Boron is a chemical element with the symbol B and atomic number 5. In its crystalline form it is a brittle, dark, lustrous metalloid; in its amorphous form it is a brown powder. As the lightest element of the boron group it has three valence electrons for forming covalent bonds, resulting in many compounds such as boric acid, the mineral sodium borate, and the ultra-hard crystals of boron carbide and boron nitride.

Boron is synthesized entirely by cosmic ray spallation and supernovae and not by stellar nucleosynthesis, so it is a low-abundance element in the Solar System and in the Earth's crust. It constitutes about 0.001 percent by weight of Earth's crust. It is concentrated on Earth by the water-solubility of its more common naturally occurring compounds, the borate minerals. These are mined industrially as evaporites, such as borax and kernite. The largest known deposits are in Turkey, the largest producer of boron minerals.

Elemental boron is a metalloid that is found in small amounts in meteoroids but chemically uncombined boron is not otherwise found naturally on Earth. Industrially, the very pure element is produced with difficulty because of contamination by carbon or other elements that resist removal. Several allotropes exist: amorphous boron is a brown powder; crystalline boron is silvery to black, extremely hard (about 9.5 on the Mohs scale), and a poor electrical conductor at room temperature. The primary use of the element itself is as boron filaments with applications similar to carbon fibers in some high-strength materials.

Boron is primarily used in chemical compounds. About half of all production consumed globally is an additive in fiberglass for insulation and structural materials. The next leading use is in polymers and ceramics in high-strength, lightweight structural and heat-resistant materials. Borosilicate glass is desired for its greater strength and thermal shock resistance than ordinary soda lime glass. As sodium perborate, it is used as a bleach. A small amount is used as a dopant in semiconductors, and reagent intermediates in the synthesis of organic fine chemicals. A few boron-containing organic pharmaceuticals are used or are in study. Natural boron is composed of two stable isotopes, one of which (boron-10) has a number of uses as a neutron-capturing agent.

The intersection of boron with biology is very small.  Consensus on it as essential for mammalian life is lacking. Borates have low toxicity in mammals (similar to table salt) but are more toxic to arthropods and are occasionally used as insecticides. Boron-containing organic antibiotics are known. Although only traces are required, it is an essential plant nutrient.

History
The word boron was coined from borax, the mineral from which it was isolated, by analogy with carbon, which boron resembles chemically.

Borax in its mineral form (then known as tincal) first saw use as a glaze, beginning in China circa 300 AD. Some crude borax traveled westward, and was apparently mentioned by the alchemist Jabir ibn Hayyan around 700 AD. Marco Polo brought some glazes back to Italy in the 13th century. Georgius Agricola, in around 1600, reported the use of borax as a flux in metallurgy. In 1777, boric acid was recognized in the hot springs (soffioni) near Florence, Italy, at which point it became known as sal sedativum, with ostensible medical benefits. The mineral was named sassolite, after Sasso Pisano in Italy. Sasso was the main source of European borax from 1827 to 1872, when American sources replaced it. Boron compounds were relatively rarely used until the late 1800s when Francis Marion Smith's Pacific Coast Borax Company first popularized and produced them in volume at low cost.

Boron was not recognized as an element until it was isolated by Sir Humphry Davy and by Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac and Louis Jacques Thénard. In 1808 Davy observed that electric current sent through a solution of borates produced a brown precipitate on one of the electrodes. In his subsequent experiments, he used potassium to reduce boric acid instead of electrolysis. He produced enough boron to confirm a new element and named it boracium. Gay-Lussac and Thénard used iron to reduce boric acid at high temperatures. By oxidizing boron with air, they showed that boric acid is its oxidation product. Jöns Jacob Berzelius identified it as an element in 1824. Pure boron was arguably first produced by the American chemist Ezekiel Weintraub in 1909.

Preparation of elemental boron in the laboratory
The earliest routes to elemental boron involved the reduction of boric oxide with metals such as magnesium or aluminium. However, the product is almost always contaminated with borides of those metals. Pure boron can be prepared by reducing volatile boron halides with hydrogen at high temperatures. Ultrapure boron for use in the semiconductor industry is produced by the decomposition of diborane at high temperatures and then further purified by the zone melting or Czochralski processes.

The production of boron compounds does not involve the formation of elemental boron, but exploits the convenient availability of borates.

Characteristics

Allotropes

Boron is similar to carbon in its capability to form stable covalently bonded molecular networks. Even nominally disordered (amorphous) boron contains regular boron icosahedra which are bonded randomly to each other without long-range order. Crystalline boron is a very hard, black material with a melting point of above 2000 °C. It forms four major allotropes: α-rhombohedral and β-rhombohedral (α-R and β-R), γ-orthorhombic (γ) and β-tetragonal (β-T). All four phases are stable at ambient conditions, and β-rhombohedral is the most common and stable. An α-tetragonal phase also exists (α-T), but is very difficult to produce without significant contamination. Most of the phases are based on B12 icosahedra, but the γ phase can be described as a rocksalt-type arrangement of the icosahedra and B2 atomic pairs. It can be produced by compressing other boron phases to 12–20 GPa and heating to 1500–1800 °C; it remains stable after releasing the temperature and pressure. The β-T phase is produced at similar pressures, but higher temperatures of 1800–2200 °C. The α-T and β-T phases might coexist at ambient conditions, with the β-T phase being the more stable. Compressing boron above 160 GPa produces a boron phase with an as yet unknown structure, and this phase is a superconductor at temperatures below 6–12 K. Borospherene (fullerene-like B40 molecules) and borophene (proposed graphene-like structure) were described in 2014.

Chemistry of the element

Elemental boron is rare and poorly studied because the pure material is extremely difficult to prepare. Most studies of "boron" involve samples that contain small amounts of carbon. The chemical behavior of boron resembles that of silicon more than aluminium. Crystalline boron is chemically inert and resistant to attack by boiling hydrofluoric or hydrochloric acid. When finely divided, it is attacked slowly by hot concentrated hydrogen peroxide, hot concentrated nitric acid, hot sulfuric acid or hot mixture of sulfuric and chromic acids.

The rate of oxidation of boron depends on the crystallinity, particle size, purity and temperature. Boron does not react with air at room temperature, but at higher temperatures it burns to form boron trioxide:
4 B + 3 O2 → 2 B2O3

Boron undergoes halogenation to give trihalides; for example,
2 B + 3 Br2 → 2 BBr3
The trichloride in practice is usually made from the oxide.

Atomic structure
Boron is the lightest element having an electron in a p-orbital in its ground state. Unlike most other p-elements, it rarely obeys the octet rule and usually places only six electrons (in three molecular orbitals) onto its valence shell. Boron is the prototype for the boron group (the IUPAC group 13), although the other members of this group are metals and more typical p-elements (only aluminium to some extent shares boron's aversion to the octet rule).

Boron also has much lower electronegativity than subsequent period 2 elements.  For the latter, lithium salts are common e.g. lithium fluoride, lithium hydroxide, lithium amide, and methyllithium, but lithium boryllides are extraordinarily rare.    Strong bases do not deprotonate a borohydride R2BH to the boryl anion R2B−, instead forming the octet-complete adduct R2HB-base.

Chemical compounds

In the most familiar compounds, boron has the formal oxidation state III. These include oxides, sulfides, nitrides, and halides.

The trihalides adopt a planar trigonal structure. These compounds are Lewis acids in that they readily form adducts with electron-pair donors, which are called Lewis bases. For example, fluoride (F−) and boron trifluoride (BF3) combined to give the tetrafluoroborate anion, BF4−. Boron trifluoride is used in the petrochemical industry as a catalyst. The halides react with water to form boric acid.

It is found in nature on Earth almost entirely as various oxides of B(III), often associated with other elements. More than one hundred borate minerals contain boron in oxidation state +3. These minerals resemble silicates in some respect, although it is often found not only in a tetrahedral coordination with oxygen, but also in a trigonal planar configuration. Unlike silicates, boron minerals never contain it with coordination number greater than four. A typical motif is exemplified by the tetraborate anions of the common mineral borax, shown at left. The formal negative charge of the tetrahedral borate center is balanced by metal cations in the minerals, such as the sodium (Na+) in borax. The tourmaline group of borate-silicates is also a very important boron-bearing mineral group, and a number of borosilicates are also known to exist naturally.

Boranes

Boranes are chemical compounds of boron and hydrogen, with the generic formula of BxHy. These compounds do not occur in nature. Many of the boranes readily oxidise on contact with air, some violently. The parent member BH3 is called borane, but it is known only in the gaseous state, and dimerises to form diborane, B2H6. The larger boranes all consist of boron clusters that are polyhedral, some of which exist as isomers. For example, isomers of B20H26 are based on the fusion of two 10-atom clusters.

The most important boranes are diborane B2H6 and two of its pyrolysis products, pentaborane B5H9 and decaborane B10H14. A large number of anionic boron hydrides are known, e.g. [B12H12]2−.

The formal oxidation number in boranes is positive, and is based on the assumption that hydrogen is counted as −1 as in active metal hydrides. The mean oxidation number for the borons is then simply the ratio of hydrogen to boron in the molecule. For example, in diborane B2H6, the boron oxidation state is +3, but in decaborane B10H14, it is 7/5 or +1.4. In these compounds the oxidation state of boron is often not a whole number.

Boron nitrides

The boron nitrides are notable for the variety of structures that they adopt. They exhibit structures analogous to various allotropes of carbon, including graphite, diamond, and nanotubes. In the diamond-like structure, called cubic boron nitride (tradename Borazon), boron atoms exist in the tetrahedral structure of carbon atoms in diamond, but one in every four B-N bonds can be viewed as a coordinate covalent bond, wherein two electrons are donated by the nitrogen atom which acts as the Lewis base to a bond to the Lewis acidic boron(III) centre. Cubic boron nitride, among other applications, is used as an abrasive, as it has a hardness comparable with diamond (the two substances are able to produce scratches on each other). In the BN compound analogue of graphite, hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), the positively charged boron and negatively charged nitrogen atoms in each plane lie adjacent to the oppositely charged atom in the next plane. Consequently, graphite and h-BN have very different properties, although both are lubricants, as these planes slip past each other easily. However, h-BN is a relatively poor electrical and thermal conductor in the planar directions.

Organoboron chemistry

A large number of organoboron compounds are known and many are useful in organic synthesis. Many are produced from hydroboration, which employs diborane, B2H6, a simple borane chemical, or carboboration. Organoboron(III) compounds are usually tetrahedral or trigonal planar, for example, tetraphenylborate, [B(C6H5)4]− vs. triphenylborane, B(C6H5)3. However, multiple boron atoms reacting with each other have a tendency to form novel dodecahedral (12-sided) and icosahedral (20-sided) structures composed completely of boron atoms, or with varying numbers of carbon heteroatoms.

Organoboron chemicals have been employed in uses as diverse as boron carbide (see below), a complex very hard ceramic composed of boron-carbon cluster anions and cations, to carboranes, carbon-boron cluster chemistry compounds that can be halogenated to form reactive structures including carborane acid, a superacid. As one example, carboranes form useful molecular moieties that add considerable amounts of boron to other biochemicals in order to synthesize boron-containing compounds for boron neutron capture therapy for cancer.

Compounds of B(I) and B(II)
As anticipated by its hydride clusters, boron forms a variety of stable compounds with formal oxidation state less than three. B2F4 and B4Cl4 are well characterized.

Binary metal-boron compounds, the metal borides, contain boron in negative oxidation states. Illustrative is magnesium diboride (MgB2). Each boron atom has a formal −1 charge and magnesium is assigned a formal charge of +2. In this material, the boron centers are trigonal planar with an extra double bond for each boron, forming sheets akin to the carbon in graphite. However, unlike hexagonal boron nitride, which lacks electrons in the plane of the covalent atoms, the delocalized electrons in magnesium diboride allow it to conduct electricity similar to isoelectronic graphite. In 2001, this material was found to be a high-temperature superconductor. It is a superconductor under active development. A project at CERN to make MgB2 cables has resulted in superconducting test cables able to carry 20,000 amperes for extremely high current distribution applications, such as the contemplated high luminosity version of the Large Hadron Collider.

Certain other metal borides find specialized applications as hard materials for cutting tools. Often the boron in borides has fractional oxidation states, such as −1/3 in calcium hexaboride (CaB6).

From the structural perspective, the most distinctive chemical compounds of boron are the hydrides. Included in this series are the cluster compounds dodecaborate (), decaborane (B10H14), and the carboranes such as C2B10H12. Characteristically such compounds contain boron with coordination numbers greater than four.

Isotopes

Boron has two naturally occurring and stable isotopes, 11B (80.1%) and 10B (19.9%). The mass difference results in a wide range of δ11B values, which are defined as a fractional difference between the 11B and 10B and traditionally expressed in parts per thousand, in natural waters ranging from −16 to +59. There are 13 known isotopes of boron; the shortest-lived isotope is 7B which decays through proton emission and alpha decay with a half-life of 3.5×10−22 s. Isotopic fractionation of boron is controlled by the exchange reactions of the boron species B(OH)3 and [B(OH)4]−. Boron isotopes are also fractionated during mineral crystallization, during H2O phase changes in hydrothermal systems, and during hydrothermal alteration of rock. The latter effect results in preferential removal of the [10B(OH)4]− ion onto clays. It results in solutions enriched in 11B(OH)3 and therefore may be responsible for the large 11B enrichment in seawater relative to both oceanic crust and continental crust; this difference may act as an isotopic signature.

The exotic 17B exhibits a nuclear halo, i.e. its radius is appreciably larger than that predicted by the liquid drop model.

The 10B isotope is useful for capturing thermal neutrons (see neutron cross section#Typical cross sections). The nuclear industry enriches natural boron to nearly pure 10B. The less-valuable by-product, depleted boron, is nearly pure 11B.

Commercial isotope enrichment
Because of its high neutron cross-section, boron-10 is often used to control fission in nuclear reactors as a neutron-capturing substance. Several industrial-scale enrichment processes have been developed; however, only the fractionated vacuum distillation of the dimethyl ether adduct of boron trifluoride (DME-BF3) and column chromatography of borates are being used.

Enriched boron (boron-10)

Enriched boron or 10B is used in both radiation shielding and is the primary nuclide used in neutron capture therapy of cancer. In the latter ("boron neutron capture therapy" or BNCT), a compound containing 10B is incorporated into a pharmaceutical which is selectively taken up by a malignant tumor and tissues near it. The patient is then treated with a beam of low energy neutrons at a relatively low neutron radiation dose. The neutrons, however, trigger energetic and short-range secondary alpha particle and lithium-7 heavy ion radiation that are products of the boron-neutron nuclear reaction, and this ion radiation additionally bombards the tumor, especially from inside the tumor cells.

In nuclear reactors, 10B is used for reactivity control and in emergency shutdown systems. It can serve either function in the form of borosilicate control rods or as boric acid. In pressurized water reactors, 10B boric acid is added to the reactor coolant when the plant is shut down for refueling. It is then slowly filtered out over many months as fissile material is used up and the fuel becomes less reactive.

In future crewed interplanetary spacecraft, 10B has a theoretical role as structural material (as boron fibers or BN nanotube material) which would also serve a special role in the radiation shield. One of the difficulties in dealing with cosmic rays, which are mostly high energy protons, is that some secondary radiation from interaction of cosmic rays and spacecraft materials is high energy spallation neutrons. Such neutrons can be moderated by materials high in light elements, such as polyethylene, but the moderated neutrons continue to be a radiation hazard unless actively absorbed in the shielding. Among light elements that absorb thermal neutrons, 6Li and 10B appear as potential spacecraft structural materials which serve both for mechanical reinforcement and radiation protection.

Depleted boron (boron-11)

Radiation-hardened semiconductors
Cosmic radiation will produce secondary neutrons if it hits spacecraft structures. Those neutrons will be captured in 10B, if it is present in the spacecraft's semiconductors, producing a gamma ray, an alpha particle, and a lithium ion. Those resultant decay products may then irradiate nearby semiconductor "chip" structures, causing data loss (bit flipping, or single event upset). In radiation-hardened semiconductor designs, one countermeasure is to use depleted boron, which is greatly enriched in 11B and contains almost no 10B. This is useful because 11B is largely immune to radiation damage. Depleted boron is a byproduct of the nuclear industry (see above).

Proton-boron fusion

11B is also a candidate as a fuel for aneutronic fusion. When struck by a proton with energy of about 500 keV, it produces three alpha particles and 8.7 MeV of energy. Most other fusion reactions involving hydrogen and helium produce penetrating neutron radiation, which weakens reactor structures and induces long-term radioactivity, thereby endangering operating personnel. The alpha particles from 11B fusion can be turned directly into electric power, and all radiation stops as soon as the reactor is turned off.

NMR spectroscopy
Both 10B and 11B possess nuclear spin. The nuclear spin of 10B is 3 and that of 11B is . These isotopes are, therefore, of use in nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy; and spectrometers specially adapted to detecting the boron-11 nuclei are available commercially. The 10B and 11B nuclei also cause splitting in the resonances of attached nuclei.

Occurrence

Boron is rare in the Universe and solar system due to trace formation in the Big Bang and in stars. It is formed in minor amounts in cosmic ray spallation nucleosynthesis and may be found uncombined in cosmic dust and meteoroid materials.

In the high oxygen environment of Earth, boron is always found fully oxidized to borate. Boron does not appear on Earth in elemental form. Extremely small traces of elemental boron were detected in Lunar regolith.

Although boron is a relatively rare element in the Earth's crust, representing only 0.001% of the crust mass, it can be highly concentrated by the action of water, in which many borates are soluble.
It is found naturally combined in compounds such as borax and boric acid (sometimes found in volcanic spring waters). About a hundred borate minerals are known.

On 5 September 2017, scientists reported that the Curiosity rover detected boron, an essential ingredient for life on Earth, on the planet Mars. Such a finding, along with previous discoveries that water may have been present on ancient Mars, further supports the possible early habitability of Gale Crater on Mars.

Production
Economically important sources of boron are the minerals colemanite, rasorite (kernite), ulexite and tincal. Together these constitute 90% of mined boron-containing ore. The largest global borax deposits known, many still untapped, are in Central and Western Turkey, including the provinces of Eskişehir, Kütahya and Balıkesir. Global proven boron mineral mining reserves exceed one billion metric tonnes, against a yearly production of about four million tonnes.

Turkey and the United States are the largest producers of boron products. Turkey produces about half of the global yearly demand, through Eti Mine Works () a Turkish state-owned mining and chemicals company focusing on boron products. It holds a government monopoly on the mining of borate minerals in Turkey, which possesses 72% of the world's known deposits. In 2012, it held a 47% share of production of global borate minerals, ahead of its main competitor, Rio Tinto Group.

Almost a quarter (23%) of global boron production comes from the single Rio Tinto Borax Mine (also known as the U.S. Borax Boron Mine)  near Boron, California.

Market trend
The average cost of crystalline elemental boron is US$5/g. Elemental boron is chiefly used in making boron fibers, where it is deposited by chemical vapor deposition on a tungsten core (see below). Boron fibers are used in lightweight composite applications, such as high strength tapes. This use is a very small fraction of total boron use. Boron is introduced into semiconductors as boron compounds, by ion implantation.

Estimated global consumption of boron (almost entirely as boron compounds) was about 4 million tonnes of B2O3 in 2012. As compounds such as borax and kernite its cost was US$377/tonne in 2019. Boron mining and refining capacities are considered to be adequate to meet expected levels of growth through the next decade.

The form in which boron is consumed has changed in recent years. The use of ores like colemanite has declined following concerns over arsenic content. Consumers have moved toward the use of refined borates and boric acid that have a lower pollutant content.

Increasing demand for boric acid has led a number of producers to invest in additional capacity. Turkey's state-owned Eti Mine Works opened a new boric acid plant with the production capacity of 100,000 tonnes per year at Emet in 2003. Rio Tinto Group increased the capacity of its boron plant from 260,000 tonnes per year in 2003 to 310,000 tonnes per year by May 2005, with plans to grow this to 366,000 tonnes per year in 2006. Chinese boron producers have been unable to meet rapidly growing demand for high quality borates. This has led to imports of sodium tetraborate (borax) growing by a hundredfold between 2000 and 2005 and boric acid imports increasing by 28% per year over the same period.

The rise in global demand has been driven by high growth rates in glass fiber, fiberglass and borosilicate glassware production. A rapid increase in the manufacture of reinforcement-grade boron-containing fiberglass in Asia, has offset the development of boron-free reinforcement-grade fiberglass in Europe and the US. The recent rises in energy prices may lead to greater use of insulation-grade fiberglass, with consequent growth in the boron consumption. Roskill Consulting Group forecasts that world demand for boron will grow by 3.4% per year to reach 21 million tonnes by 2010. The highest growth in demand is expected to be in Asia where demand could rise by an average 5.7% per year.

Applications

Nearly all boron ore extracted from the Earth is destined for refinement into boric acid and sodium tetraborate pentahydrate. In the United States, 70% of the boron is used for the production of glass and ceramics.
The major global industrial-scale use of boron compounds (about 46% of end-use) is in production of glass fiber for boron-containing insulating and structural fiberglasses, especially in Asia. Boron is added to the glass as borax pentahydrate or boron oxide, to influence the strength or fluxing qualities of the glass fibers. Another 10% of global boron production is for borosilicate glass as used in high strength glassware. About 15% of global boron is used in boron ceramics, including super-hard materials discussed below. Agriculture consumes 11% of global boron production, and bleaches and detergents about 6%.

Elemental boron fiber
Boron fibers (boron filaments) are high-strength, lightweight materials that are used chiefly for advanced aerospace structures as a component of composite materials, as well as limited production consumer and sporting goods such as golf clubs and fishing rods. The fibers can be produced by chemical vapor deposition of boron on a tungsten filament.

Boron fibers and sub-millimeter sized crystalline boron springs are produced by laser-assisted chemical vapor deposition. Translation of the focused laser beam allows production of even complex helical structures. Such structures show good mechanical properties (elastic modulus 450 GPa, fracture strain 3.7%, fracture stress 17 GPa) and can be applied as reinforcement of ceramics or in micromechanical systems.

Boronated fiberglass

Fiberglass is a fiber reinforced polymer made of plastic reinforced by glass fibers, commonly woven into a mat. The glass fibers used in the material are made of various types of glass depending upon the fiberglass use. These glasses all contain silica or silicate, with varying amounts of oxides of calcium, magnesium, and sometimes boron. The boron is present as borosilicate, borax, or boron oxide, and is added to increase the strength of the glass, or as a fluxing agent to decrease the melting temperature of silica, which is too high to be easily worked in its pure form to make glass fibers.

The highly boronated glasses used in fiberglass are E-glass (named for "Electrical" use, but now the most common fiberglass for general use). E-glass is alumino-borosilicate glass with less than 1% w/w alkali oxides, mainly used for glass-reinforced plastics. Other common high-boron glasses include C-glass, an alkali-lime glass with high boron oxide content, used for glass staple fibers and insulation, and D-glass, a borosilicate glass, named for its low dielectric constant.

Not all fiberglasses contain boron, but on a global scale, most of the fiberglass used does contain it. Because of the ubiquitous use of fiberglass in construction and insulation, boron-containing fiberglasses consume half the global production of boron, and are the single largest commercial boron market.

Borosilicate glass

Borosilicate glass, which is typically 12–15% B2O3, 80% SiO2, and 2% Al2O3, has a low coefficient of thermal expansion, giving it a good resistance to thermal shock. Schott AG's "Duran" and Owens-Corning's trademarked Pyrex are two major brand names for this glass, used both in laboratory glassware and in consumer cookware and bakeware, chiefly for this resistance.

Boron carbide ceramic

Several boron compounds are known for their extreme hardness and toughness.
Boron carbide is a ceramic material which is obtained by decomposing B2O3 with carbon in an electric furnace:
2 B2O3 + 7 C → B4C + 6 CO

Boron carbide's structure is only approximately B4C, and it shows a clear depletion of carbon from this suggested stoichiometric ratio. This is due to its very complex structure. The substance can be seen with empirical formula B12C3 (i.e., with B12 dodecahedra being a motif), but with less carbon, as the suggested C3 units are replaced with C-B-C chains, and some smaller (B6) octahedra are present as well (see the boron carbide article for structural analysis). The repeating polymer plus semi-crystalline structure of boron carbide gives it great structural strength per weight. It is used in tank armor, bulletproof vests, and numerous other structural applications.

Boron carbide's ability to absorb neutrons without forming long-lived radionuclides (especially when doped with extra boron-10) makes the material attractive as an absorbent for neutron radiation arising in nuclear power plants. Nuclear applications of boron carbide include shielding, control rods and shut-down pellets. Within control rods, boron carbide is often powdered, to increase its surface area.

High-hardness and abrasive compounds

Boron carbide and cubic boron nitride powders are widely used as abrasives. Boron nitride is a material isoelectronic to carbon. Similar to carbon, it has both hexagonal (soft graphite-like h-BN) and cubic (hard, diamond-like c-BN) forms. h-BN is used as a high temperature component and lubricant. c-BN, also known under commercial name borazon, is a superior abrasive. Its hardness is only slightly smaller than, but its chemical stability is superior, to that of diamond. Heterodiamond (also called BCN) is another diamond-like boron compound.

Metallurgy

Boron is added to boron steels at the level of a few parts per million to increase hardenability. Higher percentages are added to steels used in the nuclear industry due to boron's neutron absorption ability.

Boron can also increase the surface hardness of steels and alloys through boriding. Additionally metal borides are used for coating tools through chemical vapor deposition or physical vapor deposition. Implantation of boron ions into metals and alloys, through ion implantation or ion beam deposition, results in a spectacular increase in surface resistance and microhardness. Laser alloying has also been successfully used for the same purpose. These borides are an alternative to diamond coated tools, and their (treated) surfaces have similar properties to those of the bulk boride.

For example, rhenium diboride can be produced at ambient pressures, but is rather expensive because of rhenium. The hardness of ReB2 exhibits considerable anisotropy because of its hexagonal layered structure. Its value is comparable to that of tungsten carbide, silicon carbide, titanium diboride or zirconium diboride.
Similarly, AlMgB14 + TiB2 composites possess high hardness and wear resistance and are used in either bulk form or as coatings for components exposed to high temperatures and wear loads.

Detergent formulations and bleaching agents
Borax is used in various household laundry and cleaning products, including the "20 Mule Team Borax" laundry booster and "Boraxo" powdered hand soap. It is also present in some tooth bleaching formulas.

Sodium perborate serves as a source of active oxygen in many detergents, laundry detergents, cleaning products, and laundry bleaches. However, despite its name, "Borateem" laundry bleach no longer contains any boron compounds, using sodium percarbonate instead as a bleaching agent.

Insecticides
Boric acid is used as an insecticide, notably against ants, fleas, and cockroaches.

Semiconductors
Boron is a useful dopant for such semiconductors as silicon, germanium, and silicon carbide. Having one fewer valence electron than the host atom, it donates a hole resulting in p-type conductivity. Traditional method of introducing boron into semiconductors is via its atomic diffusion at high temperatures. This process uses either solid (B2O3), liquid (BBr3), or gaseous boron sources (B2H6 or BF3). However, after the 1970s, it was mostly replaced by ion implantation, which relies mostly on BF3 as a boron source. Boron trichloride gas is also an important chemical in semiconductor industry, however, not for doping but rather for plasma etching of metals and their oxides. Triethylborane is also injected into vapor deposition reactors as a boron source. Examples are the plasma deposition of boron-containing hard carbon films, silicon nitride–boron nitride films, and for doping of diamond film with boron.

Magnets
Boron is a component of neodymium magnets (Nd2Fe14B), which are among the strongest type of permanent magnet. These magnets are found in a variety of electromechanical and electronic devices, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) medical imaging systems, in compact and relatively small motors and actuators. As examples, computer HDDs (hard disk drives), CD (compact disk) and DVD (digital versatile disk) players rely on neodymium magnet motors to deliver intense rotary power in a remarkably compact package. In mobile phones 'Neo' magnets provide the magnetic field which allows tiny speakers to deliver appreciable audio power.

Shielding and neutron absorber in nuclear reactors
Boron shielding is used as a control for nuclear reactors, taking advantage of its high cross-section for neutron capture.

In pressurized water reactors a variable concentration of boronic acid in the cooling water is used as a neutron poison to compensate the variable reactivity of the fuel. When new rods are inserted the concentration of boronic acid is maximal, and is reduced during the lifetime.

Other nonmedical uses

 Because of its distinctive green flame, amorphous boron is used in pyrotechnic flares.
 In the 1950s, there were several studies of the use of boranes as energy-increasing "Zip fuel" additives for jet fuel.
 Starch and casein-based adhesives contain sodium tetraborate decahydrate (Na2B4O7·10 H2O)
 Some anti-corrosion systems contain borax.
 Sodium borates are used as a flux for soldering silver and gold and with ammonium chloride for welding ferrous metals. They are also fire retarding additives to plastics and rubber articles.
 Boric acid (also known as orthoboric acid) H3BO3 is used in the production of textile fiberglass and flat panel displays and in many PVAc- and PVOH-based adhesives.
 Triethylborane is a substance which ignites the JP-7 fuel of the Pratt & Whitney J58 turbojet/ramjet engines powering the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird. It was also used to ignite the F-1 Engines on the Saturn V Rocket utilized by NASA's Apollo and Skylab programs from 1967 until 1973. Today SpaceX uses it to ignite the engines on their Falcon 9 rocket. Triethylborane is suitable for this because of its pyrophoric properties, especially the fact that it burns with a very high temperature. Triethylborane is an industrial initiator in radical reactions, where it is effective even at low temperatures.
 Borates are used as environmentally benign wood preservatives.

Pharmaceutical and biological applications
Boron plays a role in pharmaceutical and biological applications as it is found in various bacteria-produced antibiotics, such as boromycins, aplasmomycins, borophycins, and tartrolons. These antibiotics have shown inhibitory effects on certain bacteria, fungi, and protozoa growth. Boron is also being studied for its potential medicinal applications, including its incorporation into biologically active molecules for therapies like boron neutron capture therapy for brain tumors. Some boron-containing biomolecules may act as signaling molecules interacting with cell surfaces, suggesting a role in cellular communication.

Boric acid has antiseptic, antifungal, and antiviral properties and, for these reasons, is applied as a water clarifier in swimming pool water treatment. Mild solutions of boric acid have been used as eye antiseptics.

Bortezomib (marketed as Velcade and Cytomib). Boron appears as an active element in the organic pharmaceutical bortezomib, a new class of drug called the proteasome inhibitor, for treating myeloma and one form of lymphoma (it is currently in experimental trials against other types of lymphoma). The boron atom in bortezomib binds the catalytic site of the 26S proteasome with high affinity and specificity.
 A number of potential boronated pharmaceuticals using boron-10, have been prepared for use in boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT).
 Some boron compounds show promise in treating arthritis, though none have as yet been generally approved for the purpose.

Tavaborole (marketed as Kerydin) is an Aminoacyl tRNA synthetase inhibitor which is used to treat toenail fungus. It gained FDA approval in July 2014.

Dioxaborolane chemistry enables radioactive fluoride (18F) labeling of antibodies or red blood cells, which allows for positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of cancer and hemorrhages, respectively. A Human-Derived, Genetic, Positron-emitting and Fluorescent (HD-GPF) reporter system uses a human protein, PSMA and non-immunogenic, and a small molecule that is positron-emitting (boron bound 18F) and fluorescence for dual modality PET and fluorescent imaging of genome modified cells, e.g. cancer, CRISPR/Cas9, or CAR T-cells, in an entire mouse. The dual-modality small molecule targeting PSMA was tested in humans and found the location of primary and metastatic prostate cancer, fluorescence-guided removal of cancer, and detects single cancer cells in tissue margins.

In neutron capture therapy (BNCT) for malignant brain tumors, boron is researched to be used for selectively targeting and destroying tumor cells. The goal is to deliver higher concentrations of the non-radioactive boron isotope (10B) to the tumor cells than to the surrounding normal tissues. When these 10B-containing cells are irradiated with low-energy thermal neutrons, they undergo nuclear capture reactions, releasing high linear energy transfer (LET) particles such as α-particles and lithium-7 nuclei within a limited path length. These high-LET particles can destroy the adjacent tumor cells without causing significant harm to nearby normal cells. Boron acts as a selective agent due to its ability to absorb thermal neutrons and produce short-range physical effects primarily affecting the targeted tissue region. This binary approach allows for precise tumor cell killing while sparing healthy tissues. The effective delivery of boron involves administering boron compounds or carriers capable of accumulating selectively in tumor cells compared to surrounding tissue. BSH and BPA have been used clinically, but research continues to identify more optimal carriers. Accelerator-based neutron sources have also been developed recently as an alternative to reactor-based sources, leading to improved efficiency and enhanced clinical outcomes in BNCT. By employing the properties of boron isotopes and targeted irradiation techniques, BNCT offers a potential approach to treating malignant brain tumors by selectively killing cancer cells while minimizing the damage caused by traditional radiation therapies.

BNCT has shown promising results in clinical trials for various other malignancies, including glioblastoma, head and neck cancer, cutaneous melanoma, hepatocellular carcinoma, lung cancer, and extramammary Paget's disease. The treatment involves a nuclear reaction between nonradioactive boron-10 isotope and low-energy thermal or high-energy epithermal neutrons to generate α particles and lithium nuclei that selectively destroy DNA in tumor cells. The primary challenge lies in developing efficient boron agents with higher content and specific targeting properties tailored for BNCT. Integration of tumor-targeting strategies with BNCT could potentially establish it as a practical personalized treatment option for different types of cancers. Ongoing research explores new boron compounds, optimization strategies, theranostic agents, and radiobiological advances to overcome limitations and cost-effectively improve patient outcomes.

Research areas
Magnesium diboride is an important superconducting material with the transition temperature of 39 K. MgB2 wires are produced with the powder-in-tube process and applied in superconducting magnets.

Amorphous boron is used as a melting point depressant in nickel-chromium braze alloys.

Hexagonal boron nitride forms atomically thin layers, which have been used to enhance the electron mobility in graphene devices. It also forms nanotubular structures (BNNTs), which have high strength, high chemical stability, and high thermal conductivity, among its list of desirable properties.

Boron has multiple applications in nuclear fusion research. It is commonly used for conditioning the walls in fusion reactors by depositing boron coatings on plasma-facing components and walls to reduce the release of hydrogen and impurities from the surfaces. It is also being used for the dissipation of energy in the fusion plasma boundary to suppress excessive energy bursts and heat fluxes to the walls.

Biological role

Boron is an essential plant nutrient, required primarily for maintaining the integrity of cell walls. However, high soil concentrations of greater than 1.0 ppm lead to marginal and tip necrosis in leaves as well as poor overall growth performance. Levels as low as 0.8 ppm produce these same symptoms in plants that are particularly sensitive to boron in the soil. Nearly all plants, even those somewhat tolerant of soil boron, will show at least some symptoms of boron toxicity when soil boron content is greater than 1.8 ppm. When this content exceeds 2.0 ppm, few plants will perform well and some may not survive.

It is thought that boron plays several essential roles in animals, including humans, but the exact physiological role is poorly understood. A small human trial published in 1987 reported on postmenopausal women first made boron deficient and then repleted with 3 mg/day. Boron supplementation markedly reduced urinary calcium excretion and elevated the serum concentrations of 17 beta-estradiol and testosterone.

Boron is not classified as an essential human nutrient because research has not established a clear biological function for boron. Still, studies suggest that boron may exert beneficial effects on reproduction and development, calcium metabolism, bone formation, brain function, insulin and energy substrate metabolism, immunity, and steroid hormone (including estrogen) and vitamin D function, among other functions. The U.S. Food and Nutrition Board (FNB) found the existing data insufficient to derive a Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA), Adequate Intake (AI), or Estimated Average Requirement (EAR) for boron. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not established a Daily Value for boron for food and dietary supplement labeling purposes. While low boron status can be detrimental to health, probably increasing the risk of osteoporosis, poor immune function, and cognitive decline; high boron levels are associated with cell damage and toxicity. The exact mechanism by which boron exerts its physiological effects is not fully understood, but may involve interactions with adenosine monophosphate (ADP) and S-adenosyl methionine (SAM-e), two compounds involved in important cellular functions. Furthermore, boron appears to inhibit cyclic ADP-ribose, thereby affecting the release of calcium ions from the endoplasmic reticulum and affecting various biological processes. Some studies suggest that boron may reduce levels of inflammatory biomarkers.

In humans, boron is usually consumed with food that contains boron, such as fruits, leafy vegetables, and nuts. Foods that are particularly rich in boron include avocados, dried fruits such as raisins, peanuts, pecans, prune juice, grape juice, wine and chocolate powder. According to 2-day food records from the respondents to the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III), adult dietary intake was recorded at 0.9 to 1.4 mg/day.

In 2013, a hypothesis suggested it was possible that boron and molybdenum catalyzed the production of RNA on Mars with life being transported to Earth via a meteorite around 3 billion years ago.

There exist several known boron-containing natural antibiotics. The first one found was boromycin, isolated from streptomyces in the 1960s. Others are tartrolons, a group of antibiotics discovered in the 1990s from culture broth of the myxobacterium Sorangium cellulosum.

Congenital endothelial dystrophy type 2, a rare form of corneal dystrophy, is linked to mutations in SLC4A11 gene that encodes a transporter reportedly regulating the intracellular concentration of boron.

Analytical quantification
For determination of boron content in food or materials, the colorimetric curcumin method is used. Boron is converted to boric acid or borates and on reaction with curcumin in acidic solution, a red colored boron-chelate complex, rosocyanine, is formed.

Health issues and toxicity

Elemental boron, boron oxide, boric acid, borates, and many organoboron compounds are relatively nontoxic to humans and animals (with toxicity similar to that of table salt). The LD50 (dose at which there is 50% mortality) for animals is about 6 g per kg of body weight. Substances with LD50 above 2 g/kg are considered nontoxic. An intake of 4 g/day of boric acid was reported without incident, but more than this is considered toxic in more than a few doses. Intakes of more than 0.5 grams per day for 50 days cause minor digestive and other problems suggestive of toxicity. Dietary supplementation of boron may be helpful for bone growth, wound healing, and antioxidant activity, and insufficient amount of boron in diet may result in boron deficiency.

Single medical doses of 20 g of boric acid for neutron capture therapy have been used without undue toxicity.

Boric acid is more toxic to insects than to mammals, and is routinely used as an insecticide.

The boranes (boron hydrogen compounds) and similar gaseous compounds are quite poisonous. As usual, boron is not an element that is intrinsically poisonous, but the toxicity of these compounds depends on structure (for another example of this phenomenon, see phosphine). The boranes are also highly flammable and require special care when handling, some combinations of boranes and other compounds are highly explosive. Sodium borohydride presents a fire hazard owing to its reducing nature and the liberation of hydrogen on contact with acid. Boron halides are corrosive.

Boron is necessary for plant growth, but an excess of boron is toxic to plants, and occurs particularly in acidic soil. It presents as a yellowing from the tip inwards of the oldest leaves and black spots in barley leaves, but it can be confused with other stresses such as magnesium deficiency in other plants.

See also

 Allotropes of boron
 Boron deficiency
 Boron oxide
 Boron nitride
 Boron neutron capture therapy
 Boronic acid
 Hydroboration-oxidation reaction
 Suzuki coupling

References

External links
 Boron at The Periodic Table of Videos (University of Nottingham)
 J. B. Calvert: Boron, 2004, private website (archived version)

Chemical elements
Metalloids
Neutron poisons
Pyrotechnic fuels
Rocket fuels
Nuclear fusion fuels
Dietary minerals
Reducing agents
Articles containing video clips
Chemical elements with rhombohedral structure

Boron


Rubens Santoro (October 26, 1859 in Mongrassano, Province of Cosenza, Calabria – December 30, 1941 in Naples) was an Italian painter.

Biography
He moved to Naples at 10 years of age, to study literature, but his inclination was painting. He only briefly enrolled at the Neapolitan Academy, instead, real life was his model. His first work was a small and simple genre piece: A Girl who Laughs, exhibited at the Promotrice. Domenico Morelli took note and encouraged him.

He began painting landscapes at Granatello, near Naples, where the painter Marià Fortuny was visiting. Fortuny commented to his fellow painter that: Many end up where you started .... (you) continue to study more from life; of the ancient painters only two or three will learn from nature to add to their art. I had to work twelve years, and God knows what and how much effort, to break the gates of the Academy within which I had imprisoned myself, while you breathe the open and have attained it already.

Santoro continually changed his vistas, painting in Torre Annunziata, Castellammare di Stabia, Procida, the Amalfi Coast, and Resina. During his long trips to the open countryside, he entertained  himself by playing the mandolin. Many of his Amalfi landscapes were bought by the Goupil Gallery. Two were displayed at the 1877 Exposition at Naples: Marina di Maiuri and Grotta degli Zingari. At the Isle of Capri, he completed the following canvases sent to the 1880 Turin Exhibition: Marina of Naples; Pozzo; Zingara; Zingare; Cavalcavia; Monte Tiberio; Quiete (a half-figure of a woman); Giovinezza; and Vecchiezza.  At Venice he painted the vedute: Cloister of San Gregorio; Via di Piccioni; Wooden House; San Barnaba; Ponte de' Turchetti; Al sole; Le lavoratrici di coralli; Blue House; and Grand canal.

He then moved to Paris, and after an excursion in England, returned to Naples even more prolific. Colnaghi, the art merchant of London, commissioned paintings for Stewart Gardner from the artist. His painting Verona exhibited at 1911 exhibition of Barcelona was awarded a Silver medal.

The painter Francesco Raffaello Santoro was his cousin.

Selected paintings

References

Other sources
Rubens Santoro e i pittori della provincia di Cosenza fra Otto e Novecento, by Tonino Sicoli, Isabella Valente, Maria A. Picone Tetrusa. Edizioni AR & S, 2003.

External links

19th-century Italian painters
Italian male painters
20th-century Italian painters
Italian landscape painters
1859 births
1942 deaths
Painters from Naples
People of Calabrian descent
19th-century Italian male artists
20th-century Italian male artists

Rubens Santoro


FamilySearch is a nonprofit organization and website offering genealogical records, education, and software. It is operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), and is closely connected with the church's Family History Department. The Family History Department was originally established in 1894, as the Genealogical Society of Utah (GSU); it is the largest genealogy organization in the world.

FamilySearch maintains a collection of records, resources, and services designed to help people learn more about their family history. Facilitating the performance of LDS ordinances for deceased relatives is another major aim of the organization. Although it requires user account registration, it offers free access to its resources and service online at FamilySearch.org. In addition, FamilySearch offers personal assistance at more than 5,100 family history centers in 140 countries, including the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.
The Family Tree section allows user-generated content to be contributed to the genealogical database. , there are over 1.5 billion individuals in the tree and the historical records database contains over 5.7 billion digital images, including digitized books, digitized microfilm, and other digital records.

History

Genealogical Society of Utah

GSU, the predecessor of FamilySearch, was founded on 1 November 1894. Its purpose was to create a genealogical library to be used both by its members and other people, to share educational information about genealogy, and to gather genealogical records in order to perform religious ordinances for the dead. It was founded under the direction of LDS Church leaders, when the First Presidency appointed Franklin D. Richards as the first president.

The society published the Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine from 1910 to 1940.

The GSU began microfilming records of genealogical importance in 1938. In 1963, the microfilm collection was moved to the newly completed Granite Mountain Records Vault for long-term preservation.

In 1975, the GSU became the LDS Church's Genealogical Department, which later became the Family History Department. At that time, its head officer was renamed president from executive director, starting during Theodore M. Burton's term. However, the title "President of the Genealogical Society of Utah" and other GSU titles were still used and bestowed upon department officers.

In 2000, the Church consolidated its Family History and Historical departments into the Family and Church History Department, and Richard E. Turley Jr. became managing director of the new department and president of the GSU. Later this decision was reversed and the Family History Department was separated from the Church History Department, becoming its own department.

In 2008, the Vatican issued a statement calling the practice known as baptism for the dead "erroneous" and directing Catholic dioceses to keep parish records from Latter-day Saints performing genealogical research.

Presidents of the Genealogical Society of Utah

FamilySearch

In 1998, the GSU began digital imaging of records and in about August 1998 the decision was made by LDS Church leaders to build a genealogical website. In May 1999, the website first opened to the public as FamilySearch. The beta version, released April 1, almost immediately went offline, overloaded because of high popularity. Only a few days after the official launch, the website had received an estimated 100 million hits. To handle the load, site visitors were only given access to the site for 15 minutes at a time. In November 1999, 240 million names were added, bringing the total number of entries to 640 million.

In 2009, the LDS Church launched a collaborative tree known as "New FamilySearch." It was the precursor to the current "FamilySearch Family Tree," and was only available to church members. The system was an attempt to combine multiple genealogical submissions to FamilySearch's databases into one single tree, but it did not allow users to edit information that they had not submitted. It also was difficult to add sources to individuals in the tree or determine what was the correct information among multiple submissions. By April 2011, plans were in place to  redesign the database into a more collaborative platform.

In 2011, the FamilySearch website received a major redesign. The previous site had allowed users to only search one database at a time, but the new version allowed sitewide searches of multiple databases. It also included the addition of more databases as well as some digitized and indexed microfilms.

On 16 November 2012, it was announced that the new Family Tree database would be available to all users of New FamilySearch, and that the New FamilySearch database would eventually be phased out. On 5 March 2013, it was announced that Family Tree would now be available to everyone, whether or not they were members of the LDS Church.
On 16 April 2013 FamilySearch completely revamped the site design generally, with new features and a changed color scheme.  Some of the new features include an interactive fan chart and some printing capabilities, as well as the ability to add photos to Family Tree.

In February 2014, FamilySearch announced partnerships with Ancestry.com, findmypast and MyHeritage, which includes sharing massive amounts of their databases with those companies, and members of the LDS Church receiving free subscriptions with these companies. They also have a standing relationship with BillionGraves, in which the photographed and indexed images of graves are both searchable on FamilySearch and are linked to individuals in the family tree. At the end of 2015, FamilyTree had 1.1 billion persons added by 2.47 million contributors.

In August 2017, FamilySearch discontinued distribution of physical microfilm to its family history centers due to large-scale availability of digital images of those films and planned digitization of remaining films. In May 2018, FamilySearch added and digitized its 2 billionth record. In September 2020, FamilySearch announced that it now includes 8 billion names, 3.2 billion digital images, and 490,000 digital books, with over 1 million new records each day.  7 billion names from almost every country were added within the last 10 years.

Activities

RootsTech

Since 2011, FamilySearch International has organized an annual family history and technology conference called RootsTech. It is held annually in the Salt Palace Convention Center, Salt Lake City, Utah. The conference is attended by genealogists, technology developers, and members of the LDS Church. In 2014 there were nearly 13,000 people in attendance. As of 2020, it is the world's largest family history and technology conference in the world. It is the successor to three former conferences: the Conference on Computerized Family History and Genealogy, the Family History Technology Workshop and the FamilySearch Developers Conference.

Website

Historical Records
The main service of the FamilySearch website is to offer access to digital images and indexes of genealogical records. These images can be searched along with a number of databases. While access to the records is always free, some records have restricted access, and can only be viewed at a Family History Center, an Affiliate Library or by LDS members. FamilySearch.org also contains the catalog of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. The library holds genealogical records for over 110 countries, territories, and possessions, including over 2.4 million rolls of microfilmed genealogical records; 742,000 microfiche; 490,000 books, serials, and other formats; and 4,500 periodicals.

FamilySearch Family Tree
FamilySearch FamilyTree (FSFT) is a "one world tree," or a unified database that aims to contain one entry for each person recorded in genealogical records. All FamilySearch users are able to add persons, link them to existing persons or merge duplicates. Sources, images, and audio files can also be attached to persons in the tree.

There are also several features specific to the membership of the LDS Church, facilitating temple ordinance work. In keeping with an agreement with Jewish groups and to prevent abuse, performing LDS ordinances for Holocaust victims or celebrities results in account suspension until the researcher proves a legitimate family connection to the subject of their search. FamilySearch allows users to input same-sex marriages or other unions.

Indexing projects

Searchable indexes of the records on FamilySearch are created by volunteers of the FamilySearch Indexing program. To ensure greater accuracy, each batch of records is indexed by an indexer and is then checked by a more experienced indexer. Indexing volunteers need not be members of the LDS Church. FamilySearch is currently working with genealogical societies all around the world to index local projects.

At the end of 2010, 548 million vital records had been transcribed and made publicly available through the FamilySearch website.  In April 2013, FamilySearch Indexing completed their goal to offer 1 billion indexed records online.

Education
FamilySearch offers free lessons on FamilySearch.org to help people learn how to find their ancestors. The topics range from basic research to training on specific record types and are designed for both beginners and experienced researchers. Most of the classes come from research consultants in the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, but FamilySearch is also collaborating with partners such as the Mid-Continent Public Library in Independence, Missouri, to record and post classes.

In 2007, it was decided to start a Family History Research Wiki to help FamilySearch users and others researching genealogy and family history to find and share information on data sources and research tips.  The first version of the wiki was built on the Plone wiki software product, but it was soon discovered that MediaWiki software was much more suitable, so in January 2008 it was moved to the MediaWiki platform.  In the intervening years it was rolled out in other languages, and as of July 2014 it was available in 11 languages.  The other language wikis are found via links at the bottom of the wiki homepage.  The wiki in English had over 79,500 articles and over 150,000 registered users as of July 2014.

Facilities

FamilySearch Library

FamilySearch operates the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. The library was built in 1985 as a successor to previous libraries run by the Genealogical Society of Utah. The library is open to the public and has a large collection of international genealogical materials, including microfilm, books, and digital materials. The library's catalog and many of their digital materials are located at the FamilySearch website.

Granite Mountain Records Vault

FamilySearch stores copies of their records in a dry, environment-controlled facility built into Granite Mountain in Little Cottonwood Canyon, near Salt Lake City, Utah. The storage facility is known as the Granite Mountain Records Vault. The vault stores over 2.4 million rolls of microfilm and 1 million microfiches.

FamilySearch Centers

FamilySearch operates over 5,100 FamilySearch Centers in 140 countries around the world. The centers are branches of the FamilySearch Library, often located within LDS Church buildings. Their purpose is to help people with their genealogy and provide access to and help with genealogical materials and software provided by FamilySearch.

See also

GEDCOM
Immigrant Ancestors Project
List of Mormon family organizations
Personal Ancestral File

References

External links

 Taylor, Rebecca M. "A Century of Genealogy" The Friend, March 1994.
"Genealogical Society: A century of steady growth and development" Church News, November 1994.

1894 establishments in Utah Territory
Genealogy and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
American genealogy websites
Genealogy databases
Organizations established in 1894

FamilySearch


The Progressive Labour Party (PLP) is one of the two political parties in Bermuda. At the 18 July 2017 general election, the party won 24 of the 36 seats in the Bermudian House of Assembly to become the governing party. The party was founded in 1963, the first political party in Bermuda, and the oldest still active. It formed government from 1998 to 2012, and again since 2017.

Formation
The Progressive Labour Party was founded in 1963 by Wilfred Mose Allen, Hugh Ryo Richardson, Albert Peter Smith, Edward DeJean, Walter N.H. Robinson, Austin Wilson and Dilton C. Cann. These seven had earlier met in Richardson's garage, before holding the first formal meeting of the PLP on 10 February 1963 in Robinson's office in Hamilton.

The party contested the 1963 election just three months after its formation. Appealing to working-class voters, the first election platform called for equitable taxation, an end to racial discrimination, economic parity and welfare programs, as well as housing, educational and electoral reform. The party contested nine of the 36 House of Assembly seats. The PLP's six successful members of parliament were Arnold A. Francis (Party Leader), Walter N. H. Robinson (Deputy Leader), Lois Browne-Evans (Bermuda's first black elected woman Member of Parliament), Russell Dismont, Cecil Clarke and Dorothy Thompson.

Bermuda received its first constitution in 1968, and an election was called on 22 May 1968. In the election, the party was soundly defeated winning only 10 of 40 seats by the conservative United Bermuda Party which was founded in 1964. During the election, the party's leader, Walter Robinson, was defeated in his constituency and Lois Browne-Evans became party leader, the first female opposition leader in the British Commonwealth.

In subsequent elections, the PLP slowly increased its seat numbers. At the 1972 general election, the PLP increased its share of the popular vote from 33% to 38%. The party again contested every constituency. With the successful re-election of Walter Robinson, Lois Browne-Evans yielded the leadership of the party back to him. The party retained ten seats in the House. In April 1976, Robinson retired from active politics, later becoming a Puisne Judge, and Browne-Evans became the Party Leader for the second time as well as the Opposition Leader.

In the 1980 general election, the party ran 40 candidates and won 18 seats and 46% of the votes, just three short of the number needed to form government. There was steady progress until 1983, when a noticeable slide began. In 1983, the party had to fight a snap general election. Once again, the party ran 40 candidates, contesting every seat. The PLP lost four seats in this election, gaining only 43.4% of the votes. Another snap general election was called in November 1985. A small, but determined PLP contested 18 of the 20 constituencies, fielding 30 candidates.

The party had been gripped in the legacy of a severe split between a group led by veteran parliamentarian Gilbert Darrell and those loyal to Party Leader Lois Browne-Evans. This division resulted in a group being expelled from the party. The party split had affected the electorate which was reflected in the party's further loss of seats and only 31% of the votes. The party won only seven seats.

Lois Browne-Evans stepped down as Party Leader. At the special Delegates Conference, convened 72 hours after the election, Deputy Leader, L. Frederick Wade became the PLP's fourth Party Leader with Walter Roberts as the new Deputy Leader. Wade, committed the party to a period of rebuilding and the reversal experienced in the previous elections. A rejuvenated PLP was ready for the general election of 1989. The party contested all 20 constituencies and regained eight seats to increase the number of PLP representatives to 15 and an increase of 37% of the votes cast. The process of rebuilding continued with the party regaining the confidence of its supporters and building new bridges with the electorate. Wade also began making inroads with the business community.

At the 1993 general election, called for October 1993, Wade led a well prepared PLP. The Party contested all 20 constituencies and gained three seats to increase the number of PLP representatives to 18. In the election the party once again approached the threshold of victory with 46.7% of the votes cast.

Recent history
In 1996 Jennifer Meredith Smith succeeded to the leadership of the PLP upon the death of L. Frederick Wade. Smith immediately set about establishing her mandate for the party with an agenda to get the organisation ready for the next general election, due to be held no later than October 1998.

Under her leadership the party continued working to rebuild and strengthen the party apparatus. In addition, the PLP entered into an aggressive fundraising campaign, expanding its appeal to not only traditional supporters but also the business sector. The interaction with the business community, started under L.F. Wade continued - raising the Party's credentials as a future government that would work to ensure a sound business environment.

On 20 October 1998, the date of the much-anticipated general election was announced as 9 November 1998. The party won 26 seats and 54.3% of votes to form government, in the first change of government in Bermuda's history. Jennifer Smith led the party to its first victory against the conservative United Bermuda Party, which had controlled the territory since universal franchise and a constitution was gained in 1968, but was split by bitter infighting resulting from Premier Sir John W. Swan's forcing a referendum in 1995 on independence from the United Kingdom (74.12% voted against independence, resulting in the resignation of Swan and his cabinet and - along with further UBP infighting due to the attempt by Swan and his partners to take over and continue to operate a McDonald's franchise on the United States Naval Air Station Bermuda, in contravention to Bermudian law, after the United States Navy withdrew from Bermuda in 1995 - fatally injuring the United Bermuda Party).

The party having achieved the goal of the founding fathers and reached the pinnacle of electoral success set about the mission of building 'A New Bermuda.' Immediately, the government moved to make substantive changes in key areas, including: amendment to the Election Act eliminating annual voter registration; the introduction of the political office of Attorney General which required the establishment of Office of Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) as the chief law officer responsible for Crown prosecutions. Another change was the re-introduction of bi-weekly garbage collection. On 18 August 2000, Premier Jennifer Smith tabled a paper, proposing constitutional amendments, including the establishment of single-seat constituencies. This was in keeping with a PLP platform initiative to ensuring that Bermuda's democracy enshrined the principle of "one person, one vote; each vote of equal value". This goal had been consistently stated from the establishment of the PLP in 1963 under the objective of constitutional reform. In November 2000, the Party Leader faced a challenge to her leadership by Environment Minister Arthur Hodgson. The Party Leader defeated Hodgson by a vote of 2 to 1.

On 11 October 2002 the House of Assembly passed the Boundaries Commission Report which included recommendations for 36 single seat constituencies. In November 2002, Premier Jennifer Smith tabled a motion in the House of Assembly that the Government empower a Committee to examine the Parliamentary Election Act with a view to making recommendations about the wider questions of the voting franchise in Bermuda.

On 28 February 2003, an Order-in-Council was made at Buckingham Palace ratifying the recommendations of the commission to the Governor and the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. The Order came into effect in mid-March 2003 setting the stage for the next General Election, with a single seat constituency system established in Bermuda.

A discussion paper on the wider question of the franchise looking at broader questions for reform of Bermuda's voting system was submitted to the Parliament. The paper was consistent with the party's long-standing commitment to examine the larger question of reform of Bermuda's voting system. In June 2003, further parliamentary reform was completed, with amendments to the Parliamentary Election Act widening the categories of valid identification voters could use during an election. This would modernize requirements and contribute to more flexibility and ease in the voting process for all.

On 11 June 2003 the Premier announced that she would ask the Governor to dissolve Parliament in order to have a general election on 24 July 2003.

The party again won the election on 24 July 2003 with 51.6% of the vote and 22 out of 36 seats, but less than a week later Ewart Brown led a party coup, and Smith was forced to resign. The two factions agreed to a compromise candidate, Alex Scott, to become Premier of Bermuda, while Brown would hold the deputy premiership.

On 28 July 2003, Jennifer Smith submitted her resignation as Premier to His Excellency the Governor. W. Alexander Scott is not long after sworn in as Premier and on 30 July 2003, the New Cabinet was sworn in at Government House. The new Premier immediately moved to unify the Party and to reassure the country in the new government. In early September, the new PLP government was tested with the first national crisis in the form of hurricane Fabian. The natural disaster devastated much of the island but the quick and effective response by the Government was praised by all quarters of the community.

In November 2004, the Throne Speech detailed a comprehensive initiative by the Government described as The Social Agenda. This Agenda revealed new initiatives designed to be a key part of the Government's blueprint for social change.
Some of the highlights are:
New plans for EMERGENCY housing with the Government to construct two, three and four bedroom manufactured emergency homes;
A longer-term strategy will see the renovation of derelict and vacant premises to increase the number of houses available to rent or buy;
An amendment to the customs tariff to reduce the cost of importing building materials;
A new points system to deal with reckless drivers and new British style de-merit points; system will be introduced in a bid to rid the country's roads of irresponsible motorists;
Tougher sentences for drug offenders;
A recycled personal computer initiative will attempt to put computers "within the grasp of all Bermudians";
Diversify the types of hotels on offer as well as pursuing business outside the traditional U.S. market in Europe
The protection of the environment and sustainable development is not only a global issue but also an important local concern. On 6 December 2004, Premier Scott announced that the Government would develop a Sustainable Development Plan for Bermuda. The Premier noted that it was time for us to ensure that development in this country is sustainable in order to provide a foundation for a better quality of life for everyone, now, and for generations to come.

In December 2004, Premier, the Hon. W. Alexander Scott JP, MP announced the formation of the Bermuda Independence Commission, an independent body of persons drawn from the widest, most representative cross-section of individuals, groups, unions and organisations in Bermuda. The Bermuda Independence Commission would have the express purpose of educating, informing and encouraging discussion and debate on the subject of Independence for Bermuda. The commission would also prepare a report with recommendation on the subject of Independence.

Premier Scott appointed the Sustainable Development Round Table (SDRT) in April 2005, to facilitate broad community engagement and representation in sustainable development decisions facing the future of Bermuda.

In August 2005, the long-awaited Bermuda Independence Commission Report was released to the public. Its release ignites a flurry of debate and discussion in the community on the report's findings from pro Independence and anti Independence advocates. The question and merits of an Independence referendum also enters into the debate.
From February to May 2006, the Party held a series of meetings throughout the island to promote understanding of the findings of the Bermuda Independence Commission (BIC) and the issue of Independence. Overall, the meetings were well attended but support for the island moving towards independence remained elusive.

In late August 2006, speculation and discussion arose as to whether there was to be a leadership challenge at the upcoming Party Conference in light of the fact that it is an election year for all Party Officers. A leading contender was Tourism and Transport Minister Ewart F. Brown. It was also suggested another leading possible contestant was Finance Minister the Hon Paula Cox.

On 13 October 2006, the rumours of an impending leadership contest were settled when Brown announced his resignation from the Cabinet and that he would contest the leadership of the party at the upcoming Delegates Conference. Brown also stated that if the party chose the current Party Leader, W. Alexander Scott over him, he would resign from politics at the next election. On 27 October 2006, Brown defeated Scott in an election for Party Leader and became the PLP's Leader and Premier of Bermuda. Newly appointed Premier Brown and his Cabinet moved quickly to engage the public on key issues, particularly Education, Health and social issues.

The Throne Speech delivered 4 November 2006 pledges the Government would implement new, strong and significant programmes to address housing, education, healthcare, the quality of life for our youth and our elderly, alcohol and drug abuse, crime and race relations.

Following through with a promise made during Dr. Brown's leadership campaign, it is announced in the Throne Speech, that the Medical Clinic (formerly known as the Indigent Clinic) will be closed. The position is taken that it undermines the patients' dignity being treated in this manner. Under the new plans, patients will have access to the same services as the general public with at least 30 private doctors.

Some of the other initiatives that were highlighted in the 2006 Throne Speech are as follows:
Establish a Ministry for Social Rehabilitation, focused on quickly implementing solutions to the challenges that exist in our community.
Renew the Government commitment to producing 330 units in 30 months with 286 units under contract.
Work with the private sector to generate progressive ways to finance new homes.
Assemble the best legal and financial minds to determine how to renovate derelict homes for rent or ownership by deserving families.
Introduce an income-based housing programme.
Provide a zero rate of Customs Duty on imported materials for all proposals approved by the Government as 'affordable housing developments'.
An Agricultural and Educational Outreach Programme to be implemented to familiarise senior secondary school students with farming.
Shift the focus from where the new hospital would be and work with the medical community to establish the priorities for healthcare in Bermuda.
Declare the Economic Empowerment Zone in North Hamilton as an 'approved scheme' under the Industrial Development Act 1968.

In December 2006, Premier Brown stated he was "deeply and seriously" concerned about the state of education and that within the near future Bermuda would hear "some very significant statements" about what was planned to improve attainment levels.

In May 2007, a report was given to the public on the findings of the Education Review and it revealed serious challenges in Bermuda's public Education system. The report outlined recommendations which the PLP Government committed to implementing.

The prospects of an election once again become apparent when starting in early July 2007 the party began announcing its candidate line up for the future election.
On 2 November 2007, to the surprise of many, just hours after the Throne Speech, Premier Brown announced that he visited the Governor and requested he prorogue the Parliament in order to hold a general election dated Tuesday 18 December 2007. The six weeks leading up to the election was filled with a great deal of energy and sometimes-confrontational rhetoric between the completing parties. The campaign slogan for a third consecutive victory was, 'Moving Bermuda Forward' with a mission to make it 'Three Straight!!!' Another effective campaign tag line promoted across the island was 'PLP Solid!' The party focused its energy and resources on saturating the political landscape; proving the party was the dominant force in the country for progress and change.

The PLP won a third term in power in the election held on 18 December 2007, again taking 22 seats. Not only did the party successfully keep its majority, it managed to increase its percentage of the popular vote from 51.6% to 52.5%.

Brown quit elected politics in October 2010 and he was succeeded as party leader and Premier by Paula Cox.

Widely blamed for worsening the effects of the 2008 global recession through ineptitude and corruption, on 17 December 2012, the party, which had also angered many Bermudians through its stoking racial division while in Government, narrowly lost a general election to the One Bermuda Alliance; Cox lost her own seat and resigned as party leader the following day. She was replaced by Marc Bean, the former Minister of the Environment, Planning and Infrastructure. However future Minister of Health, Kim Wilson, was elected to parliament in December 2012, representing the party in the constituency of Sandys South Central.

On 15 February 2013, Terry Lister announced his resignation from the party, and his intention to continue to sit in the House of Assembly as an Independent. Lister resigned from Parliament in September 2014, prompting a bye-election. On 19 November 2014 the PLP's Candidate Jamahl Simmons defeated the OBA's Georgia Marshall.

Election results

References

External links

Political parties in Bermuda
Political parties established in 1963
1963 establishments in Bermuda
Labour parties in British Overseas Territories

Progressive Labour Party (Bermuda)


Phillip John Donahue (born December 21, 1935) is an American media personality, writer, film producer and the creator and host of The Phil Donahue Show. The television program, later known simply as Donahue, was the first talk show format that included audience participation. The show had a 29-year run on national television that began in Dayton, Ohio, in 1967 and ended in New York City in 1996.
His shows have often focused on issues that divide liberals and conservatives in the United States, such as abortion, consumer protection, civil rights and war issues. His most frequent guest was Ralph Nader, for whom Donahue campaigned in 2000. Donahue also briefly hosted a talk show on MSNBC from July 2002 to March 2003.
Donahue is one of the most influential talk show hosts and has been called the "king of daytime talk". Oprah Winfrey has said, "If it weren't for Phil Donahue, there would never have been an Oprah Show". In 1996, Donahue was ranked #42 on TV Guides 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time.

Early life
Donahue was born into a middle-income, churchgoing, Irish Catholic family in Cleveland, Ohio; his father, Phillip Donahue, was a furniture sales clerk and his mother, Catherine (née McClory) was a department store shoe clerk. In 1949, he graduated from Our Lady of Angels elementary school in the West Park neighborhood of Cleveland. In 1953, Donahue was a member of the first graduating class of St. Edward High School, an all-boys college preparatory Catholic private high school run by the Congregation of Holy Cross in suburban Lakewood, Ohio. He graduated from the University of Notre Dame, which is also run by the Congregation of Holy Cross, with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in 1957.

Career

Early career
Donahue began his career in 1957 as a production assistant at KYW radio and television when that station was in Cleveland. He got a chance to become an announcer one day when the regular announcer failed to show up. After a brief stint as a bank check sorter in Albuquerque, New Mexico, he became program director for WABJ radio in Adrian, Michigan, soon after graduating. He moved on to become a stringer for the CBS Evening News and later, an anchor of the morning newscast at WHIO-TV in Dayton, Ohio, where his interviews with Jimmy Hoffa and Billie Sol Estes were picked up nationally. While in Dayton, Donahue also hosted Conversation Piece, an afternoon phone-in talk show from 1963 to 1967 on WHIO radio. In Dayton, Donahue interviewed presidential candidate John F. Kennedy, late-night talk show host Johnny Carson, human rights activist Malcolm X and Vietnam war opponents including Jerry Rubin. In Chicago and New York City, Donahue interviewed Elton John, heavyweight boxing champions Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, and author and political activist Noam Chomsky.

The Phil Donahue Show

On November 6, 1967, Donahue left WHIO, moving his talk program to television with The Phil Donahue Show on WLWD (now WDTN), also in Dayton. Initially, the program was shown only on other stations owned by the Crosley Broadcasting Corporation (which would later take the name of its parent Avco Company), which also owned WLWD. But, in January 1970, The Phil Donahue Show entered nationwide syndication. Donahue's syndicated show moved from Dayton, Ohio, to Chicago in 1974; then in 1984, he moved the show to New York City, where the show was shot at a studio at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, to be near his wife Marlo Thomas.
In 1988, from the Rainbow Room, he presented a special honoring Mary Martin, with Steve Leeds and the Rainbow Room Orchestra, with guest vocalists Michael Feinstein, and Nancy Wilson. Bandleader Leeds sang the final number "Isn't it Romantic".
After a 29-year run—26 years in syndication and nearly 7,000 one-hour daily shows—the final original episode of Donahue aired on September 13, 1996.

While hosting his own program, Donahue also appeared on NBC's The Today Show as a contributor, from 1979 until 1988.

U.S.–Soviet Space Bridge
In the 1980s, during the Cold War period of openness by the USSR, Donahue and Soviet journalist Vladimir Posner co-hosted a series of televised discussions, known as the U.S.–Soviet Space Bridge, among everyday citizens of the Soviet Union and the United States. It was the first event of its kind in broadcasting history: Donahue hosted an audience in an American city while Posner hosted an audience in a Soviet city, all on one television program. Members of both audiences asked each other questions about both nations. While the governments of both nations were preparing for the possibility of nuclear war, Donahue said: "We reached out instead of lashed out". From 1991 to 1994 Donahue and Posner co-hosted Posner/Donahue, a weekly, issues-oriented roundtable program, which aired both on CNBC and in syndication.
His wife Marlo Thomas created a children's version in 1988 entitled Free to Be... A Family and just as Donahue and Posner have been friends ever since, Thomas and Tatiana Vedeneyeva have also enjoyed a long and fruitful friendship.

After Talk Show

In 1999, Donahue was originally supposed to host the game show Greed on the Fox network, but turned down the offer from Fox, because he didn't want to be a game show host and didn't want the network's money for a paycheck, so instead the hosting gig went to Chuck Woolery.

MSNBC program

In July 2002, Phil Donahue returned to television after seven years of retirement to host a show called Donahue on MSNBC. On February 25, 2003, MSNBC canceled the show.
Soon after the show's cancellation, an internal MSNBC memo was leaked to the press stating that Donahue should be fired because he opposed the imminent U.S. invasion of Iraq and that he would be a "difficult public face for NBC in a time of war" and that his program could be "a home for the liberal anti-war agenda". Donahue commented in 2007 that the management of MSNBC, owned at the time by General Electric, a major defense contractor, required that "we have two conservative (guests) for every liberal. I was counted as two liberals".

Body of War

In 2006, Donahue served as co-director with independent filmmaker Ellen Spiro for the feature documentary film Body of War. The film tells the story of Tomas Young, a severely disabled Iraq War veteran and his turbulent postwar adjustments. In November 2007 the film was named as one of fifteen documentaries to be in consideration for an Oscar nomination from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Other appearances
In June 2013, Donahue and numerous other celebrities appeared in a video showing support for Chelsea Manning.

Donahue was interviewed for the documentary film, Finding Vivian Maier (2013), about the posthumously recognized American street photographer of that name, an acquaintance of his from the 1970s.

On May 24 and May 25, 2016, Donahue spoke at Ralph Nader's "Breaking Through Power" conference, at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C.

Honors
Donahue was awarded 20 Emmy Awards during his broadcasting career, 10 for Outstanding Talk Show Host, and 10 for The Phil Donahue Show. He received the Peabody Award in 1980, and was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame on November 20, 1993.
In 1987, he received the "Maggie" Award, highest honor of the Planned Parenthood Federation, in tribute to their founder, Margaret Sanger.

Personal life
Donahue's 1958 marriage to Margaret Cooney produced five children—Michael, Kevin, Daniel, Mary Rose, and James—but ended in divorce in 1975. She returned to her native New Mexico, remarried and retired from public view. The family had lived in Centerville, Ohio, across the street from Erma Bombeck, a comedian who would become one of his contemporaries as a national voice in the 1970s and 1980s. For a brief period in the 1970s, Donahue employed Vivian Maier, an American street photographer, as a nanny for his children.

Donahue married actress Marlo Thomas on May 21, 1980. He and Thomas do not have any children together.

In 2014, Phil Donahue's youngest son, James Donahue, 51, died suddenly from a burst aortic aneurysm.

Regarding his religion, Donahue has stated, "I will always be a Catholic. But I want my church to join the human race and finally walk away from this antisexual theology". He also said that he is not "a very good Catholic", and that he did not think it was necessary to have his first marriage annulled. He has expressed admiration of Pope Francis.

References

Further reading

External links

  Body of War
 Interview with Phil Donahue on "Body of War" at IFC.com
 Donahue, Phil  from Museum of Broadcast Communications

 Interview  on The Real News program Reality Asserts Itself. October 2014.

1935 births
Living people
20th-century American journalists
20th-century American male writers
20th-century Roman Catholics
21st-century American journalists
21st-century American male writers
21st-century Roman Catholics
Activists from Ohio
American anti–Iraq War activists
American male journalists
American people of Irish descent
American political commentators
American political journalists
American political writers
American Roman Catholics
American television news anchors
American television talk show hosts
Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Show Host winners
Journalists from Ohio
MSNBC people
Ohio Democrats
American opinion journalists
Peabody Award winners
St. Edward High School (Lakewood, Ohio) alumni
Television personalities from Cleveland
Mendoza College of Business alumni
Liberalism in the United States

Phil Donahue


The William J. Nealon Federal Building and United States Courthouse is a courthouse of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, located in Scranton, Pennsylvania. It was completed in 1931, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2018.

Building history
Scranton's first post office opened in 1811, but utilized rented space until the city's first federally owned post office building was erected in 1894. The Second Empire-style building soon proved to be too small for the city's needs, an issue compounded by the establishment of the Middle District Federal Court. Following numerous efforts to obtain funding for a new building, the federal government appropriated $2.5 million in 1926. The 1894 building was demolished in 1930. In 1929, chief of architectural design Louis A. Simon at the Office of the Supervising Architect under James A. Wetmore, completed plans for a new building on the site.

With N.P. Severin Company serving as the general contractor, groundbreaking occurred on May 20, 1930. The new federal building was completed the following year at a cost of $1,004,000, with dedication ceremonies taking place on October 19, 1931. In 1981, the United States Postal Service sold the building to the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) and moved its main office to a new site, though it maintains a small branch in the building. In 1985, GSA began a $4.3 million rehabilitation of damaged historic materials such as doors, light fixtures, and interior finishes. A glass-and-steel atrium and annex were added in 1999. The annex received several awards, including a GSA Design Award Architecture Citation and a Pennsylvania AIA Merit Award.

In 1999, the building was renamed in honor of William J. Nealon, chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania from 1976 to 1989. The building is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.

Architecture
The building is a four-story, Art Deco-influenced Neoclassical building executed in limestone and brick with a granite base, green serpentine columns, and terracotta with polychrome accents. Characteristics of Neoclassical style include symmetry, smooth stone surfaces, and colonnades. Art Deco influences are apparent in polychrome (multicolored) ornamental details, low-relief geometrical designs, and decorative forms based on nature.

The elevations facing Washington and Linden Avenues are bilaterally symmetrical with the more ornamental Washington Avenue facade facing Courthouse Square. These elevations are sheathed in a smooth-dressed granite base up to the first story, and limestone blocks from the second to the fourth story. Most of the Washington Avenue facade is recessed at the third and fourth floors with engaged green serpentine columns highlighted by terracotta Corinthian capitals. The entire composition is topped by a polychrome terra-cotta entablature. Metal spandrel panels are below the third-story windows and marble spandrels below the fourth-story windows. Three bronze doors with bronze and cast aluminum grills comprise the entrances at Washington and Linden Avenues.

The entrances on Washington Avenue lead to the elevator lobby, which is the main entrance to the court facilities on the fourth floor. The entry on the Linden Avenue facade leads to the post office lobby on the ground floor. Historic materials include marble, bronze, clay tile, simulated stone, cast iron, oak detailing, and decorative stencils.

Two original courtrooms are on the fourth floor. Each has oak-paneled wainscoting capped by a carved frieze at door height, interrupted by windows and the wall behind the judge's bench. In Courtroom No. 1, behind the judge's bench is a curtained area with oak columns and an entablature with a mural, titled Justice with Peace and Prosperity (artist unknown), installed soon after the building was completed. In Courtroom No. 2, there is a marble panel with bronze grill trim and a drapery surround behind the judge's bench. The plaster ceilings feature a plaster cornice and plaster bands dividing the ceiling into nine panels.

Built in 1999, the annex is a four-story, steel-reinforced masonry building with a facade clad in limestone to match the historic courthouse building. Designed by the architecture and planning firm, Bohlin Cywinski Jackson in conjunction with hemmler + camayd architects, the annex fronts on Washington Avenue. Although its restrained design features no overt references to the classical detailing of the 1931 building, its materials and proportions are similar. The facade is divided into upper and lower halves, but in lieu of a colonnade, the upper half is embellished by a row of large, deeply set windows.

The annex includes two new courtrooms on the fourth floor, and space for additional courtrooms on the second floor. The courtrooms are notable for their spatial design. Each courtroom is organized along an implied axis connecting the jury deliberation room, judge's bench, courtroom entrance, and major features in the public atrium. Fully accessible witness and jury boxes are set to one side. Clerestory windows above the jury box introduce daylight into the courtrooms.

A glass-and-steel atrium connects the 1931 building to the 1999 annex. The atrium is highlighted by an art glass installation by artist Paul Housberg, which was commissioned under GSA's Art in Architecture program. The program empowers the nation's leading artists to create new works of art for federal buildings. The artist worked with GSA staff, project architects, and the community to create artwork integrated into the building's design. Housberg's colored glass wall, entitled Lightfall, consists of backlit twelve-inch by twenty-inch glass blocks.

History
1930-1931: Building constructed
1981: GSA purchases building from U.S. Postal Service and begins restoration
1999: New atrium and annex constructed
1999: Building renamed in honor of Judge William J. Nealon

Building facts
Location: 235 North Washington Avenue
Architects: James A. Wetmore; Bohlin Cywinski Jackson and hemmler + camayd architects
Construction Dates: 1930-1931; 1999
Architectural Style: Neoclassical with Art Deco influences; Contemporary (annex)
Landmark Status: Listed on the National Register of Historic Places
Primary Materials: Limestone, brick, terracotta, and granite; steel and glass atrium
Prominent Features: Green serpentine stone columns; Decorative terracotta trim with polychrome detailing; Original bronze, marble, and iron interior finishes; Atrium art glass installation

References

Attribution

External links
Federal Judicial Center entry on the William J. Nealon Federal Building and United States Courthouse.

Courthouses in Pennsylvania
Federal courthouses in the United States
Buildings and structures in Scranton, Pennsylvania
Government buildings completed in 1931
1930s architecture in the United States
Art Deco architecture in Pennsylvania
National Register of Historic Places in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania