Bing Maps Platform (previously Microsoft Virtual Earth) is a geospatial mapping platform produced by Microsoft. It allows developers to create applications that layer location-relevant data on top of licensed map imagery. The imagery includes samples taken by satellite sensors, aerial cameras (including 45 degree oblique "bird's eye" aerial imagery licensed from Pictometry International), Streetside imagery, 3D city models and terrain.

Bing Maps Platform also provides a point-of-interest database including a search capability. Microsoft uses the Bing Maps Platform to power its Bing Maps and Azure Maps products.

Key features of the Bing Maps Platform include:

Photo-based images with features such as Streetside and 45 degree oblique "bird's eye" views (nominally including 4 views at 90 degree viewpoint increments) that present data in context while simplifying orientation and navigation.
The ability to overlay standard or custom data points and layers with different themes.
Building-level geocoding for more than 70 million addresses in the United States.
Developer support options available.
Set of APIs available upon which developers can build applications.

See also
Apple Maps – Apple's mapping service
Bing Maps
Esri – Esri ArcGIS
Google Maps – Google's mapping service
MapQuest
Microsoft Research Maps – public domain (older than five years) satellite imagery via Microsoft servers
Nokia Maps – Nokia's mapping service
OpenStreetMap – OpenStreetMap
Yahoo! Maps – Yahoo! Map Web Services

External links
Bing Maps Enterprise APIs
Bing Maps Documentation
Bing Maps Developer account
Bing Maps V8 Interactive SDK
Bing Maps Blog

Microsoft Bing
GIS software
Web Map Services
Keyhole Markup Language
Freeware
Astronomy software
Virtual globes
Earth sciences graphics software
Satellite imagery

Bing Maps Platform


Jacques Arcadelt (also called Jacob Arcadelt) (born probably in Liège,  1504 or 1505; died Paris, 14 October  1568)  was a Franco-Flemish composer in the Renaissance period.  He was an extremely popular composer of madrigals and chansons.

We know hardly anything about his early life, but we know he was living in Rome by 1539 when he was made a member of the Julian Chapel.  Soon he joined the Sistine Chapel, where he had the job of "magister puerorum" (director of the boys choir), and later he became choirmaster.  In the same year he published four of his total of six books of madrigals for four voices.  Probably around 1553 he moved to France, where he spent the rest of his life.  He wrote a very large number of chansons (French songs). He also wrote some masses.

Arcadelt's music became extremely popular because it was quite simple and easy to sing with beautiful melodies that people could remember. One very famous madrigal is called Il bianco e dolce cigno (The white and gentle swan).  The style of Arcadelt's music influenced the next generation of madrigal composers.

1500s births
1568 deaths
Arcadelt, Jacques
Arcadelt, Jacques

Jacques Arcadelt


Pasay Ceety (, ) is ane o the ceeties an municipalities that mak up Metro Manila in the Philippines. It is bordered on the north bi the kintra's caipital, the City of Manila, tae the northeast bi Makati, tae the east bi Taguig, an Parañaque tae the sooth.

Pasay Ceety wis ane o the oreeginal fower ceeties o Metro Manila. Due tae its proximity tae Manila, it quickly became a urban toun durin the American Occupation.

Etymologie
The name "Pasay" is o uncertain oreegin, awtho thare are several theories:
 Paz mey hae been the name o a hacienda awner's dochter, who wis bewailed bi her breukenhertit luver at her daith as "Paz-ay!". This became the name o the hacienda an in turn came tae be kent simply as Pasay.
 The ceety's name mey come frae pasaw an aw, a plant wi an exotic aroma, that uised grow abundantly thare. Spainyie botanist, Antonio Pineda, visitit a place cried Basal tae collect pasaw.
 The maist credible explanation is that Pasay wis namit efter Princess Dayang-dayang Pasay o the Namayan Kinrick, who inheritit lands nou comprisin modren-day Makati, Pasay an Baclaran.

Pasay's name mey hae oreeginatit frae the Spainyie Paso hay meanin "thare is a pass". This referred tae the paths cleared amang the gress leadin tae the soothren portions frae Manila.

History
In 1727, the auncient pre colonial name o the Pasay dounset wis chyngit tae Pineda in honour o Don Cornelio Pineda, a Spainyie horticulturist who requestit for guardias civiles for pertection frae indigenous rebellion. The name Pineda, alang wi Pasay, wis uised as the name o the place till the early 20t century.

On 21 Mey 2006, SM Mall of Asia wis opened in Bay City as then the 2nt lairgest maw in the Philippines.

Geografie

Pasay City covers a tot land aurie o , makkin it the third smawest poleetical subdiveesion in the National Caipital Region. It borders City of Manila tae the north, Parañaque tae the sooth, Makati an Taguig tae the northeast, an Manila Bay tae the wast.

The ceety can be dividit in 3 distinct auries: the ceety's urban aurie wi a aurie o ; the Civil Aeronautics Admeenistration (CAA) complex, which include the Ninoy Aquino Internaitional Airport (NAIA) an the Villamor Airbase, wi a aurie o ; an the reclaimit land frae Manila Bay wi a aurie o .

Pasay is componit o seiven (7) destricts, subdividit intae twinty (20) zones, wi a tot o 201 barangays. The barangays daena hae names but are anerly designatit wi sequential nummers. The lairgest zone wi a aurie o  is Zone 19, which covers barangays 178 an 191. The smawest zone wi a aurie o  is Zone 1, coverin Barangays 1 tae 3 an 14 tae 17.

Demographics

Local govrenment
Electit offeecials (2013–2016):
 Mayor: Antonino Calixto
 Vice Mayor: Marlon Pesebre
 Congresswumman: Imelda Calixto-Rubiano
 Councilors 1st Destrict:
 Grace Santos
 Jenny Roxas
 Richard Advincula
 Abet Alvina
 Eduardo Advincula
 Lex Ibay
 Cooncilors 2nt Destrict:
 Allan Panaligan
 Aileen Padua
 Ian Vendivel
 Arnel Regino Arceo
 Reynaldo Padua
 Arvin Tolentino

Economy

Philippine Airlines is heidquairtered in the Philippine National Bank Financial Center beside the World Trade Center Manila in Pasay. Spirit of Manila Airlines haes its heidquairters in Roxas Sea Front Garden in Pasay. Cebu Pacific an Interisland Airlines hae thair heidquairters on the grunds o Ninoy Aquino Internaitional Airport an in Pasay.

Naitional govrenment offices foond in Pasay include: Depairtment o Foreign Affairs (DFA), Senate o the Philippines, the Philippine Depairtment o Trade an Industry's export promotions agency – the Center for International Trade Expositions an Missions (CITEM) – locatit in the International Trade Complex's Golden Shell Pavilion, an the Overseas Workers Welfare Admeenistration (OWWA). The main office o the Philippine National Bank is locatit in the cceety.

LBC Express heidquairters locatit at the Star Cruises Centre in Newport Cybertourism Zone o Pasay.

Attractions an landmarks

The City is kent for its entertainment – business-restaurants, coffee shops, an clubs, parteecularly those locatit alang Roxas Boulevard, facing Manila Bay. A lairge pairt of Metro Manila's "tourist belt" is locatit in the City.

Most of the attractions in the ceety are on the grunds of the CCP (Cultural Center of the Philippines) Complex, includin Philippine International Convention Center (PICC), Tanghalang Francisco Balagtas (formerly Folk Arts Theater), Manila Film Center, Coconut Palace, Product Development an Design Center of the Philippines (PDDCP), Philippine Trade Training Center (PTTC), World Trade Center Metro Manila (WTCMM), Cuneta Astrodome, Aliw Theater, an theme parks Star City, Nayong Pilipino, an Boom na Boom.

Ither laundmerks include:
Bay City
Blue Wave Macapagal
SM Mall of Asia
Mall of Asia Arena
SMX Convention Center
Newport City
Resorts World Manila
Ninoy Aquino International Airport
Lufthansa Technik Philippines
Macroasia Economic Zone
Villamor Airbase
World Trade Center Metro Manila
Aliw Theater
Star City
Cuneta Astrodome
Japanese Embassy
Victory Pasay Mall
Sofitel Hotel
Midas Hotel
Holiday Plaza

SM Mall of Asia
Pasay is hame tae the heidquairters o the SM Group of Companies an the SM Mall of Asia, toutit as the seicont biggest maw in the Philippines which opened on 21 Mey 2006, an Mall of Asia Arena wis opened in 2012 which wbecame ane o the biggest sports arenas in the Philippines wi the seat capacity o 20,000 an the new hame o University Athletic Association of the Philippines an the National Collegiate Athletic Association. An aw interestin is a buddin strip o restaurants at the corner o EDSA Extension an Pres. Diosdado Macapagal Ave. It is the hoose o boomin caw centre business industry in the Philippines due tae vast land space available locatit in the reclamation aurie an aw.

Transportation

Airport
The ceety shares the location o the Ninoy Aquino Internaitional Airport wi Parañaque. Terminal 2 an Terminal 3, as well as the terminal o Manila Domestic Airport are locatit in Pasay. Villamor Airbase o the Philippine Air Force is locatit thare an aw. Access roads tae the terminals are:
Terminal 2 (Centennial) – NAIA Road
Terminal 3 (New) – Andrews Avenue (adjacent tae Villamor Air Base)
Domestic Terminal – Domestic Road

Rail

This ceety haes 2 railweys. The follaein railweys are: LRT Yellow Line an MRT Blue Line. The depot o LRT 1 is locatit alang Airport Road near Ninoy Aquino Internaitional Airport.

This ceety haes 5 Railwey Stations. The follaein are:

MRT 3: (wi 1 Station)
Taft Avenue (Interchange wi Yellae Line)

LRT 1: (wi 4 Stations)
Gil Puyat
Libertad
EDSA (Interchange wi MRT Blue Line)
Baclaran

Road netwirk

Pasay is accessible throu thir follaein major roads:
Andrews Avenue (Ninoy Aquino Internaitional Airport Terminal 3)
Antonio Arnaiz Avenue (umwhile cried Pasay Road)
Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard (Locatit in Reclamation Area)
Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA) (C-4)
Gil Puyat Avenue (umwhile cried Buendia Avenue) (C-3)
Roxas Boulevard (R-1)
Taft Avenue (R-2)
Ninoy Aquino Avenue (Ninoy Aquino Internaitional Airport Terminal 1)
NAIA Road (umwhile cried MIA Road) (Ninoy Aquino Internaitional Airport Terminal 2)
Expressweys:
Metro Manila Skyway (R-3)
NAIA Expressway
South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) (R-3)

Unity Run
On the Leet o largest running events in the warld is based on the nummer o pairticipants a record o 209,000 registered runnin enthusiasts pairticipatit Sunday's 2012 Kahit Isang Araw Lang : Unity Run which stairtit an endit at the SM Mall of Asia grunds in Pasay.

The seicont edition o the race surpassed the Guinness World record o 116,086 pairticipants postit in the Run for Pasig River on 10 October 2010.

Festivals
Aliwan Festival - ivery month o Dizember an Apryle. Aliwan Fiesta harnesses the pouer o Philippine festivals tae showcase hou releegion, cultur, an tradeetion are woven intae the feebre o oor existence. Tradeetional fiestas, which are held annually tae commemorate the foondation o a toun or province, or honourin its patron saunt, are brocht thegither en masse tae hielicht the Pinoy's indomitable an ebullient spirit, thegither wi his mien for creativity an innovation. Wi maist major fiestas ruitit in the pre-colonial period, thare is understandably a festival sector that celebrates Natur's boonty. Oor Filipino forebears worshippit pagan gods who, tae thaim, wur responsible for boontiful harvests on land an sea.

Sister ceeties
 Union City, Californie, Unitit States
 Sacramento, Californie, Unitit States
 Las Piñas, Metro Manila, Philippines
 Parañaque, Metro Manila, Philippines

Notable fowk
Nina Girado - a Filipino pop/R&B sangster, occasional sangwriter, record producer, TV an radio personality at ABS-CBN.
Pablo Cuneta - Umwhile Pasay City Mayor an Rizal Govrenor. Faither o Sharon Cuneta.
Sharon Cuneta - a multi-awairdit Filipino sangster, actress an TV host dubbit The Megastar of Philippine Entertainment.
Anita Linda - is a twa-time FAMAS awaird-winnin an Gawad Urian awaird-winnin Filipino film actress. A romantic lead in her youth, she later gained creetical acclaim for her portrayals in maternal or elderly roles.
Maricel Laxa - is a Filipino comedian an actress. She performit in the 1992 movie "Iisa Pa Lamang" for which she wan Best Supporting Actress awairds in baith the 1992 FAMAS Awairds an 1992 Star Awairds.

Hymn of Pasay

Hymn of Pasay

Pasay Mabuhay Ka!

Componit bi: Ofelia San Juan/ Raymond San Juan

Leerics bi: Ivan Grulla

Mabuhay! Lungsod ng Pasay

Perlas ng Kamaynilaan

Hangad ay Kaunlaran

Sa Lahat ng Larangan

Mabuhay! Lungsod ng Pasay

Dungawan ng Sandaigdigan

Ugaling Mapagtanggap

Ng Tunay na Mamamayan

Pasay! Mahal Kong Bayan

Sa Puso'y Nag-iisa

Pasay, Dakilang Bayan

Pasay, Mabuhay Ka!

Ang Lahat ay Makadiyos,

Makabansa, Makatao,

Masipag, at Mapagmahal

Ang Tunay na Pasayeño

Pasay! Mahal Kong Bayan

Sa Puso'y Nag-iisa

Pasay, Dakilang Bayan

Pasay, Mabuhay Ka!

Pasay! Mahal Kong Bayan

Sa Puso'y Nag-iisa

Pasay, Dakilang Bayan

Pasay, Mabuhay Ka!

Pasay...Mabuhay...Ka!

References

Freemit airtins

Offeecial Wabsteid o Pasay Ceety

Ceeties in Metro Manila
Populatit places established in 1863
1863 establishments in the Philippines
Ceeties on Luzon

Pasay


The electro-pneumatic action is a control system by the mean of air pressure for pipe organs, whereby air pressure, controlled by an electric current and operated by the keys of an organ console, opens and closes valves within wind chests, allowing the pipes to speak. This system also allows the console to be physically detached from the organ itself. The only connection was via an electrical cable from the console to the relay, with some early organ consoles utilizing a separate wind supply to operate combination pistons.

Invention

Although early experiments with Barker lever, tubular-pneumatic and electro-pneumatic actions date as far back as the 1850s, credit for a feasible design is generally given to the English organist and inventor, Robert Hope-Jones. He overcame the difficulties inherent in earlier designs by including a rotating centrifugal air blower and replacing banks of batteries with a DC generator, which provided electrical power to the organ. This allowed the construction of new pipe organs without any physical linkages whatsoever. Previous organs used tracker action, which requires a mechanical linkage between the console and the organ windchests, or tubular-pneumatic action, which linked the console and windchests with a large bundle of lead tubing.

Operation

When an organ key is depressed, an electric circuit is completed by means of a switch connected to that key. This causes a low-voltage current to flow through a cable to the windchest, upon which a rank, or multiple ranks of pipes are set. Within the chest, a small electro-magnet associated with the key that is pressed becomes energized. This causes a very small valve to open. This, in turn, allows wind pressure to activate a bellows or "pneumatic" which operates a larger valve. This valve causes a change of air pressure within a channel that leads to all pipes of that note. A separate "stop action" system is used to control the admittance of air or "wind" into the pipes of the rank or ranks selected by the organist's selection of stops, while other ranks are "stopped" from playing. The stop action can also be an electro-pneumatic action, or may be another type of action

This pneumatically assisted valve action is in contrast to a direct electric action in which each pipe's valve is opened directly by an electric solenoid which is attached to the valve.

Advantages and disadvantages

The console of an organ which uses either type of electric action is connected to the other mechanisms by an electrical cable. This makes it possible for the console to be placed in any desirable location. It also permits the console to be movable, or to be installed on a "lift", as was the practice with theater organs.

While many consider tracker action organs to be more sensitive to the player's control, others find some tracker organs heavy to play and tubular-pneumatic organs to be sluggish, and so prefer electro-pneumatic or direct electric actions.

An electro-pneumatic action requires less current to operate than a direct electric action. This causes less demand on switch contacts. An organ using electro-pneumatic action was more reliable in operation than early direct electric organs until improvements were made in direct electric components.

A disadvantage of an electro-pneumatic organ is its use of large quantities of thin perishable leather, usually lambskin. This requires an extensive "re-leathering" of the windchests every twenty-five to forty years depending upon the quality of the material used, the atmospheric conditions and the use of the organ.

Like tracker and tubular action, electro-pneumatic action—when employing the commonly used pitman-style windchests—is less flexible in operation than direct electric action . When electro-pneumatic action uses unit windchests (as does the electro-pneumatic action constructed by organ builder Schoenstein & Co.), then it works similarly to direct electric action, in which each rank operates independently, allowing "unification", where each individual rank on a windchest can be played at various octave ranges.

A drawback to older electric action organs was the large amount of wiring required for operation. With each stop tab and key being wired, the transmission cable could easily contain several hundred wires. The great number of wires required between the keyboards, the banks of relays and the organ itself, with each solenoid requiring its own signal wire, made the situation worse, especially if a wire was broken (this was particularly true with consoles located on lifts and/or turntables), which made tracing the break very difficult.

These problems increased with the size of the instrument, and it would not be unusual for a particular organ to contain over a hundred miles of wiring. The largest pipe organ in the world, the Boardwalk Hall Auditorium Organ, is said to contain more than  of wire. Modern electronic switching has largely overcome these physical problems.

Modern methods

In the years after the advent of the transistor, and later, integrated circuits and microprocessors, miles of wiring and electro-pneumatic relays have given way to electronic and computerized control and relay systems, which have made the control of pipe organs much more efficient. But for its time, the electro-pneumatic action was considered a great success, and even today modernized versions of this action are used in many new pipe organs, especially in the United States and the United Kingdom.

References

Further reading
 George Ashdown Audsley. The Art of Organ Building.

Pipe organ components

Electro-pneumatic action


Abu Dujana ( ; born Ainul Bahri in Cianjur, West Java, 1968) was the military leader of Jemaah Islamiah from 2005 until June 2007 when he was arrested.

As of December 2007, he is facing trial in Jakarta on terrorism-related charges. He has allegedly played major roles in several terrorist bombings in South East Asia, including the 2003 Marriott Hotel bombing which killed 12 people and the 2004 Australian embassy bombing which killed 11 people.

Abu Dujana is fluent in Arabic and English. He is thought to have travel to Pakistan and Afghanistan where he received weapons training and fought with the mujahideen. He has also spent time in Malaysia in the 1990s where he taught at an Islamic school in Johor and met Ali Ghufron who was involved in the 2002 Bali bombings. Abu Dujana also met and provided shelter to Noordin Mohammed Top.

Abu Dujana became a JI leader following the death of bomb-maker Azahari Husin in 2005. He headed JI's military wing and was capable of assembling bomb and recruiting members. He has allegedly procured and kept two caches of explosives for attacks against Christians and government workers in Poso, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. Police has seized the two caches of explosives.

He was arrested in June 2007 in Kebarongan, Banyumas, Central Java. He is on trial on anti-terrorism charges including plotting terrorist activities and sheltering the perpetrators of the Bali bombings. He could face the death penalty if convicted.

References

Jemaah Islamiyah
People imprisoned on charges of terrorism
Indonesian prisoners and detainees
Prisoners and detainees of Indonesia
Living people
1968 births

Abu Dujana (Jemaah Islamiah)


In mathematics and computer science, Big O notation is a way of comparing rates of growth of different functions. It is often used to compare the efficiency of different algorithms, which is done by calculating how much memory is needed, and how much time it takes to complete.

The Big O notation is often used in identifying how complex a problem is, also known as the problem's complexity class. The mathematician Paul Bachmann (1837-1920) was the first to use this notation, in the second edition of his book "Analytische Zahlentheorie", in 1896. Edmund Landau (1877-1938) made the notation popular. For this reason, when people talk about a Landau symbols, they refer to this notation.

Big O notation is named after the term "order of the function", which refers to the growth of functions. Big O notation is used to find the upper bound (the highest possible amount) of the function's growth rate, meaning it works out the longest time it will take to turn the input into the output. This means an algorithm can be grouped by how long it can take in a worst-case scenario, where the longest route will be taken every time.

More specifically, given two positive functions  and , we say that  is in the big O of  (written ) if for large enough ,  for some constant .

Big O is an expression that finds worst-case scenario run-time, showing how efficient an algorithm is without having to run the program on a computer. This is also useful due to the fact that different computers may have different hardware, and therefore need different amounts of time to complete it. Since Big O always assumes the worst-case, it can show a consistent measurement of speed: regardless of the hardware,  is always going to complete faster than , because they have different levels of efficiency.

Examples
The following examples all use code written in Python. Note that this is not a complete list of Big O types.

Constant
 always takes the same amount of time regardless of input. For example, take a function that accepts an integer (called x) and returns double its value:

def double(x):
    return x * 2   #Return the value of x times 2

After accepting the input, this function will always take one step to return an output. It is constant because it will always take the same amount of time, so it is .

Linear
 increases according to the size of the input, represented by . For example, for the following function that accepts n and returns every number from 1 to n:

def count(n):
    i = 1           #Create a counter called "i" with a value of 1
    while i <= n:   #While i is less-than or equal to n
        print(i)    #Print the value of i
        i = i + 1   #Redefine i as "the value of i + 1"

If we were to input the value of 5, then this would output , requiring 5 loops to complete. Similarly, if we input 100, then it would output , requiring 100 loops to complete. If the input is , then the algorithm's run time is exactly  loops every time, therefore it is .

Factorial
 increases in factorial amounts, meaning the time taken increases massively with the input. For example, say we wish to visit five cities around the world and want to see every possible ordering (permutation). An algorithm we could write using Python's itertools library is as follows:

import itertools    #Import the itertools library
cities = ['London', 'Paris', 'Berlin', 'Amsterdam', 'Rome'] #An array of our chosen cities

def permutations(cities):                    #Taking an array of cities as input:
    for i in itertools.permutations(cities): #For each permutation of our items (assigned to variable "i")
        print(i)                             #Output i

This algorithm will calculate each unique permutation of our cities and then output it. Examples of output will include:

('London', 'Paris', 'Berlin', 'Amsterdam', 'Rome')
('London', 'Paris', 'Berlin', 'Rome', 'Amsterdam')
('London', 'Paris', 'Amsterdam', 'Berlin', 'Rome')
...
('Rome', 'Amsterdam', 'Paris', 'Berlin', 'London')
('Rome', 'Amsterdam', 'Berlin', 'London', 'Paris')
('Rome', 'Amsterdam', 'Berlin', 'Paris', 'London')

Here, our input list is 5 items long, and for every selection our remaining options decreases by 1. In other words, our 5 inputs choose  items (or ). If our input is  cities long, then the number of outputs is ; in general, assuming that we go through every permutation, then we will require  loops to complete it.

Little-o notation
A related concept to big-O notation is little-o notation. Big-O is used to say that a function does not grow faster than another function, while little-o is used to say that a function grows slower than another function. If two functions grow at the same rate, big-O can be used but little-o cannot. The difference between big-O and little-o is similar to the difference between   and .

 If  grows slower than , then  and .
 If  grows at the same rate as , then  but .
 If  grows faster than , then  and .

References

Mathematics
Computer science
Algorithms

Big O notation


In music, the word variation is to play a piece of music and change the notes or add parts into it but also making it sound like the piece of music in another way.

Many composers wrote pieces which are examples of theme and variation.  Sometimes the theme is one they made up, at other times they took a theme that another composer had already written and then made variations on it.

There are lots of ways of varying a tune, and each variation will change it in a different way.  A variation may play the tune much faster or much slower, it may change the tune by adding extra sharps and flats or other ornamental notes, or by playing the tune in octaves.  It may change the harmony or the rhythm or use different instruments.  It may combine the tune in different parts (counterpoint).

History in music
Composers have used variations in music for centuries.  In the Renaissance and Baroque periods composers wrote variations on a short tune in the bass which was repeated again and again.  This was called a ground bass or sometimes it was a passacaglia or chaconne.  Renaissance composers also liked writing what they called "divisions".  This meant varying a tune by playing it, for example, at twice the speed or half the speed etc. so that crotchets (quarter notes) became minims (half notes) or quavers (eighth notes).

George Frideric Handel wrote a famous set of variations for harpsichord called Harmonious Blacksmith, and Johann Sebastian Bach wrote the Goldberg Variations, which was a set of 30 variations: a very long piece of music.  It was written for a man who found it difficult to sleep at night, so he would ask his harpsichord player, whose name was Goldberg, to play to him.

Many composers from the Classical, Romantic and 20th century classical music periods wrote sets of variations. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote several, one of which was based on a French folktune which we know in Britain as "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star".  Beethoven wrote several wonderful sets of variations.  Many of them were for piano, but he also used the form in other pieces e.g. the slow movement of his Ninth Symphony.  Schubert often wrote variations on tunes from his own songs.

Other composers who wrote variations include Brahms, Elgar, Schoenberg, and Britten.
Musical forms

Variations (music)


Edgar "Eddie" Francis (born May 1974) is the former mayor of Windsor, Ontario. He was 29 years old when he was elected mayor in 2003, the youngest mayor in Windsor's history and one of the youngest mayors ever elected in Canada. He is also Windsor's first Lebanese-Canadian mayor.

Background
Born in Windsor to Lebanese Maronite Catholic parents who had recently immigrated to Canada from Lebanon, Francis is fluent in both English and Arabic.

Francis is an alumnus of Notre Dame Elementary School and Holy Names Catholic High School, both in Windsor. While in high school, Francis was a major contributor to student life while participating in the student council, and held the office of student body president. He holds a combined honour's degree in chemistry and biochemistry from the University of Western Ontario. He graduated from the University of Windsor Law School and was called to the Bar in 2002.

Prior to entering politics, Francis ran and operated Royal Pita Baking Company with his brothers. Under their stewardship the "mom and pop" operation's distribution quickly expanded to other markets, including London, Ontario, Toronto and 12 U.S. states.

Councillor

Francis was first elected to Windsor City Council in a by-election in June 1999, following the resignation of Rick Limoges. He became the youngest city councillor in Windsor's history, beating a record previously held by Limoges, when he was chosen to represent Ward 5 (Riverside / Forest Glade) at the age of 25. Shortly after being elected to city council, Francis enrolled in the University of Windsor Law School. He graduated in 2002 and articled with the international law firm of Miller Canfield Paddock and Stone. Subsequently, Francis was called to the Bar of the Law Society of Upper Canada.

In the November 2000 general election, Francis was re-elected to his Ward 5 seat with the largest majority ever recorded in a Windsor municipal election. As an active member of city council, Francis was involved in many of the city's major committees, agencies and boards. He held the positions of director of Windsor Canada Utilities, member of the Detroit–Windsor Tunnel Commission, chair of the Windsor Licensing Commission and chair of the International Relations Committee.

Mayoralty

Francis was first elected mayor in the 2003 municipal election, winning narrowly over fellow councillor Bill Marra. One of his first acts as mayor was to join the planning committee for the 2006 Super Bowl festivities in Detroit, ensuring that Windsor would receive some of the economic benefits of participating in a major tourist event.

He was subsequently re-elected in the 2006 election, garnering 77.56 per cent of the votes cast in the mayoral race, for which 38.2 per cent of registered voters cast a ballot. He won again in the 2010 election, with 56.17% of the vote.

During Francis' mayoralty, Windsor has consistently reduced municipal debt and passed six consecutive budgets with zero tax increases.

Francis announced in March 2014 that he will not run for a fourth term as mayor, and will instead take a job as executive vice-president of the Windsor Family Credit Union beginning on December 1, 2014.

Waterfront marina
On July 29, 2008, Francis announced one of the most ambitious projects of his mayoral term, a waterfront redevelopment proposal which would transform a struggling section of downtown Windsor into a waterfront park by converting the block bounded by Crawford, Caron and University Avenues — an area which currently consists primarily of parking lots and a disused section of railway track — into an inland marina cut back from the Detroit River, and converting either Chatham Street or Pitt Street into a canal and adjoining boardwalk, which would extend easterly for three blocks from the marina to a spot near the Art Gallery of Windsor, and then from there back to the river at the eastern edge of Dieppe Park.

He appointed Dave Cooke, a former Member of Provincial Parliament, to chair a feasibility study on the proposal. On August 19, councillor Alan Halberstadt criticized Francis for allegedly being secretive about the plan, and in response Cooke was brought in to speak to city council about the plan on September 2.

The project was never commissioned, lacking public support and funding.

Relationship with Detroit during the Kilpatrick crisis

On August 7, 2008, Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, already in the midst of pending felony charges, was jailed for violating his bail conditions after travelling to Windsor on July 23 for a meeting with Francis regarding a proposed deal pertaining to the Detroit–Windsor Tunnel, which would have seen the city of Windsor take over operational control of the tunnel in exchange for a $75 million loan to the cash-strapped city of Detroit. Kilpatrick stated that Francis had requested the meeting on short notice, while Francis and other city bureaucrats indicated that the meeting had in fact been at Kilpatrick's request. The meeting resulted in a 14-month investigation by Windsor's Integrity Commissioner, Earl Basse, who cleared Francis of wrongdoing in his relationship with Kilpatrick.

Francis later stated that he was confident that Kilpatrick's resignation on September 4 would not threaten the tunnel deal, indicating that he also had a strong working relationship with Kilpatrick's successor, Ken Cockrel. However, Cockrel himself indicated that he would prefer to renegotiate an alternate agreement to maintain joint management of the tunnel between the two cities.

Following Detroit's July 2013 bankruptcy filing, Francis said that his city would consider purchasing Detroit's half of the Detroit–Windsor Tunnel if it was offered for sale.

References

1974 births
Living people
Mayors of Windsor, Ontario
University of Western Ontario alumni
University of Windsor alumni
Canadian people of Lebanese descent
Lawyers in Ontario
Canadian Maronites
Western Law School alumni

Eddie Francis


Bromeliads are a family of tropical plants which includes the pineapple and several colourful houseplants. They are nearly all from Latin America and the Caribbean islands, except for Spanish moss from the southern United States, and a single kind from Africa.

Well-known kinds of bromeliad
Pineapples (Latin name: Ananas). See Pineapple.

Air plants (Latin name: Tillandsia) are very curious because they do not need any roots to stay alive. Instead they soak up moisture from the air around them through tiny, silvery scales on their leaves. They have so many of these scales that the whole plant can look grey. In the wild they grow on tree banches in rainy and misty areas. In the Caribbean there is a kind that grows on telephone wires!

Urn plants (Latin name: Aechmea) are easy to keep. They grow to about 60 cm across, but because the stiff, green-and-grey leaves have spiny edges, they need to be out of the way. Urn plants got their name because they have a hole in the middle made by the ring-shaped arrangement of their leaves. This central urn fills up with rainwater in the wild and is often home to insects and frogs. Its flowers are held high on a single stem, and protected by a globe of small, pink leaves which lasts for several months.

Vriesias (Latin names: Vriesia and Guzmania) are like urn plants, but they have no spines and their leaves are softer. They are often sold in flower shops (and sometimes in supermarkets) and are very easy to look after. Their flowers grow on a single stem, protected by flattened, colourful leaves. It is better not to fill the central space with water, as these soft-leaved plants might rot. instead their soil should be watered.

Spanish moss
Spanish moss (Latin name: Tillandsia usneoides) is a grey plant found hanging from trees in the swamps of the southern United States, especially in Louisiana but as far east as coastal Virginia. To the south it spreads as far as Chile and Argentina. It gained its current name from Spanish and French colonisers in the Gulf of Mexico. The French called it Barbe Espagnole ("Spanish beard") to insult their rivals, and the Spanish in turn called it Cabello francés ("French hair"). Today "Spanish moss" survives as a mild version of the French taunt, although some call the plant "Graybeard".

Other kinds of bromeliads
Bromelia, the plant which gives its name to the family, is the only other bromeliad with edible fruit. Its berries taste a bit like pineapple, but are less tasty, and there are not very many on each plant.

Fascicularia is the only bromeliad that can be grown in frosty areas. It is not killed by frost if it is kept dry in the winter.

Pitcairnia is the only wild bromeliad outside the Americas. One species, Pitcairnia feliciana,  was discoved living in West Africa. It is probably descended from seeds carried by migrating birds.

Puya is the largest bromeliad. It can grow up to nine metres tall. It lives in the Andes mountains, and is sometimes eaten by bears for its nectar. In Chile the young leaves of some puyas are eaten in salads.

References

Poales
Plant families

Bromeliad


Niru, (born Nirmalan Nadarajah on 13 January 1980) is a Tamil music director and composer. He is renowned in Kollywood for both the sensuality of his melodies and the charisma of his work. From his rendition Netriunthom Engal Vitulilae with acclaimed tracks, such as "Pattu Selai", Niru has become a popular musician. He recently debuted in Tamil films as the music composer in the film Kalabha Kadhalan.

Biography
Having found a passion for music at an early age, Niru discovered an affinity to all things musical. Though greatly adept at playing instruments, Niru found his forté lay in composing his own music and directing the celebrated musicians of the world.

In 1989, Niru moved to Paris, France, where he was in the tutelage of the Maison Populaire. There, he ameliorated and fine tuned his precision and skill for manipulating melodies. Niru graduated from SAE (Paris) in 2001, a prestigious institute with the links to Oxford, UK. Niru then progressed to study Western classical music at the Trinity College of Music, London.

2001 onwards
Starting small, Niru initially began by composing jingles for advertisements, soon to be followed by a "nouvelle vague" which brought Tamil Pop to the forefront of music in France."Moongil Nila", album-extraordinaire and Niru's 3rd masterpiece encapsulated the vocal genius of P. Unnikrishnan, a good friend of Niru's, Hariharan, Srinivas, Anuradha Sriram, Karthik and Shankar Mahadevan. Celebrated lyricists Vairamuthu, Kapilan, Paa Vijay, Palanibharathi and Arivumathi were also able to successfully echo Niru's thoughts to great effect.

Niru then dedicated much of his time composing music for various charitable endeavours. In memory of the Asian tsunami of 2004, Niru composed "Kadala Kadal Amma" with the vocals of Tippu by Aruvumathy. Niru also composed for the National Red Cross. Niru became both an independent and critically acclaimed Music Director with the release of his debut film; "Kalabha Kadhalan" in 2005, the music for which was highly successful.

In 2006, Niru's work, in Mayavi of GV Films, was nominated for the Seoul Drama Awards (SDA). Here, Niru gained the highly prestigious "Jury's Special Award". The music for Rameswaram (film), also of Niru's composing, was a great hit.

Filmography
 Kalabha Kadhalan (2005)
 Rameswaram (2007)

Audio albums
 Moongil Nila

External links
 Official web site

Tamil film score composers
1980 births
Living people

Niru


A baritone is a man with a voice range between that of a tenor (high male voice) and bass (low male voice), typically ranging from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C. It is the most common male voice type.

Famous baritone roles in opera include: Papageno in Mozart's The Magic Flute and Figaro in Rossini's The Barber of Seville.

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau is often thought of as the greatest baritone of the later 20th century. He was famous as a Lieder singer as well as on the concert stage and in opera.

Some musical instruments are also called "baritone" because they create similar frequencies to a baritone singer.

Vocal ranges

he:קולות (מוזיקה)#בריטון

Baritone


Extinct in the Wild (EW) is a conservation status given to a species, a group of plants or animals, when the only known living members are being kept in captivity (kept in a zoo or aquarium, or planted in pots), or they are no longer living in their normal habitat.

Species examples
Examples of such animals include:

Abingdon Island Tortoise
Red-tailed Black Shark
Père David's Deer
Barbary Lion (extinct in the wild since 1922)
Wyoming Toad (extinct in the wild since 1991)
Hawaiian Crow (extinct in the wild since 2002)
Alagoas Curassow (extinct in the wild since 1987 or 1988)
Socorro Dove (extinct in the wild since 1972)
Guam Rail (extinct in the wild since 1980)
Black Soft-shell Turtle
Butterfly Goodeid
Guam kingfisher
Kihansi spray toad
Northern White Rhinoceros
Partula
Scimitar Oryx
Spix's Macaw

Reintroduction
Reintroduction is the release of species back into the wild. They come from captivity or moved from other areas where the species survives. It usually involves species that are endangered or extinct in the wild.

It is very hard to reintroduce EW species into the wild, even if their natural habitats were fixed. The main reason may be that the survival skills, which are passed from parents to offspring during parenting, are lost. In other words, the genetics of the species are saved, but the natural skills of the species are lost.

Extinction

Extinct in the Wild


Richard Stephen "Richie" Sambora (born July 11, 1959) is an American guitarist, vocalist, composer, songwriter and producer. He is best known as the lead guitarist of American hard-rock band Bon Jovi.

When Sambora was a child, he spent a lot of time with his grandparents, who were Poles. He grew up in Woodbridge, New Jersey. At the age of 12, Sambora started to play guitar. He was a fan of Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, and Eric Clapton.

As a member of Bon Jovi, Sambora collected more than seventy gold and platinum CDs. In his career, he played on several tours. He released 3 solo albums.

Sambora made a lot of soundtracks. He cooperated with Desmond Child. In 2004, music magazine Guitar World ranked him 58th out of 100 of the best world heavy metal guitarists.

In 2013, Sambora suddenly left Bon Jovi.

Sambora has more than 200 guitars.

Sambora has his own record company Mutiny Record.

Private life
In December 1994, Sambora married an Amercian actress Heather Locklear. Their marriage ended in divorce in February 2006. They have a daughter Ava Elizabeth (born October 4, 1997). He is a Catholic and campaigned with Jon for Democrat John Kerrys presidential campaign in 2004.

References

Singers from New Jersey
American composers
American singer-songwriters
American guitarists
Musicians from New Jersey
Writers from New Jersey
1959 births
Living people
American Roman Catholics
People from Perth Amboy, New Jersey
Bon Jovi members

Richie Sambora


C-QUAM (Compatible QUadrature Amplitude Modulation) is the method of AM stereo broadcasting used in Canada, the United States and most other countries. It was invented in 1977 by Norman Parker, Francis Hilbert, and Yoshio Sakaie, and published in an IEEE journal.

Using circuitry developed by Motorola, C-QUAM uses quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) to encode the stereo separation signal. This extra signal is then stripped down in such a way that it is compatible with the envelope detector of older receivers, hence the name C-QUAM for Compatible. A 25 Hz pilot tone is added to trigger receivers; unlike its counterpart in FM radio, this carrier is not necessary for the reconstruction of the original audio sources.

Description
The C-QUAM signal is composed of two distinct modulation stages: a conventional AM version and a compatible quadrature PM version.

Stage 1 provides the transmitter with a summed L+R mono audio input. This input is precisely the same as conventional AM-Mono transmission methods and ensures 100% compatibility with conventional 'envelope detector' receivers.

Stage 2 provides the stereo multiplexed (muxed) audio input and replaces the conventional crystal oscillator stage of otherwise AM-Mono transmitters. So as to not create interference with 'envelope detector' receivers, the stage 2 signal takes the multiplexed (muxed) audio signals and phase modulates both, using a divide-by-4 Johnson counter and two balanced modulators operating 90 degrees out of phase with each other.  Stage 2 is not amplitude modulated, it is phase modulated, and is made up of both a L+R input and a L-R input.

To recover the 'stereo' audio signals, a synchronous detector extracts the L-R audio from the phase modulated quadrature portion of the signal created in stage 2. The L+R audio can be extracted from either the AM (stage 1) or the PM (stage 2) modulation component. From there, the audio can be readily de-multiplexed (de-muxed) back to 'stereo', a.k.a. Left and Right channels.

For additional information, see the attached PDF: "Introduction to the Motorola C-QUAM AM Stereo System".

Known problems

C-QUAM is not perfect, however, in large part because pre-AMAX it exhibited platform motion, with the audio "center" rocking back and forth as if changing the balance knob.  This effect is potentially bothersome, especially in a moving vehicle where the received signal changes rapidly, and occupants (particularly the driver) would be more prone to its effects (this was an effect that happened primarily with skywave signals. Groundwave or local coverage usually did not suffer from this issue).  This has been alleviated in subsequent revisions.  Also, since some stereo information is contained in the sidebands, adjacent channel interference can cause problems.  Finally, when only part of a sideband is attenuated (as often happens to skywave signals reflecting off the ionosphere), an effect known as selective fading, very unpleasant effects result; hence, the C-QUAM system is not often if ever used for shortwave broadcasting, nor by stations which receive a great deal of skywave interference.

User base
, there are still a number of AM radio stations in North America broadcasting in C-QUAM stereo. Among those stations are WXYG/540: Sauk Rapids, MN; CFCB/570: Corner Brook, NL; CFCO/630: Chatham, Ontario (covering SW Ontario, Eastern Michigan and Northern Ohio); WNMB/900: North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; WBLQ/1230: Westerly, Rhode Island; WIRY/1340: Plattsburgh, New York; WAXB/850: Ridgefield, Connecticut; WYLD-AM/940: New Orleans, Louisiana; and WLAD/800: Danbury, Connecticut.  In addition to FCC-Licensed C-QUAM AM broadcast stations, low-powered (<100 mW) Part 15 C-QUAM stereo transmitters are available for sale for use in the United States. In Rome, Italy, there is Broadcastitalia on 1485 kHz.

Also see:
AM Stereo radio stations in the United States
AM Stereo radio stations worldwide

Competition from IBOC Hybrid Digital Systems

While C-QUAM is an accepted international standard for AM Radio broadcasting, it is incompatible with the IBOC (In-band on-channel) "HD" (Hybrid Digital) radio system, so a broadcaster must choose what system they will use.  The IBOC system allows transmission of an audio frequency range extending to approximately 15 kHz, 2-ch Stereo on the AM band, but with significant digital artifact and aliasing due to substantial codec inadequacy.

In addition, C-QUAM patents have expired.  iBiquity still controls IBOC intellectual property through patents, through licensing fees for both the use of the technology, and any modifications to be made, even if the broadcaster in question has purchased the equipment outright and made costly modifications to their transmitter plant in order to implement it.

Very few  AM radio stations that broadcast with IBOC HD Radio during the day switch to C-QUAM AM Stereo during nighttime operation to reduce sideband digital (hash) interference and to provide long-range stereo reception. A number of HD radio tuners have the limited ability to decode C-Quam stereo transmissions, (typically with lower bandwidth), and as a result, reduced audio quality than what could be expected from a specifically designed AMAX/C-QUAM only tuner. C-QUAM AM Stereo transmissions have the same range as AM Monural transmission, a key benefit.

Whereas many stations in the late 2000s changed from C-QUAM to HD Radio, in the 2010s the trend reversed with many HD Radio stations shutting off their digital equipment. However, few of these stations returned to C-QUAM broadcasts.

There has been a move to bring back C-QUAM in the last few years, due to the poor sound quality of digital audio encoding at low bit rates. Where AM stereo receivers use a dual IF bandwidth setup, for an extended audio frequency response over mono receivers. Providing for a full, rich stereo sound is simply not possible with digital audio encoding. The down side of analog broadcasting is the amount of unwanted noise.

See also
List of AM stereo radio stations

References
Introduction to the Motorola C-QUAM AM Stereo System

External links
History of AM Stereo
Another AM Stereo information and vendor site - meduci.com

1977 in radio
Telecommunications-related introductions in 1977
Broadcast engineering
Motorola
Radio technology
Standards of the United States
Stereophonic sound

C-QUAM


Heroes of Might and Magic V is the fifth installment of the Heroes of Might and Magic fantasy turn-based strategy video gameseries. The game was released by Ubisoft in Europe on May 16, and then in the United States and Canada on May 24, 2006, with the publisher guiding Nival Interactive in its development. Following the closure of The 3DO Company, Ubisoft bought the rights to the Might and Magic franchise, and used Heroes V as a means to reboot the series with a brand new setting, called Ashan, and no continuity to previous titles.

2006 video games
MacOS games
Windows games
Ubisoft games

Heroes of Might and Magic V


Gangtok is the capital of the Indian state of Sikkim, It has a population of 50,000. It is located at a height of 1,780 metres in the Himalayan Mountains . It is small town, filled with different cultures and religions living together.

The city has wide roads, flyovers, markets, a modern hospital, schools, colleges and universities, fast food shops, discothèques, and all other modern amenities. One imposing man-made landmark of the town is the 200 ft-high TV tower which overlooks the town and is near the Enchey Monastery below Ganesh Tok.

Capital cities in India
Towns in Sikkim

Gangtok


Electric charge is a basic property of electrons, protons and other subatomic particles. Electrons are negatively charged while protons are positively charged. Things that are negatively charged and things that are positively charged pull on (attract) each other. This makes electrons and protons stick together to form atoms. Things that have the same charge push each other away (they repel each other). This is called the Law of Charges. It was discovered by Charles-Augustin de Coulomb. The law that describes how strongly charges pull and push on each other is called Coulomb's Law.

Things that have equal numbers of electrons and protons are neutral. Things that have more electrons than protons are negatively charged, while things with fewer electrons than protons are positively charged. Things with the same charge repel each other. Things that have different charges attract each other. If possible, the one with too many electrons will give enough electrons to match the number of protons in the one that has too many protons for its load of electrons. If there are just enough electrons to match the extra protons, then the two things will not attract each other anymore. When electrons move from a place where there are too many to a place where there are too few, that is called an electrical current.

When a person shuffles their feet on a carpet and then touches a brass doorknob, they may get an electrical shock. If there are enough extra electrons then the force with which those electrons push each other away may be enough to make some of the electrons jump across a gap between the person and the doorknob. The length of the spark is a measure of voltage or "electrical pressure." The number of electrons that move from one place to another per unit of time measured as amperage or "rate of electron flow."

If a person gets a positive or negative charge, it may make the person's hairs stand up because the charges in each hair push it away from the others.

Electric charge felt when one gets a shock from a doorknob or other object usually is between 25 thousand and 30 thousand volts.  However, the electric current only flows briefly, so the flow of electrons through the person's body does not cause physical harm.  On the other hand, when clouds gain electrical charges they have even higher voltages and the amperage (the number of electrons that will flow in the lightning strike) can be very high. That means that electrons can jump from a cloud to the earth (or from the earth to a cloud).  If those electrons go through a person, then the electric shock can burn or kill.

Historical experiment
The following experiment is described by James Clerk Maxwell in his work A Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism (1873). Normally, glass and resin are both neutrally charged. However, if they are rubbed together and then separated, they will become able to attract each other.

If a second piece of glass is rubbed with a second piece of resin, the following things will be seen:

 The two pieces of glass repel each other.
 Each piece of glass attracts each piece of resin.
 The two pieces of resin repel each other.

If a charged and an uncharged object are brought together, attraction will be very weak.

Bodies that are able to attract or repel things in this way are said to be 'electrified', or to be 'charged with electricity'. When two different substances are rubbed together, an electrical charge is produced because one of them will give electrons to the other. The reason is that the atoms in the two substances have unequal power to attract electrons. So the one that is more able to attract electrons will take electrons from the one that has a lower attractive force. If glass is rubbed against something else, it may either give or take electrons. What happens depends on what the other thing is.

Things that have taken electrons are called "negatively charged", and things that have given up electrons are called "positively charged". There is no special reason for these names. It is just an arbitrary (random choice) convention (agreement).

Besides being electrified by friction, bodies may be electrified in many other ways.

Related pages
Electric
Static electricity

References

Electricity
Magnetism
Basic physics ideas

Electric charge


The Villa Louis is a National Historic Landmark located on St. Feriole Island, in Prairie du Chien, southwestern Wisconsin. The villa and estate are a historical museum operated by the Wisconsin Historical Society. The site has been restored to its appearance during the late 19th century, when it was the estate of the prominent H. Louis Dousman family, descendants of a fur trader and entrepreneur.

History
The site was inhabited by Native American tribes, especially the Mound Builders, as is evidenced by the large mound upon which later structures at the site (Fort Shelby, Fort Crawford, and the homes of Hercules and of Louis Dousman) have all stood. In 1814, the Siege of Prairie du Chien was fought in the area by American and British troops hoping to control Fort Shelby during the War of 1812. Later the land was occupied by Fort Crawford.

After white settlers drove Indigenous communities from their homelands, the land was purchased by Hercules L. Dousman, who was a man of many trades: a fur trader, a lumberman, a land sculptor, and a frontier entrepreneur. In the mid-1840s, he began construction on the estate from which Villa Louis would be born. The location he chose was perfect due to its proximity to the Mississippi River.

Later Dousman's son, Louis, established the present estate, at the center of which is an elegant Villa Louis mansion designed by E. Townsend Mix built in 1871 in the Victorian Italianate style.

19th century
The estate now known as Villa Louis began when Prairie du Chien trader and investor Hercules Dousman purchased land previously occupied by Fort Crawford. Dousman had the remains of the fort cleared away. In 1843, he built a large, brick Greek Revival house atop an Indian mound, which had been the site of the old fort's southeastern blockhouse. Because of this, Hercules Dousman's home has come to be called the "House on the Mound". This name was also used as the title of an August Derleth novel that featured Dousman as a principal character. Hercules Dousman lived in the House on the Mound until his death in 1868. At the time of his death, he was one of the wealthiest men in Wisconsin, and his fortune passed to his wife Jane and his son Louis.

Upon coming into his father's estate, Louis decided to demolish the House on the Mound and replace it with a more contemporary Victorian Italianate style house that included modern indoor plumbing and central heating, both considered luxuries at the time. Louis Dousman contracted with Milwaukee architect E. Townsend Mix in 1870 to have the new house designed and built, and construction was finished in 1871. The new mansion was built with some parts of the old demolished one. The two-story Cream City brick house became the residence of Louis's mother, Jane, while Louis himself moved to Saint Paul, Minnesota not long after construction was finished.

In St. Paul, Louis married Nina Sturgis, and later the couple moved to St. Louis, Missouri, eventually having five children. However, following the death of his mother Jane Dousman in 1882, Louis made plans to return to Prairie du Chien and transform the family estate into a stock farm to breed Standardbred horses. Stables and paddocks were constructed on the estate, along with a half mile racetrack so Dousman could begin holding an annual carriage race on the property. Because the estate had an artesian well, Louis decided to call his new venture the "Artesian Stock Farm". In 1885, Louis moved back to the Prairie du Chien estate with his family. In the process, the 1871 mansion was substantially remodeled and the house was redecorated in the style of the British Arts and Crafts Movement.  This remodel included not only the house, but also the adjacent office. The remodeling was done by a Chicago designer from the William Morris Company of London.

Louis's plans for the estate came to an abrupt halt the following year, on his sudden death in January, 1886.  He was 37 years old when he died, leaving behind a widow and five children.   After Louis's death, the stock farm was disbanded and the horses sold, and Nina Dousman renamed the estate "Villa Louis" in memory of her late husband. Later, in 1888, Nina remarried and moved to New York City, leaving the estate vacant. Her new marriage did not last, and in 1893 she returned with the  five Dousman children to the Midwest. Villa Louis was then used as the family's summer home into the early 20th century. Louis de Vierville Dousman, the only son of Louis and Nina, was the last family member to occupy the estate, leaving for Billings, Montana in 1913 with his wife Sarah Easton.

20th century

Historic site and museums
Although the Dousman family had left the Villa Louis estate by 1913, they continued to own the property. Over the following decades, they rented the mansion for use as a boarding school, among other things. In the 1930s, two of Louis Dousman's children, Violet and Virginia, began to restore the estate to its 19th-century appearance. They then transferred the property to the city of Prairie du Chien, so that the mansion could be operated as a historic house museum. In 1952, the site was acquired by the Wisconsin Historical Society, and became the organization's first historic site.

Since then, the Villa Louis historic site has expanded to encompass two other nearby National Historic Landmarks: the Brisbois House, and the Astor Fur Warehouse. The warehouse now functions as a museum of the fur trade, while the Brisbois house has remained closed to the public. The site also contains the Rolette House, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and numerous outbuildings constructed by the Dousmans as part of the Villa Louis estate.

1990s restoration
In the 1990s, the discovery of numerous photographs of Villa Louis from the late 19th century allowed the historical society to undertake a major restoration of the mansion and surrounding buildings. Using the collection of photographs and the estate's original furnishings, many of which were given to the site by the Dousman family heirs, the society was able to authentically restore the home to its appearance from 1893 to 1898. The use of photographs and original furniture to so accurately restore the home brought national attention to the site in 1999, including a feature article in Victorian Decorating & Lifestyle magazine and an exhibit at the New York School of Interior Design.

The historical society hosts several events at Villa Louis, including a reenactment of the Battle of Prairie du Chien, and the Villa Louis Carriage Classic, a major carriage driving competition held each September.

See also
Dousman Hotel
Bernard Walter Brisbois

References

Further reading
 Michael P. Douglass. "Rediscovering the Gilded Age at Villa Louis". Wisconsin Magazine of History, vol. 88, no. 4 (Summer 2005): 28–37.

External links
 Official Villa Louis website
 Villa Louis Carriage Classic

Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin
Historic house museums in Wisconsin
Historical society museums in Wisconsin
Museums in Crawford County, Wisconsin
Open-air museums in Wisconsin
National Historic Landmarks in Wisconsin
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Wisconsin
Houses completed in 1871
Wisconsin Historical Society
Italianate architecture in Wisconsin
Villas in the United States
Houses in Crawford County, Wisconsin
National Register of Historic Places in Crawford County, Wisconsin

Villa Louis


Peter J. James (born 22 August 1948) is a British writer of crime. He was born in Brighton, the son of Cornelia James, the former glovemaker to Queen Elizabeth II.

Education and early career

James was educated at Charterhouse and went on to Ravensbourne Film School. For a brief period of time whilst at film school, James worked as Orson Welles's house cleaner. Subsequently, he spent several years in North America, working as a screenwriter and film producer, beginning in Canada in 1970 working first as a gofer, then writer, on the children's television series Polka Dot Door.

Personal life

His interests include criminology, religion, science and the paranormal, as well as food and wine. He has written many restaurant columns. He is also a self-confessed "petrol head," having owned many fast cars over the years, including four Aston Martins, AMG and Brabus Mercedes, a Bentley Continental GT Speed and two classic Jaguar E-Types.  He holds an international racing licence, and has in the past competed in the Britcar series in both a Honda Accord and a former British Touring Car Championship SEAT Toledo. His 1965 BMW 1800 Ti, with his co-driver Steve Soper, came 10th overall in the St Mary's Trophy in the Goodwood Revival in 2013. James currently races a 1962 C1 Corvette and a 1964 Mini Cooper S. He has donated two police cars to Sussex Police, which bear his name, and a police car to States of Jersey Police.

He is married to Lara James (m. 2015). His first, 19-year marriage was to Georgina Wilkin, from 1979 until 1998.

In January 1999, James was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

Work

Literature
James has written 36 novels, including the International best-selling crime thriller series featuring Brighton-based Detective Superintendent Roy Grace, which have sold 21 million copies worldwide and have given him 19 consecutive UK Sunday Times number ones, as well as number ones in Germany, France, Russia and Canada, and he is also a New York Times best-seller. James's books have been translated into 38 languages. In the UK and the US, they are published by Macmillan Publishers. In 1993 Penguin Books published his novel Host on two floppy discs (in addition to conventional print formats). It has been called the world's first electronic novel and a copy of it is in the Science Museum. James has written supernatural thrillers, spy fiction, science-based thrillers, a children's novel, and the novella The Perfect Murder, which was 15 weeks at number one on iBooks and 45 weeks in their top 10, was adapted by Shaun McKenna into a stage play which had a smash hit tour in 2014 and returned to stage in 2016. Subsequent stage adaptations of his novels, all also by Shaun McKenna,  include Dead Simple, Not Dead Enough and The House on Cold Hill have also had sell-out national tours.  His fifth stage adaptation, Looking Good Dead starts on a national tour in March 2021. The Roy Grace series is currently being produced by ITV with John Simm playing the role of Roy Grace.  His novel Perfect People is also being filmed as an eight-part mini-series in 2021. James has served two consecutive terms as chairman of the Crime Writers' Association, and was the programming chair for the Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in 2016, part of the Harrogate International Festivals portfolio.  He hosts The Author's Studio, a free online learning facility for all budding authors, on his YouTube channel.

In 2017, James wrote the foreword for the UK edition of The Crime Book, with American crime author Cathy Scott writing the foreword for the US edition. The nonfiction book, a volume in the Big Ideas Simply Explained series, was released by Dorling Kindersley (Penguin Random House) in April 2017 in the UK and May 2017 in the US.

Film
James has been involved in 26 films in writer and/or producing roles. His 1993 novel Host was adapted into the 1998 television movie Virtual Obsession. Other films on which he is credited include: Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things, The Neptune Factor, Blue Blood, Malachi's Cove, The Blockhouse starring Peter Sellers, Spanish Fly starring Terry-Thomas and Leslie Phillips, A Different Loyalty starring Sharon Stone, The Bridge of San Luis Rey starring Robert De Niro, and The Statement starring Michael Caine.

In 2005 The Merchant of Venice, directed by Michael Radford and for which James was executive producer, had a royal premiere in the presence of Prince Charles and received a BAFTA Award nomination. In 2006 the film also won the Silver Ribbon for Best Production Design (Migliore Scenografia) from the Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists.

Television
His 1992 novel Prophecy was adapted into the first episode of the 1995 Chiller TV series. Since 2021, his Roy Grace series has been adapted into the ITV series Grace, starring John Simm.

Other work
James is patron of the Sussex Police Charitable Trust, patron of Brighton & Hove Samaritans, patron of the Brighton Greyhound Owners Association Retired Greyhound Trust, patron of Brighton and Hove Independent Mediation Service, patron of Relate in Sussex, patron of Terrys Cross House, patron of Little Green Pig, national co-patron of Neighbourhood Watch, co-patron of Sussex Crimestoppers, honorary patron for the South Mid Sussex Community First Responders, vice-president of The Old Police Cells Museum in Brighton. He is an ambassador for the University of Brighton, and a Martlets Hospice Champion (which he also supports through his annual Peter James Golf Classic). He supports Action Medical Research.  He also supports and works with The Reading Agency, a charity with a mission to give everyone an equal chance in life by helping people become confident and enthusiastic readers.

Awards
1967 Charterhouse school poetry prize
1969 Esquire Magazine International College Film Festival, The Island
1974 Sitges International Horror Film Festival, Best Foreign Film for Dead of Night
1999 Honorary Fellowship, FHS Emeritus award by the Hypnotherapy Society
2000 Public Awareness of Science Award, runner up, Alchemist
2004 BAFTA nomination for The Merchant of Venice
2004 Rose D'Or nomination at the Montreux Television Festival, Bedsitcom
2005 Krimi-Blitz, Best Crime Writer of the Year in Germany
2006 Le Prix Polar International, Comme Une Tombe (French translation of Dead Simple)
2007 Le Prix Cœur Noir at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines festival, Comme Une Tombe (French translation of Dead Simple)
2007 Richard & Judy Galaxy British Book Awards – Crime Thriller of the Year, shortlisted, Looking Good Dead
2007 Prix SNCF du Polar, shortlisted, La Mort Leur Va Si Bien (French translation of Looking Good Dead)
2007 Le Grand Prix de littérature policère, shortlisted, La Mort Leur Va Si Bien (French translation of Looking Good Dead)
2008 Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award, shortlisted, Not Dead Enough
2008 ITV Crime Thriller Author of the Year, shortlisted, Not Dead Enough
2009 Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award, shortlisted, Dead Man's Footsteps
2009 CWA Dagger in the Library, shortlisted
2009 Honorary Doctorate of Letters at the University of Brighton
2010 Sounds of Crime Award, best abridged and unabridged novel, Dead Tomorrow
2010 Galaxy British Book Awards – Sainsbury Popular Fiction Book of the Year shortlisted, Dead Like You
2010 Quick Reads Readers' Favourite Award, The Perfect Murder
2011 Sounds of Crime Award, best abridged and unabridged novel, Dead Like You
2011 ITV3 Crime Thriller Awards Winner, People's Bestseller Dagger for Crime Novel of the Year
2011 Barry Award, winner, Dead Man's Grip
2012 Wellcome Trust Book Prize, shortlisted, Perfect People
2012 Sussex Police, Outstanding Public Service Award
2012 Specsavers National Book Awards, Crime Thriller of the Year, shortlisted, Perfect People
2013 Argus Outstanding Contribution to Sussex Award
2013 Specsavers National Book Awards, Crime Thriller of the Year 2013 – shortlisted – Dead Man's Time
2014 Sainsbury's eBook of the Year Award – Winner – Want You Dead
2015 WHSmith. The Best Crime Author of all Time – Winner
2015 Honorary Mastership of the Open University
2015 Dagger in the Library UK Crime Writers' Association award for an author's body of work in British libraries (UK) shortlisted
2015 Dead Good Readers Dr Lecter Award for Scariest Villain – Winner – You Are Dead
2016 CWA Diamond Dagger Award Recipient
2016 Dead Good Readers Tess Gerritsen Award for Best Series – Winner – Roy Grace
2017 CAMEO Award – Book To Stage Category – shortlist – Not Dead Enough
2017 Poland – Lubimyczytac.pl Book Of The Year award, Horror Category – Winner – The House On Cold Hill
2017 Germany – Rheinbach Glass Dagger Award for Crime Fiction – Winner
2017 Sussex Life Hero at the Celebration of Sussex Life – Winner
2018 Specsavers Honorary Platinum Award for book sales over 5 million
2018 Specsavers National Book Awards – Audiobook Of The Year – Shortlist – Absolute Proof
2021 Specsavers Crimefest  - Audible Sounds of Crime Award nominee - Find them Dead
2021 Brighton & Hove Business Awards - Outstanding Brightonian of the Year Award

Bibliography
Roy Grace novels
Dead Simple (2005)
Looking Good Dead (2006)
Not Dead Enough (2007)
Dead Man's Footsteps (2008)
Dead Tomorrow (2009)
Dead Like You (2010)
Dead Man's Grip (2011)
Not Dead Yet (2012)
Dead Man's Time (2013)
Want You Dead (2014)
You Are Dead (2015)
Love You Dead (2016)
Need You Dead (2017)
Dead If You Don't (2018)
Dead At First Sight (2019)
Find Them Dead (2020)
Left You Dead (2021)
Wish You Were Dead (2021)
Picture You Dead (2022)
Stop Them Dead (2023)

Other novels
Dead Letter Drop (1981)
Atom Bomb Angel (1982)
Billionaire (1983)
Travelling Man (1984)
Biggles: The Untold Story (1986)
Possession (1988)
Dreamer (1989)
Sweet Heart (1990)
Twilight (1991)
Prophecy (1992)
Host (1993)
Alchemist (1996)
Getting Wired (1996)
The Truth (1997)
Denial (1998)
Faith (2000)
The Perfect Murder (2010) (novella)
Perfect People (2011)
A Twist of the Knife (2014) (short story collection)
The House on Cold Hill (2015)
Absolute Proof (2018)
The Secret of Cold Hill (2019)
I Follow You (2020)

Non-fiction
Death Comes Knocking – Policing Roy Grace's Brighton (2016)
Babes in the Wood (2020)

See also

References

External links

Peter James Personal website
Review of Dead Man's Grip in Shots Mag Ezine May 2011
Interview with Peter James in Shots Mag Ezine October 2010
Peter James on TheCrimeHouse.com Interview published 21 June 2010
The Deckchair Interview Interview with James by Sarah Hutchings dated 25 May 2007
Peter James website about the novel Dreamer
Crime writer Peter James Interview with James in the Sussex Express
Sixty seconds with Peter James... Interview with James on ReviewingTheEvidence.com

BBC raw Quick Reads – The Perfect Murder by Peter James
ABC Talks To: Crime author Peter James Interview with James by the American Book Center in Amsterdam
Review of Peter James's thriller 'Dead Like You' by Patrick Anderson in The Washington Post 19 December 2010
Website for The Perfect Murder stage production and tour.

1948 births
20th-century English novelists
21st-century English novelists
English crime fiction writers
English mystery writers
English film producers
English thriller writers
English screenwriters
English male screenwriters
English spy fiction writers
English children's writers
People educated at Charterhouse School
Living people
Writers from Brighton
English people of Jewish descent
English male novelists
20th-century English male writers
21st-century English male writers
Barry Award winners
Cartier Diamond Dagger winners

Peter James (writer)


The Palearctic (or 'Palaearctic') ecozone is one of the eight dividing the Earth's surface.

The Palearctic is by far the largest ecozone. It includes the terrestrial ecoregions of Europe, Asia north of the Himalayan foothills, northern Africa, and the northern and central parts of the Arabian Peninsula.

Major ecological regions
The Palearctic ecozone includes mostly boreal and temperate climate ecoregions, which run across Eurasia from western Europe to the Bering Strait.

Euro-Siberian region
The boreal and temperate Euro-Siberian region is the Palearctic's largest biogeographic region, which transitions from tundra in the northern reaches of Russia and Scandinavia to the vast taiga, the boreal coniferous forests which run across the continent. South of the taiga are a belt of temperate broadleaf and mixed forests and temperate coniferous forests. This vast Euro-Siberian region has many shared plant and animal species, and many similarities with the temperate and boreal regions of the Nearctic of North America.

Eurasia and North America were often connected by the Bering land bridge, and have very similar mammal and bird fauna, with many Eurasian species having moved into North America, and fewer North American species having moved into Eurasia.

Many zoologists consider the Palearctic and Nearctic to be a single  Holarctic ecozone. The Palearctic and Nearctic also share many plant species.

Mediterranean Basin
The lands bordering the Mediterranean Sea in southern Europe, north Africa, and western Asia are home to the Mediterranean basin ecoregions, which together constitute world's largest and most diverse mediterranean climate region of the world, with generally mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers. The Mediterranean basin's mosaic of forests, woodlands, and scrub are home to 13,000 endemic species. Conservation International has designated the Mediterranean basin as one of the world's biodiversity hotspots.

Sahara and Arabian deserts
A great belt of deserts, including the Sahara desert, and Arabian desert, separates the Palearctic and Afrotropic ecoregions. These desert ecoregions are included in the palearctic ecozone; other biogeographers identify the ecozone boundary as the transition zone between the desert ecoregions and the Mediterranean basin ecoregions to the north. This would place the deserts in the Afrotropic, while others place the boundary through the middle of the desert.

Western and Central Asia
The Caucasus mountains, which run between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, are a particularly rich mix of coniferous, broadleaf, and mixed forests, and include some temperate rain forest.

Central Asia and the Iranian plateau are home to dry steppe grasslands and desert basins, with montane forests, woodlands, and grasslands in the region's high mountains and plateaux.

The middle altitude foothills of the Himalaya between about 2000–2500 m form the boundary between the Palearctic and Indomalaya ecoregions.

East Asia
China, Korea and Japan are more humid and temperate than adjacent Siberia and Central Asia, and are home to rich temperate coniferous, broadleaf, and mixed forests. These are now mostly limited to mountainous areas, as the densely populated lowlands and river basins have been converted to intensive agricultural and urban use.

East Asia was not much affected by glaciation in the ice ages, and retained 96 percent of Pliocene tree genera, while Europe retained only 27 percent.

Ecozones

Palearctic


Walter Harding (1917–1996) was a distinguished professor of English at the State University of New York at Geneseo and internationally recognized scholar of the life and work of Henry David Thoreau. Harding was born in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, and received his B.S. from Bridgewater State College in 1939, M.A. from the University of North Carolina in 1947 and a Ph. D. from Rutgers University in 1950.

Career
Harding spent most of his career at SUNY Geneseo, where he arrived in 1956, although he previously taught at the University of Virginia, Rutgers University, and the University of North Carolina. He served as the chair of Geneseo's English Department for six years and was awarded several of SUNY's highest honors. He became a University Professor in 1966 and Distinguished Professor in 1973. In 1983, one year after his retirement, he became the first SUNY faculty member to be granted an honorary doctorate from SUNY itself.

Scholarship

Harding authored more than twenty-five books and many articles on Thoreau and his circle. Harding's biography of Thoreau, The Days of Henry David Thoreau, is considered a definitive study of Thoreau's life. Harding also edited an edition of Thoreau's Walden that restores Thoreau's sketches to the text and includes copious footnotes. Harding helped to found the Thoreau Society, serving as the society's first secretary. He also served as president of the group. During his career Harding amassed the largest and most comprehensive research collection of Thoreauviana. The extensive collection of more than 15,000 books, pamphlets, articles and other Thoreau memorabilia was donated to the Thoreau Society and is housed at the Walden Woods Project's Thoreau Institute Library in Lincoln, Massachusetts. The Milne Library at SUNY Geneseo also has copies of some items in the Harding collection.

Legacy
In addition to the research collection that bears his name, Harding's impact on Thoreau scholarship and SUNY Geneseo is registered in several ways. Harding's wife, Marjorie Brook Harding, endowed an annual lecture at SUNY Geneseo that bears his name. Each fall, the Walter Harding Lecture brings a distinguished scholar of American literature related to Thoreau and his circle of transcendentalists to the campus.  In 2009, Mrs. Harding increased the annual lecture's endowment.  Geneseo's English Department holds meetings, special events, and lectures in the Walter Harding Room of Welles Hall, and the department annually awards the Walter Harding American Studies Award to a graduating senior in the American studies program. After his death, a book of essays was published in his memory: Thoreau Among Others: Essays In Honor of Walter Harding.

Walter Harding Lecturers

2004: Joel Myerson Distinguished Professor of American Literature at University of South Carolina. "Not Instruction, But Provocation: Ralph Waldo Emerson on the Pursuit of Knowledge."
2005: Ronald A. Bosco, Distinguished University Professor of English and American Literature at SUNY Albany. "I came near awakening this morning: The Days of Emerson and Thoreau at Walden."
2006: Ed Folsom, Carver Professor of American Literature at the University of Iowa. "Walt Whitman's 1855 Leaves of Grass: Think Again."
2007: Betsy Erkkila, Henry Sanborn Noyes Professor of Literature at Northwestern University. "Romancing the Revolution: Jefferson's Declaration"
2008: Frances Smith Foster, Charles Howard Candler Professor of English and Women's Studies at Emory University. "'Freedom's Journal' and its Work; or Facts, Falsehoods and Common Sense."
2009: Michael Warner, Seymour H. Knox Professor of English, Professor of American Studies, Yale University. "The Evangelical Black Atlantic."
2010: Caleb Crain, independent scholar, author of American Sympathy: Men, Friendship and Literature in the New Nation, the novella Sweet Grafton, and articles in The New Yorker, The Nation, The New York Times Magazine and The New York Review of Books. "Melville's Secrets."
2011: Martha Nell Smith, Professor of English, Distinguished Scholar-Teacher, University of Maryland. Executive Editor, Dickinson Electronic Archives. "Digital Forensics and Texting Emily Dickinson."
 2012: Megan Marshall, author of The Peabody Sisters: Three Women Who Ignited American Romanticism and Margaret Fuller: A New American Life.
 2013: Laura Dassow Walls, William P. and Hazel B. White Professor of English at the University of Notre Dame.

References

1917 births
1996 deaths
American academics of English literature
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni
Rutgers University alumni
Bridgewater State University alumni
State University of New York at Geneseo faculty
20th-century American non-fiction writers

Walter Harding


Botany is the study of plants. It is a science. It is a branch of biology, and is also called plant biology. It is sometimes called phytology. Scientists who study botany are called botanists. They study how plants work.

Branches of botany
Agronomy—Application of plant science to crop production
Bryology—Mosses, liverworts, and hornworts
Forestry—Forest management and related studies
Horticulture—Cultivated plants
Micropaleontology—Pollen and spores
Mycology—Fungi
Paleobotany—Fossil plants
Phycology—Algae
Phytochemistry—Plant secondary chemistry and chemical processes
Phytopathology—Plant diseases
Plant anatomy—Cell and tissue structure
Plant ecology—Role of plants in the environment
Plant genetics—Genetic inheritance in plants
Plant morphology—Structure and life cycles
Plant physiology—Life functions of plants
Plant systematics—Classification and naming of plants

Recent trends
University departments of botany are often now merged into a wider group of specialities, including cell biology, genetics, ecology, cytology, palaeontology and other topics. This gives students and research workers access to a wider education and a wider range of research techniques.

Notable botanists
 Theophrastus, Hellenistic philosopher, wrote books, systematized botanical descriptions.
 Ibn al-Baitar (d. 1248), Andalusian-Arab scientist, author of one of the largest botanical encyclopedias.
 Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon (1707–1788) was a French naturalist, Intendant of the Jardin du Roi ('King's Garden'). Buffon published thirty-five volumes of his Histoire naturelle during his lifetime, and nine more volumes were published after his death.
Luther Burbank (1849–1926), American botanist, horticulturist, and a pioneer in agricultural science.
Charles Darwin (1809–1882) wrote eight important books on botany after he published the Origin of Species.
Al-Dinawari (828–896), Kurdish botanist, historian, geographer, astronomer, mathematician, and founder of Arabic botany.
Conrad Gessner (1516–1565) was a Swiss naturalist and bibliographer.
Joseph Dalton Hooker (1817–1911), English botanist and explorer. Second winner of Darwin Medal.
Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778), Swedish botanist, physician and zoologist who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of Binomial nomenclature. He is known as the father of modern taxonomy, and is also considered one of the fathers of modern ecology.
Gregor Mendel (1822–1884), Augustinian priest and scientist, and is often called the father of genetics for his study of the inheritance of traits in pea plants.
Reid Venable Moran (1916–2010) was an American botanist and a curator  of the San Diego Natural History Museum. He wrote a document titled "Cneoridium dumosum (Nuttall) Hooker F. Collected March 26, 1960, at an Elevation of about 1450 Meters on Cerro Quemazón, 15 Miles South of Bahía de Los Angeles, Baja California, México, Apparently for a Southeastward Range Extension of Some 140 Miles".
John Ray (1627–1705) was an English naturalist, the father of English natural history.
G. Ledyard Stebbins (1906–2000) was an American botanist and geneticist. He was one of the leading evolutionary biologists of the 20th century.
Eduard Strasburger (1844–1912) was a Polish-German professor who was one of the most famous botanists of the 19th century.
Nikolai Vavilov (1887–1943) was a Russian botanist and geneticist. He  showed how and where crop plants evolved. He studied and improved wheat, corn, and other cereal crops.

References

Related pages

 Botanical garden

Botany