Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (born Hamburg 3 February 1809; died Leipzig 4 November 1847) was a German composer.

His grandfather was the German-Jewish philosopher Moses Mendelssohn.  He was one of the great composers of the Romantic period. He loved the music of earlier composers like Bach, Handel and Mozart and he built on the traditions they had made. Mendelssohn was a child prodigy. He was already composing great music when he was a teenager. He wrote music for orchestra, piano, organ as well as chamber music and  music for singing. His violin concerto is one of the most popular concertos ever written and is played by all the famous violinists. Two of his tunes are known by almost everybody: the hymn tune Hark the Herald Angels Sing, and the Wedding March which is played so often at the end of weddings.

Life

Mendelssohn's family had plenty of money. They were also very interested in music, literature, painting etc. His grandfather Moses Mendelssohn was famous in German national literature. His father was a banker and his mother came from a family who owned a lot of factories in Berlin. The young Felix was educated at home by his parents. Although the family was Jewish his parents had Felix baptized and his father became a Christian a few years later. The Mendelssohn family added the name of Bartholdy to their name at this time.

Soon Felix was being taught by private tutors including Ludwig Berger who taught him the piano. He also learned music theory and composition. He played the piano at a concert when he was nine, and started to compose little plays with music (called a Singspiel in German). In 1821 he was taken to meet the famous writer Goethe in Weimar. It was to be the first of several visits and Goethe's way of thinking and his works of German literature had a big influence on the young Mendelssohn. He composed several works at this time including Singspiels, symphonies and chamber music. He traveled with his father and met many famous musicians.

In 1825 the family moved to Berlin. They had regular concerts on Sunday mornings in their large house. Many rich and famous people were invited to their private concerts. In October 1825 he wrote a String Octet (a piece for eight string instruments) which is one of his best works. He studied the music of Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) whose music people had almost forgotten. He found the music of Bach's St Matthew Passion and conducted a performance of it in 1829. It was a famous performance in music history, because people suddenly realized how great Bach was. Bach's music has never been forgotten again since then.

During the years 1829 to 1835 Mendelssohn traveled all over Europe. He visited London several times and he also performed Beethoven's Emperor Concerto there. He travelled to Scotland where he sailed to Fingal's Cave in the Inner Hebrides. This inspired him to write the overture called The Hebrides. When he was returning the stagecoach had an accident and he hurt his knee. He stayed with the composer Thomas Attwood for some time before he could return to Berlin. Next he travelled to Italy where he wrote the Italian Symphony. In Italy he met Hector Berlioz and on his way back he met Chopin.

He spent some time in Düsseldorf where he performed several oratorios by Handel as well as his own music. In Frankfurt am Main he stayed with a family who had two daughters. He married one of them, Cécile Charlotte Sophia Jeanrenaud, in 1837. They had a happy marriage and had five children.

Felix and his young wife went to live in Leipzig where he became the conductor of the famous Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. This was one of the highest musical jobs in Germany. He conducted a lot of music by 18th century composers who had been forgotten. He also gave the first performance of Schubert's Symphony in C major which had been discovered by Robert Schumann nine years after Schubert's death. Mendelssohn got some of the most famous musicians to come to Leipzig and perform with the orchestra: Clara Schumann, Franz Liszt, Anton Rubinstein, the young violinist Joseph Joachim and the Swedish soprano Jenny Lind. Mendelssohn improved the playing of the orchestra, making them one of the best orchestras in the world. He also made sure that the players were paid well.

In the early 1840s Mendelssohn spent some time in Berlin. The new king, Friedrich Wilhelm IV, King of Prussia, was very keen on music and had lots of ideas about new plans for concerts. He wanted Mendelssohn to be in charge of this. The king wanted to see Greek plays performed and Mendelssohn had to write incidental music for the performances of Antigone.

In June 1842 Mendelssohn was twice received by Queen Victoria at her palace in London. Mendelssohn thanked the Queen by dedicating his Scottish Symphony to her. He continued to conduct in Leipzig and helped to make Berlioz's music famous in Germany. He became director of the new Conservatoire in Leipzig. In Berlin the king asked him to provide incidental music for Shakespeare's play  A Midsummer Night's Dream . He had already written some of this music 17 years earlier but now he finished it and performed it in 1843.

For his piano performances Mendelssohn was using instruments from a Viennese piano maker Conrad Graf. Mendelshohn was so pleased with this instrument, that he decided to order from Graf two more pianos: one for himself and one for his brother's bride.

During his last years Mendelssohn suffered from bad health. He continued to work and travel as much as he could, but after a stroke in 1847 he died in Leipzig aged 38. His body was taken by a special train to Berlin where he was buried near the grave of his sister Fanny.

Music
Mendelssohn's most famous works are his 5 symphonies (especially the Scottish and Italian symphonies), his concertos (especially his violin concerto), his overtures (especially The Hebrides) and his Incidental Music to A Midsummer Night's Dream which includes the famous Wedding March. He wrote some very good chamber music: string quartets and piano trios and two very famous oratorios: Elijah and St Paul. His piano music includes a large collection of short pieces called Songs without Words (German: Lieder ohne Worte) which many pianists like to play. His organ music shows his love for J.S.Bach, often sounding more Baroque than Romantic. After his death Mendelssohn's music became less popular for a time. This may have been because of the rise of anti-semitism in the mid-19th century, it may also have been because some musicians played Mendelssohn's music in a rather delightful way. But many great musicians saw his greatness and his music is well-loved today.

References
The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. Stanley Sadie, 1980;

Other websites

 Felix Mendelssohn House and Foundation, Leipzig
 The Mendelssohn Project A project with the objective of "recording of the complete published and unpublished works of Felix and Fanny Mendelssohn".

1809 births
1847 deaths
Deaths from stroke
19th-century German composers
Jewish German musicians
People from Hamburg
Romantic composers

Felix Mendelssohn


Dvergar or Norse dwarves (Old Norse dvergar, singular dvergr) are creatures in Norse mythology. They are associated with rocks, the earth, craft and metal work, wisdom, and greed. The dwarves came from maggots that formed on Ymir's skin as he was killed by Odin, Vé and Vili. Odin transformed the maggots into dwarves. It is said that dwarves are blacksmiths and built weapons for war between the gods. Some say that dwarves and elves are the same thing.

Related pages
Dwarf (mythology)

Norse mythology

Dvergr


Compania Română de Aviație Romavia R.A., usually referred to as Romavia , was a state airline from Romania, owned and controlled by the Romanian Ministry of National Defence. It operated VIP and charter flights, serving the demands of the Romanian state and its politicians. Romavia had its headquarters in Bucharest, with the base for its flight operations being located at the city's airports Henri Coandă and Băneasa.

History
Romavia was formed by the Romanian government in 1990 and launched flight operations the following year.

Romavia set up an Aircraft Maintenance Organization, for the benefit of their own fleet and for other customers. The fleet consisted, among other models, of two Romanian-built BAC (Rombac) 1-11 (YR-BRE and the last worldwide build, YR-BRI with stage III Rolls-Royce engines).

As of August 2014, the company is bankrupt.

Fleet

Over the years, Romavia operated the following aircraft types:

Incidents and accidents
On 10 January 1991, a Boeing 707-300 (registered YR-ABD) was damaged beyond repair during a crash landing at Bucharest Otopeni Airport. The aircraft had been on a crew training flight for soon-to-be-launched Romavia, when it hit the runway with its left wing, resulting in a fire. There were no casualties amongst the 13 persons on board.
On 13 December 1995, Banat Air Flight 166, an Antonov An-24 (registered YR-AMR) chartered from Romavia, crashed shortly after take-off from Verona Airport, killing all 41 passengers and 8 crew members on board. The accident most probably happened because of the aircraft having been overloaded and improperly de-iced.

References

External links

 Official website

Defunct airlines of Romania
Airlines established in 1990
Airlines disestablished in 2014
2010 disestablishments in Romania
Romanian companies established in 1990

Romavia


The Bell Witch or Bell Witch Haunting is a legend from Southern United States folklore, centered on the 19th-century Bell family of northwest Robertson County, Tennessee. Farmer John Bell Sr. resided with his family along the Red River in an area currently near the town of Adams. According to legend, from 1817 to 1821, his family and the local area came under attack by a mostly invisible entity that was able to speak, affect the physical environment, and shapeshift. Some accounts record the spirit also to have been clairvoyant and capable of crossing long distances with superhuman speed (and/or of being in more than one place at a time).

In 1894, newspaper editor Martin V. Ingram published his Authenticated History of the Bell Witch. The book is widely regarded as the first full-length record of the legend and a primary source for subsequent treatments. The individuals recorded in the work were known historical personalities. In modern times, some skeptics have regarded Ingram's efforts as a work of historical fiction or fraud. Other researchers consider Ingram's work a nascent folklore study and an accurate reflection of belief in the region during the 19th century.

While not a fundamental element of the original recorded legend, the Bell Witch Cave in the 20th century became a source of continuing interest, belief, and generation of lore. Contemporary artistic interpretations such as in film and music have expanded the reach of the legend beyond the regional confines of the Southern United States.

Legend synopsis

In his book An Authenticated History of the Bell Witch, author Martin V. Ingram published that the poltergeist's name was Kate, after the entity claimed at one point to be "Old Kate Batts' witch," and continued to respond favorably to the name. The physical activity centered on the Bells' youngest daughter, Betsy, and her father, and 'Kate' expressed particular displeasure when Betsy became engaged to a local named Joshua Gardner.

The haunting began sometime in 1817 when John Bell witnessed the apparition of a strange creature resembling a dog with the head of a rabbit. Bell fired at the animal but it disappeared. John's son Drew Bell approached an unknown bird perched on a fence that flew off and was of "extraordinary size." The daughter Betsy observed a girl in a green dress swinging from the limb of an oak tree. Dean, a person enslaved by the Bell family, reported being followed by a large black dog on evenings he visited his wife. Activity moved to the Bell household with knocking heard along the door and walls. The family heard sounds of gnawing on the beds, invisible dogs fighting, and chains along the floor. About this time John Bell began experiencing paralysis in his mouth. The phenomena grew in intensity as sheets were pulled from beds when the children slept. Soon the entity pulled hair and scratched the children with particular emphasis on Betsy who was slapped, pinched and stuck with pins.

The Bells turned to family friend James Johnston for help. After retiring for the evening at the Bell home, Johnston was awakened that night by the same phenomena. That morning he told John Bell it was a "spirit, just like in the Bible." Soon word of the haunting spread with some traveling great distances to see the witch. The apparition began to speak out loud and was asked, "Who are you and what do you want?" and the voice answered feebly, "I am a spirit; I was once very happy but have been disturbed." The spirit offered diverse explanations of why it had appeared, tying its origin to the disturbance of a Native American burial mound located on the property, and sent Drew Bell and Bennett Porter on an unproductive search for buried treasure. With the emergence of full conversations, the spirit repeated word for word two sermons given 13 miles apart at the same time. The entity was well acquainted with Biblical text and appeared to enjoy religious arguments. As another amusement, the witch shared gossip about activities in other households, and at times appeared to leave for brief moments to visit homes after an inquiry.

John Johnston, a son of James, devised a test for the witch, something no one outside his family would know, asking the entity what his Dutch step-grandmother in North Carolina would say to the slaves if she thought they did something wrong. The witch replied with his grandmother's accent, "Hut tut, what has happened now?" In another account, an Englishman stopped to visit and offered to investigate. On remarking on his family overseas, the witch suddenly began to mimic his English parents. Again in the early morning, the witch woke him to voices of his parents worried as they had heard his voice as well. The Englishman quickly left that morning and later wrote to the Bell family that the entity had visited his family in England. He apologized for his skepticism.

At times, the spirit displayed a form of kindness, especially towards Lucy, John Bell's wife, "the most perfect woman to walk the earth." The witch would give Lucy fresh fruit and sing hymns to her, and showed John Bell Jr. a measure of respect.

Referring to John Bell Sr. as "Old Jack," the witch claimed she intended to kill him and signaled this intention through curses, threats, and afflictions. The story climaxes with the Bell patriarch being poisoned by the witch. Afterward the entity interrupted the mourners by singing drinking songs. In 1821, as a result of the witch's entreatment, Betsy Bell called off her engagement to Joshua Gardner. Subsequently, the entity told the family it was going to leave, but return in seven years in 1828. The witch returned on time to Lucy and her sons Richard and Joel with similar activities as before, but they chose not to encourage it, and the witch appeared to leave again.

Several accounts say that during his military career, Andrew Jackson was intrigued with the story and his men were frightened away after traveling to investigate. In an independent oral tradition recorded in the vicinity of Panola County, Mississippi, the witch was the ghost of an unpleasant overseer John Bell murdered in North Carolina. In this tradition, the spirit falls in love with the central character 'Mary', leading to her death. This account is reminiscent of vampire lore. The supernatural powers attributed to the Tennessee spirit have also been compared to that of jinn in mythology.

In the manuscript attributed to Richard Williams Bell, he wrote that the spirit remained a mystery:

Early written records

Long-Bell Expedition, 1820

Military officer John R. Bell joined the Stephen Harriman Long expedition in 1820 to explore the central Great Plains. Due to lack of provisions, Long and Bell led divided parties after they reached the Rocky Mountains and rejoined in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Bell kept a detailed journal of his travel. His return trip, on October 19, 1820, crossed the Red River at Port Royal, Tennessee. Later that day, Bell stopped at the Murphey residence in Robertson County to eat dinner. During the stay, Bell was told of a young woman accompanied by a voice. The voice wished for the woman to marry a local man, and thousands had traveled to hear it. The journal's connection to the Bell Witch legend was discussed by local historian David Britton during a television broadcast produced for the Discovery Channel in November, 2020.

Leigh Eric Schmidt writes that Enlightenment writers by the late 18th century utilized ventriloquist theory as a naturalistic explanation for religious expression of supernatural voices such as those found in democratized Christianity of the Great Awakenings and shamanic practices of Native Americans. Schmidt argues this secularized explanation of supernatural voices as a form of deception and illusion led to the adoption of ventriloquism by stage magicians of the first decade of the 19th century. These early popular performances, from predominantly white male stage magicians, concurrently led to the democratization of the secular theory across the United States. The cultural change left religious interpretations of such voices to more marginalized groups and secular interpretations of those beliefs as provincial or "rustic." This shift also led to the Spiritualist movement of the mid-19th century to find greater expression among women.

The Saturday Evening Post

The publications New England Farmer of Boston and the Green Mountain Freeman of Vermont in January and February 1856 published an article regarding the Bell Witch legend and the publications ascribed the origin of the text to the Saturday Evening Post. The Farmer was a weekly agricultural journal. The Freeman was affiliated with the abolitionist Liberty Party. The unidentified author described the apparition as the 'Tennessee Ghost' or 'Bell Ghost,' and stated the event occurred 30 years or more from the time the article was written. There are three human characters in the account, Mr. Bell, his daughter Betsey Bell, and Joshua Gardner. The author stated that the voice, which spoke freely about the house from all directions, would not manifest itself until the lights were extinguished at night. The phenomenon attracted wide interest. The author claimed to have become well acquainted with Mr. Gardner. When the ghost was asked how long it would remain, it replied, "until Joshua Gardner and Betsey Bell get married." The author goes on to state that Betsey Bell had fallen in love with Joshua Gardner and had discovered the skill of ventriloquism. The author states that Ms. Bell then used her skill to attempt to convince Joshua Gardner to marry her. When they did not marry, the apparition disappeared.

M. V. Ingram, in his An Authenticated History Of The Bell Witch, wrote that a Saturday Evening Post article regarding the Bell Witch had been retracted:

Clinard and Burgess Trial, 1868

In September 1868, an article was published entitled "Witchcraft and Murder: Hobgoblins and Old Gray Horses the Incentive to Crime." Tom Clinard and Dick Burgess were arrested for the murder of Mr. Smith. The article reported that Smith claimed the powers of witchcraft while working near Adam's Station, chopping wood on a farm with the defendants. The article stated that Smith claimed to use these occult powers on Clinard and Burgess, leading to the conflict between them. The identity of the decedent was reported variously as James or Charles Smith. The jury of State vs. Clinard and Burgess returned a not guilty verdict.

Ingram published an interview with Lucinda E. Rawls, of Clarksville, Tennessee, daughter of Alexander Gooch and Theny Thorn, both reported as close friends of Betsy Bell. Rawls testified that the Bell Witch was a frequent topic of conversation during her lifetime and pointed to a murder of a man for witchcraft as evidence for this claim.

Ingram appended a date of 1875 or 1876 to the bloodshed, but connected the Rawls recollection with the death of Smith:

Haunted House, 1880

On April 24, 1880, an article was published regarding a 'haunted house' in Springfield, Tennessee where knocking underneath the floor was heard. The fourth night of knockings began at 10:30 p.m. and ended at 4:00a.m. with the home surrounded by 10-12 persons working in an effort to discover the origin of the sound. In a follow-up report from April 26, 1880, the writer reported that several hundred people had visited the home attempting to witness the phenomenon with many camped out overnight despite the homeowners asking them to leave. On Wednesday night, April 28, 1880, the family were reported to have left the home for the night and a smaller group of investigators around the home heard knocking from fifty yards away. During the events, the journalist took the opportunity to mention the Bell Witch legend:

It is an actual fact that several hundred intelligent people of Springfield and vicinity have been so excited over the noise as to go night after night to listen to it ... About thirty years ago Robertson county had a sensation similar to this known as the "Bell Witch," and people came from all parts of the country, even as far as New York, to hear or see her.

The Springfield floor knocking occurred at the residence of John W. Nuckolls, a prominent physician. Nuckolls was recently married to Laura Hopkins Jones, a union opposed by her family. The phenomenon created a domestic disturbance between the couple, as a local carpenter, Gill Walling, accused Laura Nuckolls of creating the noise with an iron ball attached to a rubber belt hidden under her clothes. Robertson County historian Yolanda Reid states, "they came to the conclusion that the wife was tying it into the bottom of her skirt to make the sounds, nobody ever proved it." The couple separated in May, 1880. That August, John Nuckolls retrieved his infant child from his wife, running through town with his estranged wife following in anguish. Afterward the child was returned to Laura Nuckolls who was living with her father, Asa Hopkins. John Nuckolls, in February 1882, confronted Laura's father, over his desire to see the child, and threatened his father-in-law's life. During the argument, the subject of 'ghosts' between the men was reported by an eyewitness as Nuckolls attempted to shoot Hopkins but was restrained. The next day, as a result of this confrontation, Nuckoll's brother-in-law, S. B. Hopkins, traveled from Nashville and shot John W. Nuckolls with a double-barreled shotgun, causing his death. The circumstances of the shooting were contested and S. B. Hopkins was acquitted of murder.

The journal Studies in Philology, in 1919, published a study of witchcraft in North Carolina by folklorist Tom Peete Cross. Cross cites a column from the Nashville Banner where it mentions the paper had sent a reporter to Robertson County in the 1880s, John C. Cooke, to investigate reports of the possible reemergence of the Bell Witch phenomenon.

Nashville Centennial Exposition

A several page account of the Bell Witch legend was included in a sketch of Robertson County and was reportedly written for Nashville's Centennial Exposition in 1880. The sketch was published in 1900 by the Tennessee Historical Society. The author of the sketch is unknown and the article is undated. Dates in the sketch end at 1880. The writer stated the source of the first portion of the narrative from "F. R. Miles, William Pride, W. J. Gooch, Ben. B. Batts, and many others." The author identified the burial disturbance as skull bones previously located in a "mound nearby on the river bluff." The return of the remains did not placate the spirit. The witch could speak in several languages and would "set the dogs" on unsuspecting victims. In the Centennial account, the Bell entity did not explicitly poison John Bell.

At one time a vial of poison was found in the flue of the chimney, and being taken down, Dr. George B. Hopson gave one drop to a cat, causing its death in seven seconds. The witch claimed to have put the poison there for the purpose of killing Mr. Bell. Being asked how it was going to administer the poison, it said by pouring it into the dinner pot. It is remarkable that, although he enjoyed good health up to the time of this event, Mr. Bell died within [ ] days after the vial was found, being in a stupor at the time of his death. From this time the people visited the house less frequently, although the witch would now and then be heard.

In the Ingram account, attributed to Richard Williams Bell, John Bell was already suffering from an unknown affliction and bedridden for some time. John Bell's son, John Bell Jr., found the vial in the cupboard after his father did not wake. The family called for Dr. Hopson, while the Bell Witch exclaimed she had fed the poison to John Bell.  Alex Gunn and John Bell Jr. tested the poison on the cat with a straw, which "died very quick." John Bell died the next day on December 20, 1820.

The Centennial sketch stated the witch could appear as a rabbit, bear or black dog, and imitate various animal sounds. The voice claimed it was one of seven spirits with three names given for itself: Three Waters, Tynaperty, and Black Dog. The Ingram account also described a family of spirits that demonstrated during a short period of time. The members of the 'witch family' had the names of Blackdog, Mathematics, Cypocryphy, and Jerusalem. Blackdog was described as the apparent leader of the group.

Goodspeed's History of Tennessee

Goodspeed Brothers' 1886 History of Tennessee, recorded a short account of the legend that identified the spirit as female and stated that interest in the phenomenon was widespread in the region at the time.

A remarkable occurrence, which attracted widespread interest, was connected with the family of John Bell, who settled near what is now Adams Station about 1804. So great was the excitement that people came from hundreds of miles around to witness the manifestations of what was popularly known as the "Bell Witch." This witch was supposed to be some spiritual being having the voice and attributes of a woman. It was invisible to the eye, yet it would hold conversation and even shake hands with certain individuals. The freaks it performed were wonderful, and seemingly designed to annoy the family. It would take the sugar from the bowls, spill the milk, take the quilts from the beds, slap and pinch the children, and then laugh at the discomfiture of its victims. At first it was supposed to be a good spirit, but its subsequent acts, together with the curses with which it supplemented its remarks, proved the contrary. A volume might be written concerning the performances of this wonderful being, as they are now described by contemporaries and their descendants. That all this actually occurred will not be disputed, nor will a rational explanation be attempted. It is merely introduced as an example of superstition, strong in the minds of all but a few in those times, and not yet wholly extinct.

Accounts from 1890

The week of January 20, 1890 hundreds of persons were reported to have visited a house 2.5 miles east of Hopkinsville, Kentucky as word spread of coal mysteriously falling from the ceiling in the family room. The house was occupied by a prominent minister of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, W. G. L. Quaite, his wife, step-daughter Belle Hall, as well as an unnamed sixteen-year-old female servant. Mrs. Quaite was injured as a piece struck her on top of the head and she required medical attention. An earlier report suggested the servant girl as a potential suspect, while stating the superstitious were invoking a connection to the "Bell Witches of Robertson County" from decades earlier. The frequency of the coal drops declined by the end of the week. Reverend Quaite attributed supernatural agency to the activity and was praying in the evening in an effort to solve the mystery.

An article was published on February 3, 1890, describing a series of events from Adam's Station, Tennessee. At dusk, January 27, 1890, Mr. Hollaway reported watching two unknown women arrive at his home and dismount from their horses as he was feeding cattle. When he arrived at the house, the horses and women were gone. Mr. Hollaway's wife reported seeing the women in the yard as well. That week, Mr. Rowland attempted to place a sack of corn on his horse's back and it fell off. He again attempted to place the sack of corn on the horse's back several more times, but each time the sack fell off. Joe Johnson arrived and held on to the sack as Mr. Rowland mounted his horse. They witnessed the sack floating away for 20 yards where it settled down at the fence. When the men went to retrieve the sack, a voice was heard, "You won't touch this sack anymore."

A follow-up report was published on February 18, 1890, with the title, "A Weird Witch: More Tales of a Mulhattanish Flavor from Adams Station." In the late 19th century, Joseph Mulhattan was a known hoaxer of newspaper articles. The article was republished a few days later with the subtitle "More Tales of a Fishy Flavor." In the account, the entity was referred to only as the witch. The article reports that Mr. Johnson was visiting Buck Smith and was discussing a recent visitation of the ghost at his home. They heard a knocking at the door, and when they opened the door, the knocking began at another door. They sat down and the dog began to fight with something invisible. Two minutes later, the door flew open and fire spread across the room blown by a cyclonic wind with the coals disappearing as they tried to put it out. That evening Mr. Johnson started home on his horse and something jumped on the back grabbing his shoulder as he tried to restrain the horse. He felt it jump off as he neared his home and move in the leaves into the woods.

Mr. Winters reported taking a peculiar bird while hunting with great difficulty. After he returned home, he opened the game-bag to discover the bird had disappeared and in place was a rabbit which then also disappeared. While burning vegetation outdoors, Mr. Rowland described a visit at 9 p.m. of a half-clothed black man with one eye in his forehead that directed Mr. Rowland to follow him and dig at a large rock. The figure then disappeared. Mr. Rowland dug that night until exhaustion. He received help the next morning from Bill Burgess and Mr. Johnson and discovered something described as a "kettle turned bottom upward." They were unable to remove it as the soil began moving back into the hole faster than the men could remove the soil. The report concludes by saying that many people were visiting to see the witch.

Martin Van Buren Ingram

Biography

Born near Guthrie, Kentucky, June 20, 1832, Martin Van Buren Ingram took over responsibility of the family farm at the age of 17. A member of Hawkins' Nashville Battalion during the Civil War, he was discharged for disability after the Battle of Shiloh.  Ingram began his editing and publishing career in April 1866 with the Robertson Register with no previous experience. October 1868, Ingram moved the paper to Clarksville and began issuing the Clarksville Tobacco Leaf in February 1869. Ingram continued an ownership association with the Leaf until about 1881. The consequences of poor health, family tragedy and fire limited his continuing interest in the newspaper industry.

On the occasion of Ingram's death in October 1909, editor of the Clarksville Leaf Chronicle, W. W. Barksdale, wrote of his friend and colleague:

An Authenticated History of the Famous Bell Witch

The week of January 24, 1890, Ingram was suffering from a "severe case of la grippe." In February 1890, Ingram resigned as editor of the Clarksville Chronicle. A month later, the Chronicle was purchased by the Leaf, and Ingram joined the new editorial staff. On July 13, 1892, a report in the Leaf-Chronicle was published of Ingram's travels to Adams Station and Cedar Hill with John Allen Gunn, "for the purpose of viewing the grounds where historic and most intensely thrilling events were enacted seventy-five years ago," and interviewing individuals, who "were then living and familiar with the wonderful phenomena that awakened such a widespread sensation." In the report, Mahala Darden, age 85, related memory of Lafayette's visit to Clarksville in 1825. A follow-up report was published July 19, 1892, recording a visit to Nancy Ayers, daughter of John Johnston. Ingram left the editorial position with the Leaf-Chronicle the same month.

Ingram subsequently traveled to Chicago in October 1893, while editor of the Progress-Democrat, in an attempt to publish his manuscript, An Authenticated History of the Famous Bell Witch. The Wonder of the 19th Century, and Unexplained Phenomenon of the Christian Era. The Mysterious Talking Goblin that Terrorized the West End of Robertson County, Tennessee, Tormenting John Bell to His Death. The Story of Betsy Bell, Her Lover and the Haunting Sphinx. Ingram left the Progress-Democrat to complete his book in February 1894. At the end of March, it was announced publisher W. P. Titus of Clarksville would print the work. The publisher reported a delay in printing after the witch visited one night in early May. Titus stated the witch demonstrated with maniacal singing, laughter, prayers, moaning, clapping, and rattling of the roof. The phenomena caused the printers to evacuate. By July 1894, the book was in print and a review from the newspaper in nearby Hopkinsville presented the work as a factual account.

In the introduction to the book, Ingram published a letter dated July 1, 1891, from former TN State Representative James Allen Bell of Adairville, Kentucky. J. A. Bell, a son of Richard Williams Bell and a grandson of John Bell Sr., explained that his father had met with his brother John Bell Jr. before his death and they agreed no material he had collected should be released until the last immediate family member of John Bell Sr. had died. The last immediate member of the family and youngest child of John Bell Sr., Joel Egbert Bell died in 1890 at the age of 76.

J. Allen Bell expressed the belief that his father's manuscript was written when he was 35 years old in 1846. He stated his father gave him the manuscript and family notes shortly before his death in 1857. Richard Williams Bell was roughly 6 to 10 years of age during the initial manifestations of the Bell Witch phenomenon and 17 at the occurrence of the spirit's return in 1828. The reported contributions of Richard Williams Bell, approximately 90 pages in length, are recorded in Chapter 8 of Ingram's work, entitled Our Family Trouble.

According to Brian Dunning no one has ever seen this diary, and there is no evidence that it ever existed: "Conveniently, every person with firsthand knowledge of the Bell Witch hauntings was already dead when Ingram started his book; in fact, every person with secondhand knowledge was even dead."  Dunning also concluded that Ingram was guilty of falsifying another statement, that the Saturday Evening Post had published a story in 1849 accusing the Bells' daughter Elizabeth of creating the witch, an article which was not found at the time. Joe Nickell argues the chapter includes the use of Masonic themes and anachronism which impacts credibility. Jim Brooks, a native of Adams, writes in his work Bell Witch Stories You Never Heard, that Bell family descendants report that Ingram did not return the manuscript to the family. Brooks explores the possibility that Ingram would have had an enhanced opportunity to modify the story by not returning the papers.

Keith Cartwright of the University of North Florida compares Ingram's work with Uncle Remus folklore as recorded by Joel Chandler Harris and also as an expression of the psychological shame of slavery and Native American removal. The slaves in the account are regarded as experts on the witch, with Uncle Zeke identifying the witch as, "dat Injun spirit ... the Injuns was here fust, and we white fokes driv em out, all but dem whar wur dead and cudent go, an da's here yit, in der spirit." The figure of "progress" Gen. Andrew Jackson was brought nearly to heel and the master, John Bell, was dead. The role of the trickster not played by the Br'er Rabbit but the witch-rabbit, the spirit's common animal form. The displaced, blacks, widows, and girls, act as witnesses to a force polite society cannot comprehend. The witch, "appears as a catch-all for every remainder of resistant agency."

Among those who were alive during the haunting, Ingram conducted interviews with Ibby Gunn, born in 1806, a daughter of Uncle Zeke and the sister-in-law of Dean, as well as Mahala Byrns Darden, born circa 1807, daughter of James Byrns. Ibby Gunn shared some experiences of Dean including the creation of a witch ball made of hair by her sister Kate for her husband Dean, the use of which appeared to anger the entity. Mahala Darden detailed what she understood family and friends were experiencing at the time of the haunting, expressed her great fear the witch would come to visit her home and also related the spirit sang "Row me up some brandy, O" at the conclusion of John Bell's graveside service.

Andrew Jackson

The account of General Andrew Jackson's visit is confined to Chapter 11 of Ingram's work. The chapter is a letter from Thomas L. Yancey, an attorney in Clarksville, dated January 1894. Yancey explained that his grandfather, Whitmel Fort, was a witness to phenomena at the Bell homestead and Fort had related the story of Jackson's visit which was undated in the letter. Yancey described his grandfather's account as, "quite amusing to me."

The Bell household was strained of resources from visitors and Jackson brought a wagon load of supplies with his men. Nearing the Bell homestead, the wagon stopped and appeared fastened to its position despite considerable effort by Jackson's men to free it. Jackson exclaimed, "By the eternal, boys, it is the witch." A metallic voice was heard in the vegetation, "All right General, let the wagon move on, I will see you again tonight." The horses began moving again. Instead of camping out, the party stayed at the Bell home that evening. Among the Jackson party was a 'witch layer' who boasted of his supernatural exploits. Tiring of the bravado, Jackson whispered, "By the eternals, I do wish the thing would come, I want to see him run." The entity arrived and taunted the witch slayer to shoot her. The man's gun would not fire. The witch countered,  "I'll teach you a lesson," and appeared to beat the man and led him out the door by his nose. Jackson exclaimed, "By the eternal, boys, I never saw so much fun in all my life. This beats fighting the British." The witch told Jackson she would uncover another rascal the next night. That morning Jackson's men chose to leave for home as they were apprehensive as to who was next.

Paranormal investigator Benjamin Radford, as well as Brian Dunning, conclude that there is no evidence that Andrew Jackson visited the Bell family home. During the years in question, Jackson's movements were well documented, and nowhere in history or his writings is there evidence of his knowledge of the Bell family. According to Dunning, "The 1824 Presidential election was notoriously malicious, and it seems hard to believe that his opponent would have overlooked the opportunity to drag him through the mud for having lost a fight to a witch." Carl Lindahl, affiliated with the University of Houston, writes that the Andrew Jackson encounter is an example of how belief and history mix together in the formation of legend. Such legends, which may persist in a locale for generations, upon receiving a media treatment can spread far outside of the area where the legend originated.

Legend in the 20th century

A prophecy was reported by May 1903 that the witch could return on the centennial of the Bell family arrival in Tennessee. In response to an August 1903 article from Memphis, The Springfield Herald expressed that no one in the local area was concerned with a return of the Bell Witch and made a charge of plagiarism towards the Memphis paper. The Herald also stated the copyright for Ingram's work had passed to his son Tolbert who was working at The Denver Times. By September, the local paper was again incredulous as the spirit was not reported to have returned in August.

Charles Bailey Bell, a grandson of John Bell Jr., and neurologist in Nashville, published a book entitled The Bell Witch: A Mysterious Spirit in 1934. In the work, he recounted stories he stated were told to him by his great aunt Betsy later in her life. This included another account of Andrew Jackson's visit and of a boy trapped in the Bell Witch Cave and pulled out of the cave feet first by the witch. Bell also detailed a series of prophecies he stated were given to his ancestors in 1828 by the spirit, including a declaration the witch was set to return again in 1935, 107 years after her last visit to the Bell family.

In 1937, there were reports of quirky events. Louis Garrison, owner of the farm that included the Bell Witch Cave, heard unexplained noises coming from inside. Bell descendants described the sound of something rubbing against a house, a paper like object that flew out the door and reentered through a side door, and faint music heard from a piano. A group from the local Epworth League were reported to have attended a wiener roast in a rock quarry near the Bell Witch Cave on July 29, 1937. The group were joking about the legend when they saw a figure of a woman sitting on top of the cliff over the cave causing many to flee. According to the newspaper, a minister in the group later claimed to have investigated and discovered it was moonlight on a rock. The second report concluded with a weather report that the moon was barely noticeable that night. Jim Brooks published in 2015 that his mother was in attendance at the roast, and relates that the minister caught up to the youth on the road to town after discovering no explanation for the figure.

In November 1965, an article was published involving an antique oak rocking chair said to have been previously owned by attorney Charlie Willett, a Bell descendant. The rocking chair was acquired in Willett's estate sale by Mrs. J. C. Adams, owner of an antique store on U.S. 41. A customer sat down in the chair, after learning it was not for sale, and while rocking in the chair asked Mrs. Adams if she believed in the supernatural. Two weeks later, the customer's daughter visited the home of Mrs. Adams and said after her mother had left and visited the Bell cemetery a voice told her to "stand up and look around, you will find something of much value." After some car trouble, the woman walked out into a field and found a black iron kettle turned over. She turned the kettle over and found a pearl buckle in the grass. The woman's daughter reported a jeweler estimated the buckle to be 160 to 200 years old.

Attorney Charles Romaine Willett (1886-1963), son of Sarah Elizabeth Bell, began an interest in the newspaper business at the age of 16. After some time playing professional baseball and working at other newspapers, Willett became the first managing editor of the Nashville Tennessean in 1907 while teaching himself law. A mayor of Adams, and member of the State legislature, Charlie Willett was known for his reliability. Every Sunday, Willett would accompany his sweetheart, Miss Jerry Cullom Gardner, for ice cream in Clarksville and dinner  at Richardson's Restaurant on the return home. According to community lore, the couple never married so as not to tempt fate as they descended from the Bell and Gardner families respectively. Jim Brooks relates that a family member detailed familial obligations as the likely explanation. Brooks inquired what the couple thought about the rumor in the early 1960s. Jerry Gardner explained if Charlie Willet ever asked her to marry him, she would assent. When Brooks related this to Charlie Willett, he immediately smiled, pulled his thumbs through his suspenders and said, "Oh, she said that, did she?"

Bonnie Haneline, in 1977, recounted a time during her childhood in 1944 when she was exploring the cave. She left English class, playing 'hooky,' and borrowed a lantern from Mrs. Garrison, the cave owner. She reported to have explored the cave with her friends for several years. While she was inside, her lantern blew out despite no breeze inside the cave. She managed to relight the lantern and it blew out again. Terrified, she crawled along the water path of the cave in the dark until she reached the entrance where she saw an opened can of pork and beans and marshmallows. Later that evening, she learned law enforcement discovered two escaped fugitives in the back of the cave. She credited the witch with helping her avoid them.

A visit in 1977 was reported of five soldiers from nearby Fort Campbell to the Bell Witch Cave. One of the soldiers was sitting on a rock and expressed skepticism of the legend when something invisible grabbed him around the chest.

In 1986, staff writer David Jarrard for The Tennessean and photographer Bill Wilson, the latter also a member of the National Speleological Society, were given permission to sleep in the cave over night. While in the first cave room they heard a noise from deeper in the cave Jarrard estimated at 30 yards.  Subsequently, an "unwavering groan" repeated again with greater volume and accompanied by several loud thumps. When it began a third time, the men retreated to the gate entrance. They explored the wiring to the lights looking for a reason for the noises. They went back to the first cave room but heard a rumble near the entrance. Walking back to the entrance they discovered the rumble was noise from a jet. As they reached the gate, a loud, high pitched scream emanated from inside the cave. The journalists left and did not spend the night.

In 1987, H. C. Sanders, owner of a nearby gas station, reported 20 years earlier he ran out of gas at night near the Red River across from the Bell Witch Cave. He began to walk towards town when a rabbit came out of the woods and began to follow him. Sanders walked faster, but the rabbit kept pace even as he broke out into a run. After a mile, Sanders sat down on a log to catch his breath. The rabbit hopped up on the other side of the log looked at him and said, "Hell of a race we had there, wasn't it?"

Skeptical evaluation

According to Ben Radford, the Bell Witch story is an important one for all paranormal researchers: "It shows how easily legend and myth can be mistaken for fact and real events and how easily the lines are blurred" when sources are not checked. Radford reminds readers that "the burden of proof is not on skeptics to disprove anything but rather for the proponents to prove ... claims".

Brian Dunning wrote that there was no need to discuss the supposed paranormal activity until there was evidence that the story was true. "Vague stories indicate that there was a witch in the area. All the significant facts of the story have been falsified, and the others come from a source of dubious credibility. Since no reliable documentation of any actual events exists, there is nothing worth looking into." Dunning concludes, "I chalk up the Bell Witch as nothing more than one of many unsubstantiated folk legends, vastly embellished and popularized by an opportunistic author of historical fiction."

Joe Nickell has written that many of those who knew Betsy suspected her of fraud and the Bell Witch story "sounds suspiciously like an example of "the poltergeist-faking syndrome" in which someone, typically a child, causes the mischief."

Amy Fluker, a researcher of the Mississippi version of the legend while affiliated with the University of Mississippi, has expressed the Bell Witch legend has other value. "As a historian of collective memory, it matters very little to my research if hauntings are real or not. It does matter that people believe they are. As a result, they can help us understand the perspectives, in this case, of 19th and 20th century Americans."

Bell Witch in culture

Film

There have been several films based, at least in part, on the Bell Witch legend. Roger Clarke, former film critic for The Independent, argues the legend has also had a measurable influence on cinema such as in the Poltergeist film series, the found footage Paranormal Activity film series, The Witch released in 2015, the trope of burial ground disturbance in The Amityville Horror, and the apport of cherries to the children in Mama released in 2013.

Television

The American paranormal television series Ghost Adventures filmed an episode at the Bell Witch Cave.

Director Sid Zanforlin released a documentary episode on the legend and the town of Adams in 2014 for a series entitled Boogeymen: Monsters Among Us which aired on Destination America and also organized as a collection known as America's Monsters entitled "Forest Monsters: Mothman and the Bell Witch."

An American television series – Cursed: The Bell Witch – based on selected descendants of the Bell family trying to end a curse. The series premiered October 2015 on the A&E Network.

In 2018, the Travel Channel series Haunted Live featured paranormal investigative team, the Tennessee Wraith Chasers visiting the town of Adams, Tennessee, where the descendants of the Bell family take them to the cabin.

Expedition X explored caves of Middle Tennessee and the legend in 2020.

Music and Theater

Charles Faulkner Bryan, as a part of a Guggenheim Fellowship, composed The Bell Witch, a cantata which premiered in Carnegie Hall in 1947 with Robert Shaw conducting the Juilliard Chorus and Orchestra.

Nashville music group The Shakers released Living In The Shadow Of A Spirit in 1988 on vinyl record EP.

Ann Marie DeAngelo and Conni Ellisor choreographed and composed a ballet entitled The Bell Witch for the Nashville Ballet.

Nashville Children's Theatre premiered Our Family Trouble: The Legend of the Bell Witch in 1976. The play was written by Audrey Campbell.

A play by Ric White, The Bell Witch Story. First performed in 1998 by the Sumner County Players. And performed again in 2008 by the Tennessee Theater Company.

A play by David Alford, Spirit: The Authentic Story of the Bell Witch of Tennessee, performed in Adams, TN during the Bell Witch Fall Festival in late October.

The Danish metal band Mercyful Fate released a song titled "The Bell Witch" on their 1993 album In the Shadows.

Seattle-based doom metal band Bell Witch took their name from this legend.

Merle Kilgore recorded a song titled "The Bell Witch" in 1964.

Madeline recorded a song titled "The Legend of the Bell Witch" in 2014.

Pat Fitzhugh and Mike Richards released an Americana folk song "The Bell Witch (Let the Game Begin)" in October, 2020.

Jimbo Mathus and Andrew Bird released a track entitled "Bell Witch" on their Americana album These 13 in March 2021.

Murfreesboro Little Theatre performed Who Killed John Bell, written by Jess Townsend, at Oaklands Mansion in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, in August 2022.

Selected bibliography

See also
 List of ghost films
 List of ghosts
 Madam Koi Koi

References

External links

Audio
 The Bell Witch of Tennessee A MonsterTalk episode on the Bell Witch.
 The Bell Witch, a WSM Tall Tales radio broadcast October 6, 1953.
 Episode Eighteen: The One about the Bell Witch, an Encounters podcast featuring Brandon Barker, Visiting Lecturer in Folkloristics at Indiana University Bloomington, who explores a modern connection to Bloody Mary folklore.
 Ep 85: The Bell Witch Part 1; Ep 86: The Bell Witch Part 2 Two episode Astonishing Legends podcast. The second episode includes an interview with David Britton, Tennessee State Park Ranger.

Text
 Tennessee Myths and Legends: Bell Witch Tennessee State Library and Archives Exhibition.
 The Bell Witch by paranormal author and historian Pat Fitzhugh.
 The Historic Bell Witch Cave Proprietary website for recreational and tourist information.
 An Authenticated History of the Famous Bell Witch Digital copy, M. V. Ingram, 1894.
 "A Witch As Was A Witch" Article by Irvin S. Cobb for McClure's, published in 1922. Includes a family anecdote that his great-grandfather witnessed the haunting and was convinced of the legitimacy.
 Bell Witch Fall Festival Destination site for annual Robertson County theater events organized by the non-profit Community Spirit, Inc.

1810s in Tennessee
1820s in Tennessee
American folklore
Curses
Folklore of the Southern United States
American ghosts
Robertson County, Tennessee
Supernatural legends
American witchcraft
Andrew Jackson
Poltergeists

Bell Witch


Mark Leslie Norton (February 7, 1956 – April 5, 2007), better known as Mark St. John, was a guitarist known for his brief work with the rock band Kiss. He was only with Kiss a short time, but he was featured on the album Animalize, the second album of the "unmasked" period. St. John's only video appearance with Kiss is in the video for the hit single "Heaven's on Fire". After leaving Kiss, he formed a band called White Tiger. Mark St. John died on the morning of April 5, 2007, of a cerebral hemorrhage.

1956 births
2007 deaths
American guitarists

Mark St. John


Lymphoma is a cancer of the lymphatic system. There are many types of lymphoma, including Hodgkin's lymphoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, primary central nervous system lymphoma, the B-cell lymphoma, and the hepatosplenic lymphoma.

Symptoms
 Larger-than-normal lymph nodes
 Sweating at night
 Fevers that happen often or do not get better
 Weight loss
 Fatigue (feeling tired)
 Enlarged spleen
 Enlarged liver

Treatment
Chemotherapy is often used for both Hodgkin's lymphoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Radiotherapy may also be used.

References

Cancer
Immunology
Lymphatic system

Lymphoma


Philip Handler (August 13, 1917 – December 29, 1981) was an American nutritionist, and biochemist.  He was President of the United States National Academy of Sciences for two terms from 1969 to 1981. He was also a recipient of the National Medal of Science.

Biography
Handler grew up in a Jewish family in New York City. He received his B.S. degree from the City College of New York in 1936 and his Ph.D. from University of Illinois in 1939. He taught at Duke University where he was named the youngest chairman of the Department of Biochemistry, at 35. Handler remained at Duke until 1969, when he accepted the position of president of the National Academy of Sciences.

As a biochemist, he published more than 200 papers on nutrition and metabolic activity. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1964.  He received the National Medal of Science in 1981 for "his outstanding contribution to biochemical research, resulting in significant contributions to mankind, including research which led to a clearer understanding of pellagra" (Bioscience Article).

His research led to the first understanding of nicotinic acid deficiency and the discovery of the tryptophan-nicotinic acid relationship. Handler also provided an understanding of the oxidation of sarcosine to glycine and formaldehyde, which led to the importance of single-carbon atoms in metabolism. His final work showed that methionine is the only methyl donor in mammalian metabolism and that there is no pool of methyl groups.

As President of the National Academy of Sciences, Handler was instrumental in opening a dialog on American-Soviet cooperation in outer space with his counterpart at the Soviet Academy of Sciences in 1970. The discussions would ultimately lead to a joint spaceflight in 1975, the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. Handler was also responsible for perhaps one of the most notable statues relating to science in the United States: that of Albert Einstein at the grounds of the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, DC.

Handler was also involved in the creation of the US Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW), the predecessor to the US Department of Health and Human Services. Within HEW, Handler had a significant impact on the creation of a multitude of centers within the National Institutes of Health. He spurred in part by a growing interest in the biosciences, his position on various governmental committees, and the book Biology & The Future of Man, which read like a blueprint for a generation of work in the life sciences.

Rather abruptly, Handler died in Boston on December 29, 1981, from pneumonia, shortly after leaving office at the Academy. Instead of returning to Duke University as planned, he remained in the hospital following his admission for a thorough checkup in August 1981. He chose to have his ashes placed alongside his colleagues' at Duke University Medical Center, where he began his academic research career.

Positions held

Employment
1937–1939 Junior Chemist, U. S. Regional Soybean Byproducts Laboratory
Duke University School of Medicine:
1939–1942 Fellow and Instructor, Nutrition and Physiology
1942–1945 Assistant Professor of Physiology
1945–1950 Associate Professor of Biochemistry
1950–1961 Professor of Biochemistry and Chairman of the Department
1961–1969 James B. Duke Professor of Biochemistry (on leave 1969–1981) and Chairman of the Department
1969–1981 President, National Academy of Sciences
1970–1981 Distinguished Professor of Medical Sciences, George Washington University

Public Service
Governmental Positions
1952–1962 Consultant, Veteran's Administration
1964–1968 President's Science Advisory Committee
1968–1974 President's Science Advisory Committee
1969–1981 Committee on National Medal of Science
1980 Chairman, U. S. Delegation to the Scientific Forum of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, Hamburg
National Institutes of Health:
1953–1956 Biochemistry Study Section
1956–1958 Chairman, Biochemistry Study Section
1956–1959 Committee on Health Sciences Training
1958–1961 National Advisory Health Council
1963–1967 National Advisory Council on Research Resources and Facilities
National Science Foundation:
1958–1960 Panel on Biological Research Facilities
1960–1962 Divisional Committee for Biology and Medicine
1962–1974 National Science Board, Member
1964–1966 National Science Board, Vice-Chairman
1966–1970 National Science Board, Chairman

Non-Government
1953–1965 Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, Member of Board (1953–1965); Executive Committee (1959–1965); Chairman (1964–1965)
1953–1968 American Society of Biological Chemists, Secretary (1953–1958); Councillor (1958–1961); President-elect (1961); President (1962); Chairman, Publications Committee (1965–1968)
1967–1981 National Academy of Sciences, Chairman, Committee on the Life Sciences (1967–1970); Councillor (1966–1969); President (1969–1981)
1969–1981 Board of Trustees, Rockefeller University
1973–1979 Board of Trustees, Nutrition Foundation
1974–1981 Board of Governors, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
1981 Board of Governors, Weizmann Institute of Science

Honors
Twenty-Eight Honorary Doctorates including: City University of New York (1970), University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1971), University of Connecticut (1971), Temple University (1972), George Washington University (1973), Michigan State University (1975), University of Alaska (1977), Ohio State University (1978), University of Illinois (1979), University of Maryland (1979),  University of Florida (1979), Medical University of South Carolina (1980), Washington University in St. Louis (1980).
1943 C.B. Mayer Award, New York Academy of Medicine
1964 Member, National Academy of Sciences
1964 Townsend Harris Medal, City College of New York
1966 Annual Orator, Harvey Gushing Society
1966 Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences
1966 Sigma Xi National Lecturer
1969 Annual Award for Distinguished Contributions to Medical Sciences, American Medical Association
1969 Member, American Philosophical Society
1970 Benjamin Franklin Fellow, Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufacture and Commerce
1970 Honorary Member, Swiss Academy of Natural Sciences
1972 Alumni Achievement Award, University of Illinois
1972 German Academy of Natural Sciences, Leopoldina
1973 Honorary Member, American Institute of Chemists
1974 Honorary Member, National Academy of Medicine of Mexico
1975 Copernicus Medal, Polish Academy of Sciences
1977 The Great Cross of Honor with Star, Government of Austria
1977 Insignia of Commander of the Order of Leopold II, King of Belgium
1978 Honorary Member, Imperial Iranian Academy of Sciences
1978 Commander, Order of Merit, People's Republic of Poland
1979 Distinguished Public Service Award, National Science Foundation
1981 National Medal of Science

Selected quotes
Many of the quotes were found in the Memorial Program honoring his life and held at the National Academy of Sciences.

"I am committed to defense of the human rights of all persons, but those of scientists in particular.  Not so much because humanity may be denied the fruits of their science, but because they are precious as human beings; because abrogation of their rights is injurious to all mankind; because, as thoughtful intellectuals, scientists not infrequently become involved in the defense of the human rights of others..." – "Science in a Free Society"  The Phi Beta Kappa Bicentennial Lecture.  College of William and Mary.  December 6, 1976

"Creative scientific research is one of the very purposes of our society akin to imaginative scholarship in the humanities and innovation in the arts.  Surely, no other course available to this civilization is as hopeful as the continuing subtle interplay of science and developing technology."  From "The University in a World in Transition."  The Convocation Address at the One Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of the University of Virginia.  October 21, 1969.

"Do not fear change – help to guide it.  Every technology since fire and the wheel confronted humanity simultaneously with the prospect of great benefit – and of considerable hazard, with potential for good and for evil." From "Science in a Free Society"  A Commencement Ceremony Address.  Southwestern at Memphis. May 30, 1977.

References

Jukes, Thomas. "Philip Handler Biographical Sketch" http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/reprint/113/6/1085
In Memoriam, Bioscience
National Academy Memorials.  Philip Handler.  http://www.nap.edu/html/biomems/phandler.pdf

External links
"Philip Handler 1917-1981: A Biographical Memoir" by Emil L. Smith and Robert L. Hill. National Academy of Sciences, 1985.
Philip Handler Papers at Duke University Medical Center Archives

1917 births
1981 deaths
Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences
Presidents of the United States National Academy of Sciences
20th-century American biochemists
Jewish American scientists
National Medal of Science laureates
American nutritionists
20th-century American Jews
City College of New York alumni
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni
Duke University School of Medicine faculty

Philip Handler


Ravi Shankar (7 April 1920 – 11 December 2012) was one of India's most famous musicians. Shankar was one of the first to bring aspects of traditional Indian music into  Europe and United States|American culture in the 1960s. He was a major influence on George Harrison, who was a member of The Beatles. Shankar is famous for playing the sitar, an Indian stringed instrument. He performed until his death. In 2005 he played at The Proms. His daughters Norah Jones and Anoushka Shankar are also well-known musicians.

References

Indian musicians
1920 births
2012 deaths

Ravi Shankar


Illuvium is material displaced across a soil profile, from one layer to another one, by the action of rainwater. The removal of material from a soil layer is called eluviation. The transport of the material may be either mechanical or chemical.  The process of deposition of illuvium is termed illuviation. It is a water-assisted transport in a basically vertical direction, as compared to  alluviation, the horizontal running water transfer. The resulting deposits are called illuvial deposits. Cutans are a type of illuvial deposit.

Illuvium includes organic matter, silicate clay, and hydrous oxides of iron and aluminum.

Illuvial deposits of clays, oxides, and organics accumulate in subsoil as distinctive soil horizons classified as "B horizons" or "zones of illuviation".

Mechanical illuviation

When percolating rain water reaches a drier soil horizon, water from the suspension  is removed by capillary action of microchannels, leaving fine deposits (cutans) oriented along percolation macrochannels.

Examples
Mesara Plain, Crete, Greece

Chemical illuviation

Transport of soil solutes is termed leaching. Soluble constituents are deposited due to differences in soil chemistry, especially soil pH and redox potential.

See also
Alluvium
Eluvium
Colluvium
Diluvium

References

Pedology
Sedimentology

Illuvium


Nuclear fusion is when two atoms merge to form a new one. This reaction with plasma generates energy. The idea behind a fusion reactor is to build a nuclear power plant that uses this process to produce electricity. Nowadays,  nuclear power plants use nuclear fission to produce energy. Nuclear fission is not the same as nuclear fusion.

Nuclear fusion is the same type of process the Sun uses to generate heat. The most powerful nuclear weapons also use fusion.

As of 2012, there are no commercial power plants that use this technology; there are a few academic ones; these include the Joint European Torus, in England. This reactor uses a principle called Tokamak. A tokamak uses magnets that are shaped like a doughnut to squish the atoms together.

References

Nuclear energy

Fusion power


Harmonic analysis is a branch of mathematics that looks at the theoretical foundations of digital signal processing. A continuous signal can be drawn as a wave, or as a combination of several waves. Fourier transforms and Fourier series are among the main tools used for signal analysis. Today, this field has many uses, which also include quantum mechanics and neuroscience.

In essence, harmonic analysis looks at locally compact groups. The Lebesgue measure is a way to assign a measurement to a subset of the Euclidean space. For real numbers there is the Haar measure, which can perform this task. This measure allows to use Fourier analysis to model the groups and their properties.

The term harmonics is also related to Eigenvalues, in the case where the frequency of one wave is an integer multiple of the frequency of another wave. This is the case of the harmonics that are used for musical notes. Later the term was generalized.

Digital signal processing

Harmonic analysis


Alessandro Sforza (21 October 1409 – 3 April 1473) was an Italian condottiero and lord of Pesaro, the first of the Pesaro line of the Sforza family.

Biography
He was born in Cotignola in 1409, an illegitimate son of the famous condottiero Muzio Attendolo Sforza.

Alessandro collaborated actively with his brother Francesco in his military campaign, and with him he conquered Milan, Alessandria and Pesaro. In 1435, at Fiordimonte, he won the battle in which the riotous Niccolò Fortebraccio was killed. In 1442 at Assisi he commanded the troops besieged by Pope Eugene IV's condottiero Francesco Piccinino. He was forced to leave the city, abandoning the city to ravages and massacres. In 1444 he obtained the lordship of Pesaro by Galeazzo Malatesta. Here he enlarged the Ducal Palace to conform it to the Renaissance standards.

During the Wars in Lombardy in support of Francesco he presided Parma and, in February 1446, he proclaimed himself lord of the city. After Francesco's conquest of the Duchy of Milan, the Peace of Lodi (1454) confirmed him in Parma.

In 1464 he obtained by Pope Pius II the seigniory of Gradara, which he defended by the Malatesta attempts of reconquest.

He died in 1473 from an attack of apoplexy. His son Costanzo succeeded him in Pesaro.

Family

He married Costanza Varano (1428–1447), the daughter of Pietro Gentile I da Varano, on 8 December 1444. She died while bearing Costanzo. The following year he married Sveva da Montefeltro (1434–1478), daughter of Guidantonio da Montefeltro, count of Urbino. In 1457, fearing a possible conjure of the Malatesta family to regain the seigniory of Pesaro, he obliged her to become a nun in a monastery in the city.

By Costanza he had two children, Battista (1446–1472), who became the wife of Federico III of Urbino, and Costanzo.

He also had two illegitimate daughters, Ginevra (c. 1440–1507) and Antonia (c. 1445-1500). Ginevra is known as a patron of the visual and literary arts. She married Sante Bentivoglio in 1454 and, after his death, Giovanni II Bentivoglio, duke of Bologna. Antonia married Ottavio Martinengo delle Palle in 1460, who died in Brescia in 1485.

Notes

1409 births
1473 deaths
People from the Province of Ravenna
Alessandro
15th-century condottieri
Lords of Pesaro

Alessandro Sforza


The Dial-Goza House (also known as the William H. Dial House) is a historic U.S. house in Madison, Florida. It is located at 105 Northeast Marion Street. On July 24, 1973, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

References

Gallery

Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Florida
Houses in Madison County, Florida
National Register of Historic Places in Madison County, Florida

Dial-Goza House


Sky Soldiers is a vertical scrolling shoot em' up developed by Alpha Denshi and released to arcades in 1988 by Romstar in North America and SNK in the rest of the world. The game features a time travel theme as well as an organized weapon select screen at the beginning of each stage.

Story
In the year 2090, humankind invents a supercomputer called Desmoura to manage Earth's environment. Capable of replicating itself in various technological inventions, Desmoura achieves sentience as it sets itself around Earth's orbit. It becomes so powerful when it gains the capabilities to build a time machine in a matter of twenty years. Without warning or reason, Desmoura sends various war machines back in time by 100 years and starts attacking humankind's past technological feats possibly to change Earth's history. Special space fighters called STEALTHs are sent to fly against Desmoura's forces, attack the affected timelines and eventually destroy Desmoura.

Gameplay
Players travelled back in time starting in Great Britain 1945, Germany 1915, Japan 1945, Germany 1944, Vietnam 1974, France 1914, Russia 1974 and finally the space station in the present time, 2110. Each time stage has two levels, both ending in a boss battle save for the final stage, resulting in a total of 15 Areas.

The STEALTH ship weapon system is accessed in the beginning of each stage. The ship's main shot consists of a semi-automatic Wave Shot. The ship's bomb weapons include forward firing Missiles, Fire Balls, Homing missiles and the Buster bomb. The ship can be equipped with only one bomb weapon from either category at a time. The ship can only be loaded with a certain number of Bomb weapons and they can only be resupplied at the end of the level. The only pick-up item in the game is a parachuting human pilot shot down from malfunctioning fighter planes/jets; collecting these pilots results in random Bonus Points.

Reception
In Japan, Game Machine listed Sky Soldiers on their September 1, 1988 issue as being the fourth most-successful table arcade unit of the month, outperforming titles like Ninja Spirit.

References

External links
 Sky Soldiers at Arcade History

1988 video games
Arcade video games
Romstar games
Vertically scrolling shooters
Video games about time travel

Sky Soldiers


Mission Raceway Park, also known as MRP, is an auto racing facility located in Mission, British Columbia, Canada.  The facility features a ¼ mile NHRA-sanctioned dragstrip, a  9-turn road course, and a  motocross track. It is owned and operated by the B.C. Custom Car Association, and the BCCCA operates the drag strip directly. The road course and motocross tracks are operated independently by the Sports Car Club of British Columbia (SCCBC) and the Lower Mainland Motocross Club (LMMC) respectively. The road course was renamed in 2022, now known as the Speed-Fanatics Motorsports Circuit.

Drag strip history
The BCCCA originally drag raced on unused runways at Abbotsford Airport from 1952 to 1957. The original Mission Raceway Park opened in 1965, and the facility operated until 1978 (a motocross track was added in 1973). However, MRP was shut down when the District of Mission wanted to establish an industrial park on the site. After years of negotiating and legal wrangling, the new MRP was opened on March 14, 1992, on land near the Fraser River. The drag strip was awarded a National Open by the NHRA in 1993.

MRP won the NHRA Division 6 Track Of The Year Award five years in a row, from 1994 to 1998. It then won the same award three years in a row from 2005 to 2007.

Road course history
The SCCBC originally road raced on unused runways at Abbotsford Airport. In 1958, the SCCBC opened the Westwood Racing Circuit, which operated until the club lost their lease in 1990. The SCCBC worked out an arrangement with the BCCCA, and in 1992 opened the River's Edge Road Course at Mission Raceway Park. The road course was used for driver training classes during the first two years, and began full road racing operations in 1994.

The road course was changed for 2008 with lefthand turn 7 becoming a left-right combination (7A-7B) leading into a new lefthand turn 8 (previously a right) and a longer, wider turn 9. This caused higher exit speed onto the straight, and may have contributed to the trackday death of Suzuki TLR-1000 rider Cam Gillispie, 33, on 12 June 2009 when he struck the outside concrete wall after exiting turn 9. The track was reconfigured for motorcycles in 2010, returning to a lefthand turn 7 followed by a righthand turn 8 leading into the original turn 9 feeding onto the straight. Cars continue to use the new configuration.

The road course was renamed as the Speed-Fanatics Motorsports Circuit in 2022.

See also
 List of auto racing tracks in Canada

References

External links
 Official site
 Sports Car Club of B.C.
 Lower Mainland Motocross Club
 Westwood Motorcycle Racing Club
 Map of River's Edge Road Course
 Satellite view of Mission Raceway Park on Google Maps

Mission, British Columbia
Motorsport venues in British Columbia
Drag racing venues in Canada
NHRA Division 6 drag racing venues
Motocross racing venues in Canada
Road racing venues in Canada
Sports venues completed in 1992
1992 establishments in British Columbia

Mission Raceway Park


Franz Xaver Süßmayr (also spelled Süssmayr, born Schwanenstadt, Austria, 1766; died Vienna,  17 September 1803) was an Austrian composer.  He is often remembered for finishing Mozart's Requiem which Mozart had not finished when he died.

His father was a sacristan and teacher. His mother died when he was 6, and he left home at 13. He went to Kremsmünster to study in a Benedictine monastery. When his voice changed, he became a member of the orchestra as a violinist.

The abbey performed operas and Singspiele, so he had the opportunity to study the operas of Christoph Willibald Gluck and Antonio Salieri. He composed a number of stage works and a good deal of church music for the abbey.

After 1787 he became a student of Salieri in Vienna. In 1792 he also became the vice-director and composer at the Kärntnertortheater.

He helped Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart  by copying out the music for La clemenza di Tito and Die Zauberflöte in 1791.   In the same year Mozart died.  He had not finished composing his  Requiem.  Süssmayr finished composing it and handed the completed work to Constanze, Mozart's widow.

He composed Singspiele (German operas with spoken dialogue), and became Kapellmeister at the National Theater  From this time until 1800, he was very successful and popular on the Viennese music scene. However, he became ill with tuberculosis and had to stop work.  He died three years later in 1803.

1766 births
1803 deaths
Austrian composers
Classical era composers

Franz Xaver Süßmayr


Charm quarks or c quarks are the third most massive of the six quarks. Like all quarks, they are thought to be so small that they can not be divided. (They are called elementary particles for this reason). Similar to up quarks, charm quarks have a charge of +2/3. Although charm quarks are not extremely common, they can be found in particles created by particle accelerators (which smash atoms together at extremely high speeds), such as J/ψ mesons, D mesons, and other charmed particles. Since they are fermions (particles that can not have more than one of that particle at the same place at the same time), charm quarks have a spin of 1/2.

The discovery of charm quarks – and J/ψ mesons – led to a rapid series of scientific breakthroughs. These events are known as the November revolution.

Quarks

Charm quark


A food web is similar to a food chain but larger. The diagram combines many food chains into  energy relationships among organisms. Food webs show how plants and animals are connected in many ways. The arrow points from the organism being eaten to the organism that eats it.

A food web (or food cycle) is a natural interconnection of food chains. The two extreme categories (trophic levels) are:
 the autotrophs, and
 the heterotrophs.
A gradient exists: there are different kinds of feeding relations: herbivory, carnivory, scavenging and parasitism.

Some of the organic matter eaten by heterotrophs, such as sugars, provides energy. Autotrophs and heterotrophs come in all sizes, from microscopic to many tonnes  from cyanobacteria to giant redwoods, and from viruses  to blue whales.

Ecology
Natural resources
Graphics

Food web


Los Ramones is the name of a municipality and its corresponding seat of government and main population center in Mexican state of Nuevo Leon.

Geography

Location

Los Ramones is located in the west central portion of the Mexican state of Nuevo León. Its coordinates are ; it is 226 meters above sea level. It limits with the following municipalities, all in the state of Nuevo Leon: Cerralvo to the North; General Terán to the south; to the East with China, Nuevo Leon and Los Herreras; and to the West with Cadereyta Jiménez, Pesquería and Dr. González. Its total territory covers 1,378.8 square kilometers.

Climate

The southern portion of the municipality enjoys a temperate climate, with an average annual temperature between 12 and 18 degrees Celsius. The northern part of Los Ramones has an extremely hot, semi-arid climate, with little rainfall.

May and September are the rainiest months in Los Ramones, with an average rainfall of 600 mm. Generally, hail storms appear between February and May and freezing temperatures between November and February. The lowest temperature on record in the municipality was −8 degrees Celsius and the highest 45 degrees Celsius.

Population

According to the 1990 Federal Census, the municipality of Los Ramones had a population of 6,538 inhabitants and a density 5/km².

The same census showed that there were 16 speakers of native languages, representing 0.30% of the total population. The main native language spoken was Huasteco, followed by Náhuatl.

The year 2000 Mexican federal census showed a slight decline in population in the municipality compared to a decade earlier. The 2000 census counted a total population of 6,237, of which 3,134 were male and 3,103 were female.

Population centers

The main population center of the municipality is its seat of government, also named Los Ramones, with a population of approximately 1,300.  Los Ramones is located 120 kilometers east of the state capital of Monterrey.

The municipality of Los Ramones contains 102 congregations within its territory, all with less than 500 inhabitants.
The villages are:
Altamira (Capadero), Amado Gomez, Altamira (El Capadero), Baltazar Rodriguez, Beto Rodriguez, Bonanza, Cancan, Casa Blanca, Cinco De Mayo, Clavelito, Comas Altas, Doña Ana, El Abrevadero, El Alba, El Alto, El Ancon, El Ayuncual, El Carrizo, El Ebanito (El Ebanito Dos), El Ebanito Tres (El Alto), El Ebano, El Esterito, El Faisan, El Gusto, El Huizache, El Mayorazgo, El Molino, El Peine, El Perico, (Rincon Del Valle), El Porvenir (Porvenir Ramones), El Porvenir Guerrero, El Refugio (Los Gonzalez), El Reloj, El Retiro, El Sabanito (Rincon del Valle), El Saucito, El Tuetano, Empalme Ramones, Facundo Gonzalez (El Peine), Fevi, Garza-Ayala (Paso del Macho), Garza-Gonzalez, Guadalupe,  Hidalgo, La Amistad, La Arena, La Buena Fe, La Colorada, La Conquista, La Curva (Antigua Avenida), La Ernita, La Estrella, La Gloria,  La Morita, La Palma, La Pedrera, La Piedra, La Ponderosa, La Posada, La Reforma, La Salanillas (Herradura), Lagunitas, Las Alazanas, Las Barretas (Barretitas), Las Enramadas, Las Presas, Las Puentes, Loma, Los Abuelos, Los Angeles (Palo Blanco, Las Burras), Los Centenario (Bueyes) Los Chaparros, Los Chaparros Numero Dos, Los Dos Puentes, Los Dos Rios, Los Ebanos, Los Garcia, Los Gomez-Ochoa (Los Gomez), Los Horcones, Los Martinez, Los Olmos, Los Pilares, Los Pobladores (La Calor), Lucio Leal, Maravillas, Maribel, Noe Gonzalez, Noel Ramirez, Nuevo Repueblo de Oriente, Rancho Nuevo (Rancho Nuevo del Sur), San Andres (Los Garza, Las Barranquitas), San Antonio, San Bartolo, San Benito, San Francisco, San Isidro, San Jose, San Lorenzo, Santa Cruz del Valle, Santa Rita, Santo Domingo, Toribio Perez, Valle Alto and Zacahuixtle.

History

Historical references as to the origin and foundation of the municipality which is Los Ramones, indicate that Francisco Plácido Rodríguez Baca was its founder toward the last third of the 18th Century. Rodríguez Baca was a descendant of Captain Diego de Rodríguez, one of the original Spanish settlers of Nuevo Leon.

The current location of the municipality's seat of government is also the location of an original Spanish land grant made to a settler named Alférez José Ochoa de Elejalde.

In 1847, the inhabitants of Los Ramones petitioned the State government to secede from the municipality of Cerralvo, to which it belonged to at the time, and be incorporated into the municipality of Cadereyta Jiménez. The state Congress granted the request and on November 7, 1847 and Los Ramones ceased to belong to Cerralvo and became a dependency of Cadereyta Jiménez. Los Ramones was made a municipality on September 5, 1915.

On October 26, 2010, the city's police force quit after thirty sicarios shot the local police station.

References

External links

Populated places in Nuevo León

Los Ramones


Skylab 2 (also SL-2 and SLM-1) was the first crewed mission to Skylab, the first American orbital space station. The mission was launched on an Apollo command and service module by a Saturn IB rocket on May 25, 1973, and carried NASA astronauts Pete Conrad, Joseph P. Kerwin, Paul J. Weitz to the station. The name Skylab 2 also refers to the vehicle used for that mission. The Skylab 2 mission established a twenty-eight-day record for human spaceflight duration. Furthermore, its crew was the first space station occupants ever to return safely to Earth – the only previous space station occupants, the crew of the 1971 Soyuz 11 mission that had crewed the Salyut 1 station for twenty-four days, died upon reentry due to unexpected cabin depressurization.

The crewed Skylab missions were officially designated Skylab 2, 3, and 4. Miscommunication about the numbering resulted in the mission emblems reading "Skylab I", "Skylab II", and "Skylab 3" respectively.

Crew

Kerwin became the first medical doctor in space. NASA chose a doctor as the first Skylab scientist to better understand the effect of spaceflight on the human body during a long-duration mission.

Backup crew

Support crew
Robert L. Crippen
Henry W. Hartsfield, Jr
William E. Thornton
Richard H. Truly

Mission parameters

Mass: 19,979 kg
Maximum altitude: 440 km
Distance:  18,536,730.9 km
Launch vehicle: Saturn IB
Perigee: 428 km
Apogee: 438 km
Inclination: 50°
Period: 93.2 min
Soft dock: May 26, 1973 – 09:56 UTC
Undocked: May 26, 1973 – 10:45 UTC
Time docked: 49 minutes
Hard dock: May 26, 1973 – 15:50 UTC
Undocked: June 22, 1973 – 08:58 UTC
Time docked: 26 days, 17 hours, 2 minutes

Space walks
Weitz — EVA 1 (stand up EVA — CM side hatch)
Start: May 26, 1973, 00:40 UTC
End: May 26, 01:20 UTC
Duration: 40 minutes
Conrad and Kerwin — EVA 2
Start: June 7, 1973, 15:15 UTC
End: June 7, 18:40 UTC
Duration: 3 hours, 25 minutes
Conrad and Weitz — EVA 3
Start: June 19, 1973, 10:55 UTC
End: June 19, 12:31 UTC
Duration: 1 hour, 36 minutes

Mission highlights

The Skylab station suffered significant damage on its May 14 launch: its micrometeorite shield, and one of its primary solar arrays had torn loose during launch, and the remaining primary solar array was jammed. Without the shield which was designed to also provide thermal protection, Skylab baked in the Sun, and rising temperatures inside the workshop released toxic materials into the station's atmosphere and endangered on-board film and food. The first crew was supposed to launch on May 15, but instead had to train practicing repair techniques as they were developed by the engineers. Ground controllers purged the atmosphere with pure nitrogen four times, before refilling it with the nitrogen/oxygen atmosphere for the crew. The secret National Reconnaissance Office used a KH-8 Gambit 3 to photograph the damaged station.

On May 25, Skylab 2 lifted from LC-39B, the first Saturn IB launch in almost five years and only the second-ever launch from Pad 39B. Booster performance was nominal except for one momentary glitch that could have threatened the mission – when the Commit signal was sent to the Saturn at ignition, the instrument unit sent a command to switch the launch vehicle from internal to external power. This would have shut down the Saturn's electrical system, but not the propulsion system, and likely cause the disaster scenario of an uncontrollable booster, requiring the Launch Escape System to be activated and the Command Module pulled away to safety, followed by Range Safety destroying the errant launch vehicle. However, the duration of the cutoff signal was less than one second, too short a time for the electrical relay in the booster to be activated, thus nothing happened and the launch proceeded as planned. This glitch was traced to a modification of the pad electrical equipment and corrective steps were subsequently taken to prevent it from happening again. On reaching the station, Conrad flew their Apollo Command/Service Module (CSM) around it to inspect the damage, then soft-docked with it to avoid the necessity of station keeping while the crew ate, and flight controllers planned the first repair attempt. Then they undocked so that Conrad could position the CSM by the jammed solar panel, so that Weitz could perform a stand-up EVA, trying to free the array by tugging at it with a 10-foot hooked pole, while Kerwin held onto his legs. This failed, and consumed a significant amount of the Skylab's nitrogen maneuvering fuel to keep it steady in the process.

The crew then attempted to perform the hard dock to Skylab, but the capture latches failed to operate. After eight failed attempts, they donned their pressure suits again and partially dis-assembled the CSM's docking probe; the next attempt worked. Once inside the station, the crew deployed a collapsible parasol through the small scientific airlock to act as a sunshade. (This approach was suggested and designed by NASA's "Mr. Fix It" Jack Kinzler, who was awarded the NASA Distinguished Service Medal for the effort.)  Successful deployment of the sunshade dropped inside temperatures to sustainable levels.

Two weeks later, Conrad and Kerwin performed a second EVA, finally freeing the stuck solar panel and increasing the electrical power to the workshop. They had prepared for this repair by practicing in the Neutral Buoyancy Simulator at the Marshall Space Flight Center. Without power from the panel, the second and third Skylab missions would have been unable to perform their main experiments, and the station's critical battery system would have been seriously degraded. During this EVA, the sudden deployment of the solar panel structure caused both astronauts to be flung from the station's hull, testing their nerves as well as the strength of their safety tethers. After recovering their composure, both astronauts returned to their positions on the station and completed the EVA.

For nearly a month they made further repairs to the workshop, conducted medical experiments, gathered solar and Earth science data, and performed a total of 392 hours of experiments. The mission tracked two minutes of a large solar flare with the Apollo Telescope Mount; they took and returned some 29,000 frames of film of the sun. The Skylab 2 astronauts spent 28 days in space, which doubled the previous U.S. record. The mission ended successfully on June 22, 1973, when Skylab 2 splashed down in the Pacific Ocean 9.6 km from the recovery ship USS Ticonderoga. Skylab 2 set the records for the longest duration crewed spaceflight, greatest distance traveled and greatest mass docked in space. Conrad set the record for most time in space for an astronaut.

Mission insignia
The Skylab 1 patch was designed by Kelly Freas, a well-known artist highly regarded in the science fiction community, who was suggested to NASA by science fiction author and editor Ben Bova. The insignia features Skylab above the earth with the sun in the background. In an article for Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact magazine, Freas said, "Among the suggestions the astronauts had made was the idea of a solar eclipse as seen from Skylab. It soon became clear that this idea would solve several problems at once: it pointed up the solar study function of Skylab, it would give me the large circular shape of the Earth as counterpoint to the angularity of the cluster, and it would establish firmly the connection of Skylab to the Earth. In addition, it would give a chance to get the necessary high contrast for good visibility of the tiny finished patch. ... I made several studies of cloud patterns on the planet, reducing them finally to very conventionalized swirls. The Skylab cluster was simplified and simplified again, till it became simply a black form with a white edgelight to set it off."

Gallery

Spacecraft location
The Skylab 2 command module is displayed at the National Museum of Naval Aviation, Pensacola, Florida.

See also
 Extra-vehicular activity
 List of spacewalks
 Splashdown
Timeline of longest spaceflights

References

External links

 Skylab: Command service module systems handbook, CSM 116 – 119 (PDF) April 1972
 Skylab Saturn 1B flight manual (PDF) September 1972
 NASA Skylab Chronology
 Marshall Space Flight Center Skylab Summary
 Skylab 2 Characteristics SP-4012 NASA HISTORICAL DATA BOOK
 Analog interview with Frank Kelly Freas

Multimedia

 Onboard flight film from the Skylab 2 mission

1973 in spaceflight
Extravehicular activity
Human spaceflights
Skylab program
Spacecraft launched in 1973
Spacecraft which reentered in 1973
Spacecraft launched by Saturn rockets
Pete Conrad

Skylab 2