The Advertiser December 7, 2016:

  

A SOUTH Australian racing car champion has become the first person found guilty of neglecting a state heritage-listed property in a landmark court ruling heralded by heritage advocates.

 

Philip Leslie March, of St Peters, faces a maximum fine of $50,000 after he was on Wednesday found criminally responsible for defying a State Government order issued more than six years ago to repair the decaying 133-year-old Bells Plumbers Shop at College Park.

 

It was the first time a criminal prosecution has been pursued against the owner of a heritage property under the Heritage Places Act.

 

The Government served Mr March, 56, and his company Hamilton Hill Pty Ltd with the state’s first heritage protection order in October 2010, compelling him to repair the Payneham Rd shop, which he bought in 1998 but has languished in disrepair following an explosion and fire in 2008.

 

The Environment Resources and Development Court heard on Wednesday that Mr March — a former national sprintcar and speedcar champion — had transferred the property in 2012 to a Panamanian registered company Omega Exploration in what the prosecution submitted was a “sham” arrangement to absolve his responsibility to comply with the order.

 

Mr March, in response to questioning from Judge Jack Costello, said he transferred the property to “get rid of this headache” and because he “wanted the property gone”.

 

He said after the transfer went through he was unable to gain access to the property and had made repeated attempts to contact Environment Minister Ian Hunter and Attorney General John Rau’s office to “try and fix the dilemma.”.

 

In his judgment Judge Costello said he was satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the act imposed a duty on Mr March to comply with the protection order.

 

“I’m equally satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the actions of the defendants in entering into the transaction to transfer the property were clearly designed to avoid the defendants having to comply with the order, so putting it beyond their power to so comply,” he said.

 

He said the Heritage Places Act did not “contemplate” transferring a property as a defence for not complying with a protection order.

 

The Bell’s Plumbers Shop, opposite the Maid & Magpie, was listed as a State Heritage Place in 1985 as a fine example of Victorian-era property.

 

The State Government launched criminal proceedings against Mr March in January a year after a separate ERD court hearing quashed his appeal against the heritage protection order.

 

National Trust of SA president Norman Etherington applauded the court ruling.

 

“Without effective means of enforcing compliance with the Act heritage protection is meaningless,” he said.

 

“Too many owners have in the past tried to get away with demolition by neglect; they should no longer expect to succeed.”

 

Mr March declined to comment outside court. Judge Cole will hear submissions on Mr March’s penalty in February.

 

■ 1998 — Philip Leslie March and Hamilton Hill purchase the property from the Bell family.

 

■ 2008 — Explosion causes estimated $300,000 damage

 

■ Oct. 2010 — Former Environment and Conservation Minister Paul Caica issues state’s first heritage protection order against Mr March and his company, ordering them to repair the building.

 

■ November 2010 — The order is suspended pending an appeal by Mr March

 

■ February 2012 — Mr March transfers ownership of shop to Omega Exploration in return for a 5 per cent share holding in an associated company.

 

■ December 2013 — Mr March’s appeal is quashed

 

■ January 2016 — State Government launches criminal prosecution against Mr March alleging he has failed to abide by the control order

 

■ Wednesday — Mr March is found guilty in the Environment Resources and Development Court of breaching the Heritage Places Act

  

Washington, D.C. (est. 1790, pop. ~690,000)

 

• Ford’s Theatre, site of assassination of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln

 

• theater’s site previously occupied by First Baptist Church of Washington (1834) [photo] • services held until 1859 • John Thompson Ford, Baltimore theatrical manager, leased the church bldg., converted it into a theatre • inaugurated Dec., 1861 as The "George Christy Opera House," presenting popular blackface troupe, Christy’s Minstrels

 

• following their final performance 27 Feb., 1862, further renovations made for presentation of theatrical (rather than musical) plays • 3 wks. later venue, renamed “Ford’s Atheneum,” entered Washington’s Civil War theater scene • presented excellent companies & first rate stars • Pres. Lincoln first attended Ford's on 28 May, 1862 • venue was profitable until the evening of 30 Dec, 1862, when it burned

 

• 2 mos.later, the cornerstone of a new theater was laid on this site by James J. Gifford, chief carpenter, architect & builder • the brick structure, modeled after the late Victorian design of Baltimore’s Holliday Street Theatre [photo], seated ~1,700 w/ 8 private boxes, two upper, two lower, located on either side of stage

 

• opened evening of 27 Aug., 1863 with “The Naiad Queen,” a "Fairy Opera" [photo] presented to a capacity audience • became one of the most successful entertainment venues in Washington —Ford’s Theatre, National Historic Site

 

• as Ford’s ventures prospered, a future competitor was making history • Mary Francis Moss was born, 1826, in Winchester, England • during childhood was a frequent visitor to the studio of "old man" J.M.W, Turner, the celebrated painter —The Life of Laura Keene [photo]

 

• married at age 18 to former British Army officer, Henry Wellington Taylor • 7 yr. marriage produced 2 daughters • husband was arrested for an undocumented crime, sent to Australia on a prison ship • to support her family, Mary Taylor became British stage actress Laura Keene, who made her professional debut in London, Oct., 1851 —Wikipedia

 

• in 1852, less than a year into her acting career, accepted an offer from impresario J.W. Wallack to travel to New York City, to audition for leading lady of the Wallack’s Theater stock company • became a popular star performer [photo] • began considering a move into an entrepreneurial role

 

• took over Baltimore's Charles Street Theatre, 24 Dec, 1853, w/ financial assistance from wealthy Washingtonian, John Lutz • managed it for 2 months, qualifying her as USA’s first female theater manager • Lutz became her business manager & by some unverifiable accounts, her husband, though she was still married to Taylor — Androom Archives

 

• moved to San Francisco & the Metropolitan Theatre [photo] • played opposite Edwin Booth, brother of John Wilkes Booth • toured Australia with Edwin, 1854

 

• by 1855 she had returned to NYC • retained architect, John M. Trimble, a theater specialist • the new theater, built to her specifications, was named the Laura Keene’s Varieties [photo], aka Laura Keene’s Theatre [photo], or Third Olympic Theatre • opened at 622 Broadway on 18 Nov., 1856 • managed by Keene until 1863 when she assumed the lease & took over D.C.’s Washington Theatre [photo] [ad] from lessee, manager & self-proclaimed “People’s Favorite Tragedian,” John Wilkes Booth

 

• in 1858, having returned to Laura Keene's Theatre in NYC, premiered Our American Cousin,” [script] a 3-act farce starring Laura Keene [photo], written by English playwright Tom Taylor, U.S./Canada rights owned by Keene • with a run of 150 nights, set new standards for New York theater

 

• synopsis: a coarse but honest American, Asa Trenchard, arrives at the British Trenchard estate to claim an inheritance as the last named heir • meets Lord Dundreary & other snooty relatives who are trying to keep up appearances & marry off daughters • servants gossip, villains emerge from the shadows, true love conquers all in the end, a farce satirizing pretension & manners —Helytimes

 

• this is the play Laura Keene chose for her 14 Apr., 1865 Ford’s Theatre engagement, a benefit & farewell performance [ad] for the beloved star [playbill] • “Our Leading Lady,” is a 2007 comedy inspired by Keene’s role in the events surrounding this performance

 

• Laura Keene would play her usual role as Trenchard’s wife, Florence • Harry Hawk [photo], a member of Keene’s NY company, was to play the boorish American, Asa Trenchard • the classic role of brainless aristocrat Lord Dundreary was given to Edwin "Ned" Emerson [photo], leading man in the Ford Stock Company, brother of a Confederate soldier killed in action in 1862 & close friend of John Wilkes Booth

 

"I knew John Wilkes Booth well," wrote Edwin Emerson, "having played with him in dozens of cities, throughout the East and Middle West. He was a kind-hearted, genial person, and no cleverer gentleman ever lived. Everybody loved him on the stage, though he was a little excitable and eccentric."

 

• while Ford's was presenting Keene's famous play, arch-rival Grover's Theatre aka Grover’s National Theatre, offered “Aladin and The Wonderful Lamp” • Leonard Grover advertised his theatre as the capital’s only “Union” playhouse, highlighting John Ford’s more “Secesh” (secessionist) sentiments • “Doubtless [Ford’s] personal sympathies were with his State and with that portion of the country in which he was born and reared.” —Leonard Grover

 

• according to Grover, during the four years of [Lincoln’s] administration, he visited his theater “probably more than a hundred times. He often came alone, many times brought his little son Tad, and on special occasions, Mrs. Lincoln.” The President also once told Grover, ”I really enjoy a minstrel show," • when Grover responded that Hooley's Minstrels [photo] were soon to appear, Lincoln laughed. "Well, that was thoughtful of you." • “[Lincoln] was exceedingly conversant with Shakespeare. He enjoyed a classical representation, of which I gave many” —Lincoln's Interest in the Theater, Leonard Grover

 

• the National’s policy of segregating blacks began when it opened in 1835 • a portion of the gallery was set apart for "persons of color" • it is not known how many black theatergoers were in the 5 Mar., 1845 audience for “Beauty & the Beast,” “Stage Struck Nigger” & the Congo Melodists, a Boston blackface minstrel group [photo], but Washington’s 7 Mar. “National lntelligencer” reported that the cause of the fire which had demolished the theatre on the 5th was "a candle without a stick left burning on a table by a negro...."

 

• although the Grover-managed version of the National also had its "colored parterre,” Ford's Theatre, excluded blacks entirely from its performances • the exclusion of black Washingtonians from public places in the nation’s capital helped secure the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1875 which, in 1889, the Supreme Court held unconstitutional. —The National Theatre in Washington: Buildings and Audiences, 1835-1972

 

• Mary Lincoln had tickets to Grover’s but preferred seeing Laura Keene in “Our American Cousin” • with little interest, the president said he would take care of the tickets • a messenger was sent to the theatre around 10:30 A.M. to secure the state box for the evening • the Lincolns’ son, Tad, opted for Grover’s, thus would not be with his parents at Ford’s that night

 

• General Grant accepted Lincoln’s invitation to join them in the Presidential box, but when Julia Grant objected to spending the evening with the sharp-tongued First Lady, he canceled • Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, Speaker of the House Schuyler Colfax & son Robert Todd Lincoln also declined before Clara Harris (1834-1883), daughter of New York Senator Ira Harris (1802-1875), and her fiancé, Major Henry Rathbone (1837-1911), accepted. —History Channel

 

The theatre as it appeared the night of Lincoln's assassination:

• the stage

• presidential box

 

• “Laura Keene was on stage with E, A. Emerson when the Presidents' party entered the theatre. As the party made its way, Miss Keene halted the play, Conductor William Withers [photo] led the orchestra in Hail to the Chief,'

and the audience rose and greeted the President with 'vociferous cheering.' President Lincoln came to the front of the box, acknowledged the reception, [set his silk hat on the floor], and the actors resumed where they had left off.

 

“The fatal shot was fired during the second scene of the third act. Laura Keene was standing in the first entrance (wing), stage right, facing the audience, awaiting her cue for the next scene

 

“On stage, just prior to the shooting, Mrs. Mountchessington was squelching Asa Trenchard: I am aware, Mr. Trenchard, you are not used to the manners of good society, and that alone will excuse the impertinence of which you have been guilty. (Exit)

 

“This left Asa Trenchard (Harry Hawk) alone on the stage… The audience was silent, expectantly awaiting the punch line from Asa. Miss Harris and Major Rathbone were ‘intently observing’ the scene on stage.The President ‘was leaning upon one hand, and with the other was adjusting a portion of the drapery‘ which hung at the side of the box opening. [photo]

 

“At this moment John Wilkes Booth stood silently in the shadows of the state box, four or five feet directly behind the President. Probably the last words heard by Lincoln were spoken by Harry Hawk:

 

“ASA: Don’t know the manners of good society, eh? Wal, I guess I know enough to turn you inside out, old gal — you sockdologizing old mantrap.

 

“The audience roared. Then penetrating the laughter was the distinct sound of a shot. A puff of smoke drifted from the box, and Major Rathbone “saw through the smoke, a man between the door and the President. He ‘instantly sprang toward him,’ but the assassin wrested from his grasp and slashed Rathbone with a dagger across the left arm. Meanwhile, Harry Hawk looked up from the stage to see a man, knife in hand, leaping over the balustrade of the President's box onto the stage apron. Fearing he would be attacked Hawk ran off the stage.’ Booth ran across the stage, [illustration] brushed past Miss Keene in the wings…

—Harbin, Billy J. “Laura Keene at the Lincoln Assassination,” Educational Theatre Journal 18, no. 1 (1966): 47–54

 

• Edwin Emerson: “…near the beginning of the third act… I was standing in the wings, just behind a piece of scenery, waiting for my cue to go on, when I heard a shot. I was not surprised, nor was anyone else behind the scenes. Such sounds are too common during the shifting of the various sets to surprise an actor. For a good many seconds after that sound nothing happened behind the footlights. Then, as I stood there in the dimness, a man rushed by me, making for the stage door. I did not recognize Booth at the time, nor did anyone else, I think, unless, someone out on the stage, when he stood a moment and shouted with theatrical gesture, ‘Sic Semper Tyrannis!' (So perish all tyrants!) Even after he flashed by, there was quiet for a few moments among the actors and the stage hands. No one knew what had happened.”—Find a Grave

 

• running from the stage Booth exited the building into Baptist Alley, a public alleyway laid out in 1792 • grabbed the reins of his horse & rode off, turning right on F Street to head for the safety of of the Maryland night

 

• James S. Knox, witness: “…The shrill cry of murder from Mrs. Lincoln first roused the horrified audience, and in an instant the uproar was terrible. The silence of death was broken by shouts of "kill him," "hang him" and strong men wept, and cursed, and tore the seats in the impotence of their anger, while Mrs. Lincoln, on her knees uttered shriek after shriek at the feet of the dying President.” —Library of Congress

 

• video: Charles L. Willis, J.W. Epperson eyewitness accounts of the assassination

 

• according to legend, Laura Keene rushed to Lincoln’s box w/a pitcher of water • cradled his head, staining her cuff w/ his blood.

 

• The Night Lincoln Was Shot: Minute-by-Minute Backstage With John Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theatre

 

“In the lobby of Grover’s, as Tad Lincoln awaited his parents' carriage to take him back to the White House, he learned that his father had been shot • Grover, who was in New York, received a telegram from his associate manager: President shot tonight at Ford's Theatre. Thank God it wasn't ours. C. D. Hess."

 

“[two doctors] now arrived and after a moments consultation we agreed to have him removed to the nearest house… I called out twice 'Guards clear the passage,' which was so soon done that we proceeded… with the President and were not in the slightest interrupted until he was placed in bed in the house of Mr. Peterson… During the night the room was visited by many of his friends. Mrs Lincoln with Mrs. Senator Dixon came into the room three or four times during the night. The Presidents son Captn R. Lincoln, remained with his father during the greater part of the night.

 

“At 7.20 a.m. he breathed his last and “the spirit fled to God who gave it… Immediately after death had taken place, we all bowed and the Rev. Dr. Gurley supplicated to God in behalf of the bereaved family and our afflicted country.” —Report on the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln by Dr. Charles Leale [photo]

 

• Secy. of War Stanton ordered guards posted at the building [photo] & future dramatic productions canceled • later that year, attempts by Ford to reopen the theatre aroused public indignation • War Dept. ordered it closed, Ford threatened legal action, federal government responded by leasing & later purchasing the bldg.

 

• American newspapers report the shocking news in a country still younger than some of its citizens

 

• Willie Clark, the Petersen House boarder who lived in the room in which President Lincoln died, wrote to his sister four days after Lincoln's death...

 

“The past few days have been of intense excitement. Arrests are numerously made, of any party heard to utter secesh sentiments. The time has come when people cannot say what they please, the people are awfully indignant. Leinency is no longer to be thought of. A new code must be adopted.

 

“They talk of the tyranical administration of Mr. Lincoln, but we have a man now for a president who will teach the south a lesson they will know well how to appreciate…

 

“…Everybody has a great desire to obtain some memento from my room so that whoever comes in has to be closely watched for fear they will steal something.

 

“I have a lock of his hair which I have had neatly framed, also a piece of linen with a portion of his brain, the pillow and case upon which he lay when he died and nearly all his wearing apparel but the latter I intend to send to Robt. Lincoln as soon as the funeral is over, as I consider him the one most justly entitled to them.

 

“The same matrass (sic.) is on my bed, and the same coverlit (sic.) covers me nightly that covered him while dying.

 

“Enclosed you will find a piece of lace that Mrs. Lincoln wore on her head during the evening and was dropped by her while entering my room to see her dying husband It is worth keeping for its historical value.

 

“The cap worked by Clara and the cushion by you, you little dreamed would be so historically connected with such an event.”

 

“They talk of the tyranical administration of Mr. Lincoln, but we have a man now for a president who will teach the south a lesson they will know well how to appreciate. — Remembering Lincoln

 

• Lincoln's death was not universally mourned by Northeners even though his decision to resupply Ft. Sumter forced the Confederates into firing the 1st shots, an attack that triggered anger, patriotism & widespread support from Northerners • nevertheless, some who thought him too dictatorial & some Radical Republicans who thought him too lenient toward the enemy welcomed his assassination • Congressman George Julian recorded in his diary that the “universal feeling among radical men here is that his death is a godsend” Michigan Senator Zachariah Chandler wrote to his wife that God had permitted Lincoln to live only “as long as he was useful and then substituted a better man (Johnson) to finish the work.”—History Channel

 

• In the 2 wks. following the assassination, hundreds were detained, questioned, & some imprisoned • nearly all the personnel at Ford’s (actors, stage hands, musicians, etc.) were arrested & questioned • John T. Ford was visiting Richmond the night of the assassination • he & 2 brothers spent 39 days in the Old Capitol Prison before being cleared & released

 

• the Old Capitol Prison [photo] gained an association with the Lincoln assassination when it lodged several (but not all) suspected Lincoln assassination conspirators who, by order of the Secty. Of War, wore cotton hoods —Smithsonian

.

• 5 days after the assassination, Laura Keene & 2 other cast members arrested in Harrisburg PA, returned to Washington & released by order of the Secretary of War the moment he heard of their unauthorized detention

 

• Louis J. Weichmann often stayed at the Surratt Boarding House, in contact with the Surratts, & John Wilkes Booth • arrested as a potential accomplice but became a star witness for the prosecution, his testimony helping to convict Mary Surratt

 

• Pres. Andrew Johnson & Secy. of War Edwin M. Stanton insisted on trying the conspirators before a nine-member military commission, where 5 of the 9 judges—rather than a unanimous vote like in a civilian trial—were required to establish guilt. 6 votes could impose the death penalty

 

• Federal authorities argued that because Washington, D.C., was a war zone in April 1865—Confederate troops were still in the field—the assassination was an act of war • opponents argued that a civilian court would allow for a fairer trial [photo]

 

• for 7 weeks in May & June 1865, nation’s attention riveted on the 3rd floor of Old Arsenal Penitentiary (now Fort McNair) [photo], where the alleged conspirators were on trial for their lives [photo]

 

• one of the first U.S. trials where “colored” Americans, e.g. Ford’s stagehand Joe Simms & cleaner Mary Anderson, were allowed to testify against white Americans in open court • their testimony was included throughout the trial —Ford’s Theatre

 

• accused were allowed by attorneys to question the 366 witnesses, but not permitted to speak on their own behalf —Ford’s Theatre

 

• All defendants found guilty, 30 June, 1865 • Mary Surratt, Lewis Powell, David Herold, & George Atzerodt sentenced to death by hanging [photo]

 

• Samuel Mudd, Samuel Arnold, & Michael O'Laughlen sentenced to life in prison • Ford’s stagehand Edmund Spangler sentenced to 6 yrs. in prison •all incarcerated at Fort Jefferson, off of Key West, Florida, pardoned by Pres. Johnson, 1869.

 

• trial of the conspirators.

 

• following the assassination, [photo]Ford attempted to reopen on 7 July, 1865 but public outcry & threats forced him to cancel the performance, issue refunds & close the still-unfinished theater • bldg. seized July, 1865 by order of the Secretary of War

 

• interior torn out in August, 1865 • converted into 3-story office bldg housing the Army Medical Museum & Surgeon General • used for govt. purposes for several decades. —Ford’s Theatre National Historic Site

 

• 40-foot section of the facade collapsed from the 3rd floor, killing 22 War Department personnel, 1893 • alterations, including the facade, 1894 • building repaired, continued as government warehouse & storeroom until 1911 • vacant until taken over by Office of Public Buildings & Public Parks of the National Capital, 1928 • Lincoln museum opened 12 Feb., 1932, 123rd anniversary of Lincoln’s birth

• bldg. transferred to National Parks Service through executive order, 1933 —Ford’s Theatre, Washington, D.C.

 

• funding for restoration approved, 1964 • original building plans lost • relied on investigative work to extrapolate floor levels & wall locations from known “good” points in the building, w/ photographs & drawings providing supplementary detail • project supervised by Charles W. Lessig • restoration to its 1865 appearance completed, 1968 • theatre reopened 30 Jan., 1968 • following restoration, Presidential Box never occupied. —Ford’s Theatre

 

• externally west facade & north & south walls remain of the original theatre, although subject to modification, repair & remodeling over time • rear (east) wall, site of Booth’s escape door, is completely rebuilt—Restoration of Ford’s Theatre, Washington

 

• now a popular tourist destination & working theatre presenting a varied schedule of theatrical & live entertainment events • over 650,000 visitors/yr.

 

• Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site National Register # 66000865, 1966

• Ford’s Theatre National Historic site, National Register # 66000034, 1966

Sikhism is a religion of great beauty and simplicity. Launched originally as a revision to Hindu principals and beliefs that were not felt to be humanistic and against one-ness (eg. casteism), its followers later became the defendants of the Hindu faith under attack from the Mughals of Agra and Delhi. It was the sixth of ten Sikh Gurus, Guru Hargobind who militarised the Sikhs after his own father (Guru Arjun Dev) was martyred defending the faith.

 

Under Guru Gobind Singh, Sikhism was declared a distinct religion from Hinduism - the Khalsa was born. Amrit, or the Sikh baptism was created (occurring in 1699), and the five Ks of Sikhism the signs of a Amritdari (or baptised) Sikh. Thus was born the newest formal religion in the world.

 

One of the most beautiful elements in Sikhism has a lot of similarity with Hinduism, Ik Onkar - One God - a core belief of Sikhism. It is derived from the Sanskrit ekomkara which is a sound combining ek (one) and omkar (the name of the Aum syllable). Aum is often known as Om in the West. Together this refers to 'the One Aum"; that is, the single cosmic consciousness.

 

Though in 1984 there was much pain between Hinduism and Sikhism, sporn out of political insensitivity and persecution of Sikhs post assassination of Indian PM Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards, there was a longstanding tradition of bilateral closeness between these religions in the Punjab. During the period where the Sikh Army defended Punjab and North India, the eldest son in each Punjabi Hindu family was made a Sikh, and fought in the Guru's army to defend the land, and the faiths. Many Hindu families in the Punjab visit and have visited Sikh places of worship, and either regard the Ten Gurus reverently or have some respect for the religion.

 

This is dedicated to my Sikh friends, predominantly in WA; for bringing me into their lives and keenly teaching me about their religion, culture and traditions; it was through them that I was inspired to learn more about my Punjabi heritage, and taught myself the language.

 

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh.

 

*This and all shots at Harmandir Sahib were taken without flash, and with full respect, to show the beauty of the Punjab, the peoples of the Punjab and the beauty of the Sikh religion.

 

Sona means 'Golden', or in colloquial use, 'beautiful' in the Punjabi language.

Name: Charles S. Jones

Arrested for: not given

Arrested at: North Shields Police Station

Arrested on: 15 September 1914

Tyne and Wear Archives ref: DX1388-1-254-Charles S Jones

 

The Shields Daily News for 21 September 1914 reports:

 

“LARCENY FROM CLOTHES LINE. NORTH SHIELDS DEFENDANT COMMITTED TO PRISON.

 

Today at North Shields, Charles Jones, no fixed abode, was charged with stealing a shirt, valued 2s, from a clothes line, on Sept. 14th, the property of Sarah Scott. Mrs Scott said the shirt was hanging on the line in Middle Street, where she resided. She was told something by a neighbour and later missed the shirt. Another witness said she noticed a vacant place on the clothes line and informed Mrs Scott.

 

PC Pallister said he apprehended defendant, who on being searched, was found to be wearing the missing shirt under his own.

 

A second charge of a similar nature was preferred against defendant, who was charged with stealing a shirt, valued 2s, the property of Mary Poolton, Queen Victoria Street. Jennie Cowey, Queen Victoria Street said she watched the defendant while in Queen Victoria Street and saw him go into Mrs Poolton’s yard. She walked past the door and saw defendant buttoning his coat. There were clothes hanging on a line in the yard.

 

PC Pallister said he charged defendant with the theft and he replied “I don’t know whether I got it or not”. Defendant, who pleaded guilty, made his 17th appearance and had been previously convicted in Sunderland and Middlesbrough for larceny. The Bench committed him to prison for one month in each case”.

 

These images are taken from an album of photographs of prisoners brought before the North Shields Police Court between 1902 and 1916 (TWAM ref. DX1388/1). This set is our selection of the best mugshots taken during the First World War. They have been chosen because of the sharpness and general quality of the images. The album doesn’t record the details of each prisoner’s crimes, just their names and dates of arrest.

 

In order to discover the stories behind the mugshots, staff from Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums visited North Shields Local Studies Library where they carefully searched through microfilm copies of the ‘Shields Daily News’ looking for newspaper reports of the court cases. The newspaper reports have been transcribed and added below each mugshot.

 

Combining these two separate records gives us a fascinating insight into life on the Home Front during the First World War. These images document the lives of people of different ages and backgrounds, both civilians and soldiers. Our purpose here is not to judge them but simply to reflect the realities of their time.

 

(Copyright) We're happy for you to share this digital image within the spirit of The Commons. Please cite 'Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums' when reusing. Certain restrictions on high quality reproductions and commercial use of the original physical version apply though; if you're unsure please email archives@twmuseums.org.uk.

Ella Josephine Baker (December 13, 1903 – December 13, 1986) was an African-American civil rights and human rights activist. She was a largely behind-the-scenes organizer whose career spanned more than five decades. She is shown here in a September 18, 1941 photograph.

 

She worked alongside some of the most famous civil rights leaders of the 20th century, including W. E. B. Du Bois, Thurgood Marshall, A. Philip Randolph, and Martin Luther King Jr. She also mentored many emerging activists, such as Diane Nash, Stokely Carmichael, Rosa Parks, and Bob Moses.

 

Baker criticized professionalized, charismatic leadership; she promoted grassroots organizing, radical democracy, and the ability of the oppressed to understand their worlds and advocate for themselves. She realized this vision most fully in the 1960s as the primary advisor and strategist of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).

 

She has been ranked as "One of the most important African American leaders of the twentieth century and perhaps the most influential woman in the Civil Rights Movement," known for her critiques not only of racism within American culture, but also the sexism and classism within the Civil Rights Movement.

 

Ella Josephine Baker was born in Norfolk, Virginia, and raised by her parents Georgiana and Blake Baker. When she was seven, her family moved to her mother's rural hometown of Littleton, North Carolina.

 

As a girl, Baker listened to her grandmother tell stories about slave revolts. Baker's maternal grandmother, Josephine Elizabeth "Bet" Ross had been born into slavery. She was whipped as a young woman for refusing to marry a man chosen for her by her owner.

 

Ella attended local schools. She went to the state capital to attend Shaw University, a historically black university in Raleigh, North Carolina. She graduated as class valedictorian in 1927.

 

As a student, she challenged school policies which she thought were unfair, specifically "the school's conservative dress code...paternalistic racism of its president...and its methods of teaching religion and the Bible." After graduating, she moved to New York City during the period of the Great Migration, when many blacks were leaving the South to escape its oppressive society.

 

New York City

 

During 1929-1930 Baker worked as an editorial staff member of the American West Indian News, moving to a position as editorial assistant at the Negro National News.

 

In 1930 George Schuyler, a black journalist and anarchist (and later an archconservative), founded the Young Negroes' Cooperative League (YNCL). It sought to develop black economic power through collective planning. Having befriended Schuyler, Baker joined his group in 1931 and soon became its national director.

 

She also worked for the Worker's Education Project of the Works Progress Administration established during President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal. She taught courses in consumer education, labor history and African history.

 

Baker immersed herself in the cultural and political milieu of Harlem in the 1930s. She protested Italy's invasion of Ethiopia and supported the campaign to free the Scottsboro defendants in Alabama, a group of young black men accused of raping two white women. She also founded the Negro History Club at the Harlem Library and regularly attended lectures and meetings at the YWCA.

 

During this time, she lived with and married her college sweetheart, T. J. (Bob) Roberts. Their respective work schedules often kept them apart. They divorced in 1958.

 

Ella Baker rarely discussed her private life or marital status. According to fellow activist, Bernice Johnson Reagon, many women within the Civil Rights Movement followed Baker's example, adopting a practice of dissemblance that allowed them to be accepted within the movement as individuals.

 

She befriended John Henrik Clarke, a future scholar and activist, and Pauli Murray, a future writer and civil rights lawyer, and many others who would become lifelong friends.

 

The Harlem Renaissance influenced Baker in her thoughts and teachings. She advocated widespread, local action as a means of social change. Her emphasis on a grassroots approach to the struggle for equal rights influenced the success of the modern Civil Rights Movement of the mid-20th century.

 

NAACP (1938–1953)

 

In 1938 Baker began her long association with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), which was based in New York City.

 

Baker was hired as a secretary in December 1940. She traveled widely, especially in the South, recruiting members, raising money, and organizing local chapters. She was named director of branches in 1943, making her the highest-ranking woman in the organization.

 

An outspoken woman, she had a strong belief in egalitarian ideals. She pushed the organization to decentralize its leadership structure and to aid its membership in more activist campaigns at the local level. Baker believed that the strength of an organization grew from the bottom up and not the top down.

 

She believed that the work of the branches was the lifeblood of the NAACP. Baker despised elitism and placed her confidence in many. She believed that the bedrock of any social change organization is not the eloquence or credentials of its top leaders, but in the commitment and hard work of the rank and file membership and willingness and ability of those members to engage in a process of discussion, debate, and decision-making. She especially stressed the importance of young people and women in the organization.

 

While traveling throughout the South on behalf of the NAACP, Baker met hundreds of black people, establishing lasting relationships with them. She slept in their homes, ate at their tables, spoke in their churches, and earned their trust. She wrote thank-you notes and expressed her gratitude to the people she met.

 

This personalized approach to political work was one important aspect of Baker's effective effort to recruit more members, men and women, into the NAACP. Baker formed a network of people in the south that would be important in the continued fight for civil rights.

 

Whereas some northern organizers tended to talk down to rural southerners, Baker's ability to treat everyone with respect helped her in recruiting. Baker fought to make the NAACP more democratic and in tune with the needs of the people. She tried to find a balance between voicing her concerns and maintaining a unified front.

 

When the opportunity arose in 1946 to return to New York City to care for her niece, Baker left her position with NAACP. She served as a volunteer. She soon joined the New York branch of the NAACP to work on local school desegregation and police brutality issues. She became its president in 1952.

 

Her job as president was to supervise the field secretaries and coordinate the national office's work with local groups. Baker's top priority as the new director of branches was to lessen the organization's bureaucracy and Walter Francis White's dominating role within it.

 

She did not believe that the program should be so channeled through White, the executive secretary, and the national office and not the people out in the field. She lobbied for a reduction in the rigid hierarchy within the association and for placing more power in the hands of capable local leaders.

 

She also advocated giving greater responsibility and autonomy to local branches. Between 1944 and 1946, Baker directed revolutionary leadership conferences in several major cities, such as Chicago and Atlanta. She got top officials to deliver lectures, offer welcoming remarks, and conduct workshops. She resigned in 1953 to run unsuccessfully for the New York City Council on the Liberal Party ticket.

 

Southern Christian Leadership Conference (1957–1960)

In January 1957, Baker went to Atlanta, Georgia to attend a conference aimed at developing a new regional organization to build on the success of the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

 

After a second conference in February, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) was formed. This organization was initially planned to be a loosely structured coalition linking church based leaders in civil rights struggles across the South.

 

The group wanted to emphasize nonviolence as a means of bringing about social progress and racial justice for southern blacks. The organization would rely on the southern black church for the base of its support. The strength of the organization rested on the political activities of its local church affiliates. It envisioned itself as the political arm of the black church.

 

The SCLC first stepped on the political scene as an organization at the Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom. Baker was instrumental in pulling off this large-scale event, which became extremely successful.

 

Her work as one of the organizers for this event demonstrated her ability to straddle organizational lines, deliberately ignoring and minimizing rivalries and battles.

 

The conference's first project was the Crusade for Citizenship, a voter registration campaign. Baker was hired as the first staff person for the new organization. Baker worked closely with southern civil rights activists in Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi and was highly respected for her organizing abilities.

 

She helped initiate voter registration campaigns and identify other local grievances. After John Tilley, director of the SCLC resigned, she remained in Atlanta for two and a half years as interim executive director of the SCLC until Wyatt Tee Walker took up the post in April 1960.

 

Baker's job with the SCLC was more frustrating than fruitful. She was unsettled politically, physically, and emotionally. She had no solid allies in the office. Historian Thomas F. Jackson notes that Baker criticized the organization for "programmatic sluggishness and King's distance from the people. King was a better orator than democratic crusader [she] concluded."

 

"Participatory democracy"

 

In the 1960s, the idea of "participatory democracy" became popular. It was a new formulation, bringing to the traditional appeal of democracy an innovative tie to broader participation.

 

There were three primary emphases to this new movement:

 

An appeal for grass roots involvement of people throughout society, while making their own decisions

 

The minimization of (bureaucratic) hierarchy and the associated emphasis on expertise and professionalism as a basis for leadership

 

A call for direct action as an answer to fear, isolation, and intellectual detachment

 

Ella Baker said:

 

“You didn't see me on television; you didn't see news stories about me. The kind of role that I tried to play was to pick up pieces or put together pieces out of which I hoped organization might come. My theory is, strong people don't need strong leaders.”

 

According to activist Mumia Abu-Jamal, Baker advocated a more collectivist model of leadership over the "prevailing messianic style of the period."

 

Baker was largely arguing against the Civil Rights Movement being structured along the organization model of the Black church. The Black church, at the time, had largely female membership and male leadership. Baker questioned not only the gendered hierarchy of the Civil Rights Movement, but also that of the Black church.

 

Ella Baker and Martin Luther King, Jr., as well as other SCLC members, were reported to have differences in opinion and philosophy during the 1950s and 1960s. She once claimed that the "movement made Martin, and not Martin the movement."

 

When she gave a speech urging activists to take control of the movement themselves, rather than rely on a leader with "heavy feet of clay," it was widely interpreted as a denunciation of King.

 

Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (1960–1966)

 

That same year, on the heels of regional desegregation sit-ins led by black college students, Baker persuaded the SCLC to invite southern university students to the Southwide Youth Leadership Conference at Shaw University on Easter weekend.

 

This was a gathering of sit-in leaders to meet, assess their struggles and explore the possibilities for future actions. At this meeting the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC, pronounced "snick") was formed.

 

Baker saw the potential for a special type of leadership by the young sit-in leaders, who were not yet prominent in the movement. She believed they could revitalize the Black Freedom Movement and take it in a new direction.

 

Baker wanted to bring the sit-in participants together in a way that would sustain the momentum of their actions, teach them the skills necessary, provide the resources that were needed, and also help them to coalesce into a more militant and democratic force.

 

To this end she strove to keep the students independent of the older, church-based leadership. In her address at Shaw, she warned the activists to be wary of "leader-centered orientation."

 

Julian Bond later described the speech as "an eye opener" and probably the best of the conference. "She didn't say, 'Don't let Martin Luther King tell you what to do,' " Bond remembers, "but you got the real feeling that that's what she meant."

 

SNCC became the most active organization in the deeply oppressed Mississippi Delta. It was relatively open to women. Following the conference, Baker resigned from the SCLC and began a long and close relationship with SNCC. Along with Howard Zinn, Baker was one of SNCC's highly revered adult advisors, called the "Godmother of SNCC.”

 

In 1961 Baker persuaded the SNCC to form two wings: one wing for direct action and the second wing for voter registration.

 

It was with Baker's help that SNCC (along with the Congress of Racial Equality) coordinated the region-wide Freedom Rides of 1961.

 

They also expanded their grassroots movement among black sharecroppers, tenant farmers and others throughout the South. Ella Baker insisted, "Strong people don't need strong leaders," and criticized the notion of a single charismatic leader of movements for social change.

 

In keeping the idea of "participatory democracy", Baker wanted each person to get involved. She also argued that "people under the heel," the most oppressed members of any community, "had to be the ones to decide what action they were going to take to get (out) from under their oppression.”

 

She was a teacher and mentor to the young people of SNCC, influencing such important future leaders as Julian Bond, Diane Nash, Stokely Carmichael, Curtis Muhammad, Bob Moses, and Bernice Johnson Reagon.

 

Through SNCC, Baker's ideas of group-centered leadership and the need for radical democratic social change spread throughout the student movements of the 1960s.

 

For instance, the Students for a Democratic Society, the major antiwar group of the day, promoted participatory democracy. These ideas also influenced a wide range of radical and progressive groups that would form in the 1960s and 1970s.

 

In 1964 Baker helped organize the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP) as an alternative to the all-white Mississippi Democratic Party. She worked as the coordinator of the Washington office of the MFDP and accompanied a delegation of the MFDP to the 1964 National Democratic Party convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

 

The group wanted to challenge the national party to affirm the rights of African Americans to participate in party elections in the South, where they were still largely disenfranchised.

 

When MFDP delegates challenged the pro-segregationist, all-white official delegation, a major conflict ensued. The MFDP delegation was not seated, but their influence on the Democratic Party later helped to elect many black leaders in Mississippi.

 

They forced a rule change to allow women and minorities to sit as delegates at the Democratic National Convention.

 

The 1964 schism with the national Democratic Party led SNCC toward the "black power" position. Baker was less involved with SNCC during this period, but her withdrawal was due more to her declining health than to ideological differences.

 

According to her biographer Barbara Ransby, Baker believed that black power was a relief from the "stale and unmoving demands and language of the more mainstream civil rights groups at the time."

 

She also accepted the turn towards armed self-defense that SNCC made in the course of its development. Her friend and biographer Joanne Grant wrote "Baker, who always said that she would never be able to turn the other cheek, turned a blind eye to the prevalence of weapons. While she herself would rely on her fists … she had no qualms about target practice."

 

Southern Conference Education Fund (1962–1967)

 

From 1962 to 1967, Baker worked on the staff of the Southern Conference Education Fund (SCEF). Its goal was to help black and white people work together for social justice; the interracial desegregation and human rights group was based in the South.

 

SCEF raised funds for black activists, lobbied for implementation of President John F. Kennedy's civil rights proposals, and tried to educate southern whites about the evils of racism. Federal civil rights legislation was passed by Congress and signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964 and 1965, but implementation would take years.

 

In SCEF, Baker worked closely with her friend Anne Braden, a white, longtime anti-racist activist. Braden had been accused in the 1950s of being a communist by the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC).

 

Baker believed that socialism was a humane alternative to capitalism, but she had mixed feelings about communism.

 

She became a staunch defender of Anne Braden and her husband Carl; she encouraged SNCC to reject redbaiting because she viewed it as divisive and unfair. During the 1960s, Baker participated in a speaking tour and co-hosted several meetings on the importance of linking civil rights and civil liberties.

 

Final years

 

In 1967 Ella Baker returned to New York City, where she continued her activism. She later collaborated with Arthur Kinoy and others to form the Mass Party Organizing Committee, a socialist organization.

 

In 1972 she traveled the country in support of the "Free Angela" campaign, demanding the release of activist and writer Angela Davis, who had been arrested in California as a communist. Davis was acquitted after representing herself in court.

 

Baker also supported the Puerto Rican independence movement, and spoke out against apartheid in South Africa. Baker allied with a number of women's groups, including the Third World Women's Alliance and the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. She remained an activist until her death in 1986 on her 83rd birthday.

 

--Excerpted from Wikipedia

 

For other random radicals, see flic.kr/s/aHske413N1

 

The photographer is unknown. The image is an Afro American photograph

Name: Stephen Fitzgibbon

Arrested for: not given

Arrested at: North Shields Police Station

Arrested on: 15 November 1907

Tyne and Wear Archives ref: DX1388-1-115-Stephen Fitzgibbon

 

An image is available of his accomplice Thomas Pearson www.flickr.com/photos/twm_news/25158947272/in/album-72157....

 

The Shields Daily News for 16 November 1907 reports:

 

“THEFTS FROM OFFICE ON THE NORTH SHIELDS FISH QUAY.

 

At the North Shields Police Court this morning - before Lieut.-Colonel F.R.N. Haswell, Coun. G. Addison and Mr G.H. Stansfield - Stephen Fitzgibbon (17) of 15 Bird Street; Thomas Pearson (16) and Charles Pearson (19), also of Bird Street, were brought up in custody charged with various thefts. Fitzgibbon and Thomas Pearson were charged with larceny from back yards, being called upon to answer three cases, while Fitzgibbon and Charles Pearson were charged with three thefts from offices on the North Shields Fish Quay.

 

Evidence having been given in support of all the cases, the defendants were formally charged. They admitted the thefts and had no excuse to offer.

 

Chief Constable Huish told the magistrates that other charges could have been preferred against the accused. Altogether there had been eleven offices broken into on the quay.

 

They were each committed to prison for 14 days in each case, which means Fitzgibbon will receive three months’ hard labour and the two Pearsons 6 weeks each.

 

Chief Constable Huish mentioned that the elder Pearson was in the habit of carrying about with him loaded firearms. A six-chambered revolver had been recovered from his house.”

 

These images are a selection from an album of photographs of prisoners brought before the North Shields Police Court between 1902 and 1916 in the collection of Tyne & Wear Archives (TWA ref DX1388/1).

 

This set contains mugshots of boys and girls under the age of 21. This reflects the fact that until 1970 that was the legal age of majority in the UK.

 

(Copyright) We're happy for you to share this digital image within the spirit of The Commons. Please cite 'Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums' when reusing. Certain restrictions on high quality reproductions and commercial use of the original physical version apply though; if you're unsure please email archives@twmuseums.org.uk.

Au premier plan les vestiges de la route qui reliait Athènes au temple d' Arthèmis situé à Vravrona Brauron, à 40 kilomètres d'Athénes. Le temple dit des " petites ourses" du nom d'une cérémonie en l'honneur de la déesse Artèmis où les les participantes avez une tenue semblabe au pelage d'une ourse. A Brauron / Vravrona (38km d'Athènes) nous trouvons le sanctuaire d'Artémis (Diane) (Ve), déesse des bois (végétation et chasse), protectrice des femmes lors de l'accouchement et des nouveau-nés. C'est un des sanctuaires les plus anciens d’Attique et des plus vénéré. Un important quartier a été établi à Brauron au néolithique pour s’épanouir en particulier de l’helladique moyen au début de la période mycénienne (2000-1600 av. J.-C.). Iphigeneia, prêtresse d'Artémis enterrée à Brauron, était également honorée en tant que déesse de l'accouchement. Le sanctuaire d'Artémis avait un caractère rural et était célèbre pour le festival qui s’y tenait tous les quatre ans où arrivait un cortège parti du Brauronion d'Athènes.

 

Aux Brauronia participaient des fillettes en robe jaune qui devaient entourer la prêtresse au moment du sacrifice, en imitant la démarche de l'ours. D'après la légende, il s'agissait d'un rituel d'expiation exigé par des Athéniens par Artémis, déesse de la nature sauvage, pour le meurtre d'un ours par un jeune garçon défendant sa sœur : « ainsi il n'était pas permis à une vierge de vivre sous le toit d'un homme avant d'avoir « fait l'ours » en l'honneur de la déesse ». L'âge des fillettes indique qu'il devait s'agir d'un rite d'initiation au moment de la puberté et l'aménagement des lieux interdit de penser à une consécration véritable : les fillettes ne séjournaient au sanctuaire qu'au moment de la fête.http://www.grecomania.net/Decouverte/Attique/Attiki/Vavrone.htm

 

In the foreground the remains of the road that linked Athens to the temple of Arthemis located at Vravrona Brauron, 40 kilometers from Athens. The temple says "little bears" from the name of a ceremony in honor of the goddess Artemis where the participants have an outfit similar to the coat of a bear. In Brauron / Vravrona (38km from Athens) we find the sanctuary of Artemis (Diana) (Ve), goddess of the woods (vegetation and hunting), protector of women during childbirth and newborns. It is one of the oldest and most venerated sanctuaries in Attica. An important quarter was established at Brauron in the Neolithic period to flourish particularly from the Middle Helladic to the early Mycenaean period (2000-1600 BC). Iphigeneia, priestess of Artemis buried at Brauron, was also honored as the goddess of childbirth. The Sanctuary of Artemis had a rural character and was famous for the festival held there every four years where a procession from the Brauronion of Athens arrived.

 

At the Brauronia there were young girls in yellow dresses who had to surround the priestess at the time of the sacrifice, imitating the gait of the bear. According to legend, it was a ritual of expiation demanded by the Athenians by Artemis, goddess of the wild nature, for the murder of a bear by a young boy defending his sister: "so he will not a virgin was not permitted to live under a man's roof until she had "played the bear" in honor of the goddess". The age of the little girls indicates that it must have been an initiation rite at the time of puberty and the layout of the premises forbids thinking of a real consecration: the little girls only stayed at the sanctuary at the time of the party.http://www.grecomania.net/Decouverte/Attique/Attiki/Vavrone.htm

  

Parámetros :: Parameters :: Paramètres: Fuji FinePix SL1000 ; ISO 3200; -2 ev; f5.3; 1/27 s; 21 mm Fuji Lens.

 

Título :: Title :: Titre ::: Fecha (Date): Contrastes Españoles :: Spanish Contrasts :: Contrastes Espagnoles ::: 2015/08/22 21:04

Palabras Clave, Keywords: Oscuridad, Grano, Luces, Tortura, Muerte, Placer, España, Benavente, Tordesillas, Algemesí, Dark, Grain, Lights, Torture, Death, Enjoyment, Sombre, Grains, Lumières, Torture, Mort, Plaisir.

 

(Es). Historia: Barrio Húmedo. León. España. Anocheciendo en agosto, día cálido y tranquilo. Un paseo por el Barrio Húmedo de León observando el bullicio de los turistas de interior. En León tenemos algunas ventajas: es una ciudad pequeña, cuna del Parlamentarismo Europeo, se puede caminar a pie de un extremo a otro y considerar el esfuerzo como un simple paseo. Nos cruzan dos ríos y una tapa deliciosa por el precio de una consumición. Tenemos costumbres de mucho arraigo y tradición, pero todas ellas cultural y socialmente valiosas, aceptables, sanas y casi todas admitirían sin el menor problema la presencia de niños. Las excepciones a que los niños no estén presentes, son sólo para algún que otro festejo no recomendable para menores por razonas muy sencillas: las altas horas a las que discurren, la enorme cantidad de personas que se aglomeran y por la tendencia hacia cierta "filia etílica" de muchos de los presentes a lo largo de la noche, mientras se estira la fiesta hasta la madrugada. Pero lo mejor de León, con diferencia, es que no es Tordesillas.

 

Una de las celebraciones que más personas concentran es precisamente la menos indicada para niños: El Entierro de Genarín. No tiene aún cien años y consiguió aglutinar a más de 20.000 en el 2014. No es de las más antiguas, pero ha conseguido gran arraigo. No necesita torturar ni maltratar animal alguno. No entraña estúpidos riesgos como podría ser el que un toro te cornease. Además no la controla político alguno (al menos de momento). La Procesión de ese Entierro discurre por calles parecidas a la de la imagen, con ambientes y luces similares.

 

20.000 personas son la mitad de las que valoran que se pueden concentrar en Tordesillas en el macabro evento de "El Toro de la Vega" celebrado en las fiestas de esa villa. Tordesillas es un ejemplo de un pueblo con gente que no ha conseguido evolucionar socialmente en la celebración de sus festejos. Hoy, día del asesinato tumultuoso de Rompesuelas (un toro de 6 años), se ha podido ver en los informativos regionales de Castilla y León, las declaraciones de tres personas del lugar defendiendo el cruel evento:

1.- Es nuestra fiesta, que nos dejen celebrarla y que no vengan a verlo si no les gusta.

2.- Se ha celebrado desde siempre y no tenemos por qué dejar de celebrarla. Estamos celebrándola desde hace 500 años.

3.- Aquí no maltratamos al toro. Cualquiera puede venir y observar que el toro no sufre ni es maltratado.

 

El toro es soltado por las calles del pueblo acosado por multitud de personas que lo van llevando hasta una pradera del exterior de la localidad, lo que los lugareños llaman eufemísticamente "El Campo del Honor" pero que cualquier persona con un mínimo de sensibilidad lo llamaría "El Campo del Horror". Una vez allí, docenas de jinetes a caballo con lanzas de más de 50 centímetros, persiguen al toro por la pradera, clavándole múltiples veces las las lanzas, allí donde bien o mal acierta el lancero, en cualquier parte de su cuerpo. El animal no deja de correr huyendo del acoso, hasta que finalmente se detiene moribundo. En ese momento, una persona se encarga de clavarle un puñal en la base de su cráneo para intentar matarlo definitivamente, lo que en España se llama "dar la puntilla". No siempre acierta a la primera y algunas veces no acierta totalmente y el toro, agonizante pero vivo, pasará a la siguiente fase. Si el torneo no se declara nulo por cualquiera de sus normas extrañas, absurdas y crueles, se nombrará un ganador del "Torneo", a quien se le entregarán los los testículos y el rabo del toro; se los habrán amputado, como hemos comentado, estando vivo en algunas ocasiones.

 

En Tordesillas lo justifican como una fiesta de gran arraigo y tradición. Los dirigentes Españoles, tanto del Estado como de la Comunidad Autónoma y de la propia localidad no se esfuerzan para educar a la población de esa villa en valores de sociedades avanzadas. No les ayudan e impulsan a pensar en alternativas más culturales y valiosas para sus festejos, alternativas no basadas en el sufrimiento, ni en la tortura, ni en la muerte. Uno puede llegar a pensar maliciosamente que lo realmente importante para los dirigentes políticos es que esas gentes estén lo más embrutecidos posible, que sea un conjunto de votos de fácil cosecha.

 

Asociaciones animalistas han propuesto celebrar en Tordesillas un evento musical de calado nacional y de varios días de duración, el "RockInVega"; no les convence. Históricamente las mujeres han tenido gran protagonismo en esa villa: Leonor de Guzman, la Reina María de Portugal, María de Padilla, Juana Manuel (esposa de Enrique II), Leonor de Aragón, Beatriz de Portugal y Juana I de Castilla. Es un lugar idóneo para ensalzar la figura femenina en estos tiempos de insistente violencia de género y olvidarse así para siempre de las celebraciones de muerte, dolor y tortura. Pueden también celebrar las negociaciones entre Castilla y Portugal en el Tratado de Tordesillas. Pero no hay forma, existe un necio empeño en mantener una sangrienta tradición de la Edad Media, aquellas en las que los condes celebraban casamientos con invitados de alto abolengo y despeñaban reses por el río para divertirse o realizaban un torneo de un lancero contra un toro.

 

La Unión Regionalista de Castilla y León, entre otras asociaciones, defiende la cruel matanza y mantiene que sean los propios habitantes de Tordesillas los que deban de decidir si continúan celebrando el evento. Cuando hay maltrato animal en el festejo, cuando hay diversión con la tortura, el dolor y la muerte, no debe ser el ejecutor de tales barbaridades el que ha de decidir si continúa o no perpetrando la tropelía. Han de ser los razonamientos sensatos y acordes a los tiempos los que deben incidir en aplicar las leyes, o crearlas si no las hubiera, para que no se den estas prácticas en la actualidad. En definitiva: la culpa del dolor, tortura y muerte en Tordesillas no es sólo de las personas del pueblo, es de Juan Vicente Herrera y de todos los demás Diputados de las Cortes Castellano-Leonesas que deberían de legislar adecuadamente para su desaparición, así como del propio Ayuntamiento de Tordesillas y, en última estancia, el Estado Español.

 

Pero nuestra Clase Política, casi toda ella impregnada de personajes de Mediocre Calado, prefieren los votos a costa de la sangre y el dolor: ¡Diviértete Votante, aunque sea con Sangre!.

Nota: Hoy el Rompesuelas debería de haber sido indultado porque consiguió salir de "El Campo del Horror". Lo han matado igualmente.

 

Toma: Durante el paseo va anocheciendo y bajo por la calle Caño Badillo. Miro hacia atrás y observo un fragmento de La Catedral entre paredes y tejados. Seis farolas iluminan la calle, una de ellas no se ve directamente, la que está al fondo debajo de La Catedral. me gusta la escena y la imagino con más oscuridad que la que realmente hay en ese momento. Encuadro y disparo.

 

Tratamiento: Con Aperture. Original en JPG. Encuadro de nuevo la escena. Aumento la densidad de negros para aislar algunos detalles y las luces. Incremento la definición y la vibración de color. Luego bajo el nivel de intensidad de las luces altas para acotar más aún las zonas iluminadas y el brillo de los coches aparcados, intentando dejar manchas de luz en un escenario oscuro.

 

¡Eso es todo amigos!

 

(En). The History: Barrio Húmedo. León. Spain. Dusk in August, warm and calm day. A walk around the "Barrio Húmedo" from Leon observing the bustle of tourists inside. In Leon we have some advantages: it is a small town, the birthplace of European Parlamentarism, you can walk walk from one end to another and consider the effort as a simple walk. The city is crossed by two rivers and get a delicious cover for the price of a drink. We have long-established customs and tradition, but all valuable culturally and socially acceptable, healthy and almost all without any problem admit the presence of children. Exceptions to that children are not present, are for some other celebration not recommended for minors by you reason very simple: by the late running, for the enormous amount of people that crowd and a tendency towards certain "alcohol-philia" many of these throughout the night as the party stretched into the early hours. But best of León, by far, is that it is not the town of Tordesillas.

 

One of the celebrations that most people concentrate is precisely the least suitable for children: The Burial of Genarín. He has not yet managed to bring together a hundred years and more than 20,000 in 2014. It is the oldest, but has managed to deeply rooted. No need to torture or mistreat any animal. No stupid risks involved as it could be a bull cornease you. In addition it does not control any political (at least for now). Burial Procession that runs along similar image to the streets with lights and similar environments.

 

20,000 people are half of that value that can be concentrated in Tordesillas in the macabre event "El Toro de la Vega" held at the annual celebrations of the villa. Tordesillas is an example of a town with people who have not managed to evolve socially in celebration of their festivals. Today, on the tumultuous murder Rompesuelas (a bull aged 6), it has been seen in the regional news of Castilla and Leon, the statements of three local people defending the cruel event:

1. It is our party, let us celebrate and not to come to him if they do not like.

2. It has been held since long we need not stop to celebrate. We are celebrating it for 500 years.

3. Here we not mistreat the bull. Anyone can come and see that the bull does not suffer or is mistreated.

 

The bull is released through the streets of the town beset by many people who are bringing up a meadow outside the town, which the locals call euphemistically "Field of Honor" but anyone with a minimum of sensitivity would call "The Field of Horror". Once there, dozens of horsemen with spears of more than 50 centimeters, chasing the bull by the prairie, sometimes multiple stabbing spears, where right and wrong hits the lancer, in any part of your body. The animal continues to run fleeing from harassment, until it finally stops dying. At that time, a person is responsible for sticking a knife into the base of his skull to try to definitively kill, which in Spain is called "giving the lace." Not always right to the first and sometimes completely misses and bull dying but alive, move to the next phase. If the tournament is not declared invalid by any of its strange, absurd and cruel rules, a winner of the "Tournament", who will be given the testicles and tail of the bull be appointed; there will be the amputee, as mentioned, sometimes still alive.

 

Tordesillas warrant as a party with deep roots and tradition. The Spanish leaders, both state of the autonomous region and the town itself does not strive to educate the population of this village in the values of advanced societies. They do not help them to think and drive more value to their cultural and celebrations alternatives, alternatives not based on suffering, or torture, or death. One might think maliciously that what really matters for political leaders is that these people are brutalized as possible, which is a set of votes easy harvest.

 

Animal associations have proposed to hold a musical event in Tordesillas national draft and several days, the "RockInVega"; not convinced. Historically women have played major role in that town: Leonor de Guzman, Mary Queen of Portugal, Maria de Padilla, Joanne Manuel (wife of Henry II), Leonor de Aragon, Beatrice of Portugal and Juana I of Castile. It is an ideal place to extol the female figure in these times of persistent gender violence and so forever forget the celebrations of death, pain and torture. They can also hold negotiations between Castile and Portugal in the Treaty of Tordesillas. But there is no way, there is a foolish effort to maintain a bloody tradition of the Middle Ages, those in which the counts were celebrating weddings with guests from high pedigree cattle and dropping into the river for fun or conducting a tournament of a bull Lancer.

 

The Regionalist Union of Castile and Leon, among other associations, defends the cruel slaughter and maintains that they are the inhabitants of Tordesillas themselves who must decide whether to continue celebrating the event. When animal abuse in the celebration, when no fun to torture, pain and death, should not be the executor of such atrocities which must decide whether to continue or not perpetrated the outrage. They must be those with sensible and consistent with the times which must apply the laws affect, or create if not any, so that these practices are not met at present reasoning. In short: the guilt of pain, torture and death in Tordesillas is not only the townspeople, is Juan Vicente Herrera and all other Deputies of the Parliament Castilia-León should legislate appropriately for their disappearance and Hall of Tordesillas own and in last stay, the Spanish State.

 

But our political class, most of it steeped in characters of Mediocre Look, prefer the votes at the expense of the blood and pain: Voter fun, even with blood !.

Note: Today Rompesuelas should have been pardoned because he got out of "Field of Horror". They have also killed.

 

Taking up: During the walk it fades down the street and under Caño Badillo. I look back and I see a fragment of the Cathedral between walls and roofs. Six street lamps light, one can not see directly, which is the background underneath the cathedral. I like to imagine the scene and more darkness that really needs at that time. Framed and shot.

Treatment: With Aperture. Original JPG. I frame the scene again. Increase the density of black to isolate some details and lights. Increase the definition and vibration of color. Then lower the intensity level high to narrow further highlights and brightness of parked cars, trying to leave patches of light on a dark stage lights.

 

That's all folks !!

 

(Fr). Histoire: Barrio Húmedo. León. L'Espagne. Crépuscule en Août, journée chaude et calme. Une promenade autour du "Barrio Húmedo" du Leon observant l'agitation de touristes à l'intérieur. En Leon nous avons certains avantages: il est une petite ville, berceau du parlementarisme européen, vous pouvez vous promener à pied d'un bout à l'autre et de considérer l'effort comme une simple promenade. La ville est traversée par deux rivières et obtenir une couverture délicieux pour le prix d'une boisson. Nous avons des coutumes et de la tradition établie de longue date, mais tous précieux culturellement et socialement acceptable, sain et presque tous sans aucun problème admettre la présence d'enfants. Les exceptions à ce que les enfants ne sont pas présents, sont pour une autre célébration pas recommandé pour les mineurs par vous raison très simple: par la fin de la course, pour l'énorme quantité de personnes qui se pressent et une tendance certaine «alcool -philia" Beaucoup de ces toute la nuit comme le parti étiré dans les premières heures. Mais le meilleur de León, de loin, est qu'il est pas la ville de Tordesillas.

 

Une des célébrations qui se concentrent la plupart des gens est précisément le moins approprié pour les enfants: L'Enterrement du Genarín. N'a pas encore réussi à rassembler une centaine d'années et plus de 20 000 en 2014. Il est le plus ancien, mais a réussi à profondément enracinée. Pas besoin de torturer ou de maltraiter un animal. Pas de risques stupides impliqués car il pourrait être un taureau vous cornease. En outre, il ne contrôle pas de politique (au moins pour l'instant). Procession sépulture qui longe image similaire dans les rues avec des lumières et des environnements similaires.

 

20.000 personnes sont la moitié de cette valeur qui peut être concentrée dans Tordesillas en cas macabre "El Toro de la Vega" tenue lors des célébrations annuelles de la villa. Tordesillas est un exemple d'une ville avec des gens qui ne sont pas parvenus à évoluer socialement dans la célébration de leurs fêtes. Aujourd'hui, sur les Rompesuelas de meurtre tumultueuses (un taureau âgé de 6 ans), a été vu dans les nouvelles régionales de Castille et Leon, les déclarations de trois personnes locales défendant le cruel événement:

1. Il est de notre parti, célébrons et non de venir à lui si elles ne aiment pas.

2. Il a été décidé depuis longtemps que nous ne devons pas cesser de célébrer. Nous la célébrons 500 ans.

3. Ici pas maltraiter le taureau. Tout le monde peut venir et voir que le taureau ne souffre pas ou est maltraité.

 

Le taureau est libéré à travers les rues de la ville en proie à de nombreuses personnes qui élèvent un pré dehors de la ville, que les habitants appellent par euphémisme «champ d'honneur», mais n'importe qui avec un minimum de sensibilité appellerait «Le domaine de l'horreur". Une fois là, des dizaines de cavaliers avec des lances de plus de 50 centimètres, chassant le taureau par la prairie, parfois plusieurs lances poignarder, où bien et le mal frappe le lancier, dans aucune partie de votre corps. L'animal continue à fonctionner fuyant le harcèlement, jusqu'à ce qu'il arrête enfin mourir. A ce moment, une personne est responsable de coller un couteau dans la base de son crâne pour essayer de tuer définitivement, ce qui en Espagne est appelée «donner la dentelle." Pas toujours droit à la première et parfois complètement ratés et le taureau mourant mais vivant, passer à la phase suivante. Si le tournoi ne soit pas déclarée invalide par un de ses étranges, absurdes et cruelles règles, un gagnant de la «Tournoi», qui sera donné les testicules et la queue du taureau être nommé; il y aura l'amputé, comme mentionné, parfois encore en vie.

 

Tordesillas garantit comme un parti avec des racines et des traditions profondes. Les dirigeants espagnols, à la fois l'état de la région autonome et de la ville elle-même ne cherche pas à éduquer la population de ce village dans les valeurs des sociétés avancées. Ne pas aider à penser et de conduire plus de valeur à leurs alternatives culturelles et des célébrations, des solutions de rechange ne reposent pas sur la souffrance, ou la torture, voire la mort. On pourrait penser que malicieusement ce qui compte vraiment pour les dirigeants politiques est que ces gens sont brutalisés que possible, qui est un ensemble de voix de récolte facile.

 

Associations animales ont proposé de tenir un événement musical à Tordesillas projet national et plusieurs jours, le "RockInVega"; pas convaincu. Historiquement les femmes ont joué un rôle majeur dans cette ville: Leonor de Guzman, Marie-Reine du Portugal, Maria de Padilla, Jane Manuel (épouse de Henri II), Leonor de Aragon, Béatrice de Portugal et Juana I de Castille. Il est un endroit idéal pour exalter la figure féminine en ces temps de persistance de la violence entre les sexes et donc jamais oublier les célébrations de la mort, la douleur et la torture. Ils peuvent aussi tenir des négociations entre la Castille et le Portugal dans le traité de Tordesillas. Mais il n'y a aucun moyen, il ya un effort insensé de maintenir une tradition sanglante du Moyen Age, ceux dans lesquels les chefs d'accusation ont été célèbrent les mariages avec des invités provenant de bovins de haute race et tombent dans la rivière pour le plaisir ou effectuant un tournoi d'une Lancer de taureau.

 

L'Union régionaliste de Castille et Leon, entre autres associations, défend le massacre cruel et soutient que ce sont les habitants de Tordesillas eux-mêmes qui doivent décider de continuer de célébrer l'événement. Lorsque la maltraitance des animaux dans la célébration, en l'absence de plaisir à la torture, la douleur et la mort, ne devrait pas être l'exécuteur de telles atrocités qui doit décider de poursuivre ou non perpétré l'attentat. Ils doivent être ceux qui sensée et cohérente avec les durées qui doivent appliquer les lois affectent, ou créer si pas, de sorte que ces pratiques ne sont pas réunies à l'heure actuelle raisonnement. En bref: la culpabilité de la douleur, la torture et la mort à Tordesillas est non seulement les habitants, est Juan Vicente Herrera et tous les autres députés du Parlement de Castilla-León devraient légiférer de manière appropriée pour leur disparition et Temple de Tordesillas propres et dernier séjour, l'État espagnol.

 

Mais notre classe politique, la plus grande partie imprégnée de caractères de regard Médiocre, préfèrent les votes au détriment du sang et de la douleur: des électeurs amusant, même avec du sang!.

Remarque: Aujourd'hui Rompesuelas aurait été pardonné parce qu'il est sorti de "Field of Horror". Ils ont également tué.

 

Prendre: Pendant la promenade, il disparaît dans la rue et sous Caño Badillo. Je regarde en arrière et je vois un fragment de la cathédrale entre les murs et les toits. Six lampes de l'éclairage, on ne voit pas directement, ce qui est l'arrière-plan sous la cathédrale. Je me plais à imaginer la scène et plus d'obscurité qui a vraiment besoin à ce moment. Encadrée et fusillés.

 

Traitement: Avec Aperture. Original JPG. Re-trame à nouveau la scène. Augmenter la densité du noir pour isoler certains détails et de lumières. Augmenter la définition et la vibration de la couleur. Puis abaissez le niveau d'intensité élevée pour réduire d'autres faits saillants et la luminosité de voitures garées, en essayant de laisser des taches de lumière sur une lumières de la scène sombres.

 

Voilà, c'est tout!

 

Square bana J. Jelacic is the oldest square in the city. on the central square there is a votive Column ("Plague Column") with the image of the Virgin was built after the plague epidemic in 1691. In the geometric center of the whole stars is a well from 1869 decorated with allegorical representations of rivers, built on the site of the Baroque fountain that drew water from the defendant or borlinskih wells. On the western side is the church and monastery of the Most Holy Trinity.

Voting begins today in the Brazilian Supreme Court on the alleged vote-buying "mensalão" scandal:

brazzilmag.com/component/content/article/113-august-2012/...

At the request of his lovely wife Mitzi, for our friend Dennis Price's 50th birthday, many VirtuaLUG members built vignettes as gifts. Dennis opened them this week and I'm happy to share this build of one of his favorite books - To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee.

 

This vignette represents Atticus Finch defending Tom Robinson in court and is based on the film adaptation. A fellow educator, Dennis has expressed a particular fondness for this text and I couldn't resist a chance to build Gregory Peck and Brock Peters in ABS.

 

Happy birthday Dennis!

 

"I’m no idealist to believe firmly in the integrity of our courts and in the jury

system—that is no ideal to me, it is a living, working reality. Gentlemen, a court

is no better than each man of you sitting before me on this jury. A court is only as

sound as its jury, and a jury is only as sound as the men who make it up. I am

confident that you gentlemen will review without passion the evidence you have

heard, come to a decision, and restore this defendant to his family. In the name of

God, do your duty.”

Atticus’s voice had dropped, and as he turned away from the jury he said

something I did not catch. He said it more to himself than to the court. I punched

Jem. “What’d he say?”

“‘In the name of God, believe him,’ I think that’s what he said.”

Vienna Regional Court for Criminal Matters

The Vienna Regional Court for Criminal Matters (colloquially referred to as "landl" (Landesgericht)) is one of 20 regional courts in Austria and the largest court in Austria. It is located in the 8th District of Vienna, Josefstadt, at the Landesgerichtsstraße 11. It is a court of first respectively second instance. A prisoners house, the prison Josefstadt, popularly often known as the "Grey House" is connected.

Court Organization

In this complex there are:

the Regional Court for Criminal Matters Vienna,

the Vienna District Attorney (current senior prosecutor Maria-Luise Nittel)

the Jurists association-trainee lawer union (Konzipientenverband) and

the largest in Austria existing court house jail, the Vienna Josefstadt prison.

The Regional Criminal Court has jurisdiction in the first instance for crimes and offenses that are not pertain before the district court. Depending on the severity of the crime, there is a different procedure. Either decides

a single judge,

a senate of lay assessors

or the jury court.

In the second instance, the District Court proceeds appeals and complaints against judgments of district courts. A three-judge Court decides here whether the judgment is canceled or not and, if necessary, it establishes a new sentence.

The current President Friedrich Forsthuber is supported by two Vice Presidents - Henriette Braitenberg-Zennenberg and Eve Brachtel.

In September 2012, the following data have been published

Austria's largest court

270 office days per year

daily 1500 people

70 judges, 130 employees in the offices

5300 proceedings (2011) for the custodial judges and legal protection magistrates, representing about 40 % of the total Austrian juridical load of work

over 7400 procedures at the trial judges (30 % of the total Austrian juridical load of work)

Prosecution with 93 prosecutors and 250 employees

19,000 cases against 37,000 offenders (2011 )

Josefstadt prison with 1,200 inmates (overcrowded)

History

1839-1918

The original building of the Vienna Court House, the so-called civil Schranne (corn market), was from 1440 to 1839 located at the Hoher Markt 5. In 1773 the Schrannenplatz was enlarged under Emperor Joseph II and the City Court and the Regional Court of the Viennese Magistrate in this house united. From this time it bore the designation "criminal court".

Due to shortcomings of the prison rooms in the Old Court on Hoher Markt was already at the beginning of the 19th Century talk of building a new crime courthouse, but this had to be postponed because of bankruptcy in 1811.

In 1816 the construction of the criminal court building was approved. Although in the first place there were voices against a construction outside the city, as building ground was chosen the area of the civil Schießstätte (shooting place) and the former St. Stephanus-Freithofes in then Alservorstadt (suburb); today, in this part Josefstadt. The plans of architect Johann Fischer were approved in 1831, and in 1832 was began with the construction, which was completed in 1839. On 14 May 1839 was held the first meeting of the Council.

Provincial Court at the Landesgerichtsstraße between November 1901 and 1906

Johann Fischer fell back in his plans to Tuscan early Renaissance palaces as the Pitti Palace or Palazzo Pandolfini in Florence. The building was erected on a 21,872 m² plot with a length of 223 meters. It had two respectively three floors (upper floors), the courtyard was divided into three wings, in which the prisoner's house stood. In addition, a special department for the prison hospital (Inquisitenspital ) and a chapel were built.

The Criminal Court of Vienna was from 1839 to 1850 a city court which is why the Vice Mayor of Vienna was president of the criminal courts in civil and criminal matters at the same time. In 1850 followed the abolition of municipal courts. The state administration took over the Criminal Court on 1 Juli 1850. From now on, it had the title "K.K. Country's criminal court in Vienna".

1851, juries were introduced. Those met in the large meeting hall, then as now, was on the second floor of the office wing. The room presented a double height space (two floors). 1890/1891 followed a horizontal subdivision. Initially, the building stood all alone there. Only with the 1858 in the wake of the demolition of the city walls started urban expansion it was surrounded by other buildings.

From 1870 to 1878, the Court experienced numerous conversions. Particular attention was paid to the tract that connects directly to the Alserstraße. On previously building ground a three-storey arrest tract and the Jury Court tract were built. New supervened the "Neutrakt", which presented a real extension and was built three respectively four storied. From 1873 on, executions were not executed publicly anymore but only in the prison house. The first execution took place on 16 December 1876 in the "Galgenhof" (gallow courtyard), the accused were hanged there on the Würgegalgen (choke gallow).

By 1900 the prisoners house was extended. In courtyard II of the prison house kitchen, laundry and workshop buildings and a bathing facility for the prisoners were created. 1906/1907 the office building was enlarged. The two-storied wing tract got a third and three-storied central section a fourth floor fitted.

1918-1938

In the early years of the First Republic took place changes of the court organization. Due to the poor economy and the rapid inflation, the number of cases and the number of inmates rose sharply. Therefore, it was in Vienna on 1 October 1920 established a second Provincial Court, the Regional Court of Criminal Matters II Vienna, as well as an Expositur of the prisoner house at Garnisongasse.

One of the most important trials of the interwar period was the shadow village-process (Schattendorfprozess - nomen est omen!), in which on 14th July 1927, the three defendants were acquitted. In January 1927 front fighters had shot into a meeting of the Social Democratic Party of Austria, killing two people. The outrage over the acquittal was great. At a mass demonstration in front of the Palace of Justice on 15th July 1927, which mainly took place in peaceful manner, invaded radical elements in the Palace of Justice and set fire ( Fire of the Palace Justice), after which the overstrained police preyed upon peaceful protesters fleeing from the scene and caused many deaths.

The 1933/1934 started corporate state dictatorship had led sensational processes against their opponents: examples are the National Socialists processes 1934 and the Socialists process in 1936 against 28 "illegal" socialists and two Communists, in which among others the later leaders Bruno Kreisky and Franz Jonas sat on the dock.

Also in 1934 in the wake of the February Fights and the July Coup a series of processes were carried out by summary courts and military courts. Several ended with death sentences that were carried out by hanging in "Galgenhof" of the district court .

1938-1945

The first measures the Nazis at the Regional Criminal Court after the "Anschluss" of Austria to the German Reich in 1938 had carried out, consisted of the erection of a monument to ten Nazis, during the processes of the events in July 1934 executed, and of the creation of an execution space (then space 47 C, today consecration space where 650 names of resistance fighters are shown) with a guillotine supplied from Berlin (then called device F, F (stands for Fallbeil) like guillotine).

During the period of National Socialism were in Vienna Regional Court of 6 December 1938 to 4th April 1945 1.184 persons executed. Of those, 537 were political death sentences against civilians, 67 beheadings of soldiers, 49 war-related offenses, 31 criminal cases. Among those executed were 93 women in all age groups, including a 16-year-old girl and a 72-year-old woman who had both been executed for political reasons.

On 30 June 1942 were beheaded ten railwaymen from Styria and Carinthia, who were active in the resistance. On 31 July 1943, 31 people were beheaded in an hour, a day later, 30. The bodies were later handed over to the Institute of Anatomy at the University of Vienna and remaining body parts buried later without a stir at Vienna's Central Cemetery in shaft graves. To thein the Nazi era executed, which were called "Justifizierte" , belonged the nun Maria Restituta Kafka and the theology student Hannsgeorg Heintschel-Heinegg.

The court at that time was directly subordinated to the Ministry of Justice in Berlin.

1945-present

The A-tract (Inquisitentrakt), which was destroyed during a bombing raid in 1944 was built in the Second Republic again. This was also necessary because of the prohibition law of 8 May 1945 and the Criminal Law of 26 June 1945 courts and prisons had to fight with an overcrowding of unprecedented proportions.

On 24 March 1950, the last execution took place in the Grey House. Women murderer Johann Trnka had two women attacked in his home and brutally murdered, he had to bow before this punishment. On 1 July 1950 the death penalty was abolished in the ordinary procedure by Parliament. Overall, occured in the Regionl Court of Criminal Matters 1248 executions. In 1967, the execution site was converted into a memorial.

In the early 1980s, the building complex was revitalized and expanded. The building in the Florianigasse 8, which previously had been renovated, served during this time as an emergency shelter for some of the departments. In 1994, the last reconstruction, actually the annex of the courtroom tract, was completed. In 2003, the Vienna Juvenile Court was dissolved as an independent court, iIts agendas were integrated in the country's criminal court.

Prominent processes since 1945, for example, the Krauland process in which a ÖVP (Österreichische Volkspartei - Austrian People's Party) minister was accused of offenses against properties, the affair of the former SPÖ (Sozialistische Partei Österreichs - Austrian Socialist Party) Minister and Trade Unions president Franz Olah, whose unauthorized financial assistance resulted in a newspaper establishment led to conviction, the murder affairs Sassak and the of the Lainzer nurses (as a matter of fact, auxiliary nurses), the consumption (Konsum - consumer cooporatives) process, concerning the responsibility of the consumer Manager for the bankruptcy of the company, the Lucona proceedings against Udo Proksch, a politically and socially very well- networked man, who was involved in an attempted insurance fraud, several people losing their lives, the trial of the Nazi Holocaust denier David Irving for Wiederbetätigung (re-engagement in National Socialist activities) and the BAWAG affair in which it comes to breaches of duty by bank managers and vanished money.

Presidents of the Regional Court for Criminal Matters in Vienna since 1839 [edit ]

 

Josef Hollan (1839-1844)

Florian Philipp (1844-1849)

Eduard Ritter von Wittek (1850-1859)

Franz Ritter von Scharschmied (1859-1864)

Franz Ritter von Boschan (1864-1872)

Franz Josef Babitsch (1873-1874)

Joseph Ritter von Weitenhiller (1874-1881)

Franz Schwaiger (1881-1889)

Eduard Graf Lamezan -Salins (1889-1895)

Julius von Soos (1895-1903)

Paul von Vittorelli (1903-1909)

Johann Feigl (1909-1918)

Karl Heidt (1918-1919)

Ludwig Altmann (1920-1929)

Emil Tursky (1929-1936)

Philipp Charwath (1936-1938)

Otto Nahrhaft (1945-1950)

Rudolf Naumann (1951-1954)

Wilhelm Malaniu (1955-1963)

Johann Schuster (1963-1971)

Konrad Wymetal (1972-1976)

August Matouschek (1977-1989)

Günter Woratsch (1990-2004)

Ulrike Psenner (2004-2009)

Friedrich Forsthuber (since 2010)

de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landesgericht_f%C3%BCr_Strafsachen_...

Insurers for the National Trust are suing a construction company and a building consultancy firm over a fire that gutted Clandon House in Surrey.

 

The 18th-century mansion near Guildford was nearly destroyed in the blaze in 2015.

 

It is thought to have been started by an electrical fault.

 

A spokesman for insurers Zurich Municipal said: "We have been working closely with the National Trust on this complex claim."

 

The roof and upper floors of Grade I listed Clandon Park were destroyed in the fire, which is believed to have started in an electrical distribution board located in a cupboard in the basement.

 

It then spread through a lift shaft and voids in the building, up into the roof.

 

Several hundred artefacts were recovered and the building, now covered with scaffolding, is to be restored in a £30m project.

 

In a statement, a National Trust spokeswoman said: "Our insurers Zurich Municipal are pursuing legal action against third parties for the losses suffered at Clandon Park during the fire on 29 April 2015.

 

"The National Trust is providing support in that litigation and we cannot comment on any questions relating to the case."

 

The claim involves building company Cuffe Plc and property consultants Tuffin Ferraby Taylor (TFT).

 

A spokesman for TFT said: "We are co-defendants in this action and very much the junior of the defendants. The fire at Clandon Park was significant but the work we did there was minimal, and peripheral to the issues that will be contested."

 

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-surrey-53396657

Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve is a U.S. national monument and national preserve in the Snake River Plain in central Idaho. It is along US 20 (concurrent with US 93 and US 26), between the small towns of Arco and Carey, at an average elevation of 5,900 feet (1,800 m) above sea level.

 

The Monument was established on May 2, 1924. In November 2000, a presidential proclamation by President Clinton greatly expanded the Monument area. The 410,000-acre National Park Service portions of the expanded Monument were designated as Craters of the Moon National Preserve in August 2002. It spreads across Blaine, Butte, Lincoln, Minidoka, and Power counties. The area is managed cooperatively by the National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

 

The Monument and Preserve encompass three major lava fields and about 400 square miles (1,000 km2) of sagebrush steppe grasslands to cover a total area of 1,117 square miles (2,893 km2). The Monument alone covers 343,000 acres (139,000 ha). All three lava fields lie along the Great Rift of Idaho, with some of the best examples of open rift cracks in the world, including the deepest known on Earth at 800 feet (240 m). There are excellent examples of almost every variety of basaltic lava, as well as tree molds (cavities left by lava-incinerated trees), lava tubes (a type of cave), and many other volcanic features.

 

Craters of the Moon is in south-central Idaho, midway between Boise and Yellowstone National Park. The lava field reaches southeastward from the Pioneer Mountains. Combined U.S. Highway 20–26–93 cuts through the northwestern part of the monument and provides access to it. However, the rugged landscape of the monument itself remains remote and undeveloped, with only one paved road across the northern end.

 

The Craters of the Moon Lava Field spreads across 618 square miles (1,601 km2) and is the largest mostly Holocene-aged basaltic lava field in the contiguous United States. The Monument and Preserve contain more than 25 volcanic cones, including outstanding examples of spatter cones. The 60 distinct solidified lava flows that form the Craters of the Moon Lava Field range in age from 15,000 to just 2,000 years. The Kings Bowl and Wapi lava fields, both about 2,200 years old, are part of the National Preserve.

 

This lava field is the largest of several large beds of lava that erupted from the 53-mile (85 km) south-east to north-west trending Great Rift volcanic zone, a line of weakness in the Earth's crust. Together with fields from other fissures they make up the Lava Beds of Idaho, which in turn are in the much larger Snake River Plain volcanic province. The Great Rift extends across almost the entire Snake River Plain.

 

Elevation at the visitor center is 5,900 feet (1,800 m) above sea level.

 

Total average precipitation in the Craters of the Moon area is between 15–20 inches (380–510 mm) per year. Most of this is lost in cracks in the basalt, only to emerge later in springs and seeps in the walls of the Snake River Canyon. Older lava fields on the plain have been invaded by drought-resistant plants such as sagebrush, while younger fields, such as Craters of the Moon, only have a seasonal and very sparse cover of vegetation. From a distance this cover disappears almost entirely, giving an impression of utter black desolation. Repeated lava flows over the last 15,000 years have raised the land surface enough to expose it to the prevailing southwesterly winds, which help to keep the area dry. Together these conditions make life on the lava field difficult.

 

Paleo-Indians visited the area about 12,000 years ago but did not leave much archaeological evidence. Northern Shoshone created trails through the Craters of the Moon Lava Field during their summer migrations from the Snake River to the camas prairie, west of the lava field. Stone windbreaks at Indian Tunnel were used to protect campsites from the dry summer wind. No evidence exists for permanent habitation by any Native American group. A hunting and gathering culture, the Northern Shoshone pursued elk, bears, American bison, cougars, and bighorn sheep — all large game who no longer range the area. The most recent volcanic eruptions ended about 2,100 years ago and were likely witnessed by the Shoshone people. Ella E. Clark has recorded a Shoshone legend which speaks of a serpent on a mountain who, angered by lightning, coiled around and squeezed the mountain until liquid rock flowed, fire shot from cracks, and the mountain exploded.

 

In 1879, two Arco cattlemen named Arthur Ferris and J.W. Powell became the first known European-Americans to explore the lava fields. They were investigating its possible use for grazing and watering cattle but found the area to be unsuitable and left.

 

U.S. Army Captain and western explorer B.L.E. Bonneville visited the lava fields and other places in the West in the 19th century and wrote about his experiences in his diaries. Washington Irving later used Bonneville's diaries to write the Adventures of Captain Bonneville, saying this unnamed lava field is a place "where nothing meets the eye but a desolate and awful waste, where no grass grows nor water runs, and where nothing is to be seen but lava."

 

In 1901 and 1903, Israel Russell became the first geologist to study this area while surveying it for the United States Geological Survey (USGS). In 1910, Samuel Paisley continued Russell's work and later became the monument's first custodian. Others followed and in time much of the mystery surrounding this and the other Lava Beds of Idaho was lifted.

 

The few European settlers who visited the area in the 19th century created local legends that it looked like the surface of the Moon. Geologist Harold T. Stearns coined the name "Craters of the Moon" in 1923 while trying to convince the National Park Service to recommend protection of the area in a national monument.

 

The Snake River Plain is a volcanic province that was created by a series of cataclysmic caldera-forming eruptions which started about 15 million years ago. A migrating hotspot thought to now exist under Yellowstone Caldera in Yellowstone National Park has been implicated. This hot spot was under the Craters of the Moon area some 10 to 11 million years ago but 'moved' as the North American Plate migrated northwestward. Pressure from the hot spot heaves the land surface up, creating fault-block mountains. After the hot spot passes the pressure is released and the land subsides.

 

Leftover heat from this hot spot was later liberated by Basin and Range-associated rifting and created the many overlapping lava flows that make up the Lava Beds of Idaho. The largest rift zone is the Great Rift; it is from this 'Great Rift fissure system' that Craters of the Moon, Kings Bowl, and Wapi lava fields were created. The Great Rift is a National Natural Landmark.

 

In spite of their fresh appearance, the oldest flows in the Craters of the Moon Lava Field are 15,000 years old and the youngest erupted about 2000 years ago, according to Mel Kuntz and other USGS geologists. Nevertheless, the volcanic fissures at Craters of the Moon are considered to be dormant, not extinct, and are expected to erupt again in less than a thousand years. There are eight major eruptive periods recognized in the Craters of the Moon Lava Field. Each period lasted about 1000 years or less and were separated by relatively quiet periods that lasted between 500 and as long as 3000 years. Individual lava flows were up to 30 miles (50 km) long with the Blue Dragon Flow being the longest.

 

Kings Bowl Lava Field erupted during a single fissure eruption on the southern part of the Great Rift about 2,250 years ago. This eruption probably lasted only a few hours to a few days. The field preserves explosion pits, lava lakes, squeeze-ups, basalt mounds, and an ash blanket. The Wapi Lava Field probably formed from a fissure eruption at the same time as the Kings Bowl eruption. More prolonged activity over a period of months to a few years led to the formation of low shield volcanoes in the Wapi field. The Bear Trap lava tube, between the Craters of the Moon and the Wapi lava fields, is a cave system more than 15 miles (24 km) long. The lava tube is remarkable for its length and for the number of well-preserved lava cave features, such as lava stalactites and curbs, the latter marking high stands of the flowing lava frozen on the lava tube walls. The lava tubes and pit craters of the monument are known for their unusual preservation of winter ice and snow into the hot summer months, due to shielding from the sun and the insulating properties of basalt.

 

A typical eruption along the Great Rift and similar basaltic rift systems starts with a curtain of very fluid lava shooting up to 1,000 feet (300 m) high along a segment of the rift up to 1 mile (1.6 km) long. As the eruption continues, pressure and heat decrease and the chemistry of the lava becomes slightly more silica rich. The curtain of lava responds by breaking apart into separate vents. Various types of volcanoes may form at these vents: gas-rich pulverized lava creates cinder cones (such as Inferno Cone – stop 4), and pasty lava blobs form spatter cones (such as Spatter Cones – stop 5). Later stages of an eruption push lava streams out through the side or base of cinder cones, which usually ends the life of the cinder cone (North Crater, Watchmen, and Sheep Trail Butte are notable exceptions). This will sometimes breach part of the cone and carry it away as large and craggy blocks of cinder (as seen at North Crater Flow – stop 2 – and Devils Orchard – stop 3). Solid crust forms over lava streams, and lava tubes (a type of cave) are created when lava vacates its course (examples can be seen at the Cave Area – stop 7).

 

Geologists feared that a large earthquake that shook Borah Peak, Idaho's tallest mountain, in 1983 would restart volcanic activity at Craters of the Moon, though this proved not to be the case. Geologists predict that the area will experience its next eruption some time in the next 900 years with the most likely period in the next 100 years.

 

All plants and animals that live in and around Craters of the Moon are under great environmental stress due to constant dry winds and heat-absorbing black lavas that tend to quickly sap water from living things. Summer soil temperatures often exceed 150 °F (66 °C) and plant cover is generally less than 5% on cinder cones and about 15% over the entire monument. Adaptation is therefore necessary for survival in this semi-arid harsh climate.

 

Water is usually only found deep inside holes at the bottom of blow-out craters. Animals therefore get the moisture they need directly from their food. The black soil on and around cinder cones does not hold moisture for long, making it difficult for plants to establish themselves. Soil particles first develop from direct rock decomposition by lichens and typically collect in crevices in lava flows. Successively more complex plants then colonize the microhabitat created by the increasingly productive soil.

 

The shaded north slopes of cinder cones provide more protection from direct sunlight and prevailing southwesterly winds and have a more persistent snow cover (an important water source in early spring). These parts of cinder cones are therefore colonized by plants first.

 

Gaps between lava flows were sometimes cut off from surrounding vegetation. These literal islands of habitat are called kīpukas, a Hawaiian name used for older land surrounded by younger lava. Carey Kīpuka is one such area in the southernmost part of the monument and is used as a benchmark to measure how plant cover has changed in less pristine parts of southern Idaho.

 

Idaho is a landlocked state in the Mountain West subregion of the United States. It shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border to the north, with the province of British Columbia. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington and Oregon to the west. The state's capital and largest city is Boise. With an area of 83,570 square miles (216,400 km2), Idaho is the 14th largest state by land area. With a population of approximately 1.8 million, it ranks as the 13th least populous and the 6th least densely populated of the 50 U.S. states.

 

For thousands of years, and prior to European colonization, Idaho has been inhabited by native peoples. In the early 19th century, Idaho was considered part of the Oregon Country, an area of dispute between the U.S. and the British Empire. It officially became a U.S. territory with the signing of the Oregon Treaty of 1846, but a separate Idaho Territory was not organized until 1863, instead being included for periods in Oregon Territory and Washington Territory. Idaho was eventually admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, becoming the 43rd state.

 

Forming part of the Pacific Northwest (and the associated Cascadia bioregion), Idaho is divided into several distinct geographic and climatic regions. The state's north, the relatively isolated Idaho Panhandle, is closely linked with Eastern Washington, with which it shares the Pacific Time Zone—the rest of the state uses the Mountain Time Zone. The state's south includes the Snake River Plain (which has most of the population and agricultural land), and the southeast incorporates part of the Great Basin. Idaho is quite mountainous and contains several stretches of the Rocky Mountains. The United States Forest Service holds about 38% of Idaho's land, the highest proportion of any state.

 

Industries significant for the state economy include manufacturing, agriculture, mining, forestry, and tourism. Several science and technology firms are either headquartered in Idaho or have factories there, and the state also contains the Idaho National Laboratory, which is the country's largest Department of Energy facility. Idaho's agricultural sector supplies many products, but the state is best known for its potato crop, which comprises around one-third of the nationwide yield. The official state nickname is the "Gem State."

 

The history of Idaho is an examination of the human history and social activity within the state of Idaho, one of the United States of America located in the Pacific Northwest area near the west coast of the United States and Canada. Other associated areas include southern Alaska, all of British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, western Montana and northern California and Nevada.

 

Humans may have been present in Idaho for 16,600 years. Recent findings in Cooper's Ferry along the Salmon River in western Idaho near the town of Cottonwood have unearthed stone tools and animal bone fragments in what may be the oldest evidence of humans in North America. Earlier excavations in 1959 at Wilson Butte Cave near Twin Falls revealed evidence of human activity, including arrowheads, that rank among the oldest dated artifacts in North America. Native American tribes predominant in the area in historic times included the Nez Perce and the Coeur d'Alene in the north; and the Northern and Western Shoshone and Bannock peoples in the south.

 

Idaho was one of the last areas in the lower 48 states of the US to be explored by people of European descent. The Lewis and Clark expedition entered present-day Idaho on August 12, 1805, at Lemhi Pass. It is believed that the first "European descent" expedition to enter southern Idaho was by a group led in 1811 and 1812 by Wilson Price Hunt, which navigated the Snake River while attempting to blaze an all-water trail westward from St. Louis, Missouri, to Astoria, Oregon. At that time, approximately 8,000 Native Americans lived in the region.

 

Fur trading led to the first significant incursion of Europeans in the region. Andrew Henry of the Missouri Fur Company first entered the Snake River plateau in 1810. He built Fort Henry on Henry's Fork on the upper Snake River, near modern St. Anthony, Idaho. However, this first American fur post west of the Rocky Mountains was abandoned the following spring.

 

The British-owned Hudson's Bay Company next entered Idaho and controlled the trade in the Snake River area by the 1820s. The North West Company's interior department of the Columbia was created in June 1816, and Donald Mackenzie was assigned as its head. Mackenzie had previously been employed by Hudson's Bay and had been a partner in the Pacific Fur Company, financed principally by John Jacob Astor. During these early years, he traveled west with a Pacific Fur Company's party and was involved in the initial exploration of the Salmon River and Clearwater River. The company proceeded down the lower Snake River and Columbia River by canoe, and were the first of the Overland Astorians to reach Fort Astoria, on January 18, 1812.

 

Under Mackenzie, the North West Company was a dominant force in the fur trade in the Snake River country. Out of Fort George in Astoria, Mackenzie led fur brigades up the Snake River in 1816-1817 and up the lower Snake in 1817-1818. Fort Nez Perce, established in July, 1818, became the staging point for Mackenzies' Snake brigades. The expedition of 1818-1819 explored the Blue Mountains, and traveled down the Snake River to the Bear River and approached the headwaters of the Snake. Mackenzie sought to establish a navigable route up the Snake River from Fort Nez Perce to the Boise area in 1819. While he did succeed in traveling by boat from the Columbia River through the Grand Canyon of the Snake past Hells Canyon, he concluded that water transport was generally impractical. Mackenzie held the first rendezvous in the region on the Boise River in 1819.

 

Despite their best efforts, early American fur companies in this region had difficulty maintaining the long-distance supply lines from the Missouri River system into the Intermountain West. However, Americans William H. Ashley and Jedediah Smith expanded the Saint Louis fur trade into Idaho in 1824. The 1832 trapper's rendezvous at Pierre's Hole, held at the foot of the Three Tetons in modern Teton County, was followed by an intense battle between the Gros Ventre and a large party of American trappers aided by their Nez Perce and Flathead allies.

 

The prospect of missionary work among the Native Americans also attracted early settlers to the region. In 1809, Kullyspell House, the first white-owned establishment and first trading post in Idaho, was constructed. In 1836, the Reverend Henry H. Spalding established a Protestant mission near Lapwai, where he printed the Northwest's first book, established Idaho's first school, developed its first irrigation system, and grew the state's first potatoes. Narcissa Whitman and Eliza Hart Spalding were the first non-native women to enter present-day Idaho.

 

Cataldo Mission, the oldest standing building in Idaho, was constructed at Cataldo by the Coeur d'Alene and Catholic missionaries. In 1842, Father Pierre-Jean De Smet, with Fr. Nicholas Point and Br. Charles Duet, selected a mission location along the St. Joe River. The mission was moved a short distance away in 1846, as the original location was subject to flooding. In 1850, Antonio Ravalli designed a new mission building and Indians affiliated with the church effort built the mission, without nails, using the wattle and daub method. In time, the Cataldo mission became an important stop for traders, settlers, and miners. It served as a place for rest from the trail, offered needed supplies, and was a working port for boats heading up the Coeur d'Alene River.

 

During this time, the region which became Idaho was part of an unorganized territory known as Oregon Country, claimed by both the United States and Great Britain. The United States gained undisputed jurisdiction over the region in the Oregon Treaty of 1846, although the area was under the de facto jurisdiction of the Provisional Government of Oregon from 1843 to 1849. The original boundaries of Oregon Territory in 1848 included all three of the present-day Pacific Northwest states and extended eastward to the Continental Divide. In 1853, areas north of the 46th Parallel became Washington Territory, splitting what is now Idaho in two. The future state was reunited in 1859 after Oregon became a state and the boundaries of Washington Territory were redrawn.

 

While thousands passed through Idaho on the Oregon Trail or during the California gold rush of 1849, few people settled there. In 1860, the first of several gold rushes in Idaho began at Pierce in present-day Clearwater County. By 1862, settlements in both the north and south had formed around the mining boom.

 

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints missionaries founded Fort Lemhi in 1855, but the settlement did not last. The first organized town in Idaho was Franklin, settled in April 1860 by Mormon pioneers who believed they were in Utah Territory; although a later survey determined they had crossed the border. Mormon pioneers reached areas near the current-day Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming and established most of the historic and modern communities in Southeastern Idaho. These settlements include Ammon, Blackfoot, Chubbuck, Firth, Idaho Falls, Iona, Pocatello, Rexburg, Rigby, Shelley, and Ucon.

 

Large numbers of English immigrants settled in what is now the state of Idaho in the late 19th and early 20th century, many before statehood. The English found they had more property rights and paid less taxes than they did back in England. They were considered some of the most desirable immigrants at the time. Many came from humble beginnings and would rise to prominence in Idaho. Frank R. Gooding was raised in a rural working-class background in England, but was eventually elected as the seventh governor of the state. Today people of English descent make up one fifth of the entire state of Idaho and form a plurality in the southern portion of the state.

 

Many German farmers also settled in what is now Idaho. German settlers were primarily Lutheran across all of the midwest and west, including Idaho, however there were small numbers of Catholics amongst them as well. In parts of Northern Idaho, German remained the dominant language until World War I, when German-Americans were pressured to convert entirely to English. Today, Idahoans of German ancestry make up nearly one fifth of all Idahoans and make up the second largest ethnic group after Idahoans of English descent with people of German ancestry being 18.1% of the state and people of English ancestry being 20.1% of the state.

 

Irish Catholics worked in railroad centers such as Boise. Today, 10% of Idahoans self-identify as having Irish ancestry.

 

York, a slave owned by William Clark but considered a full member of Corps of Discovery during expedition to the Pacific, was the first recorded African American in Idaho. There is a significant African American population made up of those who came west after the abolition of slavery. Many settled near Pocatello and were ranchers, entertainers, and farmers. Although free, many blacks suffered discrimination in the early-to-mid-late 20th century. The black population of the state continues to grow as many come to the state because of educational opportunities, to serve in the military, and for other employment opportunities. There is a Black History Museum in Boise, Idaho, with an exhibit known as the "Invisible Idahoan", which chronicles the first African-Americans in the state. Blacks are the fourth largest ethnic group in Idaho according to the 2000 census. Mountain Home, Boise, and Garden City have significant African-American populations.

 

The Basque people from the Iberian peninsula in Spain and southern France were traditionally shepherds in Europe. They came to Idaho, offering hard work and perseverance in exchange for opportunity. One of the largest Basque communities in the US is in Boise, with a Basque museum and festival held annually in the city.

 

Chinese in the mid-19th century came to America through San Francisco to work on the railroad and open businesses. By 1870, there were over 4000 Chinese and they comprised almost 30% of the population. They suffered discrimination due to the Anti-Chinese League in the 19th century which sought to limit the rights and opportunities of Chinese emigrants. Today Asians are third in population demographically after Whites and Hispanics at less than 2%.

 

Main articles: Oregon boundary dispute, Provisional Government of Oregon, Oregon Treaty, Oregon Territory, Washington Territory, Dakota Territory, Organic act § List of organic acts, and Idaho Territory

 

On March 4, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln signed an act creating Idaho Territory from portions of Washington Territory and Dakota Territory with its capital at Lewiston. The original Idaho Territory included most of the areas that later became the states of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, and had a population of under 17,000. Idaho Territory assumed the boundaries of the modern state in 1868 and was admitted as a state in 1890.

 

After Idaho became a territory, legislation was held in Lewiston, the capital of Idaho Territory at the time. There were many territories acts put into place, and then taken away during these early sessions, one act being the move of the capital city from Lewiston to Boise City. Boise was becoming a growing area after gold was found, so on December 24, 1864, Boise City was made the final destination of the capital for the Territory of Idaho.

 

However, moving the capital to Boise City created a lot of issues between the territory. This was especially true between the north and south areas in the territory, due to how far south Boise City was. Problems with communicating between the north and south contributed to some land in Idaho Territory being transferred to other territories and areas at the time. Idaho’s early boundary changes helped create the current boundaries of Washington, Wyoming, and Montana States as currently exist.

 

In a bid for statehood, Governor Edward A. Stevenson called for a constitutional convention in 1889. The convention approved a constitution on August 6, 1889, and voters approved the constitution on November 5, 1889.

 

When President Benjamin Harrison signed the law admitting Idaho as a U.S. state on July 3, 1890, the population was 88,548. George L. Shoup became the state's first governor, but resigned after only a few weeks in office to take a seat in the United States Senate. Willis Sweet, a Republican, was the first congressman, 1890 to 1895, representing the state at-large. He vigorously demanded "Free Silver" or the unrestricted coinage of silver into legal tender, in order to pour money into the large silver mining industry in the Mountain West, but he was defeated by supporters of the gold standard. In 1896 he, like many Republicans from silver mining districts, supported the Silver Republican Party instead of the regular Republican nominee William McKinley.

 

During its first years of statehood, Idaho was plagued by labor unrest in the mining district of Coeur d'Alene. In 1892, miners called a strike which developed into a shooting war between union miners and company guards. Each side accused the other of starting the fight. The first shots were exchanged at the Frisco mine in Frisco, in the Burke-Canyon north and east of Wallace. The Frisco mine was blown up, and company guards were taken prisoner. The violence soon spilled over into the nearby community of Gem, where union miners attempted to locate a Pinkerton spy who had infiltrated their union and was passing information to the mine operators. But agent Charlie Siringo escaped by cutting a hole in the floor of his room. Strikers forced the Gem mine to close, then traveled west to the Bunker Hill mining complex near Wardner, and closed down that facility as well. Several had been killed in the Burke-Canyon fighting. The Idaho National Guard and federal troops were dispatched to the area, and union miners and sympathizers were thrown into bullpens.

 

Hostilities would again erupt at the Bunker Hill facility in 1899, when seventeen union miners were fired for having joined the union. Other union miners were likewise ordered to draw their pay and leave. Angry members of the union converged on the area and blew up the Bunker Hill Mill, killing two company men.

 

In both disputes, the union's complaints included pay, hours of work, the right of miners to belong to the union, and the mine owners' use of informants and undercover agents. The violence committed by union miners was answered with a brutal response in 1892 and in 1899.

 

Through the Western Federation of Miners (WFM) union, the battles in the mining district became closely tied to a major miners' strike in Colorado. The struggle culminated in the December 1905 assassination of former Governor Frank Steunenberg by Harry Orchard (also known as Albert Horsley), a member of the WFM. Orchard was allegedly incensed by Steunenberg's efforts as governor to put down the 1899 miner uprising after being elected on a pro-labor platform.

 

Pinkerton detective James McParland conducted the investigation into the assassination. In 1907, WFM Secretary Treasurer "Big Bill" Haywood and two other WFM leaders were tried on a charge of conspiracy to murder Steunenberg, with Orchard testifying against them as part of a deal made with McParland. The nationally publicized trial featured Senator William E. Borah as prosecuting attorney and Clarence Darrow representing the defendants. The defense team presented evidence that Orchard had been a Pinkerton agent and had acted as a paid informant for the Cripple Creek Mine Owners' Association. Darrow argued that Orchard's real motive in the assassination had been revenge for a declaration of martial law by Steunenberg, which prompted Orchard to gamble away a share in the Hercules silver mine that would otherwise have made him wealthy.

 

Two of the WFM leaders were acquitted in two separate trials, and the third was released. Orchard was convicted and sentenced to death. His sentence was commuted, and he spent the rest of his life in an Idaho prison.

 

Mining in Idaho was a major commercial venture, bringing a great deal of attention to the state. From 1860-1866 Idaho produced 19% of all gold in the United States, or 2.5 million ounces.

 

Most of Idaho's mining production, 1860–1969, has come from metals equating to $2.88 billion out of $3.42 billion, according to the best estimates. Of the metallic mining areas of Idaho, the Coeur d'Alene region has produced the most by far, and accounts for about 80% of the total Idaho yield.

 

Several others—Boise Basin, Wood River Valley, Stibnite, Blackbirg, and Owyhee—range considerably above the other big producers. Atlanta, Bear Valley, Bay Horse, Florence, Gilmore, Mackay, Patterson, and Yankee Fork all ran on the order of ten to twenty million dollars, and Elk City, Leesburg, Pierce, Rocky Bar, and Warren's make up the rest of the major Idaho mining areas that stand out in the sixty or so regions of production worthy of mention.

 

A number of small operations do not appear in this list of Idaho metallic mining areas: a small amount of gold was recovered from Goose Creek on Salmon Meadows; a mine near Cleveland was prospected in 1922 and produced a little manganese in 1926; a few tons of copper came from Fort Hall, and a few more tons of copper came from a mine near Montpelier. Similarly, a few tons of lead came from a property near Bear Lake, and lead-silver is known on Cassia Creek near Elba. Some gold quartz and lead-silver workings are on Ruby Creek west of Elk River, and there is a slightly developed copper operation on Deer Creek near Winchester. Molybdenum is known on Roaring River and on the east fork of the Salmon. Some scattered mining enterprises have been undertaken around Soldier Mountain and on Chief Eagle Eye Creek north of Montour.

 

Idaho proved to be one of the more receptive states to the progressive agenda of the late 19th century and early 20th century. The state embraced progressive policies such as women's suffrage (1896) and prohibition (1916) before they became federal law. Idahoans were also strongly supportive of Free Silver. The pro-bimetallism Populist and Silver Republican parties of the late 1890s were particularly successful in the state.

 

Eugenics was also a major part of the Progressive movement. In 1919, the Idaho legislature passed an Act legalizing the forced sterilization of some persons institutionalized in the state. The act was vetoed by governor D.W. Davis, who doubted its scientific merits and believed it likely violated the Equal Protection clause of the US Constitution. In 1925, the Idaho legislature passed a revised eugenics act, now tailored to avoid Davis's earlier objections. The new law created a state board of eugenics, charged with: the sterilization of all feebleminded, insane, epileptics, habitual criminals, moral degenerates and sexual perverts who are a menace to society, and providing the means for ascertaining who are such persons.

The Eugenics board was eventually folded into the state's health commission; between 1932 and 1964, a total of 30 women and eight men in Idaho were sterilized under this law. The sterilization law was formally repealed in 1972.

 

After statehood, Idaho's economy began a gradual shift away from mining toward agriculture, particularly in the south. Older mining communities such as Silver City and Rocky Bar gave way to agricultural communities incorporated after statehood, such as Nampa and Twin Falls. Milner Dam on the Snake River, completed in 1905, allowed for the formation of many agricultural communities in the Magic Valley region which had previously been nearly unpopulated.

 

Meanwhile, some of the mining towns were able to reinvent themselves as resort communities, most notably in Blaine County, where the Sun Valley ski resort opened in 1936. Others, such as Silver City and Rocky Bar, became ghost towns.

 

In the north, mining continued to be an important industry for several more decades. The closure of the Bunker Hill Mine complex in Shoshone County in the early 1980s sent the region's economy into a tailspin. Since that time, a substantial increase in tourism in north Idaho has helped the region to recover. Coeur d'Alene, a lake-side resort town, is a destination for visitors in the area.

 

Beginning in the 1980s, there was a rise in North Idaho of a few right-wing extremist and "survivalist" political groups, most notably one holding Neo-Nazi views, the Aryan Nations. These groups were most heavily concentrated in the Panhandle region of the state, particularly in the vicinity of Coeur d'Alene.

 

In 1992 a stand-off occurred between U.S. Marshals, the F.B.I., and white separatist Randy Weaver and his family at their compound at Ruby Ridge, located near the small, northern Idaho town of Naples. The ensuing fire-fight and deaths of a U.S. Marshal, and Weaver's son and wife gained national attention, and raised a considerable amount of controversy regarding the nature of acceptable force by the federal government in such situations.

 

In 2001, the Aryan Nations compound, which had been located in Hayden Lake, Idaho, was confiscated as a result of a court case, and the organization moved out of state. About the same time Boise installed an impressive stone Human Rights Memorial featuring a bronze statue of Anne Frank and quotations from her and many other writers extolling human freedom and equality.

 

The demographics of the state have changed. Due to this growth in different groups, especially in Boise, the economic expansion surged wrong-economic growth followed the high standard of living and resulted in the "growth of different groups". The population of Idaho in the 21st Century has been described as sharply divided along geographic and cultural lines due to the center of the state being dominated by sparsely-populated national forests, mountain ranges and recreation sites: "unless you're willing to navigate a treacherous mountain pass, you can't even drive from the north to the south without leaving the state." The northern population gravitates towards Spokane, Washington, the heavily Mormon south-east population towards Utah, with an isolated Boise "[being] the closest thing to a city-state that you'll find in America."

 

On March 13, 2020, officials from the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare announced the first confirmed case of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 within the state of Idaho. A woman over the age of 50 from the southwestern part of the state was confirmed to have the coronavirus infection. She contracted the infection while attending a conference in New York City. Conference coordinators notified attendees that three individuals previously tested positive for the coronavirus. The Idahoan did not require hospitalization and was recovering from mild symptoms from her home. At the time of the announcement, there were 1,629 total cases and 41 deaths in the United States. Five days beforehand, on March 8, a man of age 54 had died of an unknown respiratory illness which his doctor had believed to be pneumonia. The disease was later suspected to be – but never confirmed as – COVID-19.

 

On March 14, state officials announced the second confirmed case within the state. The South Central Public Health District, announced that a woman over the age of 50 that resides in Blaine County had contracted the infection.[44] Like the first case, she did not require hospitalization and she was recovering from mild symptoms from home. Later on in the day, three additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 were reported in the state by three of the seven health districts in the state, which brought the confirmed total cases of coronavirus to five in Idaho. Officials from Central District Health announced their second confirmed case, which was a male from Ada County in his 50s. He was not hospitalized and was recovering at home. South Central Public Health reported their second confirmed case in a female that is over the age of 70 who was hospitalized. Eastern Idaho Public Health reported a confirmed positive case in a woman under the age of 60 in Teton County. She had contracted the coronavirus from contact with a confirmed case in a neighboring state; she was not hospitalized. The South Central Public Health District announced that a woman over the age of 50 that resides in Blaine County had contracted the infection. Like the first case, she did not require hospitalization and she was recovering from mild symptoms from home.

 

On March 17, two more confirmed cases of the infection were reported, bringing the total to seven. The first case on this date was by officials from Central District Health reported that a female under the age of 50 in Ada County was recovering at home and was not hospitalized. The second confirmed case was a female over the age of 50 as reported by South Central Public Health officials.

 

On March 18, two additional confirmed cases were announced by South Central Public Health District officials. One is a male from Blaine County in his 40s and the other a male in his 80s from Twin Falls County. These cases were the first known community spread transmission of the coronavirus in South Central Idaho.

Nuremberg held great significance during the Nazi Germany period. Because of the city's relevance to the Holy Roman Empire and its position in the center of Germany, the Nazi Party chose the city to be the site of huge Nazi Party conventions–the Nuremberg rallies. The rallies were held annually from 1927 to 1938 in Nuremberg. After Hitler's rise to power in 1933 the Nuremberg rallies became huge state propaganda events, a center of anti-Semitism and other Nazi ideals. At the 1935 rally, Hitler specifically ordered the Reichstag to convene at Nuremberg to pass the anti-Semitic Nuremberg Laws which revoked German citizenship for all Jews. A number of premises were constructed solely for these assemblies, some of which were not finished. Today many examples of Nazi architecture can still be seen in the city. The city was also the home of the Nazi propagandist Julius Streicher, the publisher of Der Stürmer.

 

During World War II, Nuremberg was the headquarters of Wehrkreis (military district) XIII, and an important site for military production, including airplanes, submarines, and tank engines. A subcamp of Flossenbürg concentration camp was located here. Extensive use was made of slave labour.[2] The city was severely damaged in Allied strategic bombing from 1943-1945. On January 2, 1945, the medieval city centre was systematically bombed by the Royal Air Force and the U.S. Army Air Forces and about ninety percent of it was destroyed in only one hour, with 1,800 residents killed and roughly 100,000 displaced. In February 1945, additional attacks followed. In total, about 6,000 Nuremberg residents are estimated to have been killed in air raids. Despite this, the city was rebuilt after the war and was to some extent, restored to its pre-war appearance including the reconstruction of some of its medieval buildings.

Defendants in the dock at Nuremberg Trials

 

Between 1945 and 1946, German officials involved in the Holocaust and other war crimes were taken in front of an international tribunal in the Nuremberg Trials. The Soviet Union had wanted the trials to take place in Berlin, but Nuremberg was chosen as the site for the trials for specific reasons:

 

See where this picture was taken. [?]

Sounds slightly ominous. Is it what they use to take defendants to court?

Name: Henry Moreland

Arrested for: Larceny

Arrested at: North Shields Police Station

Arrested on: 18 October 1902

Tyne and Wear Archives ref: DX1388-1-9-Henry Moreland

 

The Shields Daily Gazette for 18 October 1902 reports:

 

"Today at North Shields, Henry Moreland a miner, New York, was charged with stealing three ducks and a drake, value 16s, the property of Michael Gaffney, at New York on the 17th. Prosecutor stated that he lived in New York, and on the night in question he saw the defendant running away from his house with two ducks in his possession. Witness gave chase and defendant dropped a duck and a drake. He caught him and brought him back to his house, where he gave him into custody. PC Brown deposed to receiving defendant into custody and afterwards finding the two ducks produced behind a hedge. Fined 40s including costs".

 

These images are a selection from an album of photographs of prisoners brought before the North Shields Police Court between 1902 and 1916 in the collection of Tyne & Wear Archives (TWA ref DX1388/1).

 

Copyright) We're happy for you to share this digital image within the spirit of The Commons. Please cite 'Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums' when reusing. Certain restrictions on high quality reproductions and commercial use of the original physical version apply though; if you're unsure please email archives@twmuseums.org.uk.

Name: Walter Savory

Arrested for: Larceny

Arrested at: North Shields Police Station

Arrested on: 10 December 1903

Tyne and Wear Archives ref: DX1388-1-23-Walter Savory

 

The Shields Daily Gazette for 10 December 1903 reports:

 

"A CLOTHES LINE THEFT

 

At North Shields, Walter Savory (30), donkeyman, Percy Main, was charged with stealing on the 9th inst. from a line in a backyard at 9 Blyth Street, Percy Main, two towels, a sheet, and a curtain, valued 6s 6d, the property of Thos. Urwin. The wife of the prosecutor gave evidence as to missing the articles from the line.

 

PC Colpitts said that at ten minutes to seven last night he was on duty on the Ropery Banks where he saw the defendant, who had a parcel under his arm. As soon as he saw witness he walked away, but witness followed and questioned him. Being dissatisfied with his answer, he took the man to the Bull Ring Police Station, and after enquiries had been made, it was found that the articles in the parcel had been taken from a clothes line at Percy Main. Accused now pleaded guilty, and said he was very drunk when he committed the offence. He was fined 10s and costs or 14 days".

 

These images are a selection from an album of photographs of prisoners brought before the North Shields Police Court between 1902 and 1916 in the collection of Tyne & Wear Archives (TWA ref DX1388/1).

 

(Copyright) We're happy for you to share this digital image within the spirit of The Commons. Please cite 'Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums' when reusing. Certain restrictions on high quality reproductions and commercial use of the original physical version apply though; if you're unsure please email archives@twmuseums.org.uk.

Name: Rolf Halversen

Arrested for: not given

Arrested at: North Shields Police Station

Arrested on: 15 December 1914

Tyne and Wear Archives ref: DX1388-1-258-Rolf Halversen

 

The Shields Daily News for 2 January 1915 reports:

 

“STEALING BY MEANS OF A TRICK.

 

Yesterday, at North Shields, Rolf Halversen (25), fireman, 31 Duke Street, was charged with stealing 10s by means of a trick from one Catherine Helgaard. The Bench fined defendant 10s and costs”.

 

These images are taken from an album of photographs of prisoners brought before the North Shields Police Court between 1902 and 1916 (TWAM ref. DX1388/1). This set is our selection of the best mugshots taken during the First World War. They have been chosen because of the sharpness and general quality of the images. The album doesn’t record the details of each prisoner’s crimes, just their names and dates of arrest.

 

In order to discover the stories behind the mugshots, staff from Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums visited North Shields Local Studies Library where they carefully searched through microfilm copies of the ‘Shields Daily News’ looking for newspaper reports of the court cases. The newspaper reports have been transcribed and added below each mugshot.

 

Combining these two separate records gives us a fascinating insight into life on the Home Front during the First World War. These images document the lives of people of different ages and backgrounds, both civilians and soldiers. Our purpose here is not to judge them but simply to reflect the realities of their time.

 

(Copyright) We're happy for you to share this digital image within the spirit of The Commons. Please cite 'Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums' when reusing. Certain restrictions on high quality reproductions and commercial use of the original physical version apply though; if you're unsure please email archives@twmuseums.org.uk.

Spanish postcard in the Postales Redcuadro Blanco series by Vikingo, Barcelona, no. 89. Ben Gazzara in the TV series Run for Your Life (1965-1968). Run for your life had the Spanish title 'Alma de Acero'.

 

Ben Gazzara (1930-2012) was an American actor and television director, known for such classic films as Anatomy of a Murder (1959). He turned to television in the 1960s but made a big-screen comeback in the 1970s with roles in three films directed by his friend John Cassavetes. The 1980s and 1990s saw Gazzara work more frequently than ever before in character parts.

 

Biagio Anthony 'Ben' Gazzara was born in New York in 1940. His parents were Italian immigrants; Angelina Gazzara née Cusumano and Antonio Gazzara, a carpenter. The young Gazzara grew up in the Lower East Side, which in those days was a dangerous neighbourhood in Manhattan. He attended classes at Stuyvesant High School. After seeing Laurette Taylor in 'The Glass Menagerie' by Tennessee Williams, Gazzara wanted to become an actor but he decided to study electrical engineering. He gave up this study after two years when he was accepted at a prestigious drama school, The New School. There he was taught by the legendary coach-director Erwin Piscator. Gazzara then joined the Actors Studio, where a group of students improvised a play from Calder Willingham's novel 'End as a Man'. The tale of a brutal southern military academy reached Broadway slightly changed in 1953 but with Gazzara still in the principal role. It was a star-making part for which he won a Theatre World award. Later, he also starred in 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof' (1955) by Tennessee Williams, a production directed by Elia Kazan, and 'A Hatful of Rain' (1955) for which he was nominated for a Tony. During his career, Gazzara was nominated for a Tony Award three times. Bigger names Paul Newman and Don Murray played those last two roles on the big screen in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Richard Brooks, 1958) and A Hatful of Rain (Fred Zinnemann, 1957), respectively. However, Gazzara made his film debut as the male lead in The Stange One (Jack Garfyn, 1957), the Hollywood adaptation of 'Die Like a Man'. His next role was as the defendant in Anatomy of a Murder (Otto Preminger, 1959) with James Stewart, George C. Scott, and Lee Remick. The film was a big hit. Gazzara followed this with an Italian venture co-starring Anna Magnani and Toto, Risate di gioia/The Passionate Thief (Mario Monicelli, 1960), two Hollywood films The Young Doctors (Phil Karlson, 1961) with Fredric March, and Convicts 4 (Millard Kaufman, 1962) opposite Stuart Whitman, and then another Italian film La città prigioniera/The Captive City (Joseph Anthony, 1962) starring David Niven and Lea Massari. None of these did much for his career, and he turned to television. He first starred in the TV series Arrest and Trial (1963-1964) and then in Run for Your Life (1965-1968) for which he received three Golden Globe nominations in 1967, 1968 and 1969 and two Emmy nominations in 1967 and 1968. In the cinema, he played the lead in The Bridge at Remagen (John Guillermin, 1969) opposite George Segal and Robert Vaughn.

 

Ben Gazzara appeared several times in films directed by his friend John Cassavetes. In 1970, he starred alongside Peter Falk in Husbands (John Cassavetes, 1970), which was a critical success. In 1975, Gazzara and Cassavetes appeared together in Capone (Steve Carver, 1975), in which Gazzara portrayed the notorious Chicago gangster Al Capone. Gazzara also played in Cassavetes's cult films The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (John Cassavetes, 1976) and Opening Night (John Cassavetes, 1977) with Gena Rowlands. Gazzara starred opposite Audrey Hepburn in Bloodline (Terence Young, 1979) and They All Laughed (Peter Boganovich, 1981). In the Charles Bukowski adaptation Storie di ordinaria follia/Tales of Ordinary Madness (Marco Ferreri, 1981), Gazzara co-starred with Ornella Muti, but the film and his role received a mixed critical reception. Other big-screen roles in the 1980s were scarce apart from Road House (Rowdy Herrington, 1989), a Patrick Swayze vehicle that Gazzara believed out of all his films had been the most repeated on television. In the 1970s Ben Gazarra was also active as a director. In the Columbo television series with Peter Falk, he directed the two episodes My Dead - Your Dead (1974) and Dreamboat of Death (1975). Throughout his career, Gazzara acted in theatre; he was nominated for a Tony in 1955, 1975 and 1976 respectively. Over the years, Gazzara became a much sought-after supporting actor in films. He appeared in several well-known productions such as The Big Lebowski (Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, 1998), Happiness (Todd Solondz, 1998), The Thomas Crown Affair (John McTiernan, 1999), and Dogville (Lars von Trier, 2003), starring Nicole Kidman. In 2003, he was awarded another Emmy nomination for Best Supporting Actor in the TV Movie Hysterical Blindness (Mira Nair, 2003) starring Uma Thurman. An amazing achievement since Gazzara was diagnosed with throat cancer in 1999. He underwent chemotherapy and lost a lot of weight during the treatment. Francoise Purdue at IMDb: "If he never became the leading man his early films and stage work promised, he had a career notable for its longevity. " In 2012, Gazzara died of pancreatic cancer in New York's Bellevue Hospital Center at the age of 81. Just before his death, Gazzara was involved in the making of a film called Max Rose, in which he would play opposite elderly comedian Jerry Lewis. The film was released in 2016 and directed by Daniel Noah. For a brief period, Gazzara reportedly had a relationship with actress Audrey Hepburn, with whom he was seen together in Bloodline and They All Laughed. Gazzara was married to Louise Erickson from 1951 to 1957. From 1961 to 1979, he was married to actress Janice Rule. In 1982, he married German model Elke Krivat, with whom he remained until his death.

 

Sources: Francoise Purdue (IMDb), Wikipedia (Dutch and German), and IMDb.

 

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

Armed police stand guard as Dale Cregan and nine other co-defendants arrive in an armed convoy to face charges of murder and attempted murder at Preston Crown on February 7, 2013 in Preston, Lancashire. Dale Cregan, 29, stands accused of four murders, including PC Nicola Hughes and PC Fiona Bone on September 18, 2012 and also in two separate attacks earlier this year of Mark Short and his father David Short. Cregan is also being charged with an additional four counts of attempted murder.

Judge Chutkan denies Trump a 'get-out-of-jail-free' pass in federal election interference case

Trump's lawyers had argued that presidential immunity shields him for any actions he took while he was president.

Dec. 2, 2023, 10:07 AM MST

By Clarissa-Jan Lim

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan rejected Donald Trump's claim that he cannot be held criminally liable for actions he took while he was in office, denying a motion to dismiss his 2020 federal election interference case.

 

"Whatever immunities a sitting President may enjoy, the United States has only one Chief Executive at a time, and that position does not confer a lifelong 'get-out-of-jail-free' pass," Chutkan wrote in a blistering opinion on Friday night. "Former Presidents enjoy no special conditions on their federal criminal liability."

 

Trump's lawyers made the audacious argument in a motion filed in October that he could not be prosecuted for actions he performed while in the White House, and that his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results were at "the heart of his official responsibilities as President," NBC News reported.

 

Chutkan dismissed that argument, writing, "Defendant’s four-year service as Commander in Chief did not bestow on him the divine right of kings to evade the criminal accountability that governs his fellow citizens."

 

She also struck down another motion that argued the indictment violates the former president's free speech rights.

 

“It is well established that the First Amendment does not protect speech that is used as an instrument of a crime, and consequently the Indictment — which charges Defendant with, among other things, making statements in furtherance of a crime — does not violate Defendant’s First Amendment rights,” she wrote.

 

In response to Chutkan’s ruling, a Trump spokesperson told NBC News that “radical Democrats” and President Joe Biden were setting “dangerous precedents” because they want to “interfere in the 2024 Presidential Election.”

 

Chutkan's ruling came hours after a federal appeals court struck down a similar presidential immunity claim filed by Trump's lawyers in an effort to dismiss civil lawsuits seeking to hold him accountable for the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol.

 

The federal election interference case, which is currently slated to go to trial in March, is one of several criminal cases that the former president is facing; he has pleaded not guilty in all of them. His lawyers have filed several motions to dismiss the D.C. case, some of which are pending. His defense team is widely expected to appeal Chutkan's ruling, setting the stage for a drawn-out appeals process that appears intended to delay the trial beyond the 2024 election, The New York Times reports.

Vienna Regional Court for Criminal Matters

The Vienna Regional Court for Criminal Matters (colloquially referred to as "landl" (Landesgericht)) is one of 20 regional courts in Austria and the largest court in Austria. It is located in the 8th District of Vienna, Josefstadt, at the Landesgerichtsstraße 11. It is a court of first respectively second instance. A prisoners house, the prison Josefstadt, popularly often known as the "Grey House" is connected.

Court Organization

In this complex there are:

the Regional Court for Criminal Matters Vienna,

the Vienna District Attorney (current senior prosecutor Maria-Luise Nittel)

the Jurists association-trainee lawer union (Konzipientenverband) and

the largest in Austria existing court house jail, the Vienna Josefstadt prison.

The Regional Criminal Court has jurisdiction in the first instance for crimes and offenses that are not pertain before the district court. Depending on the severity of the crime, there is a different procedure. Either decides

a single judge,

a senate of lay assessors

or the jury court.

In the second instance, the District Court proceeds appeals and complaints against judgments of district courts. A three-judge Court decides here whether the judgment is canceled or not and, if necessary, it establishes a new sentence.

The current President Friedrich Forsthuber is supported by two Vice Presidents - Henriette Braitenberg-Zennenberg and Eve Brachtel.

In September 2012, the following data have been published

Austria's largest court

270 office days per year

daily 1500 people

70 judges, 130 employees in the offices

5300 proceedings (2011) for the custodial judges and legal protection magistrates, representing about 40 % of the total Austrian juridical load of work

over 7400 procedures at the trial judges (30 % of the total Austrian juridical load of work)

Prosecution with 93 prosecutors and 250 employees

19,000 cases against 37,000 offenders (2011 )

Josefstadt prison with 1,200 inmates (overcrowded)

History

1839-1918

The original building of the Vienna Court House, the so-called civil Schranne (corn market), was from 1440 to 1839 located at the Hoher Markt 5. In 1773 the Schrannenplatz was enlarged under Emperor Joseph II and the City Court and the Regional Court of the Viennese Magistrate in this house united. From this time it bore the designation "criminal court".

Due to shortcomings of the prison rooms in the Old Court on Hoher Markt was already at the beginning of the 19th Century talk of building a new crime courthouse, but this had to be postponed because of bankruptcy in 1811.

In 1816 the construction of the criminal court building was approved. Although in the first place there were voices against a construction outside the city, as building ground was chosen the area of the civil Schießstätte (shooting place) and the former St. Stephanus-Freithofes in then Alservorstadt (suburb); today, in this part Josefstadt. The plans of architect Johann Fischer were approved in 1831, and in 1832 was began with the construction, which was completed in 1839. On 14 May 1839 was held the first meeting of the Council.

Provincial Court at the Landesgerichtsstraße between November 1901 and 1906

Johann Fischer fell back in his plans to Tuscan early Renaissance palaces as the Pitti Palace or Palazzo Pandolfini in Florence. The building was erected on a 21,872 m² plot with a length of 223 meters. It had two respectively three floors (upper floors), the courtyard was divided into three wings, in which the prisoner's house stood. In addition, a special department for the prison hospital (Inquisitenspital ) and a chapel were built.

The Criminal Court of Vienna was from 1839 to 1850 a city court which is why the Vice Mayor of Vienna was president of the criminal courts in civil and criminal matters at the same time. In 1850 followed the abolition of municipal courts. The state administration took over the Criminal Court on 1 Juli 1850. From now on, it had the title "K.K. Country's criminal court in Vienna".

1851, juries were introduced. Those met in the large meeting hall, then as now, was on the second floor of the office wing. The room presented a double height space (two floors). 1890/1891 followed a horizontal subdivision. Initially, the building stood all alone there. Only with the 1858 in the wake of the demolition of the city walls started urban expansion it was surrounded by other buildings.

From 1870 to 1878, the Court experienced numerous conversions. Particular attention was paid to the tract that connects directly to the Alserstraße. On previously building ground a three-storey arrest tract and the Jury Court tract were built. New supervened the "Neutrakt", which presented a real extension and was built three respectively four storied. From 1873 on, executions were not executed publicly anymore but only in the prison house. The first execution took place on 16 December 1876 in the "Galgenhof" (gallow courtyard), the accused were hanged there on the Würgegalgen (choke gallow).

By 1900 the prisoners house was extended. In courtyard II of the prison house kitchen, laundry and workshop buildings and a bathing facility for the prisoners were created. 1906/1907 the office building was enlarged. The two-storied wing tract got a third and three-storied central section a fourth floor fitted.

1918-1938

In the early years of the First Republic took place changes of the court organization. Due to the poor economy and the rapid inflation, the number of cases and the number of inmates rose sharply. Therefore, it was in Vienna on 1 October 1920 established a second Provincial Court, the Regional Court of Criminal Matters II Vienna, as well as an Expositur of the prisoner house at Garnisongasse.

One of the most important trials of the interwar period was the shadow village-process (Schattendorfprozess - nomen est omen!), in which on 14th July 1927, the three defendants were acquitted. In January 1927 front fighters had shot into a meeting of the Social Democratic Party of Austria, killing two people. The outrage over the acquittal was great. At a mass demonstration in front of the Palace of Justice on 15th July 1927, which mainly took place in peaceful manner, invaded radical elements in the Palace of Justice and set fire ( Fire of the Palace Justice), after which the overstrained police preyed upon peaceful protesters fleeing from the scene and caused many deaths.

The 1933/1934 started corporate state dictatorship had led sensational processes against their opponents: examples are the National Socialists processes 1934 and the Socialists process in 1936 against 28 "illegal" socialists and two Communists, in which among others the later leaders Bruno Kreisky and Franz Jonas sat on the dock.

Also in 1934 in the wake of the February Fights and the July Coup a series of processes were carried out by summary courts and military courts. Several ended with death sentences that were carried out by hanging in "Galgenhof" of the district court .

1938-1945

The first measures the Nazis at the Regional Criminal Court after the "Anschluss" of Austria to the German Reich in 1938 had carried out, consisted of the erection of a monument to ten Nazis, during the processes of the events in July 1934 executed, and of the creation of an execution space (then space 47 C, today consecration space where 650 names of resistance fighters are shown) with a guillotine supplied from Berlin (then called device F, F (stands for Fallbeil) like guillotine).

During the period of National Socialism were in Vienna Regional Court of 6 December 1938 to 4th April 1945 1.184 persons executed. Of those, 537 were political death sentences against civilians, 67 beheadings of soldiers, 49 war-related offenses, 31 criminal cases. Among those executed were 93 women in all age groups, including a 16-year-old girl and a 72-year-old woman who had both been executed for political reasons.

On 30 June 1942 were beheaded ten railwaymen from Styria and Carinthia, who were active in the resistance. On 31 July 1943, 31 people were beheaded in an hour, a day later, 30. The bodies were later handed over to the Institute of Anatomy at the University of Vienna and remaining body parts buried later without a stir at Vienna's Central Cemetery in shaft graves. To thein the Nazi era executed, which were called "Justifizierte" , belonged the nun Maria Restituta Kafka and the theology student Hannsgeorg Heintschel-Heinegg.

The court at that time was directly subordinated to the Ministry of Justice in Berlin.

1945-present

The A-tract (Inquisitentrakt), which was destroyed during a bombing raid in 1944 was built in the Second Republic again. This was also necessary because of the prohibition law of 8 May 1945 and the Criminal Law of 26 June 1945 courts and prisons had to fight with an overcrowding of unprecedented proportions.

On 24 March 1950, the last execution took place in the Grey House. Women murderer Johann Trnka had two women attacked in his home and brutally murdered, he had to bow before this punishment. On 1 July 1950 the death penalty was abolished in the ordinary procedure by Parliament. Overall, occured in the Regionl Court of Criminal Matters 1248 executions. In 1967, the execution site was converted into a memorial.

In the early 1980s, the building complex was revitalized and expanded. The building in the Florianigasse 8, which previously had been renovated, served during this time as an emergency shelter for some of the departments. In 1994, the last reconstruction, actually the annex of the courtroom tract, was completed. In 2003, the Vienna Juvenile Court was dissolved as an independent court, iIts agendas were integrated in the country's criminal court.

Prominent processes since 1945, for example, the Krauland process in which a ÖVP (Österreichische Volkspartei - Austrian People's Party) minister was accused of offenses against properties, the affair of the former SPÖ (Sozialistische Partei Österreichs - Austrian Socialist Party) Minister and Trade Unions president Franz Olah, whose unauthorized financial assistance resulted in a newspaper establishment led to conviction, the murder affairs Sassak and the of the Lainzer nurses (as a matter of fact, auxiliary nurses), the consumption (Konsum - consumer cooporatives) process, concerning the responsibility of the consumer Manager for the bankruptcy of the company, the Lucona proceedings against Udo Proksch, a politically and socially very well- networked man, who was involved in an attempted insurance fraud, several people losing their lives, the trial of the Nazi Holocaust denier David Irving for Wiederbetätigung (re-engagement in National Socialist activities) and the BAWAG affair in which it comes to breaches of duty by bank managers and vanished money.

Presidents of the Regional Court for Criminal Matters in Vienna since 1839 [edit ]

 

Josef Hollan (1839-1844)

Florian Philipp (1844-1849)

Eduard Ritter von Wittek (1850-1859)

Franz Ritter von Scharschmied (1859-1864)

Franz Ritter von Boschan (1864-1872)

Franz Josef Babitsch (1873-1874)

Joseph Ritter von Weitenhiller (1874-1881)

Franz Schwaiger (1881-1889)

Eduard Graf Lamezan -Salins (1889-1895)

Julius von Soos (1895-1903)

Paul von Vittorelli (1903-1909)

Johann Feigl (1909-1918)

Karl Heidt (1918-1919)

Ludwig Altmann (1920-1929)

Emil Tursky (1929-1936)

Philipp Charwath (1936-1938)

Otto Nahrhaft (1945-1950)

Rudolf Naumann (1951-1954)

Wilhelm Malaniu (1955-1963)

Johann Schuster (1963-1971)

Konrad Wymetal (1972-1976)

August Matouschek (1977-1989)

Günter Woratsch (1990-2004)

Ulrike Psenner (2004-2009)

Friedrich Forsthuber (since 2010)

de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landesgericht_f%C3%BCr_Strafsachen_...

Name: Mary Bryan

Arrested for: not given

Arrested at: North Shields Police Station

Arrested on: 22 February 1907

Tyne and Wear Archives ref: DX1388-1-43-Mary Bryan

 

The Shields Daily News for 1 March 1907 reports:

 

“ALLEGED FRAUD AT NORTH SHIELDS.

 

At North Shields Police Court today, Margaret Bryan (70), widow, Lawson Street, was charged on a warrant, with having obtained, by means of false pretences, groceries to the value of 12s 10d, from Mary Dignan, between the 28th Jan. and the 2nd Feb.

 

Mr G.R. Duncan appeared for the defence. The evidence showed that the accused came to the shop of the prosecutrix in Vicarage Street on three occasions between the dates mentioned and was supplied with groceries on credit. She said her husband was a plater employed at Smith’s Dock and that she would pay on the Saturday. Mrs Dignan made enquiries and found that her statement was incorrect.

 

Upon a point raised by Mr Duncan the case was adjourned until tomorrow for the production of the prosecutrix’s books.

 

The Shields Daily News for 2 March 1907y reports:

 

“THE NORTH SHIELDS FALSE PRETENCES CASE. ACCUSED BOUND OVER.

 

At the North Shields Police Court this morning, Mary Bryan (70), married, 26 Lawson Street, was charged on remand with obtaining groceries to the value of 12s 10d, by false pretences, from Mary Dignan, between Jan. 28 and Feb. 2.

 

The case was adjourned from yesterday for the production of an order book by the prosecutrix. This was handed in and minutely examined by Mr Duncan, who represented the accused. Detective Radcliffe spoke to apprehending the accused at 26 Lawson Street, and charging her with the offence. She denied the offence but admitted having received the groceries. Chief Constable Huish said on the day the woman was arrested he asked her where her husband was and she then told him she was a widow. After being remanded yesterday, witness asked her if she was a widow and she replied, “Yes, a grass widow”. She also said her husband had been in the workhouse for about five years and during the last two years had been in that institution permanently. He was 80 years of age. Witness made enquiries at the workhouse and there found her husband, who was 74 years of age.

 

Mr Duncan: Do you think it quite English to interrogate a defendant after a remand?

 

The Chief Constable: I considered it fair to the woman herself. The woman and her daughter had been travelling between Newcastle, Wallsend and North Shields, taking houses and obtaining goods as in this case, and had used four different names.

 

The accused gave evidence on her own behalf and denied making any false statement to the prosecutrix. She certainly did not say that her husband was a plater and worked at Smith’s Dock as the prosecutrix alleged.

 

Mr Duncan pleaded for leniency and the Bench bound her over for 6 months to come up for judgement if called upon. They suggested that the money should be refunded. If she paid it back, the magistrates would take it into consideration when she came up again for sentence”.

 

(Copyright) We're happy for you to share this digital image within the spirit of The Commons. Please cite 'Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums' when reusing. Certain restrictions on high quality reproductions and commercial use of the original physical version apply though; if you're unsure please email archives@twmuseums.org.uk.

The defendants. From left to right: Luc Wallyn, Guy Spitaels, Etienne Mangé, Johan Delanghe, Merry Hermanus, Jean-Louis Mazy, André Bastien, Alfons Puelinckx, Willy Claes, Guy Coëme and Serge Dassault. Since no cameras were allowed, I wasn’t the only artist. We were basically stuck in one area and most of us had binoculars to draw the people at the far end of the room. Le Soir reported this action, writing that the artists look like they are watching a derby at Epsom Downs.

 

In 1998 I was the courtroom artist for the Belgian newspaper Le Soir. It was for the big trial The Agusta-Dassault Case. It was one of Belgium's most infamous trials of the century, some of the country's most senior political figures had been sucked into a scandal extending from bribery to money-laundering, forgery and possibly even murder. It was one of the best jobs I ever had. Sitting in that courtroom for days and drawing was very exciting.

 

Bridgeview Illinois 7.29.13

 

"Mr. View Minder, apprehended by the authorities on July Fourth for his allegedly 'excessive' display of pyrotechnics during his alleged annual 'Wickedest Display of Fireworks on the Block' event allegedly had his alleged case dismissed in the alleged Fifth District Circuit Court of Cook County today.

 

The Honorable Judge Daniel Lawrence Peters presided over the case and a half a dozen others charged with the same thing, dismissing all of them except for one kid that plead guilty to shooting a police car with fireworks.

 

That dude, rightfully so, was 'crucified' by the court.

 

'At best you were extremely careless with the fireworks' Judge Peters admonished the defendant.

 

'Or maybe you were just unlucky... but very often it's being unlucky that brings people to appear before me in my courtroom.'

 

Judge Peters sentenced him to 32 hours community service and something like a five hundred dollar fine.

 

After the Judge ordered Mr. Minder and about a half a dozen other alleged defendants to have a talk with the prosecutor while he left the room it was decided that all of the defendants would plead guilty only to 'being idiots' and have their charges dismissed by the very good natured and patriotic prosecutor whose name I forgot.

 

'Your having to take a day off of work and spend the afternoon in my courtroom is punishment enough' said Judge Peters 'fireworks aren't cheap and neither is a fine... and next time you come back you're going to get a two hundred dollar fine' the judge warned.

 

And so with that Viewminder's and the other defendant's cases were dismissed by Judge Peters."

 

I gotta say that I enjoyed the court session of Judge Daniel Lawrence Peters today.

 

He really invested himself into each case and he seemed to have a way of really looking like he considered every case on it's own.

 

I never saw him 'belittle' anyone... he just judged their actions... what they did... not who they were.

 

'What are you doing with marijuana... that's kid stuff... you're past that' he told one defendant as he asked him if he was headed to college... 'you know what you've done here would make it so that you didn't get accepted into a lot of schools' the judge told him... 'I'm going to give you a gift this one time and do you a favor' he said 'but next time you get caught with marijuana there won't be any favors... come on... this stuff'll get you in trouble.'

 

There were shoplifters that he banned from going to the the store that they shoplifted from for life.

 

He gave out a lot of community service sentences.

 

I watched him for about an hour and a half and my case was one of the last called so I really got to see the way that Judge Peters runs his courtroom and I really liked it.

 

I would have liked the guy even if he convicted me and gave me a two hundred dollar fine.

 

I want to see more judges like this guy.

 

He's not only got my vote in the next election that he's running in for retention...

 

he's got my support.

 

Nothing I Can Do About it Now

Armed police stand guard as Dale Cregan and nine other co-defendants arrive in an armed convoy to face charges of murder and attempted murder at Preston Crown on February 7, 2013 in Preston, Lancashire. Dale Cregan, 29, stands accused of four murders, including PC Nicola Hughes and PC Fiona Bone on September 18, 2012 and also in two separate attacks earlier this year of Mark Short and his father David Short. Cregan is also being charged with an additional four counts of attempted murder.

Name: Catherine Mackenzie

Arrested for: Larceny

Arrested at: North Shields Police Station

Arrested on: 15th February 1904

Tyne and Wear Archives ref: DX1388-1-33-Catherine Mackenzie

 

The Shields Daily Gazette for 12 July 1904 reports:

 

"At North Shields Catherine McKenzie (21), Edinburgh, was charged with being drunk and disorderly on the 11th inst. and further with being an habitual drunkard. Defendant who made her 5th appearance, was fined 5s and costs and her name was entered on the black list".

 

These images are a selection from an album of photographs of prisoners brought before the North Shields Police Court between 1902 and 1916 in the collection of Tyne & Wear Archives (TWA ref DX1388/1).

 

(Copyright) We're happy for you to share this digital image within the spirit of The Commons. Please cite 'Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums' when reusing. Certain restrictions on high quality reproductions and commercial use of the original physical version apply though; if you're unsure please email archives@twmuseums.org.uk.

British postcard by Film Weekly, London.

 

With his smooth, boyish good looks, American actor Richard Cromwell (1910-1960) had the makings of a Hollywood star in the early 1930s. The handsome actor became well known with The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935), sharing top billing with Gary Cooper and Franchot Tone. His film career reached its pinnacle with Jezebel (1938) with Bette Davis and Henry Fonda and John Ford's Young Mr. Lincoln (1939) also with Fonda. But soon after that, his meteoric career crashed and burned.

 

Richard Cromwell was born LeRoy Melvin Radabaugh in Long Beach, California, in 1910. he was the second of five children of Fay B. (née Stocking) and Ralph R. Radabaugh, who was an inventor. In 1918, when Radabaugh was still in grade school, his father died of the Spanish flu. Roy earnestly delivered morning newspapers to help out the family's budget crisis. on a scholarship, he attended the Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles, a precursor to the California Institute of the Arts. He continued to work part-time as a maintenance man, custodian and soda jerk. He set up a small art shop in Hollywood in the late 1920s and made masks and oil paintings there. He sold pictures, made lampshades, and designed colour schemes for houses. The handsome Cromwell made contacts with film stars of the time such as Anna Q. Nilsson, Colleen Moore, Beatrice Lillie, Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford and Tallulah Bankhead, some of whom he also immortalised in his paintings and masks. He painted scenery for community theatre productions and eventually took on acting roles. His first film appearance was an extra role in King of Jazz (John Murray Anderson, Walter Lantz, 1930), along with the film's star, Paul Whiteman and his orchestra. On a whim, his friends encouraged him to audition for the lead role in a Columbia remake of D.W. Griffith's silent classic Tol'able David (1921) starring Richard Barthelmess. Radabaugh won the role over thousands of hopefuls. In storybook fashion, studio mogul Harry Cohn gave him his screen name Richard Cromwell and launched his career. Cromwell earned $75 per week for his work on Tol'able David (John G. Blystone, 1930), which co-starred Noah Beery Sr. and John Carradine. Gary Brumburgh at IMDb: "the studio publicity machines worked overtime to promote both the film and their new leading man. Richard lived up to all the hype once the reviews came out, giving a terrific debut performance in a very difficult role. As the rather weak-willed young boy who finds the strength and courage to right the injustice done to him, he hit overnight stardom". Amid the flurry of publicity, Cromwell toured the country and was even invited to the White House to meet President Herbert Hoover. Cohn signed Cromwell to a multi-year contract based on the strength of his performance and the success at the box office of his debut. In the following years, Richard played several leading roles in smaller films, often in youthful, somewhat sensitive roles. Leslie Halliwell later described him in his Filmgoer's Companion as the "friendly hero of the early talkies". Cromwell maintained a deep friendship with Marie Dressler, which continued until her death from cancer in 1934. Dressler personally insisted that her studio bosses cast Cromwell on a loan-out in the lead opposite her in Emma (Clarence Brown, 1932), also with Myrna Loy. Dressler was nominated for a second Best Actress award for her portrayal of the title role in Emma. This was another break that helped sustain Cromwell's rising status in Hollywood. He was now much in demand and his next roles were in The Age of Consent (Gregory La Cava, 1932) co-starring Arline Judge and Eric Linden, Tom Brown of Culver (William Wyler, 1932), and Hoopla (Frank Lloyd, 1933), where he is seduced by Clara Bow, in her final film. He made an early standout performance as the leader of the youth gang in Cecil B. DeMille's unusual cult-favourite, This Day and Age (1933). To ensure that Cromwell's character used the right slang, DeMille asked high school student Horace Hahn to read the script and comment. Cromwell then starred with Jean Arthur in Most Precious Thing in Life (Lambert Hillyer, 1934). He had his definitive breakthrough when he co-starred with Gary Cooper and Franchot Tone in the adventure film The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (Henry Hathaway, 1935), which was nominated for seven Oscars. Cromwell played the son of a senior officer who is tortured by insurgents. His father refuses to rescue him in order to demonstrate his impartiality. After this promising start, Cromwell's career received a bump when he wanted more artistic independence.

 

Richard Cromwell's next pictures at Columbia Pictures and elsewhere were mostly inconsequential. Cromwell starred with Will Rogers in Life Begins at 40 (1935) and appeared in Poppy (1936) as the suitor of W.C. Fields' daughter, Rochelle Hudson. In 1937, he portrayed the young bank robber in love with Helen Mack and on the lam from Lionel Atwill in The Wrong Road (James Cruze, 1937). A challenge was his lead role in The Road Back (James Whale, 1937), a sequel to the classic All Quiet on the Western Front (Lewis Milestone, 1930). The film chronicled the story of young German soldiers readjusting to civilian life after WWI. Fearful that this film would not do well in Germany, the new regime at Universal Pictures severely edited the film before release, removing much of the strongly anti-Nazi slant that author Erich Maria Remarque included in the original novel, and which director James Whale had intended to retain in the film version. The resulting film was not well-received. Richard Cromwell took a detour in his career to Broadway for the chance to star as an evil cadet in an original play by Joseph Viertel, 'So Proudly We Hail!'. The military drama was directed by future film director Charles Walters, co-starred Edward Andrews and Eddie Bracken, and opened to much fanfare. The New York Herald Tribune called Cromwell's acting "a striking portrayal" and The New York Times said that he "ran the gamut of emotions" in the play. Cromwell had shed his restrictive Columbia contract and pursued acting work as a freelancer in other media. Cromwell guest-starred on the radio in 'The Royal Gelatin Hour' (1937) hosted by Rudy Vallee, in a dramatic skit opposite Fay Wray. Enjoying the experience, Cromwell acted in the role of Kit Marshall on the radio soap opera Those We Love, which ran from 1938 until 1942. On-screen, Cromwell appeared in Storm Over Bengal (Sidney Salkow, 1938), for Republic Pictures, in order to capitalise on his success in The Lives of a Bengal Lancer. He stood out in supporting roles as Henry Fonda's brother, who kills a man in a duel of honour, in the romantic drama Jezebel (William Wyler, 1938) starring Bette Davis and as defendant Matt Clay to Henry Fonda's title performance in Young Mr. Lincoln (John Ford, 1939). In 1939, Cromwell again tried his luck on stage in a regional production of Sutton Vane's play 'Outward Bound', co-starring Dorothy Jordan. Cromwell drifted into secondary features. He enjoyed an active social Hollywood life with friends including Barbara Stanwyck, Joan Crawford, Franchot Tone, George Cukor, Cole Porter and William Haines. For Universal Pictures, Cromwell starred as a draftsman who thwarts the Nazis in Enemy Agent. He went on to appear in marginal but still watchable fare such as Baby Face Morgan (Arthur Dreifuss, 1942), with Mary Carlisle. Cromwell enjoyed a career boost with Cosmo Jones, Crime Smasher (1943), the film adaptation of the hit radio serial. However, he was next up at Monogram Pictures, where he was cast as a doctor working covertly for a police department to catch mobsters in the forgettable though endearing Riot Squad.

 

During the last two years of World War II, Richard Cromwell served with the United States Coast Guard. Upon returning to California following the war's end, he acted in local theatre productions. He also signed on for live performances in summer stock in the East during this period. Cromwell's break from films due to his stint in the Service meant that he was not much in demand after the War's end. He failed to make a comeback as a film actor with a role in the Film Noir Bungalow 13 (Edward L. Cahn, 1948) and he retired from the film industry. All told, Cromwell's film career spanned 39 films. In the 1950s, he returned to his artistic roots and studied ceramics. He built a pottery studio on his property, becoming especially known and admired for his creative tile designs. Returning to the name Roy Radabaugh, Cromwell also wrote extensively, producing several published stories and an unfinished novel in the 1950s. Cromwell was married once, briefly (1945–1946), to actress Angela Lansbury, when she was 19 and Cromwell was 35. They were married in a small civil ceremony in Independence, California. Lansbury later stated in a 1966 interview that her first marriage was a mistake because Cromwell was gay. His homosexuality had been kept secret from the public and Lansbury had not known about it before the marriage. However, Cromwell and Lansbury remained friends until his death in 1960. She later described him as "charming with a good knowledge of jazz music". In 1960 he tried a second comeback in the film business. In July 1960, Cromwell signed with producer Maury Dexter for 20th Century Fox's planned production of The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come (Andrew V. McLaglen, 1961), starring singer Jimmie Rogers. Diagnosed with liver cancer shortly thereafter, he was forced to withdraw and Chill Wills replaced Cromwell in the film. Richard Cromwell was a heavy smoker for many years and at times advertised Lucky Strike. He died on 11 October 1960 in Hollywood, at the age of 50. He is interred at Fairhaven Memorial Park in Santa Ana, California. For his services to the film industry, Cromwell has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (1627 Vine Street). Cromwell's legacy is preserved today by his nephew Dan Putnam and his cousin Bill Keane IV. In 2005, Keane donated materials relating to Cromwell's radio performances to the Thousand Oaks Library's Special Collection, "The American Radio Archive". In 2007, Keane donated memorabilia relating to Cromwell's film career and ceramics work to the AMPAS Margaret Herrick Library in Beverly Hills.

 

Sources: Gary Brumburgh (IMDb), Leslie Halliwell (Filmgoer's Companion), Wikipedia (English and German) and IMDb.

 

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

Vienna Regional Court for Criminal Matters

The Vienna Regional Court for Criminal Matters (colloquially referred to as "landl" (Landesgericht)) is one of 20 regional courts in Austria and the largest court in Austria. It is located in the 8th District of Vienna, Josefstadt, at the Landesgerichtsstraße 11. It is a court of first respectively second instance. A prisoners house, the prison Josefstadt, popularly often known as the "Grey House" is connected.

Court Organization

In this complex there are:

the Regional Court for Criminal Matters Vienna,

the Vienna District Attorney (current senior prosecutor Maria-Luise Nittel)

the Jurists association-trainee lawer union (Konzipientenverband) and

the largest in Austria existing court house jail, the Vienna Josefstadt prison.

The Regional Criminal Court has jurisdiction in the first instance for crimes and offenses that are not pertain before the district court. Depending on the severity of the crime, there is a different procedure. Either decides

a single judge,

a senate of lay assessors

or the jury court.

In the second instance, the District Court proceeds appeals and complaints against judgments of district courts. A three-judge Court decides here whether the judgment is canceled or not and, if necessary, it establishes a new sentence.

The current President Friedrich Forsthuber is supported by two Vice Presidents - Henriette Braitenberg-Zennenberg and Eve Brachtel.

In September 2012, the following data have been published

Austria's largest court

270 office days per year

daily 1500 people

70 judges, 130 employees in the offices

5300 proceedings (2011) for the custodial judges and legal protection magistrates, representing about 40 % of the total Austrian juridical load of work

over 7400 procedures at the trial judges (30 % of the total Austrian juridical load of work)

Prosecution with 93 prosecutors and 250 employees

19,000 cases against 37,000 offenders (2011 )

Josefstadt prison with 1,200 inmates (overcrowded)

History

1839-1918

The original building of the Vienna Court House, the so-called civil Schranne (corn market), was from 1440 to 1839 located at the Hoher Markt 5. In 1773 the Schrannenplatz was enlarged under Emperor Joseph II and the City Court and the Regional Court of the Viennese Magistrate in this house united. From this time it bore the designation "criminal court".

Due to shortcomings of the prison rooms in the Old Court on Hoher Markt was already at the beginning of the 19th Century talk of building a new crime courthouse, but this had to be postponed because of bankruptcy in 1811.

In 1816 the construction of the criminal court building was approved. Although in the first place there were voices against a construction outside the city, as building ground was chosen the area of the civil Schießstätte (shooting place) and the former St. Stephanus-Freithofes in then Alservorstadt (suburb); today, in this part Josefstadt. The plans of architect Johann Fischer were approved in 1831, and in 1832 was began with the construction, which was completed in 1839. On 14 May 1839 was held the first meeting of the Council.

Provincial Court at the Landesgerichtsstraße between November 1901 and 1906

Johann Fischer fell back in his plans to Tuscan early Renaissance palaces as the Pitti Palace or Palazzo Pandolfini in Florence. The building was erected on a 21,872 m² plot with a length of 223 meters. It had two respectively three floors (upper floors), the courtyard was divided into three wings, in which the prisoner's house stood. In addition, a special department for the prison hospital (Inquisitenspital ) and a chapel were built.

The Criminal Court of Vienna was from 1839 to 1850 a city court which is why the Vice Mayor of Vienna was president of the criminal courts in civil and criminal matters at the same time. In 1850 followed the abolition of municipal courts. The state administration took over the Criminal Court on 1 Juli 1850. From now on, it had the title "K.K. Country's criminal court in Vienna".

1851, juries were introduced. Those met in the large meeting hall, then as now, was on the second floor of the office wing. The room presented a double height space (two floors). 1890/1891 followed a horizontal subdivision. Initially, the building stood all alone there. Only with the 1858 in the wake of the demolition of the city walls started urban expansion it was surrounded by other buildings.

From 1870 to 1878, the Court experienced numerous conversions. Particular attention was paid to the tract that connects directly to the Alserstraße. On previously building ground a three-storey arrest tract and the Jury Court tract were built. New supervened the "Neutrakt", which presented a real extension and was built three respectively four storied. From 1873 on, executions were not executed publicly anymore but only in the prison house. The first execution took place on 16 December 1876 in the "Galgenhof" (gallow courtyard), the accused were hanged there on the Würgegalgen (choke gallow).

By 1900 the prisoners house was extended. In courtyard II of the prison house kitchen, laundry and workshop buildings and a bathing facility for the prisoners were created. 1906/1907 the office building was enlarged. The two-storied wing tract got a third and three-storied central section a fourth floor fitted.

1918-1938

In the early years of the First Republic took place changes of the court organization. Due to the poor economy and the rapid inflation, the number of cases and the number of inmates rose sharply. Therefore, it was in Vienna on 1 October 1920 established a second Provincial Court, the Regional Court of Criminal Matters II Vienna, as well as an Expositur of the prisoner house at Garnisongasse.

One of the most important trials of the interwar period was the shadow village-process (Schattendorfprozess - nomen est omen!), in which on 14th July 1927, the three defendants were acquitted. In January 1927 front fighters had shot into a meeting of the Social Democratic Party of Austria, killing two people. The outrage over the acquittal was great. At a mass demonstration in front of the Palace of Justice on 15th July 1927, which mainly took place in peaceful manner, invaded radical elements in the Palace of Justice and set fire ( Fire of the Palace Justice), after which the overstrained police preyed upon peaceful protesters fleeing from the scene and caused many deaths.

The 1933/1934 started corporate state dictatorship had led sensational processes against their opponents: examples are the National Socialists processes 1934 and the Socialists process in 1936 against 28 "illegal" socialists and two Communists, in which among others the later leaders Bruno Kreisky and Franz Jonas sat on the dock.

Also in 1934 in the wake of the February Fights and the July Coup a series of processes were carried out by summary courts and military courts. Several ended with death sentences that were carried out by hanging in "Galgenhof" of the district court .

1938-1945

The first measures the Nazis at the Regional Criminal Court after the "Anschluss" of Austria to the German Reich in 1938 had carried out, consisted of the erection of a monument to ten Nazis, during the processes of the events in July 1934 executed, and of the creation of an execution space (then space 47 C, today consecration space where 650 names of resistance fighters are shown) with a guillotine supplied from Berlin (then called device F, F (stands for Fallbeil) like guillotine).

During the period of National Socialism were in Vienna Regional Court of 6 December 1938 to 4th April 1945 1.184 persons executed. Of those, 537 were political death sentences against civilians, 67 beheadings of soldiers, 49 war-related offenses, 31 criminal cases. Among those executed were 93 women in all age groups, including a 16-year-old girl and a 72-year-old woman who had both been executed for political reasons.

On 30 June 1942 were beheaded ten railwaymen from Styria and Carinthia, who were active in the resistance. On 31 July 1943, 31 people were beheaded in an hour, a day later, 30. The bodies were later handed over to the Institute of Anatomy at the University of Vienna and remaining body parts buried later without a stir at Vienna's Central Cemetery in shaft graves. To thein the Nazi era executed, which were called "Justifizierte" , belonged the nun Maria Restituta Kafka and the theology student Hannsgeorg Heintschel-Heinegg.

The court at that time was directly subordinated to the Ministry of Justice in Berlin.

1945-present

The A-tract (Inquisitentrakt), which was destroyed during a bombing raid in 1944 was built in the Second Republic again. This was also necessary because of the prohibition law of 8 May 1945 and the Criminal Law of 26 June 1945 courts and prisons had to fight with an overcrowding of unprecedented proportions.

On 24 March 1950, the last execution took place in the Grey House. Women murderer Johann Trnka had two women attacked in his home and brutally murdered, he had to bow before this punishment. On 1 July 1950 the death penalty was abolished in the ordinary procedure by Parliament. Overall, occured in the Regionl Court of Criminal Matters 1248 executions. In 1967, the execution site was converted into a memorial.

In the early 1980s, the building complex was revitalized and expanded. The building in the Florianigasse 8, which previously had been renovated, served during this time as an emergency shelter for some of the departments. In 1994, the last reconstruction, actually the annex of the courtroom tract, was completed. In 2003, the Vienna Juvenile Court was dissolved as an independent court, iIts agendas were integrated in the country's criminal court.

Prominent processes since 1945, for example, the Krauland process in which a ÖVP (Österreichische Volkspartei - Austrian People's Party) minister was accused of offenses against properties, the affair of the former SPÖ (Sozialistische Partei Österreichs - Austrian Socialist Party) Minister and Trade Unions president Franz Olah, whose unauthorized financial assistance resulted in a newspaper establishment led to conviction, the murder affairs Sassak and the of the Lainzer nurses (as a matter of fact, auxiliary nurses), the consumption (Konsum - consumer cooporatives) process, concerning the responsibility of the consumer Manager for the bankruptcy of the company, the Lucona proceedings against Udo Proksch, a politically and socially very well- networked man, who was involved in an attempted insurance fraud, several people losing their lives, the trial of the Nazi Holocaust denier David Irving for Wiederbetätigung (re-engagement in National Socialist activities) and the BAWAG affair in which it comes to breaches of duty by bank managers and vanished money.

Presidents of the Regional Court for Criminal Matters in Vienna since 1839 [edit ]

 

Josef Hollan (1839-1844)

Florian Philipp (1844-1849)

Eduard Ritter von Wittek (1850-1859)

Franz Ritter von Scharschmied (1859-1864)

Franz Ritter von Boschan (1864-1872)

Franz Josef Babitsch (1873-1874)

Joseph Ritter von Weitenhiller (1874-1881)

Franz Schwaiger (1881-1889)

Eduard Graf Lamezan -Salins (1889-1895)

Julius von Soos (1895-1903)

Paul von Vittorelli (1903-1909)

Johann Feigl (1909-1918)

Karl Heidt (1918-1919)

Ludwig Altmann (1920-1929)

Emil Tursky (1929-1936)

Philipp Charwath (1936-1938)

Otto Nahrhaft (1945-1950)

Rudolf Naumann (1951-1954)

Wilhelm Malaniu (1955-1963)

Johann Schuster (1963-1971)

Konrad Wymetal (1972-1976)

August Matouschek (1977-1989)

Günter Woratsch (1990-2004)

Ulrike Psenner (2004-2009)

Friedrich Forsthuber (since 2010)

de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landesgericht_f%C3%BCr_Strafsachen_...

The Cabinet Card

 

A cabinet card, on the bottom of which is printed:

 

Daylight Superseded by

Electricity by the

VanderWeyde Light.

182, Regent Street,

W. London and Paris'.

 

Henry Van der Weyde

 

Henry Van der Weyde, who was born in 1838, was a painter and photographer. He was a founder member of the Linked Ring Brotherhood of:

 

"Those who delight in photography

solely for its artistic possibilities'.

 

Henry was a painter turned professional portrait photographer. In 1892 he publicised his photo corrector (Rectograph), causing a stir in the world of photography.

 

In 1877 Van der Weyde became the first photographer to install and take portraits by electric light, allowing him to take many portraits in a short period of time. The light was provided by a Crossley gas engine which drove a Siemens dynamo, which in turn fed an arc light in a five-foot reflector. Owing to lack of money the patent for this device was never completed.

 

Henry died in 1924.

 

Lillie Langtry

 

Emilie Charlotte Langtry, born Le Breton on the 13th. October 1853, became known as Lillie (or Lily) Langtry. She was a British-American socialite, actress and producer who was nicknamed "The Jersey Lily".

 

Born on the island of Jersey, upon marrying she moved to London in 1876. Her looks and personality attracted interest, commentary, and invitations from artists and society hostesses, and she was celebrated as a young woman of great beauty and charm.

 

In 1877 Lillie served as a model representing Effie Deans, a character in Sir Walter Scott's novel The Heart of Midlothian. The painter was Sir John Everett Millais (1829–1896).

 

By 1881, she had become an actress, and starred in many plays in the UK and the United States, including She Stoops to Conquer, The Lady of Lyons, and As You Like It, eventually running her own stage production company.

 

In later life she performed "dramatic sketches" in vaudeville. She was also known for her relationships with noblemen, including the Prince of Wales, the Earl of Shrewsbury, and Prince Louis of Battenberg. She was the subject of widespread public and media interest.

 

Born in 1853 and known as Lillie from childhood, she was the daughter of the Very Reverend William Corbet Le Breton and his wife, a recognised beauty, Emilie Davis (née Martin). Lillie's parents had eloped to Gretna Green and, in 1842, married at Chelsea. Emilie Charlotte (Lillie) was born at the Old Rectory, St. Saviour in Jersey where her father was Rector and Dean of Jersey.

 

Lillie was the sixth of seven children and the only girl. Purportedly, one of her ancestors was Richard le Breton, allegedly one of the assassins in 1170 of Thomas Becket.

 

Lillie's French governess was reputed to have been unable to manage her, so Lillie was educated by her brothers' tutor. This education was of a wider and more solid nature than that typically administered to girls at that time. Although their father held the respectable position of Dean of Jersey, he nevertheless earned an unsavoury reputation as a "ladies man", fathering illegitimate children by various of his parishioners. When his wife Emilie finally left him in 1880, he left Jersey.

 

Lillie's Move From From Jersey to London

 

On the 9th. March 1874, 20-year-old Lillie married 26-year-old Irish landowner Edward 'Ted' Langtry, a widower, who had been married to Jane Frances Price. She was the sister of Elizabeth Ann Price, who had married Lillie's brother William.

 

They held their wedding reception at The Royal Yacht Hotel in St. Helier, Jersey. Langtry was wealthy enough to own a large sailing yacht called the Red Gauntlet, and Lillie insisted that he take her away from the Channel Islands. In 1876 they rented an apartment in Eaton Place, Belgravia, London, and early in 1878 they moved to 17 Norfolk Street off Park Lane to accommodate the growing demands of Lillie's society visitors.

 

In 1877, Lillie's brother Clement Le Breton had married Alice, an illegitimate daughter of Thomas Heron Jones, 7th. Viscount Ranelagh, a friend of their father, and Ranelagh, following a chance meeting with Lillie in London, had invited her to a reception attended by several noted artists at the home of Sir John and Lady Sebright at 23 Lowndes Square, Knightsbridge, which took place on the 29th. April 1877. Here she attracted notice for her beauty and wit.

 

Langtry was in mourning for her youngest brother, who had been killed in a riding accident, so in contrast to most women's more elaborate clothing, she wore a simple black dress (which was to become her trademark) and no jewellery. Before the end of the evening, Frank Miles had completed several sketches of her that became very popular on postcards.

 

Another guest, Sir John Everett Millais, also a Jersey native, eventually painted her portrait. Langtry's nickname, the "Jersey Lily", was taken from the Jersey lily flower (Amaryllis belladonna), a symbol of Jersey. The nickname was popularised by Millais' portrait, entitled A Jersey Lily. (According to tradition, the two Jersey natives spoke Jèrriais to each other during the sittings.)

 

The painting caused great interest when exhibited at the Royal Academy, and had to be roped off to avoid damage by the crowds. Langtry was portrayed holding a Guernsey lily (Nerine sarniensis) in the painting rather than a Jersey lily, as none of the latter was available during the sittings.

 

A friend of Millais, Rupert Potter (father of Beatrix Potter), was a keen amateur photographer and took pictures of Lillie whilst she was visiting Millais in Scotland in 1879. She also sat for Sir Edward Poynter, and is depicted in works by Sir Edward Burne-Jones. She became much sought-after in London society, and invitations flooded in. Her fame soon reached royal ears.

 

In an interview published in several newspapers (including the Brisbane Herald) in 1882, Lillie Langtry said:

 

"It was through Lord Raneleigh [sic] and the painter

Frank Miles that I was first introduced to London

society ... I went to London and was brought out by

my friends.

Among the most enthusiastic of these was Mr Frank

Miles, the artist. I learned afterwards that he saw me

one evening at the theatre, and tried in vain to discover

who I was. He went to his clubs and his artist friends

declaring he had seen a beauty, and he described me

to everybody he knew, until one day one of his friends

met me and he was duly introduced.

Then Mr Miles came and begged me to sit for my portrait.

I consented, and when the portrait was finished he sold it

to Prince Leopold.

From that time I was invited everywhere, and made a

great deal of by many members of the royal family and

nobility. After Frank Miles I sat for portraits by Millais

and Burne-Jones, and now Frith is putting my face

in one of his great pictures".

 

Lillie Langtry The Royal Mistress

 

The Prince of Wales, Albert Edward ("Bertie", later Edward VII), arranged to sit next to Langtry at a dinner party given by Sir Allen Young on the 24th. May 1877. (Lillie's husband Edward was seated at the other end of the table.)

 

Although the Prince was married to Princess Alexandra of Denmark and had six children, he was a well-known philanderer. He became infatuated with Langtry, and she soon became his mistress. The Prince once said to Lillie:

 

"I've spent enough on

you to buy a battleship."

 

Lillie replied:

 

"...And you've spent enough

in me to float one."

 

Lillie was presented to the Prince's mother, Queen Victoria. Princess Alexandra chose to never display any jealousy about her husband's infidelities, and accepted and acknowledged Lillie.

 

Lillie's liaison with the Prince lasted from late 1877 to June 1880. Although remaining friends with the Prince, Lillie Langtry's physical relationship with him ended when she became pregnant. The father was probably her old friend Arthur Jones, who accompanied her to Paris for the birth of the child, Jeanne Marie, in March 1881.

 

In July 1879, Langtry began an affair with the Earl of Shrewsbury; in January 1880, Langtry and the earl were planning to run away together. In the autumn of 1879, scandal-mongering journalist Adolphus Rosenberg wrote in Town Talk of rumours that her husband would divorce her and cite, among others, the Prince of Wales as co-respondent.

 

Rosenberg also wrote about Patsy Cornwallis-West, whose husband sued him for libel. At this point, the Prince of Wales instructed his solicitor George Lewis to sue also. Rosenberg pleaded guilty to both charges, and was sentenced to two years in prison.

 

For some time, the Prince saw little of Langtry. He remained fond of her, and spoke well of her in her later career as a theatre actress; he used his influence to help and encourage her.

 

However, with the withdrawal of royal favour, creditors closed in. The Langtrys' finances were not equal to their lifestyle. In October 1880, Langtry sold many of her possessions to meet her debts, allowing Edward Langtry to avoid a declaration of bankruptcy.

 

Lillie Langtry's Daughter

 

In April 1879, Langtry had a short affair with Prince Louis of Battenberg, but also had a longer relationship with Arthur Clarence Jones (1854–1930), the brother of her sister-in-law and another illegitimate child of Lord Ranelagh.

 

In June 1880, she became pregnant. Her husband was not the father; she led Prince Louis to believe that he was. When the prince told his parents, they had him assigned to the warship HMS Inconstant. The Prince of Wales gave her a sum of money, and Langtry went into her confinement in Paris, accompanied by Arthur Jones. On the 8th. March 1881, she gave birth to a daughter, whom she named Jeanne Marie.

 

The discovery in 1978 of Langtry's passionate letters to Arthur Jones and their publication by Laura Beatty in 1999 support the idea that Jones was the father of Langtry's daughter. Prince Louis' son, Earl Mountbatten of Burma, had always maintained that his father was the father of Jeanne Marie.

 

In 1902, Jeanne Marie married the Scottish politician Sir Ian Malcolm at St Margaret's, Westminster. They had four children, three sons and a daughter. Lady Malcolm died in 1964. Her daughter Mary Malcolm was one of the first two female announcers on the BBC Television Service (now BBC One) from 1948 to 1956. She died on 13 October 2010, aged 92. Jeanne Marie's second son, Victor Neill Malcolm, married English actress Ann Todd. They divorced in the late 1930's.

 

Lillie Langtry as an Actress and Manager

 

In 1881, Langtry was in need of money. Her close friend Oscar Wilde suggested she try the stage, and Langtry embarked upon a theatre career. She first tried out for an amateur production in Twickenham Town Hall on the 19th. November 1881.

 

It was a comedy called A Fair Encounter, with Henrietta Labouchère taking the other role and coaching Langtry in her acting. Labouchère had been a professional actress before she met and married Liberal MP Henry Labouchère.

 

Following favorable reviews of this first attempt at the stage, and with further coaching, Langtry made her debut before the London public, playing Kate Hardcastle in She Stoops to Conquer at the Haymarket Theatre in December 1881.

 

Critical opinion was mixed, but she was a success with the public. She next performed in Ours at the same theatre. Although her affair with the Prince of Wales was over, he supported her new venture by attending several of her performances and helping attract an audience.

 

Early in 1882, Langtry quit the production team at the Haymarket and started her own company, touring the UK with various plays. She was still under the tutelage of Henrietta Labouchère.

 

American impresario Henry Abbey arranged a tour in the United States for Langtry. She arrived by ship in October 1882 to be met by the press and Oscar Wilde, who was in New York on a lecture tour.

 

Her first appearance was eagerly anticipated, but the theatre burnt down the night before the opening; the show moved to another venue and opened the following week. Eventually, her production company started a coast-to-coast tour of the U.S., ending in May 1883 with a "fat profit." Before leaving New York, she had an acrimonious break with Henrietta Labouchère over Langtry's relationship with Frederick Gebhard, a wealthy young American.

 

Her first tour of the United States (accompanied by Gebhard) was an enormous success, which she repeated in subsequent years. While the critics generally condemned her interpretations of roles such as Pauline in The Lady of Lyons or Rosalind in As You Like It, the public loved her.

 

After her return from New York in 1883, Langtry registered at the Conservatoire in Paris for six weeks' intensive training to improve her acting technique.

 

In 1889, she took on the part of Lady Macbeth in Shakespeare's Macbeth. In 1903, she starred in the U.S. in The Crossways, written by her in collaboration with J. Hartley Manners, husband of actress Laurette Taylor.

 

Lillie returned to the United States for tours in 1906 and again in 1912, appearing in vaudeville. She last appeared on the stage in America in 1917. Later that year, she made her final appearance in the theatre in London.

 

From 1900 to 1903, with financial support from Edgar Israel Cohen, Langtry became the lessee and manager of London's Imperial Theatre, opening on the 21st. April 1901, following an extensive refurbishment. On the site of the theatre is now the Westminster Central Hall.

 

In a film released in 1913 directed by Edwin S. Porter, Langtry played opposite Sidney Mason in the role of Mrs Norton in His Neighbour's Wife.

 

Thoroughbred Racing

 

For nearly a decade, from 1882 to 1891, Langtry had a relationship with an American, Frederick Gebhard, described as a young clubman, sportsman, horse owner, and admirer of feminine beauty, both on and off the stage.

 

When Gebhard began his relationship with Langtry, he was 22 and she was 29.

 

With Gebhard, Langtry became involved in the sport of thoroughbred horse racing. In 1885, she and Gebhard brought a stable of American horses to race in England. On the 13th. August 1888, Langtry and Gebhard traveled in her private car attached to an Erie Railroad express train bound for Chicago.

 

Another railcar was transporting 17 of their horses when it derailed at Shohola, Pennsylvania at 1:40 am. Rolling down an 80-foot (24 m) embankment, it burst into flames. One person died in the fire, along with Gebhard's champion runner Eole and 14 racehorses belonging to him and Langtry.

 

Two horses survived the wreck, including St. Saviour, full brother to Eole. He was named after St. Saviour's Church in Jersey. This was where Langtry chose to be buried on her death.

 

Despite speculation, Langtry and Gebhard never married. In 1895, he married Lulu Morris of Baltimore.

 

George Baird

 

In 1889, Langtry met a man whom she described as:

 

"An eccentric young bachelor, with vast estates

in Scotland, a large breeding stud, a racing stable,

and more money than he knew what to do with".

 

He was George Alexander Baird or Squire Abington, as he came to be known. He inherited wealth from his grandfather, who with seven of his sons, had developed and prospered from coal and iron workings. Baird's father had died when he was a young boy, leaving him a fortune in trust. In addition, he inherited the estates of two equally wealthy uncles who had died childless.

 

Langtry and Baird met at a race course when he gave her a betting tip and the stake money to place on the horse. The horse won and, at a later luncheon party, Baird also offered her the gift of a horse named Milford. She at first demurred, but others at the table advised her to accept, as this horse was a very fine prospect.

 

The horse won several races under Langtry's colours; he was registered to "Mr Jersey" (women were excluded from registering horses at this time). Langtry became involved in a relationship with Baird, from 1891 until his death in March 1893.

 

When Baird died, Langtry purchased two of his horses, Lady Rosebery and Studley Royal, at the estate dispersal sale. She moved her training to Sam Pickering's stables at Kentford House, and took Regal Lodge as a residence in the village of Kentford, near Newmarket. The building is a short distance from Baird's original race horse breeding establishment, which has since been renamed Meddler Stud.

 

Langtry found mentors in Captain James Octavius Machell and Joe Thompson, who provided guidance on all matters related to the turf. When her trainer Pickering failed to deliver results, she moved her expanded string of 20 horses to Fred Webb at Exning.

 

In 1899 James Machell sold his Newmarket stables to Colonel Harry Leslie Blundell McCalmont, a wealthy racehorse owner, who was Langtry's brother-in-law, having married Hugo de Bathe's sister Winifred in 1897. He was also related to Langtry's first husband, Edward, whose ship-owning grandfather, George, had married into the County Antrim Callwell family, being related in marriage to the McCalmonts.

 

Told of a good horse for sale in Australia called Merman, she purchased it and had it shipped to England; such shipments were risky and she had a previous bad experience with a horse arriving injured (Maluma).

 

Merman was regarded as one of the best stayers; he eventually went on to win the Lewes Handicap, the Cesarewitch, Jockey Club Cup, Goodwood Stakes, Goodwood Cup, and Ascot Gold Cup.

 

Langtry owned a stud at Gazely, Newmarket. This venture was not a success. After a few years, she gave up attempts to breed blood-stock. Langtry sold Regal Lodge and all her horse-racing interests in 1919 before she moved to Monaco. Regal Lodge had been her home for twenty-three years and received many celebrated guests, not least of whom was the Prince of Wales.

 

William Ewart Gladstone

 

During her stage career, Lillie became friendly with William Ewart Gladstone (1809–1898), who was the British Prime Minister on four occasions during the reign of Queen Victoria. In her memoirs Langtry says that she first met Gladstone when she was posing for her portrait at Millais' studio. They were later friends and he became a mentor to her. He told her:

 

"In your professional career, you will receive

attacks, personal and critical, just and unjust.

Bear them, never reply, and, above all, never

rush into print to explain or defend yourself."

 

In 1925, Captain Peter Emmanuel Wright published a book called Portraits and Criticisms. In it, he claimed that Gladstone had numerous extramarital affairs, including one with Langtry.

 

Gladstone's son Herbert Gladstone wrote a letter calling Wright a liar, a coward and a fool; Wright sued him. During the trial a telegram, sent by Langtry from Monte Carlo, was read out in court saying:

 

"I strongly repudiate the slanderous

accusations of Peter Wright."

 

The jury found against Wright, saying that the "gist of the defendant's letter of the 27th. July was true" and that the evidence vindicated the high moral standards of the late Gladstone.

 

American Citizenship and Divorce

 

In 1888, Langtry became a property owner in the United States when she and Frederick Gebhard purchased adjoining ranches in Lake County, California. With an area of 4,200 acres (17 km2) in Guenoc Valley, she established a winery producing red wine. She sold it in 1906. Bearing the Langtry Farms name, the winery and vineyard are still in operation in Middletown, California.

 

During her travels in the United States, Langtry became an American citizen and on the 13th. May 1897, divorced her husband, Edward Langtry, in Lakeport, California. Her ownership of land in America was introduced in evidence at her divorce to help demonstrate to the judge that she was a citizen of the country. In June of that year Edward Langtry issued a statement giving his side of the story, which was published in the New York Journal.

 

He died a few months later in Chester Asylum, after being found by police in a demented condition at Crewe railway station. His death was probably due to a brain haemorrhage after a fall during a steamer crossing from Belfast to Liverpool. He was buried in Overleigh Cemetery; a verdict of accidental death was returned at the inquest. A letter of condolence later written by Langtry to another widow reads in part:

 

"I too have lost a husband, but

alas! it was no great loss."

 

Langtry continued to have involvement with her husband's Irish properties after his death. These were compulsorily purchased from her in 1928 under the Northern Ireland Land Act, 1925. This was passed after the Partition of Ireland, with the purpose of transferring certain lands from owners to tenants.

 

Hugo Gerald de Bathe

 

After the divorce from her husband, Langtry was linked in the popular press to Prince Paul Esterhazy; they shared time together and both had an interest in horse racing. However, in 1899, she married 28-year-old Hugo Gerald de Bathe (1871–1940), son of Sir Henry de Bathe, 4th Baronet and Charlotte Clare.

 

Hugo's parents had initially not married, due to objections from the de Bathe family. They lived together, and seven of their children were born out of wedlock. They married after the death of Sir Henry's father in 1870, and Hugo was their first son born in wedlock – making him heir to the baronetcy.

 

The wedding between Langtry and de Bathe took place in St. Saviour's Church, Jersey, on the 27th. July 1899, with Jeanne Marie Langtry being the only other person present, apart from the officials. This was the same day that Langtry's horse, Merman, won the Goodwood Cup.

 

In December 1899, de Bathe volunteered to join the British forces in the Boer War. He was assigned to the Robert's Horse mounted brigade as a lieutenant. In 1907, Hugo's father died; he became the 5th Baronet, and Langtry became Lady de Bathe.

 

When Hugo de Bathe became the 5th Baronet, he inherited properties in Sussex, Devon and Ireland; those in Sussex were in the hamlet of West Stoke near Chichester. These were: Woodend, 17 bedrooms set in 71 acres; Hollandsfield, 10 bedrooms set in 52 acres and Balsom's Farm of 206 acres. Woodend was retained as the de Bathe residence whilst the smaller Hollandsfield was let.

 

Today the buildings retain their period appearance, but modifications and additions have been made, and the complex is now multi-occupancy. One of the houses on the site is named Langtry and another Hardy. The de Bathe properties were all sold in 1919, the same year Lady de Bathe sold Regal Lodge.

 

Lillie Langtry - The Final Days

 

During her final years, Langtry, as Lady de Bathe, resided in Monaco whilst her husband, Sir Hugo de Bathe, lived in Vence, Alpes Maritimes. The two saw one another at social gatherings or in brief private encounters. During World War I, Hugo de Bathe was an ambulance driver for the French Red Cross.

 

Langtry's closest companion during her time in Monaco was her friend Mathilde Marie Peat. Peat was at Langtry's side during the final days of her life as she died of pneumonia in Monte Carlo. Langtry left Peat £10,000, the Monaco property known as Villa le Lys, clothes, and Langtry's motor car.

 

Langtry died at the age of 75 in Monte Carlo at dawn, on the 12th. February 1929. She had asked to be buried in her parents' tomb at St. Saviour's Church in Jersey. Due to blizzards, transport was delayed.

 

Her body was taken to St. Malo and across to Jersey on the 22nd. February aboard the steamer Saint Brieuc. Her coffin lay in St Saviour's overnight surrounded by flowers, and she was buried on the afternoon of the 23rd. February.

 

Lillie Langtry's Bequests

 

In her will, Langtry left £2,000 to a young man that she had become fond of in later life named Charles Louis D'Albani; the son of a Newmarket solicitor, he was born in about 1891.

 

She also left £1,000 to Dr. A. T. Bulkeley Gavin of 5 Berkeley Square, London, a physician and surgeon who treated wealthy patients.

 

Cultural Influence and Portrayals

 

Langtry used her high public profile to endorse commercial products such as cosmetics and soap, an early example of celebrity endorsement. She used her famous ivory complexion to generate income, being the first woman to endorse a commercial product when she advertised Pears Soap.

 

In the 1944 Universal film The Scarlet Claw, Lillian Gentry, the first murder victim, wife of Lord William Penrose and former actress, is an oblique reference to Langtry.

 

Langtry's life story has been portrayed in film numerous times. Lilian Bond played her in The Westerner (1940), and Ava Gardner in The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972). Bean was played by Walter Brennan in the former, and by Paul Newman in the latter film.

 

In 1978, Langtry's story was dramatised by London Weekend Television and produced as Lillie, starring Francesca Annis in the title role. Annis had previously played Langtry in two episodes of ATV's Edward the Seventh. Jenny Seagrove played her in the 1991 made-for-television film Incident at Victoria Falls.

 

Langtry is a featured character in the fictional The Flashman Papers novels of George MacDonald Fraser, in which she is noted as a former lover of arch-cad Harry Flashman, who, nonetheless, describes her as one of his few true loves.

 

Langtry is speculated to be an inspiration for Irene Adler, a character in the Sherlock Holmes fiction of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. In "A Scandal in Bohemia", Adler bests Holmes, perhaps the only woman to do so.

 

Langtry is used as a touchstone for old-fashioned manners in Preston Sturges's comedy The Lady Eve (1941), in a scene where a corpulent woman drops a handkerchief on the floor and the hero ignores it. Jean (Barbara Stanwyck) begins to describe, comment, and anticipate the events that we see reflected in her hand mirror:

 

"The dropped kerchief! That hasn't been

used since Lillie Langtry ... you'll have to

pick it up yourself, madam ... it's a shame,

but he doesn't care for the flesh, he'll

never see it."

 

Dixie Carter portrays Langtry as a "songbird" and Brady Hawkes' love interest in Kenny Rogers' 1994 "Gambler V: Playing for Keeps, last of the Gambler series for CBS that started in 1980. Langtry is depicted as a singer, not an actress, and Dixie Carter's costuming appears closer to Mae West than anything Langtry ever wore.

 

In The Simpsons episode, "Burns' Heir", the auditions are held in the Lillie Langtry Theater on Burns' estate.

 

Lillie Langtry is the inspiration for The Who's 1967 hit single "Pictures of Lily", as mentioned in Pete Townshend's 2012 memoir Who I Am.

 

Langtry is a featured character in the play Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Jersey Lily by Katie Forgette. In this work, she is blackmailed over her past relationship with the Prince of Wales, with intimate letters as proof. She and Oscar Wilde employ Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson to investigate the matter.

 

Places Connected With Lillie Langtry

 

When first married (1874), Edward and Lillie Langtry had a property called Cliffe Lodge in Southampton.

 

Langtry lived at 21 Pont Street, London from 1890 to 1897, and had with her eight servants in 1891. Although from 1895 the building was operated as the Cadogan Hotel, she would stay in her former bedroom there. A blue plaque (which erroneously states that she was born in 1852) on the hotel commemorates this, and the hotel's restaurant is named 'Langtry's' in her honour.

 

A short walk from Pont Street was a house at number 2 Cadogan Place where she lived in 1899.

 

From 1886 to 1894, Lillie owned a house in Manhattan at 362 West 23rd. Street, a gift from Frederick Gebhard.

 

In 1938 the new owners of the Red House at 26 Derby Road, Bournemouth which had been built in 1877 by the widowed women's rights campaigner and temperance activist Emily Langton Langton, converted the large house into an hotel, 'Manor Heath Hotel'. They advertised it as having been built for Lillie Langtry by the Prince of Wales, believing that the inscription 'E.L.L. 1877' in one of the rooms related to Lillie Langtry.

 

A plaque placed on the hotel by Bournemouth Council confirmed the connection, and in the late 1970's the hotel was renamed Langtry Manor. However, despite the hotel's claims and local legend, no actual association between Langtry and the house ever existed, and the Prince never visited it.

 

On the 2nd. April 1965 the Evening Standard reported an interview with the former actress Electra Yaras (died 2010, aged 88) who, in the 1950's, had bought the lease of Leighton House, 103 Alexandra Road, South Hampstead, and who now claimed that Langtry had lived in the house and been regularly visited there by the Prince of Wales.

 

Yaras claimed that she had herself several times been visited in the house by Langtry's ghost. On the 11th. April 1971 The Hampstead News said that the house had been built for Langtry by Lord Leighton. These claims, made to suggest an historical importance for the house and support its preservation, were supported by the actress Adrienne Corri and publicised in The Times of the 8th. October 1971.

 

The house was, however, demolished in 1971 to make way for the Alexandra Road Estate. In 2021 research revealed that the house had been built in the 1860's by Samuel Litchfield and probably named after his wife's birthplace of Leighton Buzzard, and local records have revealed no connection whatsoever with Lillie Langtry.

 

Langtry is, however, further 'remembered' in the area in the names of Langtry Road, off Kilburn Priory; Langtry Walk in the Alexandra and Ainsworth Estate, and by the 'Lillie Langtry' public house at 121 Abbey Road (built in 1969 to replace 'The Princess of Wales' and briefly called 'The Cricketers' in 2007-11) as well as "The Lillie Langtry" on 19 Lillie Rd, in Fulham (though the Road originally took its name from a local landowner John Scott Lillie).

 

Langtry's London address in 1916 through till at least 1920 was Cornwall Lodge, Allsop Place, Regent's Park. She gave this address when sailing on the liner St. Paul across the Atlantic in August 1916, and the 1920 London electoral register has de Bathe, Emilie Charlotte (Lady), listed at the same address. A letter sold at auction in 2014 from Langtry to Dr. Harvey dated 1918 is also headed with this address.

 

There are two bars in New York City devoted to the memory of Lillie Langtry, operating under the title Lillie's Victorian Establishment.

 

The Steam Yacht White Ladye

 

Lillie owned a luxury steam auxiliary yacht called White Ladye from 1891 to 1897. The yacht was built in 1891 for Lord Asburton from a design by W. C. Storey. She had 3 masts, was 204 feet in length and 27 feet in breadth, and was powered by a 142 hp steam engine. She had originally been named Ladye Mabel.

 

In 1893, Ogden Goelet leased the vessel from Langtry and used it until his death in 1897. It was sold at auction to John Lawson Johnston, the creator of Bovril. He owned it until his death on board in Cannes, France in 1900.

 

From 1902 to 1903, the yacht was recorded in the Lloyd's Yacht Register as being owned by shipbuilder William Cresswell Gray, Tunstall Manor, West Hartlepool, and remained so until 1915. Following this, the Lloyd's Register states that she became adapted as French trawler La Champagne based in Fécamp; she was broken up in 1935.

Judge Chutkan denies Trump a 'get-out-of-jail-free' pass in federal election interference case

Trump's lawyers had argued that presidential immunity shields him for any actions he took while he was president.

Dec. 2, 2023, 10:07 AM MST

By Clarissa-Jan Lim

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan rejected Donald Trump's claim that he cannot be held criminally liable for actions he took while he was in office, denying a motion to dismiss his 2020 federal election interference case.

 

"Whatever immunities a sitting President may enjoy, the United States has only one Chief Executive at a time, and that position does not confer a lifelong 'get-out-of-jail-free' pass," Chutkan wrote in a blistering opinion on Friday night. "Former Presidents enjoy no special conditions on their federal criminal liability."

 

Trump's lawyers made the audacious argument in a motion filed in October that he could not be prosecuted for actions he performed while in the White House, and that his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results were at "the heart of his official responsibilities as President," NBC News reported.

 

Chutkan dismissed that argument, writing, "Defendant’s four-year service as Commander in Chief did not bestow on him the divine right of kings to evade the criminal accountability that governs his fellow citizens."

 

She also struck down another motion that argued the indictment violates the former president's free speech rights.

 

“It is well established that the First Amendment does not protect speech that is used as an instrument of a crime, and consequently the Indictment — which charges Defendant with, among other things, making statements in furtherance of a crime — does not violate Defendant’s First Amendment rights,” she wrote.

 

In response to Chutkan’s ruling, a Trump spokesperson told NBC News that “radical Democrats” and President Joe Biden were setting “dangerous precedents” because they want to “interfere in the 2024 Presidential Election.”

 

Chutkan's ruling came hours after a federal appeals court struck down a similar presidential immunity claim filed by Trump's lawyers in an effort to dismiss civil lawsuits seeking to hold him accountable for the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol.

 

The federal election interference case, which is currently slated to go to trial in March, is one of several criminal cases that the former president is facing; he has pleaded not guilty in all of them. His lawyers have filed several motions to dismiss the D.C. case, some of which are pending. His defense team is widely expected to appeal Chutkan's ruling, setting the stage for a drawn-out appeals process that appears intended to delay the trial beyond the 2024 election, The New York Times reports.

B 773

 

The Gilles Arms Hotel, 67 Gilles Street, can be seen in the centre of the photograph. Established 1854 and ceased trading in 1975. The building survives. Fortunately the street's drainage has improved!

 

"UNREGISTERED BARMAID.

Marguerita E. Webber, licencee of the Gilles Arms Hotel, Gilles street, Adelaide, was charged at the Adelaide Police Court, before Mr. E. M. Sabine, P.M., on Monday morning with having allowed an unregistered barmaid to serve liquor on her premises on February 5. Nurse Eva Lynch was charged with having served liquor, being unregistered. Both defendants pleaded guilty. The Police Prosecutor (Detective-Sgt. Allchurch) said that Constable Cain had seen another man served, and had been served himself, by Nurse Lynch. The licencee was ill at the time, and there was no one on the premises to serve liquor. The defendant said she had thought she was only doing the licencee a good turn. The licencee, in answer to the charge, said she had not known that the nurse was serving. The P.M., in finding the defendants respectively £2, with 10/ costs, and £1 10/, with 15/ costs, said he would not endorse, the first defendant's licence regarding the offence."

The Register, Tuesday 11 March 1924, p12

 

Visit the State Library of South Australia to view more photos of South Australia.

The Postcard

 

A carte postale bearing no publisher's name that was posted in Paris on Thursday the 17th. August 1911 to:

 

Mademoiselle G. Newbury,

Bay Road,

Sholing,

Southampton,

Angleterre.

 

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

 

"Paris, Thursday.

Dear Gwynie,

This morning I got up at

3-30 and went by cycle

to the lake you see on

the other side, and am

also going to spend the

afternoon there.

Let me have your London

address - you will be in the

English metropolis and I will

be in the French metropolis.

Tomorrow I am going to

spend the day in the country.

I am enjoying myself very

much, and I hope that you &

Raymond enjoy yourselves

too.

Doreen."

 

The Bois de Boulogne

 

The Bois de Boulogne is a large public park located along the western edge of the 16th. arrondissement of Paris, near the suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt and Neuilly-sur-Seine.

 

The land was ceded to the city of Paris in 1852 by the Emperor Napoleon III in order for it to be turned into a public park.

 

It is the second-largest park in Paris, slightly smaller than the Bois de Vincennes on the eastern side of the city. It covers an area of 845 hectares (2088 acres), which is about two and a half times the area of Central Park in New York, slightly larger than Phoenix Park in Dublin, and slightly smaller than Richmond Park in London.

 

Within the boundaries of the Bois de Boulogne are an English landscape garden with several lakes and a cascade; two smaller botanical and landscape gardens, the Château de Bagatelle and the Pré-Catelan; a zoo and amusement park in the Jardin d'Acclimatation; and GoodPlanet Foundation's Domaine de Longchamp dedicated to ecology and humanism.

 

There is also the Jardin des Serres d'Auteuil, a complex of greenhouses holding a hundred thousand plants; two tracks for horse racing, the Hippodrome de Longchamp and the Auteuil Hippodrome; the Stade Roland Garros where the French Open tennis tournament is held each year, the Fondation Louis Vuitton, and other attractions.

 

History of the Bois de Boulogne

 

The Bois de Boulogne is a remnant of the ancient oak forest of Rouvray, which included the present-day forests of Montmorency, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Chaville, and Meudon.

 

Dagobert I hunted bears, deer, and other game in the forest. His grandson, Childeric II, gave the forest to the monks of the Abbey of Saint-Denis, who founded several monastic communities there.

 

Philip Augustus (1180 - 1223) bought back the main part of the forest from the monks to create a royal hunting reserve. In 1256, Isabelle de France, sister of Saint-Louis, founded the Abbey of Longchamp at the site of the present Hippodrome.

 

The Bois received its present name from a chapel, Notre Dame de Boulogne la Petite, which was built in the forest at the command of Philip IV of France (1268 - 1314).

 

In 1308, Philip made a pilgrimage to Boulogne-sur-Mer, on the French coast, to see a statue of the Virgin Mary which was reputed to inspire miracles. He decided to build a church with a copy of the statue in a village in the forest not far from Paris, in order to attract pilgrims. The chapel was built after Philip's death between 1319 and 1330, in what is now Boulogne-Billancourt.

 

During the Hundred Years' War, the forest became a sanctuary for robbers and sometimes a battleground. In 1416–17, the soldiers of John the Fearless, the Duke of Burgundy, burned part of the forest in their successful campaign to capture Paris. Under Louis XI, the trees were replanted, and two roads were opened through the forest.

 

In 1526, King Francis I of France began a royal residence, the Château de Madrid, in the forest in what is now Neuilly, and used it for hunting and festivities. It took its name from a similar palace in Madrid, where Francis had been held prisoner for several months. The Château was rarely used by later monarchs, fell into ruins in the 18th. century, and was demolished after the French Revolution.

 

Despite its royal status, the forest remained dangerous for travelers; the scientist and traveler Pierre Belon was murdered by thieves in the Bois de Boulogne in 1564.

 

During the reigns of Henry II and Henry III, the forest was enclosed within a wall with eight gates. Henry IV planted 15,000 mulberry trees, with the hope of beginning a local silk industry. When Henry annulled his marriage to Marguerite de Valois, she went to live in the Château de la Muette, on the edge of the forest.

 

In the early 18th. century, wealthy and important women often retired to the convent of the Abbey of Longchamp. A famous opera singer of the period, Madmoiselle Le Maure, retired there in 1727, but continued to give recitals inside the Abbey, even during Holy Week. These concerts drew large crowds and irritated the Archbishop of Paris, who closed the Abbey to the public.

 

Louis XVI and his family used the forest as a hunting ground and pleasure garden. In 1777, the Comte d'Artois, Louis XVI's brother, built a charming miniature palace, the Château de Bagatelle, in the Bois in just 64 days, on a wager from his sister-in-law, Marie Antoinette. Louis XVI also opened the walled park to the public for the first time.

 

On the 21st. November 1783, Pilâtre de Rozier and the Marquis d'Arlandes took off from the Château de la Muette in a hot air balloon made by the Montgolfier brothers. Previous flights had carried animals or had been tethered to the ground; this was the first manned free flight in history. The balloon rose to a height of 910 meters (3,000 feet). It was in the air for 25 minutes, and covered nine kilometers.

 

Following the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1814, 40,000 soldiers of the British and Russian armies camped in the forest. Thousands of trees were cut down to build shelters and for firewood.

 

From 1815 until the French Second Republic, the Bois was largely empty, an assortment of bleak ruined meadows and tree stumps where the British and Russians had camped, along with dismal stagnant ponds.

 

Design of the Bois de Boulogne

 

The Bois de Boulogne was the idea of Napoleon III, shortly after he staged a coup d'état and elevated himself from the President of the French Republic to Emperor of the French in 1852.

 

When Napoleon III became Emperor, Paris had only four public parks - the Tuileries Gardens, the Luxembourg Garden, the Palais-Royal, and the Jardin des Plantes - all in the centre of the city. There were no public parks in the rapidly-growing east and west of the city.

 

During his exile in London, Napoleon had been particularly impressed by Hyde Park, with its lakes and streams and its popularity with Londoners of all social classes. Therefore, he decided to build two large public parks on the eastern and western edges of the city where both rich and ordinary people could enjoy themselves.

 

These parks became an important part of the plan for the reconstruction of Paris drawn up by Napoleon III and his new Prefect of the Seine, Baron Georges-Eugène Haussmann. The Haussmann plan called for improving the city's traffic circulation by building new boulevards; improving the city's health by building a new water distribution system and sewers; and creating green spaces and recreation for Paris' rapidly growing population.

 

In 1852, Napoleon donated the land for the Bois de Boulogne and for the Bois de Vincennes, both of which belonged officially to him. Additional land in the plain of Longchamp, the site of the Château de Madrid, the Château de Bagatelle and its gardens were purchased and attached to the proposed park, so that it could extend all the way to the Seine.

 

Construction was funded out of the state budget, supplemented by selling building lots along the north end of the Bois, in Neuilly.

 

Napoleon III was personally involved in planning the new parks. He insisted that the Bois de Boulogne should have a stream and lakes, like Hyde Park in London. While driving through the Bois he observed:

 

"We must have a stream here, as in

Hyde Park, to give life to this arid

promenade".

 

The first plan for the Bois de Boulogne was drawn up by the architect Jacques Hittorff, who, under King Louis Philippe, had designed the Place de la Concorde, along with the landscape architect Louis-Sulpice Varé, who had designed French landscape gardens at several famous châteaux.

 

Their plan called for long straight alleys in patterns crisscrossing the park, and, as the Emperor had asked, lakes and a long stream similar to the Serpentine in Hyde Park.

 

Varé bungled the assignment. He failed to take into account the difference in elevation between the beginning of the stream and the end; if his plan had been followed, the upper part of the stream would have been empty, and the lower portion flooded. When Haussmann saw the partially finished stream, he saw the problem immediately and had the elevations measured.

 

He dismissed the unfortunate Varé and Hittorff, and designed the solution himself; an upper lake and a lower lake, divided by an elevated road, which serves as a dam, and a cascade which allows the water to flow between the lakes. This is the design still seen today.

 

In 1853, Haussmann hired an experienced engineer from the corps of Bridges and Highways, Jean-Charles Adolphe Alphand, with whom he had worked on a previous assignment in Bordeaux, and made him the head of a new Service of Promenades and Plantations, in charge of all the parks in Paris.

 

Alphand was charged to make a new plan for the Bois de Boulogne. Alphand's plan was radically different from the Hittorff-Varé plan. While it still had two long straight boulevards, the Allée Reine Marguerite and the Avenue Longchamp, all the other paths and alleys curved and meandered.

 

The flat Bois de Boulogne was to be turned into an undulating landscape of lakes, hills, islands, groves, lawns, and grassy slopes, not a reproduction of but an idealization of nature. It became the prototype for the other city parks of Paris, and then for city parks around the world.

 

Construction of the Bois de Boulogne

 

The building of the park was an enormous engineering project which lasted for five years. The upper and lower lakes were dug, and the earth piled into islands and hills. Rocks were brought from Fontainebleau and combined with concrete to make the cascade and an artificial grotto.

 

The pumps from the Seine could not provide enough water to fill the lakes and irrigate the park, so a new channel was created to bring the water of the Ourcq River, from Monceau to the upper lake in the Bois, but this was also not enough. An artesian well 586 meters deep was eventually dug in the plain of Passy which could produce 20,000 cubic meters of water a day. This well went into service in 1861.

 

The water then had to be distributed around the park to water the lawns and gardens; the traditional system of horse-drawn wagons with large barrels of water was not enough. A system of 66 kilometers of pipes was laid, with a faucet every 30 or 40 meters, a total of 1600 faucets.

 

Alphand also had to build a network of roads and paths to connect the sights of the park. The two long straight alleys from the old park were retained, and his workers built an additional 58 kilometers of roads paved with stones for carriages, 12 kilometers of sandy paths for horses, and 25 kilometers of dirt trails for walkers.

 

As a result of Louis Napoléon's exile in London and his memories of Hyde Park, all the new roads and paths were curved and meandering.

 

The planting of the park was the task of the new chief gardener and landscape architect of the Service of Promenades and Plantations, Jean-Pierre Barillet-Deschamps, who had also worked with Haussmann and Alphand in Bordeaux.

 

His gardeners planted 420,000 trees, including hornbeam, beech, linden, cedar, chestnut, and elm, and hardy exotic species, like redwoods. They planted 270 hectares of lawns, with 150 kilograms of seed per hectare, and thousands of flowers. To make the forest more natural, they brought 50 deer to live in and around the Pré-Catelan.

 

The park was designed to be more than a collection of picturesque landscapes; it was meant as a place for amusement and recreation, with sports fields, bandstands, cafes, shooting galleries, riding stables, boating on the lakes, and other attractions.

 

In 1855, Gabriel Davioud, a graduate of Ecole des Beaux-Arts, was named the chief architect of the new Service of Promenades and Plantations. He was commissioned to design 24 pavilions and chalets, plus cafes, gatehouses, boating docks, and kiosks.

 

Gabriel designed the gatehouses where the guardians of the park lived to look like rustic cottages. He had a real Swiss chalet built out of wood in Switzerland and transported to Paris, where it was re-assembled on an island in the lake and used as a restaurant.

 

He built another restaurant next to the park's most picturesque feature, the Grand Cascade. He designed artificial grottoes made of rocks and concrete, and bridges and balustrades made of concrete painted to look like wood. Gabriel also designed all the architectural details of the park, from cone-shaped shelters designed to protect horseback riders from the rain to the park benches and direction signs.

 

At the south end of the park, in the Plain of Longchamp, Davioud restored the ruined windmill which was the surviving vestige of the Abbey of Longchamp, and, working with the Jockey Club of Paris, constructed the grandstands of the Hippodrome of Longchamp, which opened in 1857.

 

At the northern end of the park, between the Sablons Gate and Neuilly, a 20-hectare section of the park was given to the Societé Imperiale Zoologique d'Acclimatation, to create a small zoo and botanical garden, with an aviary of rare birds and exotic plants and animals from around the world.

 

In March 1855, an area in the centre of the park, called the Pré-Catelan, was leased to a concessionaire for a garden and amusement park. It was built on the site of a quarry where the gravel and sand for the park's roads and paths had been dug out. It included a large circular lawn surrounded by trees, grottos, rocks, paths, and flower beds.

 

Davioud designed a buffet, a marionette theatre, a photography pavilion, stables, a dairy, and other structures. The most original feature was the Théâtre des Fleurs, an open-air theater in a setting of trees and flowers.

 

Later, an ice skating rink and shooting gallery were added. The Pré-Catelan was popular for concerts and dances, but it had continual financial difficulties, and eventually went bankrupt. The floral theatre remained in business until the beginning of the Great War.

 

The Bois de Boulogne in the 19th. and 20th. Century

 

The garden-building team assembled by Haussmann of Alphand, Barrillet-Deschamps and Davioud went on to build The Bois de Vincennes, Parc Monceau, Parc Montsouris, and the Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, using the experience that they had developed in the Bois de Boulogne.

 

They also rebuilt the Luxembourg gardens and the gardens of the Champs-Élysées, created smaller squares and parks throughout the centre of Paris, and planted thousands of trees along the new boulevards that Haussmann had created.

 

In the 17 years of Napoleon III's reign, they planted no less than 600,000 trees and created a total 1,835 hectares of green space in Paris, more than any other ruler of France before or since.

 

By 1867 the Baedeker Guide described the Bois de Boulogne as:

 

"Once a forest abounding with game,

the resort of duellists and suicides and

the haunt of bandits ... now a delightful

park".

 

During the Franco-Prussian War (1870 - 71), which led to the downfall of Napoleon III and the long siege of Paris, the park suffered some damage from German artillery bombardment, the restaurant of the Grand Cascade was turned into a field hospital, and many of the park's animals and wild fowl were eaten by the hungry population. In the years following, however, the park quickly recovered.

 

The Bois de Boulogne became a popular meeting place and promenade route for Parisians of all classes. The alleys were filled with carriages, coaches, and horseback riders, and later with men and women on bicycles, and then with automobiles.

 

Families having picnics filled the woods and lawns, and Parisians rowed boats on the lake, while the upper classes were entertained in the cafes.

 

The restaurant of the Pavillon de la Grand Cascade became a popular spot for Parisian weddings. During the winter, when the lakes were frozen, they were crowded with ice skaters.

 

The activities of Parisians in the Bois, particularly the long promenades in carriages around the lakes, were often portrayed in French literature and art in the second half of the 19th. and the beginning of the 20th. centuries.

 

Scenes set in the park appeared in Nana by Émile Zola and in L'Éducation Sentimentale by Gustave Flaubert. In the last pages of Du Côté de Chez Swann in À la Recherche du Temps Perdu (1914), Marcel Proust minutely describes a walk around the lakes taken as a child.

 

The life in the park was also the subject of the paintings of many artists, including Édouard Manet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Vincent van Gogh.

 

In 1860, Napoleon opened the Jardin d'Acclimatation, a separate concession of 20 hectares at the north end of the park; it included a zoo and a botanical garden, as well as an amusement park.

 

Between 1877 and 1912, it also served as the home of what was called an ethnological garden, a place where groups of the inhabitants of faraway countries were put on display for weeks at a time in reconstructed villages from their homelands.

 

They were mostly Sub-Saharan Africans, North Africans, or South American Indians, and came mostly from the French colonies in Africa and South America, but also included natives of Lapland and Cossacks from Russia.

 

These exhibitions were extremely popular and took place not only in Paris, but also in Germany, England, and at the Chicago Exposition in the United States; however they were also criticized at the time and later as being a kind of "human zoo". Twenty-two of these exhibits were held in the park in the last quarter of the 19th. century. About ten more were held in the 20th. century, with the last one taking place in 1931.

 

In 1905, a grand new restaurant in the classical style was built in the Pré-Catelan by architect Guillaume Tronchet. Like the cafe at the Grand Cascade, it became a popular promenade destination for the French upper classes.

 

At the 1900 Summer Olympics, the land hosted the croquet and tug of war events. During the 1924 Summer Olympics, the equestrian events took place in the Auteuil Hippodrome.

 

The Bois de Boulogne hosted all rowing teams participating in the Inter-Allied Games, held in Paris in 1919 following the end of the Great War.

 

Soon after World War II, the park began to come back to life. In 1945, it held its first motor race since the war: the Paris Cup. In 1953, a British group, Les Amis de la France, created the Shakespeare Garden on the site of the old floral theatre in the Pré-Catelan.

 

From 1952 until 1986, the Duke of Windsor, the title granted to King Edward VIII after his abdication, and his wife, Wallis Simpson, the Duchess of Windsor, lived in the Villa Windsor, a house in the Bois de Boulogne behind the garden of the Bagatelle.

 

The house was (and still is) owned by the City of Paris, and was leased to the couple. The Duke died in the house in 1972, and the Duchess died there in 1986. The lease was purchased by Mohamed al-Fayed, the owner of the Ritz Hotel in Paris.

 

The house was visited by Diana, Princess of Wales and her companion, Dodi Fayed, on the 31st. August 1997, the day that they died in a traffic accident in the Alma tunnel.

 

The Bois de Boulogne Today

 

At weekends, the Bois de Boulogne is full of activities such as biking, jogging, boat rowing, horseback and pony rides, and remote control speed boats. Picnics are permitted in most parts of the park, but barbecues are not allowed.

 

The Bois de Boulogne hosts several races, like the 10 km (6.2 mi) Run of Boulogne and the Boulogne half marathon. Since its inception, the last part of the Paris marathon ends by crossing the Bois de Boulogne.

 

The Bois holds a three-day weekend party in the month of July, with over 50 bands and singers, attended mostly by students who camp out overnight.

 

Though soliciting for prostitution is illegal in France, at night-time parts of the Bois de Boulogne are a popular rendezvous place for prostitutes, usually working in vans parked by the side of the road. The French government has been trying to eliminate this business from the park.

 

The Bois de Boulogne is home to many beautiful red squirrels. While they are protected in France, it is important to keep dogs on a leash in the park to ensure their safety.

 

Lakes and Streams in the Bois de Boulogne

 

The Bois de Boulogne contains two artificial lakes and eight artificial ponds, connected by three artificial streams. The water arrives in the Lac Superieur (Upper Lake), built in 1852 and located near the Hippodrome de Auteuil, then flows by gravity to the Grand Cascade, and then on to the Lac Inferieur, or Lower Lake.

 

The Lac Inferieur (1853) is the largest lake in the park, near the large lawns of Muette. The area is very popular with joggers, and boats can be rented on the lower lake. The lake is home to many swans and ducks.

 

An island in the lake, accessible by boat, contains the city's only monument to the Park's builder, Napoleon III; a small wooden kiosk at the end of the island, called the Kiosk of the Emperor.

 

The Grand Cascade (1856) has two artificial grottoes, one over the other, which can be visited. The Étang de Reservoir holds the water before it falls down the Grand Cascade.

 

The Ruisseau de Longchamp (1855) is the major artificial stream in the park. It flows through the Pré-Catelan, under the alley of Reine Marguerite, then to the Mare des Biches, one of the oldest natural ponds in the park, then to the Étang de Reservoir and the Grand Cascade.

 

The Mare de Saint-James is located next to the Jardin d'Acclimatation, and was formerly a quarry for sand and gravel. It has two islands which are a sanctuary for birds and small animals.

 

Gardens in the Bois de Boulogne

 

Within the Bois de Boulogne, there are several separate botanical and floral gardens, as well as gardens of amusement.

 

Following the French Revolution, the miniature château and English landscape garden of the Bagatelle was restored to the Bourbon family. They sold it in 1835 to an English nobleman, Francis Seymour-Conway, 3rd Marquess of Hertford. It remained separate and outside the Bois de Boulogne until 1905, when it was purchased by the City of Paris and attached to the park.

 

The garden was enlarged and redesigned by Jean-Claude Nicolas Forestier, the new Superintendent of Parks of Paris. He preserved many elements of the old garden, and added an iris garden and a pond for water lilies, popularized at the time by the paintings of Claude Monet.

 

He also built one of the most popular features of the Bagatelle today, the rose garden. The rose garden today has more than nine thousand plants, and is the site of the Concours International de Roses Nouvelles de Bagatelle, held each June, one of the most important competitions for new roses in the world.

 

Since 1983, the Festival of Chopin is held in the Orangerie, next to the rose garden. The garden also hosts regular exhibits of sculpture and art.

 

The Jardin d'Acclimatation, opened in 1860 as a zoo and pleasure garden, still has many of the traditional features of a children's amusement park, including an archery range, a miniature train ride, pony ride and Guignol puppet theater, but it underwent several changes in its theme in the last decade.

 

A science museum for children, the Exploradome, opened in 1999. It also now includes a section with an Asian theme, with a teahouse, a lacquered bridge, and a Korean garden.

 

In October 2014, a major new museum opened, the Louis Vuitton Foundation, in a building designed by architect Frank Gehry.

 

The Jardin des Serres d'Auteuil is a large complex of greenhouses in the southern part of the park. They stand on the site of a botanical garden founded in 1761 by King Louis XV. The present greenhouses were built in 1895–98, and now house about one hundred thousand plants.

 

The Pré-Catelan still has a few vestiges of its early days; a majestic copper beech planted in 1782; a giant sequoia tree planted in 1872; the old buffet built by Gabriel Davioud; and the grand restaurant built by Guillaume Tronchet in 1905. Five different natural settings contain all of the trees, bushes and flowers mentioned in Shakespeare's plays.

 

Sports at the Bois de Boulogne

 

The Hippodrome de Longchamp, opened in 1857, is built on the site of the old Abbey of Longchamp. The major annual racing event at the Hippodrome de Longchamp is the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, held every October.

 

The Auteuil Hippodrome, covering 33 hectares, opened in 1873. It is used exclusively for steeplechase racing.

 

The Stade Roland Garros is a tennis complex which hosts the annual French Open tournament in early June. It was opened in 1928 for the first defence of the Davis Cup tennis tournament, and is named after the French aviator Roland Garros, who was the first pilot to fly solo across the Mediterranean and was also a First World War ace.

 

The 8.5 hectare complex has twenty courts. The famous red clay courts are actually made of white limestone, dusted with a few millimeters of powdered red brick dust.

 

A weekly 5 km Parkrun takes place within the park.

 

Grace Roosevelt McMillan

 

So what else happened on the day that Doreen posted the card to Gwynie?

 

Well, the 17th. August 1911 marked the birth of Grace Roosevelt McMillan.

 

Grace Roosevelt McMillan (who was born born Grace Green Roosevelt), was a photographer and first grandchild of President Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th. President of the United States.

 

Grace Green Roosevelt was born in San Francisco to Brig. Gen. Theodore Roosevelt Jr. and Eleanor Butler Roosevelt. She was President Theodore Roosevelt's first grandchild. Her father was a soldier, author and publisher who died in the cross-Channel assault on Omaha Beach in 1944.

 

Grace had three younger brothers, Theodore Roosevelt III, Cornelius Van Schaack Roosevelt III, and Quentin Roosevelt II.

 

McMillan was a freelance photographer who attended the Sorbonne in Paris. She and her mother studied with the photographer J. Ghislain Lootens.

 

On the 3rd. March 1934, Roosevelt married William McMillan, an architect with whom she had two children: Eleanor McMillan and William Jr., of Baltimore.

 

During World War II, she managed the McMillan family farm in Glyndon, Maryland while her husband served in the Navy in the Pacific theater.

 

Death and Legacy of Grace Roosevelt McMillan

 

Grace McMillan was a trustee of the Baltimore Museum of Art and the Greater Baltimore Medical Center in Towson, Maryland. Grace in fact died at the Center, on the 15th. February 1994.

 

Grace was 82 years of age when she died.

 

The Library of Congress holds 25 of Grace's mother's albums, together with some 5,000 of Grace's own photographs, including images of presidents and international dignitaries. Grace presented the material to the library in 1986.

 

Martin Sandberger

 

The 17th. August 1911 also marked the birth, in Charlottenburg, Brandenburg, Prussia, German Empire, of Martin Sandberger.

 

Sandberger was a German SS functionary during the Nazi era, and a convicted Holocaust perpetrator. He commanded Sonderkommando 1a of Einsatzgruppe A, as well as the Sicherheitspolizei and SD in Estonia.

 

Sandberger perpetrated mass murder of Jews in the Baltic states. He was also responsible for the arrest of Jews in Italy, and their deportation to Auschwitz concentration camp.

 

Sandberger was the second-highest official of the Einsatzgruppe A to be tried and convicted. He was also the last-surviving defendant from the Nuremberg Military Tribunals.

 

Martin Sandberger - The Early Years

 

Martin Sandberger was born the son of a director of IG Farben. he studied law at the Universities of München, Köln, Freiburg and Tübingen.

 

At the age of 20 he joined the Nazi Party and the SA. From 1932 - 1933 Sandberger was a Nazi student activist and student leader in Tübingen. On the 8th. March 1933, Sandberger and fellow student Erich Ehrlinger raised the Nazi flag in front of the main building of the University of Tübingen. Like Sandberger, Ehrlinger took charge of an Einsatzkommando in 1941, and in so doing, committed thousands of murders.

 

By 1935 Sandberger had obtained his doctorate degree. As a functionary of the Nazi student League he eventually became a university inspector.

 

In 1936 he became an enlisted member of the SS and operated under the command of Gustav Adolf Scheel for the SD in Württemberg.

 

Sandberger worked as an assistant judge in the Interior Administration of Württemberg, and became a government councillor in 1937.

 

He began a career with the SD, and by 1938 he had risen to the rank of SS Sturmbannführer (Major).

 

Sandberger's Activities During the Second World War

 

Following the German invasion and occupation of Poland in September 1939, Heinrich Himmler embarked on a program, known as Heim ins Reich (Return to the Nation) which involved driving out the native population in areas of Poland and replacing them with ethnic Germans (Volksdeutsche) from various countries, such as the Baltic states and Soviet-occupied eastern Poland.

 

On the 13th. October 1939, Himmler appointed Sandberger as the boss of the Northeast Central Immigration Office and tasked him with the "racial valuation" of the various Volksdeutsche immigrants.

 

Sandberger's Knowledge of the Führer Order

 

The Nazi organization most responsible for carrying out The Holocaust in the Baltic states was the Security Service (Sicherheitsdienst), generally referred to by its initials SD.

 

The SD conducted itself in accordance with the understanding that a fundamental order, sometimes called the Führer Order (Führerbefehl), existed to kill the Jews.

 

Sandberger was made aware of the Führer order by Bruno Streckenbach, an official of the Reich Security Main Office (RSHA).

 

According to Sandberger's testimony in the Einsatzgruppen trial after the war, Streckenbach gave a speech at the Gestapo headquarters in Berlin about the Führer order, which Sandberger attended. Streckenbach also gave Sandberger explicit instructions in a personal conversation:

 

"Streckenbach personally informed me about the

Führer order, which said that, in order to secure

the Eastern territory permanently, all Jews, Gypsies,

and communist functionaries were to be eliminated,

together with all other elements who might endanger

security."

 

Sandberger's Transfer to Estonia

 

Sandberger entered Riga with Einsatzkommando 1a and 2. These organizations then engaged in destruction of synagogues, the liquidation of 400 Jews, and the setting up of groups for the purpose of fomenting pogroms.

 

After the war, when on trial, Sandberger's effort to evade responsibility was rejected by the tribunal:

 

"Although it has been demonstrated that not only was

he in Riga at the time they occurred, but he actually had

a conversation about them with the Einsatzgruppe Chief

Stahlecker before he left Riga."

 

In early July 1941, Sandberger was sent to Estonia on the orders of Stahlecker. According to Sandberger's later testimony, Stahlecker made it clear that Sandberger was being sent to Estonia to carry out the Führer order in that country.

 

A variety of shooting actions of Jews, Romani, Communists and the mentally-ill began once Sandberger and his kommando entered Estonia. A report dated 15th. October 1941 on executions in Ostland during Sandberger's tenure included one item under Estonia of 474 Jews and 684 Communists. The report also stated:

 

"The arrest of all male Jews of over 16 years of age

has been nearly finished. With the exception of the

doctors and the elders of the Jews who were

appointed by the special Kommandos, they were

executed by the self-protection units.

Jewesses in Pärnu and Tallinn between 16 to 60

who are fit for work were arrested and put to peat-

cutting or other labor.

At present a camp is being constructed in Harku in

which all Estonian Jews are to be assembled, so

that Estonia will be free of Jews in a short while."

 

Others were arrested and sent to concentration camps. A report dated 9th. July 1941 stated the following:

 

"With the exception of one, all leading communist

officials in Estonia have now been seized and

rendered harmless.

The sum total of communists seized runs to about

14,500. Of these about 1,000 were shot, and 5,377

put into concentration camps.

3,785 less guilty supporters were released."

 

On the 10th. September 1941, Sandberger promulgated a general order for the internment of Jews which resulted in the imprisonment of 450 Jews in a concentration camp at Pskov, Russia. The Jews were later executed.

 

Sandburger's heinous activities led to him being highly recommended for promotion within the SS:

 

"He is distinguished by his great industry, and better

than average intensity in his work.

From the professional point of view, Sandberger has

proved himself in the Reich as well as in his assignment

in the East. He is a versatile SS Fuehrer, suitable for

employment.

Sandberger belongs to the Officers of the Leadership

Service, and has fulfilled the requirements of the

promotion regulations up to the minimum age set by

the RF-SS (36 years). Because of his political service

and his efforts, which far exceed the average, the

Chief of the Sipo and SD already supports his

promotion to SS Standartenfuehrer."

 

On the 3rd. December 1941 Sandberger became commander of the Security Police and SD for Estonia.

 

Sandberger's Actions in Italy

 

Sandberger returned to Germany in September 1943. In the fall of 1943, Sandberger was appointed the Gestapo chief for the Italian city of Verona. In this capacity he was involved in arresting the Jews of Northern Italy and organizing their transportation to Auschwitz concentration camp.

 

Sandberger's Espionage Activity

 

In January 1944 Sandberger became head of the Foreign Intelligence Service; in this position he reported directly to Walter Schellenberg. He kept the domestic and foreign accounts and financial records of the organization. As the first assistant to Schellenberg, Sandberger acted as his liaison man with Heinrich Himmler.

 

With his knowledge of highly secret information, after the war, under British interrogation, Sandberger tried to delay or avoid prosecution by disclosing what he knew.

 

Until internal reports of the Einsatzgruppen were discovered, Sandberger was able to convince British interrogators that his activities in Tallinn as the Kommandeur der Sicherheitspolizei had involved no criminal actions on his part.

 

Sandberger's Trial

 

In the Einsatzgruppen trial, Sandberger was charged with crimes against humanity, war crimes, and membership of a criminal organization, i.e. the SS.

 

At his trial, Sandberger denied responsibility for the killings described in the 15th. October 1941 report, and sought to blame the German field police and Estonian home guard. This was rejected by the tribunal, which found that the Estonian home guard was under Sandberger's jurisdiction and control for specific operations, as shown by the same report.

 

Similarly, Sandberger claimed that he had arrested the Jews sent to Pskov in order to protect them, hoping that during the internment the Führer order might be revoked, and that he was not responsible for their execution at the Pskov detention camp.

 

Sandberger said that he was responsible for "only a fraction" of the killings. Sandberger estimated this "fraction" to be 300 to 350 persons:

 

Q. The sum total of Communists seized runs to about 14,500; do you see that?

A. Yes, 14,500, yes.

Q. That means 1,000 were shot?

A. Yes, I get that from the document.

Q. You know it. Did you know of it? Do you remember it?

A. The report must have been submitted to me.

Q. Then at one time, at least, you knew of it?

A. Yes.

Q. Were you in Estonia then?

A. Yes, but they were not shot on my own responsibility. I am only responsible for 350.

Q. You are responsible for 350?

A. That is my estimate.

 

Sandberger claimed that the execution of the Jews at Pskov happened in his absence and without his knowledge. The tribunal found that Sandberger's own testimony convicted him:

 

Q. You collected these men in the camps?

A. Yes. I gave the order.

Q. You knew that at some future time they could expect nothing but death?

A. I was hoping that Hitler would withdraw the order or change it.

Q. You knew that the probability, bordering on certainty, was that they would be shot after being collected?

A. I knew that there was this possibility, yes.

Q. In fact, almost a certainty, isn't that right?

A. It was probable.

Q. You collected these Jews, according to the basic order, didn't you, the Hitler Order?

A. Yes.

Q. And then they were shot; they were shot; isn't that right?

A. Yes.

Q. By members of your command?

A. From Estonian men who were subordinated to my Sonderkommando leaders; that is also myself then.

Q. Then, in fact, they were shot by members under your command?

A. Yes.

Q. Then, as a result of the Fuehrer Order, these Jews were shot?

A. Yes.

 

Sandberger testified that he had protested against the inhumanity of the Führer order, but his account was not accepted by the Nuremberg Military Tribunal which was conducting the trial:

 

"Despite the defendant's protestations from the

witness stand, it is evident from the documentary

evidence and his own testimony, that he went

along willingly with the execution of the Fuehrer

Order."

 

Sandberger's Death Sentence and Reprieve

 

Sandberger was found guilty on all counts. In September 1947, Judge Michael Musmanno pronounced the tribunal's sentence:

 

"Defendant MARTIN SANDBERGER, on the counts

of the indictment on which you have been convicted,

the Tribunal sentences you to death by hanging."

 

Despite political pressures, General Lucius D. Clay confirmed Sandberger's death sentence in 1949. In 1951, Sandberger's sentence was commuted to life imprisonment by the Peck Panel clemency board acting under the authority of John J. McCloy, the U.S. High Commissioner for Germany.

 

McCloy had received political pressure to grant the reprieve from William Langer, U.S. Senator from North Dakota. Many of Langer's constituents were of German descent, and Langer felt that trial of anyone other than the highest Nazis was contrary to American legal tradition, and helped Communism.

 

Sandberger's father, a retired production director of IG Farben, used his connections with West German president Theodor Heuss.

 

Heuss in turn contacted the US Ambassador James B. Conant with a request for pardon. Numerous pleas for leniency from influential individuals including Minister of Justice Wolfgang Haußmann and Bishop Martin Haug were made.

 

The renowned lawyer and vice-president of the West German parliament Carlo Schmid worried about Sandberger's conditions in Landsberg Prison, and spoke out in favor of a commutation. Over time these and other well-connected people lobbied for Sandberger's early release.

 

By late 1957, there were only four war criminals held in prison in West Germany, one of whom was Sandberger. He became eligible for parole in April 1958. The Federal Foreign Office filed parole applications on behalf on all four inmates still serving time in Landsberg Prison.

 

Sandberger was denied parole, but the board recommended that his life sentence and those of the other three prisoners be commuted to time served. The commutations were granted on the 6th. May 1958, and Sandberger was released three days later.

 

Subsequently, through the mediation of Bernhard Müller, he received a position as legal counsel in the Lechler Group.

 

Until 1972, Sandberger was repeatedly called as a witness in Nazi war crimes trials, such as in 1958 in the trial against the "Einsatzkommando Tilsit", the so-called Einsatzgruppen trial, in Ulm.

 

The Death of Martin Sandberger

 

Sandberger died in Stuttgart, Germany on the 30th. March 2010, at the age of 98.

 

Tim Glenn holds an adult n. diamondback terrapin who was poached from the wild in S. Jersey. She was injected with pitocin by the breeder to get her to lay more eggs to produce young for the pet trade. After a long investigation, US Fish & Wildlife Service and the court system found the defendant guilty and I got to watch this female get released back to her native habitat today. Please, never take wildlife home to use as pets.

The grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus), also known as the Congo grey parrot, Congo African grey parrot or African grey parrot, is an Old World parrot in the family Psittacidae. The Timneh parrot (Psittacus timneh) once was identified as a subspecies of the grey parrot, but has since been elevated to a full species.

 

Taxonomy

The grey parrot was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae. He placed it with all the other parrots in the genus Psittacus and coined the binomial name Psittacus erithacus. Linnaeus erroneously specified the type locality as "Guinea": the locality was later designated as Ghana in West Africa. The genus name is Latin for "parrot". The specific epithet erithacus is Latin and is derived from the Ancient Greek εριθακος (erithakos) for an unknown bird that was said to mimic human sounds, perhaps the black redstart. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.

 

The Timneh parrot was formerly treated as a subspecies of the grey parrot but is now considered to be a separate species based mainly on the results from a genetic and morphological study published in 2007. Although Linnaeus placed all the parrots known to him in the genus Psittacus, only the grey parrot and the Timneh parrot are now assigned to this genus.

 

Description

The grey parrot is a medium-sized, predominantly grey, black-billed parrot. Its typical weight is 400 g (14 oz), with an approximate length of 33 cm (13 in), and a wingspan of 46–52 cm (18–20+1⁄2 in). The grey colour on the head and wings is generally darker than its body. The head and body feathers have slight white edges. The tail feathers are red.

 

Due to selection by parrot breeders, some grey parrots are partly or completely red. Both sexes appear similar. The colouration of juveniles is similar to that of adults, but typically their eyes are dark grey to black, in comparison to the yellow irises around dark pupils of the adult birds, and their undertail coverts are tinged with grey. Adults weigh 418–526 g (14+3⁄4–18+1⁄2 oz).

 

Grey parrots may live for 40–60 years in captivity, although their mean lifespan in the wild appears to be shorter—approximately 23 years. They start breeding at an age of 3–5 years and lay 3-5 eggs per brood.

 

Distribution and habitat

The grey parrot is native to equatorial Africa, including Angola, Cameroon, the Congo, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Kenya, and Uganda. The species is found inside a range from Kenya to the eastern part of the Ivory Coast. Current estimates for the global population are uncertain and range from 630,000 to 13 million birds. Populations are decreasing worldwide. The species seems to favor dense forests, but can also be found at forest edges and in more open vegetation types, such as gallery and savanna forests.

 

A population study published in 2015 found that the species had been "virtually eliminated" from Ghana with numbers declining 90 to 99% since 1992. They were found in only 10 of 42 forested areas, and three roosts that once held 700–1200 birds each, now had only 18 in total. Local people mainly blamed the pet trade and the felling of timber for the decline. Populations are thought to be stable in Cameroon. In the Congo, an estimated 15,000 are taken every year for the pet trade, from the eastern part of the country, although the annual quota is stated to be 5,000.

 

Grey parrots have escaped or been deliberately released into Florida, U.S., but no evidence indicates that the population is breeding naturally.

 

Behaviour and ecology in the wild

Little is known about the behaviour and activities of these birds in the wild. In addition to a lack of research funding, it can be particularly difficult to study these birds in wild situations due to their status as prey animals, which leads them to have rather secretive personalities. It has been shown that wild greys may also imitate a wide variety of sounds they hear, much like their captive relatives. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, two greys sound-recorded while roosting reportedly had a repertoire of over 200 different calls, including nine imitations of other wild bird songs and one of a bat.

 

Feeding

Grey parrots are mainly frugivorous, with most of their diet consisting of fruit, nuts, and seeds, including oil palm fruit. They sometimes also eat flowers and tree bark, as well as insects and snails. In the wild, the grey parrot is partly a ground feeder.

 

Breeding

Grey parrots are monogamous breeders who nest in tree cavities. Each mated pair of parrots needs their own tree for their nest. The hen lays three to five eggs, which she incubates for 30 days while being fed by her mate. The adults defend their nesting sites.

 

Grey parrot chicks require feeding and care from their parents in the nest. The parents take care of them until 4–5 weeks after they are fledged. Young leave the nest at the age of 12 weeks. Little is known about the courtship behaviour of this species in the wild.[9] They weigh 12–14 g (7⁄16–1⁄2 oz) at hatching and 372–526 g (13+1⁄8–18+1⁄2 oz) when they leave their parents.

 

Conservation

Natural predators for this species include palm-nut vultures and several raptors. Monkeys target eggs and the young for food.

 

Humans are by far the largest threat to wild grey populations. Between 1994 and 2003, more than 359,000 grey parrots were traded on the international market. Approximately 21% of the wild population was being harvested every year. Mortality rates are extremely high between the time they are captured and they reach the market, ranging from 60 to 66%. This species also is hunted for its meat and for its body parts, which are used in traditional medicines. As a result of the extensive harvest of wild birds, in addition to habitat loss, this species is believed to be undergoing a rapid decline in the wild and therefore, has been rated as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

 

In October 2016, the Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Fauna and Flora (CITES) extended the highest level of protection to grey parrots by listing the species under Appendix 1, which regulates international trade in the species.

 

In 2021, the Kenyan government held a short amnesty, during which grey parrot owners could pay a fee to obtain a permit for their birds and facilitate legal ownership. Following the expiry of this time period, it is now illegal to own this species without a permit.

 

In captivity

The species is common in captivity and regularly kept by humans as a companion parrot, prized for its ability to mimic human speech, which makes it one of the most popular avian pets. An escaped pet in Japan was returned to his owner after repeating the owner's name and address.

 

Grey parrots are notorious for mimicking noises heard in their environment and using them tirelessly. They are highly intelligent birds, needing extensive behavioral and social enrichment as well as extensive attention in captivity or else they may become distressed. Feather plucking is a common symptom seen among such distressed grey parrots, affecting up to 40% of captive individuals. They may also be prone to behavioural problems due to their sensitive nature. Social isolation hastens stress and aging.

 

The grey parrot is a highly social species which relies on a flock-type structure, even when raised in captivity. Because they are so dependent on the other birds within their flock, much of their speech and vocal ability is acquired through interaction with the humans with whom they reside. Both wild and captive parrots have been shown to use contact calls, which allow them to interact with their flock mates and communicate information about their location, detection of predators, availability of food, and safety status. In addition, contact calls are used to form strong social bonds with their flock mates, or in the case of captive greys, with their human housemates. In captivity, they have been shown to display communicative competence, meaning they not only use human language correctly, but also in such a way that is appropriate for the social situation which they are in.

 

Diet

In captivity, they may be fed bird pellets, a variety of fruits such as pear, orange, pomegranate, apple, and banana, and vegetables such as carrot, cooked sweet potato, celery, fresh kale, peas, and green beans. They also need a source of calcium.

 

Disease

Grey parrots in captivity have been observed to be susceptible to fungal infections, bacterial infections, nutritional insufficiency, malignant tumors, psittacine beak and feather disease, tapeworms, and blood-worms. Young grey parrots are more commonly infected by psittacine beak and feather disease than adults. Infected birds show symptoms such as loss of appetite, fluffy feathers, sluggishness, and reduced walking abilities due to brittle bones.

 

Grey parrots are more likely to have rhinitis,[clarification needed] an inflammatory and infectious disease of the nasal cavity. Birds may exhibit signs like wheezing, sneezing, nasal snuffling, and swelling or occlusion of the nares. Treatment options include gentle debridement and nasal irrigation.

 

Intelligence and cognition

Grey parrots are highly intelligent and are considered by many to be one of the most intelligent species of psittacines. Many individuals have been shown to perform at the cognitive level of a four- to six-year-old human child in some tasks. Several studies have been conducted, indicating a suite of higher-level cognitive abilities. Experiments have shown that grey parrots can learn number sequences and can learn to associate human voices with the faces of the humans who create them. It has been reported that grey parrots are capable of using existing known English words to create new labels for objects when the bird does not know the name of the object. For example "banerry" ("banana" + "cherry") for "apple", "banana crackers" for "dried banana chips" or "yummy bread" for "cake".

 

The American scientist Irene Pepperberg's research with Alex the parrot showed his ability to learn more than 100 words, differentiating between objects, colours, materials and shapes. Pepperberg spent several decades working with Alex, and wrote numerous scientific papers on experiments performed, indicating his advanced cognitive abilities. One such study found that Alex had the ability to add numbers as well as having a zero-like concept, similar to that of young children and apes.

 

In addition to their striking cognitive abilities, grey parrots have displayed altruistic behavior and concern for others. Researchers found that while blue-headed macaws were unlikely to share a nut with other members of their own species, grey parrots would actively give their conspecific partner a nut, even if it meant that they would not be able to get one themselves. When the roles were reversed, their partners were overwhelmingly likely to return the favor, foregoing their own nut to their partner's benefits. This indicates not only a display of selflessness but also an act of reciprocity.

 

A 2012 study demonstrated that captive grey parrots have individual musical preferences. When presented with the opportunity to choose between two different pieces of music via a touch screen monitor located in their cage, the two birds in the test consistently chose different songs, to which they then danced and sang along. Some pet grey parrots have also been observed using the music feature of smart speakers (such as Alexa or Amazon Echo) to verbally request playback of specific favored songs.

 

Some research has shown that foot preference can be linked to the number of words a particular parrot may know and use. Researchers found that grey parrots who prefer to use their right foot showed a marked increase in the number of words within their lexicon as compared to parrots who were left-footed. Scientists postulate that parrots may have lateralization of brain function, much like mammals do.

 

In two murder trials, one in 1993 and another in 2017, there was consideration to use the deceased victim's pet grey parrot's "testimony" as evidence due to the pet parrot's witnessing and repeating the victim's last words. In the 1993 murder trial of Gary Joseph Rasp, the defendant was accused of murdering Jane Gill. Public defender Charles Ogulnik wanted to use Jane's pet grey parrot Max as evidence to prove Gary's innocence due to Max repeating Jane's last words "Richard, no, no, no!". In the 2017 murder trial of Glenna Duram, the defendant is accused of murdering her husband Martin Duram. The prosecutor was exploring the possibility of using the couple's pet parrot Bud as evidence when Bud kept repeating Martin's last words "Don't fucking shoot."

 

Mutations

Grey mutations occur naturally in the wild, such as the Blue Ino (albino), the Incomplete Ino, and the Blue varietals. The Blue Ino is all white. The Incomplete Ino has light pigmentation. The Blue has a white tail.

 

Breeders from South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and Scandinavia have bred greys intensively since the 1800s. These bred varieties include the Red Pied, F2 Pied, Grizzles, Ino, Incomplete, Parino, Lutino, Cinnamon, and Red Factor. South African bird breeder Von van Antwerpen and New Zealand partner Jaco Bosman selected F2 Pieds and created the first Red Factor Greys. They are rare, may be predominantly red-pigmented, and vary in price depending upon the extent of the red plumage displayed.

 

History

The domestication of grey parrots has a history dating to 2000 B.C., depicting native birds in Egyptian hieroglyphics as pets. They were used for values by the Greeks and the Romans who kept them in birdcages. The grey parrots, due to recent years of illegal trading, have been classified as Endangered in 2016 by the IUCN Red List.

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Casey Anthony was found not guilty Tuesday of killing her 2-year-old daughter three years ago in a case that captivated the nation as it played out on national television from the moment the toddler was reported missing.

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.....item 1).... Yahoo! News ... Casey Anthony acquitted of killing young daughter

 

By KYLE HIGHTOWER - Associated Press | AP – 1 hr 53 mins ago......Tuesday July 05, 2011

 

news.yahoo.com/casey-anthony-acquitted-killing-young-daug...

 

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Casey Anthony was found not guilty Tuesday of killing her 2-year-old daughter three years ago in a case that captivated the nation as it played out on national television from the moment the toddler was reported missing.

 

Anthony wept after the clerk read the verdict, which jurors reached after less than 11 hours of deliberation over two days. The 25-year-old was charged with first-degree murder, which could have brought the death penalty if she had been convicted.

 

Instead, she was convicted of only four counts of lying to investigators looking into the June 2008 disappearance of her daughter Caylee. Her body was found in the woods six months later and a medical examiner was never able to determine how she died.

 

Anthony will be sentenced by the judge on Thursday and could receive up to a year in jail for each lying count. Since she has been in jail since August 2008, she could walk free then.

 

After the verdict was read, Casey Anthony hugged her attorney Jose Baez and later mouthed the words "thank you" to him.

 

Prosecutors sat solemnly in their seats, looking stunned. Prosecutor Jeff Ashton shook his head slightly from side to side in apparent disbelief. Across the room, Anthony's father wiped tears from his eyes. Without speaking to Casey, he and his wife left the courtroom escorted by police as the judge thanked the jury.

 

"While we're happy for Casey, there are no winners in this case," Baez said at a news conference afterward. "Caylee has passed on far, far too soon. And what my driving force has been for the last three years has been always to make sure that there has been justice for Caylee and Casey, because Casey did not murder Caylee. It's that simple."

 

He added: "This case has brought on new challenges of all of us. Challenges in the criminal justice system, challenges in the media, and I think we should all take this as an opportunity to learn and to realize that you cannot convict someone until they've had their day in court."

 

State Attorney Lamar Lawson thanked the prosecutors from his office who tried the case, and he said the case was never about the defendant.

 

"It has always been about seeking justice for Caylee and speaking on her behalf," he told reporters.

Jurors told the court that they didn't want to talk to the media at the courthouse.

 

Anthony's attorneys claimed that the toddler drowned accidentally in the family swimming pool, and that her seemingly carefree mother in fact was hiding emotional distress caused by sexual abuse from her father.

 

Prosecutors contended that Caylee was suffocated with duct tape by a mother who loved to party, tattooed herself with the Italian words for "beautiful life" in the month her daughter was missing and crafted elaborate lies to mislead everyone from investigators to her own parents.

 

Captivated observers camped outside the courthouse to jockey for coveted seats in the courtroom gallery, which occasionally led to fights among those desperate to watch the drama unfold.

 

Prior to the verdict on Tuesday, the judge said: "To those in the gallery please do not express any signs of approval or disapproval upon the reading of the verdict."

 

Anthony did not take the stand during the trial, which started in mid-May. Because the case got so much media attention in Orlando, jurors were brought in from the Tampa Bay area and sequestered for the entire trial.

 

Baez conceded that his client had told elaborate lies and invented imaginary friends and even a fake father for Caylee, but he said that doesn't mean she killed her daughter.

 

"They throw enough against the wall and see what sticks," Baez said of prosecutors during closing arugments. "That is what they're doing ... right down to the cause of death."

 

He tried to convince jurors that the toddler accidentally drowned in the family swimming pool and that when Anthony panicked, her father, a former police officer, decided to make the death look like a murder by putting duct tape on the girl's mouth and dumping the body in woods about a quarter-mile away.

 

Her father firmly denied both the cover-up and abuse claims. The prosecution called those claims "absurd," saying that no one makes an accident look like a murder.

 

Lead prosecutor Linda Drane Burdick concluded the state's case by showing the jury two side-by-side images. One showed Casey Anthony smiling and partying in a nightclub during the month Caylee was missing. The other was the tattoo she got a day before her family and law enforcement first learned of the child's disappearance.

 

"At the end of this case, all you have to ask yourself is whose life was better without Caylee?" Burdick asked. "This is your answer."

 

Prosecutors hammered on the lies Anthony, then 22, told from June 16, 2008, when her daughter was last seen, and a month later when sheriff's investigators were notified. Those include the single mother telling her parents she couldn't produce Caylee because the girl was with a nanny named Zanny — a woman who doesn't exist; that she and her daughter were spending time in Jacksonville, Fla., with a rich boyfriend who doesn't exist; and that Zanny had been hospitalized after an out-of-town traffic crash and that they were spending time with her.

 

Among the trial spectators was 51-year-old Robin Wilkie, who said she has spent $3,000 on hotels and food since arriving June 10th from Lake Minnetonka, Minn. She tallied more than 100 hours standing in line to wait for tickets and got into the courtroom 15 times.

 

She said she's fascinated with the case because she is a victim of violent crime.

 

"True crime has become a unique genre of entertainment," Wilkie said. "Her (Casey's) stories are so extreme and fantastic it's hard to believe they're true but that's what engrosses people. This case has sex, lies and video tapes — just like on reality TV."

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Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve is a U.S. national monument and national preserve in the Snake River Plain in central Idaho. It is along US 20 (concurrent with US 93 and US 26), between the small towns of Arco and Carey, at an average elevation of 5,900 feet (1,800 m) above sea level.

 

The Monument was established on May 2, 1924. In November 2000, a presidential proclamation by President Clinton greatly expanded the Monument area. The 410,000-acre National Park Service portions of the expanded Monument were designated as Craters of the Moon National Preserve in August 2002. It spreads across Blaine, Butte, Lincoln, Minidoka, and Power counties. The area is managed cooperatively by the National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

 

The Monument and Preserve encompass three major lava fields and about 400 square miles (1,000 km2) of sagebrush steppe grasslands to cover a total area of 1,117 square miles (2,893 km2). The Monument alone covers 343,000 acres (139,000 ha). All three lava fields lie along the Great Rift of Idaho, with some of the best examples of open rift cracks in the world, including the deepest known on Earth at 800 feet (240 m). There are excellent examples of almost every variety of basaltic lava, as well as tree molds (cavities left by lava-incinerated trees), lava tubes (a type of cave), and many other volcanic features.

 

Craters of the Moon is in south-central Idaho, midway between Boise and Yellowstone National Park. The lava field reaches southeastward from the Pioneer Mountains. Combined U.S. Highway 20–26–93 cuts through the northwestern part of the monument and provides access to it. However, the rugged landscape of the monument itself remains remote and undeveloped, with only one paved road across the northern end.

 

The Craters of the Moon Lava Field spreads across 618 square miles (1,601 km2) and is the largest mostly Holocene-aged basaltic lava field in the contiguous United States. The Monument and Preserve contain more than 25 volcanic cones, including outstanding examples of spatter cones. The 60 distinct solidified lava flows that form the Craters of the Moon Lava Field range in age from 15,000 to just 2,000 years. The Kings Bowl and Wapi lava fields, both about 2,200 years old, are part of the National Preserve.

 

This lava field is the largest of several large beds of lava that erupted from the 53-mile (85 km) south-east to north-west trending Great Rift volcanic zone, a line of weakness in the Earth's crust. Together with fields from other fissures they make up the Lava Beds of Idaho, which in turn are in the much larger Snake River Plain volcanic province. The Great Rift extends across almost the entire Snake River Plain.

 

Elevation at the visitor center is 5,900 feet (1,800 m) above sea level.

 

Total average precipitation in the Craters of the Moon area is between 15–20 inches (380–510 mm) per year. Most of this is lost in cracks in the basalt, only to emerge later in springs and seeps in the walls of the Snake River Canyon. Older lava fields on the plain have been invaded by drought-resistant plants such as sagebrush, while younger fields, such as Craters of the Moon, only have a seasonal and very sparse cover of vegetation. From a distance this cover disappears almost entirely, giving an impression of utter black desolation. Repeated lava flows over the last 15,000 years have raised the land surface enough to expose it to the prevailing southwesterly winds, which help to keep the area dry. Together these conditions make life on the lava field difficult.

 

Paleo-Indians visited the area about 12,000 years ago but did not leave much archaeological evidence. Northern Shoshone created trails through the Craters of the Moon Lava Field during their summer migrations from the Snake River to the camas prairie, west of the lava field. Stone windbreaks at Indian Tunnel were used to protect campsites from the dry summer wind. No evidence exists for permanent habitation by any Native American group. A hunting and gathering culture, the Northern Shoshone pursued elk, bears, American bison, cougars, and bighorn sheep — all large game who no longer range the area. The most recent volcanic eruptions ended about 2,100 years ago and were likely witnessed by the Shoshone people. Ella E. Clark has recorded a Shoshone legend which speaks of a serpent on a mountain who, angered by lightning, coiled around and squeezed the mountain until liquid rock flowed, fire shot from cracks, and the mountain exploded.

 

In 1879, two Arco cattlemen named Arthur Ferris and J.W. Powell became the first known European-Americans to explore the lava fields. They were investigating its possible use for grazing and watering cattle but found the area to be unsuitable and left.

 

U.S. Army Captain and western explorer B.L.E. Bonneville visited the lava fields and other places in the West in the 19th century and wrote about his experiences in his diaries. Washington Irving later used Bonneville's diaries to write the Adventures of Captain Bonneville, saying this unnamed lava field is a place "where nothing meets the eye but a desolate and awful waste, where no grass grows nor water runs, and where nothing is to be seen but lava."

 

In 1901 and 1903, Israel Russell became the first geologist to study this area while surveying it for the United States Geological Survey (USGS). In 1910, Samuel Paisley continued Russell's work and later became the monument's first custodian. Others followed and in time much of the mystery surrounding this and the other Lava Beds of Idaho was lifted.

 

The few European settlers who visited the area in the 19th century created local legends that it looked like the surface of the Moon. Geologist Harold T. Stearns coined the name "Craters of the Moon" in 1923 while trying to convince the National Park Service to recommend protection of the area in a national monument.

 

The Snake River Plain is a volcanic province that was created by a series of cataclysmic caldera-forming eruptions which started about 15 million years ago. A migrating hotspot thought to now exist under Yellowstone Caldera in Yellowstone National Park has been implicated. This hot spot was under the Craters of the Moon area some 10 to 11 million years ago but 'moved' as the North American Plate migrated northwestward. Pressure from the hot spot heaves the land surface up, creating fault-block mountains. After the hot spot passes the pressure is released and the land subsides.

 

Leftover heat from this hot spot was later liberated by Basin and Range-associated rifting and created the many overlapping lava flows that make up the Lava Beds of Idaho. The largest rift zone is the Great Rift; it is from this 'Great Rift fissure system' that Craters of the Moon, Kings Bowl, and Wapi lava fields were created. The Great Rift is a National Natural Landmark.

 

In spite of their fresh appearance, the oldest flows in the Craters of the Moon Lava Field are 15,000 years old and the youngest erupted about 2000 years ago, according to Mel Kuntz and other USGS geologists. Nevertheless, the volcanic fissures at Craters of the Moon are considered to be dormant, not extinct, and are expected to erupt again in less than a thousand years. There are eight major eruptive periods recognized in the Craters of the Moon Lava Field. Each period lasted about 1000 years or less and were separated by relatively quiet periods that lasted between 500 and as long as 3000 years. Individual lava flows were up to 30 miles (50 km) long with the Blue Dragon Flow being the longest.

 

Kings Bowl Lava Field erupted during a single fissure eruption on the southern part of the Great Rift about 2,250 years ago. This eruption probably lasted only a few hours to a few days. The field preserves explosion pits, lava lakes, squeeze-ups, basalt mounds, and an ash blanket. The Wapi Lava Field probably formed from a fissure eruption at the same time as the Kings Bowl eruption. More prolonged activity over a period of months to a few years led to the formation of low shield volcanoes in the Wapi field. The Bear Trap lava tube, between the Craters of the Moon and the Wapi lava fields, is a cave system more than 15 miles (24 km) long. The lava tube is remarkable for its length and for the number of well-preserved lava cave features, such as lava stalactites and curbs, the latter marking high stands of the flowing lava frozen on the lava tube walls. The lava tubes and pit craters of the monument are known for their unusual preservation of winter ice and snow into the hot summer months, due to shielding from the sun and the insulating properties of basalt.

 

A typical eruption along the Great Rift and similar basaltic rift systems starts with a curtain of very fluid lava shooting up to 1,000 feet (300 m) high along a segment of the rift up to 1 mile (1.6 km) long. As the eruption continues, pressure and heat decrease and the chemistry of the lava becomes slightly more silica rich. The curtain of lava responds by breaking apart into separate vents. Various types of volcanoes may form at these vents: gas-rich pulverized lava creates cinder cones (such as Inferno Cone – stop 4), and pasty lava blobs form spatter cones (such as Spatter Cones – stop 5). Later stages of an eruption push lava streams out through the side or base of cinder cones, which usually ends the life of the cinder cone (North Crater, Watchmen, and Sheep Trail Butte are notable exceptions). This will sometimes breach part of the cone and carry it away as large and craggy blocks of cinder (as seen at North Crater Flow – stop 2 – and Devils Orchard – stop 3). Solid crust forms over lava streams, and lava tubes (a type of cave) are created when lava vacates its course (examples can be seen at the Cave Area – stop 7).

 

Geologists feared that a large earthquake that shook Borah Peak, Idaho's tallest mountain, in 1983 would restart volcanic activity at Craters of the Moon, though this proved not to be the case. Geologists predict that the area will experience its next eruption some time in the next 900 years with the most likely period in the next 100 years.

 

All plants and animals that live in and around Craters of the Moon are under great environmental stress due to constant dry winds and heat-absorbing black lavas that tend to quickly sap water from living things. Summer soil temperatures often exceed 150 °F (66 °C) and plant cover is generally less than 5% on cinder cones and about 15% over the entire monument. Adaptation is therefore necessary for survival in this semi-arid harsh climate.

 

Water is usually only found deep inside holes at the bottom of blow-out craters. Animals therefore get the moisture they need directly from their food. The black soil on and around cinder cones does not hold moisture for long, making it difficult for plants to establish themselves. Soil particles first develop from direct rock decomposition by lichens and typically collect in crevices in lava flows. Successively more complex plants then colonize the microhabitat created by the increasingly productive soil.

 

The shaded north slopes of cinder cones provide more protection from direct sunlight and prevailing southwesterly winds and have a more persistent snow cover (an important water source in early spring). These parts of cinder cones are therefore colonized by plants first.

 

Gaps between lava flows were sometimes cut off from surrounding vegetation. These literal islands of habitat are called kīpukas, a Hawaiian name used for older land surrounded by younger lava. Carey Kīpuka is one such area in the southernmost part of the monument and is used as a benchmark to measure how plant cover has changed in less pristine parts of southern Idaho.

 

Idaho is a landlocked state in the Mountain West subregion of the United States. It shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border to the north, with the province of British Columbia. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington and Oregon to the west. The state's capital and largest city is Boise. With an area of 83,570 square miles (216,400 km2), Idaho is the 14th largest state by land area. With a population of approximately 1.8 million, it ranks as the 13th least populous and the 6th least densely populated of the 50 U.S. states.

 

For thousands of years, and prior to European colonization, Idaho has been inhabited by native peoples. In the early 19th century, Idaho was considered part of the Oregon Country, an area of dispute between the U.S. and the British Empire. It officially became a U.S. territory with the signing of the Oregon Treaty of 1846, but a separate Idaho Territory was not organized until 1863, instead being included for periods in Oregon Territory and Washington Territory. Idaho was eventually admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, becoming the 43rd state.

 

Forming part of the Pacific Northwest (and the associated Cascadia bioregion), Idaho is divided into several distinct geographic and climatic regions. The state's north, the relatively isolated Idaho Panhandle, is closely linked with Eastern Washington, with which it shares the Pacific Time Zone—the rest of the state uses the Mountain Time Zone. The state's south includes the Snake River Plain (which has most of the population and agricultural land), and the southeast incorporates part of the Great Basin. Idaho is quite mountainous and contains several stretches of the Rocky Mountains. The United States Forest Service holds about 38% of Idaho's land, the highest proportion of any state.

 

Industries significant for the state economy include manufacturing, agriculture, mining, forestry, and tourism. Several science and technology firms are either headquartered in Idaho or have factories there, and the state also contains the Idaho National Laboratory, which is the country's largest Department of Energy facility. Idaho's agricultural sector supplies many products, but the state is best known for its potato crop, which comprises around one-third of the nationwide yield. The official state nickname is the "Gem State."

 

The history of Idaho is an examination of the human history and social activity within the state of Idaho, one of the United States of America located in the Pacific Northwest area near the west coast of the United States and Canada. Other associated areas include southern Alaska, all of British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, western Montana and northern California and Nevada.

 

Humans may have been present in Idaho for 16,600 years. Recent findings in Cooper's Ferry along the Salmon River in western Idaho near the town of Cottonwood have unearthed stone tools and animal bone fragments in what may be the oldest evidence of humans in North America. Earlier excavations in 1959 at Wilson Butte Cave near Twin Falls revealed evidence of human activity, including arrowheads, that rank among the oldest dated artifacts in North America. Native American tribes predominant in the area in historic times included the Nez Perce and the Coeur d'Alene in the north; and the Northern and Western Shoshone and Bannock peoples in the south.

 

Idaho was one of the last areas in the lower 48 states of the US to be explored by people of European descent. The Lewis and Clark expedition entered present-day Idaho on August 12, 1805, at Lemhi Pass. It is believed that the first "European descent" expedition to enter southern Idaho was by a group led in 1811 and 1812 by Wilson Price Hunt, which navigated the Snake River while attempting to blaze an all-water trail westward from St. Louis, Missouri, to Astoria, Oregon. At that time, approximately 8,000 Native Americans lived in the region.

 

Fur trading led to the first significant incursion of Europeans in the region. Andrew Henry of the Missouri Fur Company first entered the Snake River plateau in 1810. He built Fort Henry on Henry's Fork on the upper Snake River, near modern St. Anthony, Idaho. However, this first American fur post west of the Rocky Mountains was abandoned the following spring.

 

The British-owned Hudson's Bay Company next entered Idaho and controlled the trade in the Snake River area by the 1820s. The North West Company's interior department of the Columbia was created in June 1816, and Donald Mackenzie was assigned as its head. Mackenzie had previously been employed by Hudson's Bay and had been a partner in the Pacific Fur Company, financed principally by John Jacob Astor. During these early years, he traveled west with a Pacific Fur Company's party and was involved in the initial exploration of the Salmon River and Clearwater River. The company proceeded down the lower Snake River and Columbia River by canoe, and were the first of the Overland Astorians to reach Fort Astoria, on January 18, 1812.

 

Under Mackenzie, the North West Company was a dominant force in the fur trade in the Snake River country. Out of Fort George in Astoria, Mackenzie led fur brigades up the Snake River in 1816-1817 and up the lower Snake in 1817-1818. Fort Nez Perce, established in July, 1818, became the staging point for Mackenzies' Snake brigades. The expedition of 1818-1819 explored the Blue Mountains, and traveled down the Snake River to the Bear River and approached the headwaters of the Snake. Mackenzie sought to establish a navigable route up the Snake River from Fort Nez Perce to the Boise area in 1819. While he did succeed in traveling by boat from the Columbia River through the Grand Canyon of the Snake past Hells Canyon, he concluded that water transport was generally impractical. Mackenzie held the first rendezvous in the region on the Boise River in 1819.

 

Despite their best efforts, early American fur companies in this region had difficulty maintaining the long-distance supply lines from the Missouri River system into the Intermountain West. However, Americans William H. Ashley and Jedediah Smith expanded the Saint Louis fur trade into Idaho in 1824. The 1832 trapper's rendezvous at Pierre's Hole, held at the foot of the Three Tetons in modern Teton County, was followed by an intense battle between the Gros Ventre and a large party of American trappers aided by their Nez Perce and Flathead allies.

 

The prospect of missionary work among the Native Americans also attracted early settlers to the region. In 1809, Kullyspell House, the first white-owned establishment and first trading post in Idaho, was constructed. In 1836, the Reverend Henry H. Spalding established a Protestant mission near Lapwai, where he printed the Northwest's first book, established Idaho's first school, developed its first irrigation system, and grew the state's first potatoes. Narcissa Whitman and Eliza Hart Spalding were the first non-native women to enter present-day Idaho.

 

Cataldo Mission, the oldest standing building in Idaho, was constructed at Cataldo by the Coeur d'Alene and Catholic missionaries. In 1842, Father Pierre-Jean De Smet, with Fr. Nicholas Point and Br. Charles Duet, selected a mission location along the St. Joe River. The mission was moved a short distance away in 1846, as the original location was subject to flooding. In 1850, Antonio Ravalli designed a new mission building and Indians affiliated with the church effort built the mission, without nails, using the wattle and daub method. In time, the Cataldo mission became an important stop for traders, settlers, and miners. It served as a place for rest from the trail, offered needed supplies, and was a working port for boats heading up the Coeur d'Alene River.

 

During this time, the region which became Idaho was part of an unorganized territory known as Oregon Country, claimed by both the United States and Great Britain. The United States gained undisputed jurisdiction over the region in the Oregon Treaty of 1846, although the area was under the de facto jurisdiction of the Provisional Government of Oregon from 1843 to 1849. The original boundaries of Oregon Territory in 1848 included all three of the present-day Pacific Northwest states and extended eastward to the Continental Divide. In 1853, areas north of the 46th Parallel became Washington Territory, splitting what is now Idaho in two. The future state was reunited in 1859 after Oregon became a state and the boundaries of Washington Territory were redrawn.

 

While thousands passed through Idaho on the Oregon Trail or during the California gold rush of 1849, few people settled there. In 1860, the first of several gold rushes in Idaho began at Pierce in present-day Clearwater County. By 1862, settlements in both the north and south had formed around the mining boom.

 

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints missionaries founded Fort Lemhi in 1855, but the settlement did not last. The first organized town in Idaho was Franklin, settled in April 1860 by Mormon pioneers who believed they were in Utah Territory; although a later survey determined they had crossed the border. Mormon pioneers reached areas near the current-day Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming and established most of the historic and modern communities in Southeastern Idaho. These settlements include Ammon, Blackfoot, Chubbuck, Firth, Idaho Falls, Iona, Pocatello, Rexburg, Rigby, Shelley, and Ucon.

 

Large numbers of English immigrants settled in what is now the state of Idaho in the late 19th and early 20th century, many before statehood. The English found they had more property rights and paid less taxes than they did back in England. They were considered some of the most desirable immigrants at the time. Many came from humble beginnings and would rise to prominence in Idaho. Frank R. Gooding was raised in a rural working-class background in England, but was eventually elected as the seventh governor of the state. Today people of English descent make up one fifth of the entire state of Idaho and form a plurality in the southern portion of the state.

 

Many German farmers also settled in what is now Idaho. German settlers were primarily Lutheran across all of the midwest and west, including Idaho, however there were small numbers of Catholics amongst them as well. In parts of Northern Idaho, German remained the dominant language until World War I, when German-Americans were pressured to convert entirely to English. Today, Idahoans of German ancestry make up nearly one fifth of all Idahoans and make up the second largest ethnic group after Idahoans of English descent with people of German ancestry being 18.1% of the state and people of English ancestry being 20.1% of the state.

 

Irish Catholics worked in railroad centers such as Boise. Today, 10% of Idahoans self-identify as having Irish ancestry.

 

York, a slave owned by William Clark but considered a full member of Corps of Discovery during expedition to the Pacific, was the first recorded African American in Idaho. There is a significant African American population made up of those who came west after the abolition of slavery. Many settled near Pocatello and were ranchers, entertainers, and farmers. Although free, many blacks suffered discrimination in the early-to-mid-late 20th century. The black population of the state continues to grow as many come to the state because of educational opportunities, to serve in the military, and for other employment opportunities. There is a Black History Museum in Boise, Idaho, with an exhibit known as the "Invisible Idahoan", which chronicles the first African-Americans in the state. Blacks are the fourth largest ethnic group in Idaho according to the 2000 census. Mountain Home, Boise, and Garden City have significant African-American populations.

 

The Basque people from the Iberian peninsula in Spain and southern France were traditionally shepherds in Europe. They came to Idaho, offering hard work and perseverance in exchange for opportunity. One of the largest Basque communities in the US is in Boise, with a Basque museum and festival held annually in the city.

 

Chinese in the mid-19th century came to America through San Francisco to work on the railroad and open businesses. By 1870, there were over 4000 Chinese and they comprised almost 30% of the population. They suffered discrimination due to the Anti-Chinese League in the 19th century which sought to limit the rights and opportunities of Chinese emigrants. Today Asians are third in population demographically after Whites and Hispanics at less than 2%.

 

Main articles: Oregon boundary dispute, Provisional Government of Oregon, Oregon Treaty, Oregon Territory, Washington Territory, Dakota Territory, Organic act § List of organic acts, and Idaho Territory

 

On March 4, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln signed an act creating Idaho Territory from portions of Washington Territory and Dakota Territory with its capital at Lewiston. The original Idaho Territory included most of the areas that later became the states of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, and had a population of under 17,000. Idaho Territory assumed the boundaries of the modern state in 1868 and was admitted as a state in 1890.

 

After Idaho became a territory, legislation was held in Lewiston, the capital of Idaho Territory at the time. There were many territories acts put into place, and then taken away during these early sessions, one act being the move of the capital city from Lewiston to Boise City. Boise was becoming a growing area after gold was found, so on December 24, 1864, Boise City was made the final destination of the capital for the Territory of Idaho.

 

However, moving the capital to Boise City created a lot of issues between the territory. This was especially true between the north and south areas in the territory, due to how far south Boise City was. Problems with communicating between the north and south contributed to some land in Idaho Territory being transferred to other territories and areas at the time. Idaho’s early boundary changes helped create the current boundaries of Washington, Wyoming, and Montana States as currently exist.

 

In a bid for statehood, Governor Edward A. Stevenson called for a constitutional convention in 1889. The convention approved a constitution on August 6, 1889, and voters approved the constitution on November 5, 1889.

 

When President Benjamin Harrison signed the law admitting Idaho as a U.S. state on July 3, 1890, the population was 88,548. George L. Shoup became the state's first governor, but resigned after only a few weeks in office to take a seat in the United States Senate. Willis Sweet, a Republican, was the first congressman, 1890 to 1895, representing the state at-large. He vigorously demanded "Free Silver" or the unrestricted coinage of silver into legal tender, in order to pour money into the large silver mining industry in the Mountain West, but he was defeated by supporters of the gold standard. In 1896 he, like many Republicans from silver mining districts, supported the Silver Republican Party instead of the regular Republican nominee William McKinley.

 

During its first years of statehood, Idaho was plagued by labor unrest in the mining district of Coeur d'Alene. In 1892, miners called a strike which developed into a shooting war between union miners and company guards. Each side accused the other of starting the fight. The first shots were exchanged at the Frisco mine in Frisco, in the Burke-Canyon north and east of Wallace. The Frisco mine was blown up, and company guards were taken prisoner. The violence soon spilled over into the nearby community of Gem, where union miners attempted to locate a Pinkerton spy who had infiltrated their union and was passing information to the mine operators. But agent Charlie Siringo escaped by cutting a hole in the floor of his room. Strikers forced the Gem mine to close, then traveled west to the Bunker Hill mining complex near Wardner, and closed down that facility as well. Several had been killed in the Burke-Canyon fighting. The Idaho National Guard and federal troops were dispatched to the area, and union miners and sympathizers were thrown into bullpens.

 

Hostilities would again erupt at the Bunker Hill facility in 1899, when seventeen union miners were fired for having joined the union. Other union miners were likewise ordered to draw their pay and leave. Angry members of the union converged on the area and blew up the Bunker Hill Mill, killing two company men.

 

In both disputes, the union's complaints included pay, hours of work, the right of miners to belong to the union, and the mine owners' use of informants and undercover agents. The violence committed by union miners was answered with a brutal response in 1892 and in 1899.

 

Through the Western Federation of Miners (WFM) union, the battles in the mining district became closely tied to a major miners' strike in Colorado. The struggle culminated in the December 1905 assassination of former Governor Frank Steunenberg by Harry Orchard (also known as Albert Horsley), a member of the WFM. Orchard was allegedly incensed by Steunenberg's efforts as governor to put down the 1899 miner uprising after being elected on a pro-labor platform.

 

Pinkerton detective James McParland conducted the investigation into the assassination. In 1907, WFM Secretary Treasurer "Big Bill" Haywood and two other WFM leaders were tried on a charge of conspiracy to murder Steunenberg, with Orchard testifying against them as part of a deal made with McParland. The nationally publicized trial featured Senator William E. Borah as prosecuting attorney and Clarence Darrow representing the defendants. The defense team presented evidence that Orchard had been a Pinkerton agent and had acted as a paid informant for the Cripple Creek Mine Owners' Association. Darrow argued that Orchard's real motive in the assassination had been revenge for a declaration of martial law by Steunenberg, which prompted Orchard to gamble away a share in the Hercules silver mine that would otherwise have made him wealthy.

 

Two of the WFM leaders were acquitted in two separate trials, and the third was released. Orchard was convicted and sentenced to death. His sentence was commuted, and he spent the rest of his life in an Idaho prison.

 

Mining in Idaho was a major commercial venture, bringing a great deal of attention to the state. From 1860-1866 Idaho produced 19% of all gold in the United States, or 2.5 million ounces.

 

Most of Idaho's mining production, 1860–1969, has come from metals equating to $2.88 billion out of $3.42 billion, according to the best estimates. Of the metallic mining areas of Idaho, the Coeur d'Alene region has produced the most by far, and accounts for about 80% of the total Idaho yield.

 

Several others—Boise Basin, Wood River Valley, Stibnite, Blackbirg, and Owyhee—range considerably above the other big producers. Atlanta, Bear Valley, Bay Horse, Florence, Gilmore, Mackay, Patterson, and Yankee Fork all ran on the order of ten to twenty million dollars, and Elk City, Leesburg, Pierce, Rocky Bar, and Warren's make up the rest of the major Idaho mining areas that stand out in the sixty or so regions of production worthy of mention.

 

A number of small operations do not appear in this list of Idaho metallic mining areas: a small amount of gold was recovered from Goose Creek on Salmon Meadows; a mine near Cleveland was prospected in 1922 and produced a little manganese in 1926; a few tons of copper came from Fort Hall, and a few more tons of copper came from a mine near Montpelier. Similarly, a few tons of lead came from a property near Bear Lake, and lead-silver is known on Cassia Creek near Elba. Some gold quartz and lead-silver workings are on Ruby Creek west of Elk River, and there is a slightly developed copper operation on Deer Creek near Winchester. Molybdenum is known on Roaring River and on the east fork of the Salmon. Some scattered mining enterprises have been undertaken around Soldier Mountain and on Chief Eagle Eye Creek north of Montour.

 

Idaho proved to be one of the more receptive states to the progressive agenda of the late 19th century and early 20th century. The state embraced progressive policies such as women's suffrage (1896) and prohibition (1916) before they became federal law. Idahoans were also strongly supportive of Free Silver. The pro-bimetallism Populist and Silver Republican parties of the late 1890s were particularly successful in the state.

 

Eugenics was also a major part of the Progressive movement. In 1919, the Idaho legislature passed an Act legalizing the forced sterilization of some persons institutionalized in the state. The act was vetoed by governor D.W. Davis, who doubted its scientific merits and believed it likely violated the Equal Protection clause of the US Constitution. In 1925, the Idaho legislature passed a revised eugenics act, now tailored to avoid Davis's earlier objections. The new law created a state board of eugenics, charged with: the sterilization of all feebleminded, insane, epileptics, habitual criminals, moral degenerates and sexual perverts who are a menace to society, and providing the means for ascertaining who are such persons.

The Eugenics board was eventually folded into the state's health commission; between 1932 and 1964, a total of 30 women and eight men in Idaho were sterilized under this law. The sterilization law was formally repealed in 1972.

 

After statehood, Idaho's economy began a gradual shift away from mining toward agriculture, particularly in the south. Older mining communities such as Silver City and Rocky Bar gave way to agricultural communities incorporated after statehood, such as Nampa and Twin Falls. Milner Dam on the Snake River, completed in 1905, allowed for the formation of many agricultural communities in the Magic Valley region which had previously been nearly unpopulated.

 

Meanwhile, some of the mining towns were able to reinvent themselves as resort communities, most notably in Blaine County, where the Sun Valley ski resort opened in 1936. Others, such as Silver City and Rocky Bar, became ghost towns.

 

In the north, mining continued to be an important industry for several more decades. The closure of the Bunker Hill Mine complex in Shoshone County in the early 1980s sent the region's economy into a tailspin. Since that time, a substantial increase in tourism in north Idaho has helped the region to recover. Coeur d'Alene, a lake-side resort town, is a destination for visitors in the area.

 

Beginning in the 1980s, there was a rise in North Idaho of a few right-wing extremist and "survivalist" political groups, most notably one holding Neo-Nazi views, the Aryan Nations. These groups were most heavily concentrated in the Panhandle region of the state, particularly in the vicinity of Coeur d'Alene.

 

In 1992 a stand-off occurred between U.S. Marshals, the F.B.I., and white separatist Randy Weaver and his family at their compound at Ruby Ridge, located near the small, northern Idaho town of Naples. The ensuing fire-fight and deaths of a U.S. Marshal, and Weaver's son and wife gained national attention, and raised a considerable amount of controversy regarding the nature of acceptable force by the federal government in such situations.

 

In 2001, the Aryan Nations compound, which had been located in Hayden Lake, Idaho, was confiscated as a result of a court case, and the organization moved out of state. About the same time Boise installed an impressive stone Human Rights Memorial featuring a bronze statue of Anne Frank and quotations from her and many other writers extolling human freedom and equality.

 

The demographics of the state have changed. Due to this growth in different groups, especially in Boise, the economic expansion surged wrong-economic growth followed the high standard of living and resulted in the "growth of different groups". The population of Idaho in the 21st Century has been described as sharply divided along geographic and cultural lines due to the center of the state being dominated by sparsely-populated national forests, mountain ranges and recreation sites: "unless you're willing to navigate a treacherous mountain pass, you can't even drive from the north to the south without leaving the state." The northern population gravitates towards Spokane, Washington, the heavily Mormon south-east population towards Utah, with an isolated Boise "[being] the closest thing to a city-state that you'll find in America."

 

On March 13, 2020, officials from the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare announced the first confirmed case of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 within the state of Idaho. A woman over the age of 50 from the southwestern part of the state was confirmed to have the coronavirus infection. She contracted the infection while attending a conference in New York City. Conference coordinators notified attendees that three individuals previously tested positive for the coronavirus. The Idahoan did not require hospitalization and was recovering from mild symptoms from her home. At the time of the announcement, there were 1,629 total cases and 41 deaths in the United States. Five days beforehand, on March 8, a man of age 54 had died of an unknown respiratory illness which his doctor had believed to be pneumonia. The disease was later suspected to be – but never confirmed as – COVID-19.

 

On March 14, state officials announced the second confirmed case within the state. The South Central Public Health District, announced that a woman over the age of 50 that resides in Blaine County had contracted the infection.[44] Like the first case, she did not require hospitalization and she was recovering from mild symptoms from home. Later on in the day, three additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 were reported in the state by three of the seven health districts in the state, which brought the confirmed total cases of coronavirus to five in Idaho. Officials from Central District Health announced their second confirmed case, which was a male from Ada County in his 50s. He was not hospitalized and was recovering at home. South Central Public Health reported their second confirmed case in a female that is over the age of 70 who was hospitalized. Eastern Idaho Public Health reported a confirmed positive case in a woman under the age of 60 in Teton County. She had contracted the coronavirus from contact with a confirmed case in a neighboring state; she was not hospitalized. The South Central Public Health District announced that a woman over the age of 50 that resides in Blaine County had contracted the infection. Like the first case, she did not require hospitalization and she was recovering from mild symptoms from home.

 

On March 17, two more confirmed cases of the infection were reported, bringing the total to seven. The first case on this date was by officials from Central District Health reported that a female under the age of 50 in Ada County was recovering at home and was not hospitalized. The second confirmed case was a female over the age of 50 as reported by South Central Public Health officials.

 

On March 18, two additional confirmed cases were announced by South Central Public Health District officials. One is a male from Blaine County in his 40s and the other a male in his 80s from Twin Falls County. These cases were the first known community spread transmission of the coronavirus in South Central Idaho.

Abstract

Alchemy was the synthesis or transmutation of all elements in perfect balance to obtain the philosopher’s stone, the key to health. Just as alchemists sought this, so health practitioners always seek the best possible practice for optimal health outcomes for our patients. Best practice requires full knowledge—a little information can be dangerous. We need to serve our apprenticeship before we master our profession. Our profession is about improving health care. While the journey may start at medical school, the learning never ceases. It is not only about practising medicine, it is about the development of the practitioner. Professional practice requires systematic thinking combined with capacity to deal morally and creatively in areas of complexity and uncertainty appropriate to a specific context. It requires exemplary communication skills to interact with patients to facilitate collaborative decision making resulting in best practice. The synthesis of scientific and contextual evidence is a concept which applies to all disciplines where theoretical knowledge needs to be transferred to action to inform best practice. Decisions need to be made which take into account a complex array of factors, such as social and legal issues and resource constraints. Therefore, journey towards best practice involves transmutation of these three elements: scientific knowledge, the context in which it is applied and phronesis, the practical wisdom of the practitioner. All science has its limitations and we can never know all possible contextual information. Hence, like the philosopher’s stone, best practice is a goal to which we aspire but never quite attain.

 

Evidence-based practice, lifelong learning, postgraduate education

Issue Section: Editorial

Introduction

Alchemy was the synthesis or transmutation of all elements in perfect balance to obtain the philosopher’s stone. It was about the creation of a ‘panacea’, the elixir of life, a remedy to cure all diseases, the key to health. Just as alchemists sought this, so health practitioners always seek the best possible practice for optimal health outcomes for our patients.

 

Best practice requires full knowledge—a little information can be dangerous. We need to serve our apprenticeship before we master our profession. Our profession is about improving health care. While the journey may start at medical school, the learning never ceases. It is not only about practising medicinebut also about the development of the practitioner.

 

Professional practice requires systematic thinking combined with capacity to deal morally and creatively in areas of complexity and uncertainty appropriate to a specific context. It requires exemplary communication skills to interact with patients to facilitate collaborative decision making resulting in best practice. The synthesis of scientific and contextual evidence is a concept applies to all disciplines where theoretical knowledge needs to be transferred to action to inform best practice. Decisions need to be made which take into account complex array of factors, such as social and legal issues and resource constraints. Therefore, journey towards best practice involves transmutation of these three elements: scientific knowledge, the context in which it is applied and phronesis, the practical wisdom of the practitioner.

 

Clinical practice can be considered to be the sum of scholarship and professionalism. Scholarship is about empirical knowledge, research evidence, science and logic. We need to know how to assess the quality of evidence, judge the relevance and value of new knowledge to our own practice and determine whether this new knowledge is practice confirming or practice changing. Thus, the basis of our practice is scientific scholarship but we also need to learn the art. Professionalism is about the understanding and application of contextual knowledge and professional expertise, it is about artistry and judgement. We need both clinical reasoning and ethical decision making.

 

Alchemy was about integration across domains. The basic elements of water, fire, air and earth and core processes of decomposition, sublimation, distillation, amalgamation, fermentation and purification needed to be precisely combined and balanced to attain the philosopher’s stone. Similarly, clinical practice involves the domains of both scholarship and professionalism. For best practice, we must consider the prevalence of a condition, its diagnosis and treatment and its likely prognosis. However, in our management of patients, we must also consider the interplay of many other factors—the law, human rights and dignity, issues of equity for all patients, the potential benefits and harms of intervening or not intervening, the role of the professional and the emotional responses of all involved (Fig. 1).

 

FIGURE 1

Domains of alchemy and domains of clinical practice

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Domains of alchemy and domains of clinical practice

 

Alchemy involves finding perfect combination of planetary metals (such as silver, copper and mercury) and mundane elements (such as potassium and sulphur) to transmute matter into the elixir of life. The alchemist studied and practised for many years striving to reach this goal. In the same way, to determine best practice, we need to know the scientific evidence. Randomized controlled trials can demonstrate whether intervention is effective. This knowledge may be strengthened if we combine trials in systematic reviews and meta-analyse. We need to know how well a test will pick or miss a diagnosis. Case-controlled studies help us identify factors, which contribute to a particular disease. Qualitative research brings narrative to our numbers, adds the why and how to our results (Fig. 2).

 

FIGURE 2

Types of matter and types of evidence

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Types of matter and types of evidence

 

However, in practice, evidence needs to be assessed from perspective of a particular patient. Many things contribute to what decisions are actually made. These include both the patient and the practitioner’s values, numerous attributes of the patient (such as their age and their co-morbidities), their family and the community in which they live, their culture and local policy. Limited resources may mean that the ideal test or treatment is not affordable. For example, evidence indicates that heart failure should be diagnosed on basis of an echocardiogram, but if patient does not have access to this test, then the clinician may rely on symptoms and signs. Best management might include use of beta blockers, but if the patient has asthma, which this drug exacerbates, alternative treatments must be chosen. A child with bacterial pneumonia requires antibiotics, but relatives of elderly demented and chronically ill person with this condition may decline such treatment for their family member.

 

Best practice is the transmutation or synthesis of knowledge. However, all science has its limitations. What has been found to be true for particular population may not be generalizable to another. Furthermore, we can never know all possible contextual information. For example, we may not be able to predict that a person will have allergic reaction to drug we give them. Hence, like the philosopher’s stone, best practice is a goal to which we aspire but never quite attain.

 

Scientific knowledge is incomplete. It is always undergoing change and being added to. We need skills to access and critically appraise new knowledge as research progresses. Likewise, the context changes with every patient, and patient’s needs and values change over time. Professional expertise also requires self-reflection and evaluation of the outcomes of our decisions. All this evidence goes back into the mix and contributes to future decision making (Fig. 3). This is the process of lifelong learning—how the apprentice achieves mastery.

 

FIGURE 3

Synthesis of knowledge into best practice

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Synthesis of knowledge into best practice

 

The principle of the synthesis of scientific and contextual knowledge, funnelled through the wisdom of the practitioner, applies to health care in the realms of clinical and forensic practice, research, education and dissemination of information.

 

Clinical practice

Cecil Lewis, the founding Dean of my Medical School, emphasized that most health care takes place in the community not in the hospital and that doctors should treat patients holistically—body, mind and spirit. He believed it important for doctors to be well-rounded people and their education should include both science and humanity. He introduced a 3-month elective in the final year for students to spend 3 months doing whatever they passionate about, something to feed their soul, be it music, art, science or medicine. Combining theoretical knowledge with real life situations begins with clinical practice.

 

Alchemists were early doctors, in search of potions to promote healing. This is an intent that doctors still seek, applying scientific knowledge within a particular context to assist our patients to heal. My first general practice experience job was as a locum in Blaengwynfi, a mining village in South Wales. I shared the on-call roster with Dr Julian Tudor-Hart, a GP from the neighbouring village Glyncorrwg. I found him to be a truly inspirational GP. Julian was working with his patients to make their lives healthier through systematically checking their blood pressures and helping them to change their lifestyles—getting them to look at their diet, their smoking and exercise or lack of it. These Welsh villages very impoverished and the GPs who worked there did twice as much work for half pay of those working in more affluent areas. Julian taught me that the people most likely to need health care were the least likely to receive it. It was only many years later that I learned that Julian is an icon of general practice in the UK and that his ‘inverse care law’ is famous.1

 

I worked as a doctor in Jamaica for 2 years, where the health need was great. There I experienced first-hand how best practice has to be tempered by the circumstances and what is available. I ran a health centre just out of Kingston where there had been no doctor for a number of years and ∼20 000 people in the catchment area. However, there was a great team of auxiliary staff whom I trained to deliver health talks to the large group of people who would sit in shade of the mango trees waiting to see the doctor. The staff would also write labels, count pills and put into bottles the drugs I used to wheedle from the Ministry depot in downtown Kingston. After every 20 patients, I would stop consulting and dispense my own prescriptions. Patients were instructed to bring back pill bottles for recycling. I used to estimate patients’ haemoglobin levels by the strength of copper sulphate solution in which a drop of their blood would float. While a public laboratory was available at the downtown hospital, generally this was not an accessible option due to resource constraints (most patients could not afford the bus fare) and the potential associated harms (gun wars in ghettos made travelling there dangerous).

 

Forensic practice

Transmutation of scientific and contextual knowledge also applies to forensic practice. This involves examining all available evidence about the circumstances, applying what we know from scientific literature and then assessing whether the evidence may confirm or refute that alleged events occurred or were committed by person accused. Both the presence and the absence of evidence need to be considered. Sometimes evidence points to guilt. The accused may then plead guilty or be found guilty at trial. Sometimes evidence points to innocence. The charges may then be dropped or the accused found not guilty. Other times, it provides an estimate of probability or improbability. Crimes do not have to be proved; only that person is guilty beyond reasonable doubt.

 

The roles of the clinical and forensic practitioner are different, and you cannot serve Hippocrates and Hammurabi at the same time. The clinician serves Hippocrates, the Healer. This role is to relieve suffering, provide treatment and prevent further illness or injury and the duty of care is to the patient. The forensic physician serves Hammurabi, the lawgiver. Here, the role is one of evidence gathering with the basic tenet of impartiality. The role is to provide expert opinion and the duty of care is to the Court. While both roles require the synthesis of scientific and contextual evidence, clinicians called upon as expert witnesses need to make this distinction between their therapeutic and forensic responsibilities. Before a hearing, there is a complainant not a victim and a defendant not an offender. Both clinical and forensic practitioners should treat complainants with compassion and respect, and this treatment should also be afforded to the accused.

 

Research

The alchemist was researcher, constantly experimenting to find philosopher’s stone. He was looking for the perfect balance not only of ingredients but also of processes. Primary care research needs to study not only the prevalence, diagnosis, management and prognosis of disease but also issues such as how to communicate our knowledge to our patients. Clinical decisions may require the complex weighing up of the potential benefits and harms of each course of action. There are numerous ways to communicate this—as relative or as absolute risk, odds, numbers needed to treat or natural frequencies, positively or negatively framed, as numbers or in pictures.2 Our methods of communication will influence how well our patients understand the possible consequences of a management decision and may also actively encourage or discourage them from making particular choices. Using only relative risk may be manipulative. For example, if we tell a patient that one drug has double the chance of a particular side-effect compared to another, the impact of this information is likely to be very different if the risk changes from 1 in 20 to 1 in 10, than if the risk increases from 1 in 20 000 to 1 in 10 000. There is no single optimal method of communicating information on potential benefits and harms, but research can assist us to find the best way to impart knowledge to ensure truly collaborative decision making.

 

Education

Because knowledge is always changing, clinicians need to embark on a journey of lifelong learning and those with knowledge need to pass it on to others. A network of schools of alchemy existed for over millennia, starting in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, spreading to India, Persia and the Far East, on through classical Greek and Roman civilizations to the medieval Islamic world and then medieval Europe. The science and art of alchemy were passed down to students by master alchemists.

 

Postgraduate education needs to follow the same model of combining scholarship and professionalism. In all clinical disciplines, practitioners need the tools to access and critically appraise new knowledge as research progresses to assess the quality of evidence and its relevance to their own practice. This knowledge can then applied in context of individual patients. Professional expertise also requires self-reflection and the assessment of outcomes of decisions. Postgraduate students need to be able to look at research knowledge from populations and ask:

 

Should this confirm or change my practice?

 

Are these findings realistic—is this test or intervention available, will it be used and will it be worthwhile?

 

Is it relevant to this particular patient?

 

How does it apply to patients with other conditions and preferences?

 

What are relative gains and risks for my patient?

 

They can explore their own and other colleagues’ clinical reasoning and decision making in specific scenarios. This enables them to reflect on the weight they give different components, such as exploring and explaining relative benefits and harms of intervening or not intervening and issues relating to the law, equity and human rights and dignity.

 

Publication

Finally, our ever-growing body of knowledge needs to circulated. The philosophy of alchemy persisted for >2000 years. The findings of alchemists were recorded in texts and scrolls and disseminated in their schools and libraries. The best way to disseminate primary health care knowledge is via our peer-reviewed indexed medical journals. Primarily, this is the publication of original research. However, while scientific evidence can help inform best practice, sometimes there is no evidence available or applicable for a specific patient with his or her own set of conditions, beliefs, expectations and social circumstances. Evidence needs to be placed in context. General practice is art as well as a science. Quality of care lies also with nature of clinical relationship, with communication and truly informed decision-making. We also need to publish editorials, viewpoints, commentaries and reflections that explore areas of uncertainty, ethics, aspects of care for which there is no one right answer.

 

Conclusions

In the journey from apprentice to master, we gain knowledge and practical wisdom along way. As clinicians, researchers and teachers, we are all on a journey of lifelong learning, constantly adding and re-evaluating knowledge to practice the best that we can.

 

academic.oup.com/fampra/article/28/2/123/636458

Bob McCausland

1988

Watercolor on paper

Westport Maritime Museum

 

For a photo of the actual Harbor Belle, please click here: upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0f/Harbor_...

 

From the artist's obituary:

 

He was born in 1959 and lived for 22 years in the imagination, and pen, of cartoonist Bob McCausland.

 

Hairbreadth Husky would appear twice a week, once before and once after each Husky game. Even opposing coaches loved him.

 

Here's a cartoon penned for the 1961 Rose Bowl game, where the University of Washington Huskies played Minnesota. "We're looking for a Mr. Cliff Hanger who badgered a friend of ours last Jan. 1," a huge gopher ranted after the Huskies won the game.

 

Another shows a Cougar bobbing apples with a Husky before a Washington State game.

 

Mr. McCausland, 90, died Friday night while attending a Garrison Keillor performance at the Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery in Woodinville. His wife, Ruth, said he collapsed in the heat.

 

"I think his heart just wore out," Ruth McCausland said. He was given a pacemaker after his third surgery for cancer two years ago, she said.

 

Mr. McCausland, a longtime cartoonist at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, was born in Seattle. As a young man, he joined the Army and served during World War II. When the war ended in 1945, he went to the P-I with his portfolio and was asked when he could start.

 

Mr. McCausland worked at the P-I for 33 years, illustrating everything from food stories to sketching defendants in courtrooms.

 

But it was Hairbreadth Husky that drew the most fervent fans. "When he first began appearing ... he didn't have a name," said Martin Rudow, in his book about Hairbreadth Husky. "Bob McCausland found that he could have more fun with his Husky cartoon characters if they didn't take themselves too seriously, and so grew the idea of Hairbreadth Husky as we came to know him: slightly underfed, sporting a booster hat and a too-large letterman's jacket, plucky but overmatched."

 

Former Husky coach Don James has one of the drawings in his home. "We looked forward to [the cartoons]," he said. "It was cute the way he used them, and he was always positive."

 

P-I reporter Gordie Holt knew Mr. McCausland when Holt was a sportswriter at the paper. "He was an incredibly creative guy," Holt said. "He was a sculptor, a woodcarver, universally an art guy who couldn't leave things alone."

 

After Mr. McCausland retired, he and his wife moved to Tokeland, Pacific County, on the north shore of Willapa Bay, where they lived for 27 years. Last month they moved into a guesthouse near Olympia owned by their son Gary.

 

The couple had just celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary.

 

They were charter members of the Westport-South Beach Historical Society, and Mr. McCausland painted a mural for the state's centennial celebration. He designed 29 plaques along Westport's harbor and painted a mural on Swanson's grocery in Aberdeen. He continued to publish a weekly cartoon in the Aberdeen Daily World until he officially retired last October, on his 90th birthday.

 

Ruth McCausland said her husband created Hairbreadth Husky because the UW football team, always the underdog, would win by a hair.

 

"He carved, he whittled, he did stained glass," she said. "He carved me 120 miniature birds, which are beautiful."

 

She said her husband was a workaholic but still loved to go camping with his family.

 

Son Gary recalled the day, when he was in second grade, that his father came to talk to his class. "He did this wonderful thing, drew illustrations on the chalkboard and talked about the newspaper business," said Gary McCausland. When it was over, he said, he asked for questions and one child raised his hand: " 'Can you draw Donald Duck?' My dad didn't have a clue who Donald Duck was. He was an artist who stuck with his own things, and I was embarrassed."

 

Another time, he said, his father spent months in the basement on a secret project. On Christmas morning, the McCausland brothers found a model train and village, all handpainted, just like the train in Skykomish.

 

Mr. McCausland's other son, Paul, said his father loved the ocean and history. "He was always giving his time and his art talent to projects, even up to the very end. He was always fiddling. He always had things in mind that people would appreciate."

 

old.seattletimes.com/html/obituaries/2003146053_mccauslan...

Kent State University May 4 Shooting Site, Kent, Portage County, Ohio

 

THE MAY 4 SHOOTINGS AT KENT STATE UNIVERSITY: THE SEARCH FOR HISTORICAL ACCURACY

 

BY JERRY M. LEWIS and THOMAS R. HENSLEY

 

On May 4, 1970, members of the Ohio National Guard fired into a crowd of Kent State University demonstrators, killing four and wounding nine Kent State students. The impact of the shootings was dramatic. The event triggered a nationwide student strike that forced hundreds of colleges and universities to close. H. R. Haldeman, a top aide to President Richard Nixon, suggests the shootings had a direct impact on national politics. In The Ends of Power, Haldeman (1978) states that the shootings at Kent State began the slide into Watergate, eventually destroying the Nixon administration. Beyond the direct effects of the May 4, the shootings have certainly come to symbolize the deep political and social divisions that so sharply divided the country during the Vietnam War era.

 

In the nearly three decades since May 4, l970, a voluminous literature has developed analyzing the events of May 4 and their aftermath. Some books were published quickly, providing a fresh but frequently superficial or inaccurate analysis of the shootings (e.g., Eszterhas and Roberts, 1970; Warren, 1970; Casale and Paskoff, 1971; Michener, 1971; Stone, 1971; Taylor et al., 1971; and Tompkins and Anderson, 1971). Numerous additional books have been published in subsequent years (e.g., Davies, 1973; Hare, 1973; Hensley and Lewis, 1978; Kelner and Munves, 1980; Hensley, 1981; Payne, 1981; Bills, 1988; and Gordon, 1997). These books have the advantage of a broader historical perspective than the earlier books, but no single book can be considered the definitive account of the events and aftermath of May 4, l970, at Kent State University.(1)

 

Despite the substantial literature which exists on the Kent State shootings, misinformation and misunderstanding continue to surround the events of May 4. For example, a prominent college-level United States history book by Mary Beth Norton et al. (1994), which is also used in high school advanced placement courses.(2) contains a picture of the shootings of May 4 accompanied by the following summary of events: "In May 1970, at Kent State University in Ohio, National Guardsmen confronted student antiwar protestors with a tear gas barrage. Soon afterward, with no provocation, soldiers opened fire into a group of fleeing students. Four young people were killed, shot in the back, including two women who had been walking to class." (Norton et al., 1994, p. 732) Unfortunately, this short description contains four factual errors: (1) some degree of provocation did exist; (2) the students were not fleeing when the Guard initially opened fire; (3) only one of the four students who died, William Schroeder, was shot in the back; and (4) one female student, Sandy Schreuer, had been walking to class, but the other female, Allison Krause, had been part of the demonstration.

 

This article is an attempt to deal with the historical inaccuracies that surround the May 4 shootings at Kent State University by providing high school social studies teachers with a resource to which they can turn if they wish to teach about the subject or to involve students in research on the issue. Our approach is to raise and provide answers to twelve of the most frequently asked questions about May 4 at Kent State. We will also offer a list of the most important questions involving the shootings which have not yet been answered satisfactorily. Finally, we will conclude with a brief annotated bibliography for those wishing to explore the subject further.

 

WHY WAS THE OHIO NATIONAL GUARD CALLED TO KENT?

The decision to bring the Ohio National Guard onto the Kent State University campus was directly related to decisions regarding American involvement in the Vietnam War. Richard Nixon was elected president of the United States in 1968 based in part on his promise to bring an end to the war in Vietnam. During the first year of Nixon's presidency, America's involvement in the war appeared to be winding down. In late April of 1970, however, the United States invaded Cambodia and widened the Vietnam War. This decision was announced on national television and radio on April 30, l970, by President Nixon, who stated that the invasion of Cambodia was designed to attack the headquarters of the Viet Cong, which had been using Cambodian territory as a sanctuary.

 

Protests occurred the next day, Friday, May 1, across United States college campuses where anti-war sentiment ran high. At Kent State University, an anti-war rally was held at noon on the Commons, a large, grassy area in the middle of campus which had traditionally been the site for various types of rallies and demonstrations. Fiery speeches against the war and the Nixon administration were given, a copy of the Constitution was buried to symbolize the murder of the Constitution because Congress had never declared war, and another rally was called for noon on Monday, May 4.

 

Friday evening in downtown Kent began peacefully with the usual socializing in the bars, but events quickly escalated into a violent confrontation between protestors and local police. The exact causes of the disturbance are still the subject of debate, but bonfires were built in the streets of downtown Kent, cars were stopped, police cars were hit with bottles, and some store windows were broken. The entire Kent police force was called to duty as well as officers from the county and surrounding communities. Kent Mayor Leroy Satrom declared a state of emergency, called Governor James Rhodes' office to seek assistance, and ordered all of the bars closed. The decision to close the bars early increased the size of the angry crowd. Police eventually succeeded in using tear gas to disperse the crowd from downtown, forcing them to move several blocks back to the campus.

 

The next day, Saturday, May 2, Mayor Satrom met with other city officials and a representative of the Ohio National Guard who had been dispatched to Kent. Mayor Satrom then made the decision to ask Governor Rhodes to send the Ohio National Guard to Kent. The mayor feared further disturbances in Kent based upon the events of the previous evening, but more disturbing to the mayor were threats that had been made to downtown businesses and city officials as well as rumors that radical revolutionaries were in Kent to destroy the city and the university. Satrom was fearful that local forces would be inadequate to meet the potential disturbances, and thus about 5 p.m. he called the Governor's office to make an official request for assistance from the Ohio National Guard.

 

WHAT HAPPENED ON THE KENT STATE UNIVERSITY CAMPUS ON SATURDAY MAY 2 AND SUNDAY MAY 3 AFTER THE GUARDS ARRIVED ON CAMPUS?

Members of the Ohio National Guard were already on duty in Northeast Ohio, and thus they were able to be mobilized quickly to move to Kent. As the Guard arrived in Kent at about 10 p.m., they encountered a tumultuous scene. The wooden ROTC building adjacent to the Commons was ablaze and would eventually burn to the ground that evening, with well over 1,000 demonstrators surrounding the building. Controversy continues to exist regarding who was responsible for setting fire to the ROTC building, but radical protestors were assumed to be responsible because of their actions in interfering with the efforts of firemen to extinguish the fire as well as cheering the burning of the building. Confrontations between Guardsmen and demonstrators continued into the night, with tear gas filling the campus and numerous arrests being made.

 

Sunday, May 3 was a day filled with contrasts. Nearly 1,000 Ohio National Guardsmen occupied the campus, making it appear like a military war zone. The day was warm and sunny, however, and students frequently talked amicably with Guardsmen. Ohio Governor James Rhodes flew to Kent on Sunday morning, and his mood was anything but calm. At a press conference, he issued a provocative statement calling campus protestors the worst type of people in America and stating that every force of law would be used to deal with them. Rhodes also indicated that he would seek a court order declaring a state of emergency. This was never done, but the widespread assumption among both Guard and University officials was that a state of martial law was being declared in which control of the campus resided with the Guard rather than University leaders and all rallies were banned. Further confrontations between protesters and guardsmen occurred Sunday evening, and once again rocks, tear gas, and arrests characterized a tense campus.

 

WHAT TYPE OF RALLY WAS HELD AT NOON ON MAY 4?

At the conclusion of the anti-war rally on Friday, May 1, student protest leaders had called for another rally to be held on the Commons at noon on Monday, May 4. Although University officials had attempted on the morning of May 4 to inform the campus that the rally was prohibited, a crowd began to gather beginning as early as 11 a.m. By noon, the entire Commons area contained approximately 3,000 people. Although estimates are inexact, probably about 500 core demonstrators were gathered around the Victory Bell at one end of the Commons, another 1,000 people were "cheerleaders" supporting the active demonstrators, and an additional 1,500 people were spectators standing around the perimeter of the Commons. Across the Commons at the burned-out ROTC building stood about 100 Ohio National Guardsmen carrying lethal M-1 military rifles.

 

Substantial consensus exists that the active participants in the rally were primarily protesting the presence of the Guard on campus, although a strong anti-war sentiment was also present. Little evidence exists as to who were the leaders of the rally and what activities were planned, but initially the rally was peaceful.

 

WHO MADE THE DECISION TO BAN THE RALLY OF MAY 4?

Conflicting evidence exists regarding who was responsible for the decision to ban the noon rally of May 4. At the 1975 federal civil trial, General Robert Canterbury, the highest official of the Guard, testified that widespread consensus existed that the rally should be prohibited because of the tensions that existed and the possibility that violence would again occur. Canterbury further testified that Kent State President Robert White had explicitly told Canterbury that any demonstration would be highly dangerous. In contrast, White testified that he could recall no conversation with Canterbury regarding banning the rally.

 

The decision to ban the rally can most accurately be traced to Governor Rhodes' statements on Sunday, May 3 when he stated that he would be seeking a state of emergency declaration from the courts. Although he never did this, all officials -- Guard, University, Kent -- assumed that the Guard was now in charge of the campus and that all rallies were illegal. Thus, University leaders printed and distributed on Monday morning 12,000 leaflets indicating that all rallies, including the May 4 rally scheduled for noon, were prohibited as long as the Guard was in control of the campus.

 

WHAT EVENTS LED DIRECTLY TO THE SHOOTINGS?

Shortly before noon, General Canterbury made the decision to order the demonstrators to disperse. A Kent State police officer standing by the Guard made an announcement using a bullhorn. When this had no effect, the officer was placed in a jeep along with several Guardsmen and driven across the Commons to tell the protestors that the rally was banned and that they must disperse. This was met with angry shouting and rocks, and the jeep retreated. Canterbury then ordered his men to load and lock their weapons, tear gas canisters were fired into the crowd around the Victory Bell, and the Guard began to march across the Commons to disperse the rally. The protestors moved up a steep hill, known as Blanket Hill, and then down the other side of the hill onto the Prentice Hall parking lot as well as an adjoining practice football field. Most of the Guardsmen followed the students directly and soon found themselves somewhat trapped on the practice football field because it was surrounded by a fence. Yelling and rock throwing reached a peak as the Guard remained on the field for about 10 minutes. Several Guardsmen could be seen huddling together, and some Guardsmen knelt and pointed their guns, but no weapons were shot at this time. The Guard then began retracing their steps from the practice football field back up Blanket Hill. As they arrived at the top of the hill, 28 of the more than 70 Guardsmen turned suddenly and fired their rifles and pistols. Many guardsmen fired into the air or the ground. However, a small portion fired directly into the crowd. Altogether between 61 and 67 shots were fired in a 13-second period.

 

HOW MANY DEATHS AND INJURIES OCCURRED?

Four Kent State students died as a result of the firing by the Guard. The closest student was Jeffrey Miller, who was shot in the mouth while standing in an access road leading into the Prentice Hall parking lot, a distance of approximately 270 feet from the Guard. Allison Krause was in the Prentice Hall parking lot; she was 330 feet from the Guardsmen and was shot in the left side of her body. William Schroeder was 390 feet from the Guard in the Prentice Hall parking lot when he was shot in the left side of his back. Sandra Scheuer was also about 390 feet from the Guard in the Prentice Hall parking lot when a bullet pierced the left front side of her neck.

 

Nine Kent State students were wounded in the 13-second fusillade. Most of the students were in the Prentice Hall parking lot, but a few were on the Blanket Hill area. Joseph Lewis was the student closest to the Guard at a distance of about 60 feet; he was standing still with Four men sit staring at a candle-lit stage, on which there are portraits of the four Kent State students who died as a result of the firing by the Guard.his middle finger extended when bullets struck him in the right abdomen and left lower leg. Thomas Grace was also approximately 60 feet from the Guardsmen and was wounded in the left ankle. John Cleary was over 100 feet from the Guardsmen when he was hit in the upper left chest. Alan Canfora was 225 feet from the Guard and was struck in the right wrist. Dean Kahler was the most seriously wounded of the nine students. He was struck in the small of his back from approximately 300 feet and was permanently paralyzed from the waist down. Douglas Wrentmore was wounded in the right knee from a distance of 330 feet. James Russell was struck in the right thigh and right forehead at a distance of 375 feet. Robert Stamps was almost 500 feet from the line of fire when he was wounded in the right buttock. Donald Mackenzie was the student the farthest from the Guardsmen at a distance of almost 750 feet when he was hit in the neck.

 

WHY DID THE GUARDSMEN FIRE?

The most important question associated with the events of May 4 is why did members of the Guard fire into a crowd of unarmed students? Two quite different answers have been advanced to this question: (1) the Guardsmen fired in self-defense, and the shootings were therefore justified and (2) the Guardsmen were not in immediate danger, and therefore the shootings were unjustified.

 

The answer offered by the Guardsmen is that they fired because they were in fear of their lives. Guardsmen testified before numerous investigating commissions as well as in federal court that they felt the demonstrators were advancing on them in such a way as to pose a serious and immediate threat to the safety of the Guardsmen, and they therefore had to fire in self-defense. Some authors (e.g., Michener, 1971 and Grant and Hill, 1974) agree with this assessment. Much more importantly, federal criminal and civil trials have accepted the position of the Guardsmen. In a 1974 federal criminal trial, District Judge Frank Battisti dismissed the case against eight Guardsmen indicted by a federal grand jury, ruling at mid-trial that the government's case against the Guardsmen was so weak that the defense did not have to present its case. In the much longer and more complex federal civil trial of 1975, a jury voted 9-3 that none of the Guardsmen were legally responsible for the shootings. This decision was appealed, however, and the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a new trial had to be held because of the improper handling of a threat to a jury member.

 

The legal aftermath of the May 4 shootings ended in January of 1979 with an out-of-court settlement involving a statement signed by 28 defendants(3) as well as a monetary settlement, and the Guardsmen and their supporters view this as a final vindication of their position. The financial settlement provided $675,000 to the wounded students and the parents of the students who had been killed. This money was paid by the State of Ohio rather than by any Guardsmen, and the amount equaled what the State estimated it would cost to go to trial again. Perhaps most importantly, the statement signed by members of the Ohio National Guard was viewed by them to be a declaration of regret, not an apology or an admission of wrongdoing:

 

In retrospect, the tragedy of May 4, 1970 should not have occurred. The students may have believed that they were right in continuing their mass protest in response to the Cambodian invasion, even though this protest followed the posting and reading by the university of an order to ban rallies and an order to disperse. These orders have since been determined by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals to have been lawful.

 

Some of the Guardsmen on Blanket Hill, fearful and anxious from prior events, may have believed in their own minds that their lives were in danger. Hindsight suggests that another method would have resolved the confrontation. Better ways must be found to deal with such a confrontation.

 

We devoutly wish that a means had been found to avoid the May 4th events culminating in the Guard shootings and the irreversible deaths and injuries. We deeply regret those events and are profoundly saddened by the deaths of four students and the wounding of nine others which resulted. We hope that the agreement to end the litigation will help to assuage the tragic memories regarding that sad day.

 

A starkly different interpretation to that of the Guards' has been offered in numerous other studies of the shootings, with all of these analyses sharing the common viewpoint that primary responsibility for the shootings lies with the Guardsmen. Some authors (e.g., Stone, 1971; Davies, 1973; and Kelner and Munves, 1980) argue that the Guardsmen's lives were not in danger. Instead, these authors argue that the evidence shows that certain members of the Guard conspired on the practice football field to fire when they reached the top of Blanket Hill. Other authors (e.g., Best, 1981 and Payne, 1981) do not find sufficient evidence to accept the conspiracy theory, but they also do not find the Guard self-defense theory to be plausible. Experts who find the Guard primarily responsible find themselves in agreement with the conclusion of the Scranton Commission (Report , 1970, p. 87): "The indiscriminate firing of rifles into a crowd of students and the deaths that followed were unnecessary, unwarranted, and inexcusable."

 

WHAT HAPPENED IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE SHOOTINGS?

While debate still remains about the extent to which the Guardsmen's lives were in danger at the moment they opened fire, little doubt can exist that their lives were indeed at stake in the immediate aftermath of the shootings. The 13-second shooting that resulted in four deaths and nine wounded could have been followed by an even more tragic and bloody confrontation. The nervous and fearful Guardsmen retreated back to the Commons, facing a large and hostile crowd which realized that the Guard had live ammunition and had used it to kill and wound a large number of people. In their intense anger, many demonstrators were willing to risk their own lives to attack the Guardsmen, and there can be little doubt that the Guard would have opened fire again, this time killing a much larger number of students.

 

A man and young boy stare up at a May 4th Memorial.Further tragedy was prevented by the actions of a number of Kent State University faculty marshals, who had organized hastily when trouble began several days earlier. Led by Professor Glenn Frank, the faculty members pleaded with National Guard leaders to allow them to talk with the demonstrators, and then they begged the students not to risk their lives by confronting the Guardsmen. After about 20 minutes of emotional pleading, the marshals convinced the students to leave the Commons.

 

Back at the site of the shootings, ambulances had arrived and emergency medical attention had been given to the students who had not died immediately. The ambulances formed a screaming procession as they rushed the victims of the shootings to the local hospital.

 

The University was ordered closed immediately, first by President Robert White and then indefinitely by Portage County Prosecutor Ronald Kane under an injunction from Common Pleas Judge Albert Caris. Classes did not resume until the Summer of 1970, and faculty members engaged in a wide variety of activities through the mail and off-campus meetings that enabled Kent State students to finish the semester.

 

WHAT IS THE STORY BEHIND THE PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING PHOTO OF THE YOUNG WOMAN CRYING OUT IN HORROR OVER THE DYING BODY OF ONE OF THE STUDENTS?

A photograph of Mary Vecchio, a 14-year-old runaway, screaming over the body of Jeffery Miller appeared on the front pages of newspapers and magazines throughout the country, and the photographer, John Filo, was to win a Pulitzer Prize for the picture. The photo has taken on a life and importance of its own. This analysis looks at the photo, the photographer, and the impact of the photo.

 

The Mary Vecchio picture shows her on one knee screaming over Jeffrey Miller's body. Mary told one of us that she was calling for help because she felt she could do nothing (Personal Interview, 4/4/94). Miller is lying on the tarmac of the Prentice Hall parking lot. One student is standing near the Miller body closer than Vecchio. Four students are seen in the immediate background.

 

John Filo, a Kent State photography major in 1970, continues to works as a professional newspaper photographer and editor. He was near the Prentice Hall parking lot when the Guard fired. He saw bullets hitting the ground, but he did not take cover because he thought the bullets were blanks. Of course, blanks cannot hit the ground.

 

WHAT WAS THE LONG-TERM FACULTY RESPONSE TO THE SHOOTINGS?

Three hours after the shootings Kent State closed and was not to open for six weeks as a viable university. When it resumed classes in the Summer of 1970, its faculty was charged with three new responsibilities, their residues remaining today.

 

A student holds a candle at night to remember the victims of the May 4th shootings.First, we as a University faculty had to bring aid and comfort to our own. This began earlier on with faculty trying to finish the academic quarter with a reasonable amount of academic integrity. It had ended about at mid-term examinations. However, the faculty voted before the week was out to help students complete the quarter in any way possible. Students were advised to study independently until they were contacted by individual professors. Most of the professors organized their completion of courses around papers, but many gave lectures in churches and in homes in the community of Kent and surrounding communities. For example, Norman Duffy, an award-winning teacher, gave off-campus chemistry lectures and tutorial sessions in Kent and Cleveland. His graduate students made films of laboratory sessions and mailed them to students.

 

Beyond helping thousands of students finish their courses, there were 1,900 students as well who needed help with gradation. Talking to students about courses allowed the faculty to do some counseling about the shootings, which helped the faculty as much in healing as it did students.

 

Second, the University faculty was called upon to conduct research about May 4 communicating the results of this research through teaching and traditional writing about the tragedy. Many responded and created a solid body of scholarship as well as an extremely useful archive contributing to a wide range of activities in Summer of 1970 including press interviews and the Scranton Commission.

 

Third, many saw as one of the faculty's challenges to develop alternative forms of protest and conflict resolution to help prevent tragedies such as the May 4 shootings and the killings at Jackson State 10 days after Kent State.

 

WHAT ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT UNANSWERED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE MAY 4 SHOOTINGS?

Although we have attempted in this article to answer many of the most important and frequently asked questions about the May 4 shootings, our responses have sometimes been tentative because many important questions remain unanswered. It thus seems important to ask what are the most significant questions which yet remain unanswered about the May 4 events. These questions could serve as the basis for research projects by students who are interested in studying the shootings in greater detail.

 

(1) Who was responsible for the violence in downtown Kent and on the Kent State campus in the three days prior to May 4? As an important part of this question, were "outside agitators" primarily responsible? Who was responsible for setting fire to the ROTC building?

 

(2) Should the Guard have been called to Kent and Kent State University? Could local law enforcement personnel have handled any situations? Were the Guard properly trained for this type of assignment?

 

(3) Did the Kent State University administration respond appropriately in their reactions to the demonstrations and with Ohio political officials and Guard officials?

 

(4) Would the shootings have been avoided if the rally had not been banned? Did the banning of the rally violate First Amendment rights?

 

(5) Did the Guardsmen conspire to shoot students when they huddled on the practice football field? If not, why did they fire? Were they justified in firing?

 

(6) Who was ultimately responsible for the events of May 4, l970?

 

WHY SHOULD WE STILL BE CONCERNED ABOUT MAY 4, 1970 AT KENT STATE?

In Robert McNamara's (1995) book, "In Retrospect:The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam" is a way to begin is an illustration of the this process. In it he says that United States policy towards Vietnam was "... terribly wrong and we owe it to future generations to explain why."

 

The May 4 shootings at Kent State need to be remembered for several reasons. First, the shootings have come to symbolize a great American tragedy which occurred at the height of the Vietnam War era, a period in which the nation found itself deeply divided both politically and culturally. The poignant picture of Mary Vecchio kneeling in agony over Jeffrey Miller's body, for example, will remain forever Students gather in a circle, holding hands around a May 4th memorial to remember the victims of the Guard shootings.as a reminder of the day when the Vietnam War came home to America. If the Kent State shootings will continue to be such a powerful symbol, then it is certainly important that Americans have a realistic view of the facts associated with this event. Second, May 4 at Kent State and the Vietnam War era remain controversial even today, and the need for healing continues to exist. Healing will not occur if events are either forgotten or distorted, and hence it is important to continue to search for the truth behind the events of May 4 at Kent State. Third, and most importantly, May 4 at Kent State should be remembered in order that we can learn from the mistakes of the past. The Guardsmen in their signed statement at the end of the civil trials recognized that better ways have to be found to deal with these types of confrontations. This has probably already occurred in numerous situations where law enforcement officials have issued a caution to their troops to be careful because "we don't want another Kent State." Insofar as this has happened, lessons have been learned, and the deaths of four young Kent State students have not been in vain.

The Postcard

 

A postally unused postcard that was published by C. G. Williams Ltd. of Maidstone, Kent. They state that it is a Plastichrome Series image by Colourpicture. The card was printed in the United States.

 

On the divided back of the card is printed:

 

U.N.C.L.E.

1965 A. P. Films Ltd.

U.N.C.L.E. Agent

Illya Kuryakin

(David McCallum)

 

David McCallum

 

David Keith McCallum Jr., who was born on the 19th. September 1933, is a Scottish actor and musician. He first gained recognition in the 1960's for playing secret agent Illya Kuryakin in the television series 'The Man from U.N.C.L.E'.

 

In recent years, McCallum has gained renewed international recognition and popularity for his role as NCIS medical examiner Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard in the American television series NCIS.

 

-- David McCallum - The Early Years

 

McCallum was born in Maryhill, Glasgow, the second of two sons of orchestral violinist David McCallum Sr. and Dorothy (née Dorman), a cellist. When he was three, his family moved to London for his father to play as leader of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Early in the Second World War, he was evacuated back to Scotland, where he lived with his mother at Gartocharn by Loch Lomond.

 

McCallum won a scholarship to University College School, a boys' independent school in Hampstead, London, where, encouraged by his parents to prepare for a career in music, he played the oboe.

 

In 1946 David began doing boy voices for the BBC radio repertory company. He was also involved in local amateur drama, and at the age of 17, he appeared as Oberon in an open-air production of A Midsummer Night's Dream with the Play and Pageant Union.

 

He left school at age 18, and was conscripted for National Service. He joined the British Army's 3rd Battalion the Middlesex Regiment. In March 1954 he was promoted to lieutenant. After leaving the army he attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, where Joan Collins was a classmate.

 

-- David McCallum's Career

 

In 1951, McCallum became assistant stage manager of the Glyndebourne Opera Company. He began taking bit parts in British films from the late 1950's. His first acting role was in Whom the Gods Love, Die Young playing a doomed royal.

 

A James Dean-themed photograph of McCallum caught the attention of the Rank Organisation, who signed him in 1956. However, in an interview with Alan Titchmarsh that was broadcast on the 3rd. November 2010, McCallum stated that he had actually held his Equity card since 1946.

 

Early roles included a juvenile delinquent in Violent Playground (1957), an outlaw in Robbery Under Arms, (1957) and as junior RMS Titanic radio operator Harold Bride in A Night to Remember (1958).

 

David's first American film was Freud: The Secret Passion (1962), directed by John Huston, which was shortly followed by a role in Peter Ustinov's Billy Budd.

 

McCallum played Lt. Cdr. Eric Ashley-Pitt in The Great Escape, which was released in 1963. He took the role of Judas Iscariot in 1965's The Greatest Story Ever Told. Other television roles included two appearances on The Outer Limits and a guest appearance on Perry Mason in 1964 as defendant Phillipe Bertain in "The Case of the Fifty Millionth Frenchman".

 

-- The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

 

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. was intended as a vehicle for Robert Vaughn (1932 - 2016), but it made McCallum into a sex symbol, his Beatle-style blond haircut providing a trendy contrast to Vaughn's clean-cut appearance.

 

McCallum's role as the mysterious Russian agent Illya Kuryakin was originally conceived as a peripheral one. McCallum, however, took the opportunity to construct a complex character whose appeal rested largely in what was shadowy and enigmatic about him. Kuryakin's popularity with the audience and Vaughn and McCallum's on-screen chemistry were quickly recognised by the producers, and McCallum was elevated to co-star status.

 

Although the show aired at the height of the Cold War, McCallum's Russian alter ego became a pop culture phenomenon. The actor was inundated with fan letters, and a Beatles-like frenzy followed him everywhere he went. While playing Kuryakin, McCallum received more fan mail than any other actor in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's history, including such popular MGM stars as Clark Gable, Robert Taylor and Elvis Presley.

 

Hero worship even led to a record, "Love Ya, Illya", performed by Alma Cogan under the name Angela and the Fans, which was a pirate radio hit in Britain in 1966. A 1990's rock-rap group from Argentina named itself Illya Kuryaki and the Valderramas in honour of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. character.

 

McCallum received two Emmy Award nominations in the course of the show's four-year run (1964–68) for playing the intellectual and introverted secret agent.

 

McCallum and Vaughn reprised their roles of Kuryakin and Solo in a 1983 TV film, Return of the Man from U.N.C.L.E. In 1986 McCallum reunited with Robert Vaughn again in an episode of The A-Team entitled "The Say U.N.C.L.E. Affair".

 

In an interview for a retrospective television special, McCallum recounted a visit to the White House during which, while he was being escorted to meet the U.S. president, a Secret Service agent told him:

 

"You're the reason I got this job."

 

-- After The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

 

McCallum never quite repeated the popular success he had gained as Kuryakin until NCIS, though he did become a familiar face on British television in such shows as Colditz (1972–74), Kidnapped (1978), and ITV's science-fiction series Sapphire & Steel (1979–82) opposite Joanna Lumley. In 1975 he played the title character in a short-lived U.S. version of The Invisible Man.

 

McCallum appeared on stage in Australia in Run for Your Wife (1987–88), and the production toured the country. Other members of the cast were Jack Smethurst, Eric Sykes and Katy Manning.

 

McCallum played supporting parts in a number of feature films, although he played the title role in the 1968 thriller, Sol Madrid.

 

McCallum starred with Diana Rigg in the 1989 TV miniseries Mother Love. In 1991 and 1992 he played gambler John Grey, one of the principal characters in the television series Trainer.

 

He appeared as an English literature teacher in a 1989 episode of Murder, She Wrote. In the 1990's McCallum guest-starred in two U.S. television series. In season 1 of Sea Quest DSV, he appeared as the law-enforcement officer Frank Cobb of the fictional Broken Ridge of the Ausland Confederation, an underwater mining camp off the coast of Australia by the Great Barrier Reef.

 

In 1994, McCallum narrated the acclaimed documentaries Titanic: The Complete Story for A&E Networks. This was the second project about the Titanic on which he had worked: the first was the 1958 film A Night to Remember, in which he had had a small role.

 

In the same year McCallum hosted and narrated the TV special Ancient Prophecies. This special, which was followed soon after by three others, told of people and places historically associated with foretelling the end of the world and the beginnings of new eras for mankind.

 

-- NCIS

 

Since 2003 McCallum has starred in the CBS television series NCIS as Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard, the team's chief medical examiner and one of the show's most popular characters.

 

David McCallum was in 459 episodes of NCIS, playing the character Ducky Mallard for two decades. He was one of the original cast members, and appeared in the show from its debut in 2003 until his passing in 2023.

 

In Season 2 Episode 13 "The Meat Puzzle", NCIS Special Agent Caitlin Todd asks Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs: "What did Ducky look like when he was younger?" and Gibbs replies, "Illya Kuryakin".

 

According to the behind-the-scenes feature on the 2006 DVD of NCIS season 1, McCallum became an expert in forensics to play Mallard, including attending medical examiner conventions. In the feature, Donald P. Bellisario says that McCallum's knowledge became so vast that at the time of the interview he was considering making him a technical adviser on the show.

 

McCallum appeared at the 21st. Annual James Earl Ash Lecture, held on the 19th. May 2005 at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, an evening for honouring America's service members. His lecture, "Reel to Real Forensics", with Cmdr. Craig T. Mallak, U.S. Armed Forces medical examiner, featured a presentation comparing the real-life work of the Armed Forces Medical Examiner staff with that of the fictional naval investigators appearing on NCIS.

 

In late April 2012 it was announced that McCallum had reached agreement on a two-year contract extension with CBS-TV. The move meant that he would remain an NCIS regular past his eightieth birthday. In May 2014 he signed another two-year contract. He has since signed extensions in 2016, beginning a limited schedule in 2017 and renewing the same for seasons 15, 16 & 17.

 

-- David McCallum's Musical Career

 

In the 1960's, McCallum recorded four albums for Capitol Records with music producer David Axelrod: Music...A Part of Me, Music...A Bit More of Me, Music...It's Happening Now!, and McCallum.

 

The best known of his pieces today is "The Edge", which was sampled by Dr. Dre as the intro and riff to the track "The Next Episode", "M.I.A" by Missin' Linx, "No Regrets" by Masta Ace, and "Actions" by John Legend. McCallum's version of "The Edge" appears on the soundtrack of the 2017 film Baby Driver.

 

McCallum did not sing on these records, as many television stars of the 1960's did when offered recording contracts. As a classically trained musician, he conceived a blend of oboe, English horn and strings with guitar and drums, and presented instrumental interpretations of hits of the day.

 

The official arranger on the albums was H. B. Barnum. However, McCallum conducted, and contributed several original compositions of his own, over the course of four LPs.

 

In the Man from U.N.C.L.E. episode "The Discotheque Affair", McCallum plays the double bass as part of a band in a night club. He also played guitar and sang his own composition, "Trouble," with Nancy Sinatra on "The Take Me to Your Leader Affair," and played several instruments in "The Off-Broadway Affair".

 

-- David McCallum's Fictional Work

 

In 2016, McCallum published a crime novel entitled Once a Crooked Man. The narrative is set in New York and London, and centres on a young actor who tries to foil a murder. McCallum has stated that a second novel is in progress.

 

-- David McCallum's Personal Life

 

On the 11th. May 1957, McCallum married actress Jill Ireland in London. The couple had met during production of the film Hell Drivers. The marriage lasted ten years. After leaving McCallum, Ireland married Charles Bronson, whom McCallum had introduced to her while McCallum and Bronson were filming The Great Escape (1963).

 

McCallum and Ireland had three sons: Paul, Jason and Valentine (Val). Jason, who was adopted, died from an accidental drug overdose in 1989. Val McCallum is a guitar player, playing on and off with Jackson Browne since 2002, Lucinda Williams from 2011 to 2016 and many others. He is a member of the faux country band, Jackshit.

 

In 1967, McCallum married Katherine Carpenter. They produced a son, Peter, and a daughter, Sophie. McCallum and his wife were active in charitable organisations that support the United States Marine Corps: Katherine's father was a Marine who served in the Battle of Iwo Jima, and her brother was killed in the Vietnam War. McCallum's children have produced six grandchildren.

 

On the 27th. August 1999, McCallum was naturalised as a United States citizen.

 

-- The Death of David McCullen

 

David died of natural causes at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital in NYC on the 25th. September 2023, six days after his 90th. birthday.

 

Details of David McCallum's private funeral are not publicly available, but his real-life colleagues and friends, including several NCIS co-stars Michael Weatherly and Wilmer Valderrama, honored him with tributes and statements after his death. The actor's NCIS co-star Mark Harmon did not appear in person, instead sharing a personal statement.

 

NCIS included a fictional tribute episode for David's character "Ducky" with cameos from Weatherly.

 

-- Final Thoughts From David McCallum

 

"I feel it's a person's duty to participate

in the governing of the country in which

he lives."

 

"But so far as countries are concerned,

I don't go to a place to see what's there,

but who is there."

 

"I didn't want to be famous. I just wanted

to earn enough money to have a nice life

and enjoy acting."

 

"Sidney James was a great actor

and a funny man."

 

"In a few hundred years you have achieved

in America what it took thousands of years

to achieve in Europe."

 

"Fear, conformity, immorality: these are heavy

burdens. They drain us of creative energy.

And when we are drained of creative energy,

we do not create. We procreate, but we do not

create."

 

"I think your life is governed not by the bricks

or mortar around you, it's governed by who

holds your hand and who spits in your eye."

 

"If I had no family, my wife and I would lead

a much more romantic and nomadic existence."

 

"We should learn to live and love our neighbours

as ourselves for the sake of peace and progress."

 

"Savour the mystery, Stephen,

we don't get enough of them."

 

"People who know, know.

The others, it really doesn't

matter."

 

"I've never outgrown

my childhood."

Why normal people murdered

Motives of a nurse

As in the early 1960s indictment is brought against her, Anna Günther is a nearly 70-year-old, small, plump woman with a pointed nose. Her tightly combed back hair she has tied at the neck into a knot. The trained nurse has worked for more than 20 years in health and nursing homes for mentally ill people. Because of this activity she is in Munich in court, because she had been employed between 1938 and 1945 in the health and care institution Obrawalde in Pomerania. Obrawalde is now in Poland. Between the summer of 1942 and January 1945, about 18,000 people with mental and physical disabilities as well as the mentally ill were murdered in the nursing home. Doctors determined who should be killed of the patients and the nursing staff administered lethal injections of morphine or veronal, or gave the patient an overdose of these medications dissolved in water to drink.

The nurse Anna Günther was accused of having been involved in the murder of 150 patients. She herself described the killing in an interrogation as follows: "Our patients were almost completely afraid of injections. In order to enter the dissolved agent or to administer the injection to the patient to be killed, the cooperation of at least two nurses was necessary. [...] By administering the dissolved drug I was acting compassionately. I had previously told the patients that they only had to participate in a small cure. [...] As I administered the medication, I lovingly hugged them and stroked them. If, for example, they did not completely drain the cup because it was too bitter for them, I told them that they had drunk so much and encouraged them to gulp also the rest, because otherwise the cure would not be completed. Some of them I then could persuade that they finally emptied the cup completely. In other cases we also added the remedy spoonwise."

An amazing statement. Which nurse is seriously benefiting from having gently and lovingly murdered patients? Spontaneously, one might assume that Ms. Günther is ill, a sadist or a decidedly fanatical National Socialist. From the research on the perpetrators (male and female ones) in National Socialism, we now know that neither one nor the other applies to the majority of those who have participated in the National Socialist mass murder against Jews, against Sinti and Roma or people with mental and physical disabilities. All the scientific research that has been done so far on the psychology of the perpetrators, come to the same result: the murderers (male and female ones) were in the vast majority of mentally healthy and in this sense normal people. There is no reason to assume that the nurse is an exception.

The majority of defendants accused of participating in the National Socialist euthanasia program after the war argued in court that they had participated in the killings because they ought to have obeyed the appropriate orders. Not so Mrs. Guenther. When asked if she had been forced to participate in the killings in any way, she replied, "I specifically state that I have not been pressured to cooperate by anyone." Anna Günther was acquitted, as well as the other 13 accused nurses because - so the court verdict - "they under no circumstances participated on their own initiative, but only in the context of their service complied with the instructions given to them by their superiors without internally identifying themselves with the killing orders issued to them and approving them."

Social change of values

If we want to find out why people like Anna Günther have murdered, then a social process has to be reconstructed. It is about understanding why, for Ms. Günther, one's own actions were rational and meaningful. Fundamental to the analysis of human action is the realization that all our actions are only possible because we attach meaning to them. Of course, many of our decisions run routinely and intuitively, but all are preceded by an interpretation, an interpretation of the situation, without which we would not be able to act.

The nurse Anna Günther was part of a society that experienced a radical shift in a relatively short period of time. It was a society that split into an inside and an outside, a "we-group" and a "you-group," meaning those who belonged to and those who did not belong to. The basis of this split was the idea of ​​the existence of an Aryan race and a healthy national body (of the German people). This justified and legitimized the exclusion, disempowerment and eventual murder of Jewish women, men and children. There were also definite ideas about what the interior of the "society of the insiders" should look like.

Physically or mentally handicapped and mentally ill people did not fit into the idea of ​​the healthy Aryan people's body. They were called "Unnecessary Eaters". Even children grew up with the idea that there were valuable and worthless people. In textbooks one could read that the care of a single Erbkranken (meant people with handicaps, genetically defective offspring) a day costs 5,5 Reichsmarks and that from it a whole healthy German family could live. There were "racially valuable" Aryans and those who could be dispensed with because they were ill or weak. A poster from the 1930s showed a seated, apparently motionless man and a nurse standing behind him. On the poster reads: "60,000 Reichsmark this genetically defective offspring the National Community costs for life" and further "German citizen, that is also your money." Unmistakably was made clear on different levels that handicapped and incurable ill harm the national community. Their existence, as schoolbooks, newspaper articles and posters proclaimed, was a problem, because it meant a burden for every healthy 'fellow-citizen'. Thus, over time, it became only logical to distinguish between "liveable" and "unworthy" lives and to do something about those who did not fall into the first category.

Such a transformation of society is neither a centrally controlled process nor does it happen from one day to the next. Before people were murdered in large numbers in homes and institutions, thousands had been forcibly sterilized to prevent the "increase of the pest of the people," as it was said. Mentally ill, mentally and physically handicapped people were picked up, recorded in registration forms and sent to institutions "for their own good". The reduction of food rations for certain groups of patients had been introduced without contradiction. Only when the largely secret assassination of prison inmates became known to the public - about 70,000 people had already been murdered by the end of August 1941 as part of the "T4" campaign - were in public occasionaly protests. The 'program' was officially ended, but secretly continued in individual homes, including the health and care center Obrawalde, the workplace of Mrs Günther.

Killing work

The staff in the health and nursing homes murdered the patients within their time of service and integrated into the normal care routine. It is a factor not to be underestimated in which formal framework the murders were carried out. The working context, the work clothes, the work tools give the doctors and nurses the certainty of a legitimate, according to certain rules, properly running employment. Exactly this irritates Mrs. Günther's statements in particular: She emphasizes her professionalism as a nurse when she describes that she knew how to assess when it was better to take a lethal injection or to infuse the poison with a spoon. While we talk about murder from an outside perspective, the perpetrator's internal perspective seems to be only a work that could be done better and worse, but was always carried out. A attitude with catastrophic consequences.

Physicians selected the patients to be killed and nurses killed them, the seizing of patients, administering injections and threatening or coaxing them being carried out by different people. This division of the killing work opened many opportunities to distribute the responsibility. Quite a few of the male nurses and female nurses were convinced after the war that they had not made a contribution to the crime because they had only detained the sick or put together the deadly medicines. They did not kill. An action carried out in a division of labor offers possibilities for relativizing one's own actions and delineating oneself against those who do worse things. This assessment can also be found in the statement by Ms. Günther, when she emphasizes that she has been "tender" in dealing with the patients. In her portrayal, and probably in her self-image, she acted as 'more humane' than others.

The nurse Frau Günther was neither sadistic nor mentally ill. Against the background of a society that divided human life into "worth living" and "unworthy of living", she, together with her colleagues, simply got used to changing tasks and fulfilled them as well as she could. Primo Levi, survivor of the Auschwitz concentration camp wrote about perpetrators in National Socialism: "There are the monsters, but they are too few of them to be really dangerous. Those who are more dangerous are the normal people. "

 

Warum normale Menschen mordeten

Motive einer Krankenschwester

Als Anfang der 1960er Jahre Anklage gegen sie erhoben wird, ist Anna Günther eine fast 70-jährige, kleine, rundliche Frau mit spitzer Nase. Die streng nach hinten gekämmten Haare hat sie im Nacken zu einem Knoten zusammengebunden. Die ausgebildete Krankenpflegerin hat mehr als 20 Jahre in Heil- und Pflegeanstalten für psychisch kranke Menschen gearbeitet. Wegen dieser Tätigkeit steht sie in München vor Gericht, denn sie war zwischen 1938 und 1945 in der Heil- und Pflegeanstalt Obrawalde in Pommern beschäftigt gewesen. Obrawalde liegt heute in Polen. In der Pflegeanstalt wurden zwischen Sommer 1942 und Januar 1945 zirka 18.000 Menschen mit geistigen und körperlichen Behinderungen, sowie psychisch Kranke ermordet. Ärztinnen und Ärzte bestimmten, wer von den PatientInnen getötet werden sollte und das Pflegepersonal verabreichte tödliche Spritzen mit Morphium oder Veronal bzw. gab den Kranken eine Überdosis dieser Medikamente in Wasser aufgelöst zu trinken.

Die Krankenpflegerin Anna Günther wurde beschuldigt, an der Ermordung von 150 PatientInnen beteiligt gewesen zu sein.1 Sie selbst beschrieb das Töten in einer Vernehmung so: „Unsere Patienten hatten fast durchweg Angst vor Spritzen. Um nun den zu tötenden Patienten das aufgelöste Mittel einzugeben bzw. die Spritze zu verabfolgen, war das Zusammenwirken von mindestens zwei Pflegerinnen nötig. [...] Bei dem Eingeben des aufgelösten Mittels ging ich mit großem Mitgefühl vor. Ich hatte den Patientinnen vorher erzählt, dass sie nur eine kleine Kur mitzumachen hätten. [...] Beim Eingeben nahm ich sie liebevoll in den Arm und streichelte sie dabei. Wenn sie beispielsweise den Becher nicht ganz austranken, weil es ihnen zu bitter war, so redete ich ihnen noch gut zu, sie hätten doch nun so viel getrunken und sollten den Rest auch noch zu sich nehmen, weil sonst die Kur nicht zu Ende geführt werden könne. Einige ließen sich dann auf mein gutes Zureden soweit bewegen, dass sie noch den Trinkbecher vollends leerten. In anderen Fällen gaben wir das Mittel auch löffelweise ein.“2

Eine erstaunliche Aussage. Welche Krankenpflegerin hält es sich ernsthaft zugute, Patienten sanft und liebevoll ermordet zu haben? Spontan möchte man vermuten, Frau Günther sei krank, Sadistin oder eine ausgesprochen fanatische Nationalsozialistin. Aus der Forschung zu den TäterInnen im Nationalsozialismus wissen wir inzwischen, dass weder das eine noch das andere für die Mehrheit derjenigen zutrifft, die sich am ationalsozialistischen Massenmord gegen Jüdinnen und Juden, gegen Sinti und Roma oder Menschen mit geistiger und körperlicher Behinderung beteiligt haben. Alle wissenschaftlichen Untersuchungen, die es bislang zur Psychologie der TäterInnen gegeben hat, kommen zu dem glei chen Ergebnis: die Mörderinnen und Mörder waren in der überwiegenden Mehrheit psychisch gesunde und in diesem Sinne ganz normale Menschen. Es gibt in den Unterlagen keinen Anlass zu vermuten, die Krankenpflegerin sei eine Ausnahme.

Die Mehrzahl der nach dem Krieg wegen der Mitwirkung am nationalsozialistischen Euthanasieprogramm Angeklagten argumentierten vor Gericht, sie hätten sich am Morden beteiligt, weil sie den entsprechenden Befehlen hätten gehorchen müssen. Nicht so Frau Günther. Als man sie fragte, ob sie in irgendeiner Weise gezwungen worden sei, an den Tötungen mitzuwirken, antwortete sie: „Ich erkläre hiermit ausdrücklich, dass ich von Niemandem zur Mitwirkung gezwungen wurde.“3 Anna Günther wurde freigesprochen, ebenso wie die anderen 13 mit ihr angeklagten Krankenpflegerinnen weil – so das Gerichtsurteil – „sie in keinem Fall aus eigener Initiative mitwirkten, sondern lediglich im Rahmen ihres Dienstes den ihnen von den Vorgesetzten erteilten Weisungen nachkamen, ohne sich innerlich mit den ihnen erteilten Tötungsbefehlen zu identifizieren und sie zu billigen.“4

Gesellschaftlicher Wertewandel

Wenn wir herausfinden wollen, weshalb Menschen wie Anna Günther gemordet haben, dann muss ein sozialer Prozess rekonstruiert werden. Es geht darum zu verstehen, weshalb für Frau Günther das eigene Handeln rational und sinnhaft war. Grundlegend für die Analyse menschlichen Handelns ist die Erkenntnis, dass all unser Handeln nur möglich ist, weil wir ihm einen Sinn beimessen. Selbstverständlich laufen viele unserer Entscheidungen routiniert und intuitiv ab, aber doch geht allen eine Interpretation, eine Deutung der Situation voraus, ohne die wir nicht handlungsfähig wären.

Die Krankenpflegerin Anna Günther war Teil einer Gesellschaft, die in einem relativ kurzen Zeitraum eine radikale Verschiebung erlebte. Es war dies eine Gesellschaft, die sich aufspaltete in ein Innen und ein Außen, in eine „Wir-Gruppe“ und eine „Sie-Gruppe“, das heißt in diejenigen, die dazugehörten und diejenigen, die nicht dazugehörten. Grundlage dieser Spaltung war die Idee von der Existenz einer arischen Rasse und eines gesunden Volkskörpers. Dies begründete und legitimierte Ausgrenzung, Entrechtung und schließlich Ermordung von jüdischen Frauen, Männern und Kindern. Auch darüber, wie das Innere der „Gesellschaft der Zugehörigen“ auszusehen habe, gab es dezidierte Vorstellungen.

Körperlich oder geistig Behinderte und psychisch Kranke passten nicht in die Vorstellung vom gesunden arischen Volkskörper. „Unnütze Esser“ wurden sie genannt. Schon Kinder wuchsen mit der Vorstellung auf, dass es wertvolle und wertlose Menschen gab. In Schulbüchern konnte man lesen, dass die Pflege eines einzigen Erbkranken (gemeint waren Menschen mit Behinderungen) am Tag 5,5 Reichsmark koste und dass davon eine ganze gesunde deutsche Familie leben könne. Es gab „rassisch wertvolle“ Arier und solche, auf die man, weil sie krank oder schwach waren, verzichten konnte. Ein Werbeplakat aus den 1930er Jahren zeigte einen sitzenden, offenbar bewegungsunfähigen Mann und einen hinter ihm stehenden Pfleger. Auf dem Plakat ist zu lesen: „60.000 Reichsmark kostet dieser Erbkranke die Volksgemeinschaft auf Lebenszeit“ und weiter „Volksgenosse, das ist auch dein Geld.“ Unmissverständlich wurde auf verschiedenen Ebenen klar gemacht, dass Behinderte und unheilbar Kranke der Volksgemeinschaft schadeten. Ihre Existenz, so verkündeten es Schulbücher, Zeitungsartikel und Plakate, sei ein Problem, denn sie bedeutete eine Belastung für jeden gesunden ‚Volksgenossen’. So wurde es im Lauf der Zeit nur folgerichtig, in „lebenswertes“ und „lebensunwertes“ Leben zu unterscheiden und etwas gegen diejenigen, die nicht in die erste Kategorie fielen, zu unternehmen.

Ein solcher Umbau der Gesellschaft ist weder ein zentral gesteuerter Vorgang, noch geschieht dies von einem Tag auf den anderen. Bevor Menschen in großer Zahl in Heimen und Anstalten ermordet wurden, hatte man Tausende zwangssterilisiert um die „Vermehrung von Volksschädlingen“ wie es hieß, zu verhindern. Psychisch Kranke, geistig und körperlich Behinderte waren abgeholt, in Meldebögen erfasst und – „zu ihrem Wohl“ – in Anstalten eingewiesen worden. Die Kürzung von Essensrationen für bestimmte Gruppen von PatientInnen war ohne Widerspruch eingeführt worden. Erst als die weitgehend geheime Ermordung von AnstaltsinsassInnen in der Öffentlichkeit bekannt wurde – ungefähr 70.000 Menschen waren bis Ende August 1941 im Rahmen der Aktion „T4“ bereits ermordet worden – regte sich in der Öffentlichkeit vereinzelt Protest. Das ‚Programm’ wurde offiziell beendet, insgeheim jedoch in einzelnen Heimen fortgesetzt, darunter auch in der Heil- und Pflegeanstalt Obrawalde, dem Arbeitsplatz von Frau Günther.

Tötungsarbeit

Das Personal in den Heil- und Pflegeanstalten ermordete die PatientInnen innerhalb ihrer Dienstzeiten und integriert in den normalen Pflegealltag. Es ist ein nicht zu unterschätzender Faktor, in welchem formalen Rahmen die Morde ausgeführt wurden. Der Arbeitskontext, die Berufskleidung, die Arbeitswerkzeuge geben den Ärzten und Krankenschwestern die Gewissheit einer legitimen, nach bestimmten Regeln, vorschriftsmäßig ablaufenden Beschäftigung. Genau das irritiert bei Frau Günthers Aussagen besonders: Sie betont ihre Professionalität als Krankenpflegerin, wenn sie schildert, dass sie einzuschätzen wusste, wann es besser war, eine tödliche Spritze zu setzen oder das Gift mit dem Löffel einzuflößen. Während wir aus der Außenperspektive über Mord sprechen, geht es aus der Binnenperspektive der Täterin offenbar nur um eine Arbeit, die besser und schlechter ausgeführt werden konnte, aber in jedem Fall ausgeführt wurde. Eine Einstellung mit katastrophalen Folgen.

Ärzte und Ärztinnen suchten die Kranken aus, die getötet werden sollten, KrankenpflegerInnen brachten sie um, indem das Halten der PatientInnen, das Spritzen und das Drohen oder Gutzureden von verschiedenen Personen ausgeführt wurde. Diese Aufteilung der Tötungsarbeit eröffnete viele Gelegenheiten, die Verantwortlichkeit zu verteilen. Nicht wenige der Schwestern und PflegerInnen waren nach dem Krieg davon überzeugt, keinen Tatbeitrag geleistet zu haben, weil sie die Kranken nur festgehalten oder die tödlichen Medikamente zusammengestellt hatten. Sie hatten ja nicht getötet. Eine arbeitsteilig ausgeführte Handlung bietet Möglichkeiten, das eigene Handeln zu relativieren und sich selbst gegen diejenigen abzugrenzen, die ‚Schlimmeres’ tun. Auch diese Bewertung findet sich in der Aussage von Frau Günther, wenn sie hervorhebt, „zärtlich“ mit den PatientInnen umgegangen zu sein. In ihrer Darstellung und wahrscheinlich auch in ihrem Selbstbild handelte sie so ‚humaner’ als Andere.

Die Krankenpflegerin Frau Günther war weder sadistisch noch geisteskrank. Vor dem Hintergrund einer Gesellschaft, die menschliches Leben in „lebenswert“ und „lebensunwert“ eingeteilte, gewöhnte sie sich, zusammen mit ihren Kolleginnen und Kollegen, schlicht an veränderte Arbeitsaufgaben und erfüllte diese so gut sie konnte. Primo Levi, Überlebender des Konzentrationslagers Auschwitz schrieb über Täterinnen und Täter im Nationalsozialismus: „Es gibt die Ungeheuer, aber sie sind zu wenig, als dass sie wirklich gefährlich werden könnten. Wer gefährlicher ist, das sind die normalen Menschen.“

www.gedenkdienst.at/index.php?id=564

Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve is a U.S. national monument and national preserve in the Snake River Plain in central Idaho. It is along US 20 (concurrent with US 93 and US 26), between the small towns of Arco and Carey, at an average elevation of 5,900 feet (1,800 m) above sea level.

 

The Monument was established on May 2, 1924. In November 2000, a presidential proclamation by President Clinton greatly expanded the Monument area. The 410,000-acre National Park Service portions of the expanded Monument were designated as Craters of the Moon National Preserve in August 2002. It spreads across Blaine, Butte, Lincoln, Minidoka, and Power counties. The area is managed cooperatively by the National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

 

The Monument and Preserve encompass three major lava fields and about 400 square miles (1,000 km2) of sagebrush steppe grasslands to cover a total area of 1,117 square miles (2,893 km2). The Monument alone covers 343,000 acres (139,000 ha). All three lava fields lie along the Great Rift of Idaho, with some of the best examples of open rift cracks in the world, including the deepest known on Earth at 800 feet (240 m). There are excellent examples of almost every variety of basaltic lava, as well as tree molds (cavities left by lava-incinerated trees), lava tubes (a type of cave), and many other volcanic features.

 

Craters of the Moon is in south-central Idaho, midway between Boise and Yellowstone National Park. The lava field reaches southeastward from the Pioneer Mountains. Combined U.S. Highway 20–26–93 cuts through the northwestern part of the monument and provides access to it. However, the rugged landscape of the monument itself remains remote and undeveloped, with only one paved road across the northern end.

 

The Craters of the Moon Lava Field spreads across 618 square miles (1,601 km2) and is the largest mostly Holocene-aged basaltic lava field in the contiguous United States. The Monument and Preserve contain more than 25 volcanic cones, including outstanding examples of spatter cones. The 60 distinct solidified lava flows that form the Craters of the Moon Lava Field range in age from 15,000 to just 2,000 years. The Kings Bowl and Wapi lava fields, both about 2,200 years old, are part of the National Preserve.

 

This lava field is the largest of several large beds of lava that erupted from the 53-mile (85 km) south-east to north-west trending Great Rift volcanic zone, a line of weakness in the Earth's crust. Together with fields from other fissures they make up the Lava Beds of Idaho, which in turn are in the much larger Snake River Plain volcanic province. The Great Rift extends across almost the entire Snake River Plain.

 

Elevation at the visitor center is 5,900 feet (1,800 m) above sea level.

 

Total average precipitation in the Craters of the Moon area is between 15–20 inches (380–510 mm) per year. Most of this is lost in cracks in the basalt, only to emerge later in springs and seeps in the walls of the Snake River Canyon. Older lava fields on the plain have been invaded by drought-resistant plants such as sagebrush, while younger fields, such as Craters of the Moon, only have a seasonal and very sparse cover of vegetation. From a distance this cover disappears almost entirely, giving an impression of utter black desolation. Repeated lava flows over the last 15,000 years have raised the land surface enough to expose it to the prevailing southwesterly winds, which help to keep the area dry. Together these conditions make life on the lava field difficult.

 

Paleo-Indians visited the area about 12,000 years ago but did not leave much archaeological evidence. Northern Shoshone created trails through the Craters of the Moon Lava Field during their summer migrations from the Snake River to the camas prairie, west of the lava field. Stone windbreaks at Indian Tunnel were used to protect campsites from the dry summer wind. No evidence exists for permanent habitation by any Native American group. A hunting and gathering culture, the Northern Shoshone pursued elk, bears, American bison, cougars, and bighorn sheep — all large game who no longer range the area. The most recent volcanic eruptions ended about 2,100 years ago and were likely witnessed by the Shoshone people. Ella E. Clark has recorded a Shoshone legend which speaks of a serpent on a mountain who, angered by lightning, coiled around and squeezed the mountain until liquid rock flowed, fire shot from cracks, and the mountain exploded.

 

In 1879, two Arco cattlemen named Arthur Ferris and J.W. Powell became the first known European-Americans to explore the lava fields. They were investigating its possible use for grazing and watering cattle but found the area to be unsuitable and left.

 

U.S. Army Captain and western explorer B.L.E. Bonneville visited the lava fields and other places in the West in the 19th century and wrote about his experiences in his diaries. Washington Irving later used Bonneville's diaries to write the Adventures of Captain Bonneville, saying this unnamed lava field is a place "where nothing meets the eye but a desolate and awful waste, where no grass grows nor water runs, and where nothing is to be seen but lava."

 

In 1901 and 1903, Israel Russell became the first geologist to study this area while surveying it for the United States Geological Survey (USGS). In 1910, Samuel Paisley continued Russell's work and later became the monument's first custodian. Others followed and in time much of the mystery surrounding this and the other Lava Beds of Idaho was lifted.

 

The few European settlers who visited the area in the 19th century created local legends that it looked like the surface of the Moon. Geologist Harold T. Stearns coined the name "Craters of the Moon" in 1923 while trying to convince the National Park Service to recommend protection of the area in a national monument.

 

The Snake River Plain is a volcanic province that was created by a series of cataclysmic caldera-forming eruptions which started about 15 million years ago. A migrating hotspot thought to now exist under Yellowstone Caldera in Yellowstone National Park has been implicated. This hot spot was under the Craters of the Moon area some 10 to 11 million years ago but 'moved' as the North American Plate migrated northwestward. Pressure from the hot spot heaves the land surface up, creating fault-block mountains. After the hot spot passes the pressure is released and the land subsides.

 

Leftover heat from this hot spot was later liberated by Basin and Range-associated rifting and created the many overlapping lava flows that make up the Lava Beds of Idaho. The largest rift zone is the Great Rift; it is from this 'Great Rift fissure system' that Craters of the Moon, Kings Bowl, and Wapi lava fields were created. The Great Rift is a National Natural Landmark.

 

In spite of their fresh appearance, the oldest flows in the Craters of the Moon Lava Field are 15,000 years old and the youngest erupted about 2000 years ago, according to Mel Kuntz and other USGS geologists. Nevertheless, the volcanic fissures at Craters of the Moon are considered to be dormant, not extinct, and are expected to erupt again in less than a thousand years. There are eight major eruptive periods recognized in the Craters of the Moon Lava Field. Each period lasted about 1000 years or less and were separated by relatively quiet periods that lasted between 500 and as long as 3000 years. Individual lava flows were up to 30 miles (50 km) long with the Blue Dragon Flow being the longest.

 

Kings Bowl Lava Field erupted during a single fissure eruption on the southern part of the Great Rift about 2,250 years ago. This eruption probably lasted only a few hours to a few days. The field preserves explosion pits, lava lakes, squeeze-ups, basalt mounds, and an ash blanket. The Wapi Lava Field probably formed from a fissure eruption at the same time as the Kings Bowl eruption. More prolonged activity over a period of months to a few years led to the formation of low shield volcanoes in the Wapi field. The Bear Trap lava tube, between the Craters of the Moon and the Wapi lava fields, is a cave system more than 15 miles (24 km) long. The lava tube is remarkable for its length and for the number of well-preserved lava cave features, such as lava stalactites and curbs, the latter marking high stands of the flowing lava frozen on the lava tube walls. The lava tubes and pit craters of the monument are known for their unusual preservation of winter ice and snow into the hot summer months, due to shielding from the sun and the insulating properties of basalt.

 

A typical eruption along the Great Rift and similar basaltic rift systems starts with a curtain of very fluid lava shooting up to 1,000 feet (300 m) high along a segment of the rift up to 1 mile (1.6 km) long. As the eruption continues, pressure and heat decrease and the chemistry of the lava becomes slightly more silica rich. The curtain of lava responds by breaking apart into separate vents. Various types of volcanoes may form at these vents: gas-rich pulverized lava creates cinder cones (such as Inferno Cone – stop 4), and pasty lava blobs form spatter cones (such as Spatter Cones – stop 5). Later stages of an eruption push lava streams out through the side or base of cinder cones, which usually ends the life of the cinder cone (North Crater, Watchmen, and Sheep Trail Butte are notable exceptions). This will sometimes breach part of the cone and carry it away as large and craggy blocks of cinder (as seen at North Crater Flow – stop 2 – and Devils Orchard – stop 3). Solid crust forms over lava streams, and lava tubes (a type of cave) are created when lava vacates its course (examples can be seen at the Cave Area – stop 7).

 

Geologists feared that a large earthquake that shook Borah Peak, Idaho's tallest mountain, in 1983 would restart volcanic activity at Craters of the Moon, though this proved not to be the case. Geologists predict that the area will experience its next eruption some time in the next 900 years with the most likely period in the next 100 years.

 

All plants and animals that live in and around Craters of the Moon are under great environmental stress due to constant dry winds and heat-absorbing black lavas that tend to quickly sap water from living things. Summer soil temperatures often exceed 150 °F (66 °C) and plant cover is generally less than 5% on cinder cones and about 15% over the entire monument. Adaptation is therefore necessary for survival in this semi-arid harsh climate.

 

Water is usually only found deep inside holes at the bottom of blow-out craters. Animals therefore get the moisture they need directly from their food. The black soil on and around cinder cones does not hold moisture for long, making it difficult for plants to establish themselves. Soil particles first develop from direct rock decomposition by lichens and typically collect in crevices in lava flows. Successively more complex plants then colonize the microhabitat created by the increasingly productive soil.

 

The shaded north slopes of cinder cones provide more protection from direct sunlight and prevailing southwesterly winds and have a more persistent snow cover (an important water source in early spring). These parts of cinder cones are therefore colonized by plants first.

 

Gaps between lava flows were sometimes cut off from surrounding vegetation. These literal islands of habitat are called kīpukas, a Hawaiian name used for older land surrounded by younger lava. Carey Kīpuka is one such area in the southernmost part of the monument and is used as a benchmark to measure how plant cover has changed in less pristine parts of southern Idaho.

 

Idaho is a landlocked state in the Mountain West subregion of the United States. It shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border to the north, with the province of British Columbia. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington and Oregon to the west. The state's capital and largest city is Boise. With an area of 83,570 square miles (216,400 km2), Idaho is the 14th largest state by land area. With a population of approximately 1.8 million, it ranks as the 13th least populous and the 6th least densely populated of the 50 U.S. states.

 

For thousands of years, and prior to European colonization, Idaho has been inhabited by native peoples. In the early 19th century, Idaho was considered part of the Oregon Country, an area of dispute between the U.S. and the British Empire. It officially became a U.S. territory with the signing of the Oregon Treaty of 1846, but a separate Idaho Territory was not organized until 1863, instead being included for periods in Oregon Territory and Washington Territory. Idaho was eventually admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, becoming the 43rd state.

 

Forming part of the Pacific Northwest (and the associated Cascadia bioregion), Idaho is divided into several distinct geographic and climatic regions. The state's north, the relatively isolated Idaho Panhandle, is closely linked with Eastern Washington, with which it shares the Pacific Time Zone—the rest of the state uses the Mountain Time Zone. The state's south includes the Snake River Plain (which has most of the population and agricultural land), and the southeast incorporates part of the Great Basin. Idaho is quite mountainous and contains several stretches of the Rocky Mountains. The United States Forest Service holds about 38% of Idaho's land, the highest proportion of any state.

 

Industries significant for the state economy include manufacturing, agriculture, mining, forestry, and tourism. Several science and technology firms are either headquartered in Idaho or have factories there, and the state also contains the Idaho National Laboratory, which is the country's largest Department of Energy facility. Idaho's agricultural sector supplies many products, but the state is best known for its potato crop, which comprises around one-third of the nationwide yield. The official state nickname is the "Gem State."

 

The history of Idaho is an examination of the human history and social activity within the state of Idaho, one of the United States of America located in the Pacific Northwest area near the west coast of the United States and Canada. Other associated areas include southern Alaska, all of British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, western Montana and northern California and Nevada.

 

Humans may have been present in Idaho for 16,600 years. Recent findings in Cooper's Ferry along the Salmon River in western Idaho near the town of Cottonwood have unearthed stone tools and animal bone fragments in what may be the oldest evidence of humans in North America. Earlier excavations in 1959 at Wilson Butte Cave near Twin Falls revealed evidence of human activity, including arrowheads, that rank among the oldest dated artifacts in North America. Native American tribes predominant in the area in historic times included the Nez Perce and the Coeur d'Alene in the north; and the Northern and Western Shoshone and Bannock peoples in the south.

 

Idaho was one of the last areas in the lower 48 states of the US to be explored by people of European descent. The Lewis and Clark expedition entered present-day Idaho on August 12, 1805, at Lemhi Pass. It is believed that the first "European descent" expedition to enter southern Idaho was by a group led in 1811 and 1812 by Wilson Price Hunt, which navigated the Snake River while attempting to blaze an all-water trail westward from St. Louis, Missouri, to Astoria, Oregon. At that time, approximately 8,000 Native Americans lived in the region.

 

Fur trading led to the first significant incursion of Europeans in the region. Andrew Henry of the Missouri Fur Company first entered the Snake River plateau in 1810. He built Fort Henry on Henry's Fork on the upper Snake River, near modern St. Anthony, Idaho. However, this first American fur post west of the Rocky Mountains was abandoned the following spring.

 

The British-owned Hudson's Bay Company next entered Idaho and controlled the trade in the Snake River area by the 1820s. The North West Company's interior department of the Columbia was created in June 1816, and Donald Mackenzie was assigned as its head. Mackenzie had previously been employed by Hudson's Bay and had been a partner in the Pacific Fur Company, financed principally by John Jacob Astor. During these early years, he traveled west with a Pacific Fur Company's party and was involved in the initial exploration of the Salmon River and Clearwater River. The company proceeded down the lower Snake River and Columbia River by canoe, and were the first of the Overland Astorians to reach Fort Astoria, on January 18, 1812.

 

Under Mackenzie, the North West Company was a dominant force in the fur trade in the Snake River country. Out of Fort George in Astoria, Mackenzie led fur brigades up the Snake River in 1816-1817 and up the lower Snake in 1817-1818. Fort Nez Perce, established in July, 1818, became the staging point for Mackenzies' Snake brigades. The expedition of 1818-1819 explored the Blue Mountains, and traveled down the Snake River to the Bear River and approached the headwaters of the Snake. Mackenzie sought to establish a navigable route up the Snake River from Fort Nez Perce to the Boise area in 1819. While he did succeed in traveling by boat from the Columbia River through the Grand Canyon of the Snake past Hells Canyon, he concluded that water transport was generally impractical. Mackenzie held the first rendezvous in the region on the Boise River in 1819.

 

Despite their best efforts, early American fur companies in this region had difficulty maintaining the long-distance supply lines from the Missouri River system into the Intermountain West. However, Americans William H. Ashley and Jedediah Smith expanded the Saint Louis fur trade into Idaho in 1824. The 1832 trapper's rendezvous at Pierre's Hole, held at the foot of the Three Tetons in modern Teton County, was followed by an intense battle between the Gros Ventre and a large party of American trappers aided by their Nez Perce and Flathead allies.

 

The prospect of missionary work among the Native Americans also attracted early settlers to the region. In 1809, Kullyspell House, the first white-owned establishment and first trading post in Idaho, was constructed. In 1836, the Reverend Henry H. Spalding established a Protestant mission near Lapwai, where he printed the Northwest's first book, established Idaho's first school, developed its first irrigation system, and grew the state's first potatoes. Narcissa Whitman and Eliza Hart Spalding were the first non-native women to enter present-day Idaho.

 

Cataldo Mission, the oldest standing building in Idaho, was constructed at Cataldo by the Coeur d'Alene and Catholic missionaries. In 1842, Father Pierre-Jean De Smet, with Fr. Nicholas Point and Br. Charles Duet, selected a mission location along the St. Joe River. The mission was moved a short distance away in 1846, as the original location was subject to flooding. In 1850, Antonio Ravalli designed a new mission building and Indians affiliated with the church effort built the mission, without nails, using the wattle and daub method. In time, the Cataldo mission became an important stop for traders, settlers, and miners. It served as a place for rest from the trail, offered needed supplies, and was a working port for boats heading up the Coeur d'Alene River.

 

During this time, the region which became Idaho was part of an unorganized territory known as Oregon Country, claimed by both the United States and Great Britain. The United States gained undisputed jurisdiction over the region in the Oregon Treaty of 1846, although the area was under the de facto jurisdiction of the Provisional Government of Oregon from 1843 to 1849. The original boundaries of Oregon Territory in 1848 included all three of the present-day Pacific Northwest states and extended eastward to the Continental Divide. In 1853, areas north of the 46th Parallel became Washington Territory, splitting what is now Idaho in two. The future state was reunited in 1859 after Oregon became a state and the boundaries of Washington Territory were redrawn.

 

While thousands passed through Idaho on the Oregon Trail or during the California gold rush of 1849, few people settled there. In 1860, the first of several gold rushes in Idaho began at Pierce in present-day Clearwater County. By 1862, settlements in both the north and south had formed around the mining boom.

 

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints missionaries founded Fort Lemhi in 1855, but the settlement did not last. The first organized town in Idaho was Franklin, settled in April 1860 by Mormon pioneers who believed they were in Utah Territory; although a later survey determined they had crossed the border. Mormon pioneers reached areas near the current-day Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming and established most of the historic and modern communities in Southeastern Idaho. These settlements include Ammon, Blackfoot, Chubbuck, Firth, Idaho Falls, Iona, Pocatello, Rexburg, Rigby, Shelley, and Ucon.

 

Large numbers of English immigrants settled in what is now the state of Idaho in the late 19th and early 20th century, many before statehood. The English found they had more property rights and paid less taxes than they did back in England. They were considered some of the most desirable immigrants at the time. Many came from humble beginnings and would rise to prominence in Idaho. Frank R. Gooding was raised in a rural working-class background in England, but was eventually elected as the seventh governor of the state. Today people of English descent make up one fifth of the entire state of Idaho and form a plurality in the southern portion of the state.

 

Many German farmers also settled in what is now Idaho. German settlers were primarily Lutheran across all of the midwest and west, including Idaho, however there were small numbers of Catholics amongst them as well. In parts of Northern Idaho, German remained the dominant language until World War I, when German-Americans were pressured to convert entirely to English. Today, Idahoans of German ancestry make up nearly one fifth of all Idahoans and make up the second largest ethnic group after Idahoans of English descent with people of German ancestry being 18.1% of the state and people of English ancestry being 20.1% of the state.

 

Irish Catholics worked in railroad centers such as Boise. Today, 10% of Idahoans self-identify as having Irish ancestry.

 

York, a slave owned by William Clark but considered a full member of Corps of Discovery during expedition to the Pacific, was the first recorded African American in Idaho. There is a significant African American population made up of those who came west after the abolition of slavery. Many settled near Pocatello and were ranchers, entertainers, and farmers. Although free, many blacks suffered discrimination in the early-to-mid-late 20th century. The black population of the state continues to grow as many come to the state because of educational opportunities, to serve in the military, and for other employment opportunities. There is a Black History Museum in Boise, Idaho, with an exhibit known as the "Invisible Idahoan", which chronicles the first African-Americans in the state. Blacks are the fourth largest ethnic group in Idaho according to the 2000 census. Mountain Home, Boise, and Garden City have significant African-American populations.

 

The Basque people from the Iberian peninsula in Spain and southern France were traditionally shepherds in Europe. They came to Idaho, offering hard work and perseverance in exchange for opportunity. One of the largest Basque communities in the US is in Boise, with a Basque museum and festival held annually in the city.

 

Chinese in the mid-19th century came to America through San Francisco to work on the railroad and open businesses. By 1870, there were over 4000 Chinese and they comprised almost 30% of the population. They suffered discrimination due to the Anti-Chinese League in the 19th century which sought to limit the rights and opportunities of Chinese emigrants. Today Asians are third in population demographically after Whites and Hispanics at less than 2%.

 

Main articles: Oregon boundary dispute, Provisional Government of Oregon, Oregon Treaty, Oregon Territory, Washington Territory, Dakota Territory, Organic act § List of organic acts, and Idaho Territory

 

On March 4, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln signed an act creating Idaho Territory from portions of Washington Territory and Dakota Territory with its capital at Lewiston. The original Idaho Territory included most of the areas that later became the states of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, and had a population of under 17,000. Idaho Territory assumed the boundaries of the modern state in 1868 and was admitted as a state in 1890.

 

After Idaho became a territory, legislation was held in Lewiston, the capital of Idaho Territory at the time. There were many territories acts put into place, and then taken away during these early sessions, one act being the move of the capital city from Lewiston to Boise City. Boise was becoming a growing area after gold was found, so on December 24, 1864, Boise City was made the final destination of the capital for the Territory of Idaho.

 

However, moving the capital to Boise City created a lot of issues between the territory. This was especially true between the north and south areas in the territory, due to how far south Boise City was. Problems with communicating between the north and south contributed to some land in Idaho Territory being transferred to other territories and areas at the time. Idaho’s early boundary changes helped create the current boundaries of Washington, Wyoming, and Montana States as currently exist.

 

In a bid for statehood, Governor Edward A. Stevenson called for a constitutional convention in 1889. The convention approved a constitution on August 6, 1889, and voters approved the constitution on November 5, 1889.

 

When President Benjamin Harrison signed the law admitting Idaho as a U.S. state on July 3, 1890, the population was 88,548. George L. Shoup became the state's first governor, but resigned after only a few weeks in office to take a seat in the United States Senate. Willis Sweet, a Republican, was the first congressman, 1890 to 1895, representing the state at-large. He vigorously demanded "Free Silver" or the unrestricted coinage of silver into legal tender, in order to pour money into the large silver mining industry in the Mountain West, but he was defeated by supporters of the gold standard. In 1896 he, like many Republicans from silver mining districts, supported the Silver Republican Party instead of the regular Republican nominee William McKinley.

 

During its first years of statehood, Idaho was plagued by labor unrest in the mining district of Coeur d'Alene. In 1892, miners called a strike which developed into a shooting war between union miners and company guards. Each side accused the other of starting the fight. The first shots were exchanged at the Frisco mine in Frisco, in the Burke-Canyon north and east of Wallace. The Frisco mine was blown up, and company guards were taken prisoner. The violence soon spilled over into the nearby community of Gem, where union miners attempted to locate a Pinkerton spy who had infiltrated their union and was passing information to the mine operators. But agent Charlie Siringo escaped by cutting a hole in the floor of his room. Strikers forced the Gem mine to close, then traveled west to the Bunker Hill mining complex near Wardner, and closed down that facility as well. Several had been killed in the Burke-Canyon fighting. The Idaho National Guard and federal troops were dispatched to the area, and union miners and sympathizers were thrown into bullpens.

 

Hostilities would again erupt at the Bunker Hill facility in 1899, when seventeen union miners were fired for having joined the union. Other union miners were likewise ordered to draw their pay and leave. Angry members of the union converged on the area and blew up the Bunker Hill Mill, killing two company men.

 

In both disputes, the union's complaints included pay, hours of work, the right of miners to belong to the union, and the mine owners' use of informants and undercover agents. The violence committed by union miners was answered with a brutal response in 1892 and in 1899.

 

Through the Western Federation of Miners (WFM) union, the battles in the mining district became closely tied to a major miners' strike in Colorado. The struggle culminated in the December 1905 assassination of former Governor Frank Steunenberg by Harry Orchard (also known as Albert Horsley), a member of the WFM. Orchard was allegedly incensed by Steunenberg's efforts as governor to put down the 1899 miner uprising after being elected on a pro-labor platform.

 

Pinkerton detective James McParland conducted the investigation into the assassination. In 1907, WFM Secretary Treasurer "Big Bill" Haywood and two other WFM leaders were tried on a charge of conspiracy to murder Steunenberg, with Orchard testifying against them as part of a deal made with McParland. The nationally publicized trial featured Senator William E. Borah as prosecuting attorney and Clarence Darrow representing the defendants. The defense team presented evidence that Orchard had been a Pinkerton agent and had acted as a paid informant for the Cripple Creek Mine Owners' Association. Darrow argued that Orchard's real motive in the assassination had been revenge for a declaration of martial law by Steunenberg, which prompted Orchard to gamble away a share in the Hercules silver mine that would otherwise have made him wealthy.

 

Two of the WFM leaders were acquitted in two separate trials, and the third was released. Orchard was convicted and sentenced to death. His sentence was commuted, and he spent the rest of his life in an Idaho prison.

 

Mining in Idaho was a major commercial venture, bringing a great deal of attention to the state. From 1860-1866 Idaho produced 19% of all gold in the United States, or 2.5 million ounces.

 

Most of Idaho's mining production, 1860–1969, has come from metals equating to $2.88 billion out of $3.42 billion, according to the best estimates. Of the metallic mining areas of Idaho, the Coeur d'Alene region has produced the most by far, and accounts for about 80% of the total Idaho yield.

 

Several others—Boise Basin, Wood River Valley, Stibnite, Blackbirg, and Owyhee—range considerably above the other big producers. Atlanta, Bear Valley, Bay Horse, Florence, Gilmore, Mackay, Patterson, and Yankee Fork all ran on the order of ten to twenty million dollars, and Elk City, Leesburg, Pierce, Rocky Bar, and Warren's make up the rest of the major Idaho mining areas that stand out in the sixty or so regions of production worthy of mention.

 

A number of small operations do not appear in this list of Idaho metallic mining areas: a small amount of gold was recovered from Goose Creek on Salmon Meadows; a mine near Cleveland was prospected in 1922 and produced a little manganese in 1926; a few tons of copper came from Fort Hall, and a few more tons of copper came from a mine near Montpelier. Similarly, a few tons of lead came from a property near Bear Lake, and lead-silver is known on Cassia Creek near Elba. Some gold quartz and lead-silver workings are on Ruby Creek west of Elk River, and there is a slightly developed copper operation on Deer Creek near Winchester. Molybdenum is known on Roaring River and on the east fork of the Salmon. Some scattered mining enterprises have been undertaken around Soldier Mountain and on Chief Eagle Eye Creek north of Montour.

 

Idaho proved to be one of the more receptive states to the progressive agenda of the late 19th century and early 20th century. The state embraced progressive policies such as women's suffrage (1896) and prohibition (1916) before they became federal law. Idahoans were also strongly supportive of Free Silver. The pro-bimetallism Populist and Silver Republican parties of the late 1890s were particularly successful in the state.

 

Eugenics was also a major part of the Progressive movement. In 1919, the Idaho legislature passed an Act legalizing the forced sterilization of some persons institutionalized in the state. The act was vetoed by governor D.W. Davis, who doubted its scientific merits and believed it likely violated the Equal Protection clause of the US Constitution. In 1925, the Idaho legislature passed a revised eugenics act, now tailored to avoid Davis's earlier objections. The new law created a state board of eugenics, charged with: the sterilization of all feebleminded, insane, epileptics, habitual criminals, moral degenerates and sexual perverts who are a menace to society, and providing the means for ascertaining who are such persons.

The Eugenics board was eventually folded into the state's health commission; between 1932 and 1964, a total of 30 women and eight men in Idaho were sterilized under this law. The sterilization law was formally repealed in 1972.

 

After statehood, Idaho's economy began a gradual shift away from mining toward agriculture, particularly in the south. Older mining communities such as Silver City and Rocky Bar gave way to agricultural communities incorporated after statehood, such as Nampa and Twin Falls. Milner Dam on the Snake River, completed in 1905, allowed for the formation of many agricultural communities in the Magic Valley region which had previously been nearly unpopulated.

 

Meanwhile, some of the mining towns were able to reinvent themselves as resort communities, most notably in Blaine County, where the Sun Valley ski resort opened in 1936. Others, such as Silver City and Rocky Bar, became ghost towns.

 

In the north, mining continued to be an important industry for several more decades. The closure of the Bunker Hill Mine complex in Shoshone County in the early 1980s sent the region's economy into a tailspin. Since that time, a substantial increase in tourism in north Idaho has helped the region to recover. Coeur d'Alene, a lake-side resort town, is a destination for visitors in the area.

 

Beginning in the 1980s, there was a rise in North Idaho of a few right-wing extremist and "survivalist" political groups, most notably one holding Neo-Nazi views, the Aryan Nations. These groups were most heavily concentrated in the Panhandle region of the state, particularly in the vicinity of Coeur d'Alene.

 

In 1992 a stand-off occurred between U.S. Marshals, the F.B.I., and white separatist Randy Weaver and his family at their compound at Ruby Ridge, located near the small, northern Idaho town of Naples. The ensuing fire-fight and deaths of a U.S. Marshal, and Weaver's son and wife gained national attention, and raised a considerable amount of controversy regarding the nature of acceptable force by the federal government in such situations.

 

In 2001, the Aryan Nations compound, which had been located in Hayden Lake, Idaho, was confiscated as a result of a court case, and the organization moved out of state. About the same time Boise installed an impressive stone Human Rights Memorial featuring a bronze statue of Anne Frank and quotations from her and many other writers extolling human freedom and equality.

 

The demographics of the state have changed. Due to this growth in different groups, especially in Boise, the economic expansion surged wrong-economic growth followed the high standard of living and resulted in the "growth of different groups". The population of Idaho in the 21st Century has been described as sharply divided along geographic and cultural lines due to the center of the state being dominated by sparsely-populated national forests, mountain ranges and recreation sites: "unless you're willing to navigate a treacherous mountain pass, you can't even drive from the north to the south without leaving the state." The northern population gravitates towards Spokane, Washington, the heavily Mormon south-east population towards Utah, with an isolated Boise "[being] the closest thing to a city-state that you'll find in America."

 

On March 13, 2020, officials from the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare announced the first confirmed case of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 within the state of Idaho. A woman over the age of 50 from the southwestern part of the state was confirmed to have the coronavirus infection. She contracted the infection while attending a conference in New York City. Conference coordinators notified attendees that three individuals previously tested positive for the coronavirus. The Idahoan did not require hospitalization and was recovering from mild symptoms from her home. At the time of the announcement, there were 1,629 total cases and 41 deaths in the United States. Five days beforehand, on March 8, a man of age 54 had died of an unknown respiratory illness which his doctor had believed to be pneumonia. The disease was later suspected to be – but never confirmed as – COVID-19.

 

On March 14, state officials announced the second confirmed case within the state. The South Central Public Health District, announced that a woman over the age of 50 that resides in Blaine County had contracted the infection.[44] Like the first case, she did not require hospitalization and she was recovering from mild symptoms from home. Later on in the day, three additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 were reported in the state by three of the seven health districts in the state, which brought the confirmed total cases of coronavirus to five in Idaho. Officials from Central District Health announced their second confirmed case, which was a male from Ada County in his 50s. He was not hospitalized and was recovering at home. South Central Public Health reported their second confirmed case in a female that is over the age of 70 who was hospitalized. Eastern Idaho Public Health reported a confirmed positive case in a woman under the age of 60 in Teton County. She had contracted the coronavirus from contact with a confirmed case in a neighboring state; she was not hospitalized. The South Central Public Health District announced that a woman over the age of 50 that resides in Blaine County had contracted the infection. Like the first case, she did not require hospitalization and she was recovering from mild symptoms from home.

 

On March 17, two more confirmed cases of the infection were reported, bringing the total to seven. The first case on this date was by officials from Central District Health reported that a female under the age of 50 in Ada County was recovering at home and was not hospitalized. The second confirmed case was a female over the age of 50 as reported by South Central Public Health officials.

 

On March 18, two additional confirmed cases were announced by South Central Public Health District officials. One is a male from Blaine County in his 40s and the other a male in his 80s from Twin Falls County. These cases were the first known community spread transmission of the coronavirus in South Central Idaho.

Name: Robert Brown

Arrested for: not given

Arrested at: North Shields Police Station

Arrested on: 26 June 1905

Tyne and Wear Archives ref: DX1388-1-73-Robert Brown

 

The Shields Daily News for 30 June 1905 reports:

 

“MINERS’ DRUNKEN SPREE. SEQUEL AT THE NORTH SHIELDS POLICE COURT.

 

At the North Shields Police Court this morning, John Parker (27), residing at 30 Pont Street, Hirst and Robert Brown (24), two miners, were brought up in custody, charged with stealing, between the 17th and 18th June, from a garden situate at Billy Mill, two chickens of the value of 2s, the property of Jno. Tarbet.

 

They were further charged with stealing two planes, one spoke shave and one chisel of the value of 5s, the property of Andrew Straughan, between the same dates. They also were charged with stealing a walking stick, 1 razor, two pairs of spectacles, and 6 keys, the property of Thomas Stobart. After evidence had been given by the prosecutors, Inspector Proud spoke to apprehending and charging them with the first two thefts, which they admitted. PC Askew spoke to charging them with the third charge, which they also admitted.

 

Mr Duncan, for the defence, contended that there was no felonious intention on their part to convert the property to their own use and no foundation for preferring charges of larceny against them. They didn’t behave like thieves, however idiotic or silly they may have been. They were intoxicated and full of mischief and foolishly went into the places. They were walking from North Shields to Backworth, having missed their conveyance, and on the road they committed the depredations complained of, acting under the influence of drink. It was just a mischievous drunken riot, if it may be so called. They had been in custody since Sunday last and he thought they had been sufficiently punished for their foolish behaviour. Mr Duncan added that the defendants were willing to make restitution to the owners. If the prisoner Brown was convicted he would lose his pension from the army.

 

The prisoners gave evidence on their own behalf, bearing out Mr Duncan’s statement. The magistrates fined Parker 10s without costs in each case and bound Brown over in the sum of 40s to be of good behaviour for three months”.

 

These images are a selection from an album of photographs of prisoners brought before the North Shields Police Court between 1902 and 1916 in the collection of Tyne & Wear Archives (TWA ref DX1388/1).

 

(Copyright) We're happy for you to share this digital image within the spirit of The Commons. Please cite 'Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums' when reusing. Certain restrictions on high quality reproductions and commercial use of the original physical version apply though; if you're unsure please email archives@twmuseums.org.uk.

from ift.tt/2akAyEk

 

Sometimes in life I feel the urge to rant about things that bother me and, guess what, Trump bothers me. A lot. So I decided since it’s the 2016 election that I would come up with 2016 reasons not to vote for Trump. Of course I realize this may not convince people to not vote for him, but it will allow me to express reasons he should never be the President of the United States. I know 2016 is a lot of reasons to come up with, but I believe I can come up with them. I will try to remember to include links to information backing up reason so that you will see that this isn’t just me making baseless accusations.

 

There will be 99 posts of 21 reasons each over the next 99 or so days. This will give enough time before the election to get all 2016 reasons out.1

 

1. Trump is a liar. As of July 23, 2016, only 29% of statements made by Donald Trump are considered Half True—15%, Mostly True–10%, or True–4% by Politifact. Even during his RNC convention speech, Trump couldn’t avoid lying.2 The Washington Post has accused him of being “pathologically dishonest“; the National Review labeled him the “post-truth candidate“.

 

2. Trump was accused of raping his first wife, Ivana Trump. During a deposition for their divorce, Ivana described a sexual assault perpetrated by Donald against her in 1989. When the rape was discussed in a 2015 article on The Daily Beast, Michael Cohen, special counsel at The Trump Organization said:

 

“You’re talking about the frontrunner for the GOP, presidential candidate, as well as a private individual who never raped anybody. And, of course, understand that by the very definition, you can’t rape your spouse…It is true…You cannot rape your spouse. And there’s very clear case law.”3

 

3. Trump was accused of attempting to rape Jill Harth. In 1997, Harth filed a suit against Trump alleging that he sexually assaulted her in 1993. Harth also accused Trump of repeated, unwanted sexual advances. She claims he groped her under the table at a restaurant and he pushed her up against the wall of his daughter’s bedroom and groped her again. The lawsuit was settled, though Trump denied the allegations.

 

4. Trump was accused of raping a thirteen-year old girl. The girl, publicly refered to as Katie Johnson, filed a lawsuit accusing Trump and Jeffrey Epstein of having solicited sex from her at sex parties at their homes in Manhattan in 1994. She claims Trump “took her virginity in 1994 when she was only 13 and being held by Epstein as a slave.” She said they threatened her family and her with harm if she didn’t comply. The claims were corroberated by a person referred to as Tiffany Doe.

 

5. Trump was implicated in the rape and disappearance of a twelve-year old girl. Katie Johnson’s lawsuit alleges that she was forced to participate in sex acts with a girl referred to as Maria Doe for the enjoyment of Donald Trump. Johnson claimed that Trump told her she “shouldn’t ever say anything if I didn’t want to disappear like Maria, a 12-year-old female that was forced to be involved in the third incident with Defendant Trump and that I had not seen since that third incident, and that he was capable of having my whole family killed.” These claims were also corroberated by Tiffany Doe.

 

6. Donald Trump is a birther. Remember when Trump decided to accuse Obama of not being born in Hawaii, meaning he couldn’t be the American president? Yeah, it was quite the story. And guess what? He still identifies as one, despite evidence that Obama was born in the country.4 Birtherism is blatant xenophobia, which has become Trump’s favorite -phobia. Well, aside from Islamophobia. And homophobia.

 

7. In his campaign announcement speech, he accused Mexico of sending rapists and drug dealers. Supporters of Trump like to point out that Trump followed that up with the statement that “some, I assume, are good people“—which doesn’t make it any better. It’s like telling someone that the bowl of strawberries they handed you has rotten berries in it, but that some aren’t actually rotten. It’s a xenophobic, good-luck-guessing-who-is-bad statement. It’s fear-mongering. Trump supporters really ate those rotten berries up. And guess what? It’s pretty much bullshit.

 

8. Trump used slave labor in Dubai. Slave labor was used to build Trump International Golf Course in Dubai. This was supposed to be the “greatest golf course in the world” according to the more-humble-than-you-know Trump. Workers made less than $200 a month and lived in squalorous conditions.

 

9. Trump has been accused of sexual harassment and humiliation by former employees. This year, Elizabeth Davidson filed a complaint with the Davenport Civil Rights Commission over remarks made by Trump while she was working for his campaign in Iowa. He has been accused by multiple women of mocking or degrading women working for him, using dismissive and sexist language to refer to them.

 

10. Trump has stated that he is attracted to his daughter, Ivanka Trump. Multiple times. His first caveat with his incestuous attraction is that he’s married, not that she’s his daughter. He joked about how she’s she could be in Playboy and that he could date her. He only asserts that he’s her father and couldn’t date her as a side note.

 

11. Trump sexualized Tiffany as an infant. In an interview, Trump stated he’d like his then one-year olds daughter Tiffany to inherit her mom’s breasts.

 

12. Trump is hypocritical on Clinton’s vs. Pence’s support of the Iraq War. In last week’s 60 Minutes, Trump defended Pence voting for the Iraq War, while simultaneously bashing Hillary Clinton for her vote. Pence is, according to Trump, entitled to make mistakes. Hypocrisy, Party of Don.

 

13. Trump is hypocritical over receiving money/favors from Saudi Arabia. In another case of “do as I say, not as I do”, Trump likes to imply that Hillary has received money from Saudi Arabia either personally or for her campaign. In actuality, it’s the Clinton Foundation, which Hillary isn’t even in charge of, that received donations. Trump, on the other hand, has been personally bailed out twice by a Saudi prince.

 

14. Trump encouraged violence throughout the primaries. Though he would try blaming it on supporters of Bernie Sanders, Trump repeatedly incited violence at campaign events. And he hasn’t stopped encouraging it.

 

15. Trump University was never a university, it was always a scam. Despite the name, it wasn’t a school. In 2011, the New York Attorney General investigated it for illegal business practices and filed a lawsuit alleging them as a result of what was found during investigations.

 

16. Trump has had not one bankruptcy…

 

17. Not two bankruptcies…

 

18. Not three bankruptcies…,

 

19. But FOUR. Four bankruptcies have been filed as a result of his business dealings.

 

20. Trump mocked a disabled journalist. In November 2015, Trump went on stage & mocked Serge Kovaleski’s hand movements; Kovaleski has a congenital joint disorder.

 

21. Donald Trump thinks he owns black people. He’s repeatedly talked about black people belonging to him.

 

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via VisualHunt.com / CC BY-SA

 

Yes, I did the math so that it would work out evenly—or, more appropriately, oddly. ↩

 

Oddly enough, his first lie that night was about there being a lack of lies at the 2016 convention. ↩

 

New York’s law allowing marital rape was struck down in 1984—five years before the rape took place. ↩

 

Even if he wasn’t, he’s considered a natural born American because his mom is from Kansas. ↩

 

Related Posts:

 

Definitely More Stable Than Donald Trump January 25, 2016

 

Resting Bitch Face: Internet-Style March 12, 2016

 

Nigh is the End June 24, 2016

 

Retribution: Win Or Lose March 24, 2016

 

#DemPlatform, Calm Your Tits June 25, 2016

 

So, having just written about the Half Moon Battery and the tower that preceded it, it might be worth including the tale of why David's Tower is no longer visible. The drawing above is a contemporary depiction of the Lang Siege, which started in May 1571 and ended in 1573. The castle (obviously) is in the centre, with the town stretching away to the right. Three of the four Scottish Saltire flags are shown in the castle, including one in the triangular hornwork that stood in front of the castle at that time, known as The Spur.

 

Outside the castle, a barricade has been built to separate the castle from the town and is defended by infantry and two batteries of artillery. A further five artillery batteries are shown around the castle, mostly marked by English flags, but one with another saltire flag - the reason for which will be explained in the following story:-

 

The Last Stand for Queen Mary A.D. 1573.

 

BOOM!

 

It was six o'clock on New Year's morning 1573, and the citizens of Edinburgh roused themselves from their sleep as one of the Castle guns sounded out this warning note. If any did not understand its meaning they soon learned, for after a brief pause there followed the discharge not of a single gun but of a whole battery, and leaden messengers came whistling down the Lawnmarket, crashing into the barricades which had there been recently erected. It was the signal to all that the brief truce had ended, and the final act in the great siege had begun. The long fight between Queen's men and King's men was now to be fought to a finish.

 

In the Castle the last stand was being made for Queen Mary. Five years had passed away since, fleeing from the disastrous field of Langside, Mary had sought refuge in England only to find a prison; and though for a time her Scottish supporters, ever hoping for her return, had striven to maintain her cause, little by little their numbers had lessened, their enthusiasm had languished, and the cause had grown more desperate, until now, on this New Year's day, there remained in all Scotland only one spot where the Queen's flag was still unfurled and the Queen's liegemen still were true. But that spot was the central citadel of the land, the Castle of Edinburgh, and on the brave men who held it for their Queen the eyes of Scotland, England, and France alike were fixed.

 

To all appearance it was a hopeless struggle they were maintaining; yet in war many a cause that has looked hopeless has come out victorious in the end, and there were not wanting grounds for hoping for such an issue here. There were first and chiefly the men themselves, a brave band of the best fighting material Scotland held, with, at their head, Kirkaldy of Grange, the first soldier of his day, and Maitland, of Lethington, unrivalled as a statesman, a man with a keen mind and "a fell tongue," one who was ever ready for any emergency. Then there was the well-nigh impregnable position of the Castle, against which all assaults that Scotland could bring had hitherto proved vain. And there was, last of all, the encouraging experience of the past two years. For ever since April 1571 when Kirkaldy had closed the gates and declared for Queen Mary, the Castle had been more or less besieged. But all attempts to take it had failed; and not only so, but the garrison had routed the besiegers, and had made themselves the masters of the city. King's men and leading citizens of the Reforming party had fled to Leith, and the gay life of pre-Reformation times had been resumed. With experiences like these behind them, it was permissible for the garrison to hope against hope, and not altogether inexcusable that they should keep up the fight as long as ever they could. One never knew when something might happen in the outside world that would alter the whole aspect of affairs; it needed only the death of an English queen or a Scottish king or regent, and then, if the Castle still were held in her name, Queen Mary would the more readily come to her own again. So they fought on.

 

But their task was now much harder than it had been, for they had an abler foe to fight against. In the previous November the Earl of Morton had been chosen Regent, one of the most feared and least loved men in Scotland, and not without cause, but none the less a man of strength and ability and relentless determination in gaining his end; and the end he set before himself now was the capture of the Castle and the ruin of Mary's cause.

 

At first he tried to gain his purpose by negotiations, but as these involved the complete abandonment of the Queen, Kirkaldy, backed by Maitland, rejected his proposals with disdain. Equal non-success attended overtures which were put forth in a different spirit by one whose every deed is of interest to Scotsmen John Knox. The aged Reformer was dying, and as in the old days Kirkaldy had been his friend, he sent him from his sick-bed a touching message.

 

"Go," he said to Mr David Lindsay, the minister of Leith, "to yonder man in the Castle, whom you know I have loved so dearly, and tell him that I have sent you yet once more to warn him, in the name of God, to leave that evil cause and give over that Castle; and if he will not, neither the scraggy rock in which he miserably confides, nor the carnal prudence of that man (Lethington) whom he esteems a demi-god, nor the assistance of strangers shall preserve him, but he shall be disgracefully dragged fra his nest to punishment, and hung on a gallows against the face of the sun."

 

But the stern though well-meant message failed. " Weill," said Knox when he was told, "I have been earnest with my God anent they twa men. For the ane I am sorry that so it should befall him, yet God assures me that there is mercy for his soul; for that other I haif na warrand that ever he sal be weill." Neither old friendship nor prophetic warning, any more than political intrigue, could move the gallant leaders in the Castle from their loyalty to their exiled Queen. So the siege went on to the bitter end.

 

The closing act of the long conflict was marked by two stages, the first of which lasted for three months. From January to March Morton put forth every effort in his power to take the Castle, but there was not in Scotland the necessary artillery to ensure success, and without that the bravest assault was fruitless. The honours remained with the besieged garrison, at whose hand, both by fire and shot, the city suffered severely, and it became abundantly clear that against such force as Scotland could bring, the Castle was impregnable. So England’s aid was asked - and granted. Not over-willingly indeed, for it involved a breach of the law of nations, which forbade one power to interfere in the domestic broils of another, but Elizabeth's hostility to Mary bore down all scruples, and the fate of the Castle was sealed.

 

The English aid arrived at Edinburgh in March. It was a large force, consisting of 1500 arquebusiers, 140 pikemen, and a great train of artillery, all being under the command of Sir William Drury, a tried and capable soldier. A last summons to surrender was sent to the Castle, but with no result save the hoisting of a red flag of defiance on David's Tower; so the guns were got into position for their deadly work. In all twenty great guns were "stellit" at different points round the doomed citadel. Five were planted on the Castle Hill, five on the other side of the Nor' Loch (where Princes Street now runs), five more near the West Port, and five in Greyfriars Churchyard, this last battery being the special charge of the Regent himself.

 

On the 17th May the guns began to speak, and as the shot crashed against the walls of David's Tower a great shriek went up from the women in the Castle, which told the besiegers that they were not shooting in vain. But the defenders were not idle. Their ammunition was running low, but Mons Meg and the many smaller guns upon the walls gave deadly reply, and for a whole week the firing was incessant. Then, however, the heavier ordnance of the English began to tell. On 23rd May David's Tower that conspicuous feature of the Castle which has never been replaced came crashing down "with a hideous noyse, laying its airy head on the ground, leaving the defendants naked to the enemies' fury." Next day the Gate Tower, the Portcullis, and Wallace's Tower also crumbled into dust. Other portions of the wall followed, and soon the whole fortifications were little else than a mass of ruins, leaving the Castle open to the first vigorous assault.

 

Further defence was hopeless, and recognising that surrender had become imperative, Kirkaldy asked for a brief truce until conditions of surrender should be arranged. All he stipulated for was that the lives of all the garrison be spared. It was not much to ask in view of the heroic defence they had maintained, but it was too much for the Regent. His hour of vengeance had arrived, and he was resolved to use it. All lives, except nine of the leaders, he agreed to spare, but these were doomed. Such terms could not be accepted, and Kirkaldy broke off the negotiations, resolved to fight to the end and die. But his followers were of another mind and refused to second their leader's desperate purpose. Nor can we wonder. They had fought as few men fight. The cause was lost, and they would fight no more. Surrender he must, they told him, and that within six hours, else they would hang the Secretary (Lethington) over the walls as the source of all their misery.

 

There was nothing left for the gallant leader but to yield, and on the morning of the 29th of May he gave up his sword and the Castle, not, however, to the Scottish Regent, but to the English Commander, hoping that as prisoners of a foreign sovereign he and his companions might meet with more honourable treatment than they could look for from the fierce and hated Morton. But the hope proved vain.

 

Prisoners of the English they indeed remained for a short time, and as such were marched down the Castle Hill, surrounded by an English guard, lodged in the quarters of the English general. But Morton's lust for their blood was too keen to go unsatisfied, and the reception which the populace of Edinburgh gave the gallant leaders as they were led down the street showed that Morton's lust was the people's lust too. "Whaur are they?" cried the mob. "Let us see the louns! Staen them! Let them tak' na rest!" Backed by the popular rage, Morton demanded from Elizabeth the lives her general held in trust, and Elizabeth, not strong enough or not anxious enough to resist the demand, gave orders that the shameful surrender should be made. Lethington, fortunately for himself, had died in prison ere the fatal order was received, and so escaped the last humiliation, but the brave Kirkaldy, less fortunate, was handed over into the power of his enemy, and on 3rd August died on the scaffold at the Cross of Edinburgh. Nor did the humiliation end with death, for, following the barbarous custom of the time, his head was severed from his body and impaled for all to see on the walls of the very Castle he had so nobly defended.

 

To Mary, in her English prison, the tidings of the Castle's fall and the death of her loyal supporters were carried by a messenger from Elizabeth. It meant the ruin of her dearest hopes, but she bore the tidings well. "She makes little show of any grief," wrote the one who told the news, "and yet it nips her very near". Truly it did, and we may be sure that though the lips kept a brave silence the heart was crying out all the time. No sorer blow could ever befall her, for it was the final severing of the tie between her and her lost kingdom. Many years of life lay yet before her, and in these there came times of hope as well as of despair, but such hopes were English in their origin, and in England they found their grave. Scotland's interest in her fair and unfortunate Queen largely ceased on that day when the Castle walls crumbled into dust before the English guns, and Mary's flag came fluttering to the ground.

 

To Mary, in her English prison, the tidings of the Castle's fall and the death of her loyal supporters were carried by a messenger from Elizabeth. It meant the ruin of her dearest hopes, but she bore the tidings well. "She makes little show of any grief," wrote the one who told the news, "and yet it nips her very near." Truly it did, and we may be sure that though the lips kept a brave silence the heart was crying out all the time. No sorer blow could ever befall her, for it was the final severing of the tie between her and her lost kingdom. Many years of life lay yet before her, and in these there came times of hope as well as of despair, but such hopes were English in their origin, and in England they found their grave. Scotland's interest in her fair and unfortunate Queen largely ceased on that day when the Castle walls crumbled into dust before the English guns, and Mary's flag came fluttering to the ground.

 

Schweiz / Wallis - Stausee Mattmark

 

Höhenweg Almagelleralp

 

This trail leads you from the idyllic Kreuzbogen lake and the colourful Alpine flower trail via the romantic Almageller valley to Almagelleralp, and along the adventure trail to Furggstalden; the Almagelleralp mountain trail is unrivalled in the scenic variety it offers.

 

Description

 

From Kreuzboden (2400m), with its idyllic mountain lake, you hike along the first part of the Alpine flower trail to the Triftgrätji viewing point. Edelweiss and gentian are just two of the roughly 240 species of flowers you can marvel at along the Alpine flower trail.

 

The mountain path above Grundberg leads you into the wild and romantic Almagellertal to Almagelleralp (2194m). After a break at the mountain hotel Almagelleralp you continue your hike either along the stream to Saas-Almagell, or via the adventure trail to Furggstalden.

 

The Almagellerhorn adventure trail is only suitable for for adventurous families, young people and the young at heart. This section of the tour, with its numerous ladders and stairs, is technically difficult. Surefootedness and head for heights are necessary. The absolute highlight of the adventure trail is a 60 m long hanging bridge. From Furggstalden, you can comfortably descend to Saas-Almagell by chairlift. There is a bus every hour from Saas-Almagell to Saas-Grund.

 

(myswitzerland.com)

 

Mattmark dam is a reservoir in the Saas Valley of the Canton of Valais, Switzerland. The Mattmark dam was built from 1960 to 1965. The lake's surface area is 1.76 km2 (0.68 sq mi).

 

The lake lies at a height of 2,197 metres above sea level, between the massifs of the Rimpfischhorn and Stellihorn. The highest peak visible from the lake is the Strahlhorn (4,190 m).

 

Mattmark disaster

 

On August 30, 1965, 88 construction workers, 56 of them of Italian nationality, were buried under 2,000,000 m³ of ice and debris by a glacier collapse of the Allalin glacier. The risk involved in constructing the accommodation barracks directly below the glacier tongue, which eventually broke off, was not taken into account. No other reservoir in Switzerland claimed so many victims during construction. Seven years after the accident, the Valais judiciary acquitted all 17 defendants, including engineers and managers of Elektrowatt and officials of the Swiss Accident Insurance Fund. In 2005, journalist Kurt Marti revealed that those responsible for the construction site knew about the dangers of the Allalin glacier and that the court ignored all incriminating facts in its decision.

 

(Wikipedia)

 

Vom idyllischen Kreuzbodensee und der farbigen Alpenblumenpromenade übers romantische Almagellertal zur Almagelleralp über den Erlebnisweg bis hin zu Furggstalden; der Höhenweg Almagelleralp ist an Vielfalt kaum zu übertreffen.

 

Beschreibung

 

Vom Kreuzboden (2400m) mit seinem idyllischen Bergsee wandern Sie auf dem ersten Abschnitt der Alpenblumenpromenade zum Aussichtspunkt Triftgrätji. Edelweiss und Enzian, dies sind nur zwei der rund 240 Blumenarten, die Sie auf der Alpenblumen-Promenade bestaunen können.

 

Die Höhenwanderung oberhalb des Grundbergs führt ins wildromantische Almagellertal zur Almagelleralp (2194m). Nach einer Rast im Berghotel Almagelleralp geht es entweder dem Bach entlang zu Fuss nach Saas-Almagell oder über den Erlebnisweg nach Furggstalden.

 

Der Erlebnisweg Almagellerhorn eignet sich nur für abenteuerlustige Familien, Jugendliche und Junggebliebene. Dieser Abschnitt der Tour ist mit seinen zahlreichen Leitern und Treppen technisch schwierig und nur für Schwindelfreie zu empfehlen. Das absolute Highlight des Erlebniswegs ist eine 60m lange Hängebrücke. Von Furggstalden aus gelangen Sie bequem mit dem Sessellift nach Saas-Almagell. Von Saas-Almagell verkehrt stündlich ein Bus nach Saas-Grund.

 

(myswitzerland.com)

 

Der Stausee Mattmark ist ein Stausee, der sich auf dem Gebiet der Gemeinde Saas-Almagell am südlichen Ende des Saastales im Bezirk Visp des Kantons Wallis in der Schweiz befindet. Der See wird von der Kraftwerke Mattmark AG zur Energieerzeugung genutzt. 1965 forderte ein Gletscherabbruch während des Baus 88 Tote.

 

Geschichte

 

Natürlicher Vorgängersee

 

Vor dem Bau der Staumauer gab es im Tal der jungen Saaser Vispa einen Bergsee. Seine wechselnde Form und Grösse hing von den Vorstössen und Rückzügen des Allalingletschers ab. Zu den Hochständen der Gletscherausdehnung um 1600, 1820 und 1850/1860 überdeckte die Zunge des von der Westflanke hinunterreichenden Allalingletschers die ganze Talbreite und bildete so einen natürlichen Gletscherstausee. Beim Abschmelzen der Barriere kam es mehrmals zu katastrophalen Seeausbrüchen. Gemäss Chroniken sollen in den Jahren 1589, 1633, 1680 und 1772 besonders schlimme Sturzfluten die Dörfer und Weiden im Saastal zerstört haben. Die Flut von 1633 zwang mehrere Familien zur Auswanderung. Andere arbeiteten während Jahren an der Wiederurbarmachung des Talgrundes und gelobten, nicht zu heiraten, bis das Werk vollendet sei. In den folgenden 14 Jahren fand in der Kirchgemeinde Saas keine Hochzeit statt. Die Ausbrüche 1589 und 1633 reichten bis nach Visp und verwüsteten dort das Kulturland. Beim Ausbruch von 1680 wurden 18 Häuser in Visp zerstört. Um solche Katastrophen zu verhindern, wollte man um 1900 einen unterirdischen Abflusskanal bauen, doch die Mittel dazu fehlten.

 

Künstlicher Stausee

 

Es wurden früh vereinzelte Studien zur Nutzung des Gefälles zwischen Mattmark und dem Rhonetal gemacht. Die Idee wurde 1954 durch ein Studiensyndikat, an dem die Suiselectra, ein Ingenieurbüro aus Basel, und die Elektrowatt beteiligt waren, wiederaufgenommen.

 

Am 25. März 1959 fand im Hotel Beau-Site in Saas-Fee die Gründung der Kraftwerke Mattmark AG mit Firmensitz in Saas-Grund statt. Der Stausee befindet sich auf dem Gebiet der politischen Gemeinde Saas-Almagell, das Einzugsgebiet für das ganze Wasserkraftwerk erstreckt sich über die Territorien der vier Saaser Gemeinden Saas-Almagell, Saas-Balen, Saas-Fee und Saas-Grund. Die Gebietshoheit wurde aus rechtlichen Gründen der Gemeinde Saas-Almagell übertragen.

 

In den Jahren 1958 bis 1959 wurde die sechs Meter breite Fahrstrasse von Saas-Almagell nach Mattmark gebaut, womit die Baustelle des Staudamms erschlossen war. Die Bauarbeiten am Staudamm begannen im Mai 1960 und sollten bis 1966 dauern. Wegen der Katastrophe im Sommer 1965 verlängerte sich die Bauzeit bis 1967. Die Einweihungsfeier des Stausees erfolgte am 25. Juni 1969 durch Bischof Nestor Adam auf dem Staudamm. In diesem Jahr wurden erstmals der Vollstau erreicht und die Stauanlage dem kommerziellen Betrieb übergeben.

 

Im Frühling 2007 wurde der Stausee das erste Mal komplett entleert, um Revisionen der Anlagen durchzuführen. Da man aber die früher als üblich einsetzende Schneeschmelze nicht voraussehen konnte, mussten die Arbeiten frühzeitig eingestellt werden, sodass im Februar und März 2008 nochmals eine komplette Entleerung des Sees vonnöten war.

 

Katastrophe von 1965

 

Am 30. August 1965 wurden durch einen Gletscherabbruch des Allalingletschers 88 Bauarbeiter, 56 davon italienischer Nationalität, unter 2'000'000 m3 Eis und Geröll begraben. Bei den Bergungsarbeiten konnte unter der stellenweise bis zu 50 Meter starken Geröllschicht keiner der Verschütteten lebend geborgen werden. Das Risiko bei der Errichtung der Unterkunftsbaracken direkt unterhalb der schliesslich abgebrochenen Gletscherzunge war nicht beachtet worden. Kein anderer Stausee in der Schweiz forderte beim Bau so viele Opfer. Sieben Jahre nach dem Unglück sprach die Walliser Justiz alle 17 Angeklagten, darunter Ingenieure und Manager der Elektrowatt sowie Beamte der Schweizerischen Unfallversicherungsanstalt, frei. Der Journalist Kurt Marti brachte 2005 zutage, dass die Verantwortlichen der Baustelle um die Gefahren des Allalingletschers gewusst hatten und dass das Gericht bei seiner Entscheidung sämtliche belastenden Fakten ausblendete. Wenig später bestätigte das Kantonsgericht in Sitten das Urteil und erlegte den Angehörigen der Opfer die Hälfte der Verfahrenskosten auf, was in Italien für zusätzliche Empörung sorgte.

 

Kraftwerke Mattmark

 

Mattmarksee im Winter

 

Das Einzugsgebiet der Kraftwerke Mattmark umfasst 88 km2. Dazu gehören Kreuzboden, Almageller- und Furggbach sowie Allalin- und Hohlaubgletscher. Das Zwischeneinzugsgebiet mit der Region Saas-Fee, Schweib- und Riedbach hat eine Grösse von 74 km2.

 

Die installierte Gesamtturbinenleistung beträgt 260,6 MW, die mittlere Jahresproduktion 652,0 Mio. kWh. Darin sind auch die Angaben zum Kraftwerk Saas Fee enthalten, das sein Wasser nicht aus dem Stausee Mattmark bezieht.

 

Die einzelnen Kraftwerke haben folgende Kennzahlen:

 

Kraftwerk Zermeiggern (zwei vertikalachsige Francis-Turbinen zu 37 MW)

Pumpstation Zermeiggern (zwei vertikalachsige Pumpen 1-flutig, 4-stufig zu 23 MW)

Kraftwerk Stalden (zwei eindüsige, horizontalachsige Doppel-Pelton-Turbinen zu 92,5 MW)

Kraftwerk Saas Fee (eine zweidüsige, horizontalachsige Peltonturbine zu 1,55 MW)

 

(Wikipedia)

Vladimir Semyonovich Vysotsky (Russian: Владимир Семёнович Высоцкий, IPA: [vlɐˈdʲimʲɪr sʲɪˈmʲɵnəvʲɪtɕ vɨˈsotskʲɪj]; 25 January 1938 – 25 July 1980), was a Soviet singer-songwriter, poet, and actor who had an immense and enduring effect on Soviet culture. He became widely known for his unique singing style and for his lyrics, which featured social and political commentary in often humorous street-jargon. He was also a prominent stage- and screen-actor. Though the official Soviet cultural establishment largely ignored his work, he was remarkably popular during his lifetime, and to this day exerts significant influence on many of Russia's musicians and actors.

 

Vysotsky was born in Moscow at the 3rd Meshchanskaya St. (61/2) maternity hospital. His father, Semyon Volfovich (Vladimirovich) (1915–1997), was a colonel in the Soviet army, originally from Kiev. Vladimir's mother, Nina Maksimovna, (née Seryogina, 1912–2003) was Russian, and worked as a German language translator.[3] Vysotsky's family lived in a Moscow communal flat in harsh conditions, and had serious financial difficulties. When Vladimir was 10 months old, Nina had to return to her office in the Transcript bureau of the Soviet Ministry of Geodesy and Cartography (engaged in making German maps available for the Soviet military) so as to help her husband earn their family's living.

 

Vladimir's theatrical inclinations became obvious at an early age, and were supported by his paternal grandmother Dora Bronshteyn, a theater fan. The boy used to recite poems, standing on a chair and "flinging hair backwards, like a real poet," often using in his public speeches expressions he could hardly have heard at home. Once, at the age of two, when he had tired of the family's guests' poetry requests, he, according to his mother, sat himself under the New-year tree with a frustrated air about him and sighed: "You silly tossers! Give a child some respite!" His sense of humor was extraordinary, but often baffling for people around him. A three-year-old could jeer his father in a bathroom with unexpected poetic improvisation ("Now look what's here before us / Our goat's to shave himself!") or appall unwanted guests with some street folk song, promptly steering them away. Vysotsky remembered those first three years of his life in the autobiographical Ballad of Childhood (Баллада о детстве, 1975), one of his best-known songs.

 

As World War II broke out, Semyon Vysotsky, a military reserve officer, joined the Soviet army and went to fight the Nazis. Nina and Vladimir were evacuated to the village of Vorontsovka, in Orenburg Oblast where the boy had to spend six days a week in a kindergarten and his mother worked for twelve hours a day in a chemical factory. In 1943, both returned to their Moscow apartment at 1st Meschanskaya St., 126. In September 1945, Vladimir joined the 1st class of the 273rd Moscow Rostokino region School.

 

In December 1946, Vysotsky's parents divorced. From 1947 to 1949, Vladimir lived with Semyon Vladimirovich (then an army Major) and his Armenian wife, Yevgenya Stepanovna Liholatova, whom the boy called "aunt Zhenya", at a military base in Eberswalde in the Soviet-occupied zone of Germany (later East Germany). "We decided that our son would stay with me. Vladimir came to stay with me in January 1947, and my second wife, Yevgenia, became Vladimir's second mother for many years to come. They had much in common and liked each other, which made me really happy," Semyon Vysotsky later remembered. Here living conditions, compared to those of Nina's communal Moscow flat, were infinitely better; the family occupied the whole floor of a two-storeyed house, and the boy had a room to himself for the first time in his life. In 1949 along with his stepmother Vladimir returned to Moscow. There he joined the 5th class of the Moscow 128th School and settled at Bolshoy Karetny [ru], 15 (where they had to themselves two rooms of a four-roomed flat), with "auntie Zhenya" (who was just 28 at the time), a woman of great kindness and warmth whom he later remembered as his second mother. In 1953 Vysotsky, now much interested in theater and cinema, joined the Drama courses led by Vladimir Bogomolov.[7] "No one in my family has had anything to do with arts, no actors or directors were there among them. But my mother admired theater and from the earliest age... each and every Saturday I've been taken up with her to watch one play or the other. And all of this, it probably stayed with me," he later reminisced. The same year he received his first ever guitar, a birthday present from Nina Maksimovna; a close friend, bard and a future well-known Soviet pop lyricist Igor Kokhanovsky taught him basic chords. In 1955 Vladimir re-settled into his mother's new home at 1st Meshchanskaya, 76. In June of the same year he graduated from school with five A's.

 

In 1955, Vladimir enrolled into the Moscow State University of Civil Engineering, but dropped out after just one semester to pursue an acting career. In June 1956 he joined Boris Vershilov's class at the Moscow Art Theatre Studio-Institute. It was there that he met the 3rd course student Iza Zhukova who four years later became his wife; soon the two lovers settled at the 1st Meschanskaya flat, in a common room, shielded off by a folding screen. It was also in the Studio that Vysotsky met Bulat Okudzhava for the first time, an already popular underground bard. He was even more impressed by his Russian literature teacher Andrey Sinyavsky who along with his wife often invited students to his home to stage improvised disputes and concerts. In 1958 Vysotsky's got his first Moscow Art Theatre role: that of Porfiry Petrovich in Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment. In 1959 he was cast in his first cinema role, that of student Petya in Vasily Ordynsky's The Yearlings (Сверстницы). On 20 June 1960, Vysotsky graduated from the MAT theater institute and joined the Moscow Pushkin Drama Theatre (led by Boris Ravenskikh at the time) where he spent (with intervals) almost three troubled years. These were marred by numerous administrative sanctions, due to "lack of discipline" and occasional drunken sprees which were a reaction, mainly, to the lack of serious roles and his inability to realise his artistic potential. A short stint in 1962 at the Moscow Theater of Miniatures (administered at the time by Vladimir Polyakov) ended with him being fired, officially "for a total lack of sense of humour."

 

Vysotsky's second and third films, Dima Gorin's Career and 713 Requests Permission to Land, were interesting only for the fact that in both he had to be beaten up (in the first case by Aleksandr Demyanenko). "That was the way cinema greeted me," he later jokingly remarked. In 1961, Vysotsky wrote his first ever proper song, called "Tattoo" (Татуировка), which started a long and colourful cycle of artfully stylized criminal underworld romantic stories, full of undercurrents and witty social comments. In June 1963, while shooting Penalty Kick (directed by Veniamin Dorman and starring Mikhail Pugovkin), Vysotsky used the Gorky Film Studio to record an hour-long reel-to-reel cassette of his own songs; copies of it quickly spread and the author's name became known in Moscow and elsewhere (although many of these songs were often being referred to as either "traditional" or "anonymous"). Just several months later Riga-based chess grandmaster Mikhail Tal was heard praising the author of "Bolshoy Karetny" (Большой Каретный) and Anna Akhmatova (in a conversation with Joseph Brodsky) was quoting Vysotsky's number "I was the soul of a bad company..." taking it apparently for some brilliant piece of anonymous street folklore. In October 1964 Vysotsky recorded in chronological order 48 of his own songs, his first self-made Complete works of... compilation, which boosted his popularity as a new Moscow folk underground star.

 

In 1964, director Yuri Lyubimov invited Vysotsky to join the newly created Taganka Theatre. "'I've written some songs of my own. Won't you listen?' – he asked. I agreed to listen to just one of them, expecting our meeting to last for no more than five minutes. Instead I ended up listening to him for an entire 1.5 hours," Lyubimov remembered years later of this first audition. On 19 September 1964, Vysotsky debuted in Bertolt Brecht's The Good Person of Szechwan as the Second God (not to count two minor roles). A month later he came on stage as a dragoon captain (Bela's father) in Lermontov's A Hero of Our Time. It was in Taganka that Vysotsky started to sing on stage; the War theme becoming prominent in his musical repertoire. In 1965 Vysotsky appeared in the experimental Poet and Theater (Поэт и Театр, February) show, based on Andrey Voznesensky's work and then Ten Days that Shook the World (after John Reed's book, April) and was commissioned by Lyubimov to write songs exclusively for Taganka's new World War II play. The Fallen and the Living (Павшие и Живые), premiered in October 1965, featured Vysotsky's "Stars" (Звёзды), "The Soldiers of Heeresgruppe Mitte" (Солдаты группы "Центр") and "Penal Battalions" (Штрафные батальоны), the striking examples of a completely new kind of a war song, never heard in his country before. As veteran screenwriter Nikolay Erdman put it (in conversation with Lyubimov), "Professionally, I can well understand how Mayakovsky or Seryozha Yesenin were doing it. How Volodya Vysotsky does it is totally beyond me." With his songs – in effect, miniature theatrical dramatizations (usually with a protagonist and full of dialogues), Vysotsky instantly achieved such level of credibility that real life former prisoners, war veterans, boxers, footballers refused to believe that the author himself had never served his time in prisons and labor camps, or fought in the War, or been a boxing/football professional. After the second of the two concerts at the Leningrad Molecular Physics institute (that was his actual debut as a solo musical performer) Vysotsky left a note for his fans in a journal which ended with words: "Now that you've heard all these songs, please, don't you make a mistake of mixing me with my characters, I am not like them at all. With love, Vysotsky, 20 April 1965, XX c." Excuses of this kind he had to make throughout his performing career. At least one of Vysotsky's song themes – that of alcoholic abuse – was worryingly autobiographical, though. By the time his breakthrough came in 1967, he'd suffered several physical breakdowns and once was sent (by Taganka's boss) to a rehabilitation clinic, a visit he on several occasions repeated since.

 

Brecht's Life of Galileo (premiered on 17 May 1966), transformed by Lyubimov into a powerful allegory of Soviet intelligentsia's set of moral and intellectual dilemmas, brought Vysotsky his first leading theater role (along with some fitness lessons: he had to perform numerous acrobatic tricks on stage). Press reaction was mixed, some reviewers disliked the actor's overt emotionalism, but it was for the first time ever that Vysotsky's name appeared in Soviet papers. Film directors now were treating him with respect. Viktor Turov's war film I Come from the Childhood where Vysotsky got his first ever "serious" (neither comical, nor villainous) role in cinema, featured two of his songs: a spontaneous piece called "When It's Cold" (Холода) and a dark, Unknown soldier theme-inspired classic "Common Graves" (На братских могилах), sung behind the screen by the legendary Mark Bernes.

 

Stanislav Govorukhin and Boris Durov's The Vertical (1967), a mountain climbing drama, starring Vysotsky (as Volodya the radioman), brought him all-round recognition and fame. Four of the numbers used in the film (including "Song of a Friend [fi]" (Песня о друге), released in 1968 by the Soviet recording industry monopolist Melodiya disc to become an unofficial hit) were written literally on the spot, nearby Elbrus, inspired by professional climbers' tales and one curious hotel bar conversation with a German guest who 25 years ago happened to climb these very mountains in a capacity of an Edelweiss division fighter. Another 1967 film, Kira Muratova's Brief Encounters featured Vysotsky as the geologist Maxim (paste-bearded again) with a now trademark off-the-cuff musical piece, a melancholy improvisation called "Things to Do" (Дела). All the while Vysotsky continued working hard at Taganka, with another important role under his belt (that of Mayakovsky or, rather one of the latter character's five different versions) in the experimental piece called Listen! (Послушайте!), and now regularly gave semi-official concerts where audiences greeted him as a cult hero.

 

In the end of 1967 Vysotsky got another pivotal theater role, that of Khlopusha [ru] in Pugachov (a play based on a poem by Sergei Yesenin), often described as one of Taganka's finest. "He put into his performance all the things that he excelled at and, on the other hand, it was Pugachyov that made him discover his own potential," – Soviet critic Natalya Krymova wrote years later. Several weeks after the premiere, infuriated by the actor's increasing unreliability triggered by worsening drinking problems, Lyubimov fired him – only to let him back again several months later (and thus begin the humiliating sacked-then-pardoned routine which continued for years). In June 1968 a Vysotsky-slagging campaign was launched in the Soviet press. First Sovetskaya Rossiya commented on the "epidemic spread of immoral, smutty songs," allegedly promoting "criminal world values, alcoholism, vice and immorality" and condemned their author for "sowing seeds of evil." Then Komsomolskaya Pravda linked Vysotsky with black market dealers selling his tapes somewhere in Siberia. Composer Dmitry Kabalevsky speaking from the Union of Soviet Composers' Committee tribune criticised the Soviet radio for giving an ideologically dubious, "low-life product" like "Song of a Friend" (Песня о друге) an unwarranted airplay. Playwright Alexander Stein who in his Last Parade play used several of Vysotsky's songs, was chastised by a Ministry of Culture official for "providing a tribune for this anti-Soviet scum." The phraseology prompted commentators in the West to make parallels between Vysotsky and Mikhail Zoschenko, another Soviet author who'd been officially labeled "scum" some 20 years ago.

 

Two of Vysotsky's 1968 films, Gennady Poloka's Intervention (premiered in May 1987) where he was cast as Brodsky, a dodgy even if highly artistic character, and Yevgeny Karelov's Two Comrades Were Serving (a gun-toting White Army officer Brusentsov who in the course of the film shoots his friend, his horse, Oleg Yankovsky's good guy character and, finally himself) – were severely censored, first of them shelved for twenty years. At least four of Vysotsky's 1968 songs, "Save Our Souls" (Спасите наши души), "The Wolfhunt" (Охота на волков), "Gypsy Variations" (Моя цыганская) and "The Steam-bath in White" (Банька по-белому), were hailed later as masterpieces. It was at this point that 'proper' love songs started to appear in Vysotsky's repertoire, documenting the beginning of his passionate love affair with French actress Marina Vlady.

 

In 1969 Vysotsky starred in two films: The Master of Taiga where he played a villainous Siberian timber-floating brigadier, and more entertaining Dangerous Tour. The latter was criticized in the Soviet press for taking a farcical approach to the subject of the Bolshevik underground activities but for a wider Soviet audience this was an important opportunity to enjoy the charismatic actor's presence on big screen. In 1970, after visiting the dislodged Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev at his dacha and having a lengthy conversation with him, Vysotsky embarked on a massive and by Soviet standards dangerously commercial concert tour in Soviet Central Asia and then brought Marina Vlady to director Viktor Turov's place so as to investigate her Belarusian roots. The pair finally wed on 1 December 1970 (causing furore among the Moscow cultural and political elite) and spent a honeymoon in Georgia. This was the highly productive period for Vysotsky, resulting in numerous new songs, including the anthemic "I Hate" (Я не люблю), sentimental "Lyricale" (Лирическая) and dramatic war epics "He Didn't Return from the Battle" (Он не вернулся из боя) and "The Earth Song" (Песня о Земле) among many others.

 

In 1971 a drinking spree-related nervous breakdown brought Vysotsky to the Moscow Kashchenko clinic [ru]. By this time he has been suffering from alcoholism. Many of his songs from this period deal, either directly or metaphorically, with alcoholism and insanity. Partially recovered (due to the encouraging presence of Marina Vladi), Vysotsky embarked on a successful Ukrainian concert tour and wrote a cluster of new songs. On 29 November 1971 Taganka's Hamlet premiered, a groundbreaking Lyubimov's production with Vysotsky in the leading role, that of a lone intellectual rebel, rising to fight the cruel state machine.

 

Also in 1971 Vysotsky was invited to play the lead in The Sannikov Land, the screen adaptation of Vladimir Obruchev's science fiction,[47] which he wrote several songs for, but was suddenly dropped for the reason of his face "being too scandalously recognisable" as a state official put it. One of the songs written for the film, a doom-laden epic allegory "Capricious Horses" (Кони привередливые), became one of the singer's signature tunes. Two of Vysotsky's 1972 film roles were somewhat meditative: an anonymous American journalist in The Fourth One and the "righteous guy" von Koren in The Bad Good Man (based on Anton Chekov's Duel). The latter brought Vysotsky the Best Male Role prize at the V Taormina Film Fest. This philosophical slant rubbed off onto some of his new works of the time: "A Singer at the Microphone" (Певец у микрофона), "The Tightrope Walker" (Канатоходец), two new war songs ("We Spin the Earth", "Black Pea-Coats") and "The Grief" (Беда), a folkish girl's lament, later recorded by Marina Vladi and subsequently covered by several female performers. Popular proved to be his 1972 humorous songs: "Mishka Shifman" (Мишка Шифман), satirizing the leaving-for-Israel routine, "Victim of the Television" which ridiculed the concept of "political consciousness," and "The Honour of the Chess Crown" (Честь шахматной короны) about an ever-fearless "simple Soviet man" challenging the much feared American champion Bobby Fischer to a match.

 

In 1972 he stepped up in Soviet Estonian TV where he presented his songs and gave an interview. The name of the show was "Young Man from Taganka" (Noormees Tagankalt).

 

In April 1973 Vysotsky visited Poland and France. Predictable problems concerning the official permission were sorted after the French Communist Party leader Georges Marchais made a personal phone call to Leonid Brezhnev who, according to Marina Vlady's memoirs, rather sympathized with the stellar couple. Having found on return a potentially dangerous lawsuit brought against him (concerning some unsanctioned concerts in Siberia the year before), Vysotsky wrote a defiant letter to the Minister of Culture Pyotr Demichev. As a result, he was granted the status of a philharmonic artist, 11.5 roubles per concert now guaranteed. Still the 900 rubles fine had to be paid according to the court verdict, which was a substantial sum, considering his monthly salary at the theater was 110 rubles. That year Vysotsky wrote some thirty songs for "Alice in Wonderland," an audioplay where he himself has been given several minor roles. His best known songs of 1973 included "The Others' Track" (Чужая колея), "The Flight Interrupted" (Прерванный полёт) and "The Monument", all pondering on his achievements and legacy.

 

In 1974 Melodiya released the 7" EP, featuring four of Vysotsky's war songs ("He Never Returned From the Battle", "The New Times Song", "Common Graves", and "The Earth Song") which represented a tiny portion of his creative work, owned by millions on tape. In September of that year Vysotsky received his first state award, the Honorary Diploma of the Uzbek SSR following a tour with fellow actors from the Taganka Theatre in Uzbekistan. A year later he was granted the USSR Union of Cinematographers' membership. This meant he was not an "anti-Soviet scum" now, rather an unlikely link between the official Soviet cinema elite and the "progressive-thinking artists of the West." More films followed, among them The Only Road (a Soviet-Yugoslav joint venture, premiered on 10 January 1975 in Belgrade) and a science fiction movie The Flight of Mr. McKinley (1975). Out of nine ballads that he wrote for the latter only two have made it into the soundtrack. This was the height of his popularity, when, as described in Vlady's book about her husband, walking down the street on a summer night, one could hear Vysotsky's recognizable voice coming literally from every open window. Among the songs written at the time, were humorous "The Instruction before the Trip Abroad", lyrical "Of the Dead Pilot" and philosophical "The Strange House". In 1975 Vysotsky made his third trip to France where he rather riskily visited his former tutor (and now a celebrated dissident emigre) Andrey Sinyavsky. Artist Mikhail Shemyakin, his new Paris friend (or a "bottle-sharer", in Vladi's terms), recorded Vysotsky in his home studio. After a brief stay in England Vysotsky crossed the ocean and made his first Mexican concerts in April. Back in Moscow, there were changes at Taganka: Lyubimov went to Milan's La Scala on a contract and Anatoly Efros has been brought in, a director of radically different approach. His project, Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard, caused a sensation. Critics praised Alla Demidova (as Ranevskaya) and Vysotsky (as Lopakhin) powerful interplay, some describing it as one of the most dazzling in the history of the Soviet theater. Lyubimov, who disliked the piece, accused Efros of giving his actors "the stardom malaise." The 1976 Taganka's visit to Bulgaria resulted in Vysotskys's interview there being filmed and 15 songs recorded by Balkanton record label. On return Lyubimov made a move which many thought outrageous: declaring himself "unable to work with this Mr. Vysotsky anymore" he gave the role of Hamlet to Valery Zolotukhin, the latter's best friend. That was the time, reportedly, when stressed out Vysotsky started taking amphetamines.

 

Another Belorussian voyage completed, Marina and Vladimir went for France and from there (without any official permission given, or asked for) flew to the North America. In New York Vysotsky met, among other people, Mikhail Baryshnikov and Joseph Brodsky. In a televised one-hour interview with Dan Rather he stressed he was "not a dissident, just an artist, who's never had any intentions to leave his country where people loved him and his songs." At home this unauthorized venture into the Western world bore no repercussions: by this time Soviet authorities were divided as regards the "Vysotsky controversy" up to the highest level; while Mikhail Suslov detested the bard, Brezhnev loved him to such an extent that once, while in hospital, asked him to perform live in his daughter Galina's home, listening to this concert on the telephone. In 1976 appeared "The Domes", "The Rope" and the "Medieval" cycle, including "The Ballad of Love".

 

In September Vysotsky with Taganka made a trip to Yugoslavia where Hamlet won the annual BITEF festival's first prize, and then to Hungary for a two-week concert tour. Back in Moscow Lyubimov's production of The Master & Margarita featured Vysotsky as Ivan Bezdomny; a modest role, somewhat recompensed by an important Svidrigailov slot in Yury Karyakin's take on Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment. Vysotsky's new songs of this period include "The History of Illness" cycle concerning his health problems, humorous "Why Did the Savages Eat Captain Cook", the metaphorical "Ballad of the Truth and the Lie", as well as "Two Fates", the chilling story of a self-absorbed alcoholic hunted by two malevolent witches, his two-faced destiny. In 1977 Vysotsky's health deteriorated (heart, kidneys, liver failures, jaw infection and nervous breakdown) to such an extent that in April he found himself in Moscow clinic's reanimation center in the state of physical and mental collapse.

 

In 1977 Vysotsky made an unlikely appearance in New York City on the American television show 60 Minutes, which falsely stated that Vysotsky had spent time in the Soviet prison system, the Gulag. That year saw the release of three Vysotsky's LPs in France (including the one that had been recorded by RCA in Canada the previous year); arranged and accompanied by guitarist Kostya Kazansky, the singer for the first time ever enjoyed the relatively sophisticated musical background. In August he performed in Hollywood before members of New York City film cast and (according to Vladi) was greeted warmly by the likes of Liza Minnelli and Robert De Niro. Some more concerts in Los Angeles were followed by the appearance at the French Communist paper L’Humanité annual event. In December Taganka left for France, its Hamlet (Vysotsky back in the lead) gaining fine reviews.

 

1978 started with the March–April series of concerts in Moscow and Ukraine. In May Vysotsky embarked upon a new major film project: The Meeting Place Cannot Be Changed (Место встречи изменить нельзя) about two detectives fighting crime in late 1940s Russia, directed by Stanislav Govorukhin. The film (premiered on 11 November 1978 on the Soviet Central TV) presented Vysotsky as Zheglov, a ruthless and charismatic cop teaching his milder partner Sharapov (actor Vladimir Konkin) his art of crime-solving. Vysotsky also became engaged in Taganka's Genre-seeking show (performing some of his own songs) and played Aleksander Blok in Anatoly Efros' The Lady Stranger (Незнакомка) radio play (premiered on air on 10 July 1979 and later released as a double LP).

 

In November 1978 Vysotsky took part in the underground censorship-defying literary project Metropolis, inspired and organized by Vasily Aksenov. In January 1979 Vysotsky again visited America with highly successful series of concerts. That was the point (according to biographer Vladimir Novikov) when a glimpse of new, clean life of a respectable international actor and performer all but made Vysotsky seriously reconsider his priorities. What followed though, was a return to the self-destructive theater and concert tours schedule, personal doctor Anatoly Fedotov now not only his companion, but part of Taganka's crew. "Who was this Anatoly? Just a man who in every possible situation would try to provide drugs. And he did provide. In such moments Volodya trusted him totally," Oksana Afanasyeva, Vysotsky's Moscow girlfriend (who was near him for most of the last year of his life and, on occasion, herself served as a drug courier) remembered. In July 1979, after a series of Central Asia concerts, Vysotsky collapsed, experienced clinical death and was resuscitated by Fedotov (who injected caffeine into the heart directly), colleague and close friend Vsevolod Abdulov helping with heart massage. In January 1980 Vysotsky asked Lyubimov for a year's leave. "Up to you, but on condition that Hamlet is yours," was the answer. The songwriting showed signs of slowing down, as Vysotsky began switching from songs to more conventional poetry. Still, of nearly 800 poems by Vysotsky only one has been published in the Soviet Union while he was alive. Not a single performance or interview was broadcast by the Soviet television in his lifetime.

 

In May 1979, being in a practice studio of the MSU Faculty of Journalism, Vysotsky recorded a video letter to American actor and film producer Warren Beatty, looking for both a personal meeting with Beatty and an opportunity to get a role in Reds film, to be produced and directed by the latter. While recording, Vysotsky made a few attempts to speak English, trying to overcome the language barrier. This video letter never reached Beatty. It was broadcast for the first time more than three decades later, on the night of 24 January 2013 (local time) by Rossiya 1 channel, along with records of TV channels of Italy, Mexico, Poland, USA and from private collections, in Vladimir Vysotsky. A letter to Warren Beatty film by Alexander Kovanovsky and Igor Rakhmanov. While recording this video, Vysotsky had a rare opportunity to perform for a camera, being still unable to do it with Soviet television.

 

On 22 January 1980, Vysotsky entered the Moscow Ostankino TV Center to record his one and only studio concert for the Soviet television. What proved to be an exhausting affair (his concentration lacking, he had to plod through several takes for each song) was premiered on the Soviet TV eight years later. The last six months of his life saw Vysotsky appearing on stage sporadically, fueled by heavy dosages of drugs and alcohol. His performances were often erratic. Occasionally Vysotsky paid visits to Sklifosofsky [ru] institute's ER unit, but would not hear of Marina Vlady's suggestions for him to take long-term rehabilitation course in a Western clinic. Yet he kept writing, mostly poetry and even prose, but songs as well. The last song he performed was the agonizing "My Sorrow, My Anguish" and his final poem, written one week prior to his death was "A Letter to Marina": "I'm less than fifty, but the time is short / By you and God protected, life and limb / I have a song or two to sing before the Lord / I have a way to make my peace with him."

 

Although several theories of the ultimate cause of the singer's death persist to this day, given what is now known about cardiovascular disease, it seems likely that by the time of his death Vysotsky had an advanced coronary condition brought about by years of tobacco, alcohol and drug abuse, as well as his grueling work schedule and the stress of the constant harassment by the government. Towards the end, most of Vysotsky's closest friends had become aware of the ominous signs and were convinced that his demise was only a matter of time. Clear evidence of this can be seen in a video ostensibly shot by the Japanese NHK channel only months before Vysotsky's death, where he appears visibly unwell, breathing heavily and slurring his speech. Accounts by Vysotsky's close friends and colleagues concerning his last hours were compiled in the book by V. Perevozchikov.

 

Vysotsky suffered from alcoholism for most of his life. Sometime around 1977, he started using amphetamines and other prescription narcotics in an attempt to counteract the debilitating hangovers and eventually to rid himself of alcohol addiction. While these attempts were partially successful, he ended up trading alcoholism for a severe drug dependency that was fast spiralling out of control. He was reduced to begging some of his close friends in the medical profession for supplies of drugs, often using his acting skills to collapse in a medical office and imitate a seizure or some other condition requiring a painkiller injection. On 25 July 1979 (a year to the day before his death) he suffered a cardiac arrest and was clinically dead for several minutes during a concert tour of Soviet Uzbekistan, after injecting himself with a wrong kind of painkiller he had previously obtained from a dentist's office.

 

Fully aware of the dangers of his condition, Vysotsky made several attempts to cure himself of his addiction. He underwent an experimental (and ultimately discredited) blood purification procedure offered by a leading drug rehabilitation specialist in Moscow. He also went to an isolated retreat in France with his wife Marina in the spring of 1980 as a way of forcefully depriving himself of any access to drugs. After these attempts failed, Vysotsky returned to Moscow to find his life in an increasingly stressful state of disarray. He had been a defendant in two criminal trials, one for a car wreck he had caused some months earlier, and one for an alleged conspiracy to sell unauthorized concert tickets (he eventually received a suspended sentence and a probation in the first case, and the charges in the second were dismissed, although several of his co-defendants were found guilty). He also unsuccessfully fought the film studio authorities for the rights to direct a movie called The Green Phaeton. Relations with his wife Marina were deteriorating, and he was torn between his loyalty to her and his love for his mistress Oksana Afanasyeva. He had also developed severe inflammation in one of his legs, making his concert performances extremely challenging.

 

In a final desperate attempt to overcome his drug addiction, partially prompted by his inability to obtain drugs through his usual channels (the authorities had imposed a strict monitoring of the medical institutions to prevent illicit drug distribution during the 1980 Olympics), he relapsed into alcohol and went on a prolonged drinking binge (apparently consuming copious amounts of champagne due to a prevalent misconception at the time that it was better than vodka at countering the effects of drug withdrawal).

 

On 3 July 1980, Vysotsky gave a performance at a suburban Moscow concert hall. One of the stage managers recalls that he looked visibly unhealthy ("gray-faced", as she puts it) and complained of not feeling too good, while another says she was surprised by his request for champagne before the start of the show, as he had always been known for completely abstaining from drink before his concerts. On 16 July Vysotsky gave his last public concert in Kaliningrad. On 18 July, Vysotsky played Hamlet for the last time at the Taganka Theatre. From around 21 July, several of his close friends were on a round-the-clock watch at his apartment, carefully monitoring his alcohol intake and hoping against all odds that his drug dependency would soon be overcome and they would then be able to bring him back from the brink. The effects of drug withdrawal were clearly getting the better of him, as he got increasingly restless, moaned and screamed in pain, and at times fell into memory lapses, failing to recognize at first some of his visitors, including his son Arkadiy. At one point, Vysotsky's personal physician A. Fedotov (the same doctor who had brought him back from clinical death a year earlier in Uzbekistan) attempted to sedate him, inadvertently causing asphyxiation from which he was barely saved. On 24 July, Vysotsky told his mother that he thought he was going to die that day, and then made similar remarks to a few of the friends present at the apartment, who begged him to stop such talk and keep his spirits up. But soon thereafter, Oksana Afanasyeva saw him clench his chest several times, which led her to suspect that he was genuinely suffering from a cardiovascular condition. She informed Fedotov of this but was told not to worry, as he was going to monitor Vysotsky's condition all night. In the evening, after drinking relatively small amounts of alcohol, the moaning and groaning Vysotsky was sedated by Fedotov, who then sat down on the couch next to him but fell asleep. Fedotov awoke in the early hours of 25 July to an unusual silence and found Vysotsky dead in his bed with his eyes wide open, apparently of a myocardial infarction, as he later certified. This was contradicted by Fedotov's colleagues, Sklifosovsky Emergency Medical Institute physicians L. Sul'povar and S. Scherbakov (who had demanded the actor's immediate hospitalization on 23 July but were allegedly rebuffed by Fedotov), who insisted that Fedotov's incompetent sedation combined with alcohol was what killed Vysotsky. An autopsy was prevented by Vysotsky's parents (who were eager to have their son's drug addiction remain secret), so the true cause of death remains unknown.

 

No official announcement of the actor's death was made, only a brief obituary appeared in the Moscow newspaper Vechernyaya Moskva, and a note informing of Vysotsky's death and cancellation of the Hamlet performance was put out at the entrance to the Taganka Theatre (the story goes that not a single ticket holder took advantage of the refund offer). Despite this, by the end of the day, millions had learned of Vysotsky's death. On 28 July, he lay in state at the Taganka Theatre. After a mourning ceremony involving an unauthorized mass gathering of unprecedented scale, Vysotsky was buried at the Vagankovskoye Cemetery in Moscow. The attendance at the Olympic events dropped noticeably on that day, as scores of spectators left to attend the funeral. Tens of thousands of people lined the streets to catch a glimpse of his coffin.

 

According to author Valery Perevozchikov part of the blame for his death lay with the group of associates who surrounded him in the last years of his life. This inner circle were all people under the influence of his strong character, combined with a material interest in the large sums of money his concerts earned. This list included Valerii Yankelovich, manager of the Taganka Theatre and prime organiser of his non-sanctioned concerts; Anatoly Fedotov, his personal doctor; Vadim Tumanov, gold prospector (and personal friend) from Siberia; Oksana Afanasyeva (later Yarmolnik), his mistress the last three years of his life; Ivan Bortnik, a fellow actor; and Leonid Sul'povar, a department head at the Sklifosovski hospital who was responsible for much of the supply of drugs.

 

Vysotsky's associates had all put in efforts to supply his drug habit, which kept him going in the last years of his life. Under their influence, he was able to continue to perform all over the country, up to a week before his death. Due to illegal (i.e. non-state-sanctioned) sales of tickets and other underground methods, these concerts pulled in sums of money unimaginable in Soviet times, when almost everyone received nearly the same small salary. The payouts and gathering of money were a constant source of danger, and Yankelovich and others were needed to organise them.

 

Some money went to Vysotsky, the rest was distributed amongst this circle. At first this was a reasonable return on their efforts; however, as his addiction progressed and his body developed resistance, the frequency and amount of drugs needed to keep Vysotsky going became unmanageable. This culminated at the time of the Moscow Olympics which coincided with the last days of his life, when supplies of drugs were monitored more strictly than usual, and some of the doctors involved in supplying Vysotsky were already behind bars (normally the doctors had to account for every ampule, thus drugs were transferred to an empty container, while the patients received a substitute or placebo instead). In the last few days Vysotsky became uncontrollable, his shouting could be heard all over the apartment building on Malaya Gruzinskaya St. where he lived amongst VIP's. Several days before his death, in a state of stupor he went on a high speed drive around Moscow in an attempt to obtain drugs and alcohol – when many high-ranking people saw him. This increased the likelihood of him being forcibly admitted to the hospital, and the consequent danger to the circle supplying his habit. As his state of health declined, and it became obvious that he might die, his associates gathered to decide what to do with him. They came up with no firm decision. They did not want him admitted officially, as his drug addiction would become public and they would fall under suspicion, although some of them admitted that any ordinary person in his condition would have been admitted immediately.

 

On Vysotsky's death his associates and relatives put in much effort to prevent a post-mortem being carried out. This despite the fairly unusual circumstances: he died aged 42 under heavy sedation with an improvised cocktail of sedatives and stimulants, including the toxic chloral hydrate, provided by his personal doctor who had been supplying him with narcotics the previous three years. This doctor, being the only one present at his side when death occurred, had a few days earlier been seen to display elementary negligence in treating the sedated Vysotsky. On the night of his death, Arkadii Vysotsky (his son), who tried to visit his father in his apartment, was rudely refused entry by Yankelovich, even though there was a lack of people able to care for him. Subsequently, the Soviet police commenced a manslaughter investigation which was dropped due to the absence of evidence taken at the time of death.

 

Vysotsky's first wife was Iza Zhukova. They met in 1956, being both MAT theater institute students, lived for some time at Vysotsky's mother's flat in Moscow, after her graduation (Iza was 2 years older) spent months in different cities (her – in Kiev, then Rostov) and finally married on 25 April 1960.

 

He met his second wife Lyudmila Abramova in 1961, while shooting the film 713 Requests Permission to Land. They married in 1965 and had two sons, Arkady (born 1962) and Nikita (born 1964).

 

While still married to Lyudmila Abramova, Vysotsky began a romantic relationship with Tatyana Ivanenko, a Taganka actress, then, in 1967 fell in love with Marina Vlady, a French actress of Russian descent, who was working at Mosfilm on a joint Soviet-French production at that time. Marina had been married before and had three children, while Vladimir had two. They were married in 1969. For 10 years the two maintained a long-distance relationship as Marina compromised her career in France to spend more time in Moscow, and Vladimir's friends pulled strings for him to be allowed to travel abroad to stay with his wife. Marina eventually joined the Communist Party of France, which essentially gave her an unlimited-entry visa into the Soviet Union, and provided Vladimir with some immunity against prosecution by the government, which was becoming weary of his covertly anti-Soviet lyrics and his odds-defying popularity with the masses. The problems of his long-distance relationship with Vlady inspired several of Vysotsky's songs.

 

In the autumn of 1981 Vysotsky's first collection of poetry was officially published in the USSR, called The Nerve (Нерв). Its first edition (25,000 copies) was sold out instantly. In 1982 the second one followed (100,000), then the 3rd (1988, 200,000), followed in the 1990s by several more. The material for it was compiled by Robert Rozhdestvensky, an officially laurelled Soviet poet. Also in 1981 Yuri Lyubimov staged at Taganka a new music and poetry production called Vladimir Vysotsky which was promptly banned and officially premiered on 25 January 1989.

 

In 1982 the motion picture The Ballad of the Valiant Knight Ivanhoe was produced in the Soviet Union and in 1983 the movie was released to the public. Four songs by Vysotsky were featured in the film.

 

In 1986 the official Vysotsky poetic heritage committee was formed (with Robert Rozhdestvensky at the helm, theater critic Natalya Krymova being both the instigator and the organizer). Despite some opposition from the conservatives (Yegor Ligachev was the latter's political leader, Stanislav Kunyaev of Nash Sovremennik represented its literary flank) Vysotsky was rewarded posthumously with the USSR State Prize. The official formula – "for creating the character of Zheglov and artistic achievements as a singer-songwriter" was much derided from both the left and the right. In 1988 the Selected Works of... (edited by N. Krymova) compilation was published, preceded by I Will Surely Return... (Я, конечно, вернусь...) book of fellow actors' memoirs and Vysotsky's verses, some published for the first time. In 1990 two volumes of extensive The Works of... were published, financed by the late poet's father Semyon Vysotsky. Even more ambitious publication series, self-proclaimed "the first ever academical edition" (the latter assertion being dismissed by sceptics) compiled and edited by Sergey Zhiltsov, were published in Tula (1994–1998, 5 volumes), Germany (1994, 7 volumes) and Moscow (1997, 4 volumes).

 

In 1989 the official Vysotsky Museum opened in Moscow, with the magazine of its own called Vagant (edited by Sergey Zaitsev) devoted entirely to Vysotsky's legacy. In 1996 it became an independent publication and was closed in 2002.

 

In the years to come, Vysotsky's grave became a site of pilgrimage for several generations of his fans, the youngest of whom were born after his death. His tombstone also became the subject of controversy, as his widow had wished for a simple abstract slab, while his parents insisted on a realistic gilded statue. Although probably too solemn to have inspired Vysotsky himself, the statue is believed by some to be full of metaphors and symbols reminiscent of the singer's life.

 

In 1995 in Moscow the Vysotsky monument was officially opened at Strastnoy Boulevard, by the Petrovsky Gates. Among those present were the bard's parents, two of his sons, first wife Iza, renown poets Yevtushenko and Voznesensky. "Vysotsky had always been telling the truth. Only once he was wrong when he sang in one of his songs: 'They will never erect me a monument in a square like that by Petrovskye Vorota'", Mayor of Moscow Yuri Luzhkov said in his speech.[95] A further monument to Vysotsky was erected in 2014 at Rostov-on-Don.

 

In October 2004, a monument to Vysotsky was erected in the Montenegrin capital of Podgorica, near the Millennium Bridge. His son, Nikita Vysotsky, attended the unveiling. The statue was designed by Russian sculptor Alexander Taratinov, who also designed a monument to Alexander Pushkin in Podgorica. The bronze statue shows Vysotsky standing on a pedestal, with his one hand raised and the other holding a guitar. Next to the figure lies a bronze skull – a reference to Vysotsky's monumental lead performances in Shakespeare's Hamlet. On the pedestal the last lines from a poem of Vysotsky's, dedicated to Montenegro, are carved.

 

The Vysotsky business center & semi-skyscraper was officially opened in Yekaterinburg, in 2011. It is the tallest building in Russia outside of Moscow, has 54 floors, total height: 188.3 m (618 ft). On the third floor of the business center is the Vysotsky Museum. Behind the building is a bronze sculpture of Vladimir Vysotsky and his third wife, a French actress Marina Vlady.

 

In 2011 a controversial movie Vysotsky. Thank You For Being Alive was released, script written by his son, Nikita Vysotsky. The actor Sergey Bezrukov portrayed Vysotsky, using a combination of a mask and CGI effects. The film tells about Vysotsky's illegal underground performances, problems with KGB and drugs, and subsequent clinical death in 1979.

 

Shortly after Vysotsky's death, many Russian bards started writing songs and poems about his life and death. The best known are Yuri Vizbor's "Letter to Vysotsky" (1982) and Bulat Okudzhava's "About Volodya Vysotsky" (1980). In Poland, Jacek Kaczmarski based some of his songs on those of Vysotsky, such as his first song (1977) was based on "The Wolfhunt", and dedicated to his memory the song "Epitafium dla Włodzimierza Wysockiego" ("Epitaph for Vladimir Vysotsky").

 

Every year on Vysotsky's birthday festivals are held throughout Russia and in many communities throughout the world, especially in Europe. Vysotsky's impact in Russia is often compared to that of Wolf Biermann in Germany, Bob Dylan in America, or Georges Brassens and Jacques Brel in France.

 

The asteroid 2374 Vladvysotskij, discovered by Lyudmila Zhuravleva, was named after Vysotsky.

 

During the Annual Q&A Event Direct Line with Vladimir Putin, Alexey Venediktov asked Putin to name a street in Moscow after the singer Vladimir Vysotsky, who, though considered one of the greatest Russian artists, has no street named after him in Moscow almost 30 years after his death. Venediktov stated a Russian law that allowed the President to do so and promote a law suggestion to name a street by decree. Putin answered that he would talk to Mayor of Moscow and would solve this problem. In July 2015 former Upper and Lower Tagansky Dead-ends (Верхний и Нижний Таганские тупики) in Moscow were reorganized into Vladimir Vysotsky Street.

 

The Sata Kieli Cultural Association, [Finland], organizes the annual International Vladimir Vysotsky Festival (Vysotski Fest), where Vysotsky's singers from different countries perform in Helsinki and other Finnish cities. They sing Vysotsky in different languages and in different arrangements.

 

Two brothers and singers from Finland, Mika and Turkka Mali, over the course of their more than 30-year musical career, have translated into Finnish, recorded and on numerous occasions publicly performed songs of Vladimir Vysotsky.

 

Throughout his lengthy musical career, Jaromír Nohavica, a famed Czech singer, translated and performed numerous songs of Vladimir Vysotsky, most notably Песня о друге (Píseň o příteli – Song about a friend).

 

The Museum of Vladimir Vysotsky in Koszalin dedicated to Vladimir Vysotsky was founded by Marlena Zimna (1969–2016) in May 1994, in her apartment, in the city of Koszalin, in Poland. Since then the museum has collected over 19,500 exhibits from different countries and currently holds Vladimir Vysotsky' personal items, autographs, drawings, letters, photographs and a large library containing unique film footage, vinyl records, CDs and DVDs. A special place in the collection holds a Vladimir Vysotsky's guitar, on which he played at a concert in Casablanca in April 1976. Vladimir Vysotsky presented this guitar to Moroccan journalist Hassan El-Sayed together with an autograph (an extract from Vladimir Vysotsky's song "What Happened in Africa"), written in Russian right on the guitar.

 

In January 2023, a monument to the outstanding actor, singer and poet Vladimir Vysotsky was unveiled in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, in the square near the Rodina House of Culture. Author Vladimir Chebotarev.

 

After her husband's death, urged by her friend Simone Signoret, Marina Vlady wrote a book called The Aborted Flight about her years together with Vysotsky. The book paid tribute to Vladimir's talent and rich persona, yet was uncompromising in its depiction of his addictions and the problems that they caused in their marriage. Written in French (and published in France in 1987), it was translated into Russian in tandem by Vlady and a professional translator and came out in 1989 in the USSR. Totally credible from the specialists' point of view, the book caused controversy, among other things, by shocking revelations about the difficult father-and-son relationship (or rather, the lack of any), implying that Vysotsky-senior (while his son was alive) was deeply ashamed of him and his songs which he deemed "anti-Soviet" and reported his own son to the KGB. Also in 1989 another important book of memoirs was published in the USSR, providing a bulk of priceless material for the host of future biographers, Alla Demidova's Vladimir Vysotsky, the One I Know and Love. Among other publications of note were Valery Zolotukhin's Vysotsky's Secret (2000), a series of Valery Perevozchikov's books (His Dying Hour, The Unknown Vysotsky and others) containing detailed accounts and interviews dealing with the bard's life's major controversies (the mystery surrounding his death, the truth behind Vysotsky Sr.'s alleged KGB reports, the true nature of Vladimir Vysotsky's relations with his mother Nina's second husband Georgy Bartosh etc.), Iza Zhukova's Short Happiness for a Lifetime and the late bard's sister-in-law Irena Vysotskaya's My Brother Vysotsky. The Beginnings (both 2005).

 

A group of enthusiasts has created a non-profit project – the mobile application "Vysotsky"

 

The multifaceted talent of Vysotsky is often described by the term "bard" (бард) that Vysotsky has never been enthusiastic about. He thought of himself mainly as an actor and poet rather than a singer, and once remarked, "I do not belong to what people call bards or minstrels or whatever." With the advent of portable tape-recorders in the Soviet Union, Vysotsky's music became available to the masses in the form of home-made reel-to-reel audio tape recordings (later on cassette tapes).

 

Vysotsky accompanied himself on a Russian seven-string guitar, with a raspy voice singing ballads of love, peace, war, everyday Soviet life and of the human condition. He was largely perceived as the voice of honesty, at times sarcastically jabbing at the Soviet government, which made him a target for surveillance and threats. In France, he has been compared with Georges Brassens; in Russia, however, he was more frequently compared with Joe Dassin, partly because they were the same age and died in the same year, although their ideologies, biographies, and musical styles are very different. Vysotsky's lyrics and style greatly influenced Jacek Kaczmarski, a Polish songwriter and singer who touched on similar themes.

 

The songs – over 600 of them – were written about almost any imaginable theme. The earliest were blatnaya pesnya ("outlaw songs"). These songs were based either on the life of the common people in Moscow or on life in the crime people, sometimes in Gulag. Vysotsky slowly grew out of this phase and started singing more serious, though often satirical, songs. Many of these songs were about war. These war songs were not written to glorify war, but rather to expose the listener to the emotions of those in extreme, life-threatening situations. Most Soviet veterans would say that Vysotsky's war songs described the truth of war far more accurately than more official "patriotic" songs.

 

Nearly all of Vysotsky's songs are in the first person, although he is almost never the narrator. When singing his criminal songs, he would adopt the accent and intonation of a Moscow thief, and when singing war songs, he would sing from the point of view of a soldier. In many of his philosophical songs, he adopted the role of inanimate objects. This created some confusion about Vysotsky's background, especially during the early years when information could not be passed around very easily. Using his acting talent, the poet played his role so well that until told otherwise, many of his fans believed that he was, indeed, a criminal or war veteran. Vysotsky's father said that "War veterans thought the author of the songs to be one of them, as if he had participated in the war together with them." The same could be said about mountain climbers; on multiple occasions, Vysotsky was sent pictures of mountain climbers' graves with quotes from his lyrics etched on the tombstones.

 

Not being officially recognized as a poet and singer, Vysotsky performed wherever and whenever he could – in the theater (where he worked), at universities, in private apartments, village clubs, and in the open air. It was not unusual for him to give several concerts in one day. He used to sleep little, using the night hours to write. With few exceptions, he wasn't allowed to publish his recordings with "Melodiya", which held a monopoly on the Soviet music industry. His songs were passed on through amateur, fairly low quality recordings on vinyl discs and magnetic tape, resulting in his immense popularity. Cosmonauts even took his music on cassette into orbit.

 

Musically, virtually all of Vysotsky's songs were written in a minor key, and tended to employ from three to seven chords. Vysotsky composed his songs and played them exclusively on the Russian seven string guitar, often tuned a tone or a tone-and-a-half below the traditional Russian "Open G major" tuning. This guitar, with its specific Russian tuning, makes a slight yet notable difference in chord voicings than the standard tuned six string Spanish (classical) guitar, and it became a staple of his sound. Because Vysotsky tuned down a tone and a half, his strings had less tension, which also colored the sound.

 

His earliest songs were usually written in C minor (with the guitar tuned a tone down from DGBDGBD to CFACFAC)

 

Songs written in this key include "Stars" (Zvyozdy), "My friend left for Magadan" (Moy drug uyekhal v Magadan), and most of his "outlaw songs".

 

At around 1970, Vysotsky began writing and playing exclusively in A minor (guitar tuned to CFACFAC), which he continued doing until his death.

 

Vysotsky used his fingers instead of a pick to pluck and strum, as was the tradition with Russian guitar playing. He used a variety of finger picking and strumming techniques. One of his favorite was to play an alternating bass with his thumb as he plucked or strummed with his other fingers.

 

Often, Vysotsky would neglect to check the tuning of his guitar, which is particularly noticeable on earlier recordings. According to some accounts, Vysotsky would get upset when friends would attempt to tune his guitar, leading some to believe that he preferred to play slightly out of tune as a stylistic choice. Much of this is also attributable to the fact that a guitar that is tuned down more than 1 whole step (Vysotsky would sometimes tune as much as 2 and a half steps down) is prone to intonation problems.

 

Vysotsky had a unique singing style. He had an unusual habit of elongating consonants instead of vowels in his songs. So when a syllable is sung for a prolonged period of time, he would elongate the consonant instead of the vowel in that syllable.

 

The Vladimir Semyonovich Vysotsky Statue is a prominent monument located in Voronezh, Russian Federation, dedicated to the legendary Russian singer-songwriter, actor, and poet Vladimir Semyonovich Vysotsky. This statue stands as a tribute to Vysotsky's immense contributions to Russian culture and his enduring legacy.

 

Vladimir Vysotsky was born on January 25, 1938, in Moscow, Russia. He quickly gained recognition for his unique artistic style, characterized by his powerful voice, poetic lyrics, and charismatic stage presence. Vysotsky's songs captured the essence of the Soviet era, addressing social issues, human emotions, and political satire. His music resonated deeply with the masses, and he became an iconic figure in Russian popular culture.

 

The idea of erecting a statue in Voronezh to honor Vladimir Vysotsky was conceived to commemorate his connection to the city. Vysotsky had a special relationship with Voronezh, as he spent a significant portion of his early career performing in local theaters and interacting with the local artistic community. The statue serves as a reminder of this bond and celebrates his artistic contributions.

 

The Vysotsky Statue was unveiled on November 18, 2009, in front of the Voronezh Academic Drama Theater, where Vysotsky performed numerous times. The monument was created by renowned Russian sculptor Grigory Pototsky. Standing at approximately 5 meters tall, the bronze statue captures Vysotsky in a dynamic pose, holding a guitar and singing passionately.

 

The sculpture depicts Vysotsky in mid-performance, capturing his energy and intensity on stage. The attention to detail in the statue is remarkable, with intricate facial features, flowing hair, and realistic clothing. The sculptor aimed to convey Vysotsky's passion and charisma through the artwork, and the statue successfully embodies these qualities.

 

The location of the statue, in front of the Voronezh Academic Drama Theater, is significant. It symbolizes Vysotsky's strong ties to the theater and his impact on the performing arts. The statue serves as a meeting point for admirers of Vysotsky's work, attracting locals and tourists alike. It has become an iconic landmark in Voronezh, attracting visitors who come to pay their respects and celebrate Vysotsky's artistic legacy.

 

The statue's unveiling was accompanied by a grand ceremony, attended by government officials, artists, and Vysotsky's fans. The event highlighted the significance of Vysotsky's artistic contributions and celebrated his enduring influen