The Crescent City-class attack transport was a class of U.S. Navy attack transports that saw service in World War II and the Korean War. There were four ships in the class: USS Crescent City, USS Charles Carroll, USS Monrovia, and USS Calvert.

Like all attack transports, the purpose of the Crescent City ships was to transport troops and their equipment to foreign shores in order to execute amphibious invasions using an array of smaller assault boats integral to the attack transport itself. Also like all the attack transports, the class was armed with antiaircraft weaponry to protect itself and its cargo of troops from air attack in the battle zone.

Class history

The Crescent City class began as a class of Navy transport ships (classification AP). Like many other transports, they were redesignated attack transports (APA) on 1 February 1943, the date on which the Navy formalized its separate classification of transport vessels into ordinary transports and attack transports. Unlike many other classes of attack transport, there was no consistent naming convention for these vessels, with individual ships being named after cities, national heroes, or counties of the United States.

The four ships of the Crescent City class were based on the Maritime Commission's ubiquitous Type C3 merchant/auxiliary hull (specifically, the C3-P or C3-Delta types). These were pre-war merchant ship hull types which had been specifically designed with prospective Naval auxiliary service in mind.

All four ships were laid down by Bethlehem Steel at their Sparrow's Point shipyard, but the lead ship, the eponymous Crescent City was launched almost two years before the others, in February 1940. The remaining three were launched between March and September 1942. The commissioning dates were not so far apart though, since Crescent City had to undergo several months converting to an attack transport before she was ready to serve in October '41. The rest were commissioned from August to December '42. The build time for these ships, from laying down to commission, appears to have been about nine months - relatively fast for the C3 type.

The Crescent City class ships were notable for their variety of armament - no two ships had the same configuration. The ships were fitted out with either three or four 3"/50 caliber guns but the last two also got one 5"/38 caliber gun - a superior weapon which had proven its effectiveness in the antiaircraft role and which all later classes of APA received. The remainder of the weaponry was made up of an assortment of 40 mm and 20 mm guns.

The ships had a moderate troop capacity of around 1,200 to 1,500 men, and a useful cargo capacity of 2,300 to 2,700 tons.

In service

The last three ships in the class saw service in both the Mediterranean and Pacific Theatres, with one, Charles Carroll, also participating in the Normandy landings in France. Crescent City, the lead ship and first to be commissioned, spent the entirety of the war in the Pacific Theatre, where she accumulated an impressive ten battle stars.

Immediately after the end of the war, the ships were engaged in the redeployment of troops for occupation duties in Japan and its former territories in China and Korea, before taking part in Operation Magic Carpet, the massive sealift organized to return demobilizing troops home to the United States.  The ships were then decommissioned between 1946 and 1948, but two, Monrovia and Calvert, were recommissioned in 1950 for the Korean War, where Calvert earned an additional two battle stars to add to the eight received for her World War II service.

Subsequently, the ships were decommissioned one by one, from 1968 to 1977, but Crescent City was given a new lease of life as a training ship for the California Maritime Academy from 1971 to 1995. She was revived again as Artship from 1999 to 2004, but has since joined her sister ships in the scrapyard.

The Crescent City class as a whole earned an impressive 33 battle stars and two Navy Unit Commendations for their military service.

References

External links
Hazegrey.org, DANFS Online - individual DANFS ship entries (APA numbers 21, 28, 31 and 32)

Crescent City-class attack transport


Fish Fillets NG, originally just Fish Fillets, is a puzzle video game developed and released by Altar Games in 1998. The game's goal is in each level to find a safe way out for both of the two fish. Fish Fillets is comparable to other sliding puzzle games such as sokoban and klotski, while it has a few additional elements and rules.

Gameplay

The game involves two fish, both controlled by the player, moving various objects and obstacles around until they may both safely exit the level. Unlike many other sliding puzzle games, this one has gravity, and an unsupported object will fall until it lands on something else. If an object falls onto one of the fish, it dies and the level cannot be completed unless restarted. One of the fish is larger, and only he may lift or push certain objects (steel objects), which adds another level of complication to the puzzles. Another important, complicating rule is that no object may be slid across the back of a fish, as this is considered to be the same as an object landing on a fish's back. However, a fish who is holding up an object may swim back and forth underneath it and an object may be slid exactly one unit off of a fish's back if it is moving onto solid support in the process. The game has background music and, on many levels, some animated effects, though neither normally has an effect on game play.

History
The game was originally created by Czech video game developer Altar Games and released commercially in 1998. In 2002, it was relicensed and released under the GNU GPL-2.0-or-later on SourceForge. In 2004 fans created a new version ("Next Generation") based on the open-source release. The fan community ported the game to many other operating systems, created an extra branch of levels, and translated it to many languages.

Reception
Fish Fillets was selected in March 2008 as "HotPick" by Linux Format.

Fish Fillets NG was downloaded between 2004 and May 2017 alone via SourceForge.net over 180,000 times.

References

External links
 Fish Fillets NG Home page on sourceforge.net

AmigaOS 4 games
Open-source video games
Linux games
MacOS games
Puzzle video games
Video games developed in the Czech Republic
Windows games
Android (operating system) games
Free and open-source Android software
Commercial video games with freely available source code
Video games set underwater

Fish Fillets NG


Cardiaspina fiscella, the brown basket lerp or brown lace lerp, is a jumping plant louse species in the genus Cardiaspina originally found in Australia. It spread to New Zealand where it was found in 1996 near the Auckland airport. It feeds on eucalyptus, especially swamp mahogany, and is found in Victoria, eastern New South Wales, and southeastern Queensland, as well as the capital territory (ACT) around Canberra and on Norfolk Island. Cardiaspina fiscella has five nymphal instars, and as the instars moult they add a layer to their outside covering (casing), known as the "lerp".

References

External links

Aphalaridae
Insects described in 1962
Hemiptera of Australia

Cardiaspina fiscella


Sri Lanka Freedom Socialist Party was a political party in Sri Lanka. SLFSP was formed in 1964 by C. P. de Silva when he broke away from the Sri Lanka Freedom Party. In the 1965 elections, SLFSP contested in coalition with the United National Party. In total SLFSP had 32 candidates, who received a total of 130 429 votes (3.2% of the nationwide vote). Five MPs were elected from the party. SLFSP joined the coalition government led by UNP.

SLFSP amalgamated the Lanka Prajathanthravadi Pakshaya. Soon thereafter SLFSP merged into UNP.

Electoral history

1964 establishments in Ceylon
Defunct political parties in Sri Lanka
Political parties established in 1964
Political parties in Sri Lanka
Socialist parties in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka Freedom Socialist Party


Tripoli or Tripolis (from , meaning "three cities") may refer to:

Places

Greece
Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece
Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in the Pelasgiotis district, Thessaly, near Larissa
Tripolis (Perrhaebia), a district of three cities in ancient Perrhaebia, Thessaly, Greece
Tripolis (region of Laconia), a district in ancient Laconia, Greece
Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece

Lebanon
Tripoli, Lebanon, the second largest city in Lebanon
Tripoli District, Lebanon, a district in North Governorate
Tripolis (region of Phoenicia), a maritime district in ancient Phoenicia
County of Tripoli, one of the medieval Crusader states centered in Tripoli, Lebanon
Eyalet of Tripoli, a province of the Ottoman Empire centered in Tripoli, Lebanon
Port of Tripoli (Lebanon)

Libya
Tripoli, Libya, the capital of Libya
Tripoli District, Libya, one of Libya's districts
Tripolitania, a historic region of Libya
Ottoman Tripolitania, frequently described as the "Kingdom of Tripoli"
Tripolis (region of Africa), a district in ancient Tripolitania

Turkey
Tripolis ad Maeandrum, an ancient city In Asia Minor, on the borders of Lydia, Caria and Phrygia
Tripolis (Pontus), an ancient Greek city in the Pontus region of Turkey
Tirebolu, the modern city in Giresun Province, Turkey, taking its name from and located on the site

United States
Tripoli, Iowa, a city in Bremer County, Iowa, United States
Tripoli, Wisconsin, an unincorporated community in Wisconsin, United States
New Tripoli, Pennsylvania, a village in Pennsylvania, United States

People
Leo of Tripoli (early 10th century), a Greek renegade and fleet commander for the Abbasid Caliphate
Melisende of Tripoli (fl. around 1160), daughter of the ruler of the Crusader County of Tripoli, Lebanon
Salvatore Tripoli (1904–1990), American professional boxer and Olympic medalist
Tony Tripoli (born 1969), American actor and LGBT rights activist
Jaman Tripoli (fl. 1998-2005), American soccer player
Pietro Tripoli (born 1987), Italian footballer

Entertainment
Tripoli (film), a 1950 American adventure film
"Tripoli", a song by Matthew Good Band from The Audio of Being
"Tripoli", a song by Pinback from Pinback
 Moses Tripoli, a reincarnation of the character Hanzee Dent in the TV show Fargo

Sport
AC Tripoli, an association football club in Tripoli, Lebanon
Al Mouttahed Tripoli, or United Club Tripoli, a sports club in Tripoli, Lebanon
Asteras Tripoli F.C., an association football club in Tripoli, Greece
Tripoli Grand Prix, a car race held between 1925-1940 outside Tripoli, Libya

Other uses
, various US Navy ships
Rotten stone, a polishing agent also known as tripoli

See also
Siege of Tripoli (disambiguation)
Bombardment of Tripoli (disambiguation)
History of Tripoli (disambiguation)
Raymond of Tripoli (disambiguation)
Tripoli air crash (disambiguation)
Tripoli Airport (disambiguation)
Tripoli Creek (disambiguation)
Tripoli Lake (disambiguation)

Tarablus (disambiguation), Arabic form of the Greek word
Tri-Cities (disambiguation), English equivalent of the Greek word

Tripoli


Billy the Marlin is the official mascot of the Miami Marlins baseball franchise. At 8 feet tall and 250 pounds, he is "a natural-born clown and good-natured prankster". He appears at every Marlins home game at LoanDepot Park, and performs his own routine in the middle of the 5th inning.

Early history
Of unknown age, the character debuted on February 25, 1993. According to his employers, Billy the Marlin "was handpicked not only for his skill, cunning and great competitive nature, but most of all for his outstanding sense of humor and great rapport with baseball fans of all ages." Officially the son of William and Willamina Marlin.

His name was picked by original owner Wayne Huizenga because a marlin is a type of billfish, and Mr. Huizenga reportedly wanted a name that was different from the baseball-type names of other mascots, easier for children to remember.

Skydiving mishap
U.S. Navy SEAL parachutist, Lou Langlais, dressed as Billy the Marlin, lost the costume's five-pound head to a gust of wind while parachuting towards (the then named) Pro Player Stadium on Opening Day of the 1997 season, April 1.  Langlais altered his course to land outside the stadium, allowing another Billy to make a regular appearance on the field.  The head was recovered in good shape, apart from a scratch to the neck, two months later by Victor Rowe and Mike Zinniger at the side of Florida's Turnpike.

John Routh's tenure
For the first ten years in the major leagues he was played by John Routh (who at the time also portrayed Sebastian the Ibis at Miami Hurricanes sporting events), until he was fired in 2003 as part of budget cuts. Routh was reported to have been earning in excess of $80,000 p.a. at the time.

During Routh's tenure, Billy the Marlin regularly launched a tightly wadded T-shirt out of a pressurized air gun. In one instance, a shirt accidentally hit an elderly man in the eye, temporarily knocking the man unconscious. The man later filed an unsuccessful $250,000 lawsuit. After a five-day trial, Routh was found "not negligent" by the jury. The man's companion at the game admitted that during a scramble for a T-shirt that landed in the row in front of them, that another fan may have hit him with an elbow. During the trial, a local TV station wanted footage of Routh testifying, but the judge ruled that "just as children believe in Santa Claus, South Florida children believe in Billy the Marlin", so Routh's face was ordered to not be shown.

After Routh

On September 13, 2004, Billy the Marlin made a home game appearance at U.S. Cellular Field. The Florida Marlins, displaced because of Hurricane Ivan, beat the Montreal Expos 6-3 in Chicago in the relocated game.

In 2005, Billy the Marlin made some 450 appearances a year outside of games, the Marlins charging $350 an hour. In contrast to the Routh era when he was allowed to keep all of his off-field income, the Marlins split appearance money with the mascot's portrayer – the team's portion going to the team's charitable foundation.

Topps featured Billy the Marlin in their 2007 Opening Day Baseball series as card #198, released 03/14/2007.

Current activities
Billy the Marlin was nominated for the Mascot Hall of Fame's "Golden Silly String Award" in August 2008. His opponents in the professional category were Globie (Harlem Globetrotters), Hugo (New Orleans Hornets), Rocky (Denver Nuggets), and Slider (Cleveland Indians). In spite of winning the readers' on-line poll, Billy ultimately lost the inductee position to Slider.

Billy's Bunch is an official fan club for kids ages 12 and under. Billy's Bunch is also the name of a 30-minute SunSports/FSFlorida TV show. Formerly Marlins StrikeZone, the new format premiered April 5, 2008.

Billy the Marlin also has starred in several This is SportsCenter commercials.

References

See also
List of Major League Baseball mascots

Major League Baseball team mascots
Miami Marlins
Fish mascots
Mascots introduced in 1993
Culture of Miami

Billy the Marlin


Ameurfina Melencio-Herrera (born Ameurfina Aguinaldo Melencio; 11 May 1922 – 12 October 2020) was a Filipino lawyer who served as an Associate Justice of the Philippine Supreme Court from 1979 to 1992. She was the second woman appointed to the Supreme Court, filling the vacancy left by the retirement of the first female Supreme Court Justice, Cecilia Muñoz-Palma.

Personal life

Born in Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija to Jose P. and Carmen (née Aguinaldo) Melencio, Herrera was a granddaughter of Emilio Aguinaldo, the first President of the Philippines. Among the future Justice's baptismal godfathers was Supreme Court justice George A. Malcolm, who also happened to be the founder of the law school she would later attend, the University of the Philippines College of Law.

Melencio-Herrera died on 12 October 2020 at the age of 98.

Early career

Herrera studied law at the University of the Philippines and graduated cum laude in 1947. She topped the 1947 Philippine Bar Examinations with a 93.85% bar rating. She has attained the highest rating for all women bar examinees in Philippine Bar history. After a brief stint with a New York City law firm, Herrera engaged in private practice for several years until she was appointed to the judiciary. From 1962 to 1973, Herrera served as a trial court judge assigned in Quezon Province, then the City of Manila. She was appointed to the Court of Appeals in 1973.

Supreme Court

Herrera was elevated to the Supreme Court by President Ferdinand Marcos in 1979. When Corazon Aquino assumed the presidency following the 1986 EDSA Revolution, the incumbent members of the Supreme Court, all of whom were Marcos appointees, were asked to resign. Herrera, along with Claudio Teehankee Sr., Vicente Abad Santos, Nestor Alampay, and Hugo Gutierrez Jr. were the only incumbent justices who retained their seats on the bench. Aquino, however, opted to extend new appointments to these justices in lieu of extending their previous appointment by Marcos. Prior to re-appointing Herrera, Alampay and Gutierrez Jr. on 16 April 1986, Aquino appointed three new members to the Supreme Court, Jose Feria, Marcelo Fernan and Andres Narvasa. As a result, Herrera, Alampay and Gutierrez Jr. were supplanted in seniority by the Aquino appointees.

When Chief Justice Marcelo Fernan resigned in 1992 to run for the vice-presidency, Herrera was widely regarded as a leading contender to replace him. Because she was overtaken in seniority by Narvasa after the 1986 reorganization, however, it was Narvasa who was named Chief Justice, although Herrera had served on the Court longer.

Herrera retired in May 1992, and was named as the Chancellor of the Philippine Judicial Academy upon its inception in 1996. The academy is tasked with the professional training of members of the Philippines judiciary. Herrera served as Chancellor until May 2009.

References

 Supreme Court E-library: The Memorabilia Room; accessed 27 April 2015.

Notes

1922 births
2020 deaths
Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the Philippines
Filipino women lawyers
University of the Philippines alumni
Aguinaldo family
People from Cabanatuan
Justices of the Court of Appeals of the Philippines
Filipino women judges
20th-century women judges

Ameurfina Melencio-Herrera


George Martin Lane (December 24, 1823 – June 30, 1897)  was an American scholar.

Life and career
Lane was born in Charlestown, Massachusetts. He graduated in 1846 from Harvard, and from 1847 to 1851 studied at the universities of Berlin, Bonn, Heidelberg, and Göttingen. In 1851, he received his doctorate at Göttingen for his dissertation Smyrnaeorum Res Gestae et Antiquitates and upon returning to America was appointed university professor of Latin at Harvard College.

From 1869 until 1894, when he resigned and became professor emeritus, he was Pope Professor of Latin in the same institution. His Latin Pronunciation, which led to the rejection of the English method of Latin pronunciation in the United States, was published in 1871.

His Latin Grammar, completed and published by Professor Morris H. Morgan in the following year, is of high value. Lane's assistance in the preparation of Harper's Latin lexicons was also invaluable. He wrote English light verse with humor and fluency, and two of his efforts, "Jonah" or "In the Black Whale at Ascalon"  and "The Ballad of the Lone Fish Ball", became famous as songs after being set to music.

Upon Lane's retirement in 1894, Harvard granted him an honorary degree as well as the first pension it had ever granted a faculty member which, according to Lane, was enough to support him for the rest of his life.

"The Lone Fish Ball"
In 1855, while living at Cloverden in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Lane wrote the song "The Lone Fish Ball"; after decades as a staple of Harvard undergraduates, it was modernized into the popular hit "One Meat Ball". The song is set to the tune of an old song titled "Sipping Cider Through a Straw".

According to Morgan, the song is based upon an actual experience of Lane's at a restaurant in Boston, although the reality involved a half-portion of macaroni, rather than a fish ball. The song goes on to relate the impoverished diner's embarrassment at the hands of a disdainful waiter. After becoming popular among Harvard undergraduates, it was translated into a mock Italian operetta, Il Pesceballo by faculty members Francis James Child, James Russell Lowell, and John Knowles Paine, set to a pastiche of grand opera music, and performed in Boston and Cambridge to raise funds for the Union Army. A fish ball, in New England, was fish and potatoes, pan fried together for breakfast.

In 1944, the song was revived by Tin Pan Alley songwriters Hy Zaret and Lou Singer in a more bluesy format as "One Meat Ball" and popularized by Tony Pastor: The recording by Josh White later became one of the  biggest hits of the early part of the American folk music revival. Over the years, it was recorded by Candy Candido, the Andrews Sisters, Bing Crosby, Jimmy Savo, Lightnin' Hopkins, Lonnie Donegan, Dave Van Ronk, Ry Cooder, Washboard Jungle, Tom Paxton, Shinehead, Ann Rabson, Calvin Russell, Josh White, among others.

References

Bibliography

External links

1823 births
1897 deaths
American philologists
Harvard University alumni
American Latinists
University of Bonn alumni
Harvard University faculty
People from Charlestown, Boston

George Martin Lane


Ivan Ivanovich Krasnov  (1802–1871) was a Russian general and author.

Military career
He was born in 1802, grandson to the general Ivan Kuzmich Krasnov (1752–1812), fellow-fighter of Alexander Suvorov and Matvey Platov. Ivan Ivanovich Krasnov was educated at the boarding-school by Kharkov University. He began military service  in 1816 at the Life Guards of the Cossacks Regiment. Three years later, he was promoted to the rank of aide-de-camp to Vasily Orlov-Denisov, commander of the 2nd Cavalry Corps. He participated at the Russo-Turkish War, 1828–1829, and subdued the Polish rebels during the November Uprising in 1831. Afterwards, he returned home to the Don Voisko Province.

In 1838, Ivan Krasnov was elected the director of the board of the Don Cossack Voisko and assistant to the Ataman for civil affairs. In 1841–1842 he served as Cossack field chieftain of Don Cossack Voisko regiments in the Caucasus and wrote the book Notes on the War in Caucasus (Записки о кавказской войне). In 1843–1848 he commanded the Life Guards of the Cossacks regiment. During Crimean War Krasnov served in the rank of field chieftain (ataman) of Don Cossack Voisko regiments within the Crimean Army, and organized the defense of the city of Taganrog during the Siege of Taganrog in 1855. In 1856 he was appointed general of the 4th military district of Don Voisko.

Literary activity
After the end of Crimean War, Ivan Ivanovich Krasnov returned to his social activities. He regularly published several articles in Don Voisko News (Донские Войсковые Ведомости), Military Review (Военный сборник) and other periodicals. His most important articles dedicated to Don Voisko are:

 On the Service of Don Cossacks (О донской казачьей службе) published in Military Review (Военный сборник) 1858 number 2
 Don Cossacks Up-River and in the Lower Don (Низовые и верховые донские казаки) published in Military Review (Военный сборник) 1858 number 2
 Ukrainian on the Don, Parties on the Don, On the Service of Cossacks, Don People on Caucasus in Military Review (Военный сборник) 1861 number 9
 Defense of Taganrog and Azov Sea Coast in 1855 (Saint Petersburg, 1862);
 Nationalities within the Don Cossack Voisko and Local patriotism in the Don Cossack Voisko in Modern Chronicle (Современная летопись), 1865 number 16
 In Response to the Proposal on Formation of Cossack Regiments in Military Review (Военный сборник) 1865 number 11.
The most interesting work in terms of historical importance would be his Notes of the War in Caucasus, providing materials on the history of the Life Guards of the Cossack regiment. Ivan I. Krasnov started his literary activity with poems, such as Quiet Flows the Don, Prince Vasil'ko and more.

See also
Nikolay Krasnov
Siege of Taganrog

External links and references

 Taganrog Encyclopaedia, Taganrog, 2002
 History of Taganrog by Pavel Filevsky, Moscow, 1898

1802 births
1871 deaths
Don Cossacks
Imperial Russian Army generals
Russian military personnel of the Crimean War
Russian people of the November Uprising

Ivan Krasnov


Mexia  is an unincorporated community in Monroe County, Alabama, United States. Mexia is located on Alabama State Route 47,  west-southwest of Monroeville. Mexia has a post office with ZIP code 36458. Mexia has two small historic cemeteries on Thompson Road and Rolland Road. The largest church in Mexia is Mexia Baptist Church located on Old Salem Road. In Mexia there is also New Chapel Baptist Church located on Snowden Road, and Old Salem Baptist Church located on Old Salem Creek Road.

References

Unincorporated communities in Monroe County, Alabama
Unincorporated communities in Alabama

Mexia, Alabama


The common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus) is a small, leaf-nosed bat native to the Neotropics. It is one of three extant species of vampire bat, the other two being the hairy-legged and the white-winged vampire bats. The common vampire bat practices hematophagy, mainly feeding on the blood of livestock. The bat usually approaches its prey at night while they are sleeping. It then uses its razor-sharp teeth to cut open the skin of its hosts and lap up their blood with its long tongue.

The species is highly polygynous, and dominant adult males defend groups of females. It is one of the most social of bat species with a number of cooperative behaviors such as social grooming and food sharing. Because it feeds on livestock and is a carrier of rabies, the common vampire bat is considered a pest. Its conservation status is categorized as Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) because of "its wide distribution, presumed large population tolerance of a degree of habitat modification, and because it is unlikely to be declining at nearly the rate required to qualify for listing in a threatened category."

Taxonomy
The common vampire bat was first described as Phyllostoma rotundum by Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire in 1810. Another description was published in 1826 as a new species Desmodus rufus by Maximilian Wied, in the second volume of his work detailing his explorations in Brazil, erecting a new genus Desmodus.
The species received several scientific names before being given its current one—Desmodus rotundus—by Oldfield Thomas in 1901. It is classified under the subfamily Desmodontinae along with two other species: the hairy-legged vampire bat (Diphylla ecaudata), and the white-winged vampire bat (Diaemus youngi). These three species compose the "true" vampire bats, as opposed to the "false" vampires of the family Megadermatidae and the spectral bat. All three species of Desmodontinae specialize in feeding on the blood of warm-blooded animals. However, the common vampire bat feeds on mammalian blood more than the other two species, which primarily feed on that of birds. The three species resemble each other, but the common vampire bat can be distinguished by its longer thumb. It is the only extant member of its genus, although other fossil species have been described. It has a haploid number of 14, for a karyotype of 28 chromosomes.

A description published under the name Desmodus puntajudensi (Cuban vampire bat) by Woloszyn and Mayo in 1974 was later recognized as synonymous with this species.

Physical description

The common vampire bat is short-haired, with silver-gray fur on its undersides, demarcated from the darker fur on its back. It has a deeply grooved lower lip, and a flat, leaf-shaped nose. A well-developed, clawed thumb on each wing is used to climb onto prey and to assist the animal in take-off. The bat averages about 9 cm (3.5 in) long with a wingspan of 18 cm (7 in). It commonly weighs about 25–40  grams (2 oz), but its weight can drastically increase after a single feeding.  The braincase is relatively large, but the snout is reduced to accommodate large incisors and canines. It has the fewest teeth among bats. The upper incisors lack enamel, which keeps them razor-sharp. Its dental formula is , for a total of 18 teeth.

While most other bats have almost completely lost the ability to maneuver on land, vampire bats are an exception. They can run using a unique, bounding gait in which the forelimbs are used instead of the hindlimbs to propel forward, as the wings are much more powerful than the legs. This ability likely evolved independently within the bat lineage. Three pads under the thumb function like a sole. It is also capable of leaping in various directions, heights, and distances. When making a jump, the bat pushes up with its pectoral limbs. The hindlimbs keep the body over the pectoral limbs which are stabilized by the thumbs.

Common vampire bats have good eyesight. They are able to distinguish different optical patterns and may use vision for long-range orientation. These bats also have well-developed senses of smell and hearing: the cochlea is highly sensitive to low-frequency acoustics, and the nasal passages are relatively large. They emit echolocation signals orally, and thus fly with their mouths open for navigation. They can identify a metal strip  wide at a distance of , which is moderate compared to other bats.

Range and habitat
The common vampire bat is found in parts of Mexico, Central America, and South America, as well as the Caribbean islands of Margarita and Trinidad. They can be found as far north as  south of the Mexico–United States border. Fossils of this species have been found in Florida and states bordering Mexico. The common vampire is the most common bat species in southeastern Brazil. The southern extent of its range is Uruguay, northern Argentina, and central Chile. In the West Indies, the bat is only found on Trinidad. It prefers warm and humid climates, and uses tropical and subtropical woodlands and open grasslands for foraging. Bats roost in trees, caves, abandoned buildings, old wells, and mines. Vampire bats will roost with about 45 other bat species, and tend to be the most dominant at roosting sites. They occupy the darkest and highest places in the roosts; when they leave, other bat species move in to take over these vacated spots.

Behavior

Feeding

The common vampire bat feeds primarily on mammalian blood, particularly that of livestock such as cattle and horses. Vampire bats feed on wild prey like the tapir, but seem to prefer domesticated animals, and favor horses over cattle when given the choice. Female animals, particularly those in estrus, are more often targeted than males. This could be because of the hormones.

Vampire bats hunt at night, using echolocation and olfaction to track down prey. They feed in a distance of  from their roosts. When a bat selects a target, it lands on it, or jumps up onto it from the ground, usually targeting the rump, flank, or neck of its prey; heat sensors in the nose help it to detect blood vessels near the surface of the skin. It pierces the animal's skin with its teeth, biting away a small flap, and laps up the blood with its tongue, which has lateral grooves adapted to this purpose. The blood is kept from clotting by an anticoagulant in the saliva.

They are protective of their host and will fend off other bats while feeding. It is uncommon for two or more bats to feed on the same host, with the exception of mothers and their offspring.

Mating and reproduction

Male vampire bats guard roosting sites that attract females, but females often switch roosts.

During estrus, a female releases one egg. Mating usually lasts three to four minutes; the male bat mounts the female from the posterior end, grasps her back with his teeth, holds down her folded wings, and inseminates her. Vampire bats are reproductively active year-round, although the number of conceptions and births peak in the rainy season. Females give birth to one offspring per pregnancy, following a gestation period of about seven months. The young are raised primarily by the females. Mothers leave their young to hunt, and call their young to feed upon returning. The young accompany their mothers to hunt at six months, but are not fully weaned until nine months. Female offspring usually remain in their natal groups into adulthood, unless their mothers die or move. The occasional movements of unrelated females between groups leads to the formation of multiple matrilines within groups. Male offspring tend to live in their natal groups until they are one to two years old, sometimes being forced out by the resident adult males.

Cooperation

Regurgitated food sharing in common vampire bats has been studied in both the lab and field, and is predicted by kinship, association, and reciprocal help   In a field study conducted in Costa Rica from 1978 to 1983, vampire bats frequently switched between several roost trees and co-roosted with kin and non-kin. Mean genetic kinship within roosting groups was low (r = 0.03 − 0.11), but 95% of food sharing observed in the wild occurred between close kin (first cousins or higher). Most observed food sharing (70%) was mothers feeding their pups. The non-maternal sharing events were kin-biased suggesting that vampire bats prefer to help relatives. However, non-maternal food sharing is even better explained by frequency of interaction, even after controlling for kinship. Food sharing was only observed when the co-roosting association was greater than 60%. Food sharing appears to require social bonds that require development over long periods of time.  Among familiar bats, the amount of food given from bat A to bat B is best predicted by the amount of food given from bat B to A. Reciprocal sharing is most obvious over longer time spans as found in primate cooperation.

Vampire bats also participate in mutual grooming; two bats groom each other simultaneously to clean one another, and to strengthen social bonds. Bats that groom one another also share food. It was suggested that while grooming, a bat might assess the size of its partner's abdomen to determine if it really needs to eat.

Relationship with humans

The highest occurrence of rabies in vampire bats occurs in the large populations found in South America. The danger is not so much to the human population, but rather to livestock. Joseph Lennox Pawan, a government bacteriologist in Trinidad, found the first infected vampire bat in March 1932. He soon proved various species of bat, including the common vampire bat, are capable of transmitting rabies for an extended period of time without artificial infection or external symptoms. Fruit bats of the genus Artibeus were later shown to demonstrate the same abilities. During this asymptomatic stage, the bats continue to behave normally and breed. At first, Pawan's finding that bats transmitted rabies to people and animals were thought fantastic and were ridiculed.

Although most bats do not have rabies, those that do may be clumsy, disoriented, and unable to fly, which makes them more likely to come into contact with humans. There is evidence that it is possible for the rabies virus to infect a host purely through airborne transmission, without direct physical contact of the victim with the bat. Although one should not have an unreasonable fear of bats, one should avoid handling them or having them in one's living space, as with any wild animal. Medical attention should be given to any person who awakens to discover a vampire bat in their sleeping quarters. It is possible that young children may not fully awaken due to the presence of a bat (or its bite).

The unique properties of the vampire bats' saliva have found some positive use in medicine. A genetically engineered drug called desmoteplase, which uses the anticoagulant properties of the saliva of Desmodus rotundus, has been shown to increase blood flow in stroke patients.

See also
Chupacabra
Hematophagy
Peuchen

References

External links

 Socialbat.org – a blog about vampire bats
 ARKive – images and movies of the Common Vampire Bat (Desmodus rotundus)
 National Geographic site with photos and other media
 Bio-geography of the Vampire Bat from SFSU

Desmodus
Bats of Central America
Bats of North America
Bats of South America
Bats of Brazil
Bats of Mexico
Mammals of the Caribbean
Mammals of Chile
Mammals of Colombia
Mammals of Argentina
Mammals of Peru
Mammals of Bolivia
Mammals of Trinidad and Tobago
Mammals of Guyana
Mammals described in 1810
Vampire bats

Common vampire bat


List of famous Transylvanian personalities by era and by birth date. The list contains people who born or lived in Transylvania.

15th century

 John Hunyadi, (c.1406–1456), Voivode of Transylvania, Regent of Hungary
 Orban (–1453), Hungarian iron founder and engineer
 Vlad the Impaler (1428/31–1476/77), Prince of Wallachia
 Ladislaus Hunyadi (1431– 1457), Hungarian nobleman
 Matthias Corvinus (1443–1490), King of Hungary

15th – 16th century

 Stephen Báthory (1477–1534), Voivode of Transylvania
 György Dózsa (1470–1514), Székely nobleman, leader of the peasants' revolt
 Nicolaus Olahus (1493–1568), Romanian-Hungarian writer, Archbishop of Esztergom, Primate of Hungary
 Johannes Honter (1498–1549), Saxon Renaissance humanist and Protestant Reformers

16th century

 Bálint Bakfark (1507/26–1576), Hungarian composer and lutenist of the Renaissance
 Ferenc Dávid (1520–1579), Hungarian theologian, founder of the Unitarian Church of Transylvania

16th – 17th century

 Gábor Bethlen, prince of Transylvania
 Stephen Bocskai, Hungarian noble from Transylvania, prince of Transylvania
 Péter Pázmány, Hungarian theologian and writer
 István Szamosközy, Hungarian humanist and historian

17th century

 János Apáczai Csere, Hungarian writer and educator
 Johannes Caioni, Franciscan friar, the first ethnic Romanian composer

17th – 18th century

Kelemen Mikes, Hungarian writer

18th century

18th – 19th century

 Farkas Bolyai, Hungarian mathematician
 Sándor Bölöni Farkas, Hungarian writer
 Sámuel Brassai, Hungarian teacher, musician and artist
 Samuel von Brukenthal, Saxon administrator
 Sándor Kőrösi Csoma, Hungarian explorer and researcher
 Gheorghe Lazăr, Romanian teacher
 Stephan Ludwig Roth, Saxon pedagogue and Lutheran pastor
 Gheorghe Șincai, Romanian historian and pedagogue
 Alexandru Sterca-Șuluțiu, Romanian bishop
 Ioan Sterca-Șuluțiu, 1848 Romanian revolutionary
 Sámuel Teleki, Hungarian Chancellor of Transylvania, founder of the Teleki Library
 Miklós Wesselényi, Hungarian politician and writer

19th century

 George Bariț, Romanian historian and publicist
 Simion Bărnuțiu, Romanian philosopher and politician
 János Bolyai, Hungarian mathematician
 Carl Filtsch, German pianist
 Áron Gábor, Hungarian revolutionary
 Avram Iancu, Romanian revolutionary
 Zsigmond Kemény, Hungarian author
 Andrei Mureșanu, Romanian poet and revolutionary
 Balázs Orbán, Hungarian writer, historian and politician

19th – 20th century

 Arthur Arz von Straussenburg, Saxon soldier, last military leader of the Austro-Hungarian Army
 Miklós Bánffy, Hungarian nobleman, politician, and novelist.
 Béla Bartók, Hungarian composer
 Elek Benedek, Hungarian journalist and writer
 István Bethlen, was a Hungarian aristocrat, statesman, Prime Minister from 1921 to 1931.
 Lucian Blaga, Romanian poet, playwright, and philosopher
 Alexandru Borza, Romanian botanist
 Miklós Bródy, Hungarian chess master
 Badea Cârțan, Romanian explorer
Octavian Codru Tăslăuanu, Romanian writer and soldier (first in the Austro-Hungarian Army and then in the Romanian Army)
 George Coșbuc, Romanian poet
 Aron Cotruș, Romanian poet and politician
 Miron Cristea, Romanian Prime Minister and Patriarch of All Romania
 Nicolae Densuşianu, Romanian historian and ethnologist
 Octavian Goga, Romanian poet and politician
 Petru Groza, Romanian politician
 Iuliu Hossu, Romanian bishop, cardinal
 Ștefan Octavian Iosif, Romanian poet
 Elek Köblös, Hungarian ethnic Romanian politician
 Károly Kós, Hungarian architect, writer and politician
 Vasile Luca, Romanian ethnic Hungarian politician
 Áron Márton, Hungarian Catholic bishop, anticommunist dissident
 Traian Moșoiu, Romanian general and politician
 Franz Nopcsa, Austrian-Hungarian paleontologist
 József Nyírő, Hungarian writer
 Hermann Oberth, Saxon inventor and physicist
 Aurel Popovici, Romanian federalist
Sextil Pușcariu, Romanian linguist and philologist
Emil Rebreanu, ethnic-Romanian Austro-Hungarian Army officer
Liviu Rebreanu, Romanian novelist
Ilie Șteflea, Romanian Army Corps General and Chief of the Romanian General Staff for most of Romania's involvement in World War II
Vasile Suciu, Romanian bishop
Áron Tamási, Hungarian writer
 Sámuel Teleki, Austrian-Hungarian explorer
 Alexandru Vaida-Voevod, Romanian politician
 Aurel Vlaicu, Romanian aviation pioneer

20th century

 Emil Cioran, Romanian essayist and philosopher
Ion Moța, Romanian politician and volunteer soldier, deputy leader of the Iron Guard killed during the Spanish Civil War
László Rajk, Hungarian politician
Ion Rațiu, Romanian politician
Horia Sima, leader of the Iron Guard and co-leader of the National Legionary State
 Ioan Suciu, Romanian bishop
 Sándor Veress, Hungarian composer
 Albert Wass, Hungarian writer

20–21th century

 Ilinca Băcilă, Romanian singer/yodeller. Representative of Romania at the Eurovision Song Contest 2017, alongside Alex Florea.
 Albert-László Barabási, Hungarian physicist
 Oana Ban, Romanian Olympic gold medal gymnast
 László Bölöni, Romanian ethnic Hungarian football manager
 Victor Ciorbea, Romanian jurist, Romanian Ombudsman, ex-Prime Minister of Romania
 Andrei Codrescu, Romanian-American writer
 Dumitru Fărcaș, Romanian tárogató (taragot) player
 Gheorghe Funar, Romanian politician
 Gabriela Irimia, Romanian pop singer, popular in Britain, see Cheeky Girls
 Monica Irimia, Romanian pop singer, popular in Britain, see Cheeky Girls
 Sándor Kányádi, poet and translator
 Béla and Marta Károlyi, Romanian-American gymnastics coaches
 György Ligeti, Hungarian composer
 Béla Markó, Romanian ethnic Hungarian politician
 Gabriela and Mihaela Modorcea, twins sisters comprising the duo Indiggo
 Gheorghe Mureșan, Romanian basketball player
 Octavian Paler, Romanian essayist
 Florin Piersic, Romanian actor
 Dumitru Prunariu, Romanian cosmonaut
 András Sütő, Hungarian writer
 Gabriela Szabo, Romanian athlete
 Alexandru Todea, Romanian bishop, cardinal
 László Tőkés, Hungarian bishop

Transylvanians

Transylvanians
Hungary history-related lists

List of Transylvanians


Melody Patricia Patterson (April 16, 1949 – August 20, 2015) was an American actress known for her role as Wrangler Jane in the 1960s television series F Troop and for her role as Ellie in the horror film Blood and Lace (1971).

Early life
Melody Patterson was born on April 16, 1949, in Inglewood, California. She was the daughter of machinist Pat Patterson and the former Rosemary Wilson, an official in the Miss Universe contest. Her mother had been a dancer with Warner Bros., who "doubled for Joan Crawford in several films."

She started performing at the age of four, appearing in Mrs. McThing at the Downey Community Theatre in Downey, California. Patterson wrote and directed a play at the age of five. Before turning 10, she had also been a photographer's model, an actress, and an ice skater. In the ninth grade, she enrolled in the Hollywood Professional School. She continued her education in the Warner Bros. school while she acted on F Troop.  She attended the Hollywood Professional School and later studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City.

Career
Patterson in 1965 reportedly auditioned for F Troop on a lark. To her surprise, she was asked to read some lines from the script of the Doris Day Calamity Jane film, which happened to be Patterson's favorite movie, one that she had seen enough times on television to know "every scene and line from the film". Her reading impressed the producers and led to her being cast as Wrangler Jane. She, however, was not quite 16 years old, and she misrepresented her age in order to get the audition. Her comments about her efforts to secure the part were later quoted in an interview:
Once Patterson secured the part, she finally told the series' producers her real age. Their shock and consternation were ameliorated shortly thereafter by her maturity and professionalism. After the 1967 cancellation of F Troop, Patterson worked in television, radio, and the theater. She also appeared on Mr. Novak and Shindig! In the 1970s, she appeared in three episodes of Hawaii Five-O, and began modeling and appearing in television commercials.

Patterson's first screen appearance was an uncredited walk-on in Bye Bye Birdie (1963). Her first featured role was in the 1968 drama The Angry Breed. She also appeared in a lead role in the action film The Cycle Savages, with Bruce Dern, followed by a leading part in the slasher film Blood and Lace (1971). In 1973, she appeared in a small part in The Harrad Experiment (1973). Her final film credit was in The Immortalizer (1990), a direct-to-video sci-fi horror film.

While living in Hawaii, Patterson performed in the play Butterflies Are Free, with Barbara Rush and Dirk Benedict. She appeared in other plays such as House of Blue Leaves for the University of Hawaii, and played the part of Peggy in The Front Page written by Charles MacArthur, and directed by her then-husband James MacArthur (Charles' son).

In 1999, she received her bachelor's degree from Sierra Nevada College.

Other activities in entertainment
Patterson entertained troops in Vietnam with the Johnny Grant and Friends show. Her first tour was in December 1967, with Diane McBain, Sherry Jackson, and Sabrina Scharf. Her second tour was  in June 1968 with Vicki Lawrence and Karen MacQuarrie (Miss Welcome to Long Beach 1968). Patterson was a disc jockey for the Armed Forces Radio Service. She later wrote a column called "Wrapping with Wrangler" for Wildest Westerns magazine.

Recognition
In 1965, the Motion Picture and Television Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists group selected Patterson as one of 12 young actresses named Deb Stars of 1966. She was nominated by the Warner Bros. studio.

Personal life
Patterson was married three times. She married actor James MacArthur in July 1970. MacArthur was known for playing Danny "Danno" Williams in the TV series Hawaii Five-O. She put her career aside to move to Honolulu, where the show filmed. They parted in 1975. Her second marriage was to Robert Hill Crump Seaton, Jr., and ended in divorce April 29, 1998. Her last marriage was to aircraft mechanic Vern Miller on November 28, 1998, and ended with her death. Patterson had no children from those marriages.

Death
Patterson died in a nursing home in Hollister, Missouri, on August 20, 2015, at age 66. Multiple organ failure was the reported cause. Her F Troop co-star Larry Storch (Corporal Agarn) announced her death on Facebook as follows: "It's with a heavy heart that we can let you know our beloved Wrangler Jane, Melody Patterson, passed away today. Our hearts are sad today. RIP Sweet Melody. We love you." Patterson was cremated and has no final resting place.

Filmography

Film

Television

Mannix, S5, Ep16 "Babe in the Woods"

References

External links

1949 births
2015 deaths
20th-century American actresses
American stage actresses
American television actresses
Actresses from Inglewood, California
Actresses from California
Deaths from multiple organ failure
21st-century American women

Melody Patterson


Religious debates over the Harry Potter series of books by J. K. Rowling are usually because people say the books have occult or Satanic parts. These sayings come from some Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox Christians. It also comes from Muslims who argue against the series.

A great number of people have replied to these claims. People who support the series say that the magic in Harry Potter is not really like occultism. They say it is more like fairy tales like Cinderella and Snow White. They also suggest that it is more like the works of C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien. Both writers are known for writing fantasy novels with Christian values. Some argue that the Harry Potter novels try hard not to discuss religion at all.

In the United States, people tried to get the books banned in schools. Their argument was that witchcraft is a registered religion, so letting the books in schools went against the separation of church and state. This then went to court to decide whether it was against the freedom of religion.

However, sometimes religion has supported the Harry Potter series. "At least as much as they've been attacked from a theological point of view", says Rowling, "[the books] have been lauded (praised) and taken into pulpit, and most interesting and satisfying for me, it's been by several different faiths".

References

Other websites
hisvoicetoday.org  - Laura Mallory's official website
Sword of Gryffindor: Home

Harry Potter


Arignota stercorata is a moth in the family Xyloryctidae. It was described by Thomas Pennington Lucas in 1894. It is found in Australia, where it has been recorded from New South Wales and Queensland. It is also found in Papua New Guinea.

The wingspan is 28–35 mm. The forewings are white, with a number of pale leaden-coloured spots imitative of birds' droppings. There is an acute spot in the centre and a splash tinted with ferrous in the inner angle of the base. A triangular blotch is found at three-fifths of the costa and there are five round spots, the first near the costa at one-eighths, the second obliquely to the first and posterior, the third before the middle in the centre of the wing, the fourth at three-fourths of the wing, the fifth in a line with the fourth but nearer to the costa. Two sharp dots are arranged diagonally with first and second spots and four dots form a rhomboid figure at three-fifths, the two hinder ones tinted with purplish black. There is also an obscure dot on the hindmargin at five-sixths, and another half-way between this and the apex. There are three rows of fine hindmarginal spots. The hindwings are white.

The larvae feed on Elaeocarpus obovatus. They bore in the stem, feeding on leaves it cuts off and attaches at the entrance to the tunnel.

References

Xyloryctidae
Moths described in 1894
Moths of New Guinea
Moths of Australia

Arignota stercorata


The Senate is the upper chamber of Parliament in Burundi. It consists of between 39 and 56 members who serve 5-year terms. The current Senate was elected on 20 July 2020 and consists of 39 members.

In each of the country's 18 provinces, two Senators (one Hutu and one Tutsi) are chosen by electoral colleges of communal councilors. Voting takes place using a three round system. In the first two rounds, a candidate must receive a supermajority of two-thirds of the vote to be elected. If no candidate is elected in these rounds, a third round is organized for the two leading candidates, of which the candidate receiving the majority of votes is elected. Three Senators represent the Twa ethnic group and additional members may be co-opted to meet the 30% gender representation quota for women. Former heads of state are Senators by right.

History
A provision of establishment of Senate was in the 1962 constitution of the Kingdom of Burundi, however, the body was only established in 1965. The Senate was disestablished in 1966 after the coup of Michel Micombero. The Senate was re-established in 2001 following Arusha Accords.

Senate elections took place on 29 July 2005. The National Council for the Defense of Democracy-Forces for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD), which obtained the majority of seats in communal elections held in June, won an overwhelming majority (30) of the seats. The Front for Democracy in Burundi (FRODEBU) won 3 seats, while the remaining seat went the National Council for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD), a breakaway faction of the CNDD-FDD. Four former heads of state - Jean-Baptiste Bagaza (PARENA), Pierre Buyoya (UPRONA), Sylvestre Ntibantunganya (FRODEBU), and the current transitional president Domitien Ndayizeye (FRODEBU) will occupy seats in the Senate along with three Twa members. In order to meet the 30% quota for women, eight seats were co-opted giving the chamber of total of 49 seats.

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

Gervais Rufyikiri, a member of the CNDD-FDD, was elected president of the Senate on 17 August 2005. On 25 June 2015, he fled the country saying he felt threatened after opposing President Nkurunziza's bid for a third term. His replacement, Révérien Ndikuriyo, has made remarks comparing political opponents to cockroaches, similar to what politicians did during the Rwandan genocide, raising fears of another genocide.

See also
List of legislatures by country
List of presidents of the Senate of Burundi
Legislative branch
National Assembly (Burundi), the other branch of Burundi's Parliament

References

1965 establishments in Burundi
2001 establishments in Burundi
Government of Burundi
Burundi

Senate (Burundi)


A clef (from French:  'key') is a musical symbol used to indicate which notes are represented by the lines and spaces on a musical staff. Placing a clef on a staff assigns a particular pitch to one of the five lines or four spaces, which defines the pitches on the remaining lines and spaces.

The three clef symbols used in modern music notation are the G-clef, F-clef, and C-clef. Placing these clefs on a line fixes a reference note to that line—an F-clef fixes the F below middle C, a C-clef fixes middle C, and a G-clef fixes the G above middle C. In modern music notation, the G-clef is most frequently seen as treble clef (placing G4 on the second line of the staff), and the F-clef as bass clef (placing F3 on the fourth line). The C-clef is mostly encountered as alto clef (placing middle C on the third line) or tenor clef (middle C on the fourth line). A clef may be placed on a space instead of a line, but this is rare.

The use of different clefs makes it possible to write music for all instruments and voices, regardless of differences in range. Using different clefs for different instruments and voices allows each part to be written comfortably on a staff with a minimum of ledger lines. To this end, the G-clef is used for high parts, the C-clef for middle parts, and the F-clef for low parts. Transposing instruments can be an exception to this—the same clef is generally used for all instruments in a family, regardless of their sounding pitch. For example, even the low saxophones read in treble clef.

A symmetry exists surrounding middle C regarding the F-, C- and G-clefs. C-clef defines middle C whereas G-clef and F-clef define the note at the interval of a fifth above middle C and below middle C, respectively.

Two common mnemonics for learning the clef lines are:
 Good Boys Do Fine Always (bass clef)
 Every Good Boy Does Fine (treble clef){{efn|It is perhaps also useful to note that, for the treble clef, the four spaces between the five clef lines spell out

Placement on the staff
Theoretically, any clef may be placed on any line. With five lines on the staff and three clefs, there are fifteen possibilities for clef placement. Six of these are redundant because they result in an identical assignment of the notes—for example, a G-clef on the third line yields the same note placement as a C-clef on the bottom line. Thus there are nine possible distinct clefs when limiting their placement to the lines. All have been used historically: the G-clef on the two bottom lines, the F-clef on the three top lines, and the C-clef on the four bottom lines. The C-clef on the topmost line has also been used, but is equivalent to the F-clef on the third line, giving a total of ten historically attested clefs placed on the lines. In addition, the C-clef has been used on the third space, i.e. not on a line at all.

The ten clefs placed on lines (two are equivalent) have different names based on the tessitura for which they is best suited.

In modern music, only four clefs are used regularly: treble clef, bass clef, alto clef, and tenor clef. Of these, the treble and bass clefs are by far the most common. The tenor clef is used for the upper register of several instruments that usually use bass clef (including cello, bassoon, and trombone), while the alto is most prominently used by the viola. Music for instruments and voices that transpose at the octave is generally written at the transposed pitch, but is sometimes seen written at concert pitch using an octave clef.

Individual clefs
This section shows a complete list of the clefs, along with a list of instruments and voice parts notated with them. A dagger (†) after the name of a clef indicates that the clef is no longer in common use.

G-clefs

Treble clef

The only G-clef still in use is the treble clef, with the G-clef placed on the second line. This is the most common clef in use and is generally the first clef learned by music students. For this reason, the terms "G-clef" and "treble clef" are often seen as synonymous. The treble clef was historically used to mark a treble, or pre-pubescent, voice part.

Instruments that use the treble clef include violin, flute, oboe, cor anglais, all clarinets, all saxophones, horn, trumpet, cornet, vibraphone, xylophone, mandolin, recorder, bagpipe and guitar. Euphonium and baritone horn are sometimes treated as transposing instruments, using the treble clef and sounding a major ninth lower, and are sometimes treated as concert-pitch instruments, using bass clef. The treble clef is also the upper staff of the grand staff used for harp and keyboard instruments. Most high parts for bass-clef instruments (e.g. cello, double bass, bassoon, and trombone) are written in the tenor clef, but very high pitches may be notated in the treble clef. The viola also may use the treble clef for very high notes. The treble clef is used for the soprano, mezzo-soprano, alto, contralto and tenor voices. Tenor voice parts sound an octave lower and are often written using an octave clef (see below) or a double-treble clef.

French violin clef†

A G-clef placed on the first line is called the French clef, or French violin clef. This clef was used in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in France for violin music and flute music. It places the notes in the same staff positions as the bass clef, but two octaves higher.

F-clefs

Baritone clef†

When the F-clef is placed on the third line, it is called the baritone clef. Baritone clef was used for the left hand of keyboard music (particularly in France; see Bauyn manuscript) and for baritone parts in vocal music. A C-clef on the fifth line creates a staff with identical notes to the baritone clef, but this variant is rare.

Bass clef

The only F-clef still in use is the bass clef, with the clef placed on the fourth line. Since it is the only F-clef commonly encountered, the terms "F-clef" and "bass clef" are often regarded as synonymous.

Bass clef is used for the cello, double bass and bass guitar, bassoon and contrabassoon, bass recorder, trombone, tuba, and timpani. It is used for baritone horn or euphonium when their parts are written at concert pitch, and sometimes for the lowest notes of the horn. Baritone and bass voices also use bass clef, and the tenor voice is notated in bass clef if the tenor and bass are written on the same staff. Bass clef is the bottom clef in the grand staff for harp and keyboard instruments. Double bass, bass guitar, and contrabassoon sound an octave lower than the written pitch; some scores show an "8" beneath the clef for these instruments to differentiate from instruments that sound at the actual written pitch. (see "Octave clefs" below).

Sub-bass clef†

When the F-clef is placed on the fifth line, it is called the sub-bass clef. It was used by Johannes Ockeghem and Heinrich Schütz to write low bass parts, by Monsieur de Sainte-Colombe for low notes on the bass viol, and by J. S. Bach in his Musical Offering.

It is the same as the treble clef, but two octaves lower.

C-clefs

Alto clef

A C-clef on the third line of the staff is called the alto or viola clef. It is currently used for viola, viola d'amore, alto trombone, viola da gamba, and mandola. It is also associated with the countertenor voice and sometimes called the countertenor clef. A vestige of this survives in Sergei Prokofiev's use of the clef for the cor anglais in his symphonies. It occasionally appears in keyboard music (for example, in Brahms's Organ Chorales and John Cage's Dream for piano).

Tenor clef

A C-clef on the fourth line of the staff is called tenor clef. It is used for the viola da gamba (rarely, and mostly in German scores; otherwise the alto clef is used) and for upper ranges of bass-clef instruments such as the bassoon, cello, euphonium, double bass, and tenor trombone. Treble clef may also be used for the upper extremes of these bass-clef instruments. Tenor violin parts were also written in this clef (see e.g. Giovanni Battista Vitali's Op. 11). It was used by the tenor part in vocal music but its use has been largely supplanted either with an octave version of the treble clef or with bass clef when tenor and bass parts are written on a single staff.

Another tenor clef variant, formerly used in music for male chorus, has a ladder-like shape. This C-clef places the C on the third space of the staff, and is equivalent to the sub-octave treble clef. See also History.

Mezzo-soprano clef†

A C-clef on the second line of the staff is called the mezzo-soprano clef, rarely used in modern Western classical music. It was used in 17th century French orchestral music for the second viola or first tenor part ('taille') by such composers as Lully, and for mezzo-soprano voices in operatic roles, notably by Claudio Monteverdi. Mezzo-soprano clef was also used for certain flute parts during renaissance, especially when doubling vocal lines. In Azerbaijani music, the tar uses this clef.

Soprano clef†

A C-clef on the first line of the staff is called the soprano clef. It was used for the right hand of keyboard music (particularly in France – see Bauyn manuscript), in vocal music for sopranos, and sometimes for high viola da gamba parts along with the alto clef. It was used for the second violin part ('haute-contre') in 17th century French music.

Other clefs

Octave clefs

Starting in the 18th century, music for some instruments (such as guitar) and for the tenor voice have used treble clef, although they sound an octave lower. To avoid ambiguity, modified clefs are sometimes used, especially in choral writing. Using a C-clef on the third space places the notes identically, but this notation is much less common as it is easily confused with the alto and tenor clefs.

Such a modified treble clef is most often found in tenor parts in SATB settings, using a treble clef with the numeral 8 below it. This indicates that the pitches sound an octave lower. As the true tenor clef has fallen into disuse in vocal writings, this "octave-dropped" treble clef is often called the tenor clef. The same clef is sometimes used for the octave mandolin. This can also be indicated with two overlapping G-clefs.

Tenor banjo is commonly notated in treble clef. However, notation varies between the written pitch sounding an octave lower (as in guitar music and called octave pitch in most tenor banjo methods) and music sounding at the written pitch (called actual pitch). An attempt has been made to use a treble clef with a diagonal line through the upper half of the clef to indicate octave pitch, but this is not always used.

To indicate that notes sound an octave higher than written, a treble clef with an 8 positioned above the clef may be used for penny whistle, soprano and sopranino recorder, and other high woodwind parts. A treble clef with a 15 above (sounding two octaves above the standard treble clef) is used for the garklein (sopranissimo) recorder.

An F-clef can also be notated with an octave marker. While the F-clef notated to sound an octave lower can be used for contrabass instruments such as the double bass and contrabassoon, and the F-clef notated to sound an octave higher can be used for the bass recorder, these uses are extremely rare. In Italian scores up to Gioachino Rossini's Overture to William Tell, the cor anglais was written in bass clef an octave lower than sounding. The unmodified bass clef is so common that performers of instruments whose ranges lie below the staff simply learn to read ledger lines.

Neutral clef

The neutral or percussion clef is not a true clef like the F, C, and G clefs. Rather, it assigns different unpitched percussion instruments to the lines and spaces of the staff. With the exception of some common drum-kit and marching percussion layouts, the assignment of lines and spaces to instruments is not standardised, so a legend is required to show which instrument each line or space represents. Pitched percussion instruments do not use this clef — timpani are notated in bass clef and mallet percussion instruments are noted in treble clef or on a grand staff.

If the neutral clef is used for a single percussion instrument the staff may only have one line, although other configurations are used.

The neutral clef is sometimes used where non-percussion instruments play non-pitched extended techniques, such as hitting the body of a string instrument, or having a vocal choir clap, stamp, or snap.  However, it is more common to write the rhythms using × noteheads on the instrument's normal staff, with a comment to indicate the appropriate rhythmic action.

Tablature

For guitars and other fretted instruments, it is possible to notate tablature in place of ordinary notes. This TAB sign is not a clef — it does not indicate the placement of notes on a staff. The lines shown are not a music staff but rather represent the strings of the instrument (six lines would be used for guitar, four lines for the bass guitar, etc.), with numbers on the lines showing which fret should be used.

History
Before the advent of clefs, the reference line of a staff was simply labeled with the name of the note it was intended to bear: F, C, or sometimes G. These were the most common 'clefs', or  (key-letters), in Gregorian chant notation. Over time the shapes of these letters became stylised, leading to their current versions.

Many other clefs were used, particularly in the early period of chant notation, keyed to many different notes, from the low Γ (gamma, the G on the bottom line of the bass clef) to the G above middle C (written with a small letter g). These included two different lowercase b symbols for the note just below middle C: round for B, and square for B. In order of frequency of use, these clefs were: F, c, f, C, D, a, g, e, Γ, B, and the round and square b. In later medieval music, the round b was often written in addition to another clef letter to indicate that B rather than B was to be used throughout a piece; this is the origin of the key signature.

In the polyphonic period up to 1600, unusual clefs were occasionally used for parts with extremely high or low tessituras. For very low bass parts, the Γ clef is found on the middle, fourth, or fifth lines of the staff (e.g., in Pierre de La Rue's Requiem and in a mid-16th-century dance book published by the Hessen brothers); for very high parts, the high-D clef (d), and the even higher ff clef (e.g., in the Mulliner Book) were used to represent the notes written on the fourth and top lines of the treble clef, respectively.

The practice of using different shapes for the same clef persisted until very recent times. The F-clef was, until as late as the 1980s in some cases (such as hymnals), or in British and French publications, written like this:

In printed music from the 16th and 17th centuries, the C clef often assumed a ladder-like form, in which the two horizontal rungs surround the staff line indicated as C: ; this form survived in some printed editions (see this example, written in four-part men's harmony and positioned to make it equivalent to an octave G clef) into the 20th century.

The C-clef was formerly written in a more angular way, sometimes still used, or, more often, as a simplified K-shape when writing the clef by hand:

In modern Gregorian chant notation the C clef is written (on a four-line staff) in the form  and the F clef as

The flourish at the top of the G-clef probably derives from a cursive S for "sol", the name for "G" in solfege.

C clefs (along with G, F, Γ, D, and A clefs) were formerly used to notate vocal music. Nominally, the soprano voice parts were written in first- or second-line C clef (soprano clef or mezzo-soprano clef) or second-line G clef (treble clef), the alto or tenor voices in third-line C clef (alto clef), the tenor voice in fourth-line C clef (tenor clef) and the bass voice in third-, fourth- or fifth-line F clef (baritone, bass, or sub-bass clef).

Until the 19th century, the most common arrangement for vocal music used the following clefs:

 Soprano = soprano clef (first-line C clef)
 Alto = alto clef (third-line C clef)
Tenor = tenor clef (fourth-line C clef)
 Bass = bass clef (fourth-line F clef)

In more modern publications, four-part music on parallel staffs is usually written more simply as:
 Soprano = treble clef (second-line G clef)
 Alto = treble clef
 Tenor = treble clef with an 8 below or a double treble clef. Many pieces, particularly those from before the 21st century, use an unaltered treble clef, with the expectation the tenors will still sing an octave lower than notated.
 Bass = bass clef (fourth-line F clef)
This may be reduced to two staffs, the soprano and alto sharing a staff with a treble clef, and the tenor and bass sharing a staff marked with the bass clef.

Further uses

Clef combinations played a role in the modal system toward the end of the 16th century, and it has been suggested certain clef combinations in the polyphonic music of 16th-century vocal polyphony are reserved for authentic (odd-numbered) modes, and others for plagal (even-numbered) modes, but the precise implications have been the subject of much scholarly debate.

Reading music as if it were in a different clef from the one indicated can be an aid in transposing music at sight since it will move the pitches roughly in parallel to the written part. Key signatures and accidentals need to be accounted for when this is done.

In Unicode

For use with computer systems, the Unicode Consortium has created code points for twelve different clef symbols as part of a repertoire called the "Musical Symbols" block. Although much of the list was established by 1999, general provision of these symbols in common computer fonts remains rather limited. The clef symbols provided are these:

Notes

Citations

References
 Del Mar, Norman. 1981. Anatomy of the Orchestra. Berkeley: University of California Press.  (cloth); .
 Dolmetsch Organisation. 2011. "Counter-tenor clef". In Music Dictionary Online Dolmetsch Online (Accessed 23 March 2012).
 Hessen, Paul, and Bartholomeus Hessen. 1555. Viel feiner lieblicher Stucklein, spanischer, welscher, englischer, frantzösischer Composition und Tentz, uber drey hundert, mit sechsen, fünffen, und vieren, auff alle Instrument ... zusamen bracht. Breslau: Crispin Scharffenberg.
 Hiley, David. 2001. "Clef (i)". The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell. London: Macmillan.
 Kidson, Frank. 1908. "The Evolution of Clef Signatures." The Musical Times 49, no. 785 (1 July), pp. 443–444.
 Kidson, Frank. 1909. "The Evolution of Clef Signatures" (second article). In The Musical Times 50, no. 793 (1 March), pp. 159–160.
 Moore, John Weeks. 1876. A Dictionary of Musical Information: Containing also a Vocabulary of Musical Terms, and a List of Modern Musical Works Published in the United States From 1640 To 1875. Boston: Oliver Ditson.

Further reading
 Dandelot, Georges. 1999. Manuel pratique pour l'étude des clefs, revised by Bruno Giner and Armelle Choquard. Paris: Max Eschig.
 Morris, R. O., and Howard Ferguson. 1931. Preparatory Exercises in Score-Reading. London: Oxford University Press.
 Read, Gardner (1964). Music Notation: A Manual of Modern Practice. Boston: Alleyn and Bacon. Second edition, Boston: Alleyn and Bacon, 1969, reprinted as A Crescendo Book, New York: Taplinger, 1979.  (cloth),  (pbk).
 Smits van Waesberghe, Jos. 1951. "The Musical Notation of Guido of Arezzo". Musica Disciplina 5:15–53.

External links

Musical notation
Bass (sound)

Clef


The national flag of the Russian Federation ( ) is a tricolour of three equal horizontal fields: white on the top, blue in the middle, and red on the bottom. It was first raised in 1696, as an ensign for merchant ships under the Tsardom of Russia.

After just over a century and a half of usage, uninterrupted by the proclamation of the Russian Empire, the flag was replaced following a decree by Alexander II in 1858. The redesigned flag's dimensions were the same, albeit with a different colour scheme: black on the top, gold in the middle, and white on the bottom. However, a decree by Nicholas II in 1896 reinstated the white, blue, and red tricolour as the Russian national flag.

In 1917, with the establishment of the Russian SFSR after the October Revolution, the Bolsheviks abolished the traditional Russian tricolour, though it continued to be flown by the White Movement during the Russian Civil War. The Russian tricolour was unused for most of the 20th century; the Soviet Union deviated from predecessor flag designs by using a plain red flag with a yellow hammer-and-sickle canton.

Shortly after the August Coup in 1991, the Russian SFSR adopted a new flag design similar to the Russian imperial tricolour, though with different dimensions and colour shades. The new flag's ratio was 1:2, and the colours consisted of white on the top, blue in the middle, and red on the bottom. Upon the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the newly independent Russian Federation inherited the redesigned flag of the Russian SFSR, and the specifications were formalised by Boris Yeltsin in the State Heraldic Register. The flag design remained the same until 1993, when the original Russian tricolour was fully restored as the current flag after the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis.

Origin
Two accounts of the flag's origin connect it to the tricolour used by the Dutch Republic (the flag of the Netherlands).

The earliest mention of the flag occurs during the reign of Alexis I, in 1668, and is related to the construction of the first Russian naval ship, the frigate Oryol. According to one source, the ship's Dutch lead engineer Butler faced the need for the flag, and issued a request to the Boyar Duma, to "ask His Royal Majesty as to which (as is the custom among other nations) flag shall be raised on the ship". The official response merely indicated that, as such issue is as yet unprecedented, even though the land forces do use (apparently different) flags, the tsar ordered that his (Butler's) opinion be sought about the matter, asking specifically as to the custom existing in his country.

A different account traces the origins of the Russian flag to tsar Peter the Great's visits to Arkhangelsk in 1693 and 1694. Peter was keenly interested in shipbuilding in the European style, different from the barges ordinarily used in Russia at the time. In 1693, Peter had ordered a Dutch-built frigate from Amsterdam. In 1694 when it arrived, the Dutch red, white, and blue banner flew from its stern. Peter decided to model Russia's naval flag after that banner by assigning meaning and reordering the colours.

The Dutch flag book of 1695 by Carel Allard, printed only a year after Peter's trip to Western Europe, describes the tricolour with a double-headed eagle bearing a shield on its breast and wearing a golden crown over both of its heads.

History

A study on clarifying the national colours of Russia based on disquisition on documents of the Moscow Archive of Ministry of Justice of the Russian Empire was summarized by Dmitry Samokvasov, a Russian archaeologist and legal historian, in an edition of 16 pages called "On the Question of National Colours of Ancient Russia" published in Moscow in 1910.

1552–1918: Tsardom, Empire and Republic

In 1552, Russian regiments marched on the victorious assault of Kazan under Ivan the Terrible with the banner of the Most Gracious Saviour. For the next century and a half, the banner of Ivan the Terrible accompanied the Russian army. Under Tsarina Sophia Alekseevna, it visited the Crimean campaigns, and under Peter the Great, the Azov campaigns and the Russo-Swedish War.

In the Illustrated Chronicle of Ivan the Terrible, there is an image of the banner of Ivan the Terrible in the Kazan campaign – a bifurcated white one with the image of the Saviour and an eight-pointed cross above it. According to other sources, the banner was red instead of white. A copy of this banner, which has been restored many times, is still kept in the Kremlin Armoury.

In 1612, the Nizhny Novgorod militia raised the banner of Dmitry Pozharsky, it was crimson in colour with the image of the Lord Almighty on one side and the archangel Michael on the other.

In 1669, the Polish painters Stanislav Loputsky and Ivan Mirovsky invited by Tsar Alexis of Russia, painted for the tsar's palace in Kolomenskoye "the hallmarks (that is, the emblems) of the sovereigns and all the universal states of this world." Then Loputsky drew "on the canvas, the coat of arms of the Moscow State and the arms of other neighbouring countries, under every emblem of the planet under which they are." The coat of arms was a white rectangular banner with a "slope" and a wide red border, in the centre of which was depicted a gold two-headed eagle and the emblems symbolizing the subject kingdoms, principalities and lands. In the inventory of the Kremlin Armoury, the coat of arms is described as the following: "In the circle there is a two-headed eagle wearing two crowns, and in his chest, the king on horseback pricks a serpent with his spear".

On 6 August 1693, during Peter the Great's sailing in the White Sea with a detachment of warships built in Arkhangelsk, the so-called "Flag of the Tsar of Muscovy" was raised for the first time on the 12-gun yacht "Saint Peter". The flag was a cross-stitch of 4.6x4.9 meters sewn from cloth, composed of three equal-sized horizontal stripes of white, blue and red, with a golden double-headed eagle in the middle. The original of this oldest surviving Russian flag is located in the Central Naval Museum in Saint Petersburg.

A 1695 flag book by Carel Allard describes three flags used by the tsar of Muscovy: the tricolour with the double-headed eagle bearing a shield on its breast and wearing a golden crown over both of its heads, the same tricolour with a blue saltire over it, and a cross flag showing red and white quartering with a blue cross over all. The cross flag is depicted upon the Construction of Kronschloss Medal, which commemorates the construction of Fort Kronschlot (Kronschloss) in Kronstadt by Peter the Great in 1704, the colours of the flag being determined according to the hatchings engraved.

The armorial banner of Peter the Great was created in 1696. Made from red taffeta with a white border, the flag depicted a golden eagle hovering over the sea. On the chest of the eagle in the circle is the Saviour, next to the Holy Spirit and the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul. The banner was likely made for the second Azov campaign.

In 1693, Franz Timmerman received the order to build merchant ships in Arkhangelsk and trade with Europe. He was told to display the two-headed eagle spread with wings, with three crowns over it. On the chest of the eagle, a warrior on horseback was to be displayed with a spear, in a military harness. The same eagle was also to hold a sceptre with the right leg and an apple with a crest with the left. The same instructions were given to other traders.

According to Dutch newspapers, in June 1694, a 44-gun frigate bought by Russia and built in Rotterdam stood in the Amsterdam roadstead under the white-blue-red flag.

In 1696, at the mouth of the river Don, a Russian flotilla of armed rowboats blocked the supply of the Ottoman fortress of Azov. On the 1700 engraving by Adrian Shkhonebek, Taking the fortress of Azov. 1696, depicts the ships carrying rectangular panels on the flagpoles, the heraldic shading of which shows that some of the flags are blue with a straight red cross, and the rest are white with a straight red cross. A number of researchers doubt the accuracy of Shkonebek's engraving because he was not a witness to the events.

Images of various white-blue-red Russian flags are present in the three later paintings of Abraham Storck's workshop dedicated to the arrival in Amsterdam of Peter I. Peter I took part in a practice battle on the river IJ while on board the yacht of the Dutch East India Company. In the paintings of Abraham Stork depicting the show fight, this yacht sails under the white-blue-red flag with a double-headed eagle, or under a white-red-blue pennant and a white-red-blue aft flag with a double-headed eagle.

In October 1699, Peter I, on the back of the sheet with instructions sent to the Russian envoy Yemelyan Ukraintsev in Istanbul, drew a sketch of a three-band white-blue-red flag.

In December 1699, the Austrian ambassador Anton Paleyer gave a list of weapons and flags seen on the vessels of the Azov Flotilla in a letter. He described seeing three small flags of white-red-blue colours and two regimental colours of red and white mixed in with other colours.

In April 1700, Peter I ordered the Kremlin Armoury to build white-red-violet sea banners. The design and dimensions of these banners correspond to the figure and the size of the regimental banner kept among the other 352 trophy Russian banners in the burial vault of Swedish kings – the Riddarholm Church in Stockholm.

The three-band white-blue-red flag, as well as the flag with a red Jerusalem cross, were also used on warships up to 1720 as signals.

The Russian tricolour flag was adopted as a merchant flag at rivers in 1705. These colours of the flag of Russia would later inspire the choice of the "Pan-Slavic colours" by the Prague Slavic Congress, 1848. Two other Slavic countries, Slovakia and Slovenia, have flags similar to the Russian one, but with added coats-of-arms for differentiation. On 7 May 1883, the Russian flag was authorized to be used on land, and it became an official National flag before the coronation of Tsar Nicholas II in 1896.

The flag continued to be used by the Russian Provisional Government after Tsar Nicholas II abdicated during the February Revolution and was not replaced until the October Revolution which established the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic.

1918–1991: Civil War and Soviet Union (USSR)

On 8 April 1918, the flag of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic was discussed at a meeting of the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR. The Council proposed that the All-Russian Central Executive Committee create a red flag with the abbreviation for the phrase Workers of the world, unite! However, the proposal was not adopted. On 13 April 1918, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee established the RSFSR flag to be a red banner with the inscription Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic. The text of the decree did not contain any clarification regarding the colour, size and location of the inscription, or the width and length ratio of the cloth.

On 17 June 1918, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee approved a sample image of the flag of the RSFSR, developed on behalf of the People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs of the Russian SFSR by the graphic artist Sergey Chekhonin. The flag was a red rectangular panel, in the upper corner of which was placed the inscription RSFSR in gold letters stylized as Slavic. This inscription was separated from the rest of the cloth on both sides by gold stripes forming a rectangle.

On 30 December 1922, the RSFSR combined with the Ukrainian SSR, Byelorussian SSR, and Transcaucasian SFSR to form the Soviet Union. The national flag of the USSR was established on 18 April 1924, described in the Constitution of the USSR as a red or scarlet rectangular cloth with a 1:2 width to length ratio, with a gold sickle and hammer in the top corner next to the flagpole and a red five-pointed star framed with a golden border. This flag was carried by all ships of the USSR and diplomatic representations of the USSR. The 1:2 red flag was used, until replaced in 1954 with the universal design of the Soviet flag with a blue stripe along the mast.

Contrary to the belief that the USSR state flag outranked the flag of the RSFSR, the actual use of the USSR flag was limited. The USSR flag in Russia flew only over two buildings, that of the Central Executive Committee of the Soviet Union and the Council of People's Commissars. That decision was adopted on 23 March 1925, also establishing that the flag of the RSFSR had to be raised constantly not only on the buildings of the Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars but also on the buildings of all local soviets, including village soviets and district soviets in cities. On holidays, the RSFSR flag had to be raised on many public buildings (such as schools, hospitals, and government offices).

During the Second World War, the white-blue-red tricolour was used by German collaborators, most of whom were from groups targeted by the repressions of the Stalin era, including anti-communist Christians and the remnants of the Kulaks, who generally regarded the German invasion as a liberation of Russia from communism. The Russian Liberation Army under the leadership of Andrey Vlasov used the tricolour during a military flag.

On 20 January 1947, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR found it necessary to amend the national flags of the allied republics so that the flags reflected the idea of a Soviet Union state as well as the unique national identities of the republics. On each of the flags was placed the emblem of the USSR, a sickle and a hammer with a red five-pointed star, with the inclusion of national ornaments and new colours. The new RSFSR flag was established in January 1954: a red rectangular panel with a light blue strip near the pole running the full width of the flag. In the upper left corner of the red canvas were depicted a golden sickle and a hammer and above them a red five-pointed star framed with a golden border. By the Law of the RSFSR of 2 June 1954, this flag was approved and the description of the flag was included in Article 149 of the Constitution of the RSFSR.

1991–present: Russian Federation

During the dissolution of the Soviet Union, after the 1991 August Coup, the Russian SFSR adopted a new flag design similar to the pre-revolutionary tricolour that had been abolished in 1917. The ratio of the new flag was 1:2, and the flag colours consisted of white on the top, blue in the middle, and red on the bottom. The flag design remained the same until 1993, when the original Russian tricolour was fully restored as the current flag after the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis. Following the events of the attempted coup in Moscow, the supreme soviet of the Russian SFSR declared, by resolution dated 22 August 1991, that the old imperial tricolour flag serve as the national flag of the state. The constitution was subsequently amended by Law No. 1827-1 1 November 1991. At the disintegration of the USSR on 25 December 1991, the Soviet flag was lowered from Kremlin and then replaced by the tricolour flag.

The modern era flag underwent a proportion change from 1:2 to 2:3 in 1993 and has been most recently provided for by a 2000 law. On 11 December 1993, President of the Russian Federation Boris Yeltsin signed Decree No. 2126 "On the State Flag of the Russian Federation". In Article 1 of the decree, the flag was described as a "rectangular panel of three equal horizontal stripes: the top – white, middle – blue, and bottom – red, with a width to length ratio of 2:3."

The National Flag Day is an official holiday in Russia, established in 1994. It is celebrated on 22 August, the day of the victory over putschists in 1991, but employees remain at work.

Symbolism
At the times of Alexander III of Russia the official interpretation was as follows: the white color symbolizes nobility and frankness; the blue for faithfulness, honesty, impeccability, and chastity; and the red for courage, generosity, and love. A common unofficial interpretation was: Red: Great Russia, White: White Russia, Blue: Little Russia.

Regulations
When the Russian flag and the flags of the Russian federal subjects are flown at the same time, the national flag should be:

 on the left if two flags are raised
 in the middle if the number of flags is odd
 and to the left of the centre if the number is even

The flag cannot be smaller, or lower than a regional flag.

Colour specifications

Federal constitutional law of the Russian Federation only says that the colours of the flag are "white", "blue" (синий, or dark blue, as Russian has two colours that are called "blue" in English), and "red". The Federal Constitutional Law on the State Flag of the Russian Federation does not actually specify which shades the colours should be. Russian government agencies when ordering the manufacture of cloth for the flag indicate the following Pantone colours: white, blue (Pantone 286C), and red (Pantone 485C).

The album of national flags, published by the Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service of the Navy (France), gives the following shades of colours of the flag of Russia in Pantone:

Variant versions

A variant of the flag was authorized for private use by Tsar Nicholas II before World War I, adding the large state eagle on a yellow field (imperial standard) in the canton. It has never been used as the official state flag. Likewise, today some Russian people may use another variant of the flag defaced with the coat of arms (in this case the double-headed eagle is depicted without the shield) in the middle and the golden word РОССИЯ at the bottom.

After the October Revolution of 1917, the tricolour design was banned, and a definitive new flag of the Russian SFSR was introduced in 1954 (see flag of the Russian SFSR), and this remained the republic's flag until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. All of the Soviet republics' flags were created by introducing a small but noticeable change to the flag of the Soviet Union. For Russia, the change was an introduction of the left-hand blue band. The previous Soviet design was different, a plain red flag with different variants of the "RSFSR" abbreviation in the canton. Today, the Soviet flag is used by the supporters and members of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation.

The tricolour was used by the anticommunist forces during the Civil War called the White movement. It was continued to be used by White émigrés in various countries as the Russian flag. The tricolour was associated both in Soviet Russia as well as the Russian White emigre communities as symbolizing a traditional tsarist Orthodox Russia. This flag can be seen inside a few Orthodox churches in the West established by the Russian communities. In the Soviet Union, the tricolour  was used in films set in the pre-revolutionary period and was seen as a historical flag, especially after the 1940s.

It, rather than the black-yellow-white colour combination, was readopted by Russia on 22 August 1991. That date is celebrated yearly as the national flag day.

The President of Russia uses a Presidential Standard (), which was introduced via Presidential Decree No.319 on 15 February 1994, it is officially defined as the square tricolour with the coat of arms (in this case the double-headed eagle is depicted without the shield) in the middle.

Unicode
The flag of Russia is represented as the Unicode emoji sequence  and , making "🇷🇺".

See also

 Coat of arms of Moscow
 Coat of arms of Russia
 Flags of the federal subjects of Russia
 List of Russian flags
 Flag of the Russian-American Company
 Pan-Slavic colours
 Flag of Bulgaria (developed from the Russian flag since 1877, but the blue stripe is replaced by light green one)
 Flag of Dagestan (nearly identical design, green stripe instead of white)
 Flag of the Donetsk People's Republic (nearly identical design, black stripe instead of white)
 Flag of Colombia (nearly identical design, yellow stripe instead of white)
 Flag of the Luhansk People's Republic (nearly identical design, turquoise stripe instead of white)
 Flag of Serbia (developed from the Russian flag since 1835, but the white and red colours are inverted upside down)
 Flag of Slovakia (nearly identical design, defaced with the coat of arms at the hoist side)
 Flag of Slovenia (nearly identical design, defaced with the coat of arms at the hoist side)
 Flag of Transnistria
 White-blue-white flag (variant used by anti-war protesters against the invasion of Ukraine)

Notes

References

External links

 Official image of the Russian flag, on the official site of the Russian President
 Federal Constitutional Law of 25 December 2000 No. 1-FKZ "On the State Flag of the Russian Federation" (including amendments). pravo.gov.ru
 Timeline Russian National Flag
 Flag of Russia – old link
 Flag of Russia – Vexillographia
 Flag of Russia
 National Flag and Naval Ensign in Russia Navy

Russia
National symbols of Russia

Flag of Russia


God of War is an action-adventure video game. It was released on April 20, 2018. The game was released for PlayStation 4.  This game is based on Norse mythology instead of Greek mythology what was is used by previous games of this franchise.

God of War is the sequel of God of War III.

Plot
After the Kratos' defeat of the Olympic gods, Kratos lives with his son in Midgard. Kratos bury his wife and after that he and his son begin their journey to the nine realms. It was for scattering of ashes of Kratos' wife. During the journey, Kratos teach his son to survive and fight monsters, such as trolls or draug.
God of War (franchise)
2018 video games

God of War (2018 video game)