1/view.php?id=77

www.online-begraafplaatsen.nl/zerken.asp?command=showgraf...

 

It was 2nd Air-Landing Light Anti-Aircraft Battery, RA, and not the 1st, which took part in Operation Market Garden, as part of the Airborne Forward Delivery Airfield Group (AFDAG). This Battery had been raised under 6th Airborne Division in July 1943, but in March 1944 left the Division and was placed under direct command of HQ 1st British Airborne Corps as "Corps Troops," to be attached as required to either Division. As it was, it never served again with 1st Airborne Div but with 6th Airborne in Normandy and on the Rhine Crossing.

www.wwiireenacting.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=2...

www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?3957-Data-Stirli...

hmvf.co.uk/forumvb/showthread.php?4686-Hartenstein-Airbor...

 

A Sexton (Church and Park Memorial)

 

Possibly

Name: SEXTON, WALTER ARNOLD

Rank: Private

Regiment: Royal Norfolk Regiment

Unit Text: 2nd Bn.

Age: 34

Date of Death: 28/05/1944

Service No: 5775020

Additional information: Son of Mr. and Mrs. W. A. Sexton, of North Walsham, Norfolk; husband of Muriel Joan Sexton, of Woolmer Green, Hertfordshire.

Grave/Memorial Reference: Face 6. Memorial: RANGOON MEMORIAL

CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2524992

 

The 2nd Norfolks had helped to relieve the siege of Kohima, and then took part in the battles to drive the Japanese from the surrounding heights. Although this would be achieved by the 29th, the Monsoon had broken, and dysentery had become a major problem, causing as many deaths as battle.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kohima

www.britain-at-war.org.uk/html/body_randle.htm

 

E W Starling (Church and Park Memorial)

 

Name: STARLING, ERNEST WILLIAM

Rank: Sergeant (Flt. Engr.)

Service: Royal Air Force

Unit Text: 463 (R.A.A.F.) Sqdn.

Age: 23

Date of Death: 29/07/1944

Service No: 623359

Additional information: Son of Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Starling, of Swafield, Norfolk.

Grave/Memorial Reference: Coll. grave 1A. B. 7-13. Cemetery: CHOLOY WAR CEMETERY

CWGC www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2319971

 

Lancaster ME615 Information

Type.............................Lancaster

Serial Number..............ME615

Squadron.....................463

X1D.............................JO-V

Operation...................Stuttgart

Date 1........................28th July 1944

Date 2........................29th July 1944

 

Further Information

ME615 was delivered to 463 Sqdn 21Jan44. Also recorded wearing the ID JO-Z Took part in the following key Operations: As JO-Z,Berlin 27/28Jan44-flown by Sqdn CO, W/C R.Kingsford-Smith; Berlin 30/31Jan44; Berlin 15/16Feb44; Leipzig 19/20Feb44; Schweinfurt 24/25Feb44; Stuttgart 15/16Mar44; Nuremburg 30/31Mar44; Schweinfurt 26/27Apr44; Mailly-le-Camp 3/4May44; Duisburg 21/22May44; Stuttgart 28/29Jul-Lost.

 

When lost this aircraft had a total of 364 hours.

 

Airborne 2224 28Jul44 from Waddington. All are buried in the Choloy War Cemetery, France. F/L Moorhead was 463 Sqdn Gunnery Leader.

 

F/O J.A.H.Wilkinson RAAF KIA

Sgt E.W.Starling KIA

W/O N.F.Gelder RAAF KIA

F/S F.E.Fischer RAAF KIA

F/S B.Reece RAAF KIA

F/S M.W.Harrison RAAF KIA

F/L B.Moorhead DFC KIA "

www.lostbombers.co.uk/bomber.php?id=6795

 

This aircraft is recorded as crashed 3 km S Rohrbach-les-Bitche

www.rafinfo.org.uk/BCWW2Losses/1944.htm

 

Another web-site mentions in passing that the town has a small monument to the crew of a Lancaster that crashed on this day,

translate.google.co.uk/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&u=ht...

 

L G Turner on Church memorial + or L C Turner on the Park Memorial

 

Name: TURNER, LESLIE GEORGE

Rank: Private

Regiment/: Suffolk Regiment

Age: 23

Date of Death: 27/04/1940

Service No: 5829939 Additional information: Son of Agnes Turner, of North Walsham; husband of Mary Turner, of Spa Common.

Grave/Memorial Reference: Sec. Y.Y.Y. Grave 14. Cemetery: NORTH WALSHAM NEW CEMETERY

CWGC