The Peterhof Palace (,) (an emulation of early modern Dutch "Pieterhof", meaning "Pieter's Court"), is a series of palaces and gardens located in Petergof, Saint Petersburg, Russia, commissioned by Peter the Great as a direct response to the Palace of Versailles by Louis XIV of France. Originally intending it in 1709 for country habitation, Peter the Great sought to expand the property as a result of his visit to the French royal court in 1717, inspiring the nickname of  "The Russian Versailles". The architect between 1714 and 1728 was Domenico Trezzini, and the style he employed became the foundation for the Petrine Baroque style favored throughout Saint Petersburg. Also in 1714, Jean-Baptiste Alexandre Le Blond, likely chosen due to his previous collaborations with Versailles landscaper André Le Nôtre, designed the gardens. Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli completed an expansion from 1747 to 1756 for Elizabeth of Russia. The palace-ensemble along with the city center is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Construction
The end of the Great Northern War resulted in the Treaty of Nystad in 1721, ceding much of the Swedish Empire's claim to the Baltic Sea to the rising Tsardom of Russia. Peter the Great already began construction of his new capital St Petersburg in 1703 after successfully capturing Swedish provinces on the eastern coast. This strategic location allowed Russian access to the Baltic Sea through the Neva River that flowed to the Gulf of Finland. The island of Kotlin and its fortress Kronstadt west of St Petersburg provided a gateway and commercial harbor access owing to the shallowness of water closer to the city.

Throughout the early 18th century, Peter the Great built and expanded the Peterhof Palace complex as a part of his goal to modernize and westernize Russia.

Monplaisir Palace (1714–1723)

In 1714, Peter began construction of the Monplaisir Palace (French: "my delight") based on his own sketches. He "сhalked out not only the site but also the inside layout, some elements of the decorative finish, etc". Based in a Dutch style, this was Peter's summer retreat (not to be confused with his Summer Palace) that he would use on his way coming and going from Europe through the harbour at Kronstadt. On the walls of this seacoast palace hung hundreds of paintings that Peter brought from Europe and allowed to weather Russian winters and the dampness of the sea without heat. In the seaward corner of his Monplaisir Palace, Peter made his Maritime Study, from which he could see Kronstadt Island to the left and St. Petersburg to the right. Later, he expanded his plans to include a vaster royal château of palaces and gardens further inland, on the model of Versailles which would become Peterhof Palace. The initial design of the palace and its garden was done by the French architect Jean-Baptiste Le Blond.

Layout
The dominant natural feature of Peterhof is a 16-m-high bluff lying less than 100 m from the shore. The so-called Lower Gardens (Nizhny Sad), at 1.02 km2 comprising the better part of Peterhof's land area, are confined between this bluff and the shore, stretching east and west for roughly 200 m. The majority of Peterhof's fountains are contained here, as are several small palaces and outbuildings. East of the Lower Gardens lies the Alexandria Park with 19th-century Gothic Revival structures such as the Kapella.

Atop the bluff, near the middle of the Lower Gardens, stands the Grand Palace (Bolshoi Dvorets). Behind (south) of it are the comparatively small Upper Gardens (Verhnyy Sad). Upon the bluff's face below the palace is the Grand Cascade (Bolshoi Kaskad). This and the Grand Palace are the centrepiece of the entire complex. At its foot begins the Sea Channel (Morskoi Kanal), one of the most extensive waterworks of the Baroque period, which bisects the Lower Gardens.

The Grand Cascade and Samson Fountain

The Grand Cascade is modelled on one constructed for Louis XIV at his Château de Marly, which is likewise memorialised in one of the park's outbuildings.

At the centre of the cascade is an artificial grotto with two stories, faced inside and out with hewn brown stone. It currently contains a modest museum of the fountains' history.

The fountains of the Grand Cascade are located below the grotto and on either side of it. There are 64 fountains. Their waters flow into a semicircular pool, the terminus of the fountain-lined Sea Channel. In the 1730s, the large Samson Fountain was placed in this pool. It depicts the moment when Samson tears open the jaws of a lion, representing Russia's victory over Sweden in the Great Northern War, and is doubly symbolic. The lion is an element of the Swedish coat of arms, and one of the great victories of the war was won on St Sampson's Day. From the lion's mouth shoots a -high vertical jet of water, the highest in all of Peterhof. This masterpiece by Mikhail Kozlovsky was looted by the invading Germans during the Second World War; see History below. A replica of the statue was installed in 1947.

Perhaps the greatest technological achievement of Peterhof is that all of the fountains operate without the use of pumps. Water is supplied from natural springs and collects in reservoirs in the Upper Gardens. The elevation difference creates the pressure that drives most of the fountains of the Lower Gardens, including the Grand Cascade.

The Lower Gardens

The expanse of the Lower Gardens is designed in the formal style of French formal gardens of the 17th century. Although many trees are overgrown, in recent years the formal clipping along the many allees has resumed in order to restore the original appearance of the garden. The many fountains located here exhibit an unusual degree of creativity.

The same bluff that provides a setting for the Grand Cascade houses two other, very different cascades. West of the Grand Palace is the Golden Mountain (Золотая Гора), decorated with marble statuary that contrasts with the riotous gilded figures of the Grand Cascade. To the east is the Chess Mountain (Шахматная Гора), a broad chute whose surface is tiled black and white like a chessboard. The most prominently positioned fountains of Peterhof are 'Adam' and 'Eve'.

The Grand Palace

The largest of Peterhof's palaces looks imposing when seen from the Lower or Upper Gardens, but in fact it is quite narrow and not overly large.

The Chesma Hall is decorated with twelve large paintings of the Battle of Chesma, a stunning naval victory of the Russo-Turkish War, 1768-1774. These were painted between 1771 and 1773 by the German artist Jacob Philipp Hackert. His first renderings of the great battle scenes were criticised by witnesses as not showing realistically the effect of exploding ships — the flying timbers, great flames, smoke, and fireballs.

The East and West Chinese Cabinets were decorated between 1766 and 1769 to exhibit objects of decorative art imported from the East. The walls were decorated with imitation Oriental patterns by Russian craftsmen, and hung with Chinese landscape paintings in yellow and black lacquer. Another room, positioned at the centre of the palace, bears the name of the Picture Hall.

Other features

The Grand Palace is not the only historic royal building in Peterhof. The palaces of Monplaisir and Marli, as well as the pavilion known as the 'Hermitage', were all raised during the initial construction of Peterhof during the reign of Peter the Great.

History

1705–1755

In the early 1700s, the original Peterhof appeared quite different from today. Many of the fountains had not yet been installed and the entire Alexandrine Park and Upper Gardens did not exist. What is now the Upper Gardens was used to grow vegetables, and its ponds, then numbering only three, for fish. The Samson Fountain and its massive pedestal had not yet been installed in the Sea Channel, and the channel itself was used as a grand marine entrance into the complex.
Perhaps the most important change augmenting Peter's design was the elevation of the Grand Palace to central status and prominence. The Grand Palace was originally called simply 'Upper', and was hardly larger than any of the other structures of the complex. The addition of wings, undertaken between 1745 and 1755, was one of the many projects commissioned from the Italian architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli by Elizabeth of Russia. Likewise, the Grand Cascade was more sparsely decorated when initially built.

1941–modern day
Peterhof, like Tsarskoye Selo, was captured by German troops in 1941 and held until 1944. In the few months that elapsed between the German invasion of the Soviet Union and the appearance of the German Army, employees were only able to save a portion of the treasures of the palaces and fountains. An attempt was made to dismantle and bury the fountain sculptures, but three quarters, including all of the largest ones, remained in place.

On 23 September 1941 German troops captured Peterhof. Two weeks later, on 5 October 1941, Soviet troops tried to recapture the town and block the highway by naval landing. 510 marines of the Soviet Baltic Fleet landed on the beach of the neighboring park of Alexandria but faced a heavy fire from the Germans. The commander of the operation was killed, all landing troops became disorganised, one landing craft was sunk and another one missed. Despite Soviet attempts to cover the landing forces by coastal artillery from Kronstadt, they were quickly suspended because of lack of connection with the landing troops. Evacuation attempts also failed due to heavy German artillery shelling (only one marine was picked up from the water). The Peterhof landing operation failed and all landing troops were cut off from the shore and surrounded. Some of them reached the Lower Gardens and fought until the bitter end, including hand-to-hand combat. The last pockets of resistance were destroyed on 7 October. Several dozen German Shepherd dogs were released into the gardens to find the hiding marines. Many of the wounded marines were mauled to death and several were captured.

The occupying forces of the German Army largely destroyed Peterhof. Many of the fountains were destroyed, and the palace was partially exploded and left to burn. Restoration work began almost immediately after the end of the war and continues to this day. The Lower Park was reopened to the public in 1945.

The name was changed to "Petrodvorets" ("Peter's Palace") in 1944 as a result of wartime anti-German sentiment and propaganda, but the original name was restored in 1997 by the post-Soviet government of Russia.

The "purpose" of Peterhof was as a celebration and claim to access to the Baltic (while simultaneously, Peter the Great was also expanding on the Black Sea littoral).

Gallery

See also
 List of Baroque residences
 Medici lions; the inspiration for the palace's Lion Cascade
 Peter the Great Statue
 Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments
 List of World Heritage Sites in Russia
 Seven Wonders of Russia

References

Further reading

 Vernova, N (2004). Peterhof: The Fountains. St. Petersburg: Abris.
 Vernova, N (2004). Peterhof: The Grand Palace. St. Petersburg: Abris.

External links

  available in Russian or English.
 Map of Kronstadt in Russian and English showing the central Island of the Kronstadt fortifications and Naval yard that Peter the Great constructed across the shallow Gulf of Finland to control access by water to St. Petersburg after his armed forces took the area from Sweden in 1703. Peter built Peterhof on the southern shore with a clear view of the Kronstadt fortifications and Naval yard.
 Interactive satellite view map of Kronstadt, Peterhof, and St. Petersburg. The Kronstadt Island harbor that Peter the Great built on what was Kotlin Island is in the middle of the Gulf of Finland. The Kronstadt fortifications in shallow water stretch east and south from Kronstadt Island. Peterhof ("Petrodvorets" on this map) is southeast of Kronstadt Island on the shore. St. Petersburg is to the east on the River Neva.
 Official page for Monplaisir Palace, the palace and personal retreat that Peter the Great designed and built for his own pleasure.

Houses completed in 1725
Gardens in Saint Petersburg
Palaces in Petergof
Royal residences in Russia
Baroque architecture in Russia
Russian Baroque gardens
Fountains in Russia
Landscape design history
World Heritage Sites in Russia
Historic house museums in Saint Petersburg
1725 establishments in the Russian Empire
Cultural heritage monuments of federal significance in Saint Petersburg

Peterhof Palace


Dia Beacon is the museum for the Dia Art Foundation's collection of art from the 1960s to the present and is one of the 12 locations and sites they manage. The museum, which opened in 2003, is situated near the banks of the Hudson River in Beacon, New York. Dia Beacon's facility, the Riggio Galleries, is a former Nabisco box-printing facility that was renovated by Dia with artist Robert Irwin and architects Alan Koch, Lyn Rice, Galia Solomonoff, and Linda Taalman, then of OpenOffice. Along with Dia's permanent collection, Dia Beacon also presents temporary exhibitions, as well as public programs designed to complement the collection and exhibitions, including monthly Gallery Talks, Merce Cunningham Dance Company Events, Community Free Days for neighboring counties, and an education program that serves area students at all levels. With , it is one of the largest exhibition spaces in the country for modern and contemporary art.

Overview
Dia pioneered the conversion of industrial buildings for the installation of contemporary art, a practice and aesthetic now widely adopted by museums and galleries internationally. Dia's most recent conversion, its museum in Beacon, is located in a former printing plant built in 1929 by Nabisco (National Biscuit Company).  The museum is sited on thirty-one acres near the banks of the Hudson River, and is adjacent to ninety acres of riverfront parkland. It is a five-minute walk from the Metro-North train station in Beacon, 60 miles (80 minutes by train) north of New York City.

Dia Beacon's expansive spaces are well suited to the needs of large-scale installations, paintings, and sculptures. In keeping with Dia's history of single-artist, site-related presentations, each gallery was designed specifically for the art it contains. This includes Andy Warhol's 1978–79 multipart work Shadows, displayed in a single installation measuring approximately 350 linear feet; selections from Dan Flavin's series of fluorescent light Monuments to V. Tatlin (1964–81); Richard Serra's monumental steel sculptures, Torqued Ellipses; and Michael Heizer's North, East, South, West (1967/2002). The ideal viewing conditions created by reflected north light from more than  of skylights are especially evident in the galleries devoted to the paintings of On Kawara, Agnes Martin, Blinky Palermo, and Robert Ryman.

Dia collaborated with American artist Robert Irwin and architect OpenOffice to formulate the plan for the museum building and its exterior setting. The grounds include an entrance court and parking lot with a grove of flowering fruit trees and a formal garden, both of which were designed by Irwin. The adjacent Long Dock Park on the Hudson River has a site-specific work by environmental sculptor George Trakas.

Gallery

See also
Storm King Art Center, in Mountainville, New York, 13 miles from Dia Beacon

References

External links

Dia Art Foundation

Industrial buildings completed in 1929
National Register of Historic Places in Dutchess County, New York
Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state)
Beacon, New York
Art museums and galleries in New York (state)
Contemporary art galleries in the United States
Museums in Dutchess County, New York
Art museums established in 2003
2003 establishments in New York (state)

Dia Beacon


Henderson is a city and the county seat of Rusk County, Texas, in Northeast Texas, United States. Its population was 13,271 at the 2020 census. Henderson is named for James Pinckney Henderson, the first governor of Texas.

The city has functioned as a major crossroads in Northeast Texas over the last two centuries. Several major highways pass through the business district of the town, including U.S. Route 259, Texas State Highway 64, U.S. Route 79, Texas State Highway 43, Texas State Highway 42, and Texas State Highway 64.

Annual events in the city of Henderson include the Heritage Syrup Festival in November, celebrating the East Texas tradition of syrup making, and the East Texas Sacred Harp Convention in August featuring shape note music.

The city has a vibrant downtown historic district, with many buildings dating to before the Civil War. The city has 19 historical markers, including homes dating from the 1880s, churches, and colleges.

History

The city of Henderson was established by European Americans before the State of Texas was founded. It was developed on land donated by W.B. Ochiltree and James Smith; it became the county seat of Rusk County when an act of legislature created Rusk County on January 16, 1843. The First Methodist and First Baptist churches were established in 1842 and 1845, respectively. The first courthouse, made of wood, was completed in 1849. After the Civil War, the International and Great Northern Railroad crossed through Rusk County, but bypassed Henderson. In 1869, a white mob lynched five Black men without trial, including two preachers, in the public square outside the courthouse. In 1874, the Henderson and Overton Branch Railroad Company built a stretch of railroad connecting Henderson to the tracks running through Overton. This stretch of railroad was later sold to the Missouri Pacific Railroad (now Union Pacific) and remains in use to this day.

In 1878, a fire destroyed the courthouse, and a brick courthouse was built in its place. This encouraged the construction of several other brick buildings, including the Howard Dickinson House, now a historical site.

In 1930, C. M. "Dad" Joiner brought in the Daisy Bradford #3 Discovery Well 6 miles northwest of Henderson.  The discovery of oil in October 1930 created a booming economy in the area, with the population of Henderson increasing from 2,000 to over 10,000 in a few months. The oil fields in and surrounding Henderson, part of the high-producing five-county East Texas Oil Field, continue to provide a large part of the wealth of the town, county, and region.

During World War II, airmen cadets from the Royal Air Force, flying from their training base at Terrell, Texas, routinely flew to Henderson on training flights. The community served as a stand-in for the British for Dunkirk, France, which is the same distance from London, England, as Henderson is from Terrell.

1860 Henderson fire
On August 5, 1860, a fire broke out and burned most of the booming town of Henderson. Forty-three buildings, including two hotels, were destroyed in the fire, for a loss of $220,000.

According to the Depot Museum, a man named John Crow recalled the fire as follows:

I was about eight years old when Henderson burned. I went to town with my father the day after the fire. It burned every house as well as I recollect, except the Flanagan Brick Building. I remember I was barefooted and careful not to burn my feet. My father said at the time they thought a fellow named Green Herndon, a union man, had hired a negro woman to burn Henderson. Herndon was a northerner and was a pronounced opponent of secession. On the negro woman's testimony, a mob gathered, threw a loop around his neck, tied it to a saddle horse, which went around the public square dragging Herndon to death. Then they hung the body to a tree and shot it full of holes ... War was in preparation and people were in fits of anger. When the war broke out, the men got all the files they could find and went to the blacksmith shops and made knives and swords. There was much laughter and I remember they said, "We'll whip those damn Yankees with axes and butcher knives. Everyone was anxious to go."John Crow was John Stephen Crow, born in Henderson on March 5, 1852 and died there on October 19, 1952. He is buried at Maple Grove Cemetery. His father, Moses Melton Crow, was part of a large group of family, friends and neighbors who left the area of Henry and Clayton Counties, Georgia and were early settlers in Rusk County. The surnames of these early settlers include Burks, Cates, Crow, Mitchell and others.

2015 Henderson Tornado

On Memorial Day, May 25, 2015, an EF-2 rated tornado struck Henderson. That day, multiple tornadoes had struck other areas in Texas, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. The tornado uprooted trees, damaged buildings, and caused minor damage to areas such as downtown, but no severe damage was recorded.

Geography
Henderson is located at  (32.153938, −94.802732).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which   of it (0.92%) is covered by water.

Transportation

Airports
The Rusk County Airport is a county-owned, public-use airport located three miles west of downtown Henderson.

Major highways
 State Highway 64
 State Highway 42
 State Highway 43
 Highway 259
 Highway 79

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 13,271 people, 3,968 households, and 2,752 families residing in the city.

As of the census of 2000, 11,273 people, 4,350 households, and 2,971 families were residing in the city. The population density was 947.6 people/sq mi (365.8/km2). The 4,831 housing units averaged 406.1/sq mi (156.7/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 68.98% White, 22.34% African American, 0.27% Native American, 0.47% Asian, 6.81% from other races, and 1.13% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 11.80% of the population.

Of the 4,350 households, 32.6% had children under 18 living with them, 51.3% were married couples living together, 13.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.7% were not families. About 28.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52, and the average family size was 3.12.

In the city, the age distribution was 26.9% under 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 19.5% from 45 to 64, and 18.8% who were 65 or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.3 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 81.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $31,766, and for a family was $38,095. Males had a median income of $31,285 versus $19,473 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,491.

Government

Local government
The structure of the management and coordination of city services is:

State government
Henderson is represented in the Texas Senate by Republican Bryan Hughes, District 1, and in the Texas House of Representatives by Republican Travis Clardy, District 11.

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice contracts for the operation of East Texas Multi-Use Facility in Henderson, housing over 2000 male and female state inmates in treatment programs.  The facility is operated by the Management and Training Corporation.

Federal government
At the federal level, the two U.S. Senators from Texas are Republicans John Cornyn and Ted Cruz; Henderson is part of Texas' US Congressional 1st District, which is currently represented by Republican Nathaniel Moran.

Education

Primary and secondary schools

Public schools
The Henderson Independent School District includes five campuses, Wylie Primary School, Wylie Elementary School, Northside Intermediate School, Henderson Middle School, and Henderson High School. The school mascot of Henderson is a lion, and the school colors are red and blue. School sports are an important part of Henderson's culture. A 3-A school, the Henderson Lions football team beat Chapel Hill, Texas, to become state champions in 2010. Many students are members of one or more athletic organizations.

A very small portion of the City of Henderson falls within the West Rusk ISD.

Private schools
The City of Henderson is also served by Full Armor Christian Academy, a nondenominational private school.

Colleges

Henderson is the home of the Texas Baptist Institute and Seminary, a Missionary Baptist institution of the American Baptist Association.

Media
Currently, seven media outlets and one newspaper are located in Henderson, as well as many more in the surrounding areas.

Newspaper
 The Henderson News

Radio

AM stations

FM stations

Culture

Parks and recreation
Henderson has six parks, covering 118 acres. The parks are: Fair Park, Lake Forest Park, Misner Park, Montgomery Park, Smith Park, and Yates Park.

Lake Forest Park covers 60 acres and is the largest park in Henderson. It features a 15-acre lake, three fishing piers, a disc golf course, gardens, lighted pavilions, playgrounds, the Henderson Civic Center, and a plaza for concerts and events.

Fair Park covers 40 acres and features 1.8 miles of walking trails, a skate park, a baseball field, tennis courts, playgrounds, a splash pad, and a pavilion.

Libraries and museums
The Depot Museum sits on 5 acres, and features a museum, a children's discovery center, plus several historic buildings and structures, including a railroad depot, a dry good store, a caboose, and a cotton gin.

The Rusk County Library is located in a historic building at 106 East Main Street in downtown Henderson.

Attractions
The Henderson Civic Theater is a community theater that puts on live stage performances. It is located in historic downtown Henderson in the old Opera House building.

The Veteran's Memorial is located at the Rusk County Courthouse and honors veterans from Rusk County.

The Howard-Dickinson House is a Texas Historic Landmark that was built in 1855 and offers tours.

Notable people

 Archie Bell, lead singer for Archie Bell & the Drells
 Reagan V. Brown, commissioner of the Texas Department of Agriculture from 1977 to 1983
 Drew Coleman, former cornerback for New York Jets, Jacksonville Jaguars, Detroit Lions
 Joe Delaney, late running back for the Kansas City Chiefs
 Rickey Dudley, former tight end for the Oakland Raiders, Cleveland Browns, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers Super Bowl Champion
 Sandy Duncan, singer, actress, comedian
 Trestan Ebner, Running back for the Chicago Bears
 Ricky Lynn Gregg, singer
 Bror Julius Olsson Nordfeldt, a Swedish painter, died in Henderson in 1955 at age 77.
 Paul Sadler, Henderson attorney, former state representative
 General James Smith, general in Texas Revolution, served in first Texas legislature, buried in Smith Park in Henderson and neighboring Smith County is named for him
 Mark White, former governor of Texas
 Harry Whittington, lawyer

In popular culture
The 1970 science-fiction film, Colossus: The Forbin Project, mentions Henderson as the site of the fictitious Henderson Air Force Base, the target of a retaliatory ICBM fired by Colossus' Soviet counterpart, the defense supercomputer "Guardian".

Climate
The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters.  According to the Köppen climate classification, Henderson has a humid subtropical climate, Cfa on climate maps.

References

External links
City of Henderson official website
Henderson Area Chamber of Commerce website
Henderson ISD official website

Cities in Texas
Cities in Rusk County, Texas
County seats in Texas
Longview metropolitan area, Texas

Henderson, Texas


Éruption volcanique à la Martinique, released in the United States as The Eruption of Mount Pelee and in Britain as The Terrible Eruption of Mount Pelée and Destruction of St. Pierre, Martinique, is a 1902 French short silent film directed by Georges Méliès. The film is a short reconstruction, using miniature models, of a recent historical event: the eruption on 8 May 1902 of Mount Pelée, which destroyed the town of Saint-Pierre, Martinique.

Summary
Mount Pelée looms over the town of Saint-Pierre. Fire and smoke rises from the crater; then lava begins pouring down the sides of the mountain. The village is soon engulfed in smoke and flames.

Production
The film is one of the most frequently cited examples of Méliès's "reconstructed newsreels," staged re-enactments of current events. The Eruption of Mount Pelee was his third-to-last work in the genre. It was followed by two others also made in 1902: The Catastrophe of the Balloon "Le Pax" and the most complex one of all, The Coronation of Edward VII. Stylistically, the film is reminiscent of the dioramas popular in the 19th century, which offered simulated views of places and events that would otherwise be inaccessible to spectators. Méliès's table-top miniature models recreate the eruption in a "storybook illustration" style highly indebted to Romanticism.

Academic opinion is divided on the exact method Méliès used to create the eruption. The Méliès descendant and film scholar Jacques Malthête hypothesized that a type of flare known as the Feu de Bengale was used (as Méliès did four years later to create an eruption of Mount Vesuvius in The Merry Frolics of Satan); film historians René Jeanne and Charles Ford nominated a flammable combination of cloth, colored water, cinders, and a kind of powdered chalk called Blanc d'Espagne; Méliès's granddaughter, Madeleine Malthête-Méliès, indicated that starch was poured down the model to simulate lava, and that pieces of paper and unseasoned wood were burned to create smoke; and the Méliès expert John Frazer suggested that the model was made of cardboard and paper and that "the eruption [was] created by a combination of flashing lights, powdered chalk, and cinders."

According to the film historian Pierre Lephrohon, the poet Guillaume Apollinaire once asked Méliès himself how he made The Eruption of Mount Pelee. Méliès said simply: "By photographing cinders and chalk." Apollinaire remarked to a friend who was with them: "Monsieur and I have the same occupation, we enchant ordinary materials."

Release and other versions
The Eruption of Mount Pelee was released by Méliès's Star Film Company and is numbered 397 in its catalogues. Two other filmmakers contemporary with Méliès, Ferdinand Zecca and Thomas Edison, produced their own miniature-model reconstructions of the Pelée eruption. Zecca's version, produced in May 1902 as Catastrophe de la Martinique (number 544 in the Pathé Frères catalogue), used four stagehands to create the eruption effect: one burning sulfur behind the model mountain, another pouring down smoke from a ladder off screen, a third on another ladder throwing down handfuls of sawdust to represent cinders, and a fourth agitating the miniature sea and raising the water level to suggest a tidal wave. The film historian Georges Sadoul notes that Zecca's version aims for academic realism in its style, creating an effect markedly different from Méliès's deliberately Romanticized portrayal.

The Edison Manufacturing Company version was released in three parts: Mt. Pelee Smoking Before Eruption (St. Pierre, Martinique), Mt. Pelee in Eruption and Destruction of St. Pierre (Martinique), and Burning of St. Pierre (Martinique). The Edison Company had sent the photographer J. Blair Smith to Martinique to film the aftermath of the accident; meanwhile, the filmmaker Edwin S. Porter stayed at the Edison studio in Orange, New Jersey to recreate the eruption using a studio model. A dozen clips of Smith's real-life footage, and all three of Porter's films simulating different stages of the eruption, were sold by the Edison Company in July 1902; the catalogue encouraged exhibitors to combine the real and faked films to "make a complete show in themselves." According to the film historian Lewis Jacobs, the crew that created the Edison version found their own unique way to simulate the eruption: they exposed a barrel of beer to direct sunlight and waited for it to explode.

The Eruption of Mount Pelee was presumed lost for many years; a film in the collection of the Cinémathèque Française was sometimes misidentified as Méliès's film, but it was in fact Zecca's version. Méliès's film was finally recovered in 2007, when a copy was found and restored by the Filmoteca de Catalunya.

References

External links

The Eruption of Mount Pelee at SilentEra
The Eruption of Mount Pelee on YouTube

1902 films
1900s documentary films
Black-and-white documentary films
French silent short films
Documentary films about historical events
Documentary films about disasters
Films directed by Georges Méliès
1900s rediscovered films
French black-and-white films
French documentary films
Rediscovered French films

The Eruption of Mount Pelee


Rayon, also called viscose and commercialised in some countries as sabra silk or cactus silk, is a semi-synthetic fiber, made from natural sources of regenerated cellulose, such as wood and related agricultural products. It has the same molecular structure as cellulose. Many types and grades of viscose fibers and films exist. Some imitate the feel and texture of natural fibers such as silk, wool, cotton, and linen. The types that resemble silk are often called artificial silk. It is used to make textiles for clothing and other purposes.

Rayon production involves solubilizing cellulose to allow turning the fibers into required form. Three common solubilization methods are:

 The cuprammonium process (not in use today), using ammoniacal solutions of copper salts
 The viscose process, the most common today, using alkali and carbon disulfide
 The Lyocell process, using amine oxide, which avoids producing neurotoxic carbon disulfide but is more expensive

History

French scientist and industrialist Hilaire de Chardonnet (1838–1924) invented the first artificial textile fiber, artificial silk.

Swiss chemist Matthias Eduard Schweizer (1818–1860) discovered that cellulose dissolved in tetraaminecopper dihydroxide. Max Fremery and Johann Urban developed a method to produce carbon fibers for use in light bulbs in 1897. Production of cuprammonium rayon for textiles started in 1899 in the Vereinigte Glanzstoff Fabriken AG in Oberbruch (near Aachen). Improvement by J. P. Bemberg AG in 1904 made the artificial silk a product comparable to real silk.

English chemist Charles Frederick Cross and his collaborators, Edward John Bevan and Clayton Beadle, patented their artificial silk in 1894. They named it "viscose" because its production involved the intermediacy of a highly viscous solution. Cross and Bevan took out British Patent No. 8,700, "Improvements in Dissolving Cellulose and Allied Compounds" in May, 1892. In 1893, they formed the Viscose Syndicate to grant licences and, in 1896, formed the British Viscoid Co. Ltd.

The first commercial viscose rayon was produced by the UK company Courtaulds Fibres in November 1905. In the UK, rayon production enjoyed tariff protection earlier than most other industries. Courtaulds formed an American division, American Viscose (later known as Avtex Fibers), to produce their formulation in the US in 1910. The name "rayon" was adopted in 1924, with "viscose" being used for the viscous organic liquid used to make both rayon and cellophane. In Europe, though, the fabric itself became known as "viscose", which has been ruled an acceptable alternative term for rayon by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

Rayon was produced only as a filament fiber until the 1930s, when methods were developed to utilize "broken waste rayon" as staple fiber.

The development of lyocell was motivated by environmental concerns; researchers sought to manufacture rayon by means less harmful than the viscose method. The lyocell process was developed in 1972 by a team at the now defunct American Enka fibers facility at Enka, North Carolina. In 2003, the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists (AATCC)  awarded Neal E. Franks their Henry E. Millson Award for Invention for lyocell. In 1966–1968, D. L. Johnson of Eastman Kodak Inc. studied NMMO solutions. In the decade 1969 to 1979, American Enka tried unsuccessfully to commercialize the process. The operating name for the fibre inside the Enka organization was "Newcell", and the development was carried through pilot plant scale before the work was stopped. The basic process of dissolving cellulose in NMMO was first described in a 1981 patent by Mcorsley for Akzona Incorporated (the holding company of Akzo). In the 1980s the patent was licensed by Akzo to Courtaulds and Lenzing. The fibre was developed by Courtaulds Fibres under the brand name "Tencel" in the 1980s. In 1982, a 100kg/week pilot plant was built in Coventry, UK, and production was increased tenfold (to a ton/week) in 1984. In 1988, a 25 ton/week semi-commercial production line opened at the Grimsby, UK, pilot plant. The process was first commercialized at Courtaulds' rayon factories at Mobile, Alabama (1990), and at the Grimsby plant (1998). In January 1993, the Mobile Tencel plant reached full production levels of 20,000 tons per year, by which time Courtaulds had spent £100 million and 10 years on Tencel development. Tencel revenues for 1993 were estimated as likely to be £50 million. A second plant in Mobile was planned. By 2004, production had quadrupled to 80,000 tons.

Lenzing began a pilot plant in 1990, and commercial production in 1997, with 12 metric tonnes/year made in a plant in Heiligenkreuz im Lafnitztal, Austria. When an explosion hit the plant in 2003 it was producing 20,000 tonnes/year, and planning to double capacity by the end of the year. In 2004 Lenzing was producing 40,000 tons [sic, probably metric tonnes]. In 1998, Lenzing and Courtaulds reached a patent dispute settlement.

In 1998 Courtaulds was acquired by competitor Akzo Nobel, which combined the Tencel division with other fibre divisions under the Accordis banner, then sold them to private equity firm CVC Partners. In 2000, CVC sold the Tencel division to Lenzing AG, which combined it with their "Lenzing Lyocell" business, but maintained the brand name Tencel. It took over the plants in Mobile and Grimsby, and by 2015 were the largest lyocell producer at 130,000 tonnes/year.

Process

Rayon is produced by dissolving cellulose, then converting this solution back to insoluble fibrous cellulose. Various processes have been developed for this regeneration. The most common methods for creating rayon are the cuprammonium method, the viscose method, and the lyocell process. The first two methods have been practiced for more than a century.

Cuprammonium methods

Cuprammonium rayon has properties similar to viscose; however, during its production, the cellulose is combined with copper and ammonia (Schweizer's reagent). Due to the detrimental environmental effects of this production method, cuprammonium rayon is no longer being produced in the United States. The process has been described as historic, but cuprammonium rayon is still made by one company in Japan.

Tetraamminecopper(II) sulfate is also used as a solvent.

Viscose method

The viscose process builds on the reaction of cellulose with a strong base, followed by treatment of that solution with carbon disulfide to give a xanthate derivative. The xanthate is then converted back to a cellulose fiber in a subsequent step.

The viscose method can use wood as a source of cellulose, whereas other routes to rayon require lignin-free cellulose as a starting material. The use of woody sources of cellulose makes viscose cheaper, so it was traditionally used on a larger scale than the other methods. On the other hand, the original viscose process generates large amounts of contaminated wastewater. Newer technologies use less water and have improved the quality of the wastewater.

The raw material for viscose is primarily wood pulp (sometimes bamboo pulp), which is chemically converted into a soluble compound. It is then dissolved and forced through a spinneret to produce filaments, which are chemically solidified, resulting in fibers of nearly pure cellulose. Unless the chemicals are handled carefully, workers can be seriously harmed by the carbon disulfide used to manufacture most rayon.

To prepare viscose, pulp is treated with aqueous sodium hydroxide (typically 16–19% by mass) to form "alkali cellulose", which has the approximate formula [C6H9O4−ONa]. This material is allowed to depolymerize to an extent. The rate of depolymerization (ripening or maturing) depends on temperature and is affected by the presence of various inorganic additives, such as metal oxides and hydroxides. Air also affects the ripening process, since oxygen causes depolymerization. The alkali cellulose is then treated with carbon disulfide to form sodium cellulose xanthate:

Rayon fiber is produced from the ripened solutions by treatment with a mineral acid, such as sulfuric acid. In this step, the xanthate groups are hydrolyzed to regenerate cellulose and carbon disulfide:

Aside from regenerated cellulose, acidification gives hydrogen sulfide (H2S), sulfur, and carbon disulfide. The thread made from the regenerated cellulose is washed to remove residual acid. The sulfur is then removed by the addition of sodium sulfide solution, and impurities are oxidized by bleaching with sodium hypochlorite solution or hydrogen peroxide solution.

Production begins with processed cellulose obtained from wood pulp and plant fibers. The cellulose content in the pulp should be around 87–97%.

The steps:

 Immersion: The cellulose is treated with caustic soda.
 Pressing. The treated cellulose is then pressed between rollers to remove excess liquid.
 The pressed sheets are crumbled or shredded to produce what is known as "white crumb".
 The "white crumb" is aged through exposure to oxygen. This is a depolymerization step and is avoided in the case of polynosics.
 The aged "white crumb" is mixed in vats with carbon disulfide to form the xanthate. This step produces "orange-yellow crumb".
 The "yellow crumb" is dissolved in a caustic solution to form viscose. The viscose is set to stand for a period of time, allowing it to "ripen". During this stage the molecular weight of the polymer changes.
 After ripening, the viscose is filtered, degassed, and then extruded through a spinneret into in a bath of sulfuric acid, resulting in the formation of rayon filaments. The acid is used as a regenerating agent. It converts cellulose xanthate back to cellulose. The regeneration step is rapid, which does not allow proper orientation of cellulose molecules. So to delay the process of regeneration, zinc sulfate is used in the bath, which converts cellulose xanthate to zinc cellulose xanthate, thus providing time for proper orientation to take place before regeneration.
 Spinning. The spinning of viscose rayon fiber is done using a wet-spinning process. The filaments are allowed to pass through a coagulation bath after extrusion from the spinneret holes. The two-way mass transfer takes place.
 Drawing. The rayon filaments are stretched, in a procedure known as drawing, to straighten out the fibers.
 Washing. The fibers are then washed to remove any residual chemicals from them.
 Cutting. If filament fibers are desired, then the process ends here. The filaments are cut down when producing staple fibers.

Lyocell method

The lyocell process relies on dissolution of cellulose products in a solvent, N-methyl morpholine N-oxide (NMMO).

The process starts with cellulose and involves dry jet-wet spinning. It was developed at the now defunct American Enka Company and Courtaulds Fibres. Lenzing's Tencel is an example of a lyocell fiber. Unlike the viscose process, the lycocell process does not use highly toxic carbon sulfide. "Lyocell" has become a genericized trademark, used to refer to the lyocell process for making cellulose fibers.

, the lyocell process is not widely used, because it is still more expensive than the viscose process.

Properties

Rayon is a versatile fiber and is widely claimed to have the same comfort properties as natural fibers, although the drape and slipperiness of rayon textiles are often more like nylon. It can imitate the feel and texture of silk, wool, cotton and linen. The fibers are easily dyed in a wide range of colors. Rayon fabrics are soft, smooth, cool, comfortable, and highly absorbent, but they do not always insulate body heat, making them ideal for use in hot and humid climates, although also making their "hand" (feel) cool and sometimes almost slimy to the touch.

The durability and appearance retention of regular viscose rayons are low, especially when wet; also, rayon has the lowest elastic recovery of any fiber. However, HWM rayon (high-wet-modulus rayon) is much stronger and exhibits higher durability and appearance retention. Recommended care for regular viscose rayon is dry-cleaning only. HWM rayon can be machine-washed.

Regular rayon has lengthwise lines called striations and its cross-section is an indented circular shape. The cross-sections of HWM and cupra rayon are rounder. Filament rayon yarns vary from 80 to 980 filaments per yarn and vary in size from 40 to 5000 denier. Staple fibers range from 1.5 to 15 denier and are mechanically or chemically crimped. Rayon fibers are naturally very bright, but the addition of delustering pigments cuts down on this natural brightness.

Structural modification

The physical properties of rayon remained unchanged until the development of high-tenacity rayon in the 1940s. Further research and development led to high-wet-modulus rayon (HWM rayon) in the 1950s. Research in the UK was centred on the government-funded British Rayon Research Association.

High-tenacity rayon is another modified version of viscose that has almost twice the strength of HWM. This type of rayon is typically used for industrial purposes such as tire cord.

Industrial applications of rayon emerged around 1935. Substituting cotton fiber in tires and belts, industrial types of rayon developed a totally different set of properties, amongst which tensile strength and elastic modulus were paramount.

Modal is a genericized trademark of Lenzing AG, used for (viscose) rayon which is stretched as it is made, aligning the molecules along the fibers. Two forms are available: "polynosics" and "high wet modulus" (HWM). High-wet-modulus rayon is a modified version of viscose that is stronger when wet. It can be mercerized like cotton. HWM rayons are also known as "polynosic". Polynosic fibers are dimensionally stable and do not shrink or get pulled out of shape when wet like many rayons. They are also wear-resistant and strong while maintaining a soft, silky feel. They are sometimes identified by the trade name Modal. Modal is used alone or with other fibers (often cotton or spandex) in clothing and household items like pajamas, underwear, bathrobes, towels, and bedsheets. Modal can be tumble-dried without damage. The fabric has been known to pill less than cotton due to fiber properties and lower surface friction. Modal is made by spinning beech-tree cellulose and is considered a more eco-friendly alternative to cotton, as the production process uses on average 10–20 times less water.

Producers and brand names

In 2018, viscose fiber production in the world was approximately 5.8 million tons, and China was the largest producer with about 65% of total global production. Trade names are used within the rayon industry to label the type of rayon in the product. Viscose rayon was first produced in Coventry, England in 1905 by Courtaulds.

Bemberg is a trade name for cupramonium rayon developed by J. P. Bemberg. Bemberg performs much like viscose but has a smaller diameter and comes closest to silk in feel. Bemberg is now only produced in Japan. The fibers are finer than viscose rayon.

Modal and Tencel are widely used forms of rayon produced by Lenzing AG. Tencel, generic name lyocell, is made by a slightly different solvent recovery process, and is considered a different fiber by the US FTC. Tencel lyocell was first produced commercially by Courtaulds' Grimsby plant in England. The process, which dissolves cellulose without a chemical reaction, was developed by Courtaulds Research.

Birla Cellulose is also a volume manufacturer of rayon. They have plants located in India, Indonesia and China.

Accordis was a major manufacturer of cellulose-based fibers and yarns. Production facilities can be found throughout Europe, the U.S. and Brazil.

Visil rayon and HOPE FR are flame retardant forms of viscose that have silica embedded in the fiber during manufacturing.

North American Rayon Corporation of Tennessee produced viscose rayon until its closure in the year 2000.

Indonesia is one of the largest producers of rayon in the world, and Asia Pacific Rayon (APR) of the country has an annual production capacity of 0.24 million tons.

Environmental impact

The biodegradability of various fibers in soil burial and sewage sludge was evaluated by Korean researchers. Rayon was found to be more biodegradable than cotton, and cotton more than acetate. The more water-repellent the rayon-based fabric, the more slowly it will decompose. Silverfish—like the firebrat—can eat rayon, but damage was found to be minor, potentially due to the heavy, slick texture of the tested rayon. Another study states that "artificial silk [...] [was] readily eaten" by the grey silverfish.

A 2014 ocean survey found that rayon contributed to 56.9% of the total fibers found in deep ocean areas, the rest being polyester, polyamides, acetate and acrylic. A 2016 study found a discrepancy in the ability to identify natural fibers in a marine environment via Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Later research of oceanic microfibers instead found cotton being the most frequent match (50% of all fibers), followed by other cellulosic fibers at 29.5% (e.g., rayon/viscose, linen, jute, kenaf, hemp, etc.). Further analysis of the specific contribution of rayon to ocean fibers was not performed due to the difficulty in distinguishing between natural and man-made cellulosic fibers using FTIR spectra.

For several years, there have been concerns about links between rayon manufacturers and deforestation. As a result of these concerns, FSC and PEFC came on the same platform with CanopyPlanet to focus on these issues. CanopyPlanet subsequently started publishing a yearly Hot Button report, which puts all the man-made cellulosics manufacturers globally on the same scoring platform. The scoring from the 2020 report scores all such manufacturers on a scale of 35, the highest scores having been achieved by Birla Cellulose (33) and Lenzing (30.5).

Carbon disulfide toxicity

Carbon disulfide is highly toxic. It is well documented to have seriously harmed the health of rayon workers in developed countries, and emissions may also harm the health of people living near rayon plants and their livestock. Rates of disability in modern factories (mainly in China, Indonesia, and India) are unknown. This has raised ethical concerns over viscose rayon production. , production facilities located in developing countries generally do not provide environmental or worker safety data.

Most global carbon disulfide emissions come from rayon production, as of 2008. , about 250 g of carbon disulfide is emitted per kilogram of rayon produced.

Control technologies have enabled improved collection of carbon disulfide and reuse of it, resulting in a lower emissions of carbon disulfide. These have not always been implemented in places where it was not legally required and profitable.

Carbon disulfide is volatile and is lost before the rayon gets to the consumer; the rayon itself is basically pure cellulose.

Studies from the 1930s show that 30% of American rayon workers suffered severe health effects from carbon disulfide exposure. Courtaulds worked hard to prevent this information being published in Britain.

During the Second World War, political prisoners in Nazi Germany were made to work in appalling conditions at the Phrix rayon factory in Krefeld. Nazis used forced labour to produce rayon across occupied Europe.

In the 1990s, viscose rayon producers faced lawsuits for negligent environmental pollution. Emissions abatement technologies had been consistently used. Carbon-bed recovery, for instance, which reduces emissions by about 90%, was used in Europe, but not in the US, by Courtaulds. Pollution control and worker safety started to become cost-limiting factors in production.

Japan has reduced carbon disulfide emissions per kilogram of viscose rayon produced (by about 16% per year), but in other rayon-producing countries, including China, emissions are uncontrolled. Rayon production is steady or decreasing except in China, where it is increasing, .

Rayon production has largely moved to the developing world, especially China, Indonesia and India. Rates of disability in these factories are unknown, , and concerns for worker safety continue.

Related materials

Related materials are not regenerated cellulose, but esters of cellulose.

Nitrocellulose is a derivative of cellulose that is soluble in organic solvents. It is mainly used as an explosive or as a lacquer. Many early plastics, including celluloid, were made from nitrocellulose.

Cellulose acetate shares many traits with viscose rayon and was formerly considered the same textile. However, rayon resists heat, while acetate is prone to melting. Acetate must be laundered with care either by hand-washing or dry cleaning, and acetate garments disintegrate when heated in a tumble dryer. The two fabrics are now required to be listed distinctly on garment labels.

Cellophane is generally made by the viscose process, but dried into sheets instead of fibers.

See also

References

Further reading

Gupta, VB; Kothari, VK and Sengupta, AK eds. (1997) Manufactured Fibre Technology. Chapman & Hall, London. .
 For a review of all rayon production methods and markets see "Regenerated Cellulose Fibres" (book – Edited by C R Woodings) Hardback 2001, , Woodhead Publishing Ltd.
 For a description of the production method at a factory in Germany in World War II, see Agnès Humbert (tr. Barbara Mellor) Résistance: Memoirs of Occupied France, London, Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, 2008  (American title: Resistance: A Frenchwoman's Journal of the War, Bloomsbury, USA, 2008) pp. 152–155
 For a complete set of photographs of the process see "The Story of Rayon" published by Courtaulds Ltd (1948)
 Arnold Hard, the textile journalist, produced two books documenting the experiences of some of the pioneers in the early British rayon industry the Hard, Arnold. H. (1933). The Romance of Rayon. Whittaker & Robinson, Manchester and Hard, Arnold (1944) The Story of Rayon, United Trade Press Ltd, London

External links

Organic polymers
Cellulose
Synthetic fibers
Products introduced in 1891
Articles containing video clips
Pulp and paper industry

Rayon


The Gulfport Open was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour that played in the 1940s on Mississippi's oldest golf course, the Great Southern Golf Club of Gulfport.

At the 1945 event, Byron Nelson and Sam Snead finished play in regulation tied for the lead. Nineteen holes later, Nelson conceded a putt to Snead giving him the tournament. Later that year, Nelson would complete a record-setting season by winning eighteen tournaments, 11 of them consecutively.

The Great Southern golf club was designed by Donald Ross in 1908.

Winners
1945 Sam Snead
1944 Harold "Jug" McSpaden

References

Former PGA Tour events
Golf in Mississippi

Gulfport Open


Hermann Otto Ludwig Weingärtner (27 August 1864 – 22 December 1919) was a German gymnast.

He started his career in his hometown Frankfurt (Oder) at the local gymnastics club Frankfurter Turnverein 1860. Later on he moved to Berlin to compete for the Deutsche Turnerschaft.

He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens. Weingärtner was a member of the German team that won two gold medals by placing first in both of the team events, the parallel bars and the horizontal bar.

He also won a number of individual medals, taking the gold in the horizontal bar, silver in pommel horse and rings, and bronze in the vault.  He competed in the parallel bars, but did not win a medal in that event.  His six medals made him one of the most successful competitors at the first modern Olympic Games.

After his return to Germany he and most of the other German gymnasts were suspended, because the Deutsche Turnerschaft (at this time the governing body of German gymnastics) boycotted the Olympic games with the reason that competing is "un-German". So he moved back to Frankfurt (Oder) to manage the open-air swimming pool founded by his father on the Ziegenwerder island.

He drowned trying to rescue a person from drowning in the Oder.

In 1996, the main footpath on the Ziegenwerder island was named Hermann-Weingärtner-Weg.

See also
List of multiple Olympic medalists at a single Games

References

External links
 Hermann Weingärtner Olympic medals and stats

1864 births
1919 deaths
Sportspeople from Frankfurt (Oder)
German male artistic gymnasts
Olympic gymnasts for Germany
Gymnasts at the 1896 Summer Olympics
19th-century sportsmen
Olympic gold medalists for Germany
Olympic silver medalists for Germany
Olympic bronze medalists for Germany
Olympic medalists in gymnastics
Medalists at the 1896 Summer Olympics
Deaths by drowning
Accidental deaths in Germany
19th-century German people
20th-century German people
Sportspeople from the Province of Brandenburg
People from the Free City of Frankfurt

Hermann Weingärtner


Bhalo Theko (;  Take Care) is a 2003 Indian Bengali movie based on Leena Gangopadhaya's story Janmadin released in 2003. Directed by Goutam Halder, it featured Soumitra Chatterjee, Joy Sengupta, Debshankar Halder, Parambrata Chatterjee and Vidya Balan. This movie marks Vidya Balan's cinematic debut. At the 51st National Film Awards, the film was awarded for Best Cinematography, Best Audiography and Special Jury Award for films producer and director.

Plot
The film is set in Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose's home in Falta, West Bengal, masquerading as Uttarpara. It deals with the story of a girl Anandi and her family (including uncle, brother, parents and sister), lover (brother's friend Babua) and few neighbours. Nature, tradition and love are Anandi's pillars of support in difficult times. Her brother will slowly drift away with companies of Naxalites, will not return home one day, and will be lost forever. Her parents will die heartbroken and her sister will get married suddenly and will leave the family. Babua will go abroad and marry somebody else.

It is implied that Anandi is forgetful of her sorrows that she was deceived by Babua (Joy Sengupta) whom she loved most. Babua comes back from abroad only to say: 'Anandi, I came back to set you free.'

Bhalo Theko has a non-linear pace with frequent jumps between current time and past. Film critics described Anandi as a large canvas painted in several hues. She stands against rootless internalisation and perplexed culture. A poem by a renowned Bangladeshi author and scholar Humayun Azad named "Shuvescha" was recited in the ending of the film by Anandi while wandering lonely in their garden.

Cast
Vidya Balan as Anandi
Soumitra Chatterjee as Anandi's uncle
Joy Sengupta as Babua shine
Debshankar Haldar
Parambrata Chatterjee
Rimjhim Gupta
Souvik Poyra
Anusua Majumdar
Bijay Lakshmi Barman
Chandan Sengupta

References

External links

2003 films
Bengali-language Indian films
Films whose cinematographer won the Best Cinematography National Film Award
Films set in West Bengal
Films based on short fiction
Films that won the Best Audiography National Film Award
Special Jury Award (feature film) National Film Award winners
2003 directorial debut films
2000s Bengali-language films

Bhalo Theko


Khagaul is a city and a municipality in Patna district in the Indian state of Bihar. It is a part of the Danapur-cum-Khagaul block of Patna.

Overview
Khagaul is an ancient city and was an ancient observatory under Mauryan rule. Nagar Parishad city in the district of Patna, Bihar.
The Khagaul city is divided into 27 wards for which elections are held every 5 years.

Khagaul Nagar Parishad has total administration of over 7,951 houses to which it supplies basic amenities like water and sewerage. It is also authorized to build roads within Nagar Parishad limits and impose taxes on properties coming under its jurisdiction.

Geography
Khagaul is located at . It has an average elevation of 55 metres (180 feet).

Demographics
 India census, Khagaul had a population of 48,330. Males constituted 53% of the population and females 47%. Khagaul had an average literacy rate of 71.5%. In Khagaul, 13% of the population was under 6 years of age.

As of 2011 India Census,
The Khagaul Nagar Parishad had a population of 44,364 of which 23,492 are males while 20,872 are females.

The population of children with age 0-6 is 5198 which is 11.72% of the total population of Khagaul.

The female Sex Ratio is 888 against the state average of 918.

The literacy rate of Khagaul city is 86.82% higher than the state average of 61.80%.
In Khagaul, Male literacy is around 91.81% while the female literacy rate is 81.23%.

History

Khagaul is a historical place. In ancient times, before Christ, Khagaul was called Kusumpura or Kusumpur, near Pataliputra, which was the capital city of the mighty Magadh Empire. Pushpapur was located between Pataliputra and Kusumpur. In modern times Pataliputra is called Patna, whereas Kusumpura or Kusumpur is called Khagaul, and Pushpapur is called Phulwari or Phulwari Shree or Phulwari Sharif.

Shakhtar and Chanakya (also known as Kautilya or Vishnugupta), two famous Prime Ministers of the Magadh Empire belonged to Kusumpur or present-day Khagaul during Fourth Century BC. Chanakya had provided initial education and training to Chandragupta Maurya (Great Emperor of the Magadh Empire and Founder of the Maurya Dynasty) at this very place. Under the guidance of Chanakya, the mighty Magadh Empire was spread from present-day India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan up to Iran after defeating the forces of Alexander and Seleucus. The tyrannical rule of King Dhanananda over Magadh was brought to an end by the rebellion of Chanakya after his arrest, humiliation, and death sentence inflicted against his father Chanak by the tyrannical King Dhanananda. Thereafter, Chandragupta Maurya, the disciple of Chanakya, was made King-Emperor of the Magadh Empire and Chanakya became its Prime Minister. Chanakya was a great scholar, economist, administrator, jurist, lawmaker, and a very sharp-minded nationalist and shrewd  politician. He was a student of Takshashila or Taxila University, and also worked as an Acharya or professor at the same university. Under the guidance of Chanakya, the mighty Magadh Empire had become the most powerful, influential, most developed, and richest empire in the world, and Pataliputra had become the most beautiful city.

After  the 5th century AD, Kusumpur was renamed Khagaul after Khagol or Khagol Shastra i.e. Astronomy, as it was an eminent center of Astronomical Observatory (Khagoliya Vedhashala) established by Aryabhata or Aryabhatta for Astronomical Studies and Astronomical Research. Aryabhatta is called  Father of Algebra, Geometry and Trigonometry, the Concept of Zero (0), and the decimal system.

Aryabhata, also called Aryabhata I or Aryabhata the Elder   (born in the year 476 AD), at Kusumapura, near Pataliputra or present-day Patna in India) was astronomer and the earliest Indian mathematician whose work and history are available to modern scholars. He is also known as Aryabhata I or Aryabhata the Elder to distinguish him from a 10th-century Indian mathematician of the same name. He flourished in Kusumapura—near Pataliputra (Patna), then the capital of the Gupta dynasty—where he composed at least two works, Aryabhatiya (c. 499) and the now lost Aryabhatasiddhanta.

Aryabhatasiddhanta circulated mainly in the northwest of India and, through the Sāsānian dynasty (224–651) of Iran, had a profound influence on the development of Islamic astronomy. Its contents are preserved to some extent in the works of Varahamihira (flourished c. 550), Bhaskara I (flourished c. 629), Brahmagupta (598 – c. 665), and others. It is one of the earliest astronomical works to assign the start of each day to midnight.

Aryabhatiya was particularly popular in South India, where numerous mathematicians over the ensuing millennium wrote commentaries. The work was written in verse couplets and deals with mathematics and astronomy. Following an introduction that contains astronomical tables and Aryabhata's system of phonemic number notation in which numbers are represented by a consonant-vowel monosyllable, the work is divided into three sections: Ganita ("Mathematics"), Kala-kriya ("Time Calculations"), and Gola ("Sphere").

In Ganita Aryabhata names the first 10 decimal places and gives algorithms for obtaining square and cubic roots, using the decimal number system. Then he treats geometric measurements—employing 62,832/20,000 (= 3.1416) for π—and develops properties of similar  right-angled triangles and two intersecting circles. Using the Pythagorean theorem, he obtained one of the two methods for constructing his table of sines. He also realized that second-order sine difference is proportional to sine. Mathematical series, quadratic equations, compound interest (involving a quadratic equation), proportions (ratios), and the solution of various linear equations are among the arithmetic and algebraic topics included. Aryabhata's general solution for linear indeterminate equations, which Bhaskara I called kuttakara ("pulverizer"), consisted of breaking the problem down into new problems with successively smaller coefficients—essentially the Euclidean algorithm and related to the method of continued fractions.

With Kala-kriya Aryabhata turned to astronomy—in particular, treating planetary motion along the ecliptic. The topics include definitions of various units of  time, eccentric and epicyclic models of planetary motion (see Hipparchus for earlier Greek models), planetary longitude corrections for different terrestrial locations, and a theory of " lords of the hours and days" (an astrological concept used for determining propitious times for action).

Aryabhatiya ends with spherical astronomy in Gola, where he applied plane trigonometry to spherical geometry by projecting points and lines on the surface of a sphere onto appropriate planes. Topics include the prediction of solar and lunar eclipses and an explicit statement that the apparent westward motion of the stars is due to the spherical Earth's rotation about its axis. Aryabhata also correctly ascribed the luminosity of the Moon and planets to reflected sunlight.

The Indian Government named its first satellite Aryabhata (launched 1975) in his honour.

References

Cities and towns in Patna district
Neighbourhoods in Patna

Khagaul


Anastasia Again! (1981) is a young-adult novel by Lois Lowry. It is part of her Anastasia and Sam series and the sequel to Anastasia Krupnik.

In it 12-year-old Anastasia is confronted with the challenge of her parents deciding the family is to move out of their city apartment which has become too small for their needs following the birth of Anastasia's baby brother Sam. Initially Anastasia does not want to move because the new house is in the suburbs, which Anastasia thinks are inferior, but over time she warms to the idea and makes new friends in suburbia.

The book was banned at Spook Hill Elementary school's library in 2005 after a parent complained that the content, particularly Anastasia's comment about killing herself, is inappropriate.

Reviews
Though not one of Lowry's more popular young adult novels, the book and series did receive positive reviews upon release. Horn Book commented upon the novel stating "Anastasia Krupnik is one of the most intriguing female protagonists to appear in children's books since the advent of Harriet the Spy . . . Genuinely funny, the story is a marvelously human portrait of an articulate adolescent." It was awarded as an ALA Notable Book.

Boston Globe included it in a shortlist of books recommended to help children cope with the uncertainty of moving house.

References

External links
 Lois Lowry - Books
 Lowry's website
 Complete list of books  by Lowry

1981 American novels
American young adult novels
Novels by Lois Lowry
Novels about moving

Anastasia Again!


The shape of a molecule or ion is determined by the repulsion between the electron pairs surrounding the central atom.

Valence Shell Electron-Pair Repulsion Theory

-  Only the electron pairs arranged around the central atom in a covalent molecule need to be considered

- Pairs of electrons repel each other and move as far apart as possible

- Lone pair-lone pair repulsion is greater than lone pair-bonding pair repulsion which is greater than bonding pair- bonding pair repulsion

- The actual shape of species is determined by the atoms attached round the central atom (and influenced by the lone pairs of electrons)

- All bonds - single bonds, double bonds and triple bonds - take up the same space.

Physics
Chemistry

VSEPR theory


Miguel de Vasconcelos (or Vasconcellos) e Brito (;  – 1 December 1640) was the last Secretary of State (Prime Minister) of the Kingdom of Portugal, during the Philippine Dynasty, in which both kingdoms of Portugal and Spain remained separated but united by the same king and foreign policy.

He was in office from 1635 to 1640, serving under Margaret of Savoy, Vicereine of Portugal, the Duchess of Mantua, a cousin of King Philip III.

He was probably the most hated collaborator with the Spanish, considered a traitor during the last years of the Philippine Dynasty, especially after the revolts of 1637. On the morning of 1 December 1640, a group of Portuguese noblemen who wanted to restore full independence started a revolution, immediately supported by the people of Lisbon. After entering the palace, the conspirators sought Miguel Vasconcelos, but saw no sign of him. They would eventually find Miguel de Vasconcelos hidden in a closet with a gun. His movements within the small closet and the rustling of papers inside gave away his position. He was shot to death and defenestrated, leaving his corpse to the angry public.

See also
History of Portugal (1578-1777)

1640 deaths
Prime Ministers of Portugal
1590s births
Year of birth uncertain
17th-century Portuguese people
People executed by defenestration

Miguel de Vasconcelos


Mineralogical Museum of Lavrion is a museum in Lavrion, Attica, Greece.)

A brief history of the museum

The Mineralogical Museum of Lavrion was inaugurated in 1986 through the efforts of the "Society for Lavrion region Studies" (the Scientific Society of Lavrion, in Greek "Etaireia Meleton Lavreotikis", E.ME.L.), a non-profit cultural association founded in 1984 and recognized by the Ministry of Culture with the status of a private legal association (Government Gazette No. B/1401/22.10.2001, No. 54), grouping the scientific community of the city and its surroundings. The museum's premises occupy a small industrial building, built in 1875, which constituted initially a part of the industrial ore washing complex of the "Metallurgical Company of Lavrion" ("Société des Usines du Laurium" or "Hellenic Company", 1873-1927).

The museum has been dedicated to the memory of Andreas Cordellas, Greek mineralogist (1836-1909), whose scientific work paved the way to the re-exploitation, in the second half of the 19th century, of the ancient mines of Lavrion. His monument, created by the sculptor Irini Chariati (1918-2009), member of E.ME.L., was placed by E.ME.L. at the premises of the museum and unveiled on May 20, 1990.

Compiling the Collection

E.ME.L. commenced in 1984 the effort to compile its mineralogical collection by addressing requests to local families, who, to their knowledge, had in their possession minerals from the region.

In the last years, under our encouragement and counsel, the Municipality of Lavrion acquired two very important collections, which have come to enrich the contents of the Museum of E.ME.L. Also, Mr. Ath. Martinos has largely contributed to this end, being acclaimed by the Board of our Society, in recognition of his commitment, great donor and honorary Member of the Society. Finally, through monetary contributions and personal purchases of mineralogical collections, citizens and friends have incessantly helped to complete the contents of the museum. At this end, the acquisition and transfer to new premises, which will allow the presentation of the collection of the museum under appropriate museological conditions, constitutes a common target, both for E.ME.L. and the Municipality of Lavrion.

The Collection

The collection of the Mineralogical Museum of Lavrion comprises samples of minerals from the region of Lavrion, pieces unique both in quality and beauty. More than 610 species of minerals have been discovered in the subsoil of the region (amounting to 16% of the world's known minerals), which is why the region of Lavrion has been rightly named "an inexhaustible natural mineral and chemical laboratory".

In the reduced premises of the museum, 740 mineral samples (representing 220 mineral species) are presented in showcases, classified either according to their chemical composition, e.g. sulphates, sulfides, oxides, silicates et al. (following the J. Dana system), or in cabinets comprising general samples or collections of major donors. The collection of the museum, including more than 3,200 samples, continuously grows.
The polymorphy, the particular crystallization, the iridescence and the amazing colours of the minerals surprise the visitors upon arrival. Aragonites, azurites, smithsonites from Lavrion are classified among the most beautiful of the world, whilst major Museums abroad would be proud to behold among their exhibits, samples of annabergite, spangolite, takovite, ktenasite, kapellasite, glaucocerinite, a.o., such as presented here.

The collection of the museum also comprises ancient and modern miners' tools, together with lead "turtles" – produced for commercialization – their moulds and other products derived from the smelting process. The visitor can also admire silver coins of ancient Athens (5th-4th c. b.C.) known as the "Lavrion owls", according to Aristophanes. Huge rocks of slag, used as blocks in the port of the city, are on display in the surrounding grounds, together with loading barrels for vessels affected to the transportation of metals or coal, as well as a wagonette on rails recovered from a semi-destroyed mining gallery (Adami) in the nearby region of Plaka.

References

External links
Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Tourism (no info)
Photos of the ancient mine and the old museum
EMEL (Society for Lavrion region Studies)
 Virtual tour of the Mineralogical Museum of Lavrion

Museums in Attica
Geology museums in Greece
Natural history museums in Greece

Mineralogical Museum of Lavrion


The European Defence Fund (EDF) is a component of the European Union's (EU) Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) which aims to coordinate and increase national investment in defence research and improve interoperability between national armed forces. It was proposed in 2016 by Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and established in 2017. The fund has two stands; Research (€90 million until the end of 2019 and €500 million per year after 2020) and Development & Acquisition (€500 million in total for 2019-20 then €1 billion per year after 2020). In July 2018, the European Commission announced that the EDF budget for 2021-2027 would be €13 billion. This sum was later revised by the European Commission as part of the new EU budget proposed on May 27, 2020, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to which the EDF will be allocated €8 billion over this budget period.

Aim
The European Commission co-finances joint defence industrial projects and supports collaborative defense research across the EU. Specifically, the Juncker Commission has planned and made an unprecedented effort to protect and defend Europeans. The plan is that from 2021, a fully-fledged European Defence Fund will foster an innovative and competitive defense industrial base and contribute to the EU's strategic autonomy. Strategic autonomy is the ability of the European Union to defend Europe and act militarily in its neighborhood without so much reliance on the United States. The goal of strategic autonomy is however not to act alone militarily, and the European Union can be characterized as non-interventionist in nature. The European Defence Fund, together with the Coordinated Annual Review on Defence and Permanent Structured Cooperation forms a new comprehensive defence package for the EU.

Eligible projects

Development of equipment and technology
Through two precursors to the Fund, the Commission took further steps to make defense cooperation a reality. In 2019 the Commission kick-started the first EU-funded joint defense related industrial projects through the European Defense Industrial Development Program. The first program agreed with the Member States provided €500 million in co-financing for the joint development of defense capabilities during 2019–2020. These cover priority areas in all domains such as air, land, sea, cyber and space:

 Protection and mobility of forces: to help develop CBRN threat detections capabilities or counter drone systems.
 Intelligence, secured communication & Cyber: situational awareness and defence, space situational awareness and early warning capabilities, or maritime surveillance capabilities.
 Operations: to upgrade or development of the next generation of ground-based precision strike capabilities, ground combat capabilities, air combat capabilities and future naval systems.
 Innovation & SMEs: to support solutions in Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality and Cyber technologies, as well as to support SMEs.
 Eurodrone: for a crucial capability for Europe's strategic autonomy.
 ESSOR to support interoperable and secure military communications.

Research
The 2019 Work Programme also dedicated €25 million for research in Electromagnetic Full-spectrum dominance and Future Disruptive Defence Technologies. These two areas have been identified as essential to maintain Europe's long-term lead and independence. The calls on Future Disruptive Defence Technologies will look at how best the EU can support disruptive technologies in defence that may lead to transformational changes in the military. This will help prepare the ground for the European Defence Fund which could allocate up to 8% of its budget for disruptive technologies. In June 2018, the Commission proposed to allocate €13 billion to the fund for the period 2021–2027. The aim is to support collaborative defence projects throughout the entire cycle of Research and development. The Council of the European Union and the European Parliament are to adopt the proposal by 2019.

See also
Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation
European Defence Agency
European Research Council
Western European Armaments Group
Western European Armaments Organisation
NATO Support and Procurement Agency
NATO Standardization Office

References

External links
 European Defence Fund - factsheet
 EDIDP and PADR - factsheet
 More information on PADR Work Programme
 More information on EDIDP Work Programme
 The European Defence Fund: Questions and Answers, European Commission

Military equipment of the European Union
Military economics
Innovation economics

es:Fondo europeo de defensa

European Defence Fund


The Allegheny National Fish Hatchery was established by Congress in 1959 to produce rainbow, brook, and brown trout for northwestern Pennsylvania streams. Construction began in the late 1960s. Fish production began on site in 1974.

Lake trout production
The current goal of the facility is to produce lake trout for restoration in Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. Allegheny National Fish Hatchery is the only U.S. hatchery tasked with producing fish for the bi-national effort.

The lake trout, Salvelinus namaycush, is a cold water fish of the charr family. The largest of the trout species, it is a deepwater fish which is a cousin to the familiar and popular brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis). The lake trout is native to the northeast United States and Canada, and it was once a top predator fish in the Great Lakes. Its numbers have dropped due to the introduction of exotic, non-native species such as the sea lamprey, loss of habitat and historic overharvest.

Annually producing as many as 1.3 million fish in the early 1990s, the hatchery now produces an estimated 660,000 fish for Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. It maintains a broodstock population of approximately 2000 fish. Broodstock are used to produce eggs for Lake Michigan as well as for the Erie and Ontario programs.

Nearby fishing pier at Kinzua Dam
Access to the Kinzua Dam tailwater fishing pier, immediately upstream of the hatchery on PA Route 59, is open 24 hours per day at flows of  or less. Access to the fishing pier is closed during winter road conditions.

External links
Allegheny National Fish Hatchery official site

This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.

National Fish Hatcheries of the United States
Buildings and structures in Warren County, Pennsylvania
Tourist attractions in Warren County, Pennsylvania
Agricultural buildings and structures in Pennsylvania

Allegheny National Fish Hatchery


Knockanare Well is a holy well in County Cork, Ireland.

It is situated on the left bank of the River Awbeg, about a half-mile east of Buttevant and southeast of the Ballyhoura Mountains.  A Sheela na Gig once stood next to the well.  The water from this well remains crystal-clear and sweet.

Folklore attributes various special powers to this well, such as that its water will not boil or that two trout appear in it at certain times of the year.

A story regarding this well states that one day, one of Fionn Mac Cumhail's men strayed from his company and sought the hospitality of a local chieftain.  He fell in love with the chieftain's daughter and they eloped.  The chieftain's men caught up with them and the man was mortally wounded.  At the advice of locals, he bathed in the Knockanare Well and was cured.

Another story states that during the wars of rebellion, Irish wounded in battle were taken to the well and cured instantly.  An English general scoffed at these miracles until his own son was wounded in battle and subsequently cured by the well.  In celebration, the general supposedly built golden gates near the well that were later dismantled and hidden nearby.

References

Irish mythology
Religion in County Cork
Holy wells in Ireland

Knockanare Well


Strathmore University is a chartered university based in Nairobi, Kenya.

Strathmore College was started in 1961, as the first multi-racial, multi-religious advanced-level sixth form college offering science and arts subjects, by a group of professionals who formed a charitable educational trust (now the Strathmore Educational Trust). Saint Josemaría Escrivá, founder of Opus Dei, inspired and encouraged them to start the college. It is a Catholic university. Strathmore has a particularly successful accounting program: 60% of the CPA finalists in Kenya come from it in the past ten years, dating back from 2007.

The current vice-chancellor of the university is Professor John Odhiambo.

History

In March 1966, the first intake of Accountancy students, twenty-five in number, joined the Sixth-form students and began preparing for the examinations of the UK-based Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA). These first Accountancy students were sponsored by Shell East Africa, British American Tobacco Kenya and the East African Breweries. At this time Strathmore College was unique as a fully integrated post-Form 4 institution offering both academic and professional courses.

In October 1982, the college began evening courses in Accountancy after normal working hours, with 60 students sponsored by various companies.

In 1986, in response to a request by the trustees, the government of Kenya donated  of land on Ole Sangale Road, Madaraka Estate. The European Union (EU) and the Italian government agreed to back the Madaraka Campus project. The donors wanted to support a co-educational college that would offer courses in Management and Accountancy, Kianda College, an undertaking of Kianda Foundation, which was planning new developments at the time. Derrick Mureithi agreed to run their professional courses in the new Madaraka campus.

Construction of the new campus commenced in September 1989. In January 1991, the Information Technology Centre was started in the Lavington, Nairobi Campus to run computer courses leading to the Institute for the Management of Information Systems (formerly Institute of Data Processing Management) Diploma and Higher Diploma. In January 1992 a Distance Learning Centre was opened to offer correspondence courses in Accountancy to students who are unable to attend lectures.

In January 1993, Strathmore College merged with Kianda College and moved to Ole Sangale Road, Madaraka Estate. In August 2002, the Commission of Higher Education awarded Strathmore a Letter of Interim Authority to operate as a university with a Faculty of Commerce and a Faculty of Information Technology. In 2008, Strathmore was awarded a charter to become a fully-fledged university. It also has since established Strathmore Business School, with academic linkage to various top business schools, including IESE and Harvard Business School.

Strathmore University Foundation

Strathmore University Foundation is incorporated under Kenyan laws as a not for profit company limited by guarantee and having no share capital. It is wholly owned by Strathmore University and is entirely dedicated to raising funds to support university initiatives. The foundation is governed by a board of directors composed of persons of good standing in society. This board is appointed with the recommendation of the University Council and the University Management Board.

Strathmore Alumni Relations Office
The Strathmore Alumni Relations Office is an international alumni office established in Kenya with the support of Strathmore University Foundation (Princeton, New Jersey, US) to promote and support alumni linkages and activities worldwide. The office is responsible for maintaining the links of alumni with the university.

Faculties, institutes and schools

Research centers
 @iLabAfrica Research and Innovation Centre
 The Strathmore Energy Research Centre (SERC)
Centre for Research in Therapeutic Sciences (CREATES)
 Strathmore Dispute Resolution Centre (SDRC)
 Strathmore Tax Research Centre (STRC)
 Strathmore Extractives Industry Centre (SEIC)
 Centre for Intellectual Property and Information Technology Law (CIPIT)
 Strathmore Writing Centre
 Strathmore University Center for Sustainability Leadership
 Climate Innovation Centre Kenya

Schools, faculties and institutes
 Strathmore University Business School
 School of Law
 School of Accountancy
 School of Graduate Studies
 School of Humanities and Social Sciences
 School of Computing and Engineering Sciences
 Institute of Mathematical Sciences
 Institute for Advanced Studies in International Criminal Justice

Academic partnerships

 University of Navarra
 IESE Business School
 Wharton Business School
 University of Kigali
 AiTi at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 James Madison Programme on Ideals & Institutions at Princeton University
 Association of Micro Finance Institutions, Swiss Contact
 World Council of Credit Unions

See also
 Kiva
 Université des Lagunes, university of Opus Dei in Ivory Coast

References

External links
 Strathmore University

Education in Nairobi
Universities and colleges established in 1961
Universities in Kenya
Opus Dei universities and colleges
1961 establishments in Kenya

Strathmore University


Hammerfist is a side-scrolling beat 'em up video game developed by Vivid Image and released in 1990 for the Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum.

Plot
In the year 2215 AD, the world is ruled by a corporation called Centro-Holographix ('Metro-Holographix' in some versions), which captures unwilling humans and replaces them with holographic versions which carry out its will. Two of these agents, Hammerfist and Metalisis, have malfunctioned and turned against Centro-Holographix, seeking to destroy it and liberate their original human forms. As part of the malfunction, the two holograms have been merged into a single being who can transform back and forth between their two forms at will. They initially escape from their storage pods in a laboratory at the bottom of the ocean and must fight their way out, after which they must cross the ocean, battling a variety of undersea creatures as they go. Finally, Hammerfist and Metalisis reach a destroyed city and penetrate the Centro-Holographix facility, confronting and eventually destroying the corporation's ruler, a being known only as The Master. Hammerfist and Metalisis, separated into their original bodies, escape Centro-Holographix for good.

Gameplay

The player controls either the male Hammerfist or the female Metalisis; as they occupy the same body, the player can transform from one to the other at any time in order to utilize their distinct skills. Hammerfist is a more powerful combatant, able to sustain more damage and fire energy bolts from his fists, while Metalisis is able to cartwheel (or 'flick-flack') over obstacles and gaps between platforms. Each room consists of a series of challenges, primarily computer screens which must be smashed and enemies which must be destroyed, before they are able to progress to the next room. Virtually all rooms require both characters to be used in order to complete them.

The game features separate health bars for Hammerfist and Metalisis, with the player being restricted to one character after the other is killed, as well as one for The Master. As the player defeats enemies and destroys computers, a variety of power-ups drop for them. If the player leaves a room without collecting all the available power-ups, their value is added to The Master's strength; when this is full, all power-ups become negative, and will harm the player character, until a sufficient number of them have been avoided. Some rooms also feature booths within which both characters can recharge their health. Upon the death of both characters, the player is returned to the beginning of the game.

Development
Hammerfist was the first game produced by UK developers Vivid Image, a company formed by Mev Dinc, Hugh Riley and John Twiddy. The three of them worked previously for System 3, leaving immediately upon the completion of Last Ninja 2 in 1988 order to form their own company.

A version was developed for the Konix Multisystem, but as that console was never released, neither was the game.

Reception
All versions of Hammerfist received positive reviews at the time of release. A.C.E. said that the Amiga version was "graphically superb...a better beat 'em up than many of the mediocre coin-op conversions that are currently available for the Amiga." Amiga Format gave the game a score of 89%, praising its complexity and stating "Hammerfist is definitely a game to keep you busy for a very long time." Zero gave the game a score of 87 out of 100, stating "combine the tricky but challenging gameplay with some dramatic graphics and an excellect soundtrack and you're looking at a pretty nifty shoot 'em up."

The Games Machine praised the graphics of the Commodore 64 version and stated that it "deserves all the accolades it can grab", and Zzap!64 were similarly positive about this version, identifying its detailed sprites and animation as its best feature, giving the game a total score of 90%. Computer and Video Games were similarly positive about the Spectrum version, stating that the platform's monochrome graphics "[don't] harm the overall game which stands out as one of the better arcade adventures doing the rounds of late."

References

External links
 Hammerfist at Atari Legend
 Hammerfist at Lemon Amiga
 Hammerfist at Hall of Light

1990 video games
Atari ST games
Amiga games
Amstrad CPC games
Activision beat 'em ups
Commodore 64 games
Cyberpunk video games
Dystopian video games
Platformers
Video games about cloning
Video games about cyborgs
Video games about shapeshifting
Video games featuring female protagonists
Video games set in the 23rd century
ZX Spectrum games
Video games developed in the United Kingdom

Hammerfist