The Hamilton Caledonian Pipe Band otherwise known as The Callies is an organisation with two bands. One in grade "2" and one non-competing, with over 50 playing members based in Hamilton, New Zealand.

About
The Hamilton Caledonian Society Pipe Band has seen exponential growth since its inception in 1925. There are currently two bands, one at a Grade 2 level and a second Non Competing band.
The Number One band competes in Grade 2.

History
The Hamilton Caledonian Pipe Band was originally formed as the South Auckland Caledonian Society in 1925, from an earlier organisation established in 1917. On 12 June 1928, the Band was incorporated as the Hamilton Caledonian Society.

Over the years, the Society has represented Scotland and its traditions through concerts, Inglesides, socials, choirs, marching teams, sports teams and its Pipe Band. One of the objects of the Society is to promote a greater appreciation of the pipes and to this end the Band have given great service to Hamilton and its surrounds.

The Band won the B Grade national contest at Palmerston North in 1938 under Pipe Major Sam Clothier. Consequently, the Band was promoted to the A Grade.

With the advent of World War II, the Waikato Mounted Rifles requested that the Band be attached to their unit. Parades for the various Home Guard, 4th Waikato Regiment and the Women's Army kept the band busy.

In 1947, the Band traveled to Wanganui and its first Dominion Contest since the beginning of the war. They won the A Grade aggregate for the quickstep and selection. The Band's profile lifted dramatically and requests for appearances flowed in from far and near. The Band retained its title at the following nationals in 1948, in Dunedin. In 1949, at New Plymouth, Hamilton won the street parade and quickstep but were second overall by one point.

After a few years break from attending national contests, in 1952 at Napier, the band were 4th overall in the A Grade, an impressive feat, considering the Band was the youngest ever taken to compete in that grade.

A significant milestone for the Society, was the opening of its own hall in Grey Street, Hamilton East in 1963.

In 1965, at Timaru, the Band again won the aggregate in the A Grade competition.

During the 1970s, the Society and Band saw declines in membership. As a result, the Band did not compete regularly at National Contests and lost their place in the top grades.

By 1980, under music director, Trevor Andrews, the band won the Grade 3 title at the Nationals in Hamilton. They were consequently promoted to Grade 2 which they won the following year, at Timaru. A second band was formed later that year.

By 1984, the number 1 band had been promoted once more to Grade 1. The Grey Street Hall was sold and in 1989, our present building in High Street was purchased.

Unfortunately, during the 1990s, the band began to struggle to retain members and agreed to go back to Grade 2. When the Te Rapa Air Force Base was closed, several of its members joined Hamilton Caledonian. Concern for the need to train up new playing members led to initiatives with local schools to tutor young pipers and drummers.

The band until recently comprised the Number One Band, which competed in Grade 1, the Number Two Band, which currently competes in Grade 2, The Number Three band competing in grade 4 and finally the Juvenile band who began competing in 2006.

The Number One Band has achieved three second placings in 1998, 1999 and 2001 in Grade 2, and went on to take out the grade two Championships in 2005 (in Invercargill) and 2006 (in Hamilton). As a result of this continued success, the Hamilton Cales were promoted to Grade 1 after their win in Hamilton 2006.

The Number Two Band was formed in 1999. They achieved 2nd placings in 2000 and 2001 and have been in the past promoted from Grade 4 to Grade 3.

The band currently has a Grade 2 and Non competing Band, led by Pipe Major Meleana Eade.

As well as competing nationally, the Band has performed at such events as Civic Functions, International Rugby matches, Sporting Parades, Christmas Parades, Race meetings, Special Olympics, university and Polytechnic Graduations, Concerts and other engagements.

References

External links

Musical groups established in 1925
Grade 1 pipe bands
Pipe bands
New Zealand musical groups
Culture in Hamilton, New Zealand

Hamilton Caledonian Pipe Band


Maurice Paléologue (13 January 1859 – 23 November 1944) was a French diplomat, historian, and essayist. As the French ambassador to the Russian Empire (1914-1917), he supported the Russian mobilization against Germany that led to World War I and likewise played a major role in France's entry into the ensuing conflict.

Biography
Paléologue was born in Paris as the son of Alexandru Paleologu, a Wallachian Romanian revolutionary who had fled to France after attempting to assassinate Prince Gheorghe Bibescu during the 1848 Wallachian revolution. Alexandru was one of three illegitimate children of Elisabeta Văcărescu of the Văcărescu family of boyars. He and his siblings were later adopted by Zoe Văcărescu, Elisabeta's mother, who gave the children her Greek maiden name Paleologu. The name became Paléologue in French language spellings. The family's relation to the Palaiologos Byzantine Imperial family is doubtful, though Alexandru's ancestors claimed it at the end of the 17th century.

Diplomat
After graduating in law, Paléologue obtained a position with the French Foreign Ministry in 1880 and moved on to become Embassy Secretary at Tangiers in the Sultanate of Morocco and then in Beijing (China) and later in Italy. A Minister Plenipotentiary in 1901, he represented France in Bulgaria (1907–1912) and Imperial Russia (1914–1917). He became General Secretary of the Foreign Ministry in the Alexandre Millerand cabinet.

An Austrian diplomat described his personality in 1911:
about 50 years old, unmarried ... [he is] prominent, vivacious, well educated, but displays a fantastic imagination  and is an author of novels. [He] permits his novelist's imagination to run away with him when he interprets insignificant military or political events, and, for those who do not know him well, he is therefore dangerous as a source of information.

The British ambassador to St. Petersburg in 1914 provided a similar description:
He is a very cultivated man, a writer of light romances, as well as books of a more serious vein; but ... his vivid imagination is apt to run away with him and disposes him to take a fanciful and exaggerated view of the political questions with which he has to deal.

His most important and controversial role came when he was the French ambassador to Russia in July 1914. He hated Germany and believed that when war broke out, France and Russia had to be close allies against Germany. His approach agreed with French President Raymond Poincaré, who trusted him. He promised unconditional French support to Russia in the unfolding crisis with Germany and Austria-Hungary.

Historians debate whether he exceeded his instructions and thereby helped hasten the war. There is agreement that he failed to inform Paris of exactly what was happening and the implications of the Russian mobilisation in launching a world war.

At the beginning of 1917, both Paléologue and his British counterpart Sir George Buchanan became convinced that reforms in Russia were necessary, fearing that otherwise a revolution would overthrow the monarchy and Russia would in that case leave the war. In January 1917 he warned Tsar Nicholas II of Russia that a government should be established that should enjoy the confidence of the Duma. However, the tsar did not respond to Paléologue's warning. Ultimately, Paléologue witnessed the February Revolution of 1917 that brought down the monarchy.
Later that year, Paléologue returned to France and in 1920 was Secretary-General of Foreign Affairs at the time of the Millerand cabinet.

Later life
Paléologue published essays and novels, and wrote contributions for the Revue des deux mondes. He also wrote several works on the history of Russia in the wake of World War I that included an intimate portrait of the last tsaritsa, Alexandra Fyodorovna. He had been present at meetings between her and Grigori Rasputin, among others. He was called on to give his testimony during the Dreyfus Affair and left important notes on the topic.

Paléologue was elected a member of the Académie française in 1928. He died in Paris in 1944 aged 85, a few months after the city's liberation.

See also
 Russian entry into World War I

References

Further reading
 Halfond, Irwin. Maurice Paléologue: The Diplomat, the Writer, the Man, and the Third French Republic (University Press of America, 2007).
 Paléologue, Maurice. An Ambassador's Memoirs (English translation, 1924).
 Paléologue, Maurice. My Secret Diary of the Dreyfus Case 1894-1899 (English translation, 1957).
 Renzi, William A. "Who Composed" Sazonov's Thirteen Points"? A Re-Examination of Russia's War Aims of 1914." American Historical Review 88.2 (1983): 347–357.  online; argues that Paléologue was responsible

External links
 Bio at the Académie française
 Two articles by Maurice Paléologue on Talleyrand and Metternich.

1859 births
1944 deaths
Burials at Passy Cemetery
Writers from Paris
French biographers
20th-century French historians
19th-century French novelists
20th-century French novelists
Politicians of the French Third Republic
Members of the Académie Française
French people of Romanian descent
Maurice Paleologue
Ambassadors of France to the Russian Empire
19th-century French diplomats
20th-century French diplomats
People associated with the Dreyfus affair
French male essayists
French male novelists
19th-century French male writers
19th-century French essayists
20th-century French essayists
20th-century French male writers
Male biographers

Maurice Paléologue


A tricycle is a vehicle with three wheels. It can be also called a trike. Tricycles can have pedals, an electric motor or a petrol engine.

Human powered
A child's tricycle is best known, but adult tricycles are becoming more common.  The adult trikes will have a chain, gears and are recumbent (the feet are in front of the body).  They come in two main styles: tadpole with two wheels up front and one in back and delta with two wheels in the back and one wheel in the front.  Almost always the front wheel or wheels steer the bike, and power goes to the back wheel or wheels.

Some trikes are fully faired (covered in a shell to cut wind resistance).  These are called velomobiles.

Other trikes are built to carry cargo or passengers (also called a cycle rickshaw or pedicabs).

Motor driven
Motorcycles also come in three wheeled versions.  Some people like them for better balance or more room.

Related pages
 Tandem trike

References

Human-powered vehicles
Cycling
Motorcycles

Tricycle


Kamoke is a Tehsil of Gujranwala District. It is on the Grand Trunk Road now national highway. Its headquarters is at Kāmoke, which is about 22 km from Gujranwala, the district capital. It is famous for its market of Basmati rice. It contains twenty-four Union Councils. Kamoke is a busy town on the GT road. Most people here are Rajputs and Jats and arian and depend on agriculture. Kamoke is famous for its burfy (a local sweet) and rice.

Kamoke is the city with the most mosques in Pakistan. There are two degree colleges, one for men and other for women. The city is divided into three reigons: Line par, sarak par and main bazar. There are four police stations (P.S.): P.S. Sadar Kamoki, P.S. City Kamoke, P.S. Eminabad and P.S. Wahndo.

Tehsils of Gujranwala District

Kamoki Tehsil


The Gong Show is an American television game show, that was produced in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It was created and hosted by Chuck Barris. The show's name came from a gong used to shorten performances that were not liked. The gong was sounded by celebrity judges, who rated the performers.

Beginning
In the mid-1970s, Barris hoped to make a new kind of game show, based on the old "amateur hour" contest shows. He held auditions to find talented acts to appear. Nearly all the performers who came to the auditions were ordinary people, who had one or two skills, or thought they had special talent. Many of the performances were "party pieces", that people did to amuse others. Others were more serious, and tried hard to perform well.

Most of the acts made Barris and his staff laugh. They thought their idea for a show would not work, because of the strange and funny performances. Barris then realized that audiences might want to watch them for amusement. He and his staff began to look for funny and unusual acts. The show debuted in 1976, and became a hit.

Two hit shows
Two versions of The Gong Show aired at first: A nighttime version, hosted by radio announcer Gary Owens, and a daytime version, hosted by Barris himself. Barris later took over the nighttime version also. Each version worked the same, but featured different judges and performers. A live band played music for the performances. Live audiences attended each show, and cheered on the acts they liked. When they did not like an act, they would call on the judges to "Gong 'em!" If a judge sounded the gong, the act had to stop, and lost their chance for a prize. The performer who rated highest with the judges won a cash prize. (The "prize" was mostly for show; all the performers were paid the same, whether they won or not.)

Celebrities
Many celebrities served as judges on the show, including Jaye P. Morgan and Jamie Farr. One well-known comedian, Murray Langston, performed on the show with a paper bag over his head. He called himself the "Unknown Comic", and told simple jokes when he appeared onstage. Langston won his round, and was invited back to appear other times. Many people wondered who the Unknown Comic really was. Langston later admitted he had appeared on the show just for some quick cash, because he needed money. He hid his identity so his performance would not hurt his comedy career, since he was already well-known.

No real stars were made by Gong Show appearances, but thousands of people got a chance to perform on national television, and others got the chance to watch. One popular member of the show's cast was "Gene, Gene, the Dancing Machine", who would dance in front of the show's band between acts. Barris himself was also well-liked by the audience. He treated all the performers on the show kindly and seriously, and hosted the show like it was a party.

Many of the acts who auditioned for The Gong Show were not suitable for television, or for times when children or families might watch. Some of these acts appeared in a movie, which was released in 1980.

The end
In time, new and unusual acts became hard to find, as more people performed on The Gong Show. The television audience also lost interest. Barris was tired from working on the show. The Gong Show was cancelled by 1982. Reruns came later, but they also stopped with time.

Today, The Gong Show is remembered fondly by the people who watched it. Amateur talent contests still sometimes feature a gong, for when an act does not go over well. (They are rarely used.)

Barris wrote a memoir, titled Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, that talked about his time on the show.

Comedy
Television game shows
NBC network shows
First run syndicated television programs
English-language television programs

The Gong Show


Uku Masing (born Hugo Albert Masing, 11 August 1909 – 25 April 1985) was an Estonian philosopher. He was a significant figure in Estonian religious philosophy. Masing also wrote poetry, mostly on religious issues. Masing authored one novel, Rapanui vabastamine ehk Kajakad jumalate kalmistul (Liberation of Rapa Nui, or Seagulls at the Cemetery of Gods) in the late 1930s, which was published posthumously in 1989. As a folklorist, he was a distinguished researcher of fairy tales, contributing to the international Encyclopedia of the Folktale. He was awarded the Righteous Among The Nations by Yad Vashem and the Israeli Supreme Court for his participation during the Holocaust in helping a Jew in Estonia escape capture from 1941 until the end of the war. His actions exposed him to great danger during this period requiring him to meet with his friend as well as lying to the Gestapo.

Early life
Masing was born in Lipa village, Raikküla Parish, Rapla County, on 11 August 1909 as Hugo Albert Masing. His parents were Ado Masing and Anna Masing. He had one sibling, a younger sister named Agnes Masing (married surname, Saag) born in 1911. A gifted polyglot, he was able to speak four languages by the end of secondary school and forty by the end of his life. He started to study theology at the University of Tartu in 1926. During his time there and after the graduation he published numerous poems, translations, and essays. His most famous work was in 1935 with the publication of Promontories into the Gulf of Rains (Estonian: Neemed vihmade lahte).

Masing was a member of the influential group of Estonian poets brought together in 1938 by literary scholar Ants Oras, who was greatly influenced by T. S. Eliot. The small circle of poets became known as Arbujad ("Soothsayers") and included Heiti Talvik, Betti Alver, Paul Viiding, Mart Raud, Bernard Kangro, August Sang and Kersti Merilaas.

At his peak Masing was able to speak around 65 languages with the ability to translate from 20 of them. He was known for his ability to translate straight from original Hebrew, occidental European and oriental languages into Estonian. Such was his prolific nature it is estimated over 10,000 pages of his manuscripts have yet to be published. Masing was known for his anti-German sentiment, that was the core of what at times was Masing's general dislike of the Indo-European people (whom he sometimes called 'ethnic garbage' and referred to as Indo-Germanic people).

Righteous Among the Nations award

Masing lectured at the University of Tartu in Estonia, where he was known as a brilliant teacher of theology and Semitic languages, if somewhat eccentric. After the German invasion of Estonia in World War II he gave up his teaching post at the university and devoted his time to protecting and salvaging Jewish cultural and religious items.

Masing knew the Jewish folklorist, narrative researcher and theologian Isidor Levin from his teaching days, and decided to hide him from the Germans who most certainly would have brought him to death. Masing and his wife Eha helped Levin evade capture by supplying him with food, shelter, clothing and even forged documents, while on occasions lying to the Gestapo about knowledge of Isidor. For these actions, Masing and his wife were honoured as Righteous Among the Nations. After the war, Masing also took part in investigating Nazi war crimes, in particular the Klooga concentration camp where many Jews had been killed.

Selection of scientific works
1936 "The Word of Yahweh". — Acta et commentationes Universitatis Tartuensis (Dorpatensis). B, Humaniora. XXXIX, Tartu, 1936, pp. 1–60.
1938 "Der Prophet Obadja. Bd. I: Einleitung in das Buch des Propheten Obadja. Teil I". — Acta et commentationes Universitatis Tartuensis (Dorpatensis). B, Humaniora, XLI, Tartu, 1938, pp. 1–176.
1938 "Die Proklamation des Tab'alsohnes (Zu Zach. 9)". — In piam memcriam A. von Bulmerincq, Riga, 1938, pp. 117–126.
1944 "Die Entstehung des Märchens vom gestohlenen Donnerinstrument (Aarne-Thompson 1148B)". — Zeitschrift für deutsches Altertum und deutsche Literatur 81, 1944, pp. 23–31.
1960 "Das Evangelium des Alten Testaments". — Communio Viatorum 2, 1960, pp. 123–132.
1961 "Confessio amantis". — Communio Viatorum, 1961, pp. 139–160.
1963 "Panta dynata". — Communio Viatorum 4, pp. 242–262.
1969 "C. Scott Littleton, The New Comparative Mythology: an anthropological assessment of the theories of Georges Dumézil". — Semiotica 1, 1969, pp. 339–355.
1973 "De hermeneutica". — Communio Viatorum 1–2, 1973, pp. 1–29
1974 "Akkadisches miksu in Osteuropa". — Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft im Alten Vorderasien, J. Harmatta and G. Komoróczy (toim.); Acta Antiqua Academiae Scientarum Hungaricae 22, 1974 / 1976, pp. 521–526.
1976 "Some remarks on the mythology of the people of Catal Hüyük". — Acta et commentationes Universitatis Tartuensis 392: Oriental Studies 3 / Tartu Riikliku Ülikooli Toimetised 392, Töid orientalistika alalt 3, Tartu 1976, pp. 75–92.
1979 "Elpida echomen". — Communio Viatorum 1, 1979, pp. 1–28
1981 "Die "Hand" im Alten. Testament und die estnische Übersetzung". — La main et les doigts dans l´expression linguistique, Lacito-Documents Eurasie 6, Paris, SELAF, 1981, pp. 213–222.
1981 "Der Gegnersucher (AT 650 B). Varianten aus Kaukasien und Sibirien". — Acta et commentationes Universitatis Tartuensis 558 / Oriental Studies VI, Tartu, 1981, lk. 17–35.
1982 Isidor Levin, Uku Masing, Armenische Märchen. — Eugen Diedrichs Verlag, Düsseldorf, 1982, 283 pp.
1982 "Ocellot, Mal Ocellot". — Folklorica: Festschrift for Felix J. Oinas. Indiana University, Uralic and Altaic Series 141. Bloomington, Indiana: Research Institute for Inner Asian Studies, 1982, pp. 173–184.
1984 "Esten". — Enzyklopädie des Märchens. Handwörterbuch zur historischen und vergleichenden Erzählforschung 4. Berlin -New York: Walter de Gruyter, 1984, pp. 479–491.

About Uku Masing
 Vincent B. Leitch, "Religious Vision in Modern Poetry: Uku Masing Compared with Hopkins and Eliot". - Journal of Baltic Studies 5, 1974, pp. 281–294.
 Ivar Ivask, "Uku Masing: A poet between east and west". - Journal of Baltic Studies 8, 1977, pp. 16–21.
 Aira Võsa, "Spiegelt Sprache die Seele? Einige Aspekte in der religiösen Identität der Estinnen und Esten in den Augen von Uku Masing". – Journal of the European Society of Women in Theological Research 14, 2006, pp. 109–120.
 Peeter Espak, "Sumerian inim, Hebrew דבר יהוה and Polynesian mana in the Early Theories of Uku Masing". - Forschungen zur Anthropologie und Religionsgeschichte 43, 2012, pp. 71–85.
 Urmas Nõmmik, "Uku Masing und das Alte Testament". - Forschungen zur Anthropologie und Religionsgeschichte 43, 2012, pp. 187–198.

See also

 Buddhism in Estonia
 Linnart Mäll

References

External links
 Uku Masing – his activity to save Jews' lives during the Holocaust, at Yad Vashem website

 Uku Masing compared with Hopkins and Eliot by Vincent B. Leich

1909 births
1985 deaths
20th-century Estonian philosophers
20th-century Estonian poets
20th-century translators
Analytic philosophers
Anti-German sentiment in Europe
Burials at Raadi cemetery
Estonian folklorists
Estonian philosophers
Linguists from Estonia
People from Rapla Parish
People from the Governorate of Estonia
Religious philosophers
Translators from Arabic
Translators from Catalan
Translators from Coptic
Translators from English
Translators from French
Translators from German
Translators from Greek
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Translators from Italian
Translators from Japanese
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University of Tartu alumni

Uku Masing


Kasusug Kilwal
 Extensive essay on Theodore Roosevelt and shorter essays on each member of his cabinet and First Lady from the Miller Center of Public Affairs
 NY Times Headline, January 6, 1919, Theodore Roosevelt Dies Suddenly at Oyster Bay Home; Nation Shocked, Pays Tribute to Former President; Our Flag on All Seas and in All Lands at Half Mast
 "The Early Years: The Challenge of Public Order - 1845 to 1870", by William Andrews,  New York City Police Department History Site
  "Leadership of the City of New York Police Department 1845-1901", - The New York City Police Department Museum
 PBS "American Experience" Theodore Roosevelt
 My Brother Theodore Roosevelt, 1921 By Corinne Roosevelt Robinson, a bestseller with a woman's and sister's point of view on TR. Full text and Full text Search, Free to Read and Search.
 Almanac of Theodore Roosevelt
 Downloadable audio recordings of Roosevelt in MP3 format
 Audio clips of Roosevelt's speeches
 Audio Recording of Roosevelt's Progressive Party Acceptance Speech, "Progressive Covenant with the People" with text included.
 Quotes
 Theodore Roosevelt Works - Bartleby's Online Books

 Index of T. Roosevelt Etexts
 Detailed biography of Theodore Roosevelt from the 1911 version of Encyclopedia Britannica
 Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Address
 State of the Union addresses for 1901, 1902, 1903, 1904, 1905, 1906, 1907, and 1908
 Nobel Peace Prize 1906: Theodore Roosevelt
 Theodore Roosevelt Papers at the Library of Congress
 Theodore Roosevelt: His Life & Times on Film (LOC)
 Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site
 Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site
 Sagamore Hill National Historic Site
 NobelPrize.org's entry on Theodore Roosevelt
 Congressional Medal of Honor's entry on Theodore Roosevelt; including citation and pictures
 Medal of Honor Recipients on Film
 White House biography
 Vice Presidents Dot Com
 Family and Descendants of Theodore Roosevelt
 Ron Schuler's Parlour Tricks: Teddy
 Theodore Roosevelt Links
 Theodore Roosevelt Quotes, Pictures and Biography at TeddyRoosevelt.com
 Theodore Roosevelt cylinder recordings, from the Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project at the University of California, Santa Barbara Library.
 On Theodore Roosevelt's progressive vision  from the Roosevelt Institution , a student think tank inspired in part by Theodore Roosevelt.
 Boone and Crockett Club, founded by Theodore Roosevelt
 How to pronounce Theodore Roosevelt
 Yesterday's News blog 1901 newspaper account of Roosevelt's "Big Stick" speech at the Minnesota State Fair
 Archive of Theodore Roosevelt Pictures
 still of Theodore Roosevelt going on first aeroplane flight
 different view of Theodore Roosevelt & Arch Hoxsey in Wright aeroplane St Louis October 1910

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Theodore Roosevelt


Dame Elisabeth Schwarzkopf DBE (9 December 1915 in Jarotschin in Prussia - 3 August 2006 in Schruns, Austria) was a German-British soprano. She was one of the most famous opera singers of the 20th century as well as a famous recitalist.  She was particularly known for singing the music of Mozart, Schubert, Strauss, and Wolf.

Early life
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf was born in Jarotschin in the province of Posen in Prussia. Schwarzkopf showed an interest in music from an early age. She first sang in an opera in 1928 when she took the part of Eurydice in a school production of Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice in Magdeburg, Germany. In 1934, Schwarzkopf started to study in Berlin Hochschule für Musik, then she changed teachers and started working with the coloratura soprano Maria Ivogün as well as with Ivogün's husband, the pianist Michael Raucheisen.

Early career
Schwarzkopf gave her first professional performance at the Deutsche Oper Berlin on 15 April 1938, as the Second Flower Maiden (First Group) in Act II of Richard Wagner's Parsifal. She sang in Berlin for four years, during which time she joined the Nazi Party.  Because of this she was later not allowed to appear in the United States.

In 1942, she was invited to sing with the Vienna State Opera, where her roles included Konstanze in Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Musetta and later Mimì in Puccini's La bohème and Violetta in Verdi's La traviata.

Career after the war
In 1945, Schwarzkopf was given Austrian citizenship so that she would be allowed to sing in the Vienna State Opera.  In 1947 and 1948, Schwarzkopf appeared on tour with the Vienna State Opera at London's Royal Opera House at Covent Garden on 16 September 1947 as Donna Elvira in Mozart's Don Giovanni and at La Scala on 28 December 1948, as the Countess in Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, which became one of her most famous roles.

From that time on she was invited to sing all over the world, including at La Scala, Milan and the San Francisco Opera.

In March 1946, Schwarzkopf had been invited to audition for Walter Legge.  Legge was a man who produced classical music recordings in Britain.  He had founded the Philharmonia Orchestra. Legge asked Schwarzkopf to sing Hugo Wolf's lied Wer rief dich denn?.  He thought she was so good that he gave her an exclusive contract with EMI. They worked a lot together, and they were married on 19 October 1953 in Epsom, Surrey; Schwarzkopf now had British citizenship because of her marriage to an Englishman.

In the 1960s, when Schwarzkopf sang in operas she nearly always sang one of her  five favourite operatic roles: Donna Elvira in Mozart's Don Giovanni, Countess Almaviva in The Marriage of Figaro, Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, Countess Madeleine in Strauss's Capriccio, and the Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier.   She was also good at singing Alice Ford in Verdi's Falstaff. On the EMI label she made several "champagne operetta" recordings like Franz Lehár's The Merry Widow and Johann Strauss II's The Gypsy Baron.

Schwarzkopf's last operatic performance was as the Marschallin on 31 December 1971, in the theatre of La Monnaie in Brussels. For the next several years, she only sang in lieder recitals.

On 17 March 1979, Walter Legge had a serious heart attack. His doctors told him to rest, but instead of resting he went to Schwarzkopf's last recital two days later in Zurich. Three days later, he died.

After retiring, Schwarzkopf taught and gave master classes around the world, especially at the Juilliard School in New York City. She was well known for being an extremely strict teacher who stopped her pupils to criticize every little bit of detail.   After living in Switzerland for many years, she went to live in Vorarlberg, Austria.

She was made a doctor of music by the University of Cambridge in 1976, and became a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 1992.  She received many other awards.

Schwarzkopf died in her sleep during the night of 2–3 August 2006 at her home in the village of Schruns, in Vorarlberg, western Austria, aged 90.

Notes and references

Other websites
Bach Cantatas biography

1915 births
2006 deaths
British singers
German singers
Knights and Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom
Nazis
British opera singers
German opera singers
Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Prussian entertainers
Sopranos

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf


The University of Oxford is a university in Oxford, England. It is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. The Times Higher Education World University Rankings stated that "it is the best university in the world" in the 2000s.

The university is 39 colleges and five private halls.  All of these colleges have their own buildings and their own staff. Oxford is quite different from most modern universities where all the students live on a campus. Oxford does not have a campus, although it does have some central places where students from different colleges can come together (for example, libraries).

The Bodleian Library (founded in 1602) is the main library of the University of Oxford, and one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It is the second largest library in the United Kingdom after the British Library.

History

Oxford is the world's third-oldest university after the University of Bologna, and the world's second-oldest surviving university.

There is no known date of foundation, but there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096. It grew rapidly from 1167 when Henry II banned English students from attending the University of Paris. English students were not allowed to continue studying in Paris after Thomas Becket was murdered.

There were fights between the students in Oxford and the people who lived there in the early 13th century. Some students and teachers left the university in 1209, and made a new university in Cambridge.  These two universities are now great rivals, and together are sometimes known as "Oxbridge".

Until 1920, women were not allowed to take degrees at Oxford, although some women studied at Oxford before that time. Nowadays, all the colleges allow both men and women as students, and the number of male and female students is roughly equal.

One of the most famous teachers at the university was Lewis Carroll, author of Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, stories for children.

Colleges and halls

There are 39 colleges at Oxford and five permanent private halls.

A college will normally offer the students accommodation (a room to sleep and study in) for the first and last years of their time at University. Many also offer accommodation for other years. A college will also have space for teaching and socializing. When most of the older colleges started they were only for people of one sex, but St Hilda's College, the last college to allow only women to study there, recently allowed men as well.

A permanent private hall is slightly different to a college. They were normally started by religious groups to educate their members in philosophy and theology, but some have since grown and offer a broader range of subjects. Some halls are run by monks.

Most colleges will teach at both undergraduate (the more basic first degree that a student takes) and postgraduate (a higher level of study) level. There are also some special colleges that are more restrictive. Five colleges only offer space to postgraduate students. Harris Manchester College is only for "mature students" (those who are over 21 when they start their degree). All Souls College does not take students – all of its members teach students or do research.

Getting into Oxford
Oxford, like Cambridge, is very popular, but there are only a limited number of spaces for students. It is therefore harder for students to get into these universities. The colleges look for the students with the best school results in the subjects for which they are applying, typically A marks on A-levels.

Related pages
The Boat Race

References

More information
Jan Morris (ed.) The Oxford Book of Oxford. Oxford University Press

Other websites

 University of Oxford website
 Overview of Master's programmes at the University of Oxford

1096 establishments

University of Oxford


Beverly Atlee Cleary (née Bunn; April 12, 1916March 25, 2021) was an American children's writer. She was the author of over 80 books for young adults and children. Her characters are normal children facing challenges of growing up, and her stories are filled with humour. Some of her best known and loved characters are Ramona Quimby and her sister Beatrice ("Beezus"), Henry Huggins, Ralph S. Mouse, and Ribsy.

Biography

Beverly Cleary was born Beverly Atlee Bunn in McMinnville, Oregon. When she was 6, her family moved to Portland, Oregon,  where she went to grammar and high school. She was slow in learning to read, partly because she did not like the books the school wanted her to read, and partly due to an unkind first grade teacher. It was not until she was in third grade that she found enjoyment from books, when she started reading The Dutch Twins by Lucy Fitch Perkins. From then on, she visited the library often, though she rarely found the books she most wanted to read — those about children like herself.

In 1934, she moved to Ontario, California to attend Chaffey College, from which she earned an Associate of Arts diploma. She then moved to Berkeley to major in English at the University of California. After graduating with a B.A in English in 1938, she studied at the School of Librarianship at the University of Washington in Seattle, where she earned a degree in librarianship in 1939. Her first job was as a librarian in Yakima, Washington, where she met many children who were looking for the same books that she had always hoped to find as a child herself. In response, she wrote her first book which was published in 1950. Beezus and Ramona, Cleary's first novel to feature the Quimby sisters as the central focus of the story, was published in 1955, although Beezus and Ramona made frequent appearances in the Henry Huggins series as supporting characters.

In 1940 she married Clarence T. Cleary and they moved to Oakland, California. The Clearys became parents to a set of twins, Marianne Elisabeth and Malcolm James, in 1955.  Clarence Cleary died in 2004.  Beverly Cleary currently lives in Carmel, California.

She also wrote two autobiographies, A Girl from Yamhill and My Own Two Feet.

Cleary celebrated her 100th birthday on April 12, 2016. On March 25, 2021, Cleary died in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, 18 days before her 105th birthday.

Career

Her books are available in 14 languages in over 20 countries. She has won many awards, including the 1984 Newbery Medal for her book Dear Mr. Henshaw and the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award in 1975. Cleary received the Library of Congress Living Legends award in the "Writers and Artists" category in April 2000 for her major contributions to America's cultural heritage.

Honors

The Hollywood location of the Multnomah County library, near where she lived as a child, has created a map on their lobby wall of Henry Huggins' Klickitat Street neighborhood. Statues of her beloved characters Ramona, Henry Huggins, and the Huggins' dog Ribsy can be found in Grant Park in Portland, Oregon.

In 2004, the University of Washington's Information School completed fundraising for a Beverly Cleary Endowed Chair for Children and Youth Services to remember her work and commitment to librarianship.

She has a dorm at University of California, Berkeley named after her.

Books written by Beverly Cleary
Henry Huggins (illus. by Louis Darling) - (1950)
Ellen Tebbits (illus. by Louis Darling) - (1951)
Henry and Beezus (illus. by Louis Darling) - (1952)
Otis Spofford (illus. by Louis Darling) - (1953)
Henry and Ribsy (illus. by Louis Darling) - (1954)
Beezus and Ramona (illus. by Louis Darling) - (1955)
Fifteen (illus. by Joe and Beth Krush) - (1956)
Henry and the Paper Route (illus. by Louis Darling) - (1957)
The Luckiest Girl - (1958)
Jean and Johnny (illus. by Joe and Beth Krush) - (1959)
The Hullabaloo ABC (illus. by Earl Thollander) - (1960)
Two Dog Biscuits (illus. by ? ?) - (1961) (companion to The Real Hole)
Henry and the Clubhouse (illus. by Louis Darling) - (1962)
Sister of the Bride (illus. by Joe and Beth Krush) - (1963)
Ribsy (illus. by Louis Darling) - (1964)
The Mouse and the Motorcycle (illus. by Louis Darling) - (1965)
Mitch and Amy (illus. by Bob Marstall) - (1967)
Ramona the Pest (illus. by Louis Darling) - (1968)
Runaway Ralph (illus. by Louis Darling) - (1970)
Socks (illus. by Beatrice Darwin) - (1973)
Ramona the Brave (illus. by Alan Tiegreen) - (1975)
Ramona and Her Father (illus. by Alan Tiegreen) - (1977)
Ramona and Her Mother (illus. by Alan Tiegreen) - (1979)
Ramona Quimby, Age 8 (illus. by Alan Tiegreen) - (1981)
Ralph S. Mouse (illus. by Paul O. Zelinsky) - (1982)
Dear Mr. Henshaw (illus. by Paul O. Zelinsky) - (1983)
Ramona Forever (illus. by Alan Tiegreen) - (1984)
Lucky Chuck (illus. by J. Winslow Higginbottom) - (1984)
Two Dog Biscuits (illus. by DyAnne Disalvo-Ryan) - (1986) (companion to The Real Ho)
A Girl from Yamhill: A Memoir - (1988)
Muggie Maggie (illus. by Kay Life) - (1990)
Strider (illus. by Paul O. Zelinsky) - (1991)
Petey's Bedtime Story (illus. by David Small) - (1993)
My Own Two Feet - (1995)
The Hullabaloo ABC (illus. by Ted Rand) - (1998)
Ramona's World (illus. by Alan Tiegreen) - (1999)

References

Other websites
 Grant Park statues
 The world of Beverly Cleary
 Educational Paperback Assn. author profile
 Beverly Cleary, Age 90 (2006 Newsweek Interview)
 Beverly Cleary, Getting the Best Out of  Her 'Pest' (2006 NPR Interview)

1916 births
2021 deaths
American centenarians
American children's writers
American autobiographers
Writers from Oregon

Beverly Cleary


A civil union (also known as a civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, created primarily as a means to provide recognition in law for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage (with child adoption being a common exception, and the title itself).

Civil unions under one name or another have been established by law in several, mostly developed, countries in order to provide legal recognition of relationships formed by unmarried same-sex couples and to afford them rights, benefits, tax breaks, and responsibilities similar or identical to those of legally married couples. In 1989, Denmark was the first country to legalise civil unions, for same-sex couples; however most other developed democracies did not begin establishing civil unions until the 1990s or early 2000s, often developing them from less formal domestic partnerships. While civil unions are often established for both opposite-sex couples and same-sex couples, in a number of countries they are available to same-sex couples only. In Brazil, civil unions were first created for opposite-sex couples in 2002, and then expanded to include same-sex couples through a supreme court ruling in 2011. In the majority of countries that established same-sex civil unions, they have since been either supplemented or replaced by same-sex marriage. Civil unions are viewed by LGBT rights campaigners as a "first step" towards establishing same-sex marriage, as civil unions are viewed by supporters of LGBT rights as a "separate but equal" or "second class" status.

Many jurisdictions with civil unions recognize foreign unions if those are essentially equivalent to their own; for example, the United Kingdom lists equivalent unions in the Civil Partnership Act 2004 Schedule 20. The marriages of same-sex couples performed abroad may be recognized as civil unions in jurisdictions that only have the latter.

Overview and terminology

The terms used to designate civil unions are not standardized, and vary widely from country to country.  Government-sanctioned relationships that may be similar or equivalent to civil unions include civil partnerships, registered partnerships, domestic partnerships, significant relationships, reciprocal beneficiary relationships, common-law marriage, adult interdependent relationships, life partnerships, stable unions, civil solidarity pacts, and so on.  The exact level of rights, benefits, obligations, and responsibilities also varies, depending on the laws of a particular country.  Some jurisdictions allow same-sex couples to adopt, while others forbid them to do so, or allow adoption only in specified circumstances.

In the United States, the term civil union was introduced in the state of Vermont in 2000 to connote a status equivalent to marriage for same-sex couples; it was chosen by the state's legislators in preference to phrases such as  "domestic partner relationship" or "civil accord".

Domestic partnership, offered by some states, counties, cities, and employers since as early as 1985, has generally connoted a lesser status with fewer benefits.  However, the legislatures of the West Coast states of California, Oregon and Washington have preferred the term domestic partnership for enactments similar or equivalent to civil union laws in East Coast states.

Civil unions are not seen as a replacement for marriage by many in the LGBT community. "Marriage in the United States is a civil union; but a civil union, as it has come to be called, is not marriage", said Evan Wolfson of Freedom to Marry.  "It is a proposed hypothetical legal mechanism, since it doesn't exist in most places, to give some of the protections but also withhold something precious from gay people. There's no good reason to do that."  However, some opponents of same-sex marriage claim that civil unions rob marriage of its unique status; Randy Thomasson, executive director of the Campaign for California Families, calls civil unions "homosexual marriage by another name" and contends that civil unions provide same-sex couples "all the rights of marriage available under state law".  The California Supreme Court, in the In Re Marriage Cases decision, noted nine differences in state law.

Civil unions are commonly criticised as being 'separate but equal'; critics such as former New Zealand MP and feminist Marilyn Waring note that same-sex couples remain excluded from the right to marry and are forced to use a separate institution. Supporters of same-sex marriage contend that treating same-sex couples differently from other couples under the law allows for inferior treatment and that if civil unions were the same as marriage there would be no reason for two separate laws. A New Jersey commission which reviewed the state's civil union law reported that the law "invites and encourages unequal treatment of same-sex couples and their children". Some have suggested that creating civil unions which are open to opposite-sex couples would avoid the accusations of apartheid.

Proponents of civil unions say that they provide practical equality for same-sex couples and solve the problems over areas such as hospital visitation rights and transfer of property caused by lack of legal recognition. Proponents also say that creating civil unions is a more pragmatic way to ensure that same-sex couples have legal rights as it avoids the more controversial issues surrounding marriage and the claim that the term has a religious source.

Many supporters of same-sex marriage state that the word 'marriage' matters and that the term 'civil union' (and its equivalents) do not convey the emotional meaning or bring the respect that comes with marriage. Former US Solicitor General and attorney in the Perry v. Schwarzenegger case Theodore Olsen said that recognizing same-sex couples under the term 'domestic partnership' stigmatizes gay people's relationships, treating them as if they were "something akin to a commercial venture, not a loving union". Many also contend that the fact that civil unions are often not understood can cause difficulty for same-sex couples in emergency situations.

List of jurisdictions recognizing same-sex unions but not same-sex marriage
As of July 13, 2023, the states that provide civil unions but not marriage for same-sex couples are:

 Bolivia
 Croatia
 Cyprus
 Czech Republic
 Greece
 Hungary
 Italy
 Latvia
 Liechtenstein
 Monaco
 Montenegro
 the Netherlands state of Aruba
 San Marino
 the British territories of Bermuda and Cayman Islands

List of jurisdictions recognizing same-sex unions

The following is a list of countries and other jurisdictions which have established civil unions for same-sex couples or opposite-sex couples, categorized by continent, with the year in which the law establishing civil unions in the listed country or other jurisdiction came into effect in brackets:

Africa

  (1998; )
  (2003; )
   (2008; )
  ()
  (1999)
  (2007)
  (2006; civil partnership; )

Americas

  (1995; )
 :
  (reciprocal beneficiary relationship since 1997, civil union since 2012)
  (1998, domestic partnership)
  (1999; domestic partnership)
  (2002, domestic partnership)
  (2004; domestic partnership)
  (domestic partnership since 2004, civil union since 2006)
  (2007; domestic partnership)
  (2008; domestic partnership)
  (2008; domestic partnership)
  (designated beneficiary agreement since 2009, civil union since 2013)
  (2009; domestic partnership)
  (2011; civil union)
 Several counties
  ()
  (1999)
  (1999)
  (1999)
  (1999)
  (1999)
  (1999)
 :
  (2001; domestic partnership)
  (2002; )
  (2003; adult interdependent relationship)
  (2004; common-law relationship)
 :
  (2007; )
  Mexico City (2007, )
  (2013; )
  (2015; )
  (2017; )
  (2020; )
  (2021; )
  (2008; )
  (2008; )
  (2009; )
  (2011, opposite sex since 2003; )
  Netherlands: ()
  (2012)
  (2021; ; )

 : (2015; )
  (2003; )
  Río Negro (2003; )
 City of  Villa Carlos Paz (2007; )
 City of  Río Cuarto (2009; )
  (2015; )
  United Kingdom:
  (2017; civil partnership)
  (2018; domestic partnership)
  (2020; civil partnership)
  (free unions starting in 2020, nationwide since 2023; )

Asia

  ( or )
  Ibaraki (2019)
  Osaka (2020)
  Gunma (2020)
  Saga (2021)
  Mie (2021)
  Aomori (2022)
  Akita (2022)
  Fukuoka (2022)
  Tochigi (2022)
  Tokyo (2022)
  Shizuoka (2023)
  Toyama (2023)
  Nagano (2023)
 327 municipalities

Europe

  (1998; )
 :
  (1998; , , )
  (1999; )
  (2000; )
  (2000; , )
  (2001; , Valencian: unió de fet)
  (2002; , )
  (2002; )
  (2002; , )
  (2002; )
  (2002; )
  (2003; )
  (2003; , )
  (2005; )
  (2008; , )
  La Rioja (2010; )
  (2018; )
  (1999; )
  (2000; , , )
  (2001; ) opposite-sex since 1999.
  (2004; , Luxembourgish and )
  (2005; )
  (2005; civil partnership, )
  (2011; civil partnership)
  (2012; civil partnership)
  (2014; civil partnership)
  (2006; )
  (2009; )
  (2010; )
  (2011; )
  (2014; )
  (2014; )
  (2015; , )
  (2015; ) opposite-sex since 2008.
  (2016; )
  (2016; )
  (2018; )
  (2020; , )
  (2021; , )
  (2022; accessible through courts only; )

Oceania

 :
  (2004; significant relationship and caring relationship)
  (domestic partnership since 2007, registered relationship since 2017)
  (domestic relationship since 1994)
  (2008; domestic relationship)
  (de facto couple since 1999, registered relationship since 2010)
  (de facto recognition since 1999, civil partnership since 2012)
  (2005; civil union, )
  ()
  (2009)
  (2009)

Countries with former civil unions

Several countries used to offer civil unions only for same-sex couples. The laws that allowed civil unions were repealed when same-sex marriage was legalized. The following is a list of countries and other jurisdictions that used to offer civil unions for same-sex couples with the years in which they were available in brackets:

Europe
  (1989–2012; )
  (1996–2016; )
  (1993–2008; , , ; )
  (1995–2009; )
  (1996–2010; )
  (2001–2017; )
  (2002–2017; , )
  (2006–2016 as ; 2016–2022 as )
  (2007–2022; , , , )
  (2001–2022)
  (2002–2022)
  (2004–2022)
  (2005–2022)
  (2010–2015; civil partnership, )
  (2014–2023; )

Americas
 :
  (2000–2009; civil union)
  (2005–2010; civil union)
  (2008–2010; civil union)
  (2009–2018; domestic partnership)
  (2011–2013; civil union)
  (2011–2013; civil union)
 :
  (2013–2016; )
  (2014–2018; )

Asia
  ()
 Special municipalities (6/6)
  Kaohsiung (2015–2019)
  Taipei (2015–2019)
  Taichung (2015–2019)
  Tainan (2016–2019)
  New Taipei (2016–2019)
  Taoyuan (2016–2019)
 Provincial cities (3/3)
  Chiayi (2016–2019)
  Hsinchu (2017–2019)
  Keelung (2017–2019)
 Counties (9/13)
  Changhua County (2016–2019)
  Hsinchu County (2016–2019)
  Yilan County (2016–2019)
  Chiayi County (2016–2019)
  Kinmen County (2017–2019)
  Lienchiang County (2017–2019)
  Miaoli County (2017–2019)
  Nantou County (2017–2019)
  Pingtung County (2017–2019)

Oceania
 :
   (civil partnership between 2008 and 2012; civil union between 2012 and 2017)

Case studies

Argentina

Since 2003, the Argentine province of Río Negro and the city of Buenos Aires allow domestic partnerships. The City of Villa Carlos Paz (Córdoba) allowed it from 2007. Since 2009, the city of Río Cuarto (Córdoba) allows Civil Unions.

Australia

All levels of Australian Governments under nearly all Australian statutes do recognise same-sex couples as de facto couples as unregistered co-habitation or de facto status since 2009. From 1 July 2009 Centrelink recognised same-sex couples equally regarding social security – under the common-law marriage, de facto status or unregistered cohabitation.

Registered relationship recognition in state Governments:

Registered relationship recognition in 5 local government areas within Australia:
 City of Sydney, New South WalesRegistered relationships since 2004
 Municipality of Woollahra, New South WalesRegistered relationships since 2008
 City of the Blue Mountains, New South WalesRegistered relationships since 2010
 City of Vincent, Western AustraliaRegistered relationships since 2012
 Town of Port Hedland, Western AustraliaRegistered relationships since 2015.

Brazil

Cohabitation grants 112 benefits as family entities in Brazil since 2002. It is known as  when both parts are legally authorized to marry, and as  when at least one party is legally prohibited from doing so. Cohabitation grants all rights marriage confers, with the exception of automatic opt-in for one of four systems of property share married couples have access to, and automatic right to inheritance. Potential confusion might arise regarding terminology, given how when Brazilian Portuguese refers to the term , it tends to be short for , or civil marriage.

Couples that have at least one child registered as a descendant of both parties might also have access to  or  rights.

Same-sex stable cohabitation in Brazil is legally recognized nationwide since May 5, 2011. Brazil's Supreme Court voted 10–0 with one abstention to allow same-sex couples the same legal rights as married couples, following pointed recognition of such relationships that dates as far back as 2004. The ruling gave same-sex couples in such relationships the same financial and social rights enjoyed by those in mixed-sex ones.

A union between two women and one man was reported in August 2012, though its legality was doubted.

Canada

In Canada:
 Domestic partnerships in Nova Scotia (2001),
 Civil unions in Quebec (2002),
 Common-law relationships in Manitoba (2002), and
 Adult interdependent relationships in Alberta (2003)
were extended to same-sex couples before the enactment (2005) nationwide of same-sex marriage in Canada.

Another notable attempt to extend civil union rights, the Equality Rights Statute Amendment Act in Ontario, was defeated in 1994.

Colombia

In 2007, Colombia came close to passing a law granting legal recognition to same-sex couples, but the bill failed on final passage in one house of the national legislature. However, a court decision in October 2007 extended social security and health insurance rights to same-sex couples. On January 29, 2009, the Constitutional Court ruled that cohabitating same-sex couples must be given all rights offered to unmarried heterosexual couples, making Colombia the first Latin American country to fully grant this right to all its citizens. Couples can claim these rights after living together for two years. Colombia has since approved same-sex marriage.

Costa Rica

The Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica passed a bill in early July 2013 that "confers social rights and benefits of a civil union, free from discrimination", language inserted by lawmaker José María Villalta Florez-Estrada of the Broad Front party. After the bill passed, several media outlets reported that conservative lawmakers realized the bill's implications for same-sex unions and urged President Laura Chinchilla, who is set to face Villalta in the 2014 presidential election, to use her veto power to stop the bill from becoming law. Chinchilla, who has suggested the courts should determine the legality of same-sex unions in Costa Rica, refused and signed the bill into law on 4 July. A gay couple has filed an appeal with the Supreme Court of Justice of Costa Rica asking that their union be recognized under the new law. Gay rights activists reacting to the law said it needs to survive a constitutional challenge in court. Some constitutional lawyers stated that same-sex couples will "still lack legal capacity" to formalize their unions, despite passage of the bill.

Ecuador

The 2008 Constitution of Ecuador enacted civil unions between two people without regard to gender, giving same-sex couples the same rights as legally married heterosexual couples except for the right to adopt.

Europe

In Europe:

 Denmark (1989–2012; same-sex only)
 Norway (1993–2009; same-sex only)
 Sweden (1995–2009; same-sex only)
 Iceland (1996–2010; same-sex only)
 Greenland (1996–2016; same-sex only)
 Netherlands (1998; gender-neutral)
 France (1999; gender-neutral)
 Belgium (2000; gender-neutral)
 Germany (2001–2017; same-sex only)
 Finland (2002–2017; same-sex only)
 Luxembourg (2004; gender-neutral)
 Andorra (2005; gender-neutral)
 United Kingdom (2005; same-sex only, gender-neutral in England and Wales since 2019, in Northern Ireland since 2020, in Scotland since 202)
 Czechia (2006; same-sex only)
 Slovenia (2006–2022; same-sex only)
 Switzerland (2007–2022; same-sex only)
 Greece (2008; initially opposite-sex only, gender-neutral since 2015 )
 Hungary (2009; same-sex only)
 Austria (2010; same-sex only, gender-neutral since 2019)
 Ireland (2011–2015; same-sex only)
 Isle of Man (2011; same-sex only, gender-neutral since 2016)
 Liechtenstein (2011; same-sex only)
 Jersey (2012; same-sex only, gender-neutral since 2023)
 Gibraltar (2014; gender-neutral)
 Malta (2014; gender-neutral)
 Croatia (2014; same-sex only)
 Andorra (2014–2023; same-sex only)
 Cyprus (2015; gender-neutral)
 Estonia (2016; gender-neutral)
 Italy (2016; same-sex only)
 San Marino (2018; gender-neutral)
 Monaco (2020, gender-neutral)
 Montenegro (2021; same-sex only)

Andorra

Austria

In 2018, Minister of Justice Josef Moser announced that both marriage and registered partnership would be open to homosexuals and heterosexuals. This occurred because Helga Ratzenböck and Martin Seydl have been appealing for years in court for a registered civil partnership in Austria. At the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg they attempted to sue Austria for discrimination against their sexuality, because they were a heterosexual couple and were excluded from the benefits of registered partnership, but this failed.

Croatia

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Civil unions were introduced in Denmark by law on 7 June 1989, the world's first such law, and came into effect on 1 October 1989. On 7 June 2012, the law was replaced by a new same-sex marriage law, which came into effect on 15 June 2012.

Registered partnership was by civil ceremony only, but the Church of Denmark allowed priests to perform blessings of same-sex couples, as it stated that the church blesses people, not institutions. The new law makes same-sex marriages in churches possible, but allows vicars to decline marriages of same-sex couples in their church.

On 17 March 2009, the Folketing introduced a bill that gave same-sex couples in registered partnerships the right to adopt jointly. This bill was approved on 4 May 2010 and took effect on 1 July 2010.

Estonia

France

The French law providing benefits to same-sex couples also applies to opposite-sex couples who choose this form of partnership over marriage.  Known as the "Pacte civil de solidarité" (PACS), it is more easily dissolved than the divorce process applying to marriage.  Tax benefits accrue immediately (only from 2007 on), while immigration benefits accrue only after the contract has been in effect for one year. The partners are required to have a common address, making it difficult for foreigners to use this law as a means to a residence permit, and difficult for French citizens to gain the right to live with a foreign partnerespecially since the contract does not automatically give immigration rights, as marriage does.

Between 2000 and 2010, the number of marriages decreased while the number of PACS strongly increased. In 2010, there were 3 PACS for every 4 marriages celebrated in France. Especially amongst heterosexual couples PACS is very popular, with 96 out of 100 PACS couples being heterosexual in the year 2019.

Germany

Civil unions in Germany began in 2001.

In 2017, registered civil partnership was replaced with marriage, with any couple regardless of sex allowed to marry.

Greece

Greek parliament voted in favor of a Cohabitation Pact (Greek: Σύμφωνο Συμβίωσης) giving almost the same rights as marriage to couples regardless of their sex. The draft was approved in the relevant Greek parliament committee and during voting on 22 December 2015, the law was passed with 194 positive votes (out of 300).

Hungary
Civil unions in Hungary began in 2009.

Iceland
Iceland does not have a comprehensive legal act on civil unions (). Instead, various laws deal with civil unions and their meaning. When Iceland legalised same-sex marriages in 2010, the Act on Registered Partnerships (87/1996) was abolished. Registered partnerships () had been the principal legal unions for same-sex partners since the law was passed in 1996.

Ireland
In 2010, the lower house of the Irish Parliament Dáil Éireann passed the bill on Civil Partnerships unanimously. This bill allows civil partnerships of same-sex couples, and establishes an extensive package of rights, obligations and protections for same-sex couples who register as civil partners. The bill passed all stages of in both Houses of the Oireachtas, and came into effect on 1 January 2011.  The first partnership between two men was registered on 7 February 2011.

Same-sex marriage has been legal in Ireland since 2015 following a referendum.

Italy
Civil unions in Italy began in 2016.

Liechtenstein
Civil unions in Liechtenstein began in 2011.

Monaco
Civil unions in Monaco began in 2020.

Montenegro
Civil unions in Montenegro began in 2020.

Netherlands
In 2001, the Netherlands passed a law allowing same-sex couples to marry, in addition to its 1998 "registered partnership" law (civil union) for both same-sex and opposite-sex couples.

Poland
In 2004, Senator Maria Szyszkowska proposed a bill which would legalize same-sex civil unions in Poland. The project was approved by the Senate but was never voted upon by the Sejm, as Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz (then the Marshal of the Sejm) did not bring it for the deliberation.

In 2008, when asked about same-sex civil unions, First Cabinet of Donald Tusk spokeswoman Agnieszka Liszka answered: "Council of Ministers did not and would not take care of that matter."

On January 25, 2013, Sejm voted upon three separate bills regarding same-sex civil unions in Poland: by the centre-left Democratic Left Alliance, liberal Palikot's Movement and centre-right Civic Platform. The first bill had 283 against, 137 for, 30 abstaining. The second had 276 against, 150 for, 23 abstaining. The third had 228 against, 211 for, 10 abstaining. All three were rejected, mainly with the votes of centre-right, right-wing and conservative parties: Polish People's Party, Law and Justice and United Poland. A majority of deputies from the ruling centre-right Civic Platform also voted against the first two bills. The Roman Catholic Church in Poland, Polish Orthodox Church and Polish Muslims opposed all three bills.

In March 2013, Prime Minister Donald Tusk officially stated that a new project of civil unions bill would be presented to the parliament "in two months time" (in May 2013), but  no such initiatives took place.

In a 2013 opinion poll conducted by CBOS, 68% of Poles were against gays and lesbians publicly showing their way of life, 65% of Poles were against same-sex civil unions, 72% were against same-sex marriage and 88% were against adoption by same-sex couples.

In December 2014, the Sejm refused to deal with a civil partnership bill proposed by Your Movement, with 235 MPs voting against debating the bill, and 185 MPs voting for.

In May 2015, the Sejm again refused to deal with the topic, with 215 MPs voting against and only 146 for. The Prime Minister, Ewa Kopacz, said that civil partnerships are an issue for the next parliament to deal with.

San Marino

Slovenia

Switzerland

The Canton of Geneva has a law on the cantonal level, the Partenariat cantonal (the Cantonal Domestic Partnership), since 2001. It grants unmarried couples, whether same-sex or opposite-sex, many of the rights, responsibilities and protections that married couples have. However, it does not allow benefits in taxation, social security, or health insurance premiums (unlike the federal law). Geneva was the first Canton to recognise same-sex couples through this law.

On September 22, 2002, voters in the Swiss canton of Zurich voted to extend a number of marriage rights to same-sex partners, including tax, inheritance, and social security benefits. The law is limited to same-sex couples, and both partners must have lived in the canton for six months and formally commit to running a household together and supporting and aiding each another.

On November 12, 2003, the Constituent assembly of the Canton of Fribourg granted Registered Partnership as a constitutional right under the Article 14.

On January 27, 2004, the Canton of Neuchâtel voted for a law on the cantonal level, the Partenariat enregistré (the Cantonal Registered Partnership). It grants unmarried couples, whether same-sex or opposite-sex, the same rights as married couple for cantonal matters such as responsibilities and protections, benefits in taxation, social security, or health insurance premiums.

On June 5, 2005, voters extended this right to the whole of Switzerland through a federal referendum. This was the first time that the civil union laws were affirmed in a nationwide referendum in any country. The Federal Domestic Partnership Law, reserved for same-sex couples, came into force on January 1, 2007. It grants the same rights as marriage, but full joint adoption rights, facilitated naturalization and medically assisted procreation are explicitly forbidden for same-sex domestic partners.

In 2017, the Federal Councilor Simonetta Sommaruga addressed the issue that civil union is not open yet for heterosexual couples, in collaboration with experts at the University of Bern. In Geneva and Neuchâtel a type of civil union called cantonal PACS is available to opposite-sex and same-sex couples.

On September 26, 2021, the people of Switzerland approved on national referendum the initiative "Marriage for all", which would grant marriage and adoption rights for same-sex couples. This initiative would be made effective on July 1, 2022.

United Kingdom

In 2003, the British government announced plans to introduce civil partnerships which would allow same-sex couples the rights and responsibilities resulting from marriage. The Civil Partnership Bill was introduced into the House of Lords on 30 March 2004. After considering amendments made by the House of Commons, it was passed by the House of Lords, its final legislative hurdle, on 17 November 2004, and received royal assent on 18 November. The Act came into force on 5 December 2005, and same-sex, but not opposite-sex, couples were able to form the civil partnerships from 19 December 2005 in Northern Ireland, 20 December 2005 in Scotland and 21 December 2005 in England and Wales. Separate provisions were included in the first Finance Act 2005 to allow regulations to be made to amend tax laws to give the same tax advantages and disadvantages to couples in civil partnerships as apply to married couples. At that time, the Church of England, the state church in England, permitted clergy to enter into same-sex civil partnerships.

Aside from the manner in which couples register and the non-use of the word "marriage", civil partnerships grant most of the same legal rights as marriage and generally operate under the same constrictions (one difference being that marriage requires dissolution by divorce while a civil union does not). It is not legal to be in both a civil partnership and a marriage at the same time. Nevertheless, some of those in favour of legal same-sex marriage object that civil partnerships do not grant full equality.

Both same-sex marriages and civil unions of other nations will be automatically considered civil partnerships under UK law providing they came within Section 20 of the Act. This means, in some cases, non-Britons from nations with civil unions will have greater rights in the UK than in their native countries. For example, a Vermont civil union would have legal standing in the UK; however, in cases where one partner was American and the other British, the Vermont civil union would not provide the Briton with right of abode in Vermont (or any other US state or territory), whereas it would provide the American with right of abode in the UK.

In September 2011, the succeeding coalition government announced its intention to legalise same-sex marriage in England and Wales by 2015 at the latest. The future status of civil partnerships is unclear. The Scottish Government, which has devolved responsibility for such legislation, held a consultation concerning both civil and religious same sex marriage in the autumn of 2011. Legislation to allow same-sex marriage in England and Wales was passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom in July 2013 and came into force on 13 March 2014, and the first same-sex marriages took place on 29 March 2014. The first same-sex marriages in Scotland took place in December 2014.

In June 2018, the Supreme Court ruled that restricting civil partnerships to same-sex couples was discriminatory. In response, the Prime Minister announced in October 2018 that civil partnerships would be opened to heterosexual couples.

Mexico

On 9 November 2006, Mexico City's unicameral Legislative Assembly passed and approved (43–17) a bill legalizing same-sex civil unions, under the name Ley de Sociedades de Convivencia (Law for Co-existence Partnerships), which became effective on 16 March 2007. The law gives property and inheritance rights to same-sex couples. On 11 January 2007, the northern state of Coahuila, which borders Texas, passed a similar bill (20–13), under the name Pacto Civil de Solidaridad (Civil Pact of Solidarity). Unlike Mexico City's law, once same-sex couples have registered in Coahuila, the state protects their rights no matter where they live in the country. Twenty days after the law had passed, the country's first same-sex civil union took place in Saltillo, Coahuila. Civil unions have been proposed in at least six states since 2006.

In Colima, governor Mario Anguiano Moreno has agreed to discuss the legalization of civil unions and adoption by same-sex couples. In Jalisco, local congress approved on 31 October 2013 the Free Coexistence Act, which allows the performance of civil unions in the state.

New Zealand

On 9 December 2004 the New Zealand Parliament passed the Civil Union Bill, establishing civil unions for same-sex and opposite-sex couples. The debate over Civil Unions was highly divisive in New Zealand, inspiring great public emotion both for and against the passing. A companion bill, the Relationships (Statutory References) Bill was passed shortly thereafter to remove discriminatory provisions on the basis of relationship status from a range of statutes and regulations. As a result of these bills, all couples in New Zealand, whether married, in a civil union, or in a de facto partnership, now generally enjoy the same rights and undertake the same obligations. These rights extend to immigration, next-of-kin status, social welfare, matrimonial property and other areas.

The Civil Union Act 2004 came into effect on 26 April 2005 with the first unions able to occur from Friday 29 April 2005.

South Africa

In South Africa, a "civil union" is either a marriage or a civil partnership, although confusingly the term "civil union" is commonly used when "civil partnership" is meant. Same-sex and opposite-sex couples may register their unions either as marriages or as civil partnerships. In laws where "marriage" is mentioned, its definition now retroactively includes civil partnerships.

United States

The first civil unions in the United States were offered by the state of Vermont in 2000. The federal government does not recognize these unions. By the end of 2006, Connecticut and New Jersey had also enacted civil union laws; New Hampshire followed in 2007. Furthermore, California's domestic partnership law had been expanded to the point that it became practically a civil union law as well. The same might be said for domestic partnership in the District of Columbia, domestic partnership in Washington, and domestic partnership in Oregon.

Jurisdictions in the U.S. that offer civil unions or domestic partnerships granting nearly all of the state-recognized rights of marriage to same-sex couples include:
 Domestic partnership in California (2000 – expanded over time)
 Domestic partnership in the District of Columbia (1992 law implemented, 2002 became effective – expanded over time)
 Civil union in Hawaii (2012)
 Civil union in Illinois (2011)
 Domestic partnership in Nevada (2009)
 Civil union in New Jersey (2007)
 Domestic partnership in Oregon (2008)
 Civil union in Rhode Island (2011)
 Domestic partnership in Washington State (2007 – expanded over time)

States in the U.S. with domestic partnerships or similar status granting some of the rights of marriage include:
 Designated beneficiary agreement in Colorado (2009)
 Reciprocal beneficiary relationship in Hawaii (1997)
 Domestic partnership in Maine (2004)

Since October 2014, all states that provide for civil unions, domestic partnerships, or similar arrangements between same-sex partners also allow same-sex partners to legally wed.

Arizona

In 2013, Bisbee became the first city in Arizona to legalize civil unions for same-sex couples. After its passage, the state's Attorney General, Tom Horne, threatened to challenge the law in court, arguing that it violated the state's constitution. However, the Attorney General agreed to withdraw the challenge after Bisbee amended the law, and the civil union ordinance was approved.

Following Bisbee, also in 2013, Tucson became the second municipality to legalize civil unions. Jerome followed in the same year. Also in 2013, Clarkdale and Cottonwood were the next cities in the Verde Valley to pass civil unions. A measure to allow civil unions failed in Camp Verde by a split 3–3 vote in the city council making it the only city in the Verde Valley to not have passed the bill.

Sedona passed civil unions in September 2013. The city of Tempe considered legal advice about a civil union ordinance, but it did not pass a bill. After the legalization of same-sex marriage in Arizona, civil unions may continue to be registered in the cities that had legalized the ordinances.

California

In California, where domestic partnership (DP) has been available to same-sex and certain opposite-sex couples since 2000, a wholesale revision of the law in 2005 made it substantially equivalent to marriage at the state level.  In 2007, the Legislature took a further step when it required same-sex DP couples to file state income taxes jointly.  (Couples must continue to file federal taxes as individuals.)  In the May 2008 In re Marriage Cases decision, the state supreme court noted nine differences between Domestic Partnerships and same-sex marriage in state law, including a cohabitation requirement for domestic partners, access to CalPERS long-term care insurance (but not CalPERS in general), and the lack of an equivalent to California's "confidential marriage" institution. The cohabitation requirement was dropped on January 1, 2012, and a "confidential option" for domestic partners became available the same day.

Colorado
A bill to establish civil unions for same-sex and opposite-sex couples passed both chambers of the Colorado legislature and was signed into law by Governor John Hickenlooper. Civil unions began on May 1, 2013.

Connecticut

In 2005, the Connecticut General Assembly passed a bill to adopt civil unions in Connecticut.  Connecticut's civil unions were identical to marriage and provided all of the same rights and responsibilities except for the title. Connecticut was the first state in the U.S. to voluntarily pass a same-sex civil unions law through the legislature without any immediate court intervention. The law was repealed on October 1, 2010, and replaced with a law making marriage gender-neutral.

Delaware
Delaware Governor Jack Markell signed a civil union bill on May 12, 2011, that establishes civil unions in the state effective January 1, 2012. The law was repealed on July 1, 2014, and replaced with a law making marriage gender-neutral.

District of Columbia

Same-sex marriage in the District of Columbia was legalized on December 18, 2009.  Marriage licenses became available on March 3, 2010, and marriages began on March 9, 2010. Domestic Partnerships in the District of Columbia (1992 law implemented, 2002 law came into effectexpanded over time to 2009)

Hawaii

Hawaii legalized civil unions for same-sex and opposite-sex couples on January 1, 2012. Same-sex marriage became legal on December 2, 2013.

Illinois
On December 1, 2010, the Illinois state senate passed SB1716the "Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act"in a 32–24–1 vote, just one day after the Illinois House of Representatives did the same in a 61–52–2 vote. On January 31, 2011, Illinois state Governor Pat Quinn signed SB1716 into law, establishing civil unions for same-sex and opposite-sex couples. The new law came into effect on June 1, 2011.  The provision allowing opposite-sex couples to establish a civil union effectively doubles as a tool for widowed seniors to keep survivor's benefits from a marriage while gaining marital rights at the state level with another partner.

Maine

Maine legalized domestic partnership for same-sex and opposite-sex couples in 2004. Maine's domestic partnership registry only provides limited rights, most of which are geared toward protecting couples' security in emergency situations.

New Hampshire

On April 26, 2007, the New Hampshire General Court (state legislature) passed a civil union bill, and Governor John Lynch signed the bill into law on May 31, 2007. At the time, New Hampshire was "... the first state to embrace same-sex unions without a court order or the threat of one". The New Hampshire civil union legislation became effective on January 1, 2008. The law was replaced by the same-sex marriage law on January 1, 2010.

New Jersey

On October 25, 2006, the Supreme Court of New Jersey gave New Jersey lawmakers 180 days to rewrite the state's marriage laws, either including same-sex couples or creating a new system of civil unions for them. On December 14 the Legislature passed a bill establishing civil unions in New Jersey, which was signed into law by Governor Jon Corzine on December 21, 2006.  The first civil unions took place on February 19, 2007.

There are differences between civil unions and domestic partnerships.  In 2004, the state of New Jersey enacted a domestic partnership law, offering certain limited rights and benefits to same-sex and different-sex couples.  In 2006, however, after a state Supreme Court ruling that same-sex couples must be extended all the rights and benefits of marriage, the Legislature passed a civil unions law, effective in 2007, which is an attempt to satisfy the court's ruling.

Nevada
On May 31, 2009, the Nevada legislature overrode Governor Jim Gibbons' veto of a domestic partnership bill. The bill allows registered domestic partners, whether they are a same-sex or opposite-sex couple, to have most of the state level rights and responsibilities afforded to married couples. It does not require any other entity to provide rights or benefits afforded to married individuals. This has left the partnership bill ineffective compared to those of other states. The law took effect on 1 October 2009.

Oregon

Since 4 February 2008, Oregon offers domestic partnerships which grant nearly all of the state-recognized rights of marriage to same-sex couples.

Rhode Island

Civil unions were permitted in Rhode Island since July 1, 2011 until July 1, 2013.

Vermont

The controversial civil unions law that was passed in the Vermont General Assembly in 2000 was a response to the Vermont Supreme Court ruling in Baker v. Vermont, requiring that the state grant same-sex couples the same rights and privileges accorded to married couples under the law.

A Vermont civil union is nearly identical to a legal marriage, as far as the rights and responsibilities for which state law, not federal law, is responsible are concerned. It grants partners next-of-kin rights and other protections that heterosexual married couples also receive.  However, despite the "full faith and credit" clause of the United States Constitution, civil unions are generally not recognized outside Vermont in the absence of specific legislation.  Opponents of the law have supported the Defense of Marriage Act and the proposed Federal Marriage Amendment in order to prevent obligatory recognition of same-sex couples in other jurisdictions.  This means that many of the advantages of marriage, which fall in the federal jurisdiction (over 1,100 federal laws, such as joint federal income tax returns, visas and work permits for the foreign partner of a U.S. citizen, etc.), are not extended to the partners of a Vermont civil union.

Regarding voluntary recognition of the civil union in other jurisdictions, New York City's Domestic Partnership Law, passed in 2002, recognizes civil unions formalized in other jurisdictions. Germany's international civil law (EGBGB) also accords to Vermont civil unions the same benefits and responsibilities that apply in Vermont, as long as they do not exceed the standard accorded by German law to a German civil union. The law was replaced by the same-sex marriage law on September 1, 2009.

Washington

Washington offers domestic partnerships which grant nearly all of the state-recognized rights of marriage to same-sex couples. Washington is the first state to have passed a same-sex civil union bill by a popular vote.

Washington legalized same-sex marriage early in 2012, which provided that a couple in a civil union would have two years to convert their civil union to a marriage. The law was upheld by popular referendum in November 2012.

Uruguay

Civil unions in Uruguay were allowed nationwide from January 1, 2008.

National debates

International standards
To date, only two countries, Spain and Portugal, have signed onto the Convention on the Recognition of Registered Partnerships, a draft multilateral agreement on the status of civil, unmarried partnerships. The document is inclusive of rights for both same and opposite sex partnerships.

See also
 Civil marriage
 Cohabitation agreement
 Common-law marriage
 Convention on the recognition of registered partnerships
 Domestic partnership
 Free union
 LGBT rights
 Marriage privatization
 Nyumba ntobhu

References

External links
 The European Laboratory on Marriage and Registered Partnership
 The Vermont Guide to Civil Unions, Vermont Secretary of State
 Civil Union Fact Sheet, Australian Capital Territory web site
 Same-Sex Marriage, Civil Unions, and Domestic Partnerships topic page from The New York Times

Kinship and descent
Philosophy of love
Social institutions
State recognition of same-sex relationships

Civil union


The Codex Trivulzianus is a manuscript by Leonardo da Vinci that originally contained 62 sheets, but today only 55 remain. It documents Leonardo's attempts to improve his modest literary education, through long lists of learned words copied from authoritative lexical and grammatical sources. The manuscript also contains studies of military and religious architecture.

The Codex Trivulzianus is kept at Sforza Castle in Milan, Italy, but is not normally available to the public. In the main museum a room also contains frescos painted by Leonardo.

See also
 List of works by Leonardo da Vinci

External links

 Institute Institute and Museum of the History of Science - Florence, Italy
 The Mind of Leonardo
 The Real Da Vinci Code
 The Official Castello Sforzesco Website
Leonardo da Vinci: anatomical drawings from the Royal Library, Windsor Castle, exhibition catalog fully online as PDF from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which contains material on Codex Trivulzianus (see index)

16th-century books
Scientific illuminated manuscripts
Codices by Leonardo da Vinci

Codex Trivulzianus


HBsAg (also known as the Australia antigen) is the surface antigen of the hepatitis B virus (HBV). Its presence in blood indicates current hepatitis B infection.

Structure and function

The viral envelope of an enveloped virus has different surface proteins from the rest of the virus which act as antigens. These antigens are recognized by antibody proteins that bind specifically to one of these surface proteins.

Immunoassay
Today, these antigen-proteins can be genetically manufactured (e.g. transgene E. coli) to produce material for a simple antigen test, which detects the presence of HBV.

It is present in the sera of patients with viral hepatitis B (with or without clinical symptoms). Patients who developed antibodies against HBsAg (anti-HBsAg seroconversion) are usually considered non-infectious. HBsAg detection by immunoassay is used in blood screening, to establish a diagnosis of hepatitis B infection in the clinical setting (in combination with other disease markers) and to monitor antiviral treatment.

In histopathology, the presence of HBsAg is more commonly demonstrated by the use of the Shikata orcein technique, which uses a natural dye to bind to the antigen in infected liver cells.

Positive HBsAg tests can be due to recent vaccination against Hepatitis B virus but this positivity is unlikely to persist beyond 14 days post-vaccination.

History
It is commonly referred to as the Australia Antigen. This is because it was first isolated by the American research physician and Nobel Prize winner Baruch S. Blumberg in the serum of an Australian Aboriginal person.  It was discovered to be part of the virus that caused serum hepatitis by virologist Alfred Prince in 1968.

Heptavax, a "first-generation" hepatitis B vaccine in the 1980s, was made from HBsAg extracted from the blood plasma of hepatitis patients. Current vaccine are made from recombinant HBsAg grown in yeast.

See also
HBcAg
HBeAg

References

Viral structural proteins
Hepatitis B virus
Antigens

HBsAg