Ronald Alan Swoboda (born June 30, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player and television sports color commentator. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder from  through , most notably as a member of the New York Mets team that became known as the Miracle Mets when they rose from being perennial losers to defeat the favored Baltimore Orioles in the 1969 World Series for one of the most improbable upsets in World Series history. Swoboda performed one of the most impressive defensive plays of the series in the ninth inning of Game 4 to help preserve a Mets victory. He also played for the Montreal Expos and the New York Yankees.

Major league debut

Swoboda was born in Baltimore, Maryland where he graduated from Sparrows Point High School. He then played for one season at the University of Maryland, and after an impressive showing in the AAABA tournament in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Swoboda was offered a $35,000 contract to sign with the New York Mets and scout Pete Gebrian on September 5, .

Swoboda spent only one season in the Mets' farm system in AA with the Williamsport Mets before making the Major League team in spring training, . At the age of 20 he made his major league debut as a pinch hitter in the season opener, and lined out in his only at-bat. He pinch hit, again, in the second game of the season, this time hitting an 11th-inning home run (the Mets still lost, as the Houston Astros had scored four runs in the top of the inning). He homered again in his first at-bat on April 18, giving him two home runs in his first four Major League at-bats.

Swoboda hit 15 home runs by the All-Star break, the most ever by a Mets rookie in the first half of a season until Pete Alonso broke his record with 25 home runs in 2019.  He commented during a television interview that he loved hitting fastballs; then he began seeing a lot more breaking balls and hit only four more home runs in the season. Still, his 19 home runs stood as a Mets rookie record until Darryl Strawberry's 26 in . His rookie fielding percentage was a below-league-average .947, however, he had nine outfield assists. For his efforts, he was selected to the 1965 Topps All-Star Rookie Team. His 1966 Topps baseball card was imprinted with a gold trophy symbol. In the 1966 movie Penelope, Natalie Wood, as the title character, opens a pack of 1966 Topps baseball cards, sees Swoboda's rookie card, and asks police lieutenant Horatio Bixbee (Peter Falk) "Who's Ron Swoboda?"

1966 to 1968
Swoboda wore number 14 as a rookie in 1965. When the Mets acquired third baseman Ken Boyer from the St. Louis Cardinals prior to the start of the  season, they granted him number 14, as he'd worn it in St. Louis. Swoboda wore number 17 briefly during spring training in 1966, then switched to number 4. His home run drought continued through the 1966 season, when he hit only eight home runs and batted .222, with 50 runs batted in.

During his early years with the Mets, Swoboda acquired the nickname "Rocky" as a result of his less-than-reliable fielding. Although he possessed a strong, accurate throwing arm, a fly ball hit in his direction was by no means a sure out. After having spent most of his time in left field his first two seasons, Swoboda was shifted to first base in  to make room for newly acquired Tommy Davis in left. Swoboda's fielding at first was no better, and he was soon shifted to right field. Offensively, he had perhaps his best season, hitting .281 with 13 home runs and 53 RBIs. He led the Mets with six triples and a career-high 59 RBIs in , and also had a career-high 14 outfield assists.

Miracle Mets
By May 21, , the Mets won their third game in a row for a .500 winning percentage 36 games into the season for the first time in franchise history. This was followed by a five-game losing streak that saw the team fall into fourth place in the newly aligned National League East.

The Mets then went on an eleven-game winning streak that brought them back into second place, seven games behind the Chicago Cubs. On September 10 the Mets swept a doubleheader against the Montreal Expos. Coupled with a loss by the Cubs, the Mets found themselves in first place for the first time in franchise history. On September 13, Swoboda hit a grand slam against the Pittsburgh Pirates to propel the Mets to a 5–2 victory. Two days later, as the St. Louis Cardinals' Steve Carlton struck out a record nineteen Mets batters in a losing effort, the Mets defeated the Cards 4–3 at Busch Memorial Stadium on a pair of two-run home runs by Swoboda. On September 24, facing Carlton and the Cardinals again, this time at Shea Stadium, the Mets clinched the NL East as Donn Clendenon hit two home runs in a 6–0 Mets victory. The Mets won 38 of their last 50 games, and finished the season with 100 wins against 62 losses, eight games ahead of the second-place Cubs.

1969 World Series
Swoboda did not appear in the Mets' 1969 National League Championship Series three-game sweep of the Atlanta Braves to reach the World Series. The Mets were heavy underdogs heading into the 1969 World Series against the Baltimore Orioles. In Game 4, Swoboda, not known for his fielding, made a spectacular catch of a ball hit by Brooks Robinson in the ninth inning to stop an Orioles rally. The Mets won the game 2–1 in ten innings, and subsequently, the World Series. For the World Series, Swoboda batted .400. His only RBI was the game winner of the fifth and final game.

A photograph of Swoboda, stretched almost horizontally, just inches off the ground, became an iconic image for Mets fans. The Right Field entrance gate of Citi Field, the current home of the Mets, features a metal silhouette of a baseball player making a diving catch similar to the one Swoboda made during the 1969 Series.

Trades
In March 1971, Swoboda and minor-leaguer Rich Hacker were traded to the Montreal Expos in exchange for young outfielder Don Hahn. Three months later, the Expos traded Swoboda to the New York Yankees in exchange for outfielder Ron Woods. Swoboda played in his final major league game on September 30, 1973, at the age of 29 and was released by the Yankees at the end of the 1973 season. He was signed by the Atlanta Braves during spring training of . The Braves, however, released him on March 25, 1974, after which Swoboda retired from baseball. He attempted an unsuccessful comeback with the Mets during spring training in .

Post retirement

After his retirement from baseball, Swoboda worked as a television sportscaster in New York City on WCBS-TV, on WISN-TV in Milwaukee, and  for many years at WVUE in New Orleans. He also worked at Cox Sports Television. Swoboda is currently the color commentator for telecasts of games played by the New Orleans Baby Cakes, the AAA farm club of the Miami Marlins. He was also a recipient of the Thurman Munson Award in February .

He appeared as himself in a  episode of Everybody Loves Raymond along with several other members of the 1969 Mets. Swoboda was referenced by Homer Simpson in the episode MoneyBart.

Swoboda is mostly remembered for his dramatic defensive gem during the 1969 World Series. In a guest column for the New York Daily News, Swoboda wrote, "I'm kidded, occasionally, by folks who wonder: 'How long are you going to keep living off of one catch?' My answer: 'How long have I got left?'"

On June 11, 2019, Swoboda released his memoir entitled Here's the Catch: A Memoir of the Miracle Mets and More (Thomas Dunne Books).

Swoboda met his wife, Cecilia, at the University of Maryland. They were married on October 9, 1965, and had two sons, Ron, Jr. (September 13, 1966 – January 27, 2020) and Brian Christopher.

References

External links
, or The Baseball Biography Project, or the Baseball Almanac, or Ultimate Mets Database

1944 births
Living people
American expatriate baseball players in Canada
Baseball players from Baltimore
Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players
Florida Instructional League Mets players
Major League Baseball left fielders
Major League Baseball right fielders
Maryland Terrapins baseball players
Montreal Expos players
New York Mets players
New York Yankees players
Baseball players from New Orleans
Syracuse Chiefs players
Williamsport Mets players

Ron Swoboda


The Afghanistan national cricket ඇෆ්ගනිස්ථාන ජාතික ක්‍රිකට් කණ්ඩායම (පැෂ්ටෝ: د افغانستان د کريکټ ملي لوبډله) ජාත්‍යන්තර ක්‍රිකට් සහ 12 වැනි ටෙස්ට් ක්‍රිකට් ක්‍රීඩා කරන පූර්ණ සාමාජික රට නියෝජනය කරයි. 19 වැනි සියවසේ මැද භාගයේ සිට ඇෆ්ගනිස්ථානයේ ක්‍රිකට් ක්‍රීඩා කළ නමුත් ජාතික කණ්ඩායම සාර්ථක වූයේ මෑත වසරවලදී පමණි. ඇෆ්ගනිස්තාන ක්‍රිකට් මණ්ඩලය 1995 දී පිහිටුවන ලද අතර 2001[1] ජාත්‍යන්තර ක්‍රිකට් කවුන්සිලයේ (ICC) අනුබද්ධ සාමාජිකයෙකු වූ අතර 2003 දී ආසියානු ක්‍රිකට් කවුන්සිලයේ (ACC) සාමාජිකයෙකු බවට පත්විය. ඇෆ්ඝනිස්ථානයteam () represents the country of Afghanistan in international cricket and the 12th Test cricket playing Full Member nation. Cricket has been played in Afghanistan since the mid 19th century, but it is only in recent years that the national team has become successful. The Afghanistan Cricket Board was formed in 1995 and became an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2001 and a member of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) in 2003.

They are ranked 9th in International Twenty20 cricket as of 7 January 2017 ahead of full members Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. In the same year they won their first Intercontinental Cup, beating Scotland in the final. Afghanistan also won the Asia Vs Caribbean T20 Championship and beat Trindad and Tobago, Bangladesh and Barbados.

After nearly a decade of playing top class international cricket, on 22 June 2017, in an ICC meeting in London, full ICC membership (Test status) was granted to Afghanistan (concurrently with Ireland), taking the number of Test cricket playing nations to twelve.

ඉතිහාසය
The earliest record of cricket in Afghanistan is of British troops playing a match in Kabul in 1839, though it appears that no long lasting legacy of cricket was left by the British. In the 1990s, cricket became popular amongst the Afghan refugees residing in Pakistan, and the Afghanistan Cricket Board was formed there in 1995. They continued to play cricket on their return to their home country. Like all sports, cricket was originally banned by the Taliban, but cricket became an exception in 2000 (being the only sport in Afghanistan to be approved by the Taliban) and the Afghanistan Cricket Federation was elected as an affiliate member of the ICC the following year.

The national team was invited to play in the second tier of Pakistani domestic cricket the same year, and the tour brought international media attention to Afghan cricket when the US-led invasion of the country began whilst the team was in Pakistan. The team lost three and drew two of the five matches on the tour.

They played in two Pakistani tournaments in 2003, winning their first match that year. They began playing in Asian regional tournaments in 2004, finishing sixth in their first ACC Trophy. More success began in 2006 when they were runners-up to Bahrain in the Middle East Cup and beat an MCC side featuring former England captain Mike Gatting by 171 runs in Mumbai. Gatting was dismissed for a duck.

They toured England in the summer of 2006, winning six out of seven matches. Three of their wins came against the second XIs of Essex, Glamorgan and Leicestershire. They finished third in the ACC Trophy that year, beating Nepal in a play-off match.

They won their first tournament in 2007, sharing the ACC Twenty20 Cup with Oman after the two tied in the final. They began their qualifying campaign for the 2011 World Cup in Jersey in 2008, winning Division Five of the World Cricket League. They finished third in the ACC Trophy Elite tournament the same year, and won a second consecutive WCL tournament, Division Four in Tanzania later in the year.

In January 2009, Afghanistan progressed to the 2009 World Cup Qualifier by winning Division Three of the World Cricket League in Buenos Aires, topping the table on net run rate ahead of Uganda and Papua New Guinea.

In the 2011 Cricket World Cup qualifying tournament, Afghanistan failed to progress to the World Cup, but earned ODI status for four years. Their first ODI was against Scotland in the 5th place playoff, having previously beaten the Scots earlier in the tournament; Afghanistan won by 89 runs.

In the Intercontinental Cup Afghanistan played its first first-class match against a Zimbabwe XI in a four-day match in Mutare. During the match, which was drawn, Afghan batsman Noor Ali scored centuries in both his innings, making him only the fourth player to do so on their first-class debut. Later, in August 2009, they played the Netherlands in same competition at the VRA Cricket Ground, winning a low-scoring match by one wicket.

Afghanistan then took part in the 2009 ACC Twenty20 Cup in the United Arab Emirates. Afghanistan were drawn in Group A, a group which Afghanistan topped at the end of the group stages by winning all five of their matches. In the semi-finals the Afghans defeated Kuwait by 8 wickets. In the final they met the hosts, the United Arab Emirates, whom they defeated by 84 runs.

On 1 February 2010, Afghanistan played their first Twenty20 International against Ireland, which they lost by 5 wickets. On 13 February 2010, Afghanistan first defeated the United Arab Emirates by 4 wickets to make their way to the 2010 ICC World Twenty20 to be in the West Indies in April 2010. Later the same day they defeated Ireland by 8 wickets in the Final of 2010 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier and won the qualifier. Afghanistan were in Group C of the main tournament, with India and South Africa. During their first match against India, opening batsman Noor Ali hit 50 runs, helping Afghanistan to a score of 115 in their 20 overs.  Despite this they lost the match by 8 wickets. In their second match, the team were reduced to 14/6 at one stage, before a late rally from Mirwais Ashraf and Hamid Hassan helped Afghanistan post 88 all out, resulting in a loss by 59 runs.

The teams Intercontinental Cup campaign continued in 2010, with wins over Ireland, Canada, Scotland and Kenya before they beat Scotland by 7 wickets in the final in Dubai. Also in 2010, they won the ACC Trophy Elite tournament in Kuwait, beating Nepal in the final and finished third in Division One of the World Cricket League in the Netherlands. They took part in the cricket tournament at the 2010 Asian Games in China and won the silver medal, losing to Bangladesh in the final.

In 2011, Afghanistan begun playing in the 2011-13 ICC Intercontinental Cup. They beat Canada and drew with the UAE. In the parallel one-day league, they  won two matches against Canada and lost twice to the UAE.
In March, 2013, they played two T20 Internationals against Scotland in UAE and prevailed in both matches. They also won two ODIs in World Cricket League Championship against the same opponents. Afghanistan drew level with Scotland in second in the WCL Championship table after the two convincing wins that boosted their hopes of securing automatic qualification for the 2015 World Cup.

Ireland won the WCL Championship with 24 points, and Afghanistan came second with 19 points was qualified for World Cup. Holland, in fourth, face Namibia next month, while fifth-placed UAE host Ireland later in March. There will be a further two rounds of games, with the top two teams guaranteed a spot at the next World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

Afghanistan also inflicted a crushing defeat on Scotland in their ICC Intercontinental Cup match. Afghanistan 275 (Shah 67*, Davey 4–53) beat Scotland 125 (Taylor 48*, Dawlatzai 6–57) and 145 (Coetzer 57, Dawlatzai 5–37) by an innings and 5 runs. Izatullah Dawlatzai took eleven wickets in the match as Afghanistan defeated Scotland by an innings and five runs in Abu Dhabi.

In December 2011, Afghanistan took part in the ACC Twenty20 Cup in Nepal, where they were drawn in the same group as Hong Kong, Oman, Kuwait and the Maldives.

The event was a qualifier for the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier, but Afghanistan have already qualified for the event in the United Arab Emirates. Further matches in the 2011–13 Intercontinental Cup and the associated one-day league will be played in 2012 against the Netherlands and Ireland and in 2013 against Scotland, Namibia and Kenya.

Afghanistan played its first One Day International against a Full Member of the International Cricket Council in February 2012 when they  played a single match against Pakistan at Sharjah. Afghanistan also took on Australia Cricket Team for only ODI at Sharjah in August 2012.

In July 2014 Afghanistan toured Zimbabwe to play its 1st full series against a full member. The 4 match ODI series finished 2–2 and the 2 match first class series finished 1–1.

With their victory over Zimbabwe on 25 December 2015, Afghanistan entered the top 10 of the ICC's ODI rankings for the first time.

Afghanistan got its associate membership of the ICC on 27 of June 2013. The decision was taken on the ICC's annual meeting on 26 of June 2013 in London, England and was attended by ACB CEO Dr Noor Muhammad Murrad. The nomination request had been sent by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) last year based on the continuous progress made by  former ACB CEO Dr Hamid sheenwari, especially in its cricket development.

"Afghanistan is the only country that receives the Associate membership in a short period of time in reward to the efforts Afghanistan made for the promotion of cricket," Dr Noor Muhammad, CEO of the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB), said on the ACC website.

Becoming an Associate would mean higher funding and, importantly, more exposure for the passionate and cricket-starved players from Afghanistan, a war-torn country. So far, the ICC was paying $700,000 in annual funding to Afghanistan, which is now likely to rise to $850,000 based on the Associate status.

In March 2013, Afghanistan received a boost after a two-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for the development of Afghanistan cricket ahead of the 2015 World Cup.

The PCB will provide technical and professional support, including game-education programmes, coaching courses, skill and performance analysis, and basic umpiring and curator courses. High performance camps for emerging players will also be organised. The PCB-regulated National Cricket Academy (NCA) will help in improving technical, tactical, mental and physical skills, and will host lectures on doping, anti-corruption and various codes of conduct. The finance for the project will be decided later, with the NCA-related activities likely to be subsidised.

In April 2013, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) was allocated US$422,000 (22,400,000 AFN approx.) from the ICC's targeted assistance and performance programme. The world governing body of cricket approved the grant at its IDI (ICC Development International) board meeting, which concluded in Dubai.

ACB chief executive officer, Noor Mohammad Murad, said the board had requested a total of $1 million in assistance. "The ICC approved $422,000 for now. They will send a delegation to visit the ACB in two or three weeks, and will decide [from there] whether or not to approve the rest of the money," Murad told AFP.

The money, to be given over three years, is aimed at developing more competitive teams among ICC Full, Associate and Affiliate members. Previously, countries such as the Netherlands, Scotland, West Indies, Zimbabwe and Ireland have received assistance through a similar programme. According to an ICC statement, the funding for the ACB is for the development of the National Cricket Academy in Kabul.

Afghanistan became an Affiliate member of the ICC in 2001. In 2009 it attained one-day status till 2015. Over the last two years, the ACB has undergone organisational restructuring in a bid to provide better leadership and find qualified staff to run cricket administration in the war-torn country. They are currently developing their domestic cricket infrastructure, and have signed a two-year deal with the Pakistan board for the development of Afghanistan cricket ahead of the 2015 World Cup.

Last year, the Asian Cricket Council decided to nominate Afghanistan for Associate membership with the ICC, with the request being looked into at the ICC's annual conference in June. At present the ICC provides about $700,000 a year in funding. Based on current distributions, that will rise to $850,000 once Associate status is assured.

මුලාශ්‍ර

ඇෆ්ඝනිස්තාන ජාතික ක්‍රිකට් කණ්ඩායම


Bantry Bay is an affluent suburb of Cape Town in the Western Cape Province, South Africa, situated on the slopes of Lion's Head and overlooking a rocky coastline. Its neighboring suburbs are Sea Point and Clifton. It was originally called Botany Bay after a botanical garden that was planted here for the cultivation of medicinal herbs.  The name was changed during the First World War.

It is overlooked by Lion's Head, which is an eroded outlier of sandstone. There is a plaque on the seashore that commemorates a visit by Charles Darwin, who made important geological observations here relating to the nature and origin of granite.

Bantry Bay is known to be the most wind-free area in Cape Town. Secluded & protected, this area gets about 290 wind free days per year - a significant fact given Cape Town's windy climate.

References

Suburbs of Cape Town

Bantry Bay, Cape Town


Malaita is the primary island of Malaita Province in Solomon Islands. Malaita is the most populous island of the Solomon Islands, with a population of 161,832 as of 2021, or more than a third of the entire national population. It is also the second largest island in the country by area, after Guadalcanal.

The largest city and provincial capital is Auki, on the northwest coast and is on the northern shore of the Langa Langa Lagoon. The people of the Langa Langa Lagoon and the Lau Lagoon on the northeast coast of Malaita call themselves wane i asi 'salt-water people' as distinct from wane i tolo 'bush people' who live in the interior of the island.

South Malaita Island, also known as Small Malaita and Maramasike for Areare speakers and Malamweimwei known to more than 80% of the islanders, is the  island at the southern tip of the larger island of Malaita.

Name
Most local names for the island are Mala, or its dialect variants Mara or Mwala. The name Malaita or Malayta appears in the logbook of the Spanish explorers who in the 16th century visited the islands, and claimed that to be the actual name. They first saw the island from Santa Isabel, where it is called Mala. One theory is that "ita" was added on, as the Bughotu word for up or east, or in this context "there." Bishop George Augustus Selwyn referred to it as Malanta in 1850. Mala was the name used under British control; now Malaita is used for official purposes. The name Big Malaita is also used to distinguish it from the smaller South Malaita Island.

History

Early settlement and European discovery
Malaita was, along with the other Solomon Islands, settled by Austronesian speakers between 5000 and 3500 years ago; the earlier Papuan speakers are thought to have only reached the western Solomon Islands. However, Malaita has not been archaeologically examined, and a chronology of its prehistory is difficult to establish. In the traditional account of the Kwara'ae, their founding ancestor arrived about twenty generations ago, landed first on Guadalcanal, but followed a magical staff which led him on to the middle of Malaita, where he established their cultural norms. His descendants then dispersed to the lowland areas on the edges of the island.

First recorded sighting by Europeans of Malaita was by the Spaniard Álvaro de Mendaña on 11 April 1568. More precisely the sighting was due to a local voyage done by a small boat, in the accounts the brigantine Santiago, commanded by Maestre de Campo Pedro Ortega Valencia and having Hernán Gallego as pilot. In his account, Gallego chief pilot of Mendaña's expedition, establishes that they called the island Malaita after its native name and explored much of the coast, though not the north side. The Maramasiki Passage was thought to be a river. At one point they were greeted with war canoes and fired at with arrows; they retaliated with shots and killed and wounded some. However, after this discovery, the entire Solomon Islands chain was not found, and even its existence doubted, for two hundred years.

Labour trade and missions
After it was re-discovered in the late 18th century, Malaitans were subjected to harsh treatment from whaling boat crews and blackbirders (labour recruiters).  Contact with outsiders also brought new opportunities for education. The first Malaitans to learn to read and write were Joseph Wate and Watehou, who accompanied Bishop John Coleridge Patteson to St John's College, Auckland.<ref>Joseph Waleanisia, "Wrigin I," in Ples Blong Iumi, 34-35.</ref>

From the 1870s to 1903 Malaitan men (and some women) comprised the largest number of Solomon Islander Kanaka workers in the indentured labour trade to Queensland, Australia and to Fiji. The 1870s were a time of illegal recruiting practices known as blackbirding. Malaitans are known to have volunteered as indentured labourers with some making their second trip to work on plantations, although the labour system remained exploitative. In 1901 the Commonwealth of Australia enacted the Pacific Island Labourers Act 1901 which facilitated the deportation of Pacific Islanders that was the precursor to the White Australia policy. However, many islanders remained and formed the South Sea Islander community of Australia. Many labourers that returned to Malaita had learnt to read and had become Christian. The skills of literacy and protest letters as to being deported from Australia was a precedent for the later Maasina Ruru movement.

Many of the earliest missionaries, both Catholic and Protestant, were killed, and this violent reputation survives in the geographic name of Cape Arsacides, the eastward bulge of the northern part of the island, meaning Cape of the Assassins. The cape was even mentioned in Herman Melville's epic novel Moby Dick by Ishmael, the novel's narrator. Ishmael talks of his friendship with the fictional Tranquo, King of Tranque. However, some of the earliest missionaries were Malaitans who had worked abroad, such as Peter Ambuofa, who was baptised at Bundaberg, Queensland in 1892, and gathered a Christian community around him when he returned in 1894. In response to his appeals, Florence Young led the first party of the Queensland Kanaka Mission (the ancestor of the SSEC) to the Solomons in 1904. Anglican and Catholic churches also missionized at this point, and set up schools in areas such as Malu'u.
As the international labour trade slowed, an internal labour trade within the archipelago developed, and by the 1920s thousands of Malaitans worked on plantations on other islands.

Establishment of colonial power
At this time, there was no central power among the groups on Malaita, and there were numerous blood feuds, exacerbated by the introduction of Western guns, and steel tools which meant less time constraints for gardening. Around 1880, Kwaisulia, one of the chiefs, negotiated with labour recruiters to receive a supply of weapons in exchange of workers, based on a similar negotiation made by a chief on the Shortland Islands; this weapon supply gave the chiefs considerable power. However, labour recruitment was not always smooth. In 1886, the vessel Young Dick was attacked at Sinerango, Malaita, and most of its crew murdered. In 1886, Britain defined its area of interest in the Solomons, including Malaita, and central government control of Malaita began in 1893, when Captain Gibson R.N., of , declared the southern Solomon Islands as a British Protectorate with the proclamation of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate, claiming to regulate the local warfare and unfair labour trade, although it coincided with the German acquisition of territories to the west and French interest in those to the east.

Auki was established as a government station in 1909, as headquarters of the administrative district of Malaita. The government began to pacify the island, registering or confiscating firearms, collecting a head tax, and breaking the power of unscrupulous war leaders. One important figure in the process was District Commissioner William R. Bell, who was killed in 1927 by a Kwaio, along with a cadet named Lillies and 13 Solomon Islanders in his charge. A massive punitive expedition, known as the Malaita massacre, ensued; at least 60 Kwaio were killed, nearly 200 detained in Tulagi (the protectorate capital), and many sacred sites and objects were destroyed or desecrated. Resentment about this incident continues, and in 1983 leaders from the Kwaio area council requested that the national government demand from the United Kingdom about $100 million in compensation for the incident. When the central government did not act on this request, the council encouraged a boycott of the 1986 national elections.

World War II, which played a major role in Solomons history, did not have a major impact upon Malaita. Auki became the temporary capital when Tulagi was seized by the Japanese, and it too was briefly raided by Japan, but little fighting happened on the island. Malaitans who fought in battalions, however, brought a new movement for self-determination known as Maasina Ruru (or "Marching Rule"), which spread quickly across the island. Participants united across traditional religious, ethnic, and clan lines, lived in fortified nontraditional villages, and refused to cooperate with the British. The organization of the movement on Malaita was considerable. The island was divided into nine districts, roughly along the lines of the government administrative districts, and leaders were selected for each district. Courts were set up, each led by a custom chief (alaha'ohu), who became powerful figures. The British initially treated the movement cautiously, even praised aspects of it, but when they found there could be no common ground between the government and the movement, retaliated firmly, with armed police patrols, insisting that the chiefs recant or be arrested. Some did recant, but in September 1947 most were tried in Honiara, charged with terrorism or robbery, and convicted to years of hard labour.

However, the movement continued underground, and new leaders renamed the organization the Federal Council. The High Commissioner visited Malaita to negotiate a settlement, and proposed the formation of the Malaita Council, which would have a president elected by members, though they would have to recognize the government's authority and agree to cooperate with their administrators. The council became the first installment of local government in the Solomon Islands, and its first president was Salana Ga'a. The establishment of the council reduced the tension on Malaita, although Maasina Rule elements did continue until at least 1955. The council was shown not to be simply a means of appeasement, but submitted nearly seventy resolutions and recommendations to the High Commissioner in its first two years of existence.

Post-independence
The Solomon Islands were granted independence in July 1978. The first prime minister was Peter Kenilorea from 'Are'are (Malaita). The provinces were re-organized in 1981, and Malaita became the main island of Malaita Province. Malaita remains the most populous island in the country, and continues to be a source for migrants, a role it played since the days of the labour trade. There are villages of Malaitans in many provinces, including eight "squatter" settlements that make up about 15 percent of the population of Honiara, on Guadalcanal.

Malaitans who had emigrated to Guadalcanal became a focus of the civil war which broke out in 1999, and the Malaita Eagle Force (MEF) was formed to protect their interest, both on Guadalcanal and on their home island. The organization of Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) has contributed to the infrastructure development of the island.

After the Solomon Islands switched diplomatic recognition to China from Taiwan in 2019, with a delegation led by prime minister Manasseh Sogavare being received with great hostility and the provincial government refusing to discuss the topics Sogavare had originally arrived to discuss, instead airing concerns over the diplomatic switch. Mass pro-Taiwan protests broke out throughout Malaita, and some protesters even demanded independence from the Solomon Islands, sparking concerns over the fragility of the government.

Geography
Malaita is a thin island, about  long and  wide at its widest point. Its length is in a north-northwest-to-south-southeast direction, but local custom and official use generally rotate it to straight north–south orientation, and generally refer to the "east coast" or "northern end," when northeast or northwest would be more accurate. To the southwest is the Indispensable Strait, which separates it from Guadalcanal and the Florida Islands. To the northeast and east is open Pacific Ocean, except for the small Sikaiana, part of the province  northeast. To the northwest of the island is Santa Isabel Island. To the immediate southwest is South Malaita Island (also called Small Malaita or Maramasike), separated by the narrow Maramasike Passage. Beyond that is Makira, the southernmost large island in the Solomon archipelago.

Malaita's climate is extremely wet. It is located in the Intertropical Convergence Zone ("Doldrums"), with its fickle weather patterns. The sun is at zenith over Malaita, and thus the effect is most pronounced, in November and February. Trade winds come during the Southern Hemisphere's winter, and from about April to August they blow from the southeast fairly steadily. During the summer, fringes of monsoon blow over the island. Because of the surrounding sea, air temperatures are fairly consistent, with a difference between daily highs and lows averaging to . However, across the year, the difference is much less; the mean daily temperature in the warmest month is only  warmer than that of the coolest. Rainfall is heavy and there is constant high humidity. The most common daily pattern follows an adiabatic process, with a calm, clear morning, followed by a breeze blowing in from higher pressures over the sea, culminating in a cloudy and drizzly afternoon. At night, the weather pattern reverses, and drizzle and heavy dew dissipate the cloud cover for the morning. Tropical cyclones are the only violent weather, but they can be destructive.

Like the other islands in the archipelago, Malaita is near the Andesite line and thus forms part of the Pacific Ring of Fire. Earthquakes are common on the island, but there is little evidence of current volcanic activity. The main structural feature of Malaita is the central ridge which runs along the length of the island, with flanking ridges and a few outlying hills. There is a central hilly country, between Auki and the Kwai Harbour, which separates the central ridge into northern and southern halves, the latter being somewhat longer. The northern ridge reaches a height of about , while the southern goes up to . Geologically, Malaita has a basaltic intrusive core, covered in most places by strata of sedimentary rock, especially limestone and chert, and littered with fossils. The limestone provides numerous sinkholes and caverns.

Malaitan hydrology includes thousands of small springs, rivulets, and streams, characteristic of a young drainage pattern. At higher altitudes waterfalls are common, and in some places canyons have been cut through the limestone. Nearer the coasts, rivers are slower and deeper, and form mangrove swamps of brackish water, along with alluvial deposits of gravel, sand, or mud. The coastal plain is very narrow. Inland soils are of three types, wet black, dry black, and red. The wet black soil, too poorly drained for most horticulture except taro, is found in valleys or at the foot of slopes. Dry black makes the best gardening sites. The red soil, probably laterite, does not absorb runoff and forms a hard crust, and is preferred for settlement sites.

Environment
There are several vegetation zones based on altitude. Along the coast is either a rocky or sandy beach, where pandanus, coconuts, and vines predominate, or a swamp, supporting mangrove and sago palms. Terminalia grows in some drier areas. The lower slopes, up to about , have a hardwood forest of banyans, Canarium, Indo-Malayan hardwoods, and, at higher altitudes, bamboo. In forested groves, there is relatively little undergrowth. In this zone is also the most intense human cultivation, which, when abandoned, a dense secondary forest grows, which is nearly impassably thick with shrubs and softwoods. Above about  is a cloud forest, with a dense carpeting of mosses, lichens, and liverworts, with cycads as the dominant tall plant.

Like most Pacific islands, there are not large numbers of mammals. Apart from several species of bats, there are introduced species of pigs, cuscuses and rodents. There are also dugongs in the mangrove swamps, and sometimes dolphins in the lagoon.

Reptiles and amphibians are common as well, especially skinks and geckos. Crocodiles were once common, but have been so frequently hunted for their hides that they are nearly extinct. There are several venomous sea snakes and two species of venomous land snakes, in the elapid family. There are also numerous species of frogs of various sizes.

Fish and aquatic invertebrates are typical of the Indo-Pacific region. There are a few species of freshwater fish (including mudskippers and several other species of teleost fish), mangrove crabs and coconut crabs. On land, centipedes, scorpions, spiders, and especially insects are very common. All common orders of insects are represented, including some spectacular butterflies. The common Anopheles mosquito ensures that vivax malaria is endemic.

Malaitans once believed in anthropoid apes that lived in the centre of the island, which are said to be  tall and come in troops to raid banana plantations.

There are a great number and variety of birds. Almost every family of avifauna were found in Ernst Mayr's 1931 survey. Several species of parrots, cockatoos, and owls are kept as pets. Some bird species are endemic to Malaita.

Important Bird Area
The Malaita Highlands form a site that has been identified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area (IBA) because it supports populations of threatened or endemic bird species. At 58,379 ha, it encompasses the highest peak of the island and the surrounding montane and lowland forest. Significant birds for which the site was identified include metallic pigeons, chestnut-bellied imperial pigeons, pale mountain pigeons, duchess lorikeets and the endemic red-vested myzomelas, Malaita fantails and Malaita white-eyes. Potential threats to the site include logging and human population growth.

Dolphin hunting

According to Malaitian oral history, a Polynesian woman named Barafaifu introduced dolphin drive hunting from Ontong Java Atoll; she settled in Fanalei village in South Malaita as it was the place for hunting. Dolphin hunting ceased in the mid-19th century, possibly because of the influence of Christian missionaries. However, in 1948 it was revived at settlements on several islands, including Fanalei, Walande (10 km to the north), Ata'a, Felasubua, Sulufou (in the Lau Lagoon) and at Mbita'ama harbour. In most of these communities, the hunt had ceased again by 2004. However, Fanalei in South Malaita remained the preeminent dolphin hunting village.

The dolphins are hunted as food, for their teeth, and for live export. The teeth of certain species have a value for trade, brideprice ceremonial traditions, funeral feasts, and compensation. The teeth of melon-headed whale were traditionally the most desirable; however, they were over-hunted and became locally rare. The other species hunted are spinner dolphin and the pantropical spotted dolphin. While Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops aduncus) have been captured for live export, the bottlenose dolphin is not hunted as the teeth are not considered to have any value.

In recent years only villages on South Malaita Island have continued to hunt dolphin. In 2010, the villages of Fanalei, Walende, and Bitamae signed a memorandum of agreement with the non-governmental organization, Earth Island Institute, to stop hunting dolphin. However, in early 2013 the agreement broke down and some men in Fanalei resumed hunting. The hunting of dolphin continued in early 2014. Researchers from the South Pacific Whale Research Consortium, the Solomon Islands Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, and Oregon State University's Marine Mammal Institute have concluded that hunters from the village of Fanalei in the Solomon Islands have killed more than 1,600 dolphins in 2013, included at least 1,500 pantropical spotted dolphins, 159 spinner dolphins and 15 bottlenose dolphins. The total number killed during the period 1976-2013 was more than 15,400.
The price at which dolphin teeth are traded in Malaita rose from the equivalent of 18c in 2004 to about 90c in 2013.

Demographics and culture

Malaitans are of a varying phenotype. The skin varies from rich chocolate to tawny, most clearly darker than Polynesians, but not generally as dark as the peoples of Bougainville or the western Solomons, whom Malaitans refer to as "black men". Most have dark brown or black bushy hair, but it varies in colour from reddish blond, yellow to whitish blond, to ebony black, and in texture from frizzled to merely wavy. Tourists often mistakenly believe the blond hair of Malaitans is bleached by peroxide, but this is not so; the blond or reddish hair colour is quite natural. Male-pattern baldness is widespread, but not as common as among Europeans. Most have smooth skin, but some grow hair on their arms, legs, and chest, and have beards. Most Malaitans are shorter than average Europeans, though not as short as Negritos. Relatively robust physiques are more common among coastal populations, while people from higher altitudes tend to be leaner.

Languages and ethnic groups

Malaitans speak a variety of languages within the Malaitan language family, a subbranch of the Malayo-Polynesian languages. The diversity is not as great as once thought, and some of the groups are mutually intelligible. Some of the exaggeration in the number of languages may be due to the inappropriateness of lexicostatistical techniques and glottochronological analysis, given the widespread use of word taboo and metathesis as word play. According to Harold M. Ross, from north to south along the island's axis, the linguistic groups are roughly the Northern Malaita languages (more properly a collection of dialects without a standard name, generally To'abaita, Baelelea, Baegu, Fataleka, and Lau), Kwara'e in the hilly area between the ridges, Kwaio in about the geographic centre of the island, and 'Are'are to the south. Each of these spreads across the width of the island. In addition, there is the Langalanga in a lagoon on the west coast between the Kwara'ae and Kwaio regions, and Kwarekwareo on the western coast between the Kwaio and 'Are'are regions, which may be a dialect of Kwaio. Sa'a, spoken on South Malaita, is also a member of the family. Mutual intelligibility is also aided by the large degree of trade and intermarriage among the groups.

The peoples of Malaita share many aspects of their culture, although they are generally divided into ethnic groups along linguistic lines. In pre-colonial times, settlements were small and moved frequently. Both agnatic descent (patrilineal lines from a founding ancestor) and cognatic descent (through links of outmarrying women) are important. These lineages determine rights of residence and land use in a complex way. In the northern area, local descent groups, united in ritual hierarchies, are largely autonomous, but conceptualize their relationship as a phratry in a manner similar to certain groups in highland New Guinea. In the central area, local descent groups are fully autonomous, though still linked by ritual. In the south, the 'Are'are people developed a more hierarchical organization and more outward orientation, a cultural tradition that reaches its peak on the hereditary chiefs and rituals of Small Malaita to the south. One exception to these generalizations are cultures which have migrated in more recent times, such as the northern Lau, who settled in several seaside areas (and offshore islands) in southern Malaita about 200 years ago, and with whom there has been little cultural exchange.

Religion
The traditional religion of the island is ancestor worship. In one oral tradition, the earliest residents knew the name of the creator, but thought his name was so holy that they did not want to tell their children. Instead, they instructed their children to address their requests to their ancestors, who would be their mediators. In some parts of Malaita the high god responsible for creation, who has now retired from active work, is known as Agalimae ("the god of the universe"). Congregations of local descent groups propitiate their ancestors at shrines, led by ritual officiants (fataabu in northern Malaita). On Malaita, many shrines have been preserved, not only for their sanctity but also because they serve as territorial markers that can resolve land disputes.

With European contact, Catholics and Anglicans spread their gospels, and many missionaries were killed. The Protestant South Seas Evangelical Mission (SSEM, now known as the South Seas Evangelical Church, SSEC), originally based in Queensland, made considerable inroads by following the imported workers home to their native islands. More recently, Jehovah's Witnesses and the Seventh-day Adventist Church have converted many. Many Malaitans have been active in the Solomon Islands Christian Association, a national inter-denominational organization that set a precedent for cooperation during the period of independence. The Kwaio people have been the most resistant to Christianity.

Economy
For the most part, the Malaitans survive by subsistence agriculture, with taro and sweet potatoes as the most important crops. After the establishment of government control, a plantation was established on the west coast, near Baunani. However, many Malaitans work on plantations on other islands in the archipelago, for most the only way to buy prestigious Western goods. Retail trade was largely conducted by Chinese merchants, with headquarters in Honiara, and dispatching goods to remote locations on the island, where they are sometimes purchased by middlemen who keep "stores" (usually of suitcase side) in remote places.

Arts
The Malaitans are famous for their music and dance, which are sometimes associated with rituals. Several of the groups, including the 'Are'are, famous for their panpipe ensembles, are among SSEC members whose traditional music is no longer performed for religious reasons. Secular dancing is similar to widespread patterns in the Solomons, following patterns learned from plantation labour gangs or moves learned at the cinema in Honiara. Sacred dances follow strict formal patterns, and incorporate panpipers in the group. Some dances represent traditional activities, such as the tue tue dance, about fishing, which depict movements of the boat and fish, and the birds overhead.

Malaitan shell-money, manufactured in the Langalanga lagoon, is the traditional currency, and was used throughout the Solomon Islands, as far as Bougainville. The money consists of small polished shell disks which are drilled and placed on strings. It can be used as payment for brideprice, funeral feasts and compensation, as well ordinary purposes as a cash equivalent. It is also worn as an adornment and status symbol. The standard unit, known as the tafuliae, is several strands 1.5 m in length. Previously the money was also manufactured on Makira and Guadalcanal. It is still produced on Malaita, but much is inherited, from father to son, and the old traditional strings are now rare.  Porpoise teeth are also used as money, often woven into belts.

Notes

References

 Roger Keesing, Kwaio Religion: The Living and the Dead in a Solomon Island Society. New York: Columbia University Press, 1982.
 Roger M. Keesing and Peter Corris. Lightning Meets the West Wind: The Malaita Massacre. Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1980.
 Janet Kent. The Solomon Islands. Harrisburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 1972.
 James Page, 'Education and Acculturation on Malaita: An Ethnography of Intraethnic and Interethnic Affinities'.The Journal of Intercultural Studies. 1988. #15/16:74-81; available on-line at http://eprints.qut.edu.au/archive/00003566/.
 Ples Blong Iumi: Solomon Islands: The Past Four Thousand Years. Honiara: University of the South Pacific, 1989.
 Harold M. Ross. Baegu: Social and Ecological Organization in Malaita, Solomon Islands. Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1973.

Further reading
Guppy, Henry B. (1887) The Solomon Islands and Their Natives''. London: Swan Sonnenschein, Lowrey & Co

External links

 Roger M. Keesing Collection UC San Diego Library

Islands of the Solomon Islands
Important Bird Areas of the Solomon Islands

Malaita


The GNU Affero General Public License is a copyleft license for software that is intended to be run on web servers like web applications. Like the GNU General Public License, the Affero license allows you to use, copy and change the code of software, but requires that you release your changes if you distribute the software or you run a modified copy on a web server on the Internet.

The Affero license is intended to make it harder for people to avoid releasing modifications to free software by running the software as a Web service (see software as a service).

Related pages
 List of software licenses
 GNU General Public License
 Free Software Foundation

Other websites
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Software licences

GNU Affero General Public License


An alloy is a uniform mixture. It is made up of two or more chemical elements, of which at least one is a metal. An alloy has properties different from the metals it is made of.

Most alloys are made by melting the metals, mixing them while they are liquid to form a solution, then leaving them to cool and turn solid again.

Theory
Combining a pure metal with one or more other metals or non-metals often makes it better. For example, steel is an alloy made from iron but it is stronger than iron. Physical properties like density, reactivity and electrical and thermal (heat) conductivity may not be much different than the elements (substances) which make the alloy. But, properties like strength can be very much different.

The first alloy to be discovered was Bronze. Bronze is made from copper and tin. Bronze was discovered a very long time ago in  the prehistoric period. Then, bronze was being used for making tools and weapons. This period was known as Bronze Age. But, later better alloys were discovered which replaced bronze for making tools and weapons. Now, bronze is used for making ornaments, statues, and bells. Brass is another alloy made from copper and zinc.

Melting point is the temperature at which a solid changes to liquid. Most alloys do not have a single melting point. They have a melting range in which the alloy is a mixture of solid and liquid stages. The temperature at which melting just starts is called solidus and the temperature at which the melting is just finished is called liquidus.

Terms related to alloys
The term alloy means a mixture of atoms in which the main substance or the primary constituent is a metal. This primary metal is called the base or matrix.

If an alloy has only two types of atoms, like copper-nickel alloy, then such an alloy is called binary alloy. If an alloy has three types of atoms, like iron, nickel and chromium, then it is called a ternary alloy. An alloy with four types of atoms is called a quaternary alloy and an alloy with five types of atoms is called a quinary alloy.

Different varieties or forms of alloys can be made from the same constituent materials (substances from which the alloy is formed). These different forms or varieties can be formed by using different amounts of the constituents.

Some common alloys
There are some common alloys:

 Brass is made of 35% zinc and 65% copper and is used for musical instruments, jewellery, faucets and decorative hardware.
 Stainless steel is mostly iron, plus more than 11% chromium, and various amounts of nickel and carbon and is used for tableware, cookware and surgical tools.
 Steel is made of 99% iron and 1% carbon and is used for tools, car bodies, machinery, girders and rails.
 Bronze is made of mostly copper and some tin and is used for boat hardware, screws and grill work.
 Alnico is a mix of aluminium, nickel and cobalt, and it is used to make permanent magnets.

Metallurgy

Alloy


Rinard Mills is a small unincorporated community on the Little Muskingum River in southwestern Washington Township, Monroe County, Ohio, United States. It is named after Isaac Rinard, who owned a mill at the village. The village is situated on State Route 26 between Marietta (county seat of Washington County) and Woodsfield (county seat of Monroe County). The village has a cemetery. Several years ago, a resident of the community found the remains of a mill stone in the Little Muskingum.  It was incorporated into Isaac Rinard's grave marker and was cause for a special event.

References

Unincorporated communities in Monroe County, Ohio
Unincorporated communities in Ohio

Rinard Mills, Ohio


The Antarctic Floristic Kingdom, also the Holantarctic Kingdom, is a floristic kingdom that includes most areas of the world south of 40°S latitude. It was first identified by botanist Ronald Good, and later by Armen Takhtajan. The Antarctic Floristic Kingdom is a classification in phytogeography, different from the Antarctic realm classification in biogeography, and from Antarctic flora genera/species classifications in botany.

Geography
The Antarctic Floristic Kingdom includes the continent of Antarctica, Patagonia (southern Chile, southern Argentina, Tierra del Fuego), most of New Zealand, the New Zealand Subantarctic Islands, and all islands of the Southern Ocean south of 40°S latitude, including Gough Island, the Kerguelen Islands, and the Falkland Islands. Tasmania is omitted since its plant species are more closely related to those found in the Australian Floristic Kingdom.

Flora
The flora of the Antarctic Kingdom dates back to the time of Gondwana, the southern supercontinent which once included most of the landmasses of the present-day Southern Hemisphere, though it has been influenced by the flora of the Holarctic Kingdom since the Tertiary period. Ronald Good noted, as had Joseph Dalton Hooker much earlier, that many plant species of Antarctica, temperate South America and New Zealand were very closely related, despite their disjunction by the vast Southern Ocean.

According to Ronald Good, about 50 genera of vascular plants are common in the Antarctic Floristic Kingdom, including Nothofagus and Dicksonia. Takhtajan also made note of hundreds of other vascular plant genera scattered and isolated on islands of the Southern Ocean, including Calandrinia feltonii of the Falkland Islands, Pringlea antiscorbutica of the Kerguelen Islands, and the megaherb genera of the New Zealand Subantarctic Islands.

According to Takhtajan, the following families are endemic or subendemic to this kingdom: Thyrsopteridaceae, Lactoridaceae, Gomortegaceae, Hectorellaceae (Hectorella), Halophytaceae, Malesherbiaceae, Francoaceae, Aextoxicaceae, Vivianiaceae, Misodendraceae, Tribelaceae, Griseliniaceae and Alseuosmiaceae.

Subdivisions
The Antarctic Floristic Kingdom is subdivided into four floristic regions, and subdivided even further into sixteen floristic provinces. Most of the provinces lie within, or very near the Antarctic convergence zone.

Floristic Regions
The Floristic Regions in the Antarctic Floristic Kingdom are the:
Fernandezian Region
Argentina-Chile-Patagonian Region
South Subantarctic Islands Region
Neozeylandic Region

Fernandezian Region
The Fernandezian Region is often also included within the Neotropical Kingdom. It includes the Juan Fernández Islands and Desventuradas Islands archipelagoes off the west coast of Chile.
Endemic family: Lactoridaceae.
Endemic genera: 20, including Thyrsopteris, Nothomyrcia, Selkirkia, Cuminia, Juania, Robinsonia, Rhetinodendron, Symphyochaeta, Centaurodendron, Yunquea, Hesperogreigia, Podophorus, Pantathera and Megalachne.
Species endemism of vascular plants is very high (about 70%).
Provinces
Juan Fernández Province

Argentina-Chile-Patagonian Region

Within southern South America, in regions of Chile and Argentina.
Endemic families: Gomortegaceae, Halophytaceae, Malesherbiaceae, Tribelaceae, Francoaceae, Aextoxicaceae, Misodendraceae.
Endemic genera: many, including Leptocionium, Saxegothaea, Austrocedrus, Pilgerodendron, Fitzroya, Peumus, Boquila, Lardizabala, Philippiella, Austrocactus, Holmbergia, Berberidopsis, Niederleinia, Lebetanthus, Ovidia, Quillaja, Kageneckia, Saxifragella, Zuccagnia, Tepualia, Tropaeolum, Gymnophyton, Laretia, Mulinum, Talguenea, Schizanthus, Melosperma, Monttea, Hygea, Mitraria, Sarmienta, Chiliotrichum, Melalema, Nassauvia, Tetroncium, Gilliesia, Leontochir, Leucocryne, Schickendantziella, Solaria, Lapageria, Conanthera, Tecophilaea, Tapeinia, Fascicularia, Ortachne, Jubaea
Endemic species: many.
Provinces
Northern Chilean Province
Central Chilean Province
Argentine Pampas Province
Patagonian Province
Tierra del Fuego Province

Neozeylandic Region

The greater New Zealand islands region, including: the Zealandia islands (e.g. North Island, South Island), the New Zealand outlying islands, and the New Zealand Subantarctic Islands.
Endemic family: Ixerbaceae an endemic monogeneric family of one species, Ixerba brexioides. The only endemic New Zealand vascular plant family.
Endemic genera: 50, including Loxsoma, Pseudowintera, Hectorella, Entelea, Hoheria, Corokia, Alseuosmia, Carmichaelia, Lophomyrtus, Neomyrtus, Plectomirtha, Stilbocarpa, Kirkophytum, Coxella, Lignocarpa, Scandia, Dactylanthus, Myosotidium, Parahebe, Negria, Rhabdothamnus, Teucridium, Oreostylidium, Pachystegia, Haastia, Leucogenes, Phormium, Rhopalostylis, Lepidorrhachis, Hedyscepe, Howea, Sporadanthus, Aporostylis, Desmoschoenus),
Endemic species: very high species endemism, especially among Pinophyta.
Provinces
Lord Howe Province
Norfolkian Province
Kermadecian Province
Northern Neozeylandic Province
Central Neozeylandic Province
Southern Neozeylandic Province
Chatham Province
New Zealand Subantarctic Islands Province

South Subantarctic Islands Region
The South Subantarctic Islands
Endemic species: Lyallia kerguelensis, Pringlea antiscorbutica
Tristan—Gough Province
Kerguelen Province

See also
Antarctic flora
Antarctic realm
Flora of Antarctica (category link)
List of Antarctic and subantarctic islands

References

External links
Encyclopædia Britannica: Antarctic Floristic Kingdom

Floristic kingdoms
 Kingdom
Floristic kingdom

Antarctic Floristic Kingdom


The Château de La Brède is a feudal castle in the commune of La Brède in the département of Gironde, France.

The castle was built in the Gothic style starting in 1306, on the site of an earlier castle. It is surrounded by water-filled moats and an English garden, in the centre of a Bordelais vineyard. Despite modifications over the centuries, it has kept its character as a fortress.

The philosopher Montesquieu (1689–1755), (full title: Charles Louis de Secondat, baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu) was born, lived and wrote the majority of his works here. Visitors may see his library (though the books have been transferred to the library in Bordeaux) and his bedroom, both preserved as they were in the 18th century.

At her death in 2004, the Countess of Chabannes, a descendant of Montesquieu and last owner of the château, bequeathed her belongings, including the castle, to the Foundation named after her.

The castle is open to visitors from Easter to 11 November. It is classed by the French Ministry of Culture as a monument historique.

See also
 List of castles in France

References

External links
 Château de la Brède - official site
 Château de La Brède on Montesquieu tourist office site

Castles in Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Châteaux in Gironde
Monuments historiques of Gironde
Historic house museums in Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Museums in Gironde
Maisons des Illustres
Montesquieu

Château de la Brède


"Man in the Mirror" is a song by Michael Jackson. It was written by Siedah Garrett
and Glen Ballard. It was released as the fourth single from Jackson's seventh album, Bad. It was nominated for Record of the Year at the Grammy Awards. It reached number one in the Billboard Hot 100.

In 2009 Michael Jackson died and the song entered the charts again. It reached number two in the UK Singles Chart. This was much higher than when the song was first released in 1988.

1988 songs
Michael Jackson songs

Man in the Mirror


Freddie Anderson (11 September 1922 – 10 December 2001) was an Irish writer, playwright, author, poet and socialist, born in Ballybay, County Monaghan, Ireland, who became an influential figure in left wing culture and folk music scene in Glasgow from the 1950s until his death in 2001.

Biography
In 1942, Anderson joined the Royal Air Force (RAF) at a time when some Irishmen signed up out of idealism, but more joined in order to send money home to struggling families. He was posted to a radar station at Crossmaglen, County Armagh, Northern Ireland but also worked in India and Burma. Around this time, he met his wife, Isobel, whom he married in 1951. Upon demobilisation in 1946, he moved to her native Glasgow, Scotland, a city he took to instantly although his work continued to be influenced by his beloved County Monaghan.

In 1947 he joined Glasgow Unity Theatre, effectively launching a career which saw him become a valuable player in Glasgow's left-wing artistic life. He later recalled that an encounter in Sauchiehall Street when he introduced himself to Roddy McMillan set everything in train. McMillan took the young Irishman into Craig's Restaurant and bought him a cup of tea and Anderson found his spiritual home at the Unity Centre.
His first play, Thirty Three Years, was produced by the Glasgow Unity Theatre in the late 1940s. His literary work in the Easterhouse community in Glasgow where he lived was recognised by an Irish Post award. As a playwright, his 1979 work Krassivy about Scottish leftist politician John Maclean won a Fringe First award at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Anderson became well known on the Glasgow political/socialist/Scottish/Irish/International Republican scene. His poetry, stories, plays and songs all reflected his Celtic charm, blending Scottish and Irish history and culture in an anti-sectarian manner. As a poet of the oral tradition, his work could sometimes lapse into sentimentality but at his best his lyrics had the same insight as other fellow Monaghan poets such as Patrick Kavanagh.

Late in life he finally produced the book which drew together all his attributes. Oiney Hoy, a tale of the wanderings of a green fool, toys with Ireland's myths, stereotypes, pretensions, and foibles, a gentle but effective satire which also translated with great success on to the Edinburgh Fringe stage. Towards the end of his life, Anderson had been preparing the further adventures of Oiney and was working on an autobiography. But the illness with which he struggled for more than 20 years caught up with him in 2001, two years after he lost his wife and companion, Isobel.

Works
 The Last of the People's Palaces, in Hearn, Sheila G. (ed.), Cencrastus No. 14, Autumn 1983, pp. 17 - 19,
 Oiney Hoy, Polygon, Edinburgh, 1989,

Research collection
Glasgow's Caledonian University Library houses the Freddie Anderson collection.

References

 Biography
 Socialist Review article
 "Local hero"

Irish poets
Royal Air Force personnel of World War II
Writers from County Monaghan
Scottish dramatists and playwrights
Scottish socialists
People associated with Glasgow
People associated with Glasgow Caledonian University
2001 deaths
1922 births
20th-century Scottish poets
Scottish male poets
20th-century British dramatists and playwrights
20th-century British male writers
20th-century British writers

Further reading
 Spring, Ian (ed.) (2020), Freddy Anderson: Collected Poems & Prose, Rymour Books

Freddie Anderson


Antelope is a term for many even-toed ungulate species. Antelope is not a strict taxonomic term because they are not a clade. Antelope is a 'wastebasket taxon' in the family Bovidae. It includes the old-world species which are not cattle, sheep, buffalo, bison, or goats.

Antelopes occupy the ecological niche which deer occupy north of the Sahara. Both deer and antelopes are grass-eating mammals which have replaced browsers as the dominant vegetarian animals as forests gave way to grasslands.

Antelope are found mostly in Africa below the Sahara, and parts of Asia. No antelope are native to North America: the pronghorn is a member of the family Antilocapridae, another family. True antelope have horns which are unbranched and never shed, while pronghorns have branching horns, and shed annually.

There are 91 species of antelope, most of which are native to Africa, in about 30 genera. A group of antelope is called a herd.

Species of forest, woodland, or bush tend to be sedentary, but many of the plains species undertake huge migrations. These migrations enable grass-eating species to follow the rains and therefore their food supply. The gnus and gazelles of East Africa perform some of the most impressive mass migratory circuits of all mammals.

All bovids have even-toed hooves, horizontal pupils, ruminating guts, and (in at least the males) bony horns.
Many antelope are sexually dimorphic. In most species, both sexes have horns, but those of males tend to be larger. There is a tendency for males to be larger than the females

Horns are not shed and are not made of bone, which distinguishes them from antlers.
Gazelles and springbok are known for their speed and leaping abilities. Even larger antelope, such as elands, and kudus, are capable of jumping 8 feet (2.4 m) or greater, although their running speed is restricted by their greater mass.

References

Bovids

Antelope


A sunspot is an area of high magnetic activity, on the surface of the Sun. Sunspots produce bright light, but not as much as the surface around them, so they appear dark by comparison. They are cooler than the rest of the sun. Some are small, and some are ten times bigger than Earth.

A sunspot cycle of eleven years has been found, with changes in activity. Every 11 years the number of sunspots increases, and later declines. Sunspots on one cycle are magnetically different from the next, so the total sunspot cycle is 22 years. This cycle has been seen since the 18th century. Before that time, for over a hundred years, there were very few sunspots. Astronomers do not know what caused this "Maunder Minimum".

History

Chinese astronomers said they could see sunspots. On 17 March 802 the monk Adelmus saw a big sunspot, which he could see for eight days. Adelmus thought that Mercury was going in front of the Sun and making a black spot. When astronomers started using telescopes, most agreed that something was passing in front of the Sun. Galileo Galilei in 1612 guessed that there were actual spots on the Sun and that they showed that the Sun was turning.

The first cyclic changes of sunspots was seen by Heinrich Schwabe, and made Rudolf Wolf study them carefully, starting in 1848. Also in 1848, Joseph Henry showed a picture of the Sun and made sure that sunspots were cooler than the rest of the Sun (they are about 7000 degrees Fahrenheit, 4000 C). They are still very hot, but much cooler than the rest of the Sun's surface.

Effect on Earth
Sunspots are cooler than the rest of the Sun.  But many scientists think that when there are many sunspots, the Sun actually gets hotter.  This affects the weather here on Earth, and also radio reception.  If this is true, then without sunspots, the Earth might become cooler.  In the same way, if there were more sunspots, the Earth might become hotter, and there could be less rain.  This would make more droughts on the Earth.  Droughts are a long time with no rain.  Without rain, crops that people eat would not grow.  Scientists study sunspots and other solar phenomena, so they can know what they do to Earth.  The temperature of a sunspot is 4780°K.  This is cold when compared to other areas on the surface of sun.

References

Other websites
 "Sunspots" at Exploratorium
 Sunspot data at NASA Online

Weather
Sun
Astrophysics

Sunspot


The Monastery of Saint Athanasius () is a Bulgarian Orthodox monastery located close to the village of Zlatna Livada in Chirpan municipality, Stara Zagora Province. The patron saint's day of the church is 2 May, when several thousand people gather.

According to Bulgarian archaeological and historical research from 2004, it is the oldest active monastery in Europe. An expedition led by doctor and academician Rosen Milev was carried out on 18 January 2004, affirming that the monastery was founded by Athanasius of Alexandria in 344 while returning from the Council of Serdica in present-day Sofia. On the way back he stopped and slept in a Roman fortress, the remains of which are located close to today's monastery, deciding to found a monastery due to the strong influence of the Arians (see Ulfilas), whom he considered heretical, on the Goths living in the region of Beroe (modern Stara Zagora). After his death in 373, the monastery was named after him. This is regarded to be proven by the passional of Saint Athanasius and the annals of the Patriarchate of Alexandria, as well as further research in the Vatican Secret Archives.

The existence of the monastery during the Middle Ages is evidenced by archaeological material. It was also visited by Bulgarian revolutionary Vasil Levski during his trips throughout the country in the late 19th century. The present buildings of the Monastery of Saint Athanasius were constructed in the 1980s after an idea by Lyudmila Zhivkova. The Patriarch of Alexandria, Peter VII, visited the monastery in 2003.

References

Bibliography
 Shopova, Elena. The monastery of Zlatna livada — the oldest in Europe. Liternet.bg. Visited 1 May 2006.
 The oldest monastery in Europe is located in Bulgaria, 12 April 2004. Netinfo.bg. Visited 1 May 2006.

Christian monasteries in Bulgaria
Bulgarian Orthodox monasteries
344 establishments
Buildings and structures in Stara Zagora Province

Christian monasteries established in the 4th century

Monastery of Saint Athanasius


An impersonator is someone who imitates or copies the behavior or actions of another.  There are many reasons for someone to be an impersonator, some common ones being as follows:

 Legally: An entertainer impersonates a celebrity, generally for entertainment, and makes fun of their recent scandals or known behavior patterns. Entertainers who impersonate multiple celebrities as part of their act, can be sorted out to impressionists and celebrity impersonators.
 Illegally: As part of a criminal act such as identity theft. This is usually where the criminal is trying to assume the identity of another, in order to commit fraud, such as accessing confidential information, or to gain property not belonging to them. Also known as social engineering and impostors.
 Political decoy, used as a form of protection for political and military figures. This involves an impersonator who is employed (or forced) to perform during public appearances, to mislead observers. This is also legal.
 Causing people to fight, or dislike each other for social, business or political gain.

Deception
Types of crime

Impersonator


Robert Starer (8 January 1924 in Vienna – 22 April 2001 in Kingston, New York) was an Austrian-born American composer, pianist and educator.

Robert Starer began studying the piano at age 4 and continued his studies at the Vienna State Academy. After the 1938 plebiscite in which Austria voted for annexation by Nazi Germany, Starer left for Palestine and studied at the Jerusalem Conservatory with Josef Tal. In World War II he served in the British Royal Air Force, and in 1947 he settled in the United States. He studied composition at the Juilliard School in New York with Frederick Jacobi, then with Aaron Copland in 1948 and received a postgraduate degree from Juilliard in 1949. Starer became an American citizen in 1957.

Robert Starer taught at the Juilliard School, Brooklyn College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York where he became a distinguished professor in 1986. He was married, had one child, Daniel, and resided in Woodstock, NY until his death. He lived with writer Gail Godwin for some thirty years; the two collaborated on several librettos.

Starer was prolific and composed in many genres. His music was characterized by chromaticism and driving rhythms. His vocal works, whether set to English or Hebrew texts, were particularly praised. He composed the score for Martha Graham's 1962 ballet Phaedra. He also wrote four operas, The Intruder (1956), Pantagleize (1967), The Last Lover (1975), and Apollonia (1979). Notable concertos include Violin Concerto which was written for Itzhak Perlman and recorded by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa, conductor, and his Cello Concerto, commissioned by Janos Starker and recorded by Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra, Leon Botstein, conductor.

One of Starer's better-known pieces is Even and Odds for young pianists. He is also known for his pieces entitled Sketches in Color, as well as his sight-reading training manual, Rhythmic Training.

Among Starer's students was Talib Rasul Hakim.

Starer died on April 22, 2001, in Kingston New York, and he is buried in Artists Cemetery, Woodstock, Ulster County, New York.

References

Other sources
 Jaques Cattell Press (Ed.): Who's who in American Music. Classical. First edition. R. R. Bowker, New York 1983.
 Darryl Lyman: Great Jews in Music. J. D. Publishers, Middle Village, N.Y, 1986.
 Stanley Sadie, H. Wiley Hitchcock (Ed.): The New Grove Dictionary of American Music. Grove's Dictionaries of Music, New York, N.Y. 1986.

External links
Robert Starer's Website
Gail Godwin's Official Website
Robert Starer interview by Bruce Duffie, March 21, 1987
David Dubal interview with Robert Starer, WNCN-FM, 7-Oct-1984
 Robert Starer (in German) from the online-archive of the Österreichischen Mediathek

20th-century classical composers
1924 births
2001 deaths
Austrian classical composers
Austrian opera composers
Male opera composers
Jewish classical composers
American classical composers
Musicians from Vienna
Austrian emigrants to the United States
American people of Austrian-Jewish descent
Juilliard School alumni
Brooklyn College faculty
City University of New York faculty
People from Woodstock, New York
Austrian male classical composers
20th-century American composers
Classical musicians from New York (state)
20th-century American male musicians
Albany Records artists
Jewish American classical composers

Robert Starer


Ken Bichel is an American actor, composer, conductor, pianist, and synthesizer musician.

Musical career

Bichel attended the Juilliard School where he graduated with a master's degree in piano performance in 1969. While at Juilliard he met Gershon Kingsley and Robert Moog, the inventor of the music synthesizer. He became a founding member of Kingsley's First Moog Quartet, a live performance synthesizer ensemble, and was recognized as the preeminent synthesizer authority in the New York recording industry from that time on.

Although Bichel is a classically trained pianist, he has spent most of his career playing and recording jazz, rock, and other forms of contemporary music on the piano and the synthesizer. Bichel became a member of the New York-based band Stories is the early 1970s with whom he recorded several hit songs on three different albums until the band broke up in 1973.

Bichel also played and/or conducted several Broadway shows. In 1975, he was hired as the musical director for the show Boccaccio. In 1977, Bichel took an onstage role (which also involved him playing the piano as well) as Norman in the original production of I Love My Wife. Bichel won the Drama Desk Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his performance.

In 1978, he became the assistant conductor and pianist for the Broadway musical Working. During the 1970s, Bichel also worked as a freelance recording musician on synthesizer or piano for various artists and media projects. His work can be heard on over a dozen CDs including the self-titled and Soul Searching albums by Average White Band on the Rhino label (1974 and 1976), Judy Collins' Judith (1975) on the Elektra label, and Chaka Khan's Chaka Khan Chaka on the Ol' Skool Label (1978). He can be heard singing the backup "ahs" with Billy Joel on the mega-hit "Just the Way You Are". Additional recording and/or performance credits include Irene Cara, Plácido Domingo, Aretha Franklin, Peggy Lee, Cindy Bullens, Maureen McGovern, the Orchestra of the Sorbonne, Jane Olivor, Luciano Pavarotti, Carly Simon, Paul Simon, Stevie Wonder.  In 1973 Bichel composed the music for the popular CBS game show Match Game.

Bichel is an internationally acclaimed concert artist and has performed at the La Scala opera house in Milan, the American Music Festival in Geneva, in London for the Duchess of Kent, in Hong Kong for its bi-centennial, in Munich with the Bavarian Radio Orchestra and repeatedly at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in New York City.

Television and film appearances

TV appearances include The Tonight Show, David Letterman Late Show, the Dick Cavett show, Saturday Night Live, American Bandstand, Regis Philbin, Rosie O'Donnell, etc.
Bichel has also appeared as a featured musician in films like Kinsey, Marvin's Room, and A Family Thing, and made a cameo appearance on film in Woody Allen's Broadway Danny Rose. Bichel has also won an Emmy Award for his music composition work on television.

Personal life

Today, Bichel lives with his wife in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, where he continues to compose both for his own international solo performances and for other contemporary classical performance ensembles. In 2009 he and his wife, both long-time meditators, became certified teaching monks of Ascension of the Bright Path Ishayas.

Watch and listen

Discography
With Arif Mardin
Journey (Atlantic, 1974)

References

External links
 Internet Movie Database

1945 births
Musicians from Detroit
Emmy Award winners
Drama Desk Award winners
Living people
Juilliard School alumni
20th-century American pianists
American male pianists
21st-century American pianists
20th-century American male musicians
21st-century American male musicians

Ken Bichel


Fabrizio Faniello (born 27 April 1981) is a Maltese pop singer. He represented Malta at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2001 and 2006.

Family
Fabrizio Faniello is the eldest of three children born to Vincenzo and Anna Faniello. He has two younger sisters, Claudia and Miriana. Claudia is also a singer and has performed in various Maltese festivals already, including the Malta Song For Europe 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2017, representing the country at the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 in Kiev, Ukraine.

Biography
Faniello discovered his passion for music at an early age. His teacher advised him to take vocal lessons. However, Faniello was also interested in playing football. In 1997 he played for one year in Turin.

When he was sixteen however, he chose to make music his profession and returned to Malta. In the meantime he has released three successful  albums and several singles. Although he has seen the most success in Malta, his singles and albums have been released in many other European countries. He scored a Top 10 hit with "The Whistle Hit" in Sweden in 2004, followed by another small chart hit "Bye Baby Bye Bye" in Sweden in 2005. Faniello is mainly known for light Europop music, but his willingness to experiment outside of conventional song structures, including forays into harsh noise, have been met with critical acclaim.

Faniello's management is located in Germany and a lot of his songs were written or co-written by German songwriters.

In January 2015, Faniello admitted to be recovering from a drug problem.

For 2018 a new single LIFE GOES ON is scheduled and end of march his new album. (sources: CAP-Sounds  www.cap-sounds.de)

Eurovision

He participated in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2001 and placed ninth. He also participated several times in the Maltese pre-selection for the Eurovision Song Contest (see below for additional information). In 2006 he once again represented Malta in the Eurovision Song contest, and was placed 24th in the Grand Final.

Faniello participated many times in the Maltese pre-selections for the Eurovision Song Contest:

1998 - "More Than Just a Game" (2nd place out of 20 contestants)
1999 - "Thankful for Your Love" (8th place out of 16 contestants)
2000 - "Change of Heart" (2nd place out of 16 contestants)
2001 - "Another Summer Night" (1st place out of 16 contestants) - (Placed 9th in the Eurovision)
2004 - "Did I Ever Tell You" (3rd place out of 16 contestants)
2005 - "Don't Tell It" (12th place out of 22 contestants)
2006 - "I Do" (1st place out of 18 contestants) - (Placed 24th in the Eurovision)
2011 - "No Surrender" (4th out of 24 contestants)
2012 - "I Will Fight For You" (6th out of 24 contestants)
2014 - "Just No Place Like Home" (eliminated in the semifinal)
2023 - "Try to Be Better" (8th place out of 16 contestants)

The songs "Change Of Heart" and "Another Summer Night" were later included on his debut album When I'm Dreaming. The songs "Did I Ever Tell You" and "Don't Tell It" were released on his 2005 album Believe.

The first time he won the pre-selections with the song "Another Summer Night". He represented Malta at the Eurovision Song Contest 2001 in Copenhagen, Denmark and managed to achieve 9th place. This was the start of his international career.

Discography

Albums
2001: While I'm Dreaming #1 Malta
2004: When We Danced #1 Malta
2005: Believe #1 Malta
2007: Hits & Clips #1Malta
2011: No Surrender
2018: Unexpected

Singles
2001: "Another Summer Night"
2001: "My Girl"
2002: "Show Me Now"
2002: "Let Me be Your Lover"
2002: "Just 4 Christmas"
2004: "When We Danced"
2004: "I'm in Love (The Whistle Song)" #1 Malta, #7 Sweden (15 weeks Top-20), #11 Finland, Top 20 Belgium
2005: "Love on the Radio"
2006: "I Do"
2006: "Believe"
2007: "Love Me or Leave Me"
2007: "I Need to Know"
2010: "I No Can Do" (cover version of "Cari Jodoh" by Wali Band)
2010: "My Heart is Asking You" (cover version of "Baik Baik Sayang" by Wali Band)
2011: "No Surrender"
2011: "Know Me Better" (Written by Warren Bacci, Michael Johansson and Johan Beyerholm)
2012: "The Hardest Thing" (Written by Wayne Hector, Elliot Kennedy & Gary Barlow)
2013: "Ahfirli Jekk Trid" (Written by Dominic Minik and Rita Pace) Winner of the Konkors Kanzunetta Indipendenza 2013
2014: "Just no place like home"
2015: "Walking Away"
2015: "Fit-Tarf Tat-Triq"
2018: "Life Goes On"
2018: "Unexpected"
2019: "Dawl Għajnejja"

References

External links
Artist official facebook website
Fabrizio Management & Booking Site
Malta Song for Europe official website
Eurovision Song Contest official website
EurovisionMalta.com
Fabrizio Faniello in Spain

1981 births
Living people
Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 2001
Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 2006
Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Malta
21st-century Maltese male singers
21st-century Maltese singers
Maltese pop singers
People from Floriana
Maltese people of Italian descent

Fabrizio Faniello


Gunga Din is a 1939 American adventure film from RKO Radio Pictures directed by George Stevens and starring Cary Grant, Victor McLaglen, and Douglas Fairbanks Jr., loosely based on the 1890 poem of the same name by Rudyard Kipling combined with elements of his 1888 short story collection Soldiers Three. The film is about three British sergeants and Gunga Din, their native bhisti (water bearer), who fight the Thuggee, an Indian murder cult, in colonial British India.

The supporting cast features Joan Fontaine, Eduardo Ciannelli, and in the title role, Sam Jaffe.  The epic film was written by Joel Sayre and Fred Guiol from a storyline by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur, with uncredited contributions by Lester Cohen, John Colton, William Faulkner, Vincent Lawrence, Dudley Nichols, and Anthony Veiller.

In 1999, Gunga Din was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.

Plot
On the Northwest Frontier of India, circa 1880, contact has been lost with a British outpost at Tantrapur in the midst of a telegraph message. Colonel Weed dispatches a detachment of 25 British Indian Army troops to investigate, led by three sergeants of the Royal Engineers: MacChesney, Cutter, and Ballantine, long-time friends and veteran campaigners. Although they are a disciplinary headache for their colonel, they are the right men to send on a dangerous mission. Accompanying the detail are six Indian camp workers, including regimental bhisti (water carrier) Gunga Din, who longs to throw off his lowly status and become a soldier of the Queen.

They find Tantrapur apparently deserted and set about repairing the telegraph. However, they are soon surrounded by hostile locals. The troops fight their way out, taking heavy losses. Colonel Weed and Major Mitchell identify an enemy weapon brought back by the survivors as belonging to the Thuggee, a murder cult that had been suppressed 50 years previously. Weed intends to send MacChesney and Cutter back with a larger force, in order to retake the town and complete the telegraph repairs. Ballantine, however, is due to muster out of the army in a few days; Weed orders Sgt. Higginbotham, disliked by both MacChesney and Cutter, to join the expedition as Ballantine's replacement.

Once he is discharged, Ballantine plans to wed Emmy Stebbins and go into the tea business, a combined calamity that MacChesney and Cutter consider worse than death. MacChesney and Cutter are invited to the engagement party; intending to cause mischief, they spike the punch, which is subsequently drunk by Higginbotham. Higginbotham is so sick the following morning that he is unable to march out with the expedition, so a reluctant Ballantine is ordered to replace him.

At Tantrapur, Ballantine is eager to complete as much of the repairs as possible before his enlistment ends, while Cutter and MacChesney are frustrated and bored by the lack of action. Both suspect that if he could see some combat, Ballantine would change his mind about leaving the army. Ballantine's enlistment ends while the detachment is still at Tantrapur, and a relief column led by Higginbotham, with Emmy riding along to surprise Ballantine, arrives. Meanwhile, Gunga Din tells Cutter of a temple he has found, one made of gold. Cutter is determined to make his fortune, but MacChesney will have none of it and has Cutter put in the stockade to prevent his desertion. That night, Cutter escapes with Din's help and goes to the temple, which they discover belongs to the Thugs when the cultists return for a ceremony. Cutter creates a distraction and allows himself to be captured so that Din can slip away and sound the warning.

When Din gives MacChesney the news, he decides to go to the rescue, while Higginbotham sends word to headquarters to call out the entire regiment. Ballantine wants to go, too, but MacChesney points out that he cannot, as he is now a civilian. Ballantine reluctantly agrees to re-enlist, on the understanding that the enlistment paper will be torn up after the rescue. Emmy tries to dissuade him from going, but he refuses to desert his friends. MacChesney's eagerness leads him to head to the temple without questioning Din in detail. As a result, MacChesney, Ballantine, and Din foolishly enter the temple by themselves and are easily captured. They are thrown into a cell with Cutter, where they discover he has been tortured since his capture; the guru demands that they reveal the details of their regiment's location. MacChesney tricks the Thuggee guru into thinking he is prepared to betray his friends and the British army, and the soldiers use the opportunity to take the guru hostage. A standoff ensues, and the soldiers take the guru to the roof of the temple, where they discover the true size of the Thuggee forces.

As the regiment marches toward the temple, the guru boasts that they are falling into the trap he has set. He orders his men, still clustered around the temple, to take their positions, but they refuse to abandon him. When he sees that they are unwilling to leave him in enemy hands, he commits suicide to remove that obstacle; the Thuggee force moves into position, while other cultists swarm up the temple in order to kill the sergeants. Thugs shoot and bayonet Cutter. Gunga Din is also bayoneted, but manages with the last of his strength to climb to the top of the gold dome of the temple and sound the alarm with a bugle taken from a dead Thug. He is then shot dead, but the British force is alerted and defeats the Thuggee forces. At Din's funeral pyre, the colonel formally inducts Gunga Din as a British corporal—then  he asks visiting journalist Rudyard Kipling to hand him the draft of the poem Kipling has just completed, so that he might read the final words himself over Din's body. Ballantine announces his intention to remain in the army, and instead of tearing up his re-enlistment papers, gives them to the colonel, much to the approval of MacChesney and Cutter. The film ends with a final image of Gunga Din's spirit, standing proudly and saluting at attention, now in British uniform.

Cast

 Cary Grant as Sgt. Archibald Cutter
 Victor McLaglen as Sgt. "Mac" MacChesney
 Douglas Fairbanks Jr. as Sgt. Thomas "Tommy" Ballantine
 Sam Jaffe as Gunga Din
 Eduardo Ciannelli as Guru
 Joan Fontaine as Emaline "Emmy" Stebbins
 Montagu Love as Col. Weed
 Robert Coote as Sgt. Bertie Higginbotham
 Abner Biberman as Chota
 Lumsden Hare as Maj. Mitchell
 Cecil Kellaway as Mr. Stebbins (uncredited)
 Reginald Sheffield as Rudyard Kipling (uncredited)
 George Regas as Thug Chieftain "Toadface" (uncredited)
 Roland Varno as Lt. Markham (uncredited)

Production

Development

The rights to Kipling's poem were bought by producer Edward Small's Reliance Pictures in 1936 in exchange for £4,700. RKO took the rights as part of a production deal with Small when he moved to the company. William Faulkner did some preliminary script work then the project was assigned to Howard Hawks. He got Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur to write the screenplay and the film was set to start in 1937 but was delayed to find suitable cast. Hawks was fired from the project following the commercial failure of Bringing Up Baby and George Stevens was assigned to direct.

Originally, Grant and Fairbanks were assigned each other's role; Grant was to be the one leaving the army to marry Joan Fontaine's character, and Fairbanks the happy-go-lucky treasure hunter, since the character was identical to the legendary screen persona of Fairbanks' father.

According to Robert Osborne of Turner Classic Movies, when Grant wanted to switch parts, director George Stevens suggested they toss a coin; Grant won and Fairbanks Jr. lost his most important role.

On the other hand, according to a biography of director George Stevens by Marilyn Ann Moss entitled Giant: George Stevens, a Life on Film, the Cutter role was originally slated for comedy actor Jack Oakie until Grant requested the part because it would enable him to inject more humor into his performance, at which point Fairbanks Jr. was brought on board to replace Grant as Ballantine.

On a more recent showing of the film on TCM, Ben Mankiewicz has contradicted the story told about the coin-flip by his colleague Osbourne, and has stated that while Grant was originally slated to play Sergeant Ballantine, and did indeed decide to switch to the more comedic role of Sergeant Cutter, he claimed that after taking over the role that may or may not have already been filled, Grant actually recommended that his former role go to his friend Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and was primarily responsible for him gaining the part.

Fairbanks Jr. claims he was cast as Cutter by Howard Hawks then asked to change.

Filming

Filming began on June 24, 1938, and was completed on October 19, 1938. The film premiered in Los Angeles on January 24, 1939. California's Sierra Nevada range, Alabama Hills and surrounding areas doubled as the Khyber Pass for the film.

Douglas Fairbanks Jr. reported in a featurette interview on the DVD release that in his travels, he has met several Hindi Indians who were convinced the external scenes were filmed on location in Northwest India at the actual Khyber Pass.  A few interiors were made on sets at RKO Radio Pictures Hollywood sound stages, and one exterior scene filmed on the RKO Encino movie ranch.  The original script was composed largely of interiors and detailed life in the barracks. The decision was made to make the story a much larger adventure tale, but the re-write process dragged on into principal shooting. Some of the incidental scenes that flesh out the story were filmed while hundreds of extras were in the background being marshaled for larger takes.

The movie includes a sequence at the end in which a fictionalized Rudyard Kipling, played by Reginald Sheffield, witnesses the events and is inspired to write his poem (the scene in which the poem is first read out carefully quotes only those parts of the poem that tally with the events of the movie). Following objections from Kipling's family, the character was excised from some prints of the movie, but has since been restored.

Reception

Box office
The film earned $1,888,000 in the United States and Canada and $919,000 elsewhere, but because of its high production cost, it recorded a loss of $193,000.  The film was the sixth highest-grossing film nationally in 1939; however, in the ten states of Indiana, Ohio, Nebraska, Montana, Idaho, Utah, Pennsylvania, Alabama, Mississippi, and South Carolina, it was the third highest-grossing film, coming only behind Gone with the Wind (which came in first place nationally, as well as in each of these states individually) and The Wizard of Oz (which came in fifth place nationally and second place in the aforementioned ten states).

Critical
Time gave Gunga Din a positive review. However, they also noted that the film was part of a recent Hollywood trend of manufactured screwball comedies, re-releases, remakes, and thinly disguised remakes; comparing Gunga Din to several previous films such as Lives of a Bengal Lancer, Charge of the Light Brigade, and The Drum.

Bertolt Brecht discusses the film in his short essay "Is it worth speaking about the amateur theater?" Here Brecht reflects that "I felt like applauding, and laughed in all the right places, despite the fact that I knew all the time that there was something wrong, that the Indians are not primitive and uncultured people but have a magnificent age-old culture, and that this Gunga Din could also be seen in a different light, e.g. as a traitor to his people, I was amused and touched because this utterly distorted account was an artistic success and considerable resources in talent and ingenuity had been applied in making it.
Obviously artistic appreciation of this sort is not without effects. It weakens the good instincts and strengthens the bad, it contradicts true experience and spreads misconceptions, in short it perverts our picture of the world."

Douglas Fairbanks Jr. called the film "my sole masterpiece among the hundred or so films I made."

After criticism from the Indian press (notably the Bombay Chronicle and Filmindia), the film was banned in Bengal and Bombay, then later in Japan because it "injures the sentiments of a friendly nation"

Awards
Cinematographer Joseph H. August was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Cinematography, Black-and-White.

In 1999, the film was deemed "culturally significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.

American Film Institute List
 AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers – #74

Influence
Gunga Din was one of novelist and screenwriter William Goldman's favorite films. His first novel, The Temple of Gold, is named after the location of the film's climax, and the movie is mentioned by name in the introduction to Goldman's novel The Princess Bride.

The film was remade in 1962 as Sergeants 3 by members of the Rat Pack (Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr, Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop); the part of Gunga Din was played by Sammy Davis Jr. while Sinatra portrayed a variation of the Victor McLaglen role and Dean Martin played Cary Grant's part.

Several later films have paid homage to scenes from Gunga Din. In Help! (1965) the Beatles are pursued by a thuggee-like cult, and in The Party (1968) Peter Sellers plays an actor starring in "Son of Gunga Din" and parodies the bugle scene.

In the 1984 film Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (set in India in 1935), many of the events and scenes are taken directly from Gunga Din, including scenes involving the Thugee cult and its leader (cast with a look-alike) and the bridge sequence.

Rian Johnson, the director of the 2017 film Star Wars: The Last Jedi, listed Gunga Din as one of the six movies for the cast and crew to watch before starting production.

See also
 List of American films of 1939
 Sergeants 3

References

External links

 Gunga Din essay by Daniel Eagan in America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry, A&C Black, 2010 , pages 280-282

1930s war adventure films
1939 films
Films set in 1880
1930s ghost films
American black-and-white films
Films based on poems
Films based on works by Rudyard Kipling
Films directed by George Stevens
RKO Pictures films
United States National Film Registry films
British Empire war films
Films set in the British Raj
American ghost films
Films shot in California
Films scored by Alfred Newman
Films with screenplays by William Faulkner
Films based on multiple works
Films about cults
American war adventure films
American epic films
1930s English-language films
1930s American films
Films about the British Army

Gunga Din (film)