The National Assembly is the lower chamber of Parliament in Burundi. It consists of 100 directly elected members (or deputies) and between 18 and 23 co-opted members who serve five-year terms.

Deputies are elected in 17 multi-member constituencies using a party-list proportional representation system in accordance with the D'Hondt method. Political parties and lists of independent candidates must receive over 2% of the vote nationally to gain representation in the National Assembly.

History
As a country that has been devastated by civil war and persistent ethnic violence since its independence in 1962, Burundi's new constitution (approved in a February 2005 referendum) requires that 60% of the deputies be from the Hutu ethnic group, while the remaining 40% come from the Tutsi ethnic group. In addition, three co-opted members represent the Twa ethnic group. Women must occupy at least 30% of the seats in the National Assembly.

Elections to the National Assembly took place on 4 July 2005. The National Council for the Defense of Democracy-Forces for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD) won 59 of the 100 seats filled through direct election. The Front for Democracy in Burundi (FRODEBU), who won a majority of seats in the previous election held in 1993, won 25 seats. The Union for National Progress (UPRONA) won 10, while the National Council for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD), a breakaway faction of the CNDD-FDD, won 4. The small, predominantly Tutsi Movement for the Rehabilitation of Citizens-Rurenzangemero (MRC-Rurenzangemero), won the remaining 2 seats. An additional 18 members were co-opted to meet the required ethnic and gender quotas.

Immaculée Nahayo, an ethnic Hutu member of the CNDD-FDD, was elected president of the National Assembly on 16 August 2005.

On 19 August 2005, the National Assembly and Senate Assembly (acting as an Electoral College) elected Pierre Nkurunziza president of the republic. He took office on 26 August 2005.

See also
List of legislatures by country
List of presidents of the National Assembly of Burundi
Legislative branch

References

External links

1962 establishments in Burundi
Government of Burundi
Burundi

National Assembly (Burundi)


Saint Congar (also Cumgar or Cungar; ; Latin: Concarius) ( – 27 November 520), was a Welsh abbot and supposed bishop in Somerset, then in the British kingdom of Somerset, now in England.

Congar grew up in Pembrokeshire and travelled across the Bristol Channel to found a monastery on Cadbury Hill at Congresbury in Somerset. He gave his name to this village and to the parish church at Badgworth. This supposedly became the centre of a bishopric which preceded the Diocese of Bath and Wells. Legend has it that his staff took root when he thrust it into the ground and the resulting yew tree can be seen to this day. He later returned to Wales, but died on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

The parish of Congresbury claimed to have enshrined Congar's body during the Middle Ages, and mentioned it in several pilgrim guides.  There appear to have been no rival claimants for his relics.  Congresbury itself is first mentioned in Asser's Life of Alfred as a derelict Celtic monastery, probably related to Congar.  Though a minor saint, he is mentioned in a litany of Winchester in about 1060, and his feast day was recorded in most medieval Somerset calendars.

Churches dedicated to Congar may also be found in Brittany and Cornwall, where he is said to have been a hermit at St Ingunger, in the parish of Lanivet.

References

External links

470 births
520 deaths
Bishops of Bath and Wells
Medieval Cornish saints
People from Pembrokeshire
People from North Somerset (district)
Southwestern Brythonic saints
Welsh abbots
6th-century Christian saints
6th-century English bishops
Welsh hermits
English hermits

Congar of Congresbury


Holy Trinity Church, Stanton-in-Peak is a Grade II listed parish church in the Church of England in Stanton in Peak, Derbyshire.

History

The church was built for William Pole Thornhill, who held the estate of Stanton Hall, Stanton in Peak. The foundation stone was laid by Mrs Thornhill in 1837 and it was opened worship by the Venerable Francis Hodgson DD, Archdeacon of Derby in September 1839. It was constituted a parish church, dedicated to the Holy Trinity, and consecrated with the adjoining cemetery by the Right Rev George Selwyn, DD, Bishop of Lichfield on 29 September 1875.

Parish status
The church is in a joint parish with
St Michael's Church, Birchover
St Michael and All Angels' Church, Middleton-by-Youlgreave
All Saints' Church, Youlgreave

Organ

The first organ was installed by Brindley & Foster in 1877, the gift of Mrs Thornhill Gell. A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.

See also
Listed buildings in Stanton, Derbyshire

References

External links

Church of England church buildings in Derbyshire
Grade II listed churches in Derbyshire
1875 establishments in England
Churches completed in 1875

Holy Trinity Church, Stanton-in-Peak


Richard Hawkins (died 1633) was a London publisher of the Jacobean and Caroline eras. He was a member of the syndicate that published the Second Folio collection of Shakespeare's plays in 1632. His bookshop was in Chancery Lane, near Sergeant's Inn.

Beginnings
Hawkins served his apprenticeship under the stationer Edmond Matts in 1604–11; in turn he acquired Matts's business in 1613 and established himself as an independent publisher. In his first year, Hawkins reprinted John Marston's The Metamorphosis of Pigmalion's Image, a work originally issued by Matts in 1598. Hawkins's initial entry into the Stationers' Register was Elizabeth Tanfield Cary's The Tragedy of Mariam, which he also printed in 1613 — a work now recognized as the first tragedy by a woman to be published in English.

Shakespeare
Hawkins's connection with the Shakespeare canon started in 1628; an entry in the Stationers' Register, dated 1 March that year, records the transfer of the rights to Othello from Thomas Walkley, the publisher of the play's first quarto (1622), to Hawkins. (The same transfer included the rights to the Beaumont and Fletcher plays Philaster and A King and No King.) Hawkins then published the second quarto of Othello (printed by Augustine Matthews) in 1630. Hawkins's text combined elements from the two previous texts, the 1622 first quarto and the First Folio of 1623, which showed significant differences. Hawkins's possession of the copyright to one Shakespearean play enabled him to become one of the subsidiary members of Robert Allot's syndicate (the others were William Aspley, Richard Meighen, and John Smethwick) when Allot published the Second Folio.

Others
Beyond the confines of the Shakespeare canon, Hawkins a published number of other play texts. They included:
 the first quarto of Cary's The Tragedy of Mariam (1613), printed by Thomas Creede;
 the third quarto of  Philaster (1628);
 the third quarto of Beaumont and Fletcher's The Maid's Tragedy (1630);
 the third quarto of A King and No King (1631).

A fourth quarto of Philaster was published, under Hawkins's imprint, posthumously in 1634.

Like some other publishers of his time, Hawkins sometimes wrote prefaces for the playbooks he issued. In his preface to Philaster, Hawkins compares the plays of English Renaissance drama to gold, and publishers to "merchant adventurers." Hawkins was one of the small minority who wrote prefatory material in verse, as in his editions of A King and No King and The Maid's Tragedy.

Hawkins published a range of contemporary literature in his generation, including a 1629 edition of Hero and Leander (Marlowe's poem with Chapman's continuation), and the 1619 and 1622 editions of the Nosce Teipsum of the poet John Davies of Hereford. He ventured into music publishing, with a 1631 edition of the canzonets of Thomas Morley. One of Hawkins's final projects was the first English edition of Mathematical Recreations (1633), by Jean Leurechon (alias "Hendrik van Etten") — translated by Francis Malthus, and printed by Thomas Cotes, the same man who printed the Second Folio.

Hawkins's widow, Ursula Hawkins, disposed of some of his copyrights after his death.

References

Publishers (people) from London
1633 deaths
Year of birth unknown

Richard Hawkins (publisher)


Giovanni Antonio (Giannantonio) Orsini del Balzo (9 September 1401 – 15 November 1463) was a southern Italian nobleman and military leader; he was Prince of Taranto, Duke of Bari, Count of Lecce, Acerra, Soleto and Conversano, as well as Count of Matera (1433–63) and of Ugento (1453–63).

Biography
Born in Lecce, he was the son of Raimondo Orsini del Balzo, Prince of Taranto, and Mary of Enghien, an heiress of the Brienne main branch. When his father died, he was one year old, and his mother married with King Ladislaus of Naples, who acquired all the family's possessions (1407).

In 1417 Giannantonio married Pope Martin V's niece Anna Colonna, daughter of the Prince of Amalfi. After James II' renounce, he received the Principality of Taranto from queen Joanna II of Naples on 4 May 1421. This act made him the most powerful baronial lord of the Kingdom of Naples, with lands including 7 archbishoprics, 30 bishoprics, 300 castles and extending from Salerno to Taranto.

Giannantonio was also an influent member of the Neapolitan court, and remained engulfed in the struggle between Joanna and Alfonso V of Aragon, whom he supported in the civil war against John II of Anjou. When Alfonso became king of Naples, Giannantonio further increased his power with the titles of Grand Constable and of Duke of Bari.

However, when Alfonso died, he retreated to Taranto to head a group of barons against the former's son, Ferdinand I, in favour of John II. After several feats of war, Giannantonio and his side were defeated, but in the end, he managed to become reconciled with the Aragonese king. He died in Altamura Castle in 1463, strangled by a certain Paolo Tricarico, perhaps a royal killer. King Ferdinand confiscated most of his lands. His niece  Isabella, the legitimate heiress of Giannantonio's lands, died soon afterwards in 1465.  Her heir was her eldest son, the future Alfonso II of Naples.

Illegitimate children
Caterina, Countess of Conversano, Signora di Casamassima e Turi. Married Giuliantonio Acquaviva d'Aragona, 7th Duke of Atri, 1456.
Maria Conquesta (died after 1487), Countess of Ugento, Signora di Nardò e Castro from 1463. Married Angilberto Del Balzo, Count of Tricase and 1st Duke of Nardo circa 1463.
Margherita, married Antonio Centelles, Count of Catanzaro and Justiciar of Calabria.
Francesca, married Jacopo Sanseverino, Count of Saponara.
Bertoldo (died after 1488), Baron of Salice. Some issue. Count of Lecce 1463–64.
Another illegitimate daughter (name unknown), married Giacomo di Sanseverino, Count of Mileto. Apparently that marriage did not produce any surviving children.

References

Bibliography

14th-century births
1463 deaths
People from Andria
Giovanni Antonio
Giovanni Antonio
Princes of Taranto
Counts of Lecce
Dukes of Bari

Giovanni Antonio Orsini del Balzo


Elisabetta Gregoraci (born 8 February 1980) is an Italian fashion model and TV personality.

She was born in Soverato, province of Catanzaro, Calabria, in southern Italy.  Gregoraci started her career on the Italian television show Libero as a dancer, before replacing model Eva Herzigová for the Wonderbra campaign.

Gregoraci gained notoriety when it came to light that she had offered sexual favours in return for a job as a showgirl for the Italian national public television company RAI. She was estranged from RAI and hired by the former Italian Prime Minister and owner of Mediaset Silvio Berlusconi, acting as a hostess in the show Buona Domenica.

Personal life
On 14 June 2008, Gregoraci married Flavio Briatore, then Formula One manager, in the Santo Spirito in Sassia, Rome. The driver of the bridal car was Fernando Alonso, who after the ceremony drove the newlyweds to the reception at the castle of Torcrescenza.

Gregoraci gave birth to a son in 2010. Briatore already had a daughter, Leni Klum with German model Heidi Klum, although he is not involved in her life.

References

External links

1980 births
Living people
People from the Province of Catanzaro
Italian female models
Italian showgirls

Elisabetta Gregoraci


Krewstown is a neighborhood of Northeast Philadelphia close to both eastern Montgomery County, Pennsylvania and southern Bucks County, Pennsylvania located around Krewstown Road, west of the Roosevelt Boulevard.  Uses of the name Krewstown include a bridge, a train station, a set of public horse stables, an apartment house complex (Krewstown Park), and the neighborhood around the apartment house complex.

The Krewstown area includes a good number of Northeast Philadelphia's newer housing .  In an overwhelmingly Democratic City where the Democratic mayoral nominee received 58% of the vote in the 2007 election for mayor, the Krewstown area has remained the same with considerable Democratic strength.

The Krewstown area is host to annual concerts in Pennypack Park.

Neighborhoods in Philadelphia
Northeast Philadelphia

Krewstown, Philadelphia


Brendan Radford (fl. 2000s) is a vocalist and guitarist who has performed and recorded with many leading Australian and international artists. He was part of Lee Kernaghan's touring band for over ten years and has also been in the Country Music Awards of Australia house band for the past six years. Prior to and also during this period he has performed and recorded with other Australian and International artists including Pam Tillis, Gina Jeffreys, Troy Cassar-Daley, Adam Harvey, Sara Storer, Glenn Shorrock,  and Russell Morris

Brendan operates his own recording facility RADMUSIC and has been busy producing musical projects and albums for a number of local and interstate artists. These include award winning productions for Casey Watt, Rose Carleo and Lance Friend that have consistently achieved Top 30 in the country music charts.

Over the past two years Brendan has been progressively recording a solo album, made up largely of his own material. The first single, 'Sweet Maree' was released to radio in March 2009.

'Snow' is the second single release and title track from Brendan's first solo effort. The album features 12 tracks and includes a number of other songs written by Brendan, along with interesting reworks of a few obscure classics. The album also contains two instrumental tracks. Brendan produced all tracks, features on vocals, guitars, harmonica and mandolin, and is joined by some of Australia's premier musicians, including James Gillard, Mitch Farmer, Jake Lardot, Hugh Curtis, Vaughan Jones, Michel Rose, Mick Albeck, Rose Carleo and a duet with Casey Watt.

Brendan is up for awards in four of the seven categories including best Male Vocalist, Bush Ballad/Heritage, Instrumental and Vocal Collaboration at the Queensland Country Music Awards.

References

Queensland Country Music Awards finalists announced
Brendan Radford - Queensland Country Music Awards Finalists Announced
Brendan Radford - Snow
98.9FM's All Australian Top 20 Country Countdown

Living people
Australian musicians
Year of birth missing (living people)

Brendan Radford


The Sarayköy Nuclear Research and Training Center (), known as SANAEM, is a nuclear research and training center of Turkey. The organization was established on July 1, 2005, as a subunit of Turkish Atomic Energy Administration (, TAEK) at Kazan district in northwest of Ankara on an area of .

The center can be visited for technical purposes upon application.

Laboratories
SANAEM is accredited to perform following metrology:
 total alpha and beta radioactivity analysis in drinking water,
 Tritium analysis in drinking water,
 analysis of Cs-134 and Cs-137 radionuclides in food,
 analysis of Ra-226, Th-232, Cs-137 and K-40 radionuclides in earth and building materials,
 analysis of Ra-226, U-234 and U-238 isotopes with alpha particle energy spectrometry method in water.

The center consists of a wide range of laboratories as listed below:
 Alpha/beta particle spectroscopy laboratory,
 Liquid scintillation spectrometry laboratory,
 Alpha particle spectrometry laboratory,
 Gamma particle spectrometry laboratory,
 C14 dating laboratory,
 Radon screening laboratory,
 Analytical measurement and analysis laboratories,
 Chemical elements and stable isotopes analysis laboratory,
 Chromatography laboratory,
 Spectroscopy laboratory,
 Nuclear electronics laboratory,
 Film dosimetry laboratory,
 Thermoluminescent dosimetry laboratory
 Finger ring dosimetry laboratory,
 Environmental radiological monitoring activity,
 Medical physics applications laboratory,
 Radiation source quality control test laboratory,
 Molecular genetics laboratory,
 Stable isotopes laboratory,
 Differential scanning calorimetry and Thermogravimetric analysis in material characterization laboratory,
 Microscopy laboratory,
 Nuclear fusion laboratory,
 Plasma physics laboratory,
 Nuclear fission laboratory,
 Radiation microbiology laboratory,
 Food microbiology laboratory,
 Food irradiation determination laboratory,

Gamma radiation facility
Three gamma radiation units are in service for sterilization of disposable medical supplies and food irradiation.

Electron accelerator facility
The electron accelerator is the only one in the country. It has 500 keV energy and 20 mA current.

Proton accelerator facility
The country's first proton accelerator facility (, TAEK-PHT) is housed in a separate building of two stories built on a ground area of . The building consists of a cyclotron room, four target rooms, six production laboratories, three quality control laboratories, a R&D laboratory and storage rooms for material and waste.

Facility's groundbreaking was held on February 24, 2010. The building was constructed by the Turkish Housing Development Administration (TOKİ), and it was completed on December 12, 2010. The installation of the proton accelerator and all the equipment needed concluded in 2011. The facility was officially opened on May 30, 2012, by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

The cyclotron type proton accelerator "CYCLONE-30" has a variable beam energy between 15 and 30 MeV and variable beam current up to 1.2 mA. It was designed, manufactured and installed by Belgian Ion Beam Applications S.A. (IBA). The cyclotron cost 11.6 million EUR.

With the cyclotron, four beamlines can be generated, three beamlines for radioisotope production and one for research and development works. With the proton bombardment following radioisotopes are produced in three separate target rooms:
 Indium-111, gallium-67, thallium-201 on solid target material,
 Fluorine-18 on liquid target material,
 Iodine-123 on evaporated target material.

These radioisotopes and radiopharmaceuticals produced from those radioisotopes are used for the diagnosis and therapy of diseases like cancer, neurological disorder, brain physiology and pathology as well as coronary artery disease.

By producing radioisotopes and radiopharmaceuticals, the facility conducts research work in the fields of medicine, industry, agriculture, food, biotechnology, animal husbandry and heath physics.

References

Nuclear research institutes
Nuclear medicine organizations
Research institutes in Turkey
Nuclear technology in Turkey
Buildings and structures in Ankara
Organizations based in Ankara
Organizations established in 2005
Tourist attractions in Ankara


(Georg) Friedrich Weißler (born 28 April 1891 in Königshütte, Upper Silesia; died 19 February 1937 at Sachsenhausen concentration camp) was a German lawyer and judge. He came from a Jewish family but was baptized as Protestant as a child. He belonged to the Christian resistance against National Socialism.

Biography
In March 1933, Weißler was dismissed as a judge due to his opposition to the Nazis. He moved to Berlin and collaborated with the Protestant opposition (Confessing Church) within the Evangelical Church of the old-Prussian Union. From November 1934 on, he helped - as a legal advisor for the opposition - to cover the old-Prussian state bishop Ludwig Müller and his willing subordinates with a wave of litigations in the ordinary courts in order to reach verdicts on his arbitrary measures violating the church constitution (Kirchenordnung). Since Müller usually acted without legal basis the courts often proved the litigants to be right.

Weißler had already worked as legal advisor for the first preliminary church executive, the rivalling executive body, organised by the Confessing Church for the else Nazi-submissive German Evangelical Church. He was also appointed as legal advisor to the second preliminary church executive and further became its office manager.

At Pentecost 1936 (31 May), the second preliminary church executive prepared a "memorandum" ("Denkschrift") to Hitler, also to be read from the pulpits (on 23 August 1936), condemning anti-Semitism, Nazi concentration camps and state terrorism.  The memorandum was delivered to Hitler at the Chancelry on 4 June 1936, but there was no reaction from the government.   A draft was then leaked to and published in the foreign press in July 1936, during the build-up to the Olympic Games.
If blood, race, nationhood and honour are given the rank of eternal values, so the Evangelical Christian is compelled by the First Commandment, to oppose that judgement. If the Aryan human is glorified, so it is God's word, which testifies the sinfulness of all human beings. If - in the scope of the National Socialist weltanschauung - an anti-Semitism, obliging to hatred of the Jews, is imposed on the individual Christian, so for him the Christian virtue of charity is standing against that.

The memorandum concluded that the Nazi regime would definitely lead the German people into disaster.

On 7 October 1936, the Gestapo arrested Weißler, erroneously blaming him for passing the memorandum into the hands of foreign media. Weißler and two Aryan assistants who also worked for Confessing Church were arrested. Whereas the aryans were ultimately released, the church did not intervene for Weißler. He was not taken to court, where the evidentially false blaming would have been easily unveiled, but deported to Sachsenhausen concentration camp and tortured to death from 13 to 19 February 1937 becoming the first, "full Jew", lethal victim of the Kirchenkampf on the Protestant side.

Notes

1891 births
1937 deaths
German Jews who died in the Holocaust
Converts to Protestantism from Judaism
20th-century German lawyers
Protestants in the German Resistance
People from Chorzów
People from the Province of Silesia
People celebrated in the Lutheran liturgical calendar
People who died in Sachsenhausen concentration camp
Resistance members who died in Nazi concentration camps
People executed by torture
German people executed in Nazi concentration camps
Executed people from Silesian Voivodeship
Jews in the German resistance

Friedrich Weißler


Rape in Saudi Arabia is regulated by Saudi Arabia's interpretation of Sharia law, under which someone convicted of the criminal offense of rape can be sentenced to a variety of punishments, ranging from flogging to execution. In 2019, eight executions took place in Saudi Arabia for rape.

As of 2002, Saudi Arabia reported 0.3 rapes per 100,000 people per year. There is no prohibition of marital rape in the country.

Rape under Saudi Arabian law
Rape is regarded as a hudud crime by the Judges of Saudi Arabia which are viewed as the ordinances of God as per Islam and have fixed punishments derived from Islamic sources. A 1981 Saudi fatwa stipulates that offenses of sexual honour should be covered by hirabah (brigandage or highway robbery) a hadd crime which is an unusual interpretation and departs from classical Islamic jurisprudence. Two male witnesses or a confession from the perpetrator are needed as evidence to prove it but a judge can treat rape as a tazir crime, that is, an offense for which punishments are not stipulated in the Quran or Sunnah (the Islamic prophet Muhammad's words, actions, and practices) meaning the punishment is left to the judge's discretion. This seems to allow circumstantial evidence but rape remains difficult to prove to Saudi's conservative judiciary, which is keener to punish the offense of intermingling of people of opposite sexes.

In Saudi Arabia, pregnancy can be used as evidence of sex having occurred and women who report rape or sexual violence can be deemed to have confessed to unlawful sex (zina) and be prosecuted and be punished by corporal punishments  which can include punishments like floggings and even stoning.

Reports
Human Rights Watch has investigated the situation, and their report concludes that a rape victim may be punished when they speak out against the crime. In one case, the victim's sentence was doubled for speaking out, and the court also harassed the victim's lawyer, going so far as to confiscate his professional licence.

However, it has also been acknowledged that Shariah law, which punishes rapists, serves as the basis of the country's legal system.

In 2009, the Saudi Gazette reported that a 23-year-old unmarried woman was sentenced to one year in prison and 100 lashes for adultery after the judge refused to believe that she was raped. This woman had been gang-raped, became pregnant, and had tried (unsuccessfully) to abort the fetus. The flogging was postponed until after the delivery.

The sentences for rape cases are also extremely unbalanced in Saudi Arabia. For example, in February 2013, a Saudi preacher raped, tortured, and murdered his five-year-old daughter. He was sentenced to eight years in prison, 800 lashes, and a diyat (blood money) of one million riyals (US$270,000) to be paid to the girl's mother, his ex-wife. Contrasted with this is the case of two Pakistani citizens who were beheaded by the state after being convicted of a rape.

The Qatif rape case is a much-publicized gang rape case. The victims were a Shia teenage girl from Qatif (Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia) and her male companion, who were kidnapped and gang-raped by seven Saudi men in mid-2006. A Saudi Sharia court sentenced the perpetrators to varying sentences involving 80 to 1,000 lashes and imprisonment up to ten years for four of them. The court also sentenced the two victims to six months in prison and 90 lashes each for "being alone with a man who is not a relative" in a parked car. The appeals court doubled the victims' sentences in late 2007 as punishment for the heavy media coverage of the event in the international press regarding the treatment of women in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Saudi judicial practices. In December 2007, the Saudi King Abdullah issued an official pardon for the two victims, citing his ultimate authority to revise "discretionary" punishments in accordance with the public good, although the pardon did not reflect any lack of confidence in the Saudi justice system or in the fairness of the verdicts.

The Saudi Justice ministry, said the rape could not be proved as there were no witnesses and the rapists had recanted the confessions they had made during interrogation, originally. Sharia (Islamic law) allows defendants to deny signed confessions, according to Abdul-Aziz al-Gassem, a lawyer who was not involved in the case. Punishment in such cases is still possible if convicted, but the verdict is lighter.

See also
 Qatif rape case - Gang rape case, around 2006
 Women's rights in Saudi Arabia

References

Further reading

Crimes against women
Saudi Arabia
Violence in Saudi Arabia

Rape in Saudi Arabia


Milan Šteindler (born 12 April 1957) is a Czech actor, screenwriter, and film director. He is a graduate of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. He won the Czech Lion Award for Best Director for his 1994 film, Thanks for Every New Morning. He obtained the Silver St. George Award for Directing at the 19th Moscow International Film Festival for the same film.

Together with David Vávra, he founded Sklep Theatre in Prague in 1971.

Along with Petr Čtvrtníček and Vávra, Šteindler wrote and directed the satirical television series Czech Soda. As an actor, he has appeared in over sixty films.

Selected filmography

Awards and recognition
 Czech Lion Award for Best Director for Thanks for Every New Morning, 1994
 Silver St. George Award for Directing, Moscow International Film Festival, 1995

References

External links

1957 births
Living people
Czech film directors
Czech male film actors
Male actors from Prague
Academy of Performing Arts in Prague alumni

Milan Šteindler


A roundabout (also known as a traffic island) is a road circle joining three or more roads. Drivers follow a simple rule to avoid crashes.

In countries that drive on the left:
At the island, give way to traffic coming from your right.
The driver goes round the island in a clockwise direction.

In countries that drive on the right:
At the island, give way to traffic coming from your left.
The driver goes round the island in an anticlockwise direction.

Types of circular intersections
There are larger roundabouts that can have two to six lanes and can have traffic lights. These can sometimes be found at motorway junctions.

Gyratory system
The term "gyratory" (for example, Hanger Lane gyratory) is sometimes used in the United Kingdom for a larger roundabout with unusual features.

Roads

Roundabout


An academic year or school year is a period of time which schools, colleges and universities use to measure a quantity of study. It comprises school days and school holidays. Duration of school days, school year, and holidays vary across the world.

Terminology

Academic year
An academic year (also known as a school year) is a period of time which schools, colleges and universities use to measure a quantity of study. It is often divided into academic terms.

School days
A school day is a day when school is open. Governments often legislate on the total number of school days in a year for state schools.

School holidays
School holidays (also referred to as vacations, breaks, and recess) are the periods during which schools are closed or no classes or other mandatory activities are held. The dates and periods of school holidays vary considerably throughout the world, and there is usually some variation even within the same jurisdiction. The holidays given below apply to primary and secondary education. Teaching sessions (terms or semesters) in tertiary education are usually longer.

Easter vacation
In countries with a Christian religious tradition, the Easter holiday, which in the United States is sometimes known as spring break, is a holiday that takes place in the northern spring. The date varies mainly because Easter is a movable feast, but also by country and level of schooling.

Summer vacation
In the northern hemisphere, the longest break in the educational calendar is in the middle of the year, during the northern summer, and lasts up to 14 weeks. In Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, and Russia, summer holidays are normally three months, compared to six to eight weeks in Britain, the Netherlands, and Germany. In the southern hemisphere, the longest break in the educational calendar is in the end-beginning of the year, during the southern summer, and lasts up to 14 weeks, from December 21 to March 20.

Common practices and effects
Traffic congestion and heavy passenger loads on public transport on school run routes may be worse on school days during term time.

Summer holidays for most children are a time to relax, enjoy themselves, catch up on studies, or spend time with family or relatives. Many families travel together on school holidays. School holidays have many effects on a country, ranging from the price of travel and holiday accommodation, which increase as demand increases while children are off school, to a change in crime rate. The number of families taking holidays away from urban areas can reduce traffic and use of public transport in cities while loading long-distance highways and means of transport.

In some countries where many families travel to their holiday destinations, such as the Netherlands, the start and end dates of school holidays in different regions are staggered to reduce the heavy traffic and pressure on means of transport that would otherwise occur on these dates.

By country

Africa

Nigeria
In Nigeria, the longest holiday is from mid-July to second week of September for secondary schools and a longer duration within same period for tertiary institutions. Holidays are generally determined by schools and they start from June to early days in September.

South Africa
In South Africa, the main holiday usually lasts from early December to early or mid-January (5 or 6 weeks). There is an autumn break of up to 2 weeks in late March or early April, a longer winter break in late June and early July normally around 3 weeks, and a spring break in late September or early October which is 1 week.

South African schools and universities are all closed on all South African public holidays. In terms of Public Holidays Act if the holiday fall on a Sunday then the schools are closed the next Monday.

Americas

Brazil
Brazilian schools must have at least 200 school days.

In Brazil, summer holidays start in early December and end in late January or early February. Winter holidays are generally the entire month of July. Some schools in the tropical north follow a different school year. The Brazilian Carnival is 40 days before Easter Sunday and those dates are not school holidays. Some national and Catholic holidays are usually celebrated in 3 or 4 days, like Easter, Corpus Christi and Carnival.

Canada
In Canada, the school year typically lasts between 185 and 190 days. The summer holiday includes the months of July and August, with students returning to school in late August or early September, most commonly on the day after Labour Day. The winter break lasts for two weeks (sometimes a day or two longer), beginning on Saturday and encompassing Christmas Day and New Year's Day. The spring break is one to two weeks long depending on the city or province. Good Friday and Easter may or may not fall within spring break. The Thanksgiving break is a 3-day break that falls in mid-October.

In Ontario, the school year is regulated to last at least 194 days, with up to seven of those days being professional activity days, for a total minimum of 187 instructional days. Spring break (commonly known as March Break) is the third week in March.

Chile
The school year is divided into semesters. The first semester runs from late February or early March to July. Following a two-week or three-week winter break, school resumes and lasts until early or mid-December, followed by 10–12 weeks of summer vacations. In addition, schools have a one-week-long break for National Holidays in mid-September. Being located in the Southern Hemisphere, spring begins approximately at the end of this holiday week so it acts similarly to the American spring break. There is also a brief Easter break in March or April.

United States

Duration of US academic year
Public elementary and secondary schools averaged (at the state level) between 170 and 180 school days in the 2007–08 academic year. Different states have different legal minimum requirements for instructional days and hours per year.

In the United States, there are typically 160-180 school days in a year; the exact number mainly depends on the state. (although school years at colleges and universities are often shorter). Private schools tend to have classes for 170 days each year.

Event-based breaks in the US
Below are the school holidays/breaks in the US, with the four main breaks underlined:
 Thanksgiving/Fall Holiday or Break – Occurs at the end of November. This holiday usually consists of the week of Thanksgiving – the day before Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving Day, and the day after. Some areas have the Monday and Tuesday of the Thanksgiving week as regular days and take Wednesday as an early dismissal day; with Thanksgiving and the day after off. Other schools take the whole week off and have an early release on the Friday before the break. US Thanksgiving is on the fourth Thursday of November (occurs between November 22 and November 28), while Black Friday is on Friday after fourth Thursday of November (occurs between November 23 and November 29).
 Christmas or Winter Break – Varies in length per school; usually starts at the third Saturday in December and ends a day or two after New Year's Day (sometimes the first Monday after the New Year's Day), unless New Year's Day falls on a Sunday in which case the first Monday (January 2) is the official holiday and schools may not begin until January 3; the most recent occurrence of this was in the 2022-23 holiday break when January 1, 2023 fell on a Sunday.
 Martin Luther King Day – Martin Luther King Day is always on the third Monday of January each year. Some students have a full or half-day Friday and have the weekend, Martin Luther King day, and sometimes the subsequent Tuesday off.
 Spring or Easter Break – Usually lasts for one or two weeks in March or April
 Columbus Day or Indigenous Peoples' Day Break – Columbus Day is always the second Monday in October. Many schools take a week off, though some areas only take Columbus Day itself off. In many states, however, Columbus Day is not observed as a school holiday at all. Also called Indigenous Peoples' Day.
 October Break – Usually lasts for one week in October (in the week of Columbus Day). See Columbus Day above.
 Mid-Winter or February Break – One week in February (usually at or around President's Day) or March (depending on the region).
 Spring Vacation or Break – See Easter Break above.
 Summer Vacation or Break – Lasts for about 11–16 weeks, starting anywhere from late May to late June, and ending anywhere from late August to the day after Labor Day in early September. This often depends on the region – for example, most schools in the Northeastern United States end in June and start just after Labor Day, while the majority of schools in the Southern U.S. have schools end in May and start again in August.
 Teacher's Day off – Exists in some school districts, being two to three days at any time in school calendar
 Inservice day(s) – Scheduled breaks for teachers to participate in in-season training or discussions, or to attend the state or national conventions held by a teacher's union.
 All federal and state holidays – That includes religious holidays, such as Good Friday, and sometimes Jewish and Islamic holidays, depending on school demographic.
Often in charter schools breaks are shorter due to the extended number of days students spend in school (200 days vs. 180 days for standard public schools).

Terms in the US
An academic year typically includes a fall and spring semester, with a shorter optional summer session. Many also have a short optional winter session. Some operate on a trimester calendar.

It is often believed that when the United States was a primarily agrarian society, children were needed during the Northern Hemisphere summer months for farm labor. However, there is little evidence supporting this, with 19th-century rural schools more typically favoring a summer academic term and more vacation time during spring and autumn.

Summer is still a popular time for family vacations, and most have a two or three-month summer vacation. The academic year typically runs from August or early September until the end of May or early June, depending on the length of the year and number of the holiday, vacation, and snow days occurring during the year. The year is divided into two semesters, three trimesters or four quarters, typically with a report card issued to students' parents at the end of each.

Continuing education classes (often available at community colleges and private "boot camp" style schools) are often shorter and start throughout the year with no particular seasonality.

College breaks in the US
Colleges and universities vary widely. Some closely follow the K-12 break schedule, others have the same but longer breaks to accommodate students who live farther away and wish to return home for holidays. Most colleges and universities have the following breaks:
 Thanksgiving/Fall Break – end of November (The week of Thanksgiving – 3 days before Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving Day, and the day after – the Friday before the break is considered a half-day).
 Winter Break – mid-December to late January
 Spring Break – a week or two in March or April (usually starting on Good Friday)
 Summer Break – Early/mid-May to between late August and the day after Labor Day in September (usually lasting about 12–18 weeks).

Most colleges and university years are divided into two semesters. The first starting from the beginning of the year (August/September) until mid-December, and the second lasting from January until early May. Winter and summer classes could be taken in between the breaks.

Asia

China
Summer holidays usually last from early July to end of August. The winter holiday usually lasts 1 month, and its time varies depending on the date of the Chinese New Year.

Hong Kong
In Hong Kong summer holidays last from mid-July to the end of August. Christmas, Lunar New Year and Easter holidays last usually for one and a half weeks.

India

South India
In South India, summer vacations last from the end of March or early April to the beginning or middle of June.

The Diwali break begins in either October or November, depending on the month Diwali occurs in that year. It lasts for about one week or two days. Christmas break starts on the last week of December (22nd or 23rd) and ends on the first week of January (5th) or might last for only two days and a one-day break for the New Year. The festivals Dusherra and Sankranti are also given holidays for half a month or four days.

In Tamil Nadu, one day leave is given for Deepavali. Tamil Nadu celebrates Pongal festival(Thai Pongal): It is a four-day festival which, according to the Tamil calendar, is usually celebrated from January 14 to January 17.

North India
In north India, the typical summer vacation runs from mid-May to the end of June, school starting from July 1 usually.

Navaratri break is usually for 10 days, and Dusherra lies in the middle.

Christmas holidays are not usually given, however, some schools combine the Christmas holidays with the winter break. Schools in Uttar Pradesh give a holiday on Charan Singh's birth anniversary, and that's when the winter break starts for some. For some other schools the winter break starts on 28 December, and usually ends on the second weekend of the new year.

Most of India
There are many public holidays in India, depending on the region. Certain holidays are mandated across the nation.

January 26 : Republic Day

August 15 : Independence Day

October 2 : Gandhi Jayanti (Birthday of Mahatma Gandhi)

UAE (United Arab Emirates)
Main holidays

The following are breaks usually seen in Dubai schools but other emirates also sometimes follow the Dubai holidays:

Summer Break: Summer holiday is usually from the end of June/first of July to the end of August/first week of September.

Diwali Break: Indian festivals like Diwali (October/November) are also given a holiday or two, which becomes the fall break in the UAE.

Winter Break: The winter break usually lasts for three weeks from the beginning/middle of December to the beginning of January which also includes the new year's holiday.

Spring Break: Spring break is for two-to-three weeks from the end of March until early-to-mid April.

New semester: This break is given according to the board of the school like as in schools with an ICSE Board have a holiday in the first or the first two week(s) of April while in CBSE it happens in another time of the year, likely after the summer break.

Other Islamic occasions are celebrated by a holiday or a short break like the Eid break.

Indonesia
In Indonesia, there are four main school holidays:
 New school year holiday – known as libur kenaikan kelas (up-grading holiday), which usually takes place for 2–3 weeks between late June and early July. Dates may vary, depending on each province/region. The holiday starts from Monday of the first week to the Saturday of the last week of the break.
 Mid-term holiday, is a break that aims to separate the two semesters of the Indonesian school year. It takes place for two weeks between late December and early January, coinciding with Christmas and New Year holidays. The starting and ending dates are the same as the new school year holiday.
 Eid al-Fitr holiday (or lebaran holiday), which lasts for around two weeks. The date varies according to the Islamic calendar.
 Fasting Holiday / Ramadhan Holiday (or puasa holiday), which lasts for about 1 month. The date varies according to the Islamic calendar. This break mostly coincides with the Eid al-Fitr holiday. School usually starts on the first Monday of the new month. It can potentially last 3–4 months if the new school year holiday (libur kenaikan kelas) happens before or during the month of Ramadan. But, if Christmas occurs after the holiday of Eid al-Fitr, school will start in the new year. On the first day after the break, the students and teachers will apologise to each other and shake hands, known as "Halal Bihalal" this period lasts about 3 days, and after Halal Bihalal, parents will receive a "rapot" or a grade report which shows student achievement over the past year.

Besides the main holidays, there are many small holidays which take place for 1–2 days, such as Independence Day, religious breaks, and Teacher's Day.

Israel
In Israel, the academic year is divided into two semesters. The first one begins in October (depending on the Hebrew calendar. Mostly a week or two after Simchat Torah), and it ends 13 weeks after in January. Then the next six weeks of January and February are dedicated to the first semester exams. Afterwards, in late February or early March, begins the second semester until mid- or late June. When the months of June and July are dedicated to the second semester exams while late testing can be by middle of August.

Japan
In Japan, the new academic year starts in the first or second week of April. In most schools in Japan, there are four main breaks: one or two weeks from late March to early April (Spring), about a month from late July to the end of August (Summer), the Health & Sports Day weekend (Fall), and two weeks over the year-end and New Year period from late December to early January (Winter). There are some exceptions in northern Japan, where schools set a longer winter break, while cutting the summer one shorter. Additionally, there are 4 national holidays falling between 29 April and 5 May, sometimes called "Golden Week."

Colleges/universities have the following breaks:
 Golden Week: April 29th to May 5th
 Summer/Fall break: Early August to early October
 Winter break: Late December to early January
 Spring break: Early February to early April

Korea
In Korea, the school year starts at the beginning of March. Until 2015, schools followed a three-term system, similar to Japan:
 Term 1: Early March to mid/late July
 Summer break: Approximately 1 month
 Term 2: Mid/late August to late December (with a brief 3-5 day Chuseok/Fall break interrupting this term)
 Winter break: Approximately 1 month
 Term 3: 2 weeks in February
 Spring break: Approximately 2 weeks

From 2015 onwards, the calendar was changed to a more quasi-Western styled one, having the year to end on January rather than February.
 1st quarter: March to early May
 Spring break: Approximately 1 week
 2nd quarter: Early/mid May to mid/late July
 Summer break: Approximately 1 month
 3rd quarter: Mid/late August to late September
 Chuseok/Fall break: Approximately 1 week
 4th quarter: October to early January
 Winter break: Approximately 2 months

Colleges/universities get the following breaks:
 Children's Day/Spring break: May 5
 Summer break: Mid-late June to August 31
 Chuseok/Fall break: 3–5 days in late September
 Winter break: Mid-late December to February 28/29

Malaysia
In Malaysia, there are 2 main semester holiday and an additional of mid-term break and year end holiday. The mid-year holidays last for two weeks, from late May until mid-June, in between the two school terms. The year-end holidays last for six weeks, from mid-November until early January, in between two school years. Each school term has a mid-term break; one week in March for the first semester and one week in the months of August or September (variable) for the second semester.

Schools are closed on national and state public holidays. Schools are allowed to have a few special holidays without replacement for events such as school anniversary and sports day. For festivities such as Hari Raya Puasa, Chinese New Year and Deepavali, schools usually apply for additional holidays to allow longer breaks for students to visit relatives in their hometowns. However, every day missed exceeding the special holiday allowance would be replaced by having classes on weekends.

Philippines

In the Philippines, most school calendars begin in June and ending at March or early April. By government regulation, schools cannot start classes beyond August or earlier than June. There are three breaks: summer break (at the end of the 4th quarter) started from the late March or early April and usually ended in June, semestral break (at the end of the 2nd quarter) started from late October ending in early November, and Christmas break (at the end of the 3rd quarter) lasted from mid-December to early January. At the end of August around National Heroes' Day, a 3-day long weekend including the last Monday of August, was also taken.

During the implementation of COVID-19 community quarantines in 2020 to 2022, the school year ran from September or October to May or June. The summer or mid-year break begins from early June till late August and is also known as the Independence Day break as Independence Day, June 12, falls during the mid year vacation. With the move of the calendar for most schools, an additional break, Easter break was added, corresponding to Holy Week up to Easter Sunday.

For universities and colleges, the four breaks in their collegiate calendar closely match those of the national basic education calendar. Since 2016-17, most of these higher learning institutions begin their year in August or September, matching the Western calendar.

Event-based holidays are declared by the President (for national holidays) and the provincial governor or city mayor for local holidays through the Department of Education (DepEd) for basic education and Commission on Higher Education (CHED) for colleges and universities.

Singapore
In Singapore, there are four school terms. Terms 1 and 2 are referred to as Semester 1, as terms 3 and 4 are referred to as Semester 2. Each term consists of ten school weeks. Term 1 starts the day immediately after New Year's Day. If the first school day is a Thursday or a Friday, it is not counted as a school week. After term 1, there is a break of a week, called the March Holidays. Thereafter, term 2 commences and is followed by a break of four weeks, the June Holidays. It is followed by term 3, after which there will be another break of one week, the September Holidays. Then, term 4 would start, and after it there is the December holidays, which would be either five or six weeks long, depending on whether the first week of the year was counted as a school week. Students are also given days off on public holidays, as well as Children's Day, Youth's Day, Teacher's Day and the day after National Day.

Turkey

All public schools have following holidays:
 January 1 – New Year
 Winter Break (also called Midterm Break or 15 Day Break) – two weeks in late January or early February
 April 23 – National Sovereignty and Children's Day
 May 1 – Labour and Solidarity Day
 May 19 – commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day
 Summer Break – 13 weeks from early-mid-June to mid-September
 August 30 – Victory Day (coincides with Summer Break most of the time)
 October 29 – Republic Day (28 October is half day)

There are Ramadan Feast (3 days) and Sacrifice Feast (4 days) holidays, but exact dates of these holidays change every year because Ramadan & Sacrifice Feasts are calculated according to Muslim calendar, resulting these feasts to be celebrated earlier by 10 or 11 days each year. If these feasts are at the middle of the week, then the break becomes a full week break with the Arafah (the day before the feast) day also included in the break.

Starting from 2019, the Summer Break has been cut to 11 weeks and the following two breaks have been introduced:
 Autumn Break – one week in mid-November
 Spring Break – one week in mid-April

Vietnam
The academic year in Vietnam consists of two semesters, with the Tet break in between. The academic year starts in early September in the whole country, with an official opening ceremony on September 5th and ends on late May or early June.The two longest breaks include

 The Tet break or Lunar New Year holiday, which lasts between 5 to 10 days surrounding the Lunar New Year, typically starting 1 - 2 days before it. The break differs from year to year but usually falls on January or February.
 The summer break, which officially starts in late May/early June and lasts 3 months until the end of August. Many public schools, however, unofficially end the break a few weeks earlier and start classes in mid August.

Australia and New Zealand
In Australia and New Zealand, academic years for primary and secondary institutions are divided into four 10-week 'terms' per year. Although historically the year was divided into three terms with an extended Easter break interrupting the first term, the Australian academic year has been divided into four terms since the late 1980s (with the exception of Tasmania which did not change until 2013); New Zealand adopted a four-term year in 1996.

Following southern hemisphere seasons, the main summer holiday between academic years encompasses most of December, all of January and sometimes a few days at the beginning of February, and always encompasses Christmas and New Year as well as usually Australia Day on 26 January. The exact start and finish date of the academic year varies between jurisdictions; in 2023 Queensland will start earliest on 23 January (the only jurisdiction to begin the academic year before Australia Day) and finish earliest on 8 December, while Tasmania will start latest on 8 February and finish latest on 21 December. In year 12, the term ends in November; for those who go on to university, the term usually starts in late February or early March. New Zealand celebrates Waitangi Day on 6 February; the summer holidays in New Zealand may or may not extend as far as that day, depending on the year. In Australia, there is typically a break of two weeks mid-semester (i.e. after Term 1 and after Term 3) and a break of three weeks in the middle of the year, and in New Zealand, a two week break between each term. In the year 2000, due to the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, the state of New South Wales extended the break after Term 3 to three weeks, compensating by reducing the break in the middle of the year to two weeks.

Historically, the Term 1 holiday have been scheduled around Easter, reflecting the three-term system's notion of an extended Easter break within Term 1; although since the mid-1990s this has gradually changed, and now only Queensland and Victoria tie the school holidays closely to Easter; the remainder of Australia and all of New Zealand now have a fixed length to Term 1 which leads to the Easter period falling within Term 1 in some years with an early Easter, such as 2016.

Typically, the Term 1 holidays will run for two weeks within April; the mid-year holidays encompass the last week of June and the first two weeks of July; and the Term 3 holidays encompass the last week of September and the first week of October. This varies between jurisdictions, and exact dates depend on what day of the week these respective months begin, as (with the exception of the beginning and end of the academic year), terms tend to begin and end with full weeks.

Europe

Austria
In Austria, the summer holidays are usually between early July and early September. There is, with the exception of Vorarlberg and Salzburg, no Autumn break but there is a Christmas break (from December 24 until January 6) and an Easter break (lasts for 10 days). The mid-term break in February lasts for a week and the Whitsun break lasts for 4 days including the weekend. There are also days off during religious holidays (Assumption, Ascension, Corpus Christi etc.).

Belgium
For primary schools, the academic year in Belgium begins on the first weekday in September and ends on the last weekday in June, with the summer holiday comprising the entire months of July and August.

Secondary schools and universities often close about a week earlier, as soon as school results have been processed and published. A week of autumn break is usually scheduled during the week of All Saints' Day (November 1). The winter- or Christmas holiday lasts two weeks and encompasses both Christmas and New Year's Day. The dates for both the one-week spring break and the two-week Easter holiday vary. In catholic regions where carnival is celebrated, spring break usually takes place during the carnival week. To get al balance in school days between spring break and summer holiday, the two weeks of Easter holiday can take place with Easter both at the beginning, the middle or the end of the holiday period. In some cases, when Easter is at the complete end of the holiday, Easter Monday serves as an additional day off. However, in 2008 Belgium did not have the Easter Weekend inside its break due to the fact that Easter Sunday was on 23 March and schools broke up on the first weekend in April 2008 and had the two weeks then.

Croatia
In Croatia, there can be anywhere from three to five major breaks throughout the school year at public schools, depending on the region. Regardless of the number of holidays a school decides to have, a school year must have a minimum of 175 working days, or 160 for students undertaking the final exam at the end of high school.
 Summer break runs from mid-June (typically the 15th/16th) to early September (usually the first Monday in September), usually lasting for 11 weeks.
 Winter (Christmas) break usually starts on December 24 (Christmas Eve) and ends in the first Monday after January 6. It lasts for 3 weeks in total. Some parts of the country have opted to split the winter holidays in two parts: the first part lasting for 2 weeks starting on Christmas Eve and encompassing Christmas and New Year, and the second part lasting for one week, usually the last week of February.
 Spring (Easter) break lasts about 10 days, and encompasses Good Friday, Easter, Easter Monday, and the work week after or before Easter.

Some schools have opted to shorten the winter holidays in exchange for an Autumn break, which typically lasts for one week around All Saints' Day (November 1).

Other free days include public holidays and local patron saint days. If these land on a Tuesday or Thursday, the day before (Monday, if the holiday is on Tuesday) of after (Friday, if it's on Thursday), is usually also considered a free day, to "merge" the holiday with the weekend.

Czech Republic
In the Czech Republic, the summer holidays begin at the end of the school year around 30 June and end at the start of the school year on 1 September or soon thereafter. Then there are autumn holidays: two days plus 28 October (the date of the proclamation of Czechoslovakia). The winter (Christmas) holidays last usually from 22 December to 3 January. There is also a one-day half term holiday on 31 January. The spring holidays are a week long and may occur in February or March, depending on the region, sometimes they continue with Easter holidays (Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Monday). There are also free days such as 1 May (International Workers' Day), 8 May (end of World war two) and 28 September (The assassination of St. Wenceslas - the duke and the patron saint of the Czech lands). The school director is authorised to add up to three more free days during the school year. The school holidays are determined by the Ministry of Schools for each school year and are valid for every basic and high school.

Denmark
In Denmark the summer holiday lasts 6–7 weeks. Most schools also have one week of winter holiday and one week of autumn holiday, usually in February and October respectively. The Christmas break lasts 2 weeks

Estonia
In Estonia, summer holidays last for three months from June to August. Christmas holidays last for two weeks, autumn and spring holidays are each one week. In 2016, the Estonian Ministry of Education decided to add a new holiday, starting from 2017, to balance the learning weeks. There are going to be 5 holidays: Autumn holiday (21- 29 October), Winter Holiday (23 December- 7 January), a new holiday (24 February- 4 March), Spring holiday (21 April- 1 May) and Summer holiday (12 June- 31 August). Summer break starts 1 week later.

France
French school holidays are scheduled each year by the Ministry of Education. This can lead to overcrowding in tourist resorts such as the Mediterranean coast and the ski resorts.

To alleviate this problem, the holiday schedules are staggered by dividing the country into three zones. Despite these measures, the synchronized school holiday schedules still cause some crowding effects, as families head to popular holiday locations all at the same time. This can result in price increases and availability problems in some locations during the school holiday periods.
Holidays are divided into three separate zones except for the first two holidays: All Saints and the Christmas / New Year.

Germany
In Germany, ~75 week days of the year are school-free days. The exact dates are chosen by each of the 16 states, often in consultation with each other for reasons of planning and traffic management. The usual holiday blocks are: Christmas (~2 weeks), Easter (~2 weeks), Summer (6 weeks), Autumn (~2 weeks). Depending on the state, further holidays can be around Pentecost or in winter between the first and the second half of the school year.

Some states allow for municipalities or individual schools to move a handful of days from a state-wide holiday to locally favoured dates, e.g. Shrove Monday, the Fridays after Ascension and Corpus Christi or some other Friday or Monday that would provide for a long weekend and is called a Brückentag 'bridging day'.

Greece
In Greece, there are three breaks throughout the school year at public schools.
 Summer holidays run from June to September. Holidays begin between June 10 and 20, and end around September 11.
 Christmas holidays begin around December 23 and end around January 8 (about 2 weeks).
 Easter holidays last 2 weeks from Lazarus Saturday to Thomas Sunday (according to the Orthodox calculations)
 There are also three 1-day national holidays: October 28, March 25 and November 17.

Ireland
The dates for the start and the end of the school year at both primary and post-primary level are not fixed, but mid-year breaks are standardised. Due to the start of certificate exams, post-primary schools are usually not open for tuition after the Friday before the June public holiday (the first Monday in June) in any year. Primary schools must be open for a minimum of 182 days of tuition a year and for secondary schools that number is 166.
 First Day of School: The school year generally starts during the last few days of August or first few days of September. Return dates for Secondary schools are usually staggered depending on what year you are in.
 Halloween Break: Schools close for one week at the end of October for the midterm break. This break usually encompasses Halloween (October 31)
 Christmas Break: Schools close for two weeks at Christmas time. Those two weeks always encompass Christmas and New Year. Schools will close no later than December 23rd and reopen no earlier than January 2nd.
 Spring Break: Schools close for another week in mid-February for the spring midterm.
 St Patrick's Day: Schools are always shut on March 17 as it is a public holiday. If March 17 falls on a weekend, schools are closed on the Monday immediately following. Some schools may tend to take an extra day or two to extend this break. For example if March 17 is a Thursday, schools will close on the Friday, and Monday following to make it a five day break.
 Easter Break: Schools close for two weeks for Easter. Schools generally close for Easter break on the Friday one week before Good Friday, and reopen on the Monday one week after Easter Monday.
 May/June Break: Some primary schools may take another week off in May or June, if they have not taken a full week off in February.
 Summer Holidays: Secondary schools generally finish for summer on the first Friday of June or the last Friday of May. Exam years will sit 1-3 weeks of State Exams during June.

Primary schools will generally finish by 30 June, or the last Friday of June for summer break.

Italy
In Italy, most school holidays are determined by the Ministry of Education, and are valid for all public schools of every order and grade. Typically, there are Summer holidays from early or mid-June up to the second week of September. Christmas (Winter) holidays start on December 23 and end on the first or second working day after January 6; the summer holidays in Italy are 3 months, other holidays include one week around Easter (Spring) as well as one day on December 8 (Feast of the Immaculate Conception), one day for November 1 (All Saints (Autumn)), the national holidays of April 25 (Liberation day) and June 2 (Republic Day), as well as the Workers' Day (May 1). Locally, school authorities have freedom upon the establishment of the lessons calendar to grant further vacation days on important local festivals (e.g. the local patron saint day).

Latvia
In Latvia, summer holidays last for three months from June to August. Christmas holidays last for two weeks, autumn and spring holidays are each one week.

Lithuania
In Lithuania summer holiday for 9th and 11th grade begins a few days later than 10th and 12th grade students. This is due to exams for those grades. In the past, upper level Lithuanian students had around 70 days of holiday. However, now the holiday lasts almost three months.

The Netherlands
In the Netherlands, summer holidays last for six weeks for all Schools, but often unofficially 7 for secondary schools. The country is divided into three regions which start their summer holidays one week after another. Summer holidays usually start in mid-July and end in late August. Dutch elementary and high school students also have a one-week autumn holiday in mid-October, two weeks of Christmas holidays, usually the last two weeks of December, as well as one week "crocus/spring holidays" in February (for the south during Carnaval), and "May holidays", which last one or two week(s) for high schools and for elementary schools (This may differ from school to school). May holidays span a period of national holidays such as King's Day (former Queen's Day) (April 27), Remembrance of the Dead (May 4) and Liberation Day (May 5) and sometimes include Ascension Day and Pentecost.

North Macedonia
In North Macedonia, there are two breaks throughout the school year at public schools.
 Summer break usually runs from June 10 to September 1.
 Winter (Christmas) break starts after New Year's Eve (January 1) and ends usually after January 20.
Other free days include the public holidays and local or School patron days.

Norway
In Norway, school holidays vary by region. Generally, the school year starts around the third week of August. Most regions have a week off at the beginning of October (weeks 40 or 41). Christmas holidays start some days before Christmas Eve and end in the first week of January. There is one week of winter vacation in late February (weeks 8 or 9). Easter holiday is from Palm Sunday to Easter Monday or a day or two later, and Summer holidays begin some days before midsummer.

Poland
All public schools have the following breaks/holidays (with the 5 main breaks underlined):
 November 1 – All Saints Day, 1 day break
 November 11 – Independence Day (Autumn), 1 day break
 January 6 – the Epiphany, 1 day break
 1st Winter Break – Two weeks around Christmas and New Year
 2nd Winter Break – two weeks in January or February (depending on region)
 Easter (Spring) Break – Maundy Thursday to the Tuesday after Easter Monday
 May Break – May 1 (Labor Day), May 2 (Polish Flag Day) and May 3 (Constitution of May 3)
 Corpus Christi – four days in May or June (depending on the year)
  Summer Break – first Saturday after June 20 to the end of August or early September (first school week day in September unless it falls on a Friday)

Romania
Summer breaks run from late May-mid-June to early-mid-September and are around 13–15 weeks long. Pupils/students in the 8th and 12th grades usually enter summer break a week or two earlier than everyone else from other grades.

Spring breaks are usually one to two weeks long, between late March and early May depending on the dates of both Orthodox and Catholic Easter. There can be two spring breaks if the Catholic and Orthodox Easter dates are very different.

Winter break is three weeks long (it usually starts in the third or fourth week of December and it ends on the second or third Monday of January).

There is also a one-week long fall break, which is usually between late October and early November; however, it was limited to pupils in
preschool and primary education; everyone else had a full learning period between the summer and winter breaks. Starting from 2022, though, the fall break has been applied to middle and high schools, too.

All academic years in Romania prior to the 2019–2020 school year used to have a second Winter break, which was often referred to as the "break between semesters" (vacanță intersemestrială), which would usually be in early February and have a duration of one-week, between the first and second semesters. From the 2019–2020 school year onwards (with the exception of the 2020–2021 school year), the start of the winter break marks the end of the first semester, with the beginning of the second semester immediately after the winter break. From 2022-2023, there is a break in February (however, this is not between semesters), and the counties can decide each which week of February.

Russian Federation
All public schools have the following holidays:
 Winter Break – two weeks in  early January
 Spring Break – one week in late March to early April
 Fall Break – one week in late October to early November
 Summer Break – from late May to August 31
 February 23 – Men's Day or Defender's Day
 March 8 – International Women's Day
 May 1 – Spring and Labour Day
 May 9 – Victory Day
 November 4 – Unity Day

Slovakia
In Slovakia, summer holidays begin at the end of the school year on June 30 and end at the start of the school year in early September. The autumn holidays are at the end of October. The winter (Christmas) holidays usually last from December 23 to January 7. There is also a one-day half term holiday on January 31. The spring holidays are a week long and may be in February or March, depending on the region. Next are the Easter holidays (Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Monday and Easter Tuesday). There are also free days such as May 1, May 8, September 1, September 15, and November 17. The school director is authorized to add up to three more free days during the school year. The school holidays are determined by the Ministry of Schools and are valid for every basic and high school.

Slovenia
In Slovenia, summer holidays begin on June 24 (June 25 is National day, which is also a public holiday) and end on September 1. Other holidays are usually one week long, they expand if national holidays fall on the work days. The autumn holidays ("Krompirjeve počitnice" – "Potato holidays") begin around October 31, which is Reformation day and November 1 which is called "All Saints' Day". The New Year holidays usually start around Christmas and last until January 2. In the middle of February there are winter holidays, which are divided into two parts. In each part there are other Slovenian students who have holidays. The second part of the winter holiday usually ends at the end of February. The shortest holidays are First May holidays, and as their name suggests they begin on around May 1 (usually on April 27, which is Uprising Against the Occupation Day, which is also a national holiday) and last until May 2, which is also a national holiday. There are also free days such as February 8 (Slovenian cultural festival – Prešeren Day) and Easter Monday, and other national holidays like August 15 (Feast of the Assumption) fall on school holidays and are more important to adults. Students from the last year of primary and secondary schools usually start summer holidays one week earlier due to the final exams. These holidays are valid for primary and secondary schools only and are determined by the Ministry of Schools. University students, however, have summer holidays until October 1, however the exams from spring examination period can be after 25 June and the summer examination period starts in September. Usually students have only one other holiday and that is the New Year holiday but it depends on every single college which days will be free for students. For example, in 2015, most university students also had First May holidays. Short holidays usually begin after exams and depend on how good students are at their exams or how many exams they have taken for each term. Most of the time, university students have holidays on national holidays.

Sweden
In Sweden, the school year starts around mid- or late August (September 1 at the universities). The week before All Saint's Day (taken as a Saturday around November 2) primary and secondary school students have an autumn holiday. Christmas holiday starts around December 19–20, depending on the day of the week on which Christmas Eve occurs. It usually ends some days after January 6, which is also a public holiday. In March, primary and secondary school students have one week of winter vacation; the exact week varies by location. Easter public holidays last four days from Friday to Monday. Easter school holidays are either the week preceding Easter or the week immediately following, depending on location. Primary and secondary school summer holidays last about ten weeks, starting in the second week of June.

United Kingdom
School holidays in the United Kingdom follow a standard pattern, with a school year of 190 days of teaching, beginning with the Autumn Term, but the exact timing varies between countries and counties. Local authorities set term dates which apply to all Community, Voluntary Controlled, Community Special Schools and Maintained Nursery Schools. Academies, Free schools, Voluntary Aided schools and Foundation schools are able to choose their own dates but many follow the same dates as the Local Authority. Although these schools can set their own term dates, they are still required to open for the same length of time. Independent private schools tend to set longer holidays than state schools.

In England and Wales, the academic year usually runs from the first week of September of one year through to the third week of July of the following year, with the time split up into three terms. Each of these is usually divided into halves with a week-long "half-term" break between. Primary (4-11) and secondary (11–16) schools usually follow a 39-week academic year, while further (16+) and higher (18+) educational establishments often have 33 or even 36-week terms, generally with no half-term break. Oxford and Cambridge universities have shorter terms still, usually eight weeks each term.

For English state schools, the year commences the first week of September with a half-term break (one week) at the end of October, and the first term ending the third week of December. After a two-week holiday, encompassing Christmas and New Year, the second term runs from early January to Easter and is of variable length to allow for the movable feast. There is a half-term break around mid-February and two weeks of the Easter holidays, before the third and final term starts, lasting until the third week of July. The half-term break is at the end of May and students with exams will often finish their studies at that break and take exams during June and July.

The summer holidays last for approximately six weeks, which was for a long time thought to be in order to allow children to help with the harvest. However, as the harvest usually takes place in late September this makes little sense. The six week break was to allow the middle-classes to take longer holidays. In Scotland, the summer break is earlier because of the different day lengths and agricultural practices there.

Private schools may follow different terms, and some self-governing academies follow different termly structures.

England and Wales
Summer holidays in State schools are usually between five and seven weeks long, starting in mid-late July and ending in early September. Schools have Christmas and Easter holidays, each usually lasting about two weeks. The school year is split up into three sections: Autumn term (between Summer and Christmas); Spring term (between Christmas and Easter); and Summer term (between Easter and the Summer holiday). Roughly half-way through each term, pupils will get one week off school, known as half-term. In the Autumn term, half-term often falls the week of Halloween and close to Bonfire Night. In the Spring term, half-term tends to fall the week of Valentine's Day. In the Summer term, half-term tends to be at the end of May with students returning the first Monday of June.

Independent schools often have longer holidays including up to 10 weeks for Summer, but often have longer school days and sometimes lessons on Saturday mornings.

See School Holidays in England for the impact of school holidays on tourism and life for parents and others.

Scotland
In Scotland, the academic year usually begins in the third week of August. In October, there are one or two weeks off, which is the half-way point between Summer and Christmas holidays. The Christmas holiday usually begins a few days before December 25 and ends a few days after January 5. There is up to a week off half-way through the Spring term and a two-week break for Easter. After Easter is Summer term and the 3rd half term break is the half-way point to the summer holidays. The summer holiday usually begins at the end of June for most pupils in primary 1–7 and secondary years 1–3. Years 4, 5, and 6 have a period of exam leave at the end of April until early June, but may return for the last few weeks before the summer holiday starts. It's usually 7–8 weeks.

Northern Ireland
Schools in Northern Ireland have similar school holidays to those in the Republic of Ireland. Schools in Northern Ireland have shorter mid-term breaks than those in the rest of the UK and, to substitute, a longer summer holiday that includes the whole month of July and August.

See also
 Academic term

References

Academic terminology
Types of year

Academic year


The Utrecht Guild of Saint Luke refers to two artist collectives in Utrecht (city); the old Catholic Zadelaarsgilde (Saddler's Guild) dating from the Middle Ages, as well as the newer Sint Lucas Gilde established in 1611. The first collective was for a number of trades that were connected to the art industry, though the smiths had their own guild called the "St. Eloyen" guild. The second collective was founded for the oil painters after the Protestant Reformation. The Zadelaarsgilde fell under the patron saint Luke the Evangelist and the St. Eloyen guild fell under Saint Eligius.

History
Like other Dutch cities, Utrecht required membership in the guilds in order to sell wares falling under those guilds. In the 14th century, the Utrecht saddlemakers, painters, sculptors, book illustrators, and bookbinders were all united in the Zadelaarsgilde. In those days oil painters were just as likely to paint on leather parchment or harness as on wooden panels or sculptures, so the choice of trades united in this guild is not so strange. Utrecht in the Middle Ages was the largest city in the Northern Netherlands, capital of the Bishopric of Utrecht, and the main center for religion. With each passing of an archbishop, a new archbishop would be appointed who brought his own artisans to town. Utrecht was thus an important art center and saw many innovations in the arts in general over the centuries. The smiths were split into guilds, one for the gold- and silversmiths under St. Eligius, and one for the bronze, iron and tin workers (including lock-, knife-, and clock makers) in the Smeden guild. All three guilds existed well before the 14th century and were led by two "dekens" (deacons or aldermen), and they were associated with different churches.

During the course of the 17th century this slowly changed. The oil painters were reorganized under the leadership of Abraham Bloemaert into the Sint Lukasgilde, while the smiths's guilds were united under the St. Eloyengasthuis (St. Eloy's Hospice) and led by the regents of that institution. In 1639 the oil painters were again reorganized into the Schilderscollege, which effectively forced out the sculptors. In 1717 the city council changed the formula from a guild to a society, and membership was no longer required. The task of the society was mostly the running of the drawing school called the Stadstekenacademie that had been held in the St. Hieronymusschool since 1696. In 1814 the name changed again, and it became the Painting and Drawing Society "Kunstliefde". The title means "love of art" and the members tended to apply themselves to the fashionable art of imitating the Dutch masters from the 17th century.

Today the society is housed on Nobelstraat 12a in Utrecht.

Guild members registered in Utrecht
Some notable members of the Utrecht Guild of Saint Luke (or Zadelaarsgilde) were Balthasar van der Ast,
Dirck van Baburen,
Abraham Bloemaert,
Hendrick Bloemaert,
Johannes van Haensbergen,
Steven van Herwijck,
Gijsbert d'Hondecoeter,
Gerard van Honthorst,
Nikolaus Knüpfer,
Paulus Moreelse,
Herman Saftleven,
Roelant Savery,
Jan Vermeer van Utrecht,
Jan Weenix,
Jan Baptist Weenix,
Abraham Willaerts,
Adam Willaerts,
Joachim Wtewael,
Charles Cornelisz. de Hooch,
Johannes van Wijckersloot.

References

Guilds in the Netherlands
History of Utrecht (city)
Dutch artist groups and collectives
Painters from Utrecht

Utrecht Guild of Saint Luke


Alfonso Juan Cervantes (August 27, 1920 – June 23, 1983) was the 39th Mayor of St. Louis, Missouri, from 1965 to 1973.

Personal life and early political career
Born in St. Louis, Cervantes attended St. Louis University High School and Saint Louis University before serving in the Merchant Marine during World War II. He married the former Carmen Davis, and they had six children. Cervantes' political career began in 1949 when he was elected to the St. Louis Board of Aldermen representing the 15th Ward. He was re-elected to that position in 1953 and 1957. In 1955 he was unsuccessful in a citywide bid for President of the Board of Aldermen.  He was elected to that post in 1959, but was defeated in a bid for re-election in 1963.

Term as mayor
In 1965, Cervantes challenged incumbent Mayor Raymond Tucker, who was seeking an unprecedented fourth term in office. He defeated Tucker by a vote of 83,698 to 68,379. A third candidate, John Noel, received 1,087 votes. Mr. Cervantes won election as Mayor in the April 6, 1965 City election, over Republican Maurice R. Zumwalt, by a vote of 102,961 to 47,510.

During his term as mayor, Cervantes focused in particular on the issues of race relations, crime-fighting, and city finance. While many other large cities suffered through race riots during the late 1960s, the peace was kept in St. Louis. Mayor Cenvantes met with and talked at length with African-American leaders and included African-Americans in City government positions and city commissions.

During Cervantes' term a Commission on Crime and Law Enforcement was created, although Life Magazine accused Cervantes and the head of the Commission, lawyer Morris Shenker, of strong ties to organized crime. Voters passed a one per cent sales tax to put policemen on horseback in city parks. Car thefts were reduced by his 'lock it and pocket the key' program. Mayor Cervantes was successful in getting a $2,000,000 bond issue passed for completion of the Gateway Arch and grounds. This was necessary to get $6,000,000 in Federal aid. A $15,000,000 bond issue for street lighting and a juvenile center was passed in 1972.

Other successes during his two terms included establishment of Night Housing Court, organization of a Business Development Commission to help keep businesses in the City and bring in new ones along with setting up the Area Office of Aging, Beautification Commission, and Citizens Service Bureau to handle complaints. The Land Reutilization Authority was created to take over vacant properties and group them for re-use.

Mayor Cervantes failed in his attempt to get a new airport started in Illinois, close to downtown St. Louis. He thought this would be a great benefit to the City and downtown St. Louis, but the proposal generated great controversy and helped lead to his defeat for a third term in 1973. Cervantes was defeated in that bid by John Poelker in the Democratic primary. Cervantes was defeated in another bid for mayor in 1977 by James F. Conway. Another Cervantes controversy was allowing the demolition of Pruitt Igoe, which left thousands of residents homeless.

Later life
After serving as mayor, Cervantes taught at St. Louis University and returned as an active manager of his business interests that included Cervantes and Associates Insurance Agency and the Laclede Cab Company. After losing office, Cervantes published a memoir entitled "Mr. Mayor" (Los Angeles: Nash Publishing, 1974).  Cervantes died in St. Louis on June 23, 1983, at age 62. He was buried in Calvary Cemetery.

What is currently the America's Center convention center complex was originally named for Cervantes in 1977.

References

 Brief biographies of St. Louis mayors at the St. Louis Public Library's website.

1920 births
1983 deaths
Saint Louis University alumni
Mayors of St. Louis
American sailors
Burials at Calvary Cemetery (St. Louis)
20th-century American politicians
United States Merchant Mariners of World War II

Alfonso J. Cervantes


Brno City Theatre (Czech: Městské divadlo Brno; MdB) is a repertoire theatre in Brno, Czech Republic, that focuses on dramatic and music production, mainly musical theatre. The building of the theatre is located on Lidická street in town square Brno-center. It has two acting areas – dramatical scene (capacity 365 places) and musical theatre scene (capacity 680 places). As of 2011, the manager and director of the theatre is Stanislav Moša, art manager of the musical ensemble is Petr Gazdík and operetta manager is Igor Ondříček.

The MdB is one of the theatres with very good ensemble and wide audience.

There are many different art pieces in both of its musical and dramatic repertoire, lot of space is dedicated for many new works, which are often written directly for MdB. The theatre also has its own orchestra, so the audience can experience live scenic music.

History
The former Svobodné divadlo (Free Theatre) on Falkensteiner Street was founded closely after World War II, in summer 1945, by people around director Milan Pásek, supported by professor Jiří Kroha. Since its beginning it hosted mainly young artists, which sought to found second theatre in the city (the first one was Mahenovo divadlo (Mahen Theatre), where they could perform plays by contemporary writers. The theatre has changed its name by the time: Městské  oblastní divadlo (Municipal and Regional Theatre), Krajské oblastní divadlo (County and regional theatre) and in 1962 Divadlo bratří Mrštíků (Mrštík Brothers Theatre).

In 1988, by decision of a new regulation, the theatre was merged with some quite genre different theatres – satirical theatre Večerní Brno and puppet theatre Loutkové divadlo Radost.

After the Velvet revolution the theatre was renamed the Městské divadlo Brno (Municipal Theatre Brno) and in 1990 Jan Kolegar was elected as its director. Jan Moša, former producer, dramatist and since 1990 the artistic director of drama, became the director in 1992. He was responsible for the reconstruction of insufficient places at former cinema on Lidická street, where the theatre now resides.

In the 1990s the declining scene, that had great distress of the audience, has become one of the most successful theatres not only in Brno, but throughout the country.

In 1995 the MdB went through reconstruction, mainly modification of the theatre scene itself. In addition to changes of building the ensemble of theatre was also renewed. In the 1990s the MdB has focused mainly on quality musical theatre production, using graduates of the musical acting classes at the Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts.

Notable actors

The actors of this theatre were awarded with several Thalia Awards and Alfréd Radok Awards. The theatre has even walk of fame for its most brilliant actors since 2000.

Choice of current actings

There are many different art pieces in both of theaters musical and dramatic repertoire, lot of space is dedicated for many new works, which are often written directly for MdB. The classical pieces (e.g., Devotion to the Cross by Pedro Calderón de la Barca) are also played often.

References

External links

 Official website of Brno City Theatre

Theatres in Brno
1945 establishments in Czechoslovakia
20th-century architecture in the Czech Republic
Theatres completed in 1945

Brno City Theatre


Robert William Thomson (24 March 1934, Cheam, London UK – 20 November 2018, Oxford) was Calouste Gulbenkian Professor of Armenian Studies at Oxford University.

Thomson graduated from the University of Cambridge with a degree in classics, then studied at the Halki seminary in Turkey. Thomson received his PhD from Cambridge after defending his doctoral dissertation on Armenian and Syriac versions of Athanasius of Alexandria's works.

When an Armenian Studies Professorship was established in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at the Harvard University in 1969, Thomson was appointed to the chair which was subsequently named in honor of Armenian saint and scholar Mesrob Mashtots. Thomson held this position until 1992, when he accepted the Gulbenkian Chair in Armenian Studies at Oxford University in England. He retired in 2001. In 1984–1989 he was the Director of the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection. In 1995, he was elected a fellow of the British Academy. Among other distinctions, he received the Saint Sahak and Saint Mesrop Medal from Vazgen I, Catholicos of All Armenians for his contributions to Armenian studies.

Thomson translated into English several Classical Armenian, Syriac and Greek texts as well as having written two textbooks on the Armenian language, one of which is the sole English-language textbook on Classical Armenian.

Thomson died in 2018.

Books

Studies
Studies in Armenian Literature and Christianity (Variorum, 1994)
Rewriting Caucasian History: The Mediaeval Armenian Adaptation of the Georgian Chronicles. The Original Georgian Texts and The Armenian Adaptation (Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1996)

Language textbooks
 An Introduction to Classical Armenian (Caravan Books, 1975)
 A Textbook of Modern Western Armenian (with Kevork B. Bardakjian) (Caravan Books, 1977)

Translations
 The Historical Compilation of Vardan Arewelc'i, in: Dumbarton Oaks Papers 43 (1989), p. 125-226.
 The Armenian Adaptation of the Ecclesiastical History of Socrates Scholasticus [Hebrew University Armenian Texts and Studies, 3]. Translation of the Armenian with comparative study of the original and revised versions. Peeters Publishers, Leuven, 2001, Pp. xxii, 254.
 The Teaching of Saint Gregory (from Agathangelos's History of Armenia). New and revised edition of the 1970 Harvard University Press edition, New Rochelle, New York, 2001, Pp. viii, 267.
 Hamam, Commentary on the Book of Proverbs [Hebrew University Armenian Texts and Studies, 5]. Armenian text and English translation, with Introduction and extensive commentary, Peeters, Leuven 2005, Pp. vi, 307.
 Moses Khorenatsi, History of the Armenians. New and revised edition of the 1978 Harvard University Press edition, Caravan Books, Ann Arbor, 2006, Pp. xxi, 420.
 Nerses of Lambron, Commentary on the Book of Revelation [Hebrew University Armenian texts and Studies, 9]. English translation, with Introduction and commentary. Peeters Publishers, Leuven, 2007, Pp. xi, 225.

Footnotes

Armenian studies scholars
Harvard University faculty
Statutory Professors of the University of Oxford
1934 births
2018 deaths
People from Cheam

Robert W. Thomson


Peter Bardens (19 June 1945 – 22 January 2002) was an English keyboardist and a founding member of the British progressive rock group Camel. He played keyboards, sang, and wrote songs with Andrew Latimer. During his career, Bardens worked alongside Rod Stewart, Peter Green, Mick Fleetwood and Van Morrison. He recorded eleven solo albums.

Career
Bardens was born in Westminster, London, England, to Marie Marks and Dennis Bardens, the latter a novelist and biographer, and grew up in Notting Hill. He studied fine art at Byam Shaw School of Art, and learned the piano, before switching to the Hammond organ after listening to Jimmy Smith. In 1965, he spent a brief spell with Them after leaving The Cheynes. After leaving Them, he formed a band called The Peter B's, releasing a single, in 1966, called "If You Wanna Be Happy" (b/w "Jodrell Blues"), an instrumental version of the old standard. He moved on and formed Peter B's Looners which eventually morphed into Shotgun Express, a band that played soul music and featured Rod Stewart, Peter Green, and Mick Fleetwood. Fleetwood later said Barden's recruitment into the band kick-started his musical career.

From August 1968 to February 1970, he formed The Village with featured future Elvis Costello and The Attractions bassist Bruce Thomas and Bill Porter (drums). They released a single "Man in the Moon"/"Long Time Coming".

In 1970, Bardens recorded The Answer, an album featuring Peter Green and Andy Gee. Bardens recorded an eponymous album in 1971 which was released in the United States as Write My Name in the Dust before forming Camel in 1972. He left Camel in 1978 to join Them bandmate Van Morrison's band. He recorded Wavelength with Morrison and appeared in the line up of the album's promotional tour. By the end of the 1970s, Bardens began exploring electronica and released the album Heart to Heart in 1979.

Bardens co-wrote "Looking for a Good Time" with Bobby Tench, featured as the B-side of the single "Chain Gang" (1982), which Tench had recorded as a tribute to Sam Cooke. During that era, Bardens also played with the Alan Parsons Project. In 1984, he became a member of Keats (an Alan Parsons Project offshoot) and released an album with them.

In 1985 he recorded the single "Solo" with the band Solo, and in 1986 he produced a Leo Sayer version of the song.

Bardens continued to release a number of solo electronic albums including Seen One Earth (1987), which found chart success in the United States. The first single from the album, "In Dreams", was met with commercial success as well. The song enjoyed heavy airplay on rock stations in the U.S. and Australia, where Triple M Brisbane, the most popular radio station in the country at the time, added it to their playlist. In 1988, he followed this with Speed of Light (1988) which featured Mick Fleetwood. "Gold" from this album was released in the U.S as a single and found some success on MTV.

He released Water Colours in 1991, and Big Sky in 1994. Also in 1994, with his former Camel bandmate Andy Ward and former members of Caravan, he formed the band Mirage for a brief European tour. A subsequent, all-American version of the band, with only Bardens and guitarist Steve Adams from the original line-up, did more touring in 1996.

His last concert, subsequent to being diagnosed with a brain tumour, was in Los Angeles in the summer of 2001. Other performers who joined him at his concert included Mick Fleetwood, John Mayall, John McVie, Sheila E. and Ben Harper.

Bardens died from lung cancer in Malibu in January 2002, at the age of 56, and is interred in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. A double CD, Write My Name in the Dust: The Anthology 1963–2002, was released after his death and included tracks recorded throughout his career.

Discography

Solo studio albums
1970 – The Answer
1971 – Peter Bardens ('Write My Name in the Dust' in the U.S.)
1976 – Vintage 69
1979 – Heart to Heart
1987 – Seen One Earth
1988 – Speed of Light
1991 – Water Colors
1993 – Further Than You Know
1994 – Big Sky
2002 – The Art of Levitation
2005 – Write My Name In The Dust: The Anthology 1963–2002

Solo singles
1971 – "Homage to the God of Light"
1987 – "In Dreams"
1988 – "Gold"
1988 – "Whisper in the Wind"
1991 – "A Higher Ground"

Studio albums with Them
The Angry Young Them (1965)

Studio albums with Van Morrison
Wavelength (1978)

Studio albums with Camel
Camel (1973)
Mirage (1974)
The Snow Goose (1975)
Moonmadness (1976)
Rain Dances (1977)
Breathless (1978)
The Single Factor (1982) (guest)

Live albums with Camel
Greasy Truckers Live at Dingwalls Dance Hall (1974) (Camel + Various Artists. Includes 19-minute version of Camel's 'God of Light Revisited''')A Live Record (1978) (live, various venues 1974, 1975, 1977)Pressure Points: Live in Concert (1984) (live, 11 May 1984, Hammersmith Odeon, London, UK)On the Road 1972 (1992) (live, venue unspecified)Gods of Light '73-'75 (2000) (live, various venues'')

Single with the band Solo
"Solo" (1985)

References

External links

1945 births
2002 deaths
Burials at Hollywood Forever Cemetery
Camel (band) members
Canterbury scene
Deaths from lung cancer in California
English rock keyboardists
English rock pianists
English organists
British male organists
Musicians from Westminster
Them (band) members
Mirage (British band) members
20th-century Irish male musicians
Progressive rock keyboardists
Shotgun Express members

Peter Bardens