Assater (also spelled Assetter) is a hamlet on Mainland, in Shetland, Scotland. Assater is situated in the parish of Northmaven. It is about  northwest of Urafirth and  southeast of Heylor by road.

History

Robert Dunn
In 1831, ornithologist Robert Dunn visited Shetland to acquire specimens for his collection, and in 1837 published the notes from his trip "for the purpose of furnishing a guide to those who might be desirous of visiting these islands to collect specimens of Natural History". He spent a considerable portion of his stay living in Assater, exploring Ronas Voe and Ronas Hill multiple times.

Dunn first arrived in Urafirth after travelling by boat from Voe with a servant he hired in Lerwick, and then travelled by foot to Assater. He noted that the alarm raised subsequently by the dogs, pigs and children that greeted him upon arrival were daunting. At that time there were three families who lived in Assater, and their occupations were all recorded by Dunn as fishermen, however they did tend their croft during the winter months.

The breakfast he received on his first morning there is recorded in some detail: it consisted of fresh fish, eggs, cold fowl and coffee with cream. He did however note that "the table was certainly not overloaded with delicacies." Dunn also noted that he thought his servant was rude to him when it was suggested they leave for a trip to Ronas Hill before the servant had finished his "second edition" of the breakfast. Dunn deescalated the altercation with the supply of a glass of spirits, as he did on various occasions during his visit to Shetland.

Dunn's general impression of Assater seemed quite positive - he commented that "if the place itself possesses any virtue, in time it might become the Brighton of Shetland"

Buildings
On the first edition of the Ordnance Survey map of the area in 1881, Assater is shown to have had fourteen roofed buildings (of which two were mills), and six unroofed buildings, of which one was L-shaped. By 1973 the latest Ordnance Survey map showed only nine roofed buildings and  eight unroofed.

A burnt mound  tall is visible to the  south of the main settlement. Also, what is recorded as a clearance cairn  is situated nearby. This cairn has been claimed instead to be the site of a derelict chapel.

Fauna
In 1999, although frogs are more widespread on the island, Assater was one of only four locations in North Mainland where frogs were found to be breeding, frogs not being native to Shetland. The other locations recorded in Northmavine were near the Hillswick junction; near the Ollaberry School; and in Nisetter, Gluss.

See also
 Ronas Voe
 Heylor

References

Sources

Villages in Mainland, Shetland
Northmavine

Assater


A Van Allen radiation belt is a zone of charged particles which come from the Sun as the solar wind. They are captured and held by the Earth's magnetic field.

Earth has two such belts and sometimes others.
The belts were discovered by James Van Allen. Earth's two main belts extend from the altitude of about

Most of the particles that form the belts are thought to come from solar wind and other particles by cosmic rays. By trapping the solar wind, the magnetic field deflects those energetic particles and protects the atmosphere from destruction.

The belts are in the inner region of Earth's magnetosphere. The belts trap energetic electrons and protons. The belts endanger satellites, which must have their sensitive components protected with adequate shielding if they spend much time in that zone. In 2013, NASA reported that the Van Allen Probes had discovered a third radiation belt, which was observed for four weeks. It was destroyed by a powerful, interplanetary shock wave from the Sun.

References

NASA
Space
Earth

Van Allen radiation belt


Alexander Douglas Smith (born May 7, 1984) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons. Smith played college football with Utah, earning first-team All-American honors and winning the 2005 Fiesta Bowl as a senior. He was selected first overall by the San Francisco 49ers in the 2005 NFL Draft.

Smith struggled with consistency and injuries until 2011 when he led the 49ers to their first division title and playoff win since 2002, along with their first NFC Championship Game appearance since 1997. The next year, however, a concussion resulted in Smith losing his starting position to backup Colin Kaepernick. He was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs, who he guided to four playoff runs between 2013 and 2017, their first consecutive division titles in franchise history, and their first playoff victory since 1993 in the 2015 season. Smith also received three Pro Bowl selections with the Chiefs and led the league in passer rating in 2017. He was traded to the Washington Redskins in 2018 to make way for Kansas City's second-year quarterback Patrick Mahomes, but was credited with helping develop the future NFL MVP.

During his first season with Washington, Smith suffered a life-threatening injury to his right leg that nearly resulted in amputation. Although expected to never play again, Smith completed a lengthy rehabilitation process that allowed him to play in 2020. He became Washington's starter midway through the season, leading the team to a division title and earning him NFL Comeback Player of the Year. Smith retired during the 2021 offseason after he was released by Washington. His return from injury is cited as among the greatest in NFL history.

Early life
Smith was born in Bremerton, Washington on May 7, 1984, and grew up in La Mesa, California. His father, Douglas D. Smith, was an executive director at Helix High School, which he attended.

As a starter for the Helix Highlanders during his junior and senior years, Smith led his team to a record of 25–1, including two San Diego CIF section championships. He was named to the first-team all-conference and all-county squads in the San Diego CIF system. Smith also earned the conference offensive player of the year twice, and twice won the team MVP for Helix. During his time at Helix, Smith set a school record by throwing for six touchdowns in one game, and recorded the second-highest completion percentage in San Diego CIF history. While at Helix, he played with 2005 Heisman Trophy-winner (since vacated) Reggie Bush. Smith and Bush were later finalists for the 2004 Heisman, making it the first time a high school had two finalists at the same ceremony.

Smith was president of his senior class in high school, earned college credits through a program at San Diego State University, and took a dozen Advanced Placement tests.

College career
Smith attended the University of Utah and played for the Utah Utes, wearing number 11. He finished fourth in voting for the 2004 Heisman Trophy and was selected as the 2004 Mountain West Conference Player of the Year. Smith posted a 21–1 record as a starter in college, while leading a high-powered spread offense under head coach Urban Meyer. He led the Utes to victories in the 2003 Liberty Bowl and the 2005 Fiesta Bowl. Smith earned a bachelor's degree in economics in two years and began work on a master's degree before being drafted.

College statistics

Professional career

At the NFL combine, Smith recorded a 4.7 time in the 40-yard dash, and had a 32-inch vertical leap. He also earned a score of 40 out of 50 on the Wonderlic exam.

San Francisco 49ers

2005 season
The San Francisco 49ers, who held the first overall pick, had hired a head coach with a strong personality in Mike Nolan. Nolan also evaluated California quarterback Aaron Rodgers, but did not believe that Rodgers's attitude could co-exist with him. Smith was the first overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft, selected by the San Francisco 49ers. In July 2005, Smith agreed to a six-year, $49.5 million contract with the 49ers; the contract included $24 million in guaranteed money.

Dealing with an injury and being taken in and out of the lineup by head coach Mike Nolan, Smith played in nine games in his rookie season, recording just one touchdown pass while throwing 11 interceptions.

2006 season
After the challenges faced by his rookie campaign, Smith went into the 2006 season with a new offensive coordinator (Norv Turner) and an improved set of offensive weapons around him. The 49ers used their top draft choice on tight end Vernon Davis. They also upgraded their offensive backfield, trading underachieving running back Kevan Barlow to the Jets, making Frank Gore the feature back.

Smith also spent the off-season working daily with his new coordinator, wide receivers and tight end, while working to improve his technique and add bulk. The improved offensive cast clearly helped Smith develop in his second year, especially early. Smith's first three games of the season saw him throw three touchdowns, no interceptions, and amass 814 yards. After struggling in Kansas City, he then threw for three touchdowns against the Oakland Raiders, setting a career-high. However, the next five games saw Smith resume his growing pains, averaging only 153 yards per game while throwing only six touchdowns and nine interceptions. Despite his difficulty, he led the 49ers on a three-game winning streak in November.

Smith met Joe Montana for the first time on November 5, 2006, during a game against the Vikings. The 49ers wore the throwback jerseys of the 1989 team which Joe Montana and teammates wore. The 49ers went on to win 9–3, upsetting the Minnesota Vikings.

In need of a statement game, the 49ers traveled to Seattle for a Thursday Night Football game against their division rivals. During the broadcast on NFL Network, Cris Collinsworth noted that if he were starting an NFL franchise, he would have taken the Broncos rookie quarterback Jay Cutler before Alex Smith and fellow rookies Matt Leinart and Vince Young – and that Smith was not even close to the others. Going into the 4th quarter, the 49ers were trailing the Seahawks 7–3, and pulling out a win looked unlikely. Smith however performed brilliantly in the fourth quarter, and drove the 49ers on a long touchdown drive down the field early, taking a narrow 10–7 lead. Late in the quarter, with the same score, Smith struck again – shaking off an almost certain sack, rolling to the left and completing a pass to Frank Gore for a touchdown to give the 49ers a 10-point lead. On the next drive, Smith cemented the victory by leading yet another touchdown drive, and rushing for a touchdown on a naked bootleg. Collinsworth had earlier in the game observed that "Alex Smith is the best I've ever seen him. That drive is the best I saw," and on seeing his touchdown run, commented "What a second-half he has had!"

After losing to the Cardinals the following week, the 49ers' final game of the 2006 season was against a Denver Broncos team looking for a playoff berth. In a major upset, the 49ers defeated the Broncos and knocked them out of the playoffs. During the game at INVESCO Field, Smith threw for 194 yards and a touchdown, leading the team to a come from behind victory for the second time in three weeks.

Overall, Smith improved in his second year by throwing as many touchdowns as interceptions. He threw for 16 touchdowns, 16 interceptions, 2,890 yards, and a 74.8 quarterback rating, all improvements over his rookie year. He became the first 49ers quarterback in club history to take every snap from center over the course of a season in 2006.

2007 season
Smith entered the 2007 season learning under a third offensive coordinator in three seasons. Norv Turner was hired as the head coach by the San Diego Chargers. Jim Hostler replaced Turner. Hostler's system involved a mixture of the offensive system installed by Turner with elements of the West Coast offense installed by Mike McCarthy for the 2005 season. During the off-season, the 49ers added wide receivers Darrell Jackson, Ashley Lelie, and rookie Jason Hill as new offensive targets for Smith.

In the season opener on Monday Night Football against the Arizona Cardinals, Smith led the 49ers to a 20–17 win in a two-minute comeback. While down 17–13 with less than two minutes left, Smith drove down the field, highlighted by a 25-yard scramble. After the scramble, he threw a 22-yard pass to Arnaz Battle that was fumbled on the one-yard line, but recovered by a 49er so the ball was placed back on the one-yard line with 26 seconds left. The following play, Battle ran an end-around for the game-winning touchdown. Smith finished the game 15 for 31 with 126 yards and two rushes for 37 yards.

On September 30 in the first quarter of a game against the Seattle Seahawks, Smith injured his right shoulder after getting sacked by Seahawks defensive tackle Rocky Bernard. Smith suffered a grade-three separation and the initial diagnosis was that surgery would not be required. Smith missed the next three games before returning to the 49ers' starting lineup on Sunday, October 28, 2007.

The 49ers did not win another game until November 25. Among all NFL quarterbacks who qualify for league statistics, only the Jets' Kellen Clemens had a poorer passer rating than Smith (57.2), Smith completed under 50% of his passes, far below the league average of 60%. Smith was at odds with 49ers head coach Mike Nolan over the severity of his injury. Nolan publicly implied that Smith was not fighting through the injury, while Smith felt that the injury still affected his ability to throw accurately, an account that was supported by players from the Seahawks. Nolan decided to rest Smith following a loss in that game to the Seahawks on November 12 and start Trent Dilfer to allow Smith's shoulder to recover. Following the decision, orthopedic surgeon James Andrews said that upon further examination the shoulder did not heal as significantly as Andrews thought it would, and on December 11, 2007, Smith was placed on injured reserve to undergo surgery on the shoulder, ending his season.

2008 season
Smith entered training camp competing for the starting quarterback job with Shaun Hill, who won both of the games he started in 2007, before suffering a back injury against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and journeyman J. T. O'Sullivan. Smith would be learning under a fourth different offensive coordinator in four seasons; Jim Hostler was fired and replaced by former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator and St. Louis Rams offensive coordinator/head coach Mike Martz. Unlike the previous three seasons, where offensive continuity was somewhat maintained, Martz's system was completely different. Smith lost the starting job in training camp to O'Sullivan, who was elevated to starting quarterback, partly due to his familiarity with Martz's offense when he was a member of the Detroit Lions.

On September 10, the 49ers placed Smith on injured reserve after Dr. James Andrews confirmed the team's diagnosis of a broken bone in his shoulder, believed to have been caused by a wire left in his shoulder from the previous surgery, which had sawed through the bone. Regardless, the 49ers' general manager, Scot McCloughan, said that the 49ers expected to release Smith before the 2009 season, when they would owe him a salary of $9,625,000.

After Nolan was fired on October 20, 2008, the 49ers expressed interest in having Smith remain for the 2009 season if he was willing to renegotiate his contract. On March 10, 2009, the 49ers announced that his contract had been successfully restructured and that he would stay with the team. He took a considerable pay cut to remain with the 49ers, with whom he would be under contract for the next two years. Smith was to make $4 million a season in 2009 and 2010, in addition to base salaries that were not immediately made known. In his previous contract, he was scheduled to make $24.6 million in the final two years.

2009 season

After the pay cut, Smith said that he was ready to compete for the starting quarterback spot, primarily against Shaun Hill.

Mike Singletary became the head coach after a successful term as the interim head coach in 2008, and Martz was fired as offensive coordinator due to the huge differences in offensive philosophies between himself and Singletary. Jimmy Raye II was hired to replace him, marking Smith's fifth different offensive coordinator in five seasons. During the off-season, the 49ers drafted Michael Crabtree to be the featured receiver that Smith had been lacking throughout his NFL career. After restructuring his contract with San Francisco, Smith lost the battle for the starting quarterback position to Shaun Hill. However, in a Week 7 game against the Houston Texans, Smith replaced Hill in the third quarter, after Hill had performed poorly and the Niners faced a 21–0 first-half deficit. Smith led the team back with three touchdown passes, all to tight end Vernon Davis, but fell short of victory, 24–21. Singletary named Smith as the 49ers' starting quarterback the next day at his weekly press conference on October 26.

After his return as the 49ers' starting quarterback, Smith displayed signs of progress, despite the team's 3–4 record in his first seven starts. He led the 49ers to a Week 12 victory, 20–3, against the visiting Jacksonville Jaguars, throwing for 232 yards with two touchdown passes while posting a 96.8 passer rating. In a Week 13 match-up against the NFC West division rival Seattle Seahawks, he recorded the first 300-yard passing game of his career, completing 27 of 45 throws with two touchdown passes. Overall, he finished the season with 2,350 passing yards, 18 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions as the 49ers finished with an 8–8 record.

2010 season

Smith entered the 2010 season as the starting quarterback. For the first time in his career, he returned under the same offensive coordinator from the previous season, as Raye was retained. However, continuity in a poor system resulted in the team starting 0–5, and on September 27, Raye was fired and replaced by quarterbacks coach Mike Johnson. Under Johnson, Smith was expected to run a variation of the spread offense that he ran in college. The 49ers continued to build their team having now drafted Anthony Davis and Mike Iupati with their two first-round picks to provide more protection. On September 8, Coach Singletary announced that Smith was named one of the team's captains.

In Week 5, Smith was booed at home and the crowd chanted for his backup, David Carr, before leading the 49ers to two scoring drives to close within three points. However, he was hit as he threw on the third drive attempt, resulting in an interception and a 24–27 loss, dropping the 49ers to 0–5. Smith once again suffered an injured shoulder in the 49ers week 7 game against the Carolina Panthers and was not available to play Week 8 against the Denver Broncos in London. He was replaced by Troy Smith, who had 14 games of experience in the NFL before joining the 49ers organization just before the start of the regular season. Troy Smith took Smith's position after winning two straight games against the St. Louis Rams and the Denver Broncos.

However, following a loss to the Green Bay Packers in Week 13 that left the 49ers with a 4–8 record, Troy Smith was demoted to backup in favor of Alex Smith. Smith would start against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 14 in a game the 49ers needed to win to stay in contention in the NFC West.

Smith acknowledged that his performances needed to be more consistent. On December 12, 2010, the 49ers played the Seahawks in San Francisco. Smith was booed by the Candlestick crowd after the first two plays. However, the boos turned to cheers after Smith helped lead the 49ers to a 40–21 victory over a division rival. The win moved the 49ers one game behind the division leaders (Rams and Seahawks) with three games left to play. However, the 49ers struggled the following Thursday night against the San Diego Chargers and Troy Smith started the following game against the Rams. Troy Smith struggled in the loss to the Rams and Alex relieved Troy Smith in that game. After the game, Singletary was fired and Alex finished the season starting against the Cardinals. The 49ers finished the season 6–10 and Smith became a free agent after the season. After his firing, Singletary said, "You gotta have a quarterback." Smith had won just 19 games in 50 career starts through 2010.

In 2010, he was chosen as the 11th-smartest athlete in sports by Sporting News.

2011 season
The 49ers hired Jim Harbaugh as the new head coach, and Greg Roman replaced Johnson as the new offensive coordinator. Harbaugh, a former quarterback, was the best teacher the 49ers had since Norv Turner in Smith's second season. Harbaugh made it known to Smith that he was welcomed back on the team. Smith's family wanted him to leave San Francisco. Although he was unsigned, Smith organized the players' workouts during the 2011 NFL lockout and helped to install Harbaugh's new offense. After the lockout ended, Smith signed a one-year $5 million contract with the 49ers. Smith was named the starting quarterback heading into the regular season, and Harbaugh believed Smith could succeed in the coach's West Coast offense.

During the season, Smith's game showed marked improvement, especially in his leadership and intangibles. While he did not put up big numbers, he helped the 49ers win games through efficient play, minimizing mistakes and controlling the clock. In a road game against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 4, Smith rallied the team from a 23–3 second-half deficit to win 24–23, completing 9 of 9 passes for 179 yards and two touchdowns in the third quarter alone. Two weeks later, Smith led his third come-from-behind road victory of the year with a six-yard fourth and goal touchdown pass to tight end Delanie Walker, beating the Lions in Detroit 25–19. In a week 10 matchup against the New York Giants, he completed 19 out of 30 passes for 242 yards. The Giants shut down the 49ers' run game (Frank Gore was held to zero yards on six carries before leaving the game in the second half) and Smith was instrumental in the 27–20 victory.

By the time the 2011 season was finished, Smith had helped lead the 49ers to a 13–3 record in the regular season, including five come-from-behind victories in which four were on the road, and the 49ers earned a first-round bye in the playoffs. After 3 head coaches, 7 offensive coordinators, and 17 different starting wide receivers in the span of 7 seasons with the 49ers, Smith would finally make his first playoff appearance.

While the 49ers finished with their most wins since 1997, they did it while ranked 29th of 32 teams in the NFL in total passing yardage for 2011 (including yardage lost from sacks), and Smith was often cynically referred to as a game manager. In this manner, The New York Times wrote that Smith was "a steady, if unspectacular, player surrounded by a solid team" in 2011, whose career year "underscored how much he struggled previously." It was his first season with over 3,000 yards passing, and he set personal single-season highs in virtually every relevant statistical category commonly cited for quarterbacks: in pass attempts with 445, in completions with 273, in completion percentage with 61.3 percent, in passing yards with 3,144, in average per pass with 7.1 yards per attempt, in overall passer rating with 90.7, in rushing attempts with 52, in rushing yards with 179, and in total touchdowns scored with 19 (17 passing & 2 rushing), all while being sacked a league-high 44 times. He also threw a league-low 5 interceptions in 2011, breaking a 49ers franchise record, and setting yet another personal single-season best in fewest passes intercepted per attempt with a 1.123 percent interception rate, likewise the lowest percentage in the league that year.

In the NFC Divisional round of the playoffs, Smith led the 49ers to a win over the New Orleans Saints, with a final score of 36–32. Smith threw for 299 yards, three touchdown passes, and no interceptions while rushing for an additional touchdown. Smith led touchdown drives of 80 and 85 yards in the final 4:02. He scored on a 28-yard touchdown run, and he threw a game-winning 14-yard touchdown pass to Vernon Davis with nine seconds remaining, eschewing a more conservative open receiver that would have settled for a field goal and a tie. Analyst Ron Jaworski said "Alex Smith won the game, not Alex Smith by not making mistakes. His performance won the game for them." Smith also became the first quarterback in NFL playoff history to lead two go-ahead touchdowns in the final 3 minutes of a game. The 49ers lost 20–17 in overtime to the New York Giants in the NFC Championship Game. Smith completed 12 of 26 passes for 196 yards and two touchdowns, but the team turned the ball over twice on special teams. Smith was chosen by teammates as winner of the Ed Block Courage Award, annually awarded to the player that exemplifies a commitment to sportsmanship and courage. Smith made the USA Today All-Joe Team, an award which is given to the best players not to make the Pro Bowl.

2012 season

Smith became a free agent following the 2011 season. The 49ers were reported to be interested in signing Peyton Manning, who had just been released by the rebuilding Indianapolis Colts, leading Smith to visit the Miami Dolphins, reportedly with the intent to sign with the Dolphins if the 49ers signed Manning. Shortly after Manning made the decision to join the Denver Broncos, Smith signed a three-year contract worth $24 million to remain with the 49ers. During the off-season, the 49ers added wide receivers Randy Moss and Mario Manningham in free agency, and A. J. Jenkins in the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft to improve a passing game that lacked production from the receivers the previous season. Smith began the 2012 season as the 49ers' starting quarterback. Smith completed 18-of-19 passes for 232 yards and three touchdowns without an interception in a 24–3 Monday night win over Arizona, and San Francisco was 6–2 after eight games. In the following game against the St. Louis Rams, Smith suffered a concussion in the second quarter, throwing a touchdown with blurred vision before exiting the game. He was replaced by Colin Kaepernick, and the game ended in a 24–24 tie.

Smith missed the following game, and Kaepernick was 16 for 23 for 243 yards with two touchdowns in a 32–7 win over the Chicago Bears. Harbaugh was impressed with Kaepernick, and said "we have two quarterbacks that have a hot hand" while dismissing any rule that a player should not lose their starting job due to an injury. A quarterback controversy began. Smith was ranked third in the NFL in passer rating (104.1), led the league in completion percentage (70%), and had been 19–5–1 as a starter under Harbaugh, while Kaepernick was considered more dynamic with his scrambling ability and arm strength. Smith was medically cleared to play the day before the following game, but Harbaugh chose not to rush him back and again started Kaepernick, who threw and ran for a touchdown in a 31–21 win over the New Orleans Saints. The following week, Harbaugh announced that Kaepernick would start for the 8–2–1 49ers, while also stating that the assignment was week-to-week and not necessarily permanent. However, Kaepernick remained the starter as the 49ers again qualified for the playoffs. Harbaugh stated that Smith had been more of a coach to Kaepernick later into the 2012 season than even he was. Before losing the starting quarterback job, Smith was on pace to set career highs in completion percentage, passing yards, yards-per-attempt, passing touchdowns and rushing yards. Smith was named to the USA Today All Joe Team for the second year in a row, and was also named the captain of the team.

Kansas City Chiefs

2013 season
On February 27, 2013, the 49ers agreed to trade Smith to the Kansas City Chiefs for the Chiefs' second round pick in the 2013 NFL Draft and a conditional pick in the 2014 NFL Draft. The deal became official at the beginning of the new league year on March 12.

After the trade became official, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid stated that Smith would be the starting quarterback for the 2013 season. Smith's job as the starter was solidified during OTA's (Organized Team Activities, a term usually referring to NFL pre-season activities). According to coaches and teammates, Smith displayed a very high "football IQ," and his accuracy in passing was lauded as the best many had ever seen. According to Kansas City's quarterbacks coach, Smith was "super intelligent" and had all of the intangibles that he looked for in a quarterback. The Chiefs were the last unbeaten team in the 2013 NFL season with Smith winning his first nine regular-season starts, gaining 1,919 passing yards with nine touchdowns compared to four interceptions. Smith earned his first and only perfect passer rating on December 15, 2013. He was 17 of 20 with 287 yards and 5 touchdowns, four of them going to Jamaal Charles, in a victory over the Oakland Raiders. Smith and the Chiefs lost to Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Wild Card Round – on January 4, 2014. Smith threw four touchdowns, completing 30 of his 46 pass attempts for 378 yards and no interceptions, while also carrying the ball 8 times for 57 yards. However, he did commit his team's only turnover, losing a fumble. The final score of the game was 45–44 in favor of the Colts.

Smith was elected to his first Pro Bowl at the end of the season as a replacement for Tom Brady. In the game, Smith led all quarterbacks in yards, tied for most touchdowns, and led the game-winning touchdown drive at the end of the game that resulted in him throwing a touchdown pass to DeMarco Murray for a 22–21 win.

2014 season

On August 31, 2014, Smith and the Chiefs agreed to a four-year contract extension. Smith appeared in 15 games and completed 65.3% of his passes in the 2014 season while throwing for 3,265 yards and 18 touchdowns to only six interceptions. However, the Chiefs finished with a 9-7 record and did not qualify for the playoffs.

2015 season
After another strong season in 2015, Smith was elected to the Pro Bowl as an alternate, but turned down the offer. He once again led the Chiefs to the playoffs, where they defeated the Houston Texans 30–0 in the Wild Card Round. Smith threw for 190 yards, a touchdown, and an interception in the victory over the Texans. He also rushed five times for 27 yards, and had a 64-yard scramble, which was called back due to a holding penalty. The Chiefs went on to lose 27–20 against the New England Patriots in the Divisional Round. The Chiefs became the first team ever to start the season 1–5 and win a playoff game. At the end of the season, Sports Illustrated named him the best looking quarterback in the NFL, an honor previously won by Tom Brady. He was named team MVP for 2015 alongside safety Eric Berry. In the regular season Smith threw for 3,486 yards, 20 touchdowns, and only seven interceptions, with a completion percentage of 65.3, passer rating of 95.4, and 7.4 yards per attempt. He also rushed 84 times for 498 yards, two touchdowns, and an average of 5.9 yards per carry. At the end of the season, he was recognized as the 81st best player by his peers on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2016.

2016 season
In Week 1, Smith led a fourth quarter comeback over the San Diego Chargers to win the game 33–27 in overtime after facing a 24–3 third quarter deficit. Smith won the game in overtime with a two-yard rushing touchdown. This became the largest comeback win in Chiefs history as the Chiefs started the 2016 season on a positive note. In 2016, Smith posted a career-high passing yards with 3,502 and a career-high 328 completions despite missing one game. In addition, he ran for a career-high five touchdowns, with three of them coming in the last three games. He helped lead the Chiefs to the postseason, where they lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Divisional Round. He was ranked 81st by his fellow players, for the second consecutive year, on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2017.

2017 season
During the season opener, Smith finished with 368 passing yards and four touchdowns as the Chiefs pulled off a 42–27 road victory over the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots. Smith's 368 passing yards and four passing touchdowns were both the second most in a game in his career. Smith's performance in Week 1 led all eligible passers in yards and earned him AFC Offensive Player of the Week, marking the first time that he won the award. During Week 13 against the New York Jets, Smith finished with 366 passing yards and four touchdowns. After the first 2 minutes and 46 seconds had passed in the first quarter, Smith quickly threw two touchdown passes to Travis Kelce. However, the performance was overshadowed as defensive penalties and errors proved to be costly as the Chiefs lost on the road by a score of 38–31. With his performance against the Jets, Smith became the first player in the modern era to have both a 70-yard pass and a 70-yard run in the same game.

With a playoff spot already secured, Smith was given a rest in Week 17, and Chiefs' 2017 first round pick Patrick Mahomes made his NFL debut against the Denver Broncos. Smith finished the 2017 regular season with 4,042 passing yards and 26 touchdowns, both career highs. He was named an alternate for the Pro Bowl, eventually replacing the injured Philip Rivers. Overall, in the 2017 season, Smith finished with 4,042 passing yards (8th in the NFL), 26 touchdowns, five interceptions, and a league-leading 104.7 passer rating. In the Wild Card Round against the Tennessee Titans, Smith had 264 passing yards and two touchdowns in the narrow 22–21 defeat. He was also credited as being instrumental in the development of Mahomes who would go on to be named NFL MVP in his first year as a starter and win multiple Super Bowls with the Chiefs. Rounding off his Chiefs career with two consecutive AFC West titles, Smith played a part in starting one of the longest eventual division-winning streaks in NFL history.

Washington Redskins / Football Team
On January 30, 2018, Smith was traded to the Washington Redskins in exchange for cornerback Kendall Fuller and a third-round pick (78th overall) in the 2018 NFL Draft. The trade became official on March 14, the first day of the new league year. Smith subsequently signed a four-year, $94 million contract extension with them.

In his Redskins debut, Smith threw for 255 yards and two touchdowns in a 24-6 road victory over the Arizona Cardinals. Through the first nine games of the season, he helped lead Washington to a 6–3 record.

Leg injury

During a game against the Houston Texans on November 18, 2018, Smith suffered a spiral and compound fracture to his tibia and fibula in his right leg when he was sacked by Kareem Jackson and J. J. Watt. The injury drew parallels to former Washington quarterback Joe Theismann, who also broke his leg in a game 33 years to the day prior in 1985 and retired shortly thereafter. Theismann was also present during the game and witnessed the injury.

Following the initial surgery, Smith developed life-threatening necrotizing fasciitis that resulted in sepsis which required him to undergo 17 surgeries, including eight debridements, across four separate hospital stays over a period of nine months. Doctors had suggested that an amputation above the knee might be his only option before performing skin grafts and an operation transferring muscle from his left quadriceps to save it.

As a part of his recovery process, Smith wore an external fixation device for nearly a year. He was placed on the team's physically unable to perform (PUP) reserve list in 2019, missing the entire season. Despite the severity of the injury which many thought he would never come back from, in early 2020 he affirmed his intent to return. An ESPN documentary following his recovery, Project 11, aired in May 2020. He was cleared by his doctors to resume football activities in July 2020, with the team placing him on the physically unable to perform list to begin training camp before being activated on August 16, 2020.

2020 return and Comeback Player of the Year

Smith's first game appearance since his injury occurred in 2020 against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 5. He entered the game after Kyle Allen left with an arm injury and finished with nine completions for 37 yards while being sacked six times as Washington lost 30–10. Smith made his next appearance in Week 9 after Allen left the game with a dislocated ankle, where he threw for 325 yards with a touchdown and three interceptions in a 23–20 loss against the New York Giants. Smith started against the Detroit Lions the following week, where he threw 55 times for 38 completions and 390 yards, all career highs, in a 30–27 road loss. The following week, Smith had his first win since the injury in a 20–9 game against the Cincinnati Bengals, in a game in which Bengals starting quarterback Joe Burrow also suffered a leg injury. During Week 13 against the 11–0 Pittsburgh Steelers, he helped lead Washington to a 23–17 upset victory with 296 passing yards and a touchdown. The following week, he was pulled out of a game against the San Francisco 49ers due to a bone bruise in his right leg, reported at the time as calf soreness, and subsequently missed the rest of that game and the next two.

Smith returned for the regular-season finale against the Philadelphia Eagles, throwing for 162 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions in the 20–14 victory as Washington clinched the NFC East. However, he did not play in the Wild Card Round 31–23 loss against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers due to lingering issues with his bone bruise. Following the season, Smith was named the NFL Comeback Player of the Year by the Associated Press, Sporting News, and Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA).

Smith was released by the team on March 5, 2021. Despite garnering interest from several teams, he announced his retirement on April 19, 2021. In June, he was named the winner of the George Halas Award by the PFWA.

Broadcasting career

Smith joined ESPN in August 2021 to serve as an NFL analyst for SportsCenter and Monday Night Countdown, among other programs for the network.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Postseason

NFL records
 158.3 passing rating (perfect game) in Week 15, 2013
 Most passes to start a season without throwing an interception (287, 2017)

49ers franchise records
 Most 4th quarter comeback wins in a single season: 6 (2011)
 Fewest interceptions in a single season: 5 in 2011 (16 starts)
 Most consecutive pass attempts without an interception: 249

Chiefs franchise records
 Most rushing yards by a quarterback, season: 498 (2015)
 Most consecutive passes without an interception: 312 (Week 3–Week 14, 2015)
 Highest completion percentage, season (min. 200 attempts): 67.5 (2017)

Personal life
Smith has a brother and two sisters. One of Smith's great-grandfathers was an Austrian immigrant of Serbian descent who immigrated to the U.S. from the Austro-Hungarian Empire when he was 12 years old. To honor him, Smith, his brother, and his father are each tattooed with four firesteels, the traditional Serbian cross. Smith's uncle, John L. Smith, was a college football head coach until 2018, and his cousin, Chris Shelton, is a former Major League Baseball player. In 2014, Smith was awarded an honorary doctor of humane letters degree by the University of Utah, where he also delivered the commencement speech for the graduating class. He married former Oakland Raiders cheerleader Elizabeth Barry in 2009. They have two sons and a daughter.

In 2007, Smith founded the Alex Smith Foundation and the Alex Smith Guardian Scholars Program, which helps send foster teens to college. He started the program with $500,000, and continues to personally fund the majority of the charity. The Boston Globe held up Smith's foundation as a model charity that properly allocated its funding, noting that it raised over $800,000 from 2008 to 2010 and spent 91 percent of the funds on scholarships and grants.

Smith started a collection called Just Live with a clothing brand; 100% of the proceeds from the collection are donated to the Center for the Intrepid where he spent most of his rehabilitation process.

References

External links

 Utah Utes bio

1984 births
Living people
All-American college football players
American Conference Pro Bowl players
American football quarterbacks
American people of Austrian descent
American people of Serbian descent
American philanthropists
ESPN people
Kansas City Chiefs players
National Football League announcers
National Football League first-overall draft picks
Sportspeople from Bremerton, Washington
Players of American football from San Diego County, California
Players of American football from Washington (state)
San Francisco 49ers players
Sportspeople from La Mesa, California
Sportspeople from the San Francisco Bay Area
Unconferenced Pro Bowl players
Utah Utes football players
Washington Football Team players
Washington Redskins players

Alex Smith


Operation Herrick was the codename under which all British operations in the War in Afghanistan were conducted from 2002 to the end of combat operations in 2014. It consisted of the British contribution to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), and support to the American-led Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), within the central Asian country.

Operation Herrick superseded two previous efforts in Afghanistan. The first of these was Operation Veritas, which consisted of support during the United States invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001. The last major action of this was a sweep in east Afghanistan by 1,700 Royal Marines during Operation Jacana, which ended in mid-2002. The second was Operation Fingal, which involved leadership and a 2,000 strong contribution for a newly formed ISAF in Kabul after December 2001. Command was subsequently transferred to NATO ally Turkey several months later and the British contingent was scaled back to 300. Since then, all combat operations in Afghanistan have been conducted under Operation Herrick. After 2003, Operation Herrick increased in size and breadth to match ISAF's growing geographical intervention in Afghanistan.

In December 2012 the UK Prime Minister David Cameron announced that 3,800 troops, almost half of the force serving in Helmand Province, would be withdrawn during 2013 with numbers to fall to approximately 5,200. The UK ceased all combat operations in Afghanistan and withdrew the last of its combat troops on 27 October 2014. Between 2001 and 24 July 2015 a total of 454 British military personnel died on operations in Afghanistan.

With the end of combat operations, British military operations in Afghanistan focused on training as part of Operation Toral, the UK's contribution to the NATO Resolute Support Mission. This operation ended in July 2021.

Strategy

It was the UK Government's position that the UK could not disengage from Afghanistan and so retained an active military presence until December 2014 (particularly Helmand province) because of the continued terrorist threat facing Britain and the world. Building a strong Afghan state is a long and difficult task. The Liberal–Conservative coalition government (May 2010 – May 2015) declared that Afghanistan was the UK's top foreign policy priority.

Kabul & Northern Afghanistan
Between 2002 and 2003, the primary component of Herrick remained the 300 personnel providing security in Kabul and training to the new Afghan National Army (ANA). In mid-2003, the operation became battalion strength when a provincial reconstruction team (PRT) was established in Mazari Sharif and in Maymana. The UK also provided a rapid reaction force for the area. Overall command of the PRTs was transferred to ISAF in 2004. Sweden and Norway took over these PRTs in 2005 and 2006 respectively to allow the UK to focus on south Afghanistan. In early 2006, the NATO Headquarters Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC) became the headquarters of ISAF for a year. The attached British infantry and signals personnel raised the number of troops based in Kabul to 1,300.

Kandahar

In 2004, a detachment of six Royal Air Force fighters from Joint Force Harrier was based at Kandahar Airfield to support American OEF forces there. A planned withdrawal in mid-2006 was postponed to provide air support for the new ISAF expansion across the south. The force was later reinforced with more Harriers and an RAF Regiment squadron. The Harriers were withdrawn in 2009 and replaced by a Panavia Tornado GR4 squadron on rotation.

On 2 September 2006, a Hawker Siddeley Nimrod MR2 patrol aircraft, serial number XV230 supporting Canadian forces in Operation Medusa crashed near Kandahar, killing all 14 service members aboard. The cause was related to fuel lines.

4 more Harrier GR9s were committed in May 2007 bringing them to a total of eleven, along with an extra C130 transport plane and four Westland Sea Kings from the Fleet Air Arm. Harriers have been succeeded by Tornados. Merlin and Chinook helicopters are also based there.

The majority of aircraft deployed for Herrick were based at Kandahar.

Helmand

Mission

In January 2006, Defence Secretary John Reid announced the UK would send a PRT with several thousand personnel to Helmand for at least three years. This had been planned as part of the gradual expansion of ISAF's area of responsibility from the Kabul region to the rest of Afghanistan. An initial strength of 5,700 personnel in Afghanistan was planned, which would stabilise to around 4,500 for the rest of the deployment.

The move was to be a coordinated effort with other NATO countries to relieve the predominantly American OEF presence in the south. To this end, the Netherlands and Canada would lead similar deployments in Oruzgan and Kandahar respectively. Several other countries would support this move with troops. In the case of Helmand, Denmark sent 750 troops while Estonia would increase their Helmand force to 150 soldiers.

Local Taliban figures voiced opposition to the incoming force and pledged to resist it.

Activities

Before the main deployment, the Royal Engineers constructed a central fortification, Camp Bastion, to serve as a main base. A camp for an Afghan force (Camp Shorabak, initially for 3rd Brigade, 205th Corps) was built nearby. On 1 May, the US OEF force was relieved in a ceremony. At the same time, the United States began a major offensive, Operation Mountain Thrust, against the insurgency in south Afghanistan. This brought ISAF forces into open conflict with the Taliban.

British forces originally tried to provide security to reconstruction, but instead became engaged in combat. Platoon houses were soon established in northern settlements, due to pressure from the provincial governor for an aggressive stance. However, these quickly became a focus for heavy fighting. One of these was in Sangin, which was cut off and surrounded by the Taliban in early July. Eleven soldiers were killed in Sangin District over the subsequent period. On 16 July, with support from American and Canadian forces, 200 paratroopers were airlifted to take the town.

In early August, 500 paratroopers and Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers were airlifted to Musa Quala after violence flared around the platoon house. One British soldier was killed in the battle. On 25 August, several hundred soldiers were involved in a second operation to escort a group of Afghan policemen as a show of force.

The Taliban made direct assaults on the British-held compounds, attacking with small arms fire, RPGs, and mortar rounds at short range. The British responded with airstrikes and artillery, often aimed right outside their compound walls, in what became a close quarters battle.

Casualties increased on both sides, with many more Taliban casualties as their assault had exposed them to the full scope of NATO's heavier firepower. Numbers of civilian casualties and damage to local infrastructure increased. The NATO forces grew increasingly concerned that they were alienating residents with heavy-handed tactics, in spite of their intention to win "hearts and minds". It was also becoming clear that the British did not have the number of troops and helicopters to sustain the platoon house strategy indefinitely under the circumstances. Realising that the situation could not carry on unchanged, British commanders approached local tribal leaders to organise a temporary ceasefire.

Through pressure from the local tribal elders and their mounting casualties, the Taliban agreed to withdraw from the contested towns at the same time as the British, having been unable to realise their goal of forcibly expelling the foreign troops. NATO estimated Taliban losses over the summer period to be around 1,000 killed in Helmand alone.

The British commander, Brigadier Ed Butler, later said the deal had come just 48 hours before Musa Quala was planned to be abandoned because of the risks support helicopters were taking. As a result of the deal, British forces peacefully withdrew from the settlement in mid October.
The truce drew criticism from American commanders who believed it showed a sign of weakness on NATO's part. The deal would again be called into question when the Taliban retook the town of Musa Qala by surprise in February 2007, following the killing of a leading commander in an American airstrike. The town was eventually retaken by British and Afghan forces.

By late September, 31 British soldiers had died in Afghanistan over the year. Corporal Mark Wright, was posthumously awarded the George Cross and Corporal Bryan Budd was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross, the British Armed Forces' highest awards for gallantry. Brigadier Butler declared the Taliban to have been "tactically defeated" for the time being.

Response
The stress of operations was admitted to be unexpected by the Ministry of Defence, and there was increasing pressure to send more forces to Helmand. Lieutenant General David J. Richards said that this was the heaviest persistent combat the British Armed Forces had experienced since the Korean War or the Second World War.

As a result, Operation Herrick was increased to 7,700 personnel. Additional aircraft, artillery pieces (including 4GMLRS) and armoured vehicles (such as Warrior IFVs), an additional Platoon of Snipers were also sent.

Operation Mar Karadad

As of December 8, 2007, an alleged 2000 Taliban rebels occupied Musa Qala. Coalition forces prepared for a siege of the town. Operation Mar Karadad  (translated as Operation Snakebite) was commanded by HQ Task Force Helmand, a bolstered HQ 52 Infantry Brigade, supported by 82nd Airborne Task Force Corsair. Afghan troops supported by British, Danish and US troops fought for control of the town, which was a major Taliban drug trafficking station and the Taliban's only occupied village in the strategically crucial Helmand province. It was considered to be of symbolic importance to both international forces and insurgents operating in the area.

There has been some civilian evacuation, partly aided by the aerial dropping of leaflets warning of the impending battle. In preparation, it was believed that the village was heavily mined by Taliban fighters. Sergeant Lee Johnson of the 2nd Bn The Yorkshire Regiment was killed shortly after 10am on 8 December 2007, whilst taking part in an operation to recapture the town, when a land mine exploded. The Taliban insurgents withdrew from the area by midday on 10 December leaving the Afghan army and NATO forces in control of the town. This was the major operation of Operation HERRICK 7 for Task Force Helmand.

Operation Volcano

In early February 2007, at the end of a six-week operation, the Royal Marines cleared 25 Taliban compounds in the proximity of the Kajaki hydroelectric dam in order to allow repair work to be conducted on the machinery.

Operation Achilles

In between early March to late May 2007, the British led Operation Achilles, NATO's drive to push the Taliban out of Helmand.

In early May 2007 Operation Silver, a sub-operation of Achilles, successfully expelled Taliban fighters from the town of Sangin. It was followed in mid-May by Operation Silicon, where British led forces removed the Taliban from Gereshk and much of the surrounding countryside. The Royal Engineers then set up three camps in the area for the Afghan National Army. The book "The Junior Officers Reading Club" documents Operation Silicon.

Operation Lastay Kulang

A follow-up to Achilles, Operation Lastay Kulang was launched on 30 May 2007 near the village of Kajaki Sofle, 10 kilometres to the southwest of Kajaki, to remove a Taliban force encamped there. A force of 1000 British troops, another thousand ISAF soldiers, and elements of the Afghan National Army moved into the area to confront the insurgents. On the night of 30 May the American 82nd Airborne Division conducted an air assault on enemy positions during which one of their Chinook helicopters crashed, apparently due to enemy fire, killing five Americans, a Briton and a Canadian.

By the second of June, ISAF and Afghan forces had isolated several pockets of insurgent fighters in the north and south of the Upper Sangin valley.  In an effort to win over local support, the Royal Engineers have started work on several reconstruction projects, such as digging irrigation ditches to help farmers in the area. Operation Lastay Kulang is described in the book, Attack State Red, about the Royal Anglian Battle Group in Helmand.

Taliban spring offensive

By late May 2007 the Taliban spring offensive promised for March 2007 had failed to materialise. This is put down in part to the massive casualties the Taliban took while trying to storm British strongholds across Helmand and by systematic attacks on their mid-level commanders during operations over the winter, which has hampered their ability to coordinate large troop movements.

The Daily Telegraph reported that they wouldn't "discount the Taliban as a spent force just yet", as an "increase in enemy tempo" was expected. As of October 2008 the number of clashes has risen from five a day to 15, lasting from 10 minutes to 11 hours.

In a new development, it has been reported that the Taliban may be recruiting child soldiers from the tribal areas of neighbouring Pakistan to fight coalition forces.

Build-up to summer offensive
In February 2008 the Taliban prepared for the summer offensive with a number of attacks on JTAC Hill.

British royal family involvement

On 28 February an American website, the Drudge Report, reported that Prince Harry, a member of the Household Cavalry, was operating as a Forward Air Controller on JTAC Hill with a Gurkha unit. The MoD had made agreements with the British and a few other countries' media not to reveal that he was there until he came home or the news was otherwise released. An Australian weekly women's magazine New Idea initially broke the story in January, but it was not followed up at the time. New Idea editors claimed ignorance of any news blackout. Then a German newspaper, the Berliner Kurier, published a short piece on 28 February 2008, also before Drudge.

In September 2012, Prince Harry, who was known as Captain Wales, deployed with 3 Regiment Army Air Corps to Helmand Province, where he completed an operational tour as an Apache attack helicopter co-pilot gunner, part of the UK Joint Aviation Group, itself part of the US Marine Expeditionary Force.

Kajaki Dam Convoy

In late August one of the largest operations by British and NATO forces in Helmand province took place, with the aim of bringing electricity to the region. A convoy of 100 vehicles took five days to move massive sections of an electric turbine for the Kajaki Dam, covering . The operation involved 2,000 British troops, 1,000 other NATO troops from Australia, Canada, Denmark and the US, and 1,000 Afghan soldiers.

The Canadians covered the first leg and the British took over at a meeting point in the desert, using 50 BvS 10 Viking armoured vehicles to escort the convoy. Hundreds of special forces troops went in first, sweeping the area and although difficult to verify, British commanders estimated that more than 200 insurgents were killed, without any NATO casualties. British BAe Harrier GR9 and AgustaWestland Apaches, Dutch, French and US aircraft, helicopters and unmanned drones provided aerial reconnaissance and fire support. The turbine was finally commissioned in October 2016  .

Other operations
 OP Panchai Palang between 19 June 2009 and July 2009
 Garmsir Area of Operations handed from Task Force Helmand (TFH) to 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (24 MEU) during June 2009
 Operation Moshtarak starts during February 2010
 Musa Qaleh Area of Operations handed from TFH to I Marine Expeditionary Force (1 MEF) during March 2010.
 Kajaki Area of Operations handed from TFH to 1 MEF during June 2010.
 Sangin Area of Operations handed from TFH to 1 MEF during September 2010.
 OP Qalai Sharqay during May 2011.
 Lead security for Lashkar Gah transferred to ANSF during July 2011.

Equipment

During Operation Herrick a wide variety of equipment was used by the British Army:
 Mastiff 1 from December 2006 and withdrawn during H 17.
 Mastiff 2 from June 2009.
 Snatch Vixen from 2008.
 Lightweight remote control vehicle from November 2008.
 Dragon Runner from November 2008.
 HORN Detector from May 2011.
 RWMIK withdrawn during H 14
 Snatch Vixen withdrawn during H 14
 Jackal 1 withdrawn during H 17
 M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System withdrawn during H 17
 Trojan Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers

British casualties

As of 24 July 2015, British forces had suffered 454 fatalities.

404 fatalities are classed as "killed in action", and 49 are a result of illness, non-combat injuries or accidents, or have not yet officially been assigned a cause of death pending the outcome of an investigation.

615 people were seriously or very seriously wounded and 2,187 people were wounded in action.

Financial costs
The Net Additional Costs from 2001 to 2018 of Operation Herrick were £22.2 billion. This is costs above the normal running costs of the forces involved and the normal budgetary annual unexpected operations allowance, so is less than both the total costs and the marginal extra costs of the operation. The bulk of the spending was from 2006 to 2014.

According to Investment in Blood, a book by former government adviser Frank Ledwidge, the MOD estimated costs of all military operations in the Afghanistan war to 2012 at about £25 billion. Ledwidge estimated total British government costs were £37 billion ($56.5 billion) to 2012.

See also
 United Kingdom in the Soviet-Afghan War
 Operation Herrick order of battle
 International Security Assistance Force
 Provincial reconstruction team
 Battle of Musa Qala
 Battle of Now Zad
 Siege of Sangin
 Attack State Red

References

Citations

Bibliography

External links

 Operations in Afghanistan - Ministry of Defence
 Operations in Afghanistan - Permanent Joint Headquarters

Al-Qaeda
British Army deployments
21st-century Royal Air Force deployments

Wars involving the Taliban
International Security Assistance Force

Operation Herrick


The  siege of Paris of 885–886 was part of a Viking raid on the Seine, in the Kingdom of the West Franks. The siege was the most important event of the reign of Charles the Fat, and a turning point in the fortunes of the Carolingian dynasty and the history of France. It also proved for the Franks the strategic importance of Paris at a time when it also was one of the largest cities in West Francia. The siege is the subject of an eyewitness account in the Latin poem Bella Parisiacae urbis of Abbo Cernuus.

With hundreds of ships, and possibly tens of thousands of men, the Vikings arrived outside Paris in late November 885, demanding tribute. This was denied by Odo, Count of Paris, despite the fact he could assemble only several hundred soldiers to defend the city. The Vikings attacked with a variety of siege engines but failed to break through the city walls despite days of intense attacks. The siege was maintained for months but without any significant assaults after the initial attack. As the siege continued, most of the Vikings left Paris to pillage further upriver. The Vikings made a final unsuccessful attempt to take the city during the summer. In October, Charles the Fat arrived with his army.

To the frustration of the Parisians who had fought to defend the city, Charles stopped short of attacking the Viking invaders. Instead, he allowed them to sail farther up the Seine to raid Burgundy (which was in revolt) and promised a payment of 700 livres (257 kg) of silver. Odo, highly critical of this, attempted to defy Charles' promises. When Charles died in 888, Odo was elected the first non-Carolingian king of the Franks.

Background
Although the Vikings had attacked parts of Francia previously, they reached Paris for the first time in 845, eventually sacking the city. They attacked Paris three more times in the 860s, leaving only when they had acquired sufficient loot or bribes. In 864, by the Edict of Pistres, bridges were ordered built across the Seine at Pîtres and in Paris, where two were built, one on each side of the Île de la Cité, which served admirably in the siege of 885. The chief ruler in the region around Paris (the Île-de-France) was the duke of Francia (also the Count of Paris), who controlled the lands between the Seine and Loire. Originally this was Robert the Strong, margrave of Neustria and missus dominicus for the Loire Valley. He began fortifying the capital and fought the Norsemen continuously until his death in battle against them at Brissarthe. His son Odo succeeded him, but royal power declined. Paris continued to be fortified due to local, rather than royal, initiative.

West Francia suffered under a series of short-reigning kings after the death of Charles the Bald in 877. This situation prevailed until 884 when Charles the Fat, already King of Germany and Italy, became king, raising hopes of reunification of Charlemagne's empire. While it was thought that the Franks had gained an upper hand against the Vikings after the victory of Louis III at the Battle of Saucourt in 881, in 885, a year after the succession of Charles, the Vikings launched their largest attack on Paris.

Siege
Vikings under Sigfred and Sinric sailed towards West Francia again in 885, having raided the north-eastern parts of the country before. Sigfred demanded a bribe from Charles, but was refused, and promptly led 700 ships up the Seine, carrying perhaps as many as 30,000 or 40,000 men. The number, the largest ever recorded for a Viking fleet in contemporary sources, originates from Abbo Cernuus. Although an eyewitness, there is general agreement among historians that Abbo's numbers are "a gross exaggeration," with Abbo being "in a class of his own as an exaggerator." Historian C. W. Previté-Orton has instead put the number of ships at 300, and John Norris at "some 300." Although the Franks tried to block the Vikings from sailing up the Seine, the Vikings eventually managed to reach Paris. Paris at this time was a town on an island, known today as Île de la Cité. Its strategic importance came from the ability to block ships' passage with its two low-lying footbridges, one of wood and one of stone. Not even the shallow Viking ships could pass Paris because of the bridges. Odo, Count of Paris prepared for the arrival of the Vikings by fortifying the bridgehead with two towers guarding each bridge. He was low on men, having no more than 200 men-at-arms available (also according to Abbo Cernuus), but led a joint defence with Gozlin, Bishop of Paris (the first "fighting bishop" in medieval literature), and had the aid of his brother, Robert, two counts and a marquis.

The Vikings arrived in Paris on 24 or 25 November 885, initially asking for tribute from the Franks. When this was denied, they began a siege. On 26 November the Vikings attacked the northeast tower with ballistae, mangonels, and catapults. They were repulsed by a mixture of hot wax and pitch. All Viking attacks that day were repulsed, and during the night the Parisians constructed another storey on the tower. On 27 November the Viking attack included mining, battering rams, and fire, but to no avail. Bishop Gozlin entered the fray with a bow and an axe. He planted a cross on the outer defences and exhorted the people. His brother Ebles also joined the fighting. The Vikings withdrew after the failed initial attacks and built a camp on the right side of the riverbank, using stone as construction material. While preparing for new attacks, the Vikings also started constructing additional siege engines. In a renewed assault, they shot a thousand grenades  against the city, sent a ship for the bridge, and made a land attack with three groups. The forces surrounded the bridgehead tower, possibly mainly aiming to bring down the river obstacle. While they tried setting fire to the bridge, they also attacked the city itself with siege engines.

For two months the Vikings maintained the siege, making trenches and provisioning themselves off the land. In January 886 they tried to fill the river shallows with debris, plant matter, and the bodies of dead animals and dead prisoners to try to get around the tower. They continued this for two days. On the third day, they set three ships alight and guided them towards the wooden bridge. The burning ships sank before they could set the bridge on fire, but the wooden construction was nonetheless weakened. On 6 February, rains caused the debris-filled river to overflow and the bridge supports to give way. The bridge gone, the northeast tower was now isolated with only twelve defenders inside. The Vikings asked the twelve to surrender, but they refused and were all subsequently killed.

The Vikings left a force around Paris, but many ventured further to pillage Le Mans, Chartres, Evreux and into the Loire. Odo successfully slipped some men through Norse lines to go to Italy and plead with Charles to come to their aid. Henry, Count of Saxony, Charles' chief man in Germany, marched to Paris. Weakened by marching during the winter, Henry's soldiers made only one abortive attack in February before retreating. The besieged forces sallied forth to obtain supplies. The morale of the besiegers was low and Sigfred asked for sixty pounds of silver. He left the siege in April. Another Viking leader, Rollo, stayed behind with his men. In May, disease began to spread in the Parisian ranks and Gozlin died. Odo then slipped through Viking-controlled territory to petition Charles for support; Charles consented. Odo fought his way back into Paris and Charles and Henry of Saxony marched northward. According to Joshua J. Mark, "at some point in 886 CE, Odo returned with the armies of Charles the Fat. He fought his way through the Viking forces and into the city with his men; the Vikings in quick pursuit. Odo organized an immediate defence and the Danes were again driven back to their ships  " Henry died, however, after he fell into the Viking ditches, where he was captured and killed.

That summer, the Vikings made a final attempt to take the city but were repulsed. The imperial army arrived in October and scattered the Vikings. Charles encircled Rollo and his army and set up a camp at Montmartre. However, Charles had no intention of fighting. He allowed the Vikings to sail up the Seine to ravage Burgundy, which was in revolt. When the Vikings withdrew from France the next spring, he gave them 700  (pounds) of silver as promised, amounting to approximately 257 kg.

Aftermath

The Parisians and Odo refused to let the Vikings down the Seine and the invaders had to drag their boats overland to the Marne to leave the country. When Charles died in 888, the French elected Odo as their king. Odo's brother and son of Robert the Strong, Robert I of France, was later elected king as well, in opposition to the Carolingian Charles the Simple. Throughout the 9th century, the Robertians, descendants of Robert the Strong, held the crown and remained leading figures in West Francia. However, their rulership was highly fragmented as their authority was challenged by minor countships and castellanies. The princelings of West Francia elected Robert I's grandson, Hugh Capet, king in 987.

The Viking invasion as well as further persistent raidings of the city destroyed much of the urban infrastructure on the Left Bank, which eventually converted to agricultural use, while the Right Bank were mostly sparred from pillaging, with subsequent development favoring the Right Bank.

References

Further reading

880s conflicts
885
886
9th century in West Francia
Paris
Paris 885
Battles in Île-de-France
Siege 0885
Medieval Paris
Rollo
Paris 885
Viking Age in France
River and lake piracy

Siege of Paris (885–886)


Cold War liberal is a term that was used in the United States during the Cold War, which began after the end of World War II. The term was used to describe liberal politicians and labor union leaders who supported democracy and equality. They supported the growth of labor unions, the civil rights movement, and the war on poverty and simultaneously opposing totalitarianism commonly seen under Communist rule at the time. Cold War liberals supported efforts of containment, such as diplomat George F. Kennan and U.S. president Harry S. Truman during the post-World War II era, towards Soviet Communism.

Background and overview
Modern American liberalism of the Cold War era was the immediate heir to Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal and the slightly more distant heir to the Progressive Era of the early 20th century. Sol Stern wrote that "Cold War liberalism deserves credit for the greatest American achievement since World War II—winning the Cold War." The essential tenets of Cold War liberalism can be found in Roosevelt's Four Freedoms (1941); of these, freedom of speech and freedom of religion were classic American liberal freedoms, as was freedom from fear (freedom from tyrannical government), but freedom from want was another matter. Roosevelt proposed a notion of freedom that went beyond government non-interference in private lives. Freedom from want could justify positive government action to meet economic needs, a concept more associated with the concepts of Abraham Lincoln's Republican Party, Henry Clay's Whig Party, and Alexander Hamilton's economic principles of government intervention and subsidy than the more radical socialism and social democracy of European thinkers, or with prior versions of classical radicalism and classical liberalism as represented by Thomas Jefferson's Democratic-Republican Party and Andrew Jackson's Democratic Party.

In the 1950s and the 1960s, both major American political parties included liberal and conservative factions. The Democratic Party had two wings: Northern and Western liberals opposed the generally-conservative Southern whites. Difficult to classify were the northern urban Democratic political machines. They had supported New Deal economic policies but would slowly come apart over racial issues. Some historians have divided the Republican Party into the liberal Wall Street and the conservative Main Street factions; others have said that the party's conservatives came from landlocked states (Robert A. Taft of Ohio and Barry Goldwater of Arizona) and the liberals tended to come from California (Earl Warren and Pete McCloskey), New York (Nelson Rockefeller), and other coastal states.

Opposing both Soviet Communism and conservatism, Cold War liberalism resembled earlier liberalisms in its views on many social issues and personal liberty but its economic views were not those of free-market Jeffersonian liberalism or those of European social democrats. Although they never endorsed state socialism, they called for spending on education, science, and infrastructure, notably the expansion of NASA and the construction of the Interstate Highway System. Their progressivist ideas continued the legacy of Lincoln, Woodrow Wilson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Most prominent and constant among the positions of Cold War liberalism were support for a domestic economy built on a balance of power between labor (in the form of organized trade unions) and management (with a tendency to be more interested in large corporations than in small business); a foreign policy focused on containing the Eastern Bloc, which according to some was one factor leading to the dissolution of the Soviet Union at the end of 1991; the continuation and expansion of New Deal social welfare programs (in the broad sense of welfare, including programs like Social Security); and an embrace of Keynesian economics. By way of compromise with political groupings to their right, this often became in practice military Keynesianism.

At first, liberals generally did not see Franklin D. Roosevelt's successor Harry S. Truman as one of their own and viewed him as a Democratic Party hack. Other liberal politicians and liberal organizations, such as the Americans for Democratic Action (ADA), sided with Truman in opposing Communism both at home and abroad, sometimes by sacrificing civil liberties. At the same time, the ADA succeeded in pushing Truman leftward on issues like the civil rights movement. Hubert Humphrey was a liberal leader who fought to uphold Truman's veto of the McCarran Act of 1950. Liberals were united in their opposition to McCarthyism. Truman would call Joseph McCarthy "the greatest asset the Kremlin has" by "torpedo[ing] the bipartisan foreign policy of the United States." The Truman Doctrine was an American foreign policy with the primary goal of containing Soviet expansion during the Cold War.

Notable Cold War liberals
Some notable pioneers of Cold War liberalism included Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy, and Lyndon B. Johnson. World War II ended under Truman, while Johnson succeeded to the presidency after the assassination of Kennedy. Johnson was greatly supported by the Democratic Party, and as president he was responsible for designing the Great Society legislation for civil rights, public broadcasting, Medicare, Medicaid, environmental protection, aid to education (Elementary and Secondary Education Act), and his war on poverty. Johnson was renowned for his domineering personality and the Johnson treatment, his coercion of powerful politicians in order to advance legislation. All of his accomplishments were influenced by the idea of Cold War liberalism. which was according to most implemented by Kennedy.

Henry M. Jackson, first a representative and then senator from Washington state, is widely recognized as a Cold War liberal. A Democrat, his political beliefs were characterized by support of civil rights, human rights, and safeguarding the environment; he had an equally-strong commitment to oppose totalitarianism in general, particularly Soviet Communism. Jackson and his legacy are acknowledged as having significant influence on neoconservatism. Zbigniew Brzezinski, Jimmy Carter's National Security Adviser, was a liberal Democrat and a committed anti-communist, favoring social justice while seeing world events in substantially Cold War terms. According to Foreign Policy, "Brzezinski's outlook was anti-Soviet, but he also insisted, like George Kennan before him, on the necessity of cultivating a strong West."

John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy is regarded by some as one of the key players that revived liberalism and was the most influential liberal of the time. During his campaign, Kennedy took the liberal approach by promising voters to revive liberalism, which had withered under Dwight D. Eisenhower, with a new set of reforms collectively called the New Frontier. Kennedy wanted to expand Social Security to benefit more Americans, help the elderly pay their medical costs, fund educational endeavors, raise the national minimum wage, and reduce income inequality. In his famous inaugural address, Kennedy appealed to American youth by instructing them to "ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country". He later launched the Peace Corps to support this effort, encouraging young Americans to assist people in developing countries. He also responded to national fears and pressures regarding the Space Race against the Soviet Union by challenging Americans to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade. His enthusiasm spread across the country. He sought to reform economic issues along with issues of the humanities, which is what paved the way for the future of liberalism. To improve relations with Latin America and guard against pro-Soviet regimes, Kennedy supported the Alliance for Progress, which over ten years provided billions of dollars in foreign aid to Latin American countries, encouraging economic cooperation, and aiming to reduce economic inequality in those countries through land reform. The alliance succeeded in some of its goals but faced limitations in its political goals.

Cold War liberalism and conservatism
In the 1970s, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Jimmy Carter pursued a relative reduction of Cold War tensions through linkage policy and triangular diplomacy, while continuing to pressure the Soviet Union in key areas. The Carter Doctrine, which sought to oppose Soviet expansion toward the Persian Gulf, was expanded and altered by the Reagan Doctrine. As the United States president in the 1980s, Ronald Reagan believed that the United States should combat Communism more directly. He regarded the previous detentes, or the easing of strained relations between the United States and the Soviet Union, a sign of vulnerability. In 1991, two years after Reagan left office, the Cold War ended. His policies of preserving peace through strength and promoting advancement of democracy around the world had gained him significant foreign policy credibility. The American conservative Reagan supported liberal democracy as a system compared to the authoritarian Soviet system, and his policies supported a grand strategy consistent with pressuring the Soviet Union.

See also
 Liberal hawk
 Liberal internationalism

References

Bibliography
 Faulks, Keith. Political sociology: a critical introduction. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1999.
 Fernbach, Alfred and Bishko, Charles Julian, Charting Democracy in America (1995)
 Frost, Bryan-Paul and Sikkenga, Jeffrey (2003). History of American Political Thought. Lexington Books. p. 33.
 Hamby, Alonzo L., Liberalism and Its Challengers: From F.D.R. to Bush (1992)

 Schlesinger, Arthur, "Liberalism in America: A Note for Europeans", in The Politics of Hope, (1962)

Cold War
Cold War terminology
Political history of the United States
Political terminology of the United States

Cold War liberal


Denis O'Brien (September 12, 1941 – December 3, 2021) was an American attorney, best-known as the business manager of George Harrison of the Beatles and co-founder of the film studio HandMade Films.

Biography
O'Brien was born on September 12, 1941, and grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, the son of Ruth O'Brien and Albert James O'Brien. Albert was Vice Chairman of the Board at Ralston Purina, and also Chairman of the Board of Union Bank of Illinois, Union Illinois Company, and the State Bank of Jerseyville, Illinois, a bank that he gained control of in 1974. Denis became President and CEO of the bank in 1997, but was ousted two years later by the bank's board "after his business strategy proved too aggressive for the board of directors".

O'Brien attended Northwestern University and earned a JD from Washington University School of Law. He lived in Paris from 1968 through 1970, where he worked for the prestigious law firm Coudert Frères/Coudert Brothers. He then moved to London for a position with the Rothschild banking group. His two daughters by his first wife, Kristen and Laura O'Brien, were born in London.

O'Brien met George Harrison when the former Beatle was looking to extricate himself from Allen Klein's management. He was introduced to Harrison by Peter Sellers, one of the financial clients O'Brien successfully helped by turning around his flailing career in 1974 when Sellers signed on to make The Return of the Pink Panther. O'Brien helped the former Beatle sort out his mounting tax issues after becoming his manager in 1973. Their partnership was initially founded on mutual admiration. Harrison said of O'Brien, "In 20 minutes, he gets more from a budget sheet than most people do in 20 hours", while O'Brien recalled of their first meeting: "The chairman of Shell, of RTZ, of IBM, of Ford – I've met all these people and I've never met anyone as together as George."

Harrison and O'Brien founded the film production company HandMade Films in 1978 to finance the completion of Monty Python's Life of Brian after EMI Films, the original backers, pulled out at the last moment. O'Brien ran HandMade Films, as well as acting as executive producer for Life of Brian, and later productions such as The Long Good Friday, Time Bandits, The Missionary, Mona Lisa, Withnail and I and Nuns on the Run. The company ceased operations in 1991 and was sold three years later to Paragon Entertainment, a Canadian corporation.

Harrison brought a lawsuit against O'Brien in Los Angeles in January 1995, claiming O'Brien had deprived him of £16 million over a 12-year period. The court found that O'Brien had mismanaged HandMade and ruled that he should pay Harrison $11 million. He was subsequently instructed to pay Harrison £6.7 million in damages. Harrison felt betrayed by O'Brien, whom he considered a close family friend. According to Eric Idle of Monty Python, Harrison wrote the unreleased song "Lyin' O'Brien" about his former manager.

O'Brien filed for bankruptcy, while Harrison sued O'Brien in bankruptcy court without success. In August 2001, the judge dismissed the case because Harrison failed to appear for a deposition, and also dismissed Harrison's claim that his poor health had prevented him from doing so. Harrison died of lung cancer three months later on November 29, 2001. O'Brien died on December 3, 2021, at the age of 80.

References

External links

1941 births
2021 deaths
American film producers
American lawyers
Northwestern University alumni
Washington University School of Law alumni

Denis O'Brien (producer)


Neil Campbell (1678 - 1761) was a Scottish Minister, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland at the start of the Original Secession and Principal of Glasgow University during a flourishing period of the Scottish Enlightenment.

Life
Neil Campbell's origins are obscure, though it is clear he was well connected to the Patronage networks of the Argyle Interest, which was to triumph in the so-called Glorious Revolution.

Hew Scott's "Fasti Ecclesiae..." (which was based on reading original parish records) says he was the son of Major John Campbell of the Clenary family, but Neil was sent to his uncle, Rev Patrick Campbell of Glenaray and his wife Jean McIver, to raise and educate him in the church.

Some genealogy websites, and others who may have access to private family papers, suggest he was the, possibly illegitimate, son of a John Campbell (and possibly a cadet of the Argyle family).

Neil matriculated at Glasgow University on 1 January 1697 to study Divinity. There is no record of him graduating, a not uncommon occurrence. He was licensed to preach as a Church of Scotland minister by the Presbytery of Argyll in June 1701.

Minister
He was ordained Minister of Kilmallie in Lochaber on 9 September 1702. Kilmallie was the large parish, in geographical extent, and its Highland population generally held Jacobite sympathies, implying a lean towards the Catholic cause.

Seven years later, he transferred to Rosneath, on the Firth of Clyde just opposite the traditional Campbell heartlands. He received the call on 13 June 1709 and admitted on 15 July. He served there for another seven years.

Meanwhile, the Church Patronage (Scotland) Act 1711 had come into force, which meant the Crown, and other Patrons, could present Ministers to vacancies in their churches. Neil Campbell was presented to the Kirk at Renfrew by George I - really Argyle - on 15 November 1715. He was called on 26 April, and subsequently translated and admitted on 18 July 1716. He served there until 1728, when through the influence of his Patrons, the Crown appointed him Principal of Glasgow University.

Principal
The Principal of Glasgow University was a key appointment in the Patronage networks available to the Crown. He was an important player in the Presbytery of Glasgow which was in turn a major influence on the Town Council, and in Parliamentary elections. There were shifting (and interlocking) allegiances to Montrose, Hamilton and Argyle networks. Neil Campbell was appointed in 1727 at the instigation of the Lord Justice General, Lord Islay and his brother, the Duke of Argyle, largely as a safe pair of hands in a religiously and politically disputed terrain.

The teaching at Glasgow had been reformed by his predecessor, Principal Stirling, and a number of important appointments were made during Campbell's tenure, notably Adam Smith and William Cullen - who turned the Glasgow medical school into a rival to Edinburgh's, which was made possible by major increases in finance, again from Government and other sources of patronage. Another appointment was the scientist and educator John Anderson, whose Anderson's Institution developed into Strathclyde University. Campbell might not be able to take credit for the appointments or for the finance, as he was regarded as a somewhat weak leader, but Glasgow was even more flourishing at the end of his regime than it was at the beginning. Smith recalled his time there as by far the most useful and therefore as by far the happiest and most honourable period of my life.

Campbell helped negotiate a return to Glasgow of copies of important archives of the pre-Reformation Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Glasgow, from the Scots College in Paris.

A lot of Campbell's time was taken up in contending with religious divisions among the staff (reflected in student concerns) and in the Glasgow Presbytery. He unsuccessfully tried to defend his colleague, the Professor of Divinity John Simson, from charges of heresy brought by the Presbytery, and ended up having to take over all his classes, without any increase in pay (though some compensation was given much later). Campbell?s own religious philosophy seems to have been hyper-Calvinist, which might explain his quarrels with the philosopher Francis Hutcheson and his opposition to David Hume getting a professorship at Glasgow.

He was in post during challenging times, including the occupation of Glasgow by the Young Pretender. He loyally supported the Government. It is no surprise that he seems to have had a stroke in 1753. He did not resign his post, but lived on, disabled, until his death on 22 June 1761.

Moderator

1732 General Assembly, the beginnings of Secession
Principal Campbell was elected Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland for 1732. The King?s Commissioner brought a message of respect and admiration, along with encouragement to wise, sober debate, from King. In return the Assembly voted a loyal address in return, expressing gratitude, loyalty etc. It expressed particular gratitude for the King's gift of £1000, and it made the customary arrangements for using it to fight Roman Catholicism in the Highlands and Islands. The Assembly also voted to urge all congregations to contribute to the Society in Scotland for Propagating Christian Knowledge (SSPCK), which had similar missionary aims in the Highlands. Both also contributed to the spread of the English language there, along with loyalty to the House of Hanover.

A less routine, and more eventful, decision was taken to regulate the procedures for filling vacant Ministers? posts in Parishes, where the Patron had failed to do so. The Church Patronage (Scotland) Act 1711 was a long-standing grievance to the Church of Scotland, and it annually protested against it. The decision that year was meant to bring some order into the few, but fraught, occasions when the Patron, through death, or illness, or oversight, had not presented a candidate to a vacancy within the six-months required. In these cases the right fell to the Presbytery in which the Parish lay, and each proceeded in its own way, some involving the whole congregation of the Parish concerned, most limiting it to a small group of Heritors and Elders. The Assembly enacted that this latter process should be the norm. Some of the Ministers attending objected, claiming that the majority of Presbyteries consulted preferred the involvement of the whole congregation of a Parish. They were further incensed when their objections were not recorded in the final minutes of the debate. (An Act of the 1730 Assembly has abolished the process of recording objections to decisions of all the Courts of the Church.). This decision was later repealed, but the leading protester, Ebenezer Erskine, though an Englishman, went on, three years later, to lead his supporters out of the Church of Scotland to form the Original Secession Church, the first of many splits in Scottish Presbyterianism.

1737 General Assembly
Principal Campbell must have nonetheless been held in high esteem, for he was again elected Moderator for the 1737 Assembly, a less momentous one. The same courtesies were exchanged with the King - who this time urged them to work together for the increase of piety and virtue, the preventing of the growth of Popery, and the suppressing of profaneness and immorality, and earnestly urged them to avoid all disputes and contentions among yourselves, and to proceed upon the business proper for your consideration, with that unanimity and brotherly love, as may justly be expected from so venerable a body. The ??Secession?? mentioned above was meanwhile gathering pace.

The Assembly responded loyally, though it did express a hope that the King would relieve them of the Patronage grievance they had been protesting about annually. They promised to put the King's Bounty to good use in the more remote and less civilised parts of (his) British dominions ... to counteract the Popish emissaries trafficking in these parts.

Some Presbyteries had complained that a decision of the previous year meant the Assembly was approving some heretical opinions. It passed a special Act declaring this was not so. Some other Presbyteries had complained that some Elders attending the Assembly were not properly qualified (either not residing in their Parishes, or harbouring dubious opinions). A special Act was passed urging Presbyteries only to send properly qualified representatives in future. There seemed to have been an over-supply of divinity students, so the Assembly enacted that there was no longer any need for Presbyteries and Synods to provide Bursaries for new students.

Family
Neil Campbell published his intention to marry Henrietta Campbell, daughter of Patrick Campbell of Kilduskland, on 17 June 1705, and he subsequently had four daughters and seven sons by her. One of his sons, Rev Colin Campbell, followed his father as Minister at Renfrew. Another, Duncan Campbell, took charge of managing the prison hulks, which transported the first prisoners to Botany Bay and another of which was sold off and became the famous HMS Bounty (formerly known as The Bethia). His daughter Mary " Mally " married William Richard Betham in 1817 and they were parents to Elizabeth " Betsy " who married Capt William Bligh, famous for the Mutiny on the Bounty. Neil Campbell seems to have inherited an estate - and minor title - near Inverary, called variously Clenary/Clenarie/Clonary/Clunary/Claonairigh. In 1744, he was appointed a Chaplain to the King, with joint share in the emoluments of the Dean, etc. of the Chapel Royal in Scotland.

Campbell had a stroke in 1753. Though incapable, he remained in post, in a crumbling Principal's House, until his death on 22 June 1761. He was buried on 25 June in Blackfriar's Kirkyard, Glasgow (which was cleared in the 19th Century along with the Old College Buildings). The bones were moved to the Glasgow Necropolis.

Sources
 Principal Acts of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland Church Law Society, Edinburgh 1843 (Online at british-history.ac.uk )
 Innes, Cosmo Registrum episcopatus glasguensis: munimenta Ecclesie metropolitane glasguensis a sede restaurata seculo ineunte XII ad reformatam religionem Maitland Club, Ballantyne & Hughes, Edinburgh, 1843
 Chambers, W & R Chambers' encyclopaedia: a dictionary of universal knowledge London, 1868
 Campbell, P C Account of the Clan Iver Edinburgh, 1873
 Morren, Nathaniel Annals of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland ... Church of Scotland, Edinburgh, 1838
 Scott, Hew Fasti ecclesiae scoticanae; the succession of ministers in the Church of Scotland from the reformation New Edition, Vol III Synod of Glasgow  and Vol IV Synods of Argyle and of Perth and Stirling,  Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh, 1925 []
 Clan Campbell Society Journal of the Clan Campbell Society (United States of America). Vol 17 -19, 1971.[]
 Campbell, R H & Skinner, A S Adam Smith Routledge, London, 1985
 Skoczylas, Anne Mr. Simson's Knotty Case: divinity, politics, and due process in early eighteenth-century Scotland McGill-Queen?s Press, Canada, 2001
 Emerson, Roger L Academic Patronage in the Scottish Enlightenment: Glasgow, Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities. Edinburgh University Press, 2007
 Ross, I A The Life of Adam Smith Oxford University Press 2010
 Glasgow University The University of Glasgow Story (updated website )
 GASHE (Gateway to the Archives of Scottish Higher Education - updated website)
 thePeerage.com - a genealogical survey of the peerage of Britain as well as the royal families of Europe. (updated website )

Notes

See also
 List of Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland

Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
Alumni of the University of Glasgow
1678 births
1761 deaths
People of the Scottish Enlightenment
Principals of the University of Glasgow
18th-century Scottish people
18th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland

Neil Campbell (minister)


Juan Alfonso Enríquez de Cabrera y Colonna, 5th Duke of Medina de Rioseco, (3 March 1599 – Madrid, Spain, 6 February 1647), he was hereditary 9th Admiral of Castile, and the 8th Count of Melgar

Juan Alfonso received his titles at the age of 3, when his father Luis III Enriquez de Cabrera died, under regency of his mother Italian Lady Vitoria Colonna (deceased 28 December 1633).
His mother, from Venezian and Roman families, was the daughter of Marcantonio II Colonna, (Civita Lavinia, 25 February 1535) – married, Rome, Italy, 29 April 1552 – Medinaceli, Spain, poisoned?, 1 August 1585),  3rd duke of Paliano, 1st duke of Tagliacozzo, count of Ceccano, lieutenant of the kingdom of Naples, Viceroy of Sicily, Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece and Felice Orsini, deceased Rome, Italy 27 July 1596, the daughter of Girolamo Orsini, Sieur of Bracciano and Francesca Sforza, of the Counts of santa Fiora.
She had married Luis III Enriquez de Cabrera in Vich, Catalonia, Spain, on 31 December 1587.

In 1638, he raised the Siege of Fuenterrabía by defeating a superior French army under Henri, Prince of Condé.

For this, he was rewarded and became Viceroy of Sicily, 1641–1644,  Viceroy of Naples, 6 May 1644 – 1646, Member of the Spanish Council of war, member of the Royal Council of Spain, and Mayordomo mayor to the King.

He married in 1612, Luisa  de Sandoval Padilla, deceased 1664, daughter of Cristóbal de Sandoval, Duke of Uceda, (1577 – married 1597 –  1623), the eldest son of the 1st Duke of Lerma, the virtual Prime Minister of Spain at the time, also, first Duke of Uceda and 1st Duke of Cea.

He had only two children, a daughter who died young in Naples, and the eldest and only one to survive him, a son named Juan Gaspar (1625-1691).

Some references
http://www.grandesp.org.uk/historia/gzas/medinarioseco.htm (deadlinkj)

1599 births
1647 deaths
Counts of Spain
Dukes of Spain
Viceroys of Sicily
Viceroys of Naples
Italian nobility

Juan Alfonso Enríquez de Cabrera, 5th Duke of Medina de Rioseco


Saint Louis University New Student Visit Center (as known as The Alexander Euston Mansion and Queen's Daughters House) is a stone castle building located at 3730 Lindell in St. Louis, Missouri.  This mansion was built in 1890 by English immigrant Alexander Euston who made money in the white lead and linseed oil business.  It was built to include sixteen rooms and a ballroom.

In 1912, the St. Louis-based religious society Daughters of the Queen of Heaven, an organization of lay Catholic women, purchased this building and converted it to a boarding house for single women.  It functioned as a woman's home until 1972. The Church of Scientology owned the building between 1974 and 1985.  In 1988, Saint Louis University acquired the mansion and converted it to its New Student Visit Center as part of the Office of Admission.  The building is one of the best remaining examples of Romanesque Revival architecture left in the city of St. Louis. Another house of Romanesque architectural style on the campus of Saint Louis University would be Samuel Cupples House.

References

Houses in St. Louis
Romanesque Revival architecture in Missouri
Saint Louis University

Saint Louis University Office of Admissions Building