Ronald William Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. Howard started his career as a child actor before transitioning to a career as a director of acclaimed and notable films. Over his six decade career Howard has received two Academy Awards, four Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Grammy Award. He was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 2003 and was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 2013. Howard has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions in film and television.

He first came to prominence as a child actor, guest-starring in several television series, including an episode of The Twilight Zone. He gained national attention for playing young Opie Taylor, the son of Sheriff Andy Taylor (played by Andy Griffith) in the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show from 1960 through 1968. During this time, he also appeared in the musical film The Music Man (1962), a critical and commercial success. He was credited as Ronny Howard in his film and television appearances from 1959 to 1973. Howard was cast in one of the lead roles in the influential coming-of-age film American Graffiti (1973), and became a household name for playing Richie Cunningham in the sitcom Happy Days (1974–1980). He played the second lead in John Wayne's final film, The Shootist (1976).

In 1980, Howard left Happy Days to focus on directing, producing and sometimes writing a variety of films and television series. His films included the comedies Night Shift (1982), Splash (1984), and Cocoon (1985) as well as the fantasy Willow (1988), the thriller Backdraft (1991), and the newspaper comedy-drama film The Paper (1994). Howard went on to win the Academy Award for Best Director and Academy Award for Best Picture for A Beautiful Mind (2001) and was nominated again for the same awards for Frost/Nixon (2008). Howard continued directing historical dramas such as Apollo 13 (1995), Cinderella Man (2005), Rush (2013), In the Heart of the Sea (2015) and Thirteen Lives (2022).

He also directed the children's fantasy film How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000), the comedy The Dilemma (2011), as well as the Robert Langdon film series: The Da Vinci Code (2006), Angels & Demons (2009), Inferno (2016), and Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018). Howard has gained recognition for directing numerous documentary films such as The Beatles: Eight Days a Week (2016), Pavarotti (2019), and We Feed People (2022).

Early life
Ron Howard was born on March 1, 1954, in Duncan, Oklahoma, the elder son of Jean Speegle, an actress, and Rance Howard, a director, writer, and actor. He is of German, English, Scottish, Irish, and Dutch ancestry. His father was born with the surname "Beckenholdt" and took the stage name "Howard" in 1948 for his acting career. Rance Howard was serving three years in the United States Air Force at the time of Ron's birth.

Howard was tutored at Desilu Studios in his younger years but continued his schooling at Robert Louis Stevenson Elementary and David Starr Jordan Junior High when not working in television, eventually graduating from John Burroughs High School. He later attended the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts but did not graduate.

Howard has said he knew from a young age he might want to go into directing, thanks to his early experience as an actor.

Acting career

In 1959, Howard had his first credited film role in The Journey. He appeared in June Allyson's CBS anthology series The DuPont Show with June Allyson in the episode "Child Lost"; in The Twilight Zone episode "Walking Distance"; a few episodes of the first season of the sitcom Dennis the Menace, as Stewart, one of Dennis's friends; and several first- and second-season episodes of The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. Howard played "Timmy" (uncredited) in "Counterfeit Gun", Season 4, Episode 2 (1960) of the TV series, The Cheyenne Show.

The Andy Griffith Show (1960–1968)
In 1960, Howard was cast as Opie Taylor in The Andy Griffith Show. Credited as "Ronny Howard," he portrayed the son of the main character (played by Andy Griffith) for all eight seasons of the show. Recalling his experiences as a child actor on set, he commented

The sitcom was known for its old-fashioned wholesome quality. Even though it was set in a contemporary time period it evoked a mood of a different era from that of the 1960s. The series also starred Don Knotts, Frances Bavier and Jim Nabors. The series received numerous nominations for the Primetime Emmy Awards including three Outstanding Comedy Series nominations which it lost to The Jack Benny Show in 1961, The Bob Newhart Show in 1962, and The Monkees in 1967.

Happy Days (1974–1984)

A role in an installment of series Love, American Style, titled "Love and the Television Set", led to his being cast as Richie Cunningham in the TV series Happy Days (for syndication, the segment was re-titled "Love and the Happy Days"). Beginning in 1974, he played the likable "buttoned-down" boy, in contrast to Henry Winkler's "greaser" Arthur "Fonzie"/"The Fonz" Fonzarelli. On the Happy Days set, he developed an on- and off-screen chemistry with Winkler. Howard left Happy Days to become a film director just before the start of its eighth season in 1980, but returned for guest appearances in the show's eleventh season (1983-1984).

Additional acting roles
In the 1962 film version of The Music Man, Howard played Winthrop Paroo, the child with the lisp; the film starred Robert Preston, Shirley Jones, and Buddy Hackett. The film was based on the 1957 musical of the same name by Meredith Willson. The film was directed by Morton DaCosta who previously helmed the 1958 film Auntie Mame starring Rosalind Russell. The film was a critical and commercial success becoming the third highest grossing film of that year. The film went on to receive six Academy Award nominations including for Best Picture.

He also starred in the 1963 film The Courtship of Eddie's Father with Glenn Ford and Jones. He guest-starred as Tommy in the twelfth episode of the first season of The Big Valley and he appeared as Barry Stewart on The Eleventh Hour in 1965; on I Spy in the 1966 episode "Little Boy Lost"; as Henry Fonda's son in an ABC series, The Smith Family, in 1968; as Jodah in Land of the Giants in 1969; as a boy whose father was shot on Daniel Boone in 1971–72; and as an underage Marine on M*A*S*H in the episode "Sometimes You Hear the Bullet" in 1973. In the 1970s, he appeared in at least one episode of The Bold Ones, as a teenage tennis player with an illness.

Howard appeared on the 1969 Disneyland Records album The Story and Song from the Haunted Mansion. It featured the story of two teenagers, Mike (Howard) and Karen (Robie Lester), who get trapped inside the Haunted Mansion. Thurl Ravenscroft plays the Narrator, Pete Reneday plays the Ghost Host, and Eleanor Audley plays Madame Leota. Some of the effects and ideas that were planned but never permanently made it to the attraction are mentioned here: the Raven speaks in the Stretching Room, and the Hatbox Ghost is mentioned during the Attic scene. It was reissued in 1998 as a cassette tape titled A Spooky Night in Disney's Haunted Mansion and on CD in 2009.

Howard played Steve Bolander in George Lucas' coming-of-age film American Graffiti in 1973, which was the inspiration for the sitcom Happy Days starring Howard. Howard starred in the film alongside Richard Dreyfus, Charles Martin Smith, and Harrison Ford. Critic Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times praised the film in his four star review writing, "American Graffiti is not only a great movie but a brilliant work of historical fiction; no sociological treatise could duplicate the movie's success in remembering exactly how it was to be alive at that cultural instant." Howard reprised his role in the sequel More American Graffiti (1979).

In 1974, Howard guest-starred as Seth Turner, the best friend of Jason Walton (Jon Walmsley), in The Waltons episode, "The Gift". Featured in the cast as Dr. McIvers is Ron Howard's father Rance Howard. In 1976, Howard starred alongside John Wayne and Lauren Bacall in Don Siegel's The Shootist, the story of a Western gunfighter dying of cancer. The movie was Wayne's last although it's not true that he had cancer during the shooting of the picture; Wayne died three years later.

Directing

1977–1992: Rise to prominence
Before leaving Happy Days in 1980, Howard made his directing debut with the 1977 low-budget comedy/action film Grand Theft Auto, based on a script he co-wrote with his father, Rance. This came after cutting a deal with Roger Corman, wherein Corman let Howard direct a film in exchange for Howard starring in Eat My Dust!, with Christopher Norris. Howard went on to direct several TV movies for NBC between 1978 and 1982, including the 1980 TV movie, Skyward, starring Bette Davis. His big directorial break came in 1982, with Night Shift, featuring Michael Keaton, Shelley Long, and Howard's Happy Days co-star Henry Winkler.

Following Night Shift, Howard directed a number of major films, including the fantasy romantic comedy Splash (1984) starring Tom Hanks, Daryl Hannah, Eugene Levy, and John Candy. The film was a box office and critical success. He also directed the science fiction comedy drama Cocoon (1985) starring Don Ameche, Hume Cronyn, Wilford Brimley, and Brian Dennehy. This film was also a critical and financial hit and won a Best Supporting Actor award for Don Ameche. In 1988, he reunited with George Lucas on the high fantasy adventure film Willow starring Val Kilmer and Warwick Davis. Howard's final work as a director for the 1980s was the family comedy film Parenthood (1989) starring an ensemble cast that includes Steve Martin, Tom Hulce, Rick Moranis, Martha Plimpton, Joaquin Phoenix, Keanu Reeves, Jason Robards, Mary Steenburgen, and Dianne Wiest. The film opened at  in its opening weekend, earning $10million. It eventually grossed over $100million domestically and $126million worldwide. The film was a critical hit and received two Academy Award nominations.

Howard continued directing through the 1990s, including the American drama Backdraft revolving around firefighters. The film starred Kurt Russell, Donald Sutherland, and Robert De Niro. Film critics Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune and Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film a positive review. In 1992, he directed the western film epic Far and Away starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. Despite receiving mixed reviews from critics the film was a financial success earning 137 million against its budget of 60 million. In 1994, Howard directed the newspaper comedy drama The Paper with an ensemble starring Michael Keaton, Glenn Close, Marisa Tomei, Jason Alexander, Jason Robards, and Robert Duvall. The film received rave reviews with many praising Keaton's leading performance.

1995–2008: Historical dramas and acclaim
Howard's direction for the 1995 docudrama film Apollo 13 received praise from critics. The film stars Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, and Bill Paxton as the three astronauts members of the Apollo 13 flight crew, with supporting performances from Gary Sinise, Ed Harris, and Kathleen Quinlan. The film was a massive financial success earning $335 million off a budget of $52 million. The film received widespread critical acclaim with Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times praising the film in his review saying: "A powerful story, one of the year's best films, told with great clarity and remarkable technical detail, and acted without pumped-up histrionics." The film went on to receive nine Academy Award nominations including Best Picture.

In 2000, he directed the live action children's fantasy film, How the Grinch Stole Christmas based on the Dr. Seuss children's book. The film starred Jim Carrey as the titular character and featured performances from Jeffrey Tambor, Christine Baranski, and Molly Shannon, with Anthony Hopkins serving as the film's narrator. Despite the film receiving mixed reviews from critics, it was a financial success and earned $345 million at the box office. Howard's followup film was the biographical drama film A Beautiful Mind starring Russell Crowe as the American mathematician John Nash who struggled with paranoid schizophrenia. The film featured performances from Jennifer Connelly, Ed Harris, Josh Lucas, and Christopher Plummer. The film received positive reviews from critics who praised Crowe's and Connelly's performances. The film went on to receive eight Academy Award nominations including a win for Best Picture and a nomination and win for Howard as Best Director. Howard was nominated alongside Robert Altman, David Lynch, Ridley Scott, and Peter Jackson.

In 2005, Howard directed the biographical sports drama Cinderella Man based on the true story of heavyweight boxing champion James J. Braddock played by Russell Crowe. The film also starred Renée Zellweger as his wife Mae Braddock, and Paul Giamatti as his trainer Joe Gould. Rotten Tomatoes gave it an approval rating of 80% based on reviews from 214 critics with an average score of 7.4/10. Its consensus states, "With grittiness and an evocative sense of time and place, Cinderella Man is a powerful underdog story. And Ron Howard and Russell Crowe prove to be a solid combination." Howard is also known for directing the Robert Langdon films. The series began with The Da Vinci Code (2006) with Tom Hanks as Langdon, featuring performances by Audrey Tautou, Ian McKellen, and Alfred Molina. The sequel was Angels & Demons (2009) with Hanks reprising his role and performances by Ewan McGregor and Stellan Skarsgård. In 2016, Inferno was released with Hanks continuing the role with performances by Felicity Jones, Irrfan Khan, and Omar Sy. All three films received mixed reviews but were popular among audiences.

Howard showcased the world premiere of his historical drama film Frost/Nixon at the London Film Festival in October 2008. The film is based on the taped conversations known as the Frost/Nixon interviews between former United States President Richard Nixon and British talk show host David Frost. Frank Langella portrayed Nixon opposite Michael Sheen as Frost. The film was based on the play of the same name by Peter Morgan. The film also featured performances from Mathew Macfadyen, Sam Rockwell, Rebecca Hall, Oliver Platt, Toby Jones, and Kevin Bacon. Despite losing money at the box office, the film was a critical success with website Rotten Tomatoes giving the film an approval rating of 93% with the critical consensus reading, "Frost/Nixon is weighty and eloquent; a cross between a boxing match and a ballet with Oscar worthy performances." Metacritic gives the film an average score of 80 out of 100, based on 38 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". The film received five Academy Award nominations with Howard receiving a nomination for Best Director. The Guardian praised the film declaring, "Frost/Nixon is a riveting film, sharper, more intense than the play". Howard was the recipient of the Austin Film Festival's 2009 Extraordinary Contribution to Filmmaking Award. Michael Keaton presented him the Award.

2009–present
In 2013, Howard directed sports drama Rush, based on the Hunt–Lauda rivalry between two Formula One drivers, the British James Hunt and the Austrian Niki Lauda during the 1976 Formula 1 motor-racing season. It was written by Peter Morgan and starred Chris Hemsworth as Hunt, Daniel Brühl as Lauda, and Olivia Wilde as Suzy Miller. The film premiered at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival and received positive reviews from critics. In 2015, Howard directed the film In the Heart of the Sea about the sinking of the American whaling ship Essex in 1820, an event that inspired Herman Melville's 1851 novel Moby-Dick. The film featured performances by Chris Hemsworth, Cillian Murphy, Tom Holland, Ben Whishaw, and Brendan Gleeson. The film was a financial failure and received mixed reviews.

Howard took over directing duties on Solo: A Star Wars Story, a film featuring Star Wars character Han Solo in his younger years. The film was released on May 23, 2018. Howard officially replaced directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller on June 22, 2017; they were let go from their position two days earlier, reportedly due to their refusal to compromise with Lucasfilm over the direction of the film; reportedly the directors encouraged significant improvisations by the actors, which was believed by some at Lucasfilm to be "shifting the story off-course". At the time, the film was nearly completed, with three and a half weeks left to film and another five weeks of reshoots scheduled. Howard posted on Twitter, "I'm beyond grateful to add my voice to the Star Wars Universe after being a fan since 5/25/77. I hope to honor the great work already done & help deliver on the promise of a Han Solo film."

In November 2017, Howard announced that he would be teaching his first directing class. On November 24, 2020, Howard's drama film Hillbilly Elegy was released on Netflix. The film is based on the memoir of the same name by J. D. Vance and was adapted for the screen by Vanessa Taylor. The film stars Academy Award nominees Glenn Close and Amy Adams. The film has received widespread negative reception from critics but was received well by general audiences, with an 83% user approval on Rotten Tomatoes.

In March 2021, Howard began filming the survival drama Thirteen Lives, a film based on the Tham Luang cave rescue in 2018. It was released in select theaters on July 29, 2022, by United Artists Releasing, and began streaming on Prime Video on August 5, 2022. The film received generally positive reviews from critics. In 2022, Netflix acquired from Paramount Pictures The Shrinking of Treehorn, which will mark Howard's first time directing an animated feature.

Imagine Entertainment
Howard is the co-chairman, with Brian Grazer, of Imagine Entertainment, a film and television production company. Imagine has produced several films including Friday Night Lights, 8 Mile, and Inside Deep Throat, as well as the television series 24, Felicity, The PJs, and Arrested Development which Howard also narrated and later appeared in as himself.

In July 2012, it was announced that Imagine had put into development Conquest for Showtime, a period drama based on the 16th century conquest of the Aztecs by Spanish Conquistadors. To be directed by Howard, the series was originally planned as a feature film before it was decided that the project was more suited to television.

As part of Imagine Entertainment, he appeared in a 1997 print ad for Milk - Where's your mustache?, in which he wore a cap for Imagine Entertainment and sported a milk mustache. Earlier versions show a younger Ronny Howard on the other side.

In 2009, he appeared in the Jamie Foxx music video "Blame It."

Personal life
Howard married Cheryl Alley (born December 23, 1953) on June 7, 1975. They have four children: daughters Bryce Dallas (born March 2, 1981), twins Jocelyn Carlyle and Paige Carlyle (born February 5, 1985), and son Reed Cross (born April 13, 1987).

Filmography

Awards and nominations

Directed Academy Award performances

References

Bibliography
 John Holmstrom. The Moving Picture Boy: An International Encyclopaedia from 1895 to 1995. Norwich, Michael Russell, 1996, p.304-305.
 Ron Howard and Clint Howard. The Boys: A Memoir of Hollywood and Family. William Morrow, 2021.

External links

 2002 Commencement Address (USC School of Cinema-Television) (archived)
 Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture – Ron Howard (archived)

1954 births
Living people
20th-century American male actors
20th-century American male writers
20th-century American screenwriters
21st-century American male actors
21st-century American male writers
21st-century American screenwriters
American film producers
American male child actors
American male film actors
American male screenwriters
American male television actors
American male voice actors
American people of Dutch descent
American people of English descent
American people of German descent
American people of Irish descent
American people of Scottish descent
American television directors
Audiobook narrators
Best Directing Academy Award winners
Best Musical or Comedy Actor Golden Globe (television) winners
Daytime Emmy Award winners
Directors Guild of America Award winners
Film directors from California
Film directors from Oklahoma
Film producers from California
Film producers from Oklahoma
Grammy Award winners
Ron
Imagine Entertainment
Male actors from Burbank, California
Male actors from California
Male actors from Greenwich, Connecticut
Male actors from Oklahoma
People from Duncan, Oklahoma
People from the San Fernando Valley
Primetime Emmy Award winners
Producers who won the Best Picture Academy Award
Screenwriters from California
Screenwriters from Oklahoma
Television producers from California
United States National Medal of Arts recipients
USC School of Cinematic Arts alumni
Writers from Oklahoma

Ron Howard


Andrzej Marcin Niegolewski (12 November 1787 – 18 February 1857) was a Polish colonel that served in the Polish Light Cavalry Regiment during the Napoleonic Wars, a member of parliament and a shareholder of the Poznan Bazar. During the Spanish Peninsular War, he distinguished himself particularly at the battle of Somosierra.

Biography
Son of Felicjan Niegolewski of Grzymała coat of arms and of Magdalena Niegolewska (born Potocka) of Pilawa coat of arms, he had a brother and a sister. In November 1806, he joined the squadron of Napoleon's Polish honor guards in Poznań.

Sent to the 5th Polish cavalry regiment, he was promoted to second lieutenant and then lieutenant. He fought in Pomerania with the capture of Tczew and the Siege of Gdańsk in 1807. In the summer of 1807, he joined the Polish Light Cavalry Regiment of the Imperial Guard as a second lieutenant.

The charge of Somosierra

The Polish light cavaleries follow Napoléon in Spain. On the 30th of November 1808 takes place the famous charge of Somosierra, which will cost three regimental officiers their lives (a fourth one, the captain Dziewanowski, will pass away due to its injuries a few days later). As the approach to Madrid was blocked by 7,800 Spaniards armed with 16 cannons in four batteries on the Somosierra heights, Napoleon ordered his Poles to force the passage.

The charge of the 3rd squadron was led by Squadron Leader Kozietulski, who lost his horse after taking the first battery. Lieutenant Andrzej Niegolewski, who had gone on a reconnaissance mission, joined the charge at that moment with his men. The charge was now led by Captain Dziewanowski. The Poles took the next two batteries but lost their commander who fell seriously wounded, then Captain Pierre Krasiński, who was also wounded.

Lieutenant Niegolewski, the last able-bodied officer, led the end of the charge: with about thirty survivors, he reached the last battery, saw his horse killed under him and, in the fall, broke a leg. Wounded by multiple bayonet blows, Andrzej Niegolewski was overtaken by the Spaniards. The latter counter-attacked and managed to retake the battery. Napoleon then launched a second charge with the three remaining Polish squadrons under Tomasz Łubieński, followed by the Guards' mounted chasseurs.

Still alive, very seriously wounded, Lieutenant Niegolewski was still lying on the ground under his horse when Marshal Bessières approached him and said, "young man, the Emperor has seen the beautiful charge of the Light Cavalry; he will know how to appreciate your bravery."  Niegolewski then replied: "My lord, I am dying; here are the cannons that I took away, tell that to the Emperor". When he arrived on the plateau, the Emperor immediately awarded him the Cross of the Legion of Honor, making him the first officer of his regiment to receive it.

The number of wounds received by the young lieutenant varies according to the authors. He received 10 to 11 wounds, including eight to nine bayonet wounds and one to two head wounds (one saber strike and probably a bullet).

He participated in the Austrian campaign of 1809 and fought again in Spain in 1810-1811. During the Russian campaign in 1812, he served on the main staff as a captain. At the end of 1813, he was granted sick leave and spent some time in Paris.

Rising of 1830
In December 1814, he returned to Poland and lived in Niegolewo. He married Anna Krzyżanowska (1816) and came to live on his wife's estate in Włościejewka, near Śrem. From then on, he was involved in the agricultural production of his properties.

In November 1830 the Polish November Uprising against Russia occurred. Niegolewski went to Warsaw and was assigned to the general staff. Promoted to colonel, he commanded the Sandomierz cavalry regiment (March–June 1831). From June 1831, he served in the main staff and in August 1831, he received the gold cross of Virtuti Militari. In September, he was discharged from active service for health reasons and returned to the Greater Poland region.

With the failure of the uprising, he suffered repression and was sentenced to nine months in prison and confiscation of his property. He served his sentence (finally reduced by half) in the fortress of Cosel.

Politician and financier
In the following years, he was one of the most active activists in Greater Poland, defending the Polish language in the public life of the Grand Duchy of Poznań in the provincial parliament, where he was an elected member. He was a deputy of the chivalry of the Buk and Oborniki powiats (counties) in the provincial parliament of the Grand Duchy in 1827 and 1830 before the uprising. He was elected again in 1841 and 1843.

He became an advisor to the banking institution Crédit foncier de Poznań. He was also a shareholder in the Bazaar company in Poznań. After his death, he was buried in the family grave in the Buk cemetery. On Sunday, October 14, 1923 in Poznań, the remains of Colonel Niegolewski and Generals Antoni Kosiński and Józef Wybicki were solemnly laid to rest in the Crypt of Merit in the Church of St. Adalbert in Poznań.

Eight of his children, five daughters and three sons, have reached adulthood. One of them was Władysław Maurycy (1819-1885), a lawyer and social and political activist from Greater Poland.

References

 Witold Jakóbczyk, Przetrwać na Wartą 1815-1914, Dzieje narodu i państwa polskiego, vol. III-55, Krajowa Agencja Wydawnicza, Warszawa 1989

1787 births
1857 deaths
Polish politicians
Polish Army officers
People from the Grand Duchy of Posen
People from Szamotuły County
Burials at the Church of St. Adalbert, Poznań
Members of the Sejm (Provinziallandtag) of Posen

Andrzej Niegolewski


The Wagoners' Memorial is a war memorial in Sledmere, in the East Riding of Yorkshire in England.  The unusual squat columnar memorial was designed by Sir Mark Sykes, 6th Baronet and built in 1919–20.  It became a Grade II listed building in 1966, upgraded to Grade I in February 2016.  The memorial stands near the Eleanor Cross, Sledmere, a copy of the Eleanor Cross from Hardingstone, which was built as a village cross in the 1890s and converted by Sykes into a war memorial for the men from his estate.

Background
Sykes was the son of Sir Tatton Sykes, 5th Baronet.  He served in the Princess of Wales' Own Yorkshire Regiment in the Boer War and later as lieutenant colonel of the 5th Battalion, Yorkshire Regiment. He was MP for the local constituency of Kingston upon Hull Central from 1911 to his death in 1919.  He inherited the baronetcy on his father's death in 1913. The 1916 Sykes–Picot Agreement is named after him.

Sykes received permission to raise the Wagoners Special Reserve as a Territorial Army unit in 1912, signing up farm labourers and tenant farmers from across the Yorkshire Wolds for war service as drivers of horse-drawn wagons. Sykes held wagon-driving competitions for his wagoners.

During the First World War, 1,127 men from the corps were called up to serve in the Army Service Corps and the Royal Engineers. Most were sent to serve on the Western Front in France, with little or no military training, and given the important logistical task of moving essential materiel: food, ammunition and equipment.  Wagoners also served in Italy, Salonika and the Middle East.

Sykes attended the 1919 Paris Peace Conference, but contracted Spanish flu and died in February 1919, before the memorial was completed.

The memorial
The memorial is to the west side of Sledmere, north of St Mary's Church, and near the Sykes residence at Sledmere House. It was designed by Sykes, and is said to be based on a Saxon memorial in the crypt at York Minster.

It stands  high, with an octagonal plinth of five steps leading up to squat stone column of Portland stone, with stone carvings, with conical canopy and pinnacle, once topped by a cross (now lost).  The central column is surrounded by four narrower columns, supporting a carved entablature, and inscription on the frieze.  The masonry was built by Alfred Barr and the naive art sculptures made by Carlo Domenico Magnoni, curving around a central column in three sections, similar to Trajan's Column, showing scenes from the history of the Wagoners, from Sykes enlisting them, through them being called up, travelling to France, and graphic scenes of conflict. It was described by Pevsner as "curiously homely".  The memorial is also inscribed with a five-verse poem in the local dialect.

The memorial was unveiled on 5 September 1920 by Sir Ivor Maxse, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Northern Command.  The ceremony was attended by 2,000 spectators, with a guard of honour from the 5th Battalion, Yorkshire Regiment.

The last wagoner veteran died in 1993.

See also
Grade I listed war memorials in England

References

 Waggoners' Reserve Memorial, Imperial War Museum
 Waggoners memorial, Sledmere, yorkstories.co.uk, 2007
 The 'Wolds Wagoners' who left farms for war, Yorkshire Post, 22 September 2014
 Wolds Wagoners: Remembering East Yorkshire's courageous First World War heroes, Yorkshire Press, 19 January 2015
 Wolds Wagoners Memorial, Sledmere, UK, waymarking.com
 The Wagoner's Special Reserve, Western Front Association

British military memorials and cemeteries
Buildings and structures completed in 1920
Grade I listed buildings in the East Riding of Yorkshire
Grade I listed monuments and memorials
Monuments and memorials in England
World War I memorials in England

Wagoners' Memorial


The Association des Scouts du Niger (in Hausa language Iskutun Niger and Zarma language Nizer Skutey) is the national Scouting organization of Niger. It was founded in 1993 and became a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement in 1996. The coeducational Association des Scouts du Niger has 3,202 members as of 2011.

History

Scouting in Niger was started in 1947 under the auspices of French Scouting. The movement was disbanded by the military regime in the 1970s. In 1993, the Roman Catholic Church and the National Directory for the Youth restarted Scouting, supported by the Scouts de France. The Association became a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement in 1996.

Program

Activities
Scouts in Niger are active in the Africa Region and attend many International Scout camps and Jamborees with their African neighbors. One Scout attended the 19th World Scout Jamboree in Chile in 1998 as part of the West Africa contingent.

Faced with the 2005-06 Niger food crisis, in May 2005, the government of Niger issued a call for national and international solidarity in a bid to offer help to nearly 3.6 million in distress. In order to participate in the national solidarity efforts, the Association des Scouts du Niger appealed to the international Scout fraternity, through a project dubbed Scouts du Niger contre la faim (Scouts of Niger Against Hunger), funded by Lëtzebuerger Guiden a Scouten. In addition, UNFPA had recourse to the Scouts of Niger for the implementation of a project of food distribution to pregnant and breastfeeding women in the Agadez and Zinder areas. According to the Chief Commissioner, Yazi Oumarou, with the support from Guides et Scouts du Luxembourg, food (sorghum and millet) was bought and stored to be resold at an affordable price, to the population of the catchment area. Scouts were involved in gardening in plots with access to water, that were given out by the local authorities. After harvesting, Scouts sold the produce to their communities.

Sections
The association is divided in three sections according to age:
 Louveteaux (Cub Scouts) - ages 8 to 12
 Eclaireurs (Scouts - ages 13 to 17
 Routiers (Rover Scouts) - ages 18 to 25.

Ideals
The Scout Motto is Sois Prêt in French.

See also
 Guides du Niger
 Scouting in Niger

References

External links
 Official website

Scouting and Guiding in Niger
World Organization of the Scout Movement member organizations
Youth organizations established in 1993

Association des Scouts du Niger


George Pigot, 1st Baron Pigot (4 March 1719 – 11 May 1777) was twice the British President of the British East India Company.

Life
Pigot was the eldest son of Richard Pigot of Westminster, by his wife Frances, daughter of Peter Goode, a Huguenot who had come to England in the late seventeenth century. Frances was a "" to Queen Caroline. His brothers were Admiral Hugh Pigot (1722–1792) and Sir Robert.

Pigot entered the service of the East India Company in 1736, at the age of 17; after nineteen years he became governor and commander-in-chief of Madras in 1755. Having defended the city against the French in 1758-1759 and occupied Pondichéry on behalf of the company, he resigned his office in November 1763 and returned to the Kingdom of Great Britain, being made a baronet in 1764. After selling the family seat of Peplow Hall, Shropshire, he purchased Patshull Hall, Staffordshire, in 1765 for £100,000. That year he obtained the seat of Wallingford in the Parliament of Great Britain, which he retained until 1768. In 1766 he was created an Irish peer as Baron Pigot, of Patshull in the County of Dublin. From 1768 until his death he sat in the British House of Commons for Bridgnorth.  Pigot was created an LL.D. of the University of Cambridge on 3 July 1769.

Returning to India in 1775 to reoccupy his former position at Madras, Pigot was at once involved in a fierce quarrel with the majority of his council which arose out of the proposed restoration of Thuljaji, the Rajah of Tanjore. The governor was arrested by order of his opponents and was still a prisoner when he died.

Meanwhile, the conduct of Pigot was censured by the court of directors in Great Britain, and the order for his restoration was followed immediately by another for his recall. This happened about a month after his death, but before the news had reached Great Britain. In 1779 the matter was discussed in Parliament, and four of those who were responsible for his arrest were tried and were fined £1000 each. Pigot, who left several illegitimate children, was never married, and his barony became extinct.

Service in the British East India Company

George entered the service of the British East India Company in 1736 as a writer, and arrived at Madras on 26 July 1737. When a member of council at Fort St. David, Pigot was sent with Robert Clive to Trichinopoly in charge of some recruits and stores. On their return with a small escort of sepoys, they were attacked by a large body of polýgars, and narrowly escaped with their lives. Pigot succeeded Thomas Saunders as governor and commander-in-chief of Madras on 14 January 1755. He conducted the defence of the city, when besieged by Thomas-Arthur de Lally in the winter of 1758–9, with considerable skill and spirit. On the capture of Pondichéry by Lieutenant-colonel (afterwards Sir) Eyre Coote (1726–1783) in January 1761, Pigot demanded that it should be given up to the presidency of Madras as the property of the East India Company. This Coote refused after consulting his chief officers, who were of opinion that the place ought to be held for the Crown. Pigot thereupon declared that unless his demand was complied with, he would not furnish any money for the subsistence of the King's troops or the French prisoners. Upon this, Coote gave way, and Pigot took possession of Pondichéry, and destroyed all the fortifications in obedience to the orders previously received from England. Pigot resigned office on 14 November 1763, and forthwith returned to England. He was created a baronet on 5 December 1764, with remainder in default of male issue to his brothers Robert and Hugh, and their heirs male. He represented Wallingford in the British House of Commons from January 1765 to the dissolution in March 1768. At the general election in March 1768, he was returned for Bridgnorth, and continued to sit for that borough until his death. On 18 January 1766, he was created an Irish peer with the title of Baron Pigot, of Patshull in the County of Dublin.

Controversy and restoration
In April 1775, Pigot was appointed governor and commander-in-chief of Madras in the place of Alexander Wynch. He resumed office at Fort St. George on 11 December 1775, and soon found himself at variance with some of his council. In accordance with the instructions of the directors he proceeded to Tanjore, where he issued a proclamation on 11 April 1776 announcing the restoration of the Raja, whose territory had been seized and transferred to Muhammed Ali Khan Wallajah, Nawab of the Carnatic in spite of the treaty which had been made during Pigot's previous tenure of office. Upon Pigot's return from Tanjore the differences in the council became more accentuated. Paul Benfield had already asserted that he held assignments on the revenues of Tanjore for sums of vast amount lent by him to the Nawab, as well as assignments on the growing crops in Tanjore for large sums lent by him to other persons. He now pleaded that his interests ought not to be affected by the reinstatement of the raja, and demanded the assistance of the council in recovering his property. Pigot refused to admit the validity of these claims, but his opinion was disregarded by the majority of the council, and his customary right to precedence in the conduct of business was denied. The final struggle between the governor and his council was on a comparatively small point—whether his nominee, Mr. Russell, or Colonel Stuart, the nominee of the majority, should have the opportunity of placing the administration of Tanjore in the hands of the Raja. In spite of Pigot's refusal to allow the question of Colonel Stuart's instructions to be discussed by the council, the majority gave their approval to them, and agreed to a draft letter addressed to the officer at Tanjore, directing him to deliver over the command to Colonel Stuart. Pigot thereupon declined to sign either the instructions or the letter, and declared that without his signature the documents could have no legal effect. At a meeting of the council on 22 August 1776, a resolution was carried by the majority denying that the concurrence of the governor was necessary to constitute an act of government. It was also determined that, as Pigot would not sign either of the documents, a letter should be written to the secretary authorizing him to sign them in the name of the council. When this letter had been signed by George Stratton and Henry Brooke, Pigot snatched it away and formally charged them with an act subversive of the authority of the government. By the standing orders of the company, no member against whom a charge was preferred was allowed to deliberate or vote on any question relating to the charge. Through this ingenious manœuvre, Pigot obtained a majority in the council by his own casting vote, and the two offending members were subsequently suspended. On 23 August, the refractory members, instead of attending the council meeting, sent a notary public with a protest in which they denounced Pigot's action on the previous day, and declared themselves to be the "only legal representatives of the Honourable Company under this presidency". This protest was also sent by them to the commanders of the king's troops, and to all persons holding any authority in Madras. Enraged at this insult, Pigot summoned a second council meeting on the same day, at which Messrs. Floyer, Palmer, Jerdan, and Mackay, who had joined Messrs. Stratton and Brooke and the commanding officer, Sir Robert Fletcher, in signing the protest, were suspended, and orders were at the same time given for the arrest of Sir Robert Fletcher. On the following day Pigot was arrested by Colonel Stuart and conveyed to St. Thomas's Mount, some nine miles from Madras, where he was left in an officer's house under the charge of a battery of artillery. The refractory members, under whose orders Pigot's arrest had been made, immediately assumed the powers of the executive government, and suspended all their colleagues who had voted with the governor. Though the government of Bengal possessed a controlling authority over the other presidencies, it declined to interfere.

In England, the news of these proceedings excited much discussion. At a general court of the proprietors, a resolution that the directors should take effectual measures for restoring Lord Pigot, and for inquiring into the conduct of those who had imprisoned him, was carried on 31 March 1777, by 382 votes to 140. The feeling in Pigot's favour was much less strong in the court of directors, where, on 11 April following, a series of resolutions in favour of Pigot's restoration, but declaring that his conduct in several instances appeared to be reprehensible, was carried by the decision of the lot, the numbers on each side being equal. At a subsequent meeting of the directors, after the annual change in the court had taken place, it was resolved that the powers assumed by Lord Pigot were "neither known in the constitution of the Company nor authorised by charter, nor warranted by any orders or instructions of the Court of Directors". Pigot's friends, however, successfully resisted the passing of a resolution declaring the exclusion of Messrs. Stratton and Brooke from the council unconstitutional, and carried two other resolutions condemning Pigot's imprisonment and the suspension of those members of the council who had supported him. On the other hand, a resolution condemning the conduct of Lord Pigot in receiving small presents from the Nawab of Arcot, the receipt of which had been openly avowed in a letter to the court of directors, was carried. At a meeting of the general court held on 7 and 9 May a long series of resolutions was carried by a majority of ninety-seven votes, which censured the invasion of Pigot's rights as governor, and acquiesced in his restoration, but at the same time recommended that Pigot and all the members of the council should be recalled in order that their conduct might be more effectually inquired into. Owing to Lord North's opposition, Governor Johnstone failed to carry his resolutions in favour of Lord Pigot in the House of Commons on 21 May. The resolutions of the proprietors having been confirmed by the court of directors, Pigot was restored to his office by a commission under the company's seal of 10 June 1777, and was directed within one week to give up the government to his successor and forthwith to return to England.

Death
Meantime Pigot died on 11 May 1777, while under confinement at the company's Garden House, near Fort St. George, whither he had been allowed to return for change of air in the previous month. At the inquest held after his death, the jury recorded a verdict of willful murder against all those who had been concerned in Pigot's arrest. The real contest throughout had been between the Nawab of Arcot and the Raja of Tanjore. Members of the council took sides, and Pigot exceeded his powers while endeavouring to carry out the instructions of the directors. The proceedings before the coroner were held to be irregular by the supreme court of judicature in Bengal, and nothing came of the inquiry instituted by the company. On 16 April 1779, Admiral Hugh Pigot brought the subject of his brother's deposition before the House of Commons. A series of resolutions affirming the principal facts of the case was agreed to, and an address to the king, recommending the prosecution of Messrs. Stratton, Brooke, Floyer, and Mackay, who were at that time residing in England, was adopted. They were tried in the King's Bench before Lord Mansfield and a special jury in December 1779, and were found guilty of a misdemeanour in arresting, imprisoning, and deposing Lord Pigot. On being brought up for judgment on 10 February 1780, they were each sentenced to pay a fine of £1,000, on payment of which they were discharged.

Family
Two of the governor's brothers were men of repute. Sir Robert Pigot (1720–1796), who succeeded to the baronetcy, commanded his regiment (the 38th) at the battles of Lexington and Bunker Hill during the American Revolutionary War. He became a lieutenant general in 1782. The other brother, Hugh Pigot (c. 1721–1792) was a sailor. After some years of service he became an admiral and commander-in-chief in the West Indies in 1782. One of his sons was General Sir Henry Pigot (1750–1840), and another was Hugh Pigot (1769–1797), a captain in the RN, who in September 1797, was murdered during a famous mutiny – caused by his own cruelty and brutality – while in command of .

Pigot was unmarried. Upon his death the Irish barony became extinct, while the baronetcy devolved on his brother Robert Pigot. He left several natural children, among others:
 Sophia Pigot, who married, on 14 March 1776, the Hon. Edward Monckton of Somerford Hall, Staffordshire, and died on 1 January 1834;
 Richard Pigot (1774–1868), general in the army and colonel of the 4th dragoon guards;
 Sir Hugh Pigot, K.C.B. (1775–1857), admiral of the White;
 Leonora, who received a fortune under her father's will and married 17 October 1777 Claude Russell, member of the Madras Council; to the memory of her and her husband there is a tablet in Marylebone Church.
 Major George Pigot (1772?-1830) Along with Richard and Hugh, son of Catherine Hill. Member of settler community who immigrated from England (1820) to present Eastern-Cape coast of South Africa.
 Mary Green (c.1772-1852) who married, aged twelve in 1784, John Blashfield of Presteigne, Radnorshire.

The Pigot Diamond
Pigot owned a celebrated diamond, now known as the Pigot Diamond, which he bequeathed to his siblings and eventually left the family by way of a lottery.  The whereabouts of the diamond today is unknown.

References
Notes

Bibliography

Attribution:

1719 births
1777 deaths
Barons in the Peerage of Ireland
Peers of Ireland created by George III
Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies
Governors of Madras
History of Chennai
British East India Company people
British MPs 1761–1768
British MPs 1768–1774
British MPs 1774–1780

George Pigot, 1st Baron Pigot


Irvin Kershner (born Isadore Kershner; April 29, 1923November 27, 2010) was an American director for film and television.

Early in his career as a filmmaker he directed quirky, independent drama films, while working as a lecturer at the University of Southern California. Later, he transitioned to high-budget blockbusters such as The Empire Strikes Back, the James Bond adaptation Never Say Never Again and RoboCop 2. Through the course of his career, he received numerous accolades, including being nominated for both a Primetime Emmy Award and a Palme d'Or.

Early life
Irvin Kershner was born in Philadelphia, to Russian-Jewish parents. They were born in Talne, Russian Empire. His artistic and cultural background was a mixture of music and art. The study of music (violin, viola and composition) was the most important activity of his early years. He attended Temple University's Tyler School of Fine Arts in Philadelphia. Later, he went to New York and Provincetown to study with the famous painting teacher Hans Hofmann. He then moved to Los Angeles where he studied photography at the Art Center College of Design.

During World War II, Kershner served three years with the U.S. Eighth Air Force as a flight engineer. He later began his film career at the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts, teaching photography and taking cinema courses under Slavko Vorkapić, a montage artist and then-dean of the School. Kershner then accepted a job as still photographer on a State Department film project in Iran under the Point Four Program, which ultimately led to an assignment as a director and cinematographer of documentaries in Iran, Greece and Turkey with the United States Information Service.

Career
When he returned to the States, he and Paul Coates developed Confidential File, a documentary television series. Kershner worked as writer, director, cinematographer and editor. He later developed and directed the television series The Rebel (1959–61), as well as the pilots for Peyton Place, Cain's Hundred, Philip Marlowe, and others.

He then moved on to feature films, including: The Hoodlum Priest (which starred Don Murray); The Luck of Ginger Coffey (with Robert Shaw and Mary Ure); A Fine Madness (with Sean Connery, Joanne Woodward, and Jean Seberg); The Flim-Flam Man (starring Michael Sarrazin, George C. Scott and Sue Lyon); Loving (with George Segal and Eva Marie Saint); Up the Sandbox (with Barbra Streisand); The Return of a Man Called Horse (starring Richard Harris); the critically acclaimed TV movie Raid on Entebbe (a true-life drama which was nominated for nine Emmys, including Best Direction); and the supernatural thriller Eyes of Laura Mars (starring Faye Dunaway and Tommy Lee Jones).

Kershner was the son of Jewish immigrants. He considered himself an internationalist, saying: "I've been a student of Christianity. I've been interested in the historical basis of the Muslim religion. I studied Buddhism. I don't think of myself as a Jew except by birth, as I don't follow the customs. I'm a Jew because other people consider me so. My pride is in being international."

The Empire Strikes Back
Kershner directed The Empire Strikes Back (1980), the sequel of the 1977 hit film Star Wars. Writer-producer George Lucas knew Kershner as a teacher in the film program at USC School of Cinematic Arts. Kershner was a surprising choice in directing the film. According to Kershner himself, he once asked Lucas: "Of all the younger guys around, all the hot-shots, why me?" Lucas replied: "Well, because you know everything a Hollywood director is supposed to know, but you're not Hollywood."

Kershner, who was an appealing directorial candidate to Lucas because of his concern for character development, was at first reluctant to direct the film. When asked by Lucas to work on the project over lunch, Kershner refused. Kershner's agent was told about the meeting and encouraged him to take the job. Kershner later discussed his motivations: "I was grabbed by the fairytale which Lucas invented and wanted to be part of keeping it alive." Of his cinematic style, Kershner has said: "I like to fill up the frame with the characters' faces. There's nothing more interesting than the landscape of the human face".

Kershner turned down a chance to direct Return of the Jedi (1983), having spent almost three years of work on The Empire Strikes Back. Richard Marquand was eventually chosen to direct the third film in the original trilogy. Kershner stated, in retrospect, that he would have accepted an offer to direct one of the films of the Star Wars prequel trilogy had they been produced sooner, as Lucas originally estimated the first of them to be ready for release in 1988 rather than in 1999.

Later work
Kershner had projects that he was going to be involved with in the late 70s and early 80s. He signed on to direct an adaptation of I, Robot from a script by Harlan Ellison, which was never filmed. Later, he was initially hired by producers Richard Zanuck and David Brown to direct an adaptation of Eric Van Lustbader's novel The Ninja from scripts by W.D. Richter and Tom Cole, but the project was cancelled following months of pre-production.

After Empire Strikes Back, Kershner directed Never Say Never Again (Sean Connery's return to the role of James Bond), the HBO film Traveling Man (starring John Lithgow and Jonathan Silverman, this film earned Kershner an ACE Award nomination), and RoboCop 2. He also directed the pilot of the television series seaQuest DSV, and he made his debut as an actor in the Martin Scorsese film The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), in which he played Zebedee, the father of the apostles James and John. He played a film director in Steven Seagal's On Deadly Ground. He was a faculty member at the Master of Professional Writing Program at the University of Southern California. In 2000, he was a member of the jury at the 22nd Moscow International Film Festival.

In fall 2002, spring 2003, fall 2004, and spring 2004, Kershner served as a Visiting Professor and Research Associate at the Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities (MITH) at the University of Maryland, College Park, where he also provided cinematography training. He and the founding director Martha Nell Smith remained close and he served as her advisor until the end of his life.

Death
Kershner died on November 27, 2010, at his home in Los Angeles, after a -year battle with lung cancer. Kershner had been working on photographic projects before his death. he looked after by his two sons, David and Dana.

Filmography

Film

As director

As actor

As producer

Television director

Bibliography

 1980: Alan Arnold: A Journal of the Making of The Empire Strikes Back (contributor). .
 1997: Laurent Bouzereau: Star Wars. The Annotated Screenplays. (contributor) .

Awards and nominations
 Winner, Lifetime Career Award – Saturn Awards (2010)
 Winner, Director of Achievement – Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival (2002)
 Winner, Best Director, The Empire Strikes Back – Saturn Awards (1980)
 Winner, Best Dramatic Presentation, The Empire Strikes Back – Hugo Awards (1980)
 Nominee, Best Director, Special Program-Drama, Raid on Entebbe – Emmy Awards (1976)
 Winner, OCIC Award, The Hoodlum Priest – Cannes Film Festival (1961)
 Nominee, Palme d'Or, The Hoodlum Priest – Cannes Film Festival (1961)

References

External links

1923 births
2010 deaths
American male film actors
American film directors
American film producers
American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent
American people of Russian-Jewish descent
American television directors
Deaths from lung cancer in California
Giallo film directors
Artists from Philadelphia
Hugo Award winners
Science fiction film directors
Temple University Tyler School of Art alumni
USC School of Cinematic Arts faculty
The Empire Strikes Back
USC School of Cinematic Arts alumni
1980s Italian films

Irvin Kershner


Joseph Warren Keifer (January 30, 1836 – April 22, 1932) was a major general during the Spanish–American War. He was a U.S. politician during the 1880s. He served in the United States House of Representatives as a Republican from Ohio from 1877 to 1885 and from 1905 to 1911. From 1881 to 1883 he was Speaker of the House.

1836 births
1932 deaths
Speakers of the United States House of Representatives

J. Warren Keifer


Decarburization (or decarbonization) is the process of decreasing carbon content, which is the opposite of carburization.

The term is typically used in metallurgy, describing the decrease of the content of carbon in metals (usually steel). Decarburization occurs when the metal is heated to temperatures of 700 °C or above when carbon in the metal reacts with gases containing oxygen or hydrogen. The removal of carbon removes hard carbide phases resulting in a softening of the metal, primarily at the surfaces which are in contact with the decarburizing gas.

Decarburization can be either advantageous or detrimental, depending on the application for which the metal will be used. It is thus both something that can be done intentionally as a step in a manufacturing process, or something that happens as a side effect of a process (such as rolling) and must be either prevented or later reversed (such as via a carburization step).

The decarburization mechanism can be described as three distinct events: the reaction at the steel surface, the interstitial diffusion of carbon atoms and the dissolution of carbides within the steel.

Chemical reactions
The most common reactions are:

C + CO2 <=> 2CO

also called the Boudouard reaction

C + H2O <=> CO + H2

C + 2H2 <=> CH4

Other reactions are

C + 1/2O2 -> CO

C + O2 -> CO2

C + FeO -> CO + Fe

Electrical steel
Electrical steel is one material that uses decarburization in its production. To prevent the atmospheric gases from reacting with the metal itself, electrical steel is annealed in an atmosphere of nitrogen, hydrogen, and water vapor, where oxidation of the iron is specifically prevented by the proportions of hydrogen and water vapor so that the only reacting substance is carbon being oxidized into carbon monoxide (CO).

Stainless steel
Stainless steel contains additives which are highly oxidizable, such as chromium and molybdenum. Such steels can only be decarburized by reacting with dry hydrogen, which has no water content, unlike wet hydrogen, which is produced in a way that includes some water and can otherwise be used for decarburization.

As a secondary effect
Incidental decarburization can be detrimental to surface properties in products (where carbon content is desirable) when done during heat treatment or after rolling or forging, because the material is only affected to a certain depth according to the temperature and duration of heating. This can be prevented by using an inert or reduced-pressure atmosphere, applying resistive heating for a short duration, by limiting the time that the material is submitted to a high heat, as it is done in a walking-beam furnace, or through restorative carburization, which uses a hydrocarbon atmosphere to transfer carbon into the surface of the material during annealing. The decarburized surface of the material can also be removed by grinding.

See also
History of ferrous metallurgy
Steelmaking

References

External links
Protecting Against Decarburization with Cress Furnaces

Corrosion
Metal heat treatments
Steelmaking

Decarburization


Andrew Houston (20 March 1850 – September 1920 ) was born in Doonbreeda, Nephin, County Mayo; later moving to Rossendale, credited as the Rossendale Bard.

Life
Andrew Houston was a Rossendale Irishman, the author of a book of Poems and Songs (many of which had appeared previously in the Rossendale Free Press) published in 1912 and printed by J. J. Riley of Rawtenstall. Andrew Houston was born on 20 March 1850 in the village of Doonbreeda at the foot of Nephin Hill, West Mayo.

His father was a village school-master in Rathkeale and was well known in County Mayo as a writer of verses and songs. Andrew left Ireland and came to live at Newchurch-in-Rossendale when he was eleven years old and he worked in the local mills until 1880 when he became a commercial traveller. He eventually moved to Derbyshire but he loved to visit Rossendale of his adolescent years, and "camp" his old friends.

In the preface of his book Poems and Songs, S. A. Sutcliffe of Southport describes him as a man who had a well-contented look and a jolly eye and who was fond of ease and freedom. From his writings it can be seen that he liked people and liked to roam over the moors of the Rossendale area and had deep affection for both the Valley and his old Irish home.

He pays tribute to the friendliness of Bacup folk in his poem "Bonny Owd Bacup" and many old Rossendalians live on in his pages—Mr. Terry, the schoolmaster, Turn o' Mary's, owd navvy Jackson, and Ormy Deighn and other members of the old Edgeside Drum and Fife Band, to mention a few. His song Molly Magee evokes memories of the summers before the First World War when the Irish haymakers, experts with the scythe and hard workers, came over every year to work for the local farmers. He wrote more than a hundred poems and songs.

Publications
 Poems and Songs (1912)

References

Irish male poets
Writers from County Mayo
1846 births
1920 deaths
19th-century Irish poets
20th-century Irish poets

Andrew Houston


Edward Cowie (born 17 August 1943) is an English/Australian composer, author, natural scientist, and painter.

Life
Edward Cowie was born in Birmingham, England in 1943, and spent most of his early life in the rural countryside. This first-hand experience of nature was to have a profound influence on his life and work. In 1964, he began composition studies with Alexander Goehr and in 1971 he won a Chopin Fellowship to study with Witold Lutosławski in Poland. He also came under the influence of Michael Tippett, who remained a close friend and mentor.

Early recognition came with the 1975 BBC Proms commission Leviathan for large orchestra, and this was followed by a string of festival commissions and recordings. Major works from this period include Gesangbuch (1975-6), the Piano Concerto (1976-7) and Concerto for Orchestra (1982), as well as the opera Commedia (1976-7).

In 1983, Cowie was awarded the first Granada Composer Fellowship with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. He remained with the orchestra for three years and worked with them as both composer and conductor. He subsequently worked as a conductor with several major orchestras and ensembles in Britain and Australia. Among works from this time are the Clarinet Concerto (1978), Choral Symphony (1983), Atlas (1986), Cello Concerto (1993, revised 2003) and several pieces inspired by the Australian folk-hero Ned Kelly.

After twelve years in Australia he returned to England to live in 1995.
He is to return to Australia to live full time in November, 2023.

Music
Cowie's appointment as the first Composer in Association with the BBC Singers (2002-6) saw the completion of some of his most complex and inventive scores, including Gaia (2002), an hour-long creation epic inspired by the writings of James Lovelock and National Portraits, shortlisted for the 2007 British Composer, Radio 3 Listeners' Award.
In May 2010 the third part (Spring) of  Four Seasons for a cappella choir, a joint commission by CC21 in London and Commotio in Oxford, received its premiere. The conductor, Howard Williams, has premiered many of Cowie's works.
His 24 Preludes were released on UHR Label in 2008 to critical acclaim. This was followed by the release of his Magma Psalm for Harp and Wind Quartet on NMC label in March, 2010. His Rutherford's Lights, a massive cycle of 24 pieces for solo piano has just been recorded on UHR label with Richard Casey as the pianist and was released in the early autumn, 2010. It was described as 'an epic achievement' in International Piano Magazine in February 2010.
The Rutherford cycle was followed by his 'Particle Partita for solo Violin', a set of 8 sort pieces that trace the time-line in the history of particle physics. Collaborating first with physicist Sir Michael Berry FRS on the Rutherford Cycle, the Particle Partita was a collaboration between Cowie and particle physicist Professor Brian Foster FRS of Oxford University and CERN.

A new collaboration has begun with Sir Michael Berry on an Oboe Quintet, 'The Colours of Dark Light', and will be premiered in the 2013/14 season with the Coull Quartet and Christopher Redgate.2013 saw celebrations of Cowie's 70th birthday with a BBC Prom commission, 'Earth Music 1' premiered by the BBC Philharmonic under Noseda. There was also a Proms Portrait Concert in the RCM and a special birthday-tribute concert given for him by the BBC Singers.

The new Signum Classics release of Cowie's 'Gesangbuch' and other choral/instrumental works was received with critical acclaim as was Earth Music 1. The Kreutzer Quartet released the first in a series of recordings of Cowie's String Quartets, the first being quartets 3-5 and on the NMC Label.
Cowie's connection with the renowned Kreutzer Quartet has led to the composition of a 6th and 7th Quartets. The Kreutzers have now recorded all of his quartets from 1 to 6.
The quarters have been received to great critical acclaim.
Cowie signed with Metier Divine Arts in 2019. This company is committed to an ongoing series of portrait recordings of his music. Recent recordings have been his epic cycle of ' Bird Portraits' (24 British Birds),for violin and piano, and a second bird cycle, 'Where Song was Born', devoted to Australian Birds and for flute and piano.
2021/22 saw the release of a second 'bird portrait' cycle, inspired by Australian Birds: Where Song was Born for Flute(s) and Piano- a release that earned high praise internationally.
The third 'birds' cycle, 'Where the Wood Thrush forever Sings', inspired by birds of the USA, for clarinet(s) and piano was released in September and has already attracted rave reviews.
The fourth cycle, 'Because they have Songs' - African birds, was recorded in September, 2023 and is scheduled for release on Metier Divine Arts in early 2024.
Further recordings in celebration of the composer's 80th birthday are 'The Kreutzer Effect' including four portrait solo pieces for members of The Kreutzer Quartet and includes Cowie's 7th String Quartet. His three new piano sonatas, 'Rock Music 1-3' are also being recorded in October 2023- all recordings to be released on Metier Divine Arts.
In October, Cowie is to make his first CD as performer in a duo recording with the eminent Australian flautist, Laura Chislett.

In recent years Cowie has composed an ever increasing number of works fur soloists, duos and chamber groups.
Many leading international musicians are performing his music.

Recently hailed as 'considered by many to be the greatest living composer directly inspired by the Natural World', he continues to compose more vigorously than ever.
He is married to Australian visual artist, Heather Cowie.
After 28 years living in the UK, Cowie returns to live and work in Australia permanently.

Academic appointments
1973-83 Associate Professor of Composition, University of Lancaster .
1979 Guest Professor, University of Kassel
1978 Visiting professor, University of Florida
1983-88 Professor and Head of the School of Creative Arts at the University of Wollongong, Australia
1989-94 Professor and Director of the Australian Arts Fusion Centre at James Cook University, Townsville
1996 -2008 Professor and Director of Research at Dartington College of Arts in Devon.
2013 Awarded a Leverhulme Emeritus Research Fellowship for 2013-2015 for research towards two new orchestral works in the 'Earth Music' series and will include funded research trips to Africa and California in late 2014 and mid 2015

Musical style and influences
In addition to his lifelong fascination with landscape and the natural world, Cowie has acknowledged the influence on his music of the works of J.S. Bach, Haydn, Janáček, Debussy, Sibelius and Messiaen. His mature style combines elements of impressionism with intricate part-writing, intense lyrical expressiveness, tonal fluidity and rhythmic complexity. Cowie acknowledges these earlier influences whilst at the same time stressing a continued journey of exploration of new musical forms, especially those that can be discovered by a fusion of music with structural and behavioural materials derived from and inspired by both the natural sciences and physics.

In recent times, Cowie has increasingly turned to acts of drawing and painting, in an addition to theoretical research, as primers for his music. Not having composed for orchestra for several years, he has also commenced the first of a large set of short works for large orchestra, called 'Earth Music'. He feels that the lengthy and weighty dialectic approach to earlier large-scale orchestral works, should now give way to a form of synthesis and compression, where the sensation of the music is intensified by brevity.

Returning to writing for large orchestral forces in 2012, Cowie has commenced a major series of short orchestral works, none lasting more than 9'. This cycle, to be titled 'Earth Music' will open with a BBC Prom Commission for 2013 (the composer's 70th birthday year). Cowie has stated that I want to work with brevity in time but with great concentration and event. I have come to realise that some of our most intense experiences of (for example), the natural world, last for something around a minute or less in their most dynamic form. In removing myself from some previously practised lengthy dialectical formalism, I am going to try to engage with synthesis and compression in order to increase the sensual impact of the music.
During and following the Covid Pandemic, Cowie embarked on a massive series of duo and solo and chamber works.

He acknowledges that his musical style continues to evolve but that his chosen method of preparation for music by means of drawing will continue to form the basic and foundational impulse driving his musical imagination.

Painting and writing
Alongside his rise to prominence as a musician, Cowie has exhibited internationally as a painter, and his works are in public and private collections in more than 20 countries. He has also made several television films, including his acclaimed BBC2 film on Leonardo, of 1986. In 1988 and 1989, he wrote and presented two major radio series commissioned by ABCFM, Australia. In 2002 he was created the first Artist in Residence with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. In that same year, he became the first Composer in Association with the BBC Singers in London; a collaboration that spawned three major new works in the genre.
During the late 1990s, he worked as an author of books on wildlife and the first in a major series, Birds Talk, was published in 2001.

During 2012, Cowie has commenced a major series of oil paintings on a large scale, both being a series devoted to water, the second set especially focussing on The Great Barrier Reef and which will form the structural framework for the first in his new series of orchestral works, 'Earth Music'.

In 2014, Cowie returned to Radio Broadcasting with a commission from ABC Radio National, Australia with a commission to present a programme on the relationships between drawing and music. 'Drawing towards Music'. As a result of its broadcast in May 2014, he is to write and present further programmes for ABC Radio National in 2015.
'The Singing Planet', a two part series about the natural history of song, was broadcast on ABC Earshot in 2015.

Selected works

Orchestral
The Moon, Sea and Stars (1973)
Leviathan (1975)
Piano Concerto (1976)
Columbine (1978)
Leonardo (1982)(New Version 2012)
Concerto for orchestra (1982)(Revised 2012)
Clarinet Concerto (1983)
Choral Symphony (1983)
Symphony - The American (1983)
Fifteen Minute Australia (1984)
Atlas (1986)
Cello Concerto (1993, revised 2003)
Elysium I-III (1996)
Oboe Concerto (1978)
From Moment to Moment (2000)
Dark Matter (2003)
Earth Music 1- The Great Barrier Reef for large orchestra (2012/13)
Clarinet Concerto (no3) Ruskin's Dreams-Coniston (2014)
Piano Concerto no 2- Snow Canyon, Utah (2014)
'' Tide in Knots Concert Overture for Orchestra. (2017) ''
'' Violin Concerto with Winds,Brass and Percussion 'GAD' (2018/19)''
'' Harp Concerto 'La Primavera' with String Orchestra. (2019/20)''

Chamber music
String Quartet 1(1974)
Cathedral Music (1976)
String Quartet 2 (1978)
Endymion Nocturnes for Tenor and String Quartet (1980)
Harlequin for solo Harp (1980)
Kelly Passacaglia for String Quartet (1981)
Kelly Variations for solo Piano (1981)
Kelly-Nolan-Kelly for solo Clarinent in A (1981)
String Quartet 3 (1983)
String Quartet 4 (1984)
Voices of the Land for Violin and Piano (1987)
Mount Keira Duets for Flute and Guitar (1987)
Coburn Partita for solo Cello (1991)
Violin Sonata (1991)
48 Books 1 & 2 for 7 instruments (1994)
Songs without words (1995)
The Voices of Gaia for 2v voices and 18 instruments (1998)
Night Owls (1999)
Four Frames in a Row for 6 Baroque Instruments (2000)
The Healing of Saul for Violin and Piano (2000)
Badlands Gold for Tuba and Piano (2000)
The Rising of the Sun and Setting of the Same (2001)
Kandinsky for Four Guitars (2003)
Blue Blues for solo Marimba (2003)
Orpheus with Lyre Bird for solo Harp (2004)
H.J.Rhapsodies solo saxophone and chamber orchestra (2004)
Birdsong Bagatelles (2004)
24 Preludes for solo piano (2005)
Piano Trio (2005)
Le Gorge du Tarn (2007)
Spell Checks for Guitar and Flute (2007)
Chansons d'Automne (2007)
Psappha Portraits for 7 instruments (2006/7)
Nympheas for Four Harps (2007)
Rutherford's Lights for solo Piano (2008)
INhabitAT for 22 instruments (2011/12)
 Blue Blues for solo Marimba (2011)
String Quartet no 5, Birdsong Bagatelles (2008)
Particle Partita for Solo Violin (2012)
String Quartet no 6 'The Four Winds'  (2012/13)
 ''String Quartet no 7 'Western Australia' (2016/17)
 '' String Quartets  8 and 9 'New York New York' (2020)''
 '' String Octet 'New York New York' (Quartets 8 and 9 played simultaneously) (2020)
 '' Bird Portraits. 24 Sonic Portraits of British Birds for violin and piano. (2020)
 '' Where Song was Born. 24 Sonic Portraits of Birds of Australia for flute(s) and Piano. (2020/21)

Choral
Gesangbuch for 24 voices and 11 instruments (1976)
Madrigals or SATB Choir (1981)
Kelly Choruses for 24 voices and solo Harp (1982)
Gaia for 24 voices and 18 instruments (2002)
Ave Maria or SATB Choir  (2002)
Lyrebird Motet for 24 Voices (2003)
Lake Eacham Blues (2004)
INhabitAT for 24 Voices and 21 instruments (2004)
National Portraits for 24 solo Voices (2006)
Bellbird Motet for SATB Choir (2011)
Spitfires for SATB Choir and bells. (2013)
  Two African Motets for SATB choir and 2 Percussion. (2014)

Opera and music theatre
Commedia (1977)
KateKelly's Roadshow (1983)

References

External links
  Composer's Website

 Schott Music (Includes photo)

1943 births
20th-century classical composers
20th-century English painters
English male painters
21st-century English painters
English nature writers
People from Birmingham, West Midlands
Living people
Male classical composers
20th-century male musicians
20th-century English male artists
21st-century English male artists

Edward Cowie


A bioship is a type of spacecraft or starship described in science fiction as either predominantly or totally composed of biological components, rather than being constructed from manufactured materials. Because of this, they nearly always have a distinctively organic look.

Bioships are usually quite powerful, and can often regenerate or heal damaged parts.  Some bioships are intelligent or sentient, and some are considered to be lifeforms. Like most organic beings, many bioships contain large amounts of "scaffolding" materials to keep their shape, such as the xylem in trees or bone and chitin in animals.

In fiction
In the science fiction short story "Specialist" by Robert Sheckley, published in 1953 in Galaxy magazine, it is revealed that many galactic races are actually capable of symbiotic cooperation to become bioships, with each race forming a different part. Earth, apparently, is one of the planets inhabited by creatures that are supposed to function as FTL (faster than light) drives (Pushers), and, it is stated that all the conflicts and discontent of humanity are due to the fact that, while they have matured, they have nowhere to apply their true purpose. This story is perhaps the first mention of a bioship in science fiction.

In the 1966 short story "Jonah" ("Jonas" in French) by Gérard Klein, humanity uses massive (half a billion tons each) bioships called ubionasts (Units of Biological Navigation over Starways). The protagonist, a microgravity-born human named Richard Mecca, makes a living by taming "snarks", ubionasts that went out of control for some reason.

Volume 322 of the German Perry Rhodan magazine series, first published in November 1967, marks another very early appearance of the bioship concept in science fiction. The Dolans are powerful bioengineered combat spaceships that are grown from the same synthetic genetic material as their extraterrestrial commanders. Different types of bioships are a recurrent feature in later stages of the Perry Rhodan universe.

The Night's Dawn Trilogy: the Edenist Voidhawk and Mercenary Blackhawk are both advanced bioships (the latter being a genetic tailoring for combat of the former). Both types employ mental bonding to the captain. In the case of Voidhawks this is done by both the craft and captain gestating together and maintaining mental contact during their formative years. Blackhawks however are purchased as eggs and are bonded to the buyer who will become captain when the Blackhawk matures.

In the first novel of Julian May's Pliocene series, The Many-Colored Land (1982), the backstory of two races of alien refugees living in the Earth's Pliocene epoch describes their hard landing in a bioship. The bioship was emotionally bonded to one of the aliens (the "shipspouse") and sacrificed its own life to safely deliver its passengers to the planet surface.

In J. Michael Straczynski's sci-fi TV show Babylon 5, many of the First Ones used organic ships, like the Vorlon and Shadows races. Use of organic technology by these races signified their significant advancement over the younger races since their ships are very resilient, generate their own power, very maneuverable, have devastatingly powerful weapons (including variants that are capable of destroying planets), regenerate, and have a measure of intelligence.

In the popular science fiction franchise Star Trek several bioships appear. The Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Tin Man" features a bioship as the main part of the plot. Species 8472 also has an enormous fleet of bioships which are able to go toe to toe with arguably the Federation's most malignant enemy, The Borg.

The Yuuzhan Vong race in the Star Wars Legends''' New Jedi Order book series use a fleet of highly resilient bioengineered vessels during their invasion of the galaxy, ranging from fighter sized "coralskippers" to titanic worldships that house their entire population. These ships often function on par with their technological counterparts and are difficult to combat, using highly unconventional weaponry and means of propulsion.

In the fictional universe of Warhammer 40,000, an extragalactic race known as the tyranids (who swarm entire planets and consume all available biomass to reproduce and further spread to other planets) travel through the galaxy using giant organic bioships known as hive ships that transport the various types of the race inside. These ships travel in large numbers known as hive fleets and are often described as "tendrils" weaving into the galaxy from other galaxies they had previously devoured. Numerous hive fleets have been recorded in the 40K universe and have even been named, with the first recorded fleet designated as Hive Fleet Behemoth. The hive ships are described as serving their race as a whole and the individuals within a hive ship serving it as a single entity.

The Zerg alien race in the video game StarCraft traverse space via sentient, organic vessels called "Leviathan".Farscape's Moya is a female Leviathan transport vessel; a living sentient bio-mechanical space ship, who was once captured by the Peacekeepers. She escaped captivity along with the people imprisoned on her by the Peacekeepers. She has given birth to one offspring, a male by the name of Talyn.

The series Lexx centers around the titular bioship, The Lexx: 'the most powerful weapon of destruction in the two universes.'

In the last three installments of the novel series The Expanse the Laconian Empire uses powerful combat spaceships, that are grown rather than built. Unlike other bioships however, they are not fully alive but based on self-replicating technology that results in similar shapes as biological life.

In Jordan Peele's sci-fi horror comedy film Nope'' (2022), a flying saucer-shaped UFO has been plaguing the prairies of Los Angeles County, California and abducting several horses and ejecting anything inorganic, disguising itself in a single unmoving cloud and deactivating any electronics with its an electromagnetic field. However, over time, protagonists OJ and Emerald discover that the UFO is not a ship, but an actual independent alien organism, or a unique terrestrial flying cryptid, whom they dub Jean Jacket. Despite its resemblance to a flying saucer, Jean Jacket is not an actual ship and hosts no alien crew but instead is eating all the creatures it "abducts" and regurgitating anything like metal or wood or inorganic, including the liquefied prey if it is unable to process it. Also, near the end of the movie, it unfurls into a flimsy but massive jellyfish-esque shape with a single square camera shutter-esque eye.

See also
 Astrochicken
 Dyson tree

References

Biopunk
Biotechnology
Fictional extraterrestrial cyborgs
Fictional spacecraft by type

Bioship


Hopalong Rides Again is a 1937 American Western film directed by Lesley Selander and written by Norman Houston. The film stars William Boyd, George "Gabby" Hayes, Russell Hayden, Nora Lane, Harry Worth, Lois Wilde and Billy King. The film was released on September 3, 1937, by Paramount Pictures.

Plot
Hopalong, Lucky, and Windy are working for the Bar 20 Ranch owned by Buck Peters. Buck's niece, Laura, and his nephew, Artie, also live there. Lucky is in love with Laura. Buck needs cash and tells Hopalong to bring some cattle to Fort Hastings. They must arrive there in 10 days to fulfill contract terms. In order to get them there on time, the cattle have to be driven through the Black Butte area where  the previous year rustlers stampeded the Bar 20 cattle leading to the loss of many cattle and the death of several of Hopalong's men. Nora Blake lives in the Black Butte area and Hopalong is smitten by her. It turns out that Nora's brother, Professor Hepburne, is the ruthless leader of the rustlers. Before the cattle drive Hopalong meets the Professor when he stops by the Bar 20 to get his horse reshod. Windy notices that the Professor is carrying a load of dynamite. The cattle drive begins. Buck's nephew pleads with his uncle to go on the drive. Buck relents and Artie rides after the cattle drive. Hopalong assigns him to the chuck wagon with Windy. As the drive is going through the Black Butte area, Hepburne sets off the dynamite. The cattle stampede. 200 are picked off by the rustlers. Windy and Artie are right under the area that was dynamited and save themselves by getting under the chuck wagon. But Artie is hurt. In the explosion a piece of the dynamite case lands near Windy. Hopalong then knows that Hepburne is the rustler chief. He lays a trap. He puts Lucky in charge of the drive. He is to take the cattle to Fort Hasting and come back to the Butte with the cash. Meanwhile, Hopalong goes to visit Nora. He lets Hepburne overhear that Lucky will be coming through the Butte with the cash. Windy who is taking care of Artie goes to get water and discovers the rustlers and the cattle. When he comes back to Artie, Artie has tried to get up and hurt himself again. So Windy can't go as Hopalong wished to get Buck  to bring the ranch people back to fight the rustlers. But when Windy is not looking, Artie gets on his horse and goes back to the ranch to bring the reinforcements. Between Hopalong, Lucky, Windy and the ranch hands the rustlers are defeated. Hepburne was angered when one of his men talked back. Hepburne shoots the talker back. Hepburne carries a box of dynamite up one of the hills but the fellow he shot  shoots Hepburne. The shot sets off the dynamite. So that is the end of Hepburne. Hopalong believes Nora will never know her brother was a villain. Good triumphs over evil.

Cast
 William Boyd as Hopalong Cassidy
 George "Gabby" Hayes as Windy Halliday
 Russell Hayden as Lucky Jenkins
 Nora Lane as Nora Blake
 Harry J. Worth as Professor Horace Hepburn
 Lois Wilde as Laura Peters
 Billy King as Artie Peters
 William Duncan as Buck Peters
 Jack Rutherford as Henchman Blackie
 Ernie Adams as Henchman Keno
 John Beach as Pet

References

External links

1937 films
1930s English-language films
American Western (genre) films
1937 Western (genre) films
Paramount Pictures films
Films directed by Lesley Selander
Hopalong Cassidy films
American black-and-white films
1930s American films

Hopalong Rides Again


In Zuni and Hopi mythology Patung (known as the "Squash Kachina) is a kachina fetish that relates to healing and agriculture.  The Hopi belief is that Patung showed the Puebloan peoples how to plant corn, then vanished.

At Hopi Patung is a Mongkatsina (a chief among the Katsinam).  The Pumpkin Clan is devoted to Patung, although there are few members left of the clan and as a result their stories are not well known.  Although Patung's function as a wuya is unknown and may be lost, he is still seen in use as a fetish for protection or healing Mesa.  Patung is considered a shape shifter, able to become a Badger.  Patung is always seen heading south in a protective and healing fetish set or Mesa. Characteristics associated with Patung include tenaciousness, passion, control, persistence and earthiness.  He is most often associated with the color red and is believed to have knowledge of healing roots and herbs.  Patung appears in the fall months, hiding among the harvest, usually in the shade on the southern side of a rock or tree.  The katchina doll on Hopi is often made of dried gourds, pumpkins, or most commonly dried squash.

References

Hopi mythology
Zuni mythology

Patung


& (stylized with the character ⅋; sometimes written Ampersand) is an EP and the debut major-label recording by rock group The Moth & The Flame, released digitally on November 5, 2013, internationally.  It was produced by drummer/producer Joey Waronker (Beck, Atoms for Peace, R.E.M.) and mixed by Peter Katis (The National, Interpol).  All songs were written by The Moth & The Flame.  To promote the EP, the group toured Europe supporting Imagine Dragons during the fall and winter of 2013.

Radio
"Sorry" received airtime on BBC Radio 1, Xfm, KROQ, KCRW, and other taste-making stations.  It reached #1 on the KROQ Locals Only Playlist.  "Sorry" featured as BBC Radio 1's Zane Lowe's "Next Hype".

Music video
The "Sorry" music video premiered on mtvU on Friday, November 22, 2013.  It features actor Kirby Heyborne and depicts a family of mannequins facing an atomic bomb detonation.

Media use
Track "How We Woke Up" appears in Skinwalker Ranch (2013).
Track "Sorry" featured on NFL on CBS in November 2013.

Track listing

Release history

References

External links
 The Moth & The Flame official site

2013 EPs
Art rock EPs
The Moth & The Flame albums

& (The Moth & The Flame EP)


Don Bleu (real name Rick Kelleher) is an American retired radio personality and former television host. He grew up in East Grand Forks, Minnesota and began his career in 1966, when his friend Shadoe Stevens encouraged him to try radio.  He started at KILO in Grand Forks, North Dakota, then moved to KQWB in Fargo, North Dakota.  He then moved to the Minneapolis-St. Paul area in 1968 and worked at KDWB for nearly 10 years.  His success at KDWB earned him a job at KHJ (AM) in Los Angeles.  In 1980, he moved to San Francisco and worked in the adult contemporary radio genre.  Most recently, he hosted the Don Bleu Show on KOSF, a music station in San Francisco, California. He was named to the Pavek Museum of Broadcasting's Minnesota Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2005, and in 2007 he was inducted into the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame. Bleu initially worked at KIOI until 2011, when he moved to KOSF.  He was let go from the latter station and did his last broadcast on June 26, 2015.

Filmography
The Gong Show (1988-1989, host)
Know Zone (1995, co-host)

Awards
Northern California Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement, Commentary/Analysis (1982)

References

External links

Living people
American radio personalities
American game show hosts
Year of birth missing (living people)

Don Bleu


A payment terminal, also known as a point of sale (POS) terminal, credit card machine, PIN pad, EFTPOS terminal (or by the older term as PDQ terminal which stands for "Process Data Quickly"), is a device which interfaces with payment cards to make electronic funds transfers.  The terminal typically consists of a secure keypad (called a PINpad) for entering PIN, a screen, a means of capturing information from payments cards and a network connection to access the payment network for authorization.

A payment terminal allows a merchant to capture required credit and debit card information and to transmit this data to the merchant services provider or bank for authorization and finally, to transfer funds to the merchant.  The terminal allows the merchant or their client to swipe, insert or hold a card near the device to capture the information.  They are often connected to point of sale systems so that payment amounts and confirmation of payment can be transferred automatically to the merchant's retail management system.  Terminals can also be used in stand alone mode, where the merchant keys the amount into the terminal before the customer present their card and personal identification number (PIN).

The majority of card terminals today transmit data over cellular network connections and Wi-Fi. Legacy terminals communicate over standard telephone line or Ethernet connections. Some also have the ability to cache transactional data to be transmitted to the gateway processor when a connection becomes available; the major drawback to this is that immediate authorization is not available at the time the card was processed, which can subsequently result in failed payments. Wireless terminals transmit card data using Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, cellular, or even satellite networks in remote areas and onboard airplanes.

Prior to the development of payment terminals, merchants would capture card information manually using ZipZap machines.  The development of payment terminals was led by the advantage of efficiency by decreased transaction processing times and immediate authorisation of payments. In terms of security, terminals provide end to end card data encryption and auditing functions. Nevertheless, there have been some cases of POS pin pad malware. There have also been incidence of skimming at card terminals and this led to the move away from using the magnetic strip to instead capturing information using EMV standards.

History

Prior to the development of payment terminals, merchants would use manual imprinters (also known as ZipZap machines) to capture the information from the embossed information on a credit card onto a paper slip with carbon-paper copies. These paper slips had to be taken to the bank for processing. This was a cumbersome and time-consuming process.

Point of sale terminals emerged in 1979, when Visa introduced a bulky electronic data capturing terminal which was the first payment terminal. In the same year magnetic stripes were added to credit cards for the first time. This allowed card information to be captured electronically and led to the development of payment terminals.

One of the first companies to produce dedicated payment terminals was Verifone.  It started in 1981 in Hawaii as a small electronic company. In 1983 they introduced the ZON terminal series, which would become the standard for modern payment terminals.

Hungarian-born George Wallner in Sydney, Australia, founded rival Hypercom in 1978 and in 1982 started producing dedicated payment terminals.  It went on to dominate the Oceania region. The company signed a deal with American Express to provide its terminals to them in the US.  To consolidate the deal, Hypercom moved its head office from Australia to Arizona in the US. It then faced head-to-head competition with VeriFone on its home market.

Over a decade later in 1994, Lipman Electronic Engineering, Ltd. was established in Israel. Lipman manufactured the Nurit line of processing terminals. Because of Verifone's already firm place in the payment processing industry when Lipman was established, Lipman targeted an untapped niche in the processing industry. While, Lipman held about a 10% share in wired credit card terminals, they were the undisputed leader, with more than 95% share in wireless processing terminals in the late 1990s.

Verifone would later acquire both of these major rivals, acquiring Lipman in 2006 and the payment part of the Hypercom business including its brand in 2011.

In 1980, Jean-Jacques Poutrel and Michel Malhouitre established Ingenico in France and developed their first payment terminal in 1984.  Its Barcelona-based R&D unit would lead the development of payment terminals for the next decade.  Ingenico, through a number of acquisitions, would dominate the European market for payment terminals for a number of years.  They acquired French based Bull and UK based De La Rue payment terminal activity as well as German Epos in 2001.

Initially, information was captured from the magnetic strip on the back of the card, by swiping the card through the terminal.  In the late 1990s, this started to be replaced by smart cards where an electronic chip was embedded in the card.  This was done for added security and required the card to be inserted into the credit card terminal.  In the late 1990s and early 2000s contactless payment systems were introduced and the payment terminals were updated to include the ability to read these cards using near field communication (NFC) technology.

Typical features

 Key entry (for customer not present mail and telephone order)
 Tips/gratuities
 Refunds and adjustments
 Settlement (including automatic)
 Pre-authorisation
 Payments using near field communication enabled devices
 Remote initialisation and software update
 Point of sale (POS) integration
 Multi-merchant capabilities
 Pen or PIN authorization by the customer
 Surcharge function
 Secure password operation
 Additional PIN pad attachments

Like automated teller machines, many payment terminals are also equipped with raised tactile buttons and an earphone jack which allow the blind to audibly finish the payment process.

Major manufacturers
There are three main global players who offer both a wide range of payment terminals, sell worldwide, and continue to develop to the latest international payment industry standards.  In most countries terminals are provided to merchants via a multitude of distributors that support and pre-configure devices to operate with local payment networks or financial institutions.

 Ingenico
 PAX Technology
 VeriFone

Alternatives

A merchant can replace the functionality of dedicated credit card terminal hardware using a terminal application running on a PC or mobile device, such as a smartphone. The payment acceptance applications are also called tap-on-phone or software point of sale. They usually work with dedicated hardware readers that can transfer magnetic stripe data to the application, while there are also some that also work with smart cards (using technology such as EMV), although this is rarely seen on smartphone readers. In case the necessary hardware is unavailable, these applications usually support manual entry of the card number and other data. In addition, more and more devices are beginning to offer built-in RFID or NFC technology to accommodate contactless or mobile device payment methods, often without requiring additional external hardware.

Some payment processors offer virtual terminals for processing payments without the card being present, for example when taking payments over the phone.

Mobile payment systems such as those based on QR code payments bypass the need for payment terminals altogether, relying on smartphones and a printed QR code.

See also
 Smart terminal
 EFTPOS
 Point of sale
 QR code payment

References

Merchant services
Credit card terminology
Banking technology
Japanese inventions
Payment systems
Telecommunications-related introductions in 1979

Payment terminal


Goran Vojnović (born 11 June 1980) is a Slovenian writer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his 2008 novel Southern Scum Go Home () which won him numerous awards as well as a lawsuit filed by the Slovenian Police that was withdrawn a day later after media attention and public outrage at police filing charges for a work of fiction brought embarrassment to the Slovenian Ministry of Interior.

Vojnović was born in Ljubljana. He studied at the Academy for Theatre, Radio, Film and Television. He published his first collection of poetry Lep je ta svet in 1998. His novel Čefurji raus! started out as an unfinished film script. It describes life of immigrant youth in the Fužine estate in Ljubljana, their everyday problems and cultural differences between locals and immigrants from the former Yugoslavia. For it he won the Prešeren Foundation Award and the Kresnik Award in 2009. It has been translated and published in Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian, Czech, Romanian and Italian and excerpts translated into German and English.

His novel Jugoslavija, moja dežela (Yugoslavia, My Fatherland) was published in 2011 by Beletrina. The English translation was published in 2015 by Istros Books in the UK. His third novel Figa (The Fig Tree) was translated into English by Istros Books in 2020.

Published works
 Čefurji raus! (Southern Scum Go Home!), novel (2008)
 Jugoslavija, moja dežela (Yugoslavia, My Fatherland), novel (2013)
 Figa (The Fig Tree ), novel (2016)
 Đorđić se vrača, novel (2021)
 Zbiralec strahov, essays (2022)

Works Translated into English
 Yugoslavia, My Fatherland (Istros Books, London, 2015)
 The Fig Tree (Istros Books, London, 2020)

References

External links

 Author's page on Istros Books' website (UK publisher)
 Interview with Goran Vojnovic at Eurochannel
 Author's page on Belatrina's website (Slovenian publisher)

Writers from Ljubljana
Living people
Slovenian film directors
Film people from Ljubljana
1980 births
Kresnik Award laureates
University of Ljubljana alumni
Slovenian people of Bosnia and Herzegovina descent
Slovenian people of Croatian descent

Goran Vojnović