title: Senedd

text: At its Conference on 12 March 2022, Welsh Labour unanimously approved increasing the size of the Senedd. "The expansion of the Senedd is essential because the journey of devolution is not yet complete," former First Minister Alun Michael said. "There is more to come. And the capacity needs to be there for those backbenchers to do the job of holding to account that you rightly said, cannot be done by to smaller number of representatives." Two weeks later, Plaid members backed the expansion proposal as well.


title: Senedd

text: On 10 May 2022, plans to increase the number of MSs from 60 to 96 were unveiled, as well as the scrapping of first past the post, which is currently used to elect 40 of the 60 Members of the Senedd (MSs). Drakeford said these changes were required as "report after report" had demonstrated that the Senedd in its current form "cannot do the job in the way that people in Wales have a right to expect it to be done". Welsh Lib Dem leader Jane Dodds criticised these plans, claiming that they would disproportionately impact smaller parties.


title: Senedd

text: The debating chamber in Cardiff Bay, the "Senedd" ("Senate"), was designed by the Richard Rogers Partnership, and built by Taylor Woodrow, with environmental, mechanical, electrical and plumbing design by BDSP Partnership. It uses traditional Welsh materials, such as slate and Welsh oak, in its construction, and the design is based around the concepts of openness and transparency. The timber ceiling and centre funnel, manufactured and installed by BCL Timber Projects (sub-contracted by Taylor Woodrow) is made from Canadian sourced Western Red Cedar.


title: Senedd

text: The Senedd houses the debating chamber known as the Siambr () and Committee Rooms. It was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on St David's Day, 1 March 2006.


title: Senedd

text: The Senedd is designed to be environmentally friendly: it uses an Earth Heat Exchange system for heating; rainwater is collected from the roof and used for flushing toilets and cleaning windows, and the roof features a wind cowl which funnels natural light and air into the debating chamber below.


title: Senedd

text: The building houses the debating chamber and committee rooms for the Senedd. When the Senedd building opened on 1 March 2006, there was regular screening of live proceedings from the Siambr on S4C2 and also on internet television. Coverage of the S4C2 screenings were on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays between 9:00 am 6:00 pm when the Senedd was sitting. In addition, limited screens were shown on the BBC Two Wales programme ""am.pm"", including First Minister's Questions. These were decommissioned after S4C2 switched its scheduling to children programs and because of budget cuts. Internet television screenings are now shown on the Senedd's own website called Senedd.tv, which screens approximately 35 hours of content each week in English and Welsh. The service began 15 April 2008. Key events such as First Minister's Questions are shown live and recorded on BBC Parliament on television and on iPlayer. Also on BBC Parliament some proceedings are shown as highlights of the week on the program The Week in Parliament.


title: Senedd

text: The debating chamber was initially based in Tŷ Hywel, next to the site of the present building. The offices of Members are still in this building which is connected to the Senedd by a skyway. The Senedd Commission is also responsible for the Pierhead Building, which is the location of "The Assembly at the Pierhead" exhibition, and is the Visitor and Education Centre for the Senedd as well as housing a small gift shop. The exhibition, currently still in the process of being updated following the 2016 National Assembly for Wales election, provides visitors with information on who's who, what's happening and how the Senedd works.


title: Senedd

text: The North Wales Information Centre is located in Prince's Park on Prince's Drive, Colwyn Bay. The office is open to the public to access information about the Senedd. The office is open on weekdays between 9:00 and 17:00.


title: Senedd

text: After each election, the Senedd elects one Member of the Senedd to serve as Llywydd (Presiding Officer) of the Senedd, and another to serve as Dirprwy Lywydd (Deputy Presiding Officer). Elin Jones, Plaid Cymru MS, has been Llywydd since 2016, having taken over from Rosemary Butler. The Llywydd also acts as Chair of the Senedd Commission. Both the Llywydd and the Dirprwy Lywydd typically don't vote in simple-majority votes.


title: Senedd

text: The permanent administrative and support staff of the Senedd are employed by the Senedd Commission. They are not civil servants, although they enjoy similar terms and conditions of service to members of the UK Civil Service.


title: Senedd

text: The Senedd consists of 60 elected members. They use the title Member of the Senedd (MS) or "Aelod o'r Senedd" (AS). The executive arm of the Senedd, the Welsh Government, has been a Labour administration since its inception in 1999. Currently it is led by First Minister, Mark Drakeford, since December 2018. The government between 2007 and 2011, had been a coalition between Labour, led by First Minister Carwyn Jones and Plaid Cymru, led by Deputy First Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones; and between 2016 and 2021, Labour had been in coalition with the Liberal Democrats and an independent member. Since 2021, the government has been a Labour minority government. The executive and civil servants are mainly based in Cardiff's Cathays Park while the MSs, the Senedd Commission and Ministerial support staff are based in Cardiff Bay, where a new £67 million building, the Senedd, has been built.


title: Senedd

text: One important feature of the National Assembly until 2007 was that there was no legal or constitutional separation of the legislative and executive functions, since it was a single corporate entity. Compared with other parliamentary systems, and arrangements for devolution in other countries of the UK, this was unusual. In practice, however, there was separation of functions, and the terms "Assembly" and "Assembly Parliamentary Service" came into use to distinguish between the two arms. The Government of Wales Act 2006 regularised the separation when it came into effect following the 2007 Assembly Election.


title: Senedd

text: Initially, the Assembly did not have primary legislative or fiscal powers, as these powers were reserved by Westminster. The Assembly did have powers to pass secondary legislation in devolved areas. Sometimes secondary legislation could be used to amend primary legislation, but the scope of this was very limited. For example, the first Government of Wales Act gave the Assembly power to amend primary legislation relating to the merger of certain public bodies. However, most secondary powers were conferred on the executive by primary legislation to give the executive (i.e. Ministers) more powers, and the Assembly had wider legislative powers than appearances might suggest. For example, the Assembly delayed local elections due to be held in 2003 for a year by use of secondary powers, so that they would not clash with Assembly elections. In 2001 the UK parliament used primary legislation to delay for one month local elections in England during the Foot and Mouth Disease epidemic.


title: Senedd

text: The Assembly gained limited primary legislative powers following the 2007 election and the passage of the Government of Wales Act 2006. These laws are known as Assembly Measures and can be enacted in specific fields and matters within the legislative competency of the Assembly. New matters and fields can be devolved by Acts of the UK Parliament or by LCOs approved by Parliament.


title: Senedd

text: Until 2015 the Assembly had no tax-varying powers, however it could influence the rate of Council Tax set by local authorities, which are part-funded by a grant from the Welsh government. It also has some discretion over charges for government services. Notable examples in which this discretion has been used to create significant differences from other areas in the UK are:


title: Senedd

text: This means in reality that there is a wider definition of "nursing care" than in England and therefore less dependence on means testing in Wales than in England, so that more people are entitled to higher levels of state assistance. These variations in the levels of charges may be viewed as "de facto" tax varying powers.


title: Senedd

text: This model of more limited legislative powers created in 1999 was partly because Wales has had the same legal system as England since 1536 (though a different court system until 1830), when it was merged with England. Ireland and Scotland were never merged with England, and so always retained some differences in their legal systems. The Scottish Parliament and the Northern Ireland Assembly both have deeper and wider powers.


title: Senedd

text: The Assembly inherited the powers and budget of the Secretary of State for Wales and most of the functions of the Welsh Office. It has power to vary laws passed by Westminster using secondary legislation.


title: Senedd

text: Following a referendum on 4 March 2011, the Welsh Assembly gained direct law-making powers (without the need to consult Westminster).


title: Senedd

text: The Senedd has the competence to pass bills for Acts of Senedd Cymru in all areas which are not explicitly reserved to Westminster; these 'reserved matters' are outlined in schedule 7A of the Government of Wales Act 2006.


title: Senedd

text: Under mixed-member proportional representation, a type of Additional Member System, forty of the MSs are elected from single-member constituencies on a plurality voting system (or "first past the post") basis, the constituencies being equivalent to those used for the House of Commons and twenty MSs are elected from regional closed lists using an alternative party vote. There are five regions: Mid and West Wales, North Wales, South Wales Central, South Wales East and South Wales West (these are the same as the pre 1999 European Parliament constituencies for Wales), each of which returns four members. The additional members produce a degree of proportionality within each region. Whereas voters can choose any regional party list irrespective of their party vote in the constituency election, list MSs are not elected independently of the constituency element; rather, elected constituency MSs are deemed to be pre-elected list representatives for the purposes of calculating remainders in the D'Hondt method. Overall proportionality is limited by the low proportion of list members (33% of the Senedd compared with 43% in the Scottish Parliament and 50% in the German "Bundestag") and the regionalisation of the list element. Consequently, the Senedd as a whole has a greater degree of proportionality (based on proportions in the list elections) than the plurality voting system used for British parliamentary elections, but still deviates somewhat from proportionality. The single transferable vote system had been considered for the Senedd by the Labour Party as early as 1995–96, but according to the evidence given to the Richard Commission by Ron Davies, a former Welsh Secretary,


title: Senedd

text: In April 2020 the Senedd became the first legislature in the UK to meet over the internet. Due to the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, it held First Minister's Questions using Zoom videotelephony software and the session was subsequently broadcast by Senedd.tv.


title: Senedd

text: There have been six elections to the Senedd, in 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2016 and 2021. The 2016 election was delayed from 2015 as the UK general election was held in 2015, and following the passing of the Wales Act 2014, elections occur every five years from the 2016 election.


title: Senedd

text: Voter turnout at Senedd elections has been traditionally lower than UK general elections. No election since devolution began has hit 50% turnout, with the 2021 election being the highest at 46.6%. In their 2004 paper "Turnout, Participation and Legitimacy in Post-Devolution Wales", academics Roger Awan-Scully, Richard Wyn Jones and Dafydd Trystan Davies identified three potential reasons for this: antipathy to the Welsh institutions, apathy to the Welsh institutions or apathy to politics more generally. They suggested apathy – in Wales and to politics in general – is the most likely reason.


title: Senedd

text: Following the 2021 election, Dr Jac Larner, a politics lecturer at Cardiff University and an investigator for the Welsh election survey, said the lower turnout figures in Wales did not necessarily reflect a lack of perceived importance in the Senedd. He told BBC News: "We know from research that low voter turnout is actually a lot do to with people thinking they can't win in a devolved election, so they don't bother going to vote. That's different to a general election where, in Wales, Labour are still more likely to win a majority of seats, but at the UK level it's far more competitive." He compared turnout in Wales to turnout for Scottish Parliament elections, which is significantly higher: "Scotland is in quite a unique political position at the moment, where the single most salient issue and the biggest cleavage in society – the issue of independence – basically is going to be determined by what happens at the Holyrood elections. Part of it is this idea of interest – there has always been more interest in the idea of a Scottish Parliament, the Scottish Parliament has always been more powerful than the Senedd, even going back to 1999."


title: Senedd

text: Welsh Labour won 30 seats out of 60 in the 2021 Senedd elections. On 9 May 2021 the First Minister, Mark Drakeford MS said "We have demonstrated over a number of governments that you can govern successfully on 30 seats, but I'm open to working with any party where there is common ground between us."


title: Senedd

text: On 22 November a deal between Welsh Labour and Plaid Cymru was announced. This is not a formal coalition and will not see Plaid Cymru MSs take up Minister or Deputy Minister Posts. However, Plaid Cymru will be able to appoint special advisors to the Welsh Government. The deal will last for three years.


title: Otto of Greece

text: Otto (, ; 1 June 181526 July 1867) was a Bavarian prince who ruled as King of Greece from the establishment of the monarchy on 27 May 1832, under the Convention of London, until he was deposed on 23 October 1862.


title: Otto of Greece

text: The second son of King Ludwig I of Bavaria, Otto ascended the newly created throne of Greece at age 17. His government was initially run by a three-man regency council made up of Bavarian court officials. Upon reaching his majority, Otto removed the regents when they proved unpopular with the people, and he ruled as an absolute monarch. Eventually his subjects' demands for a constitution proved overwhelming, and in the face of an armed (but bloodless) insurrection, Otto granted a constitution in 1843.


title: Otto of Greece

text: Throughout his reign Otto was unable to resolve Greece's poverty and prevent economic meddling from outside. Greek politics in this era were based on affiliations with the three Great Powers that had guaranteed Greece's independence, Britain, France and Russia, and Otto's ability to maintain the support of the powers was key to his remaining in power. To remain strong, Otto had to play the interests of each of the Great Powers' Greek adherents against the others, while not irritating the Great Powers. When Greece was blockaded by the British Royal Navy in 1850 and again in 1854, to stop Greece from attacking the Ottoman Empire during the Crimean War, Otto's standing amongst Greeks suffered. As a result, there was an assassination attempt on Queen Amalia, and finally in 1862 Otto was deposed while in the countryside. He died in exile in Bavaria in 1867.


title: Otto of Greece

text: Otto was born as Prince Otto Friedrich Ludwig of Bavaria at Schloss Mirabell in Salzburg (when it briefly belonged to the Kingdom of Bavaria), as the second son of Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria and Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen. His father served there as the Bavarian governor-general. Through his ancestor, the Bavarian Duke John II, Otto was a descendant of the Byzantine imperial dynasties of Komnenos and Laskaris. His father was a prominent Philhellene, and provided significant financial aid to the Greek cause during the War of Independence.


title: Otto of Greece

text: At the end of Greek War of Independence, the three Great Powers formulated the London Protocol of 1829, which established an autonomous Greek state under the rule of a "Hereditary Christian Prince." Numerous candidates were considered for the vacant Greek throne, including the French Duke of Nemours, Prince Frederick of the Netherlands and Otto's uncle, Prince Karl Theodor of Bavaria. Even an Irishman named Nicholas Macdonald Sarsfield Cod'd put himself forward, claiming descent from the Byzantine Palaiologos dynasty. Ultimately, they settled on Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and in the amended London Protocol of 1830 made Greece into a fully independent Kingdom under his rule. Although initially enthusiastic, Leopold was discouraged by the gloomy picture of the country's stability painted by Ioannis Kapodistrias, Greece's governor, and so rejected the crown, concerns that would prove well-founded when Kapodistrias was assassinated a year later. In 1832 British Foreign Secretary Lord Palmerston convened the London conference, which offered the crown to the teenage Prince Otto, which he happily accepted. The Bavarian House of Wittelsbach had no connections to ruling dynasties of any of the Great Powers, and so was a neutral choice with which they were all satisfied. The Greeks were not consulted, but Greece was in chaos and no group or individual could claim to represent it anyway.


title: Otto of Greece

text: The Great Powers extracted a pledge from Otto's father to restrain him from hostile actions against the Ottoman Empire. They also insisted that his title be "King of Greece", rather than "King of the Hellenes", because the latter would imply a claim over the millions of Greeks then still under Turkish rule. Not quite 18, the young prince arrived in Greece with 3,500 Bavarian troops (the Bavarian Auxiliary Corps) and three Bavarian advisors aboard the British frigate HMS "Madagascar". Although he did not speak Greek, he immediately endeared himself to his adopted country by adopting the Greek national costume and Hellenizing his name to "Othon" (some English sources, such as Encyclopædia Britannica, call him "Otho"). Thousands lined the docks of Nafplio to witness his arrival, including many heroes of the revolution such as Theodoros Kolokotronis and Alexandros Mavrokordatos. His arrival was initially enthusiastically welcomed by the Greek people as an end to the chaos of the prior years and the beginning of the rejuvenation of the Greek nation. A year later Greek poet Panagiotis Soutsos evoked the scene in "Leander," the first novel to be published in independent Greece:


title: Otto of Greece

text: The Bavarian advisors were arrayed in a Regency Council, headed by Count Josef Ludwig von Armansperg, who, in Bavaria as minister of finance, had recently succeeded in restoring Bavarian credit, at the cost of his popularity. Von Armansperg was the President of the Privy Council and the first representative (or Prime Minister) of the new Greek government. The other members of the Regency Council were Karl von Abel and Georg Ludwig von Maurer, with whom von Armansperg often clashed. After the king reached his majority in 1835, von Armansperg was made Arch-Secretary, but was called Arch-Chancellor by the Greek press.


title: Otto of Greece

text: Britain and the Rothschild bank, who were underwriting the Greek loans, insisted on financial stringency from Armansperg. The Greeks were soon more heavily taxed than under Ottoman rule; as the people saw it, they had exchanged a hated Ottoman rule for government by a foreign bureaucracy, the "Bavarocracy" (Βαυαροκρατία).


title: Otto of Greece

text: In addition, the regency showed little respect for local customs. As a Roman Catholic, Otto himself was viewed as a heretic by many pious Greeks; however, his heirs would have to be Orthodox, according to the terms of the 1843 Constitution.King Otto brought his personal brewmaster with him, Herr Fuchs, a Bavarian who stayed in Greece after Otto's departure and introduced Greece to beer, under the label "Fix".


title: Otto of Greece

text: Popular heroes and leaders of the Greek Revolution, such as generals Theodoros Kolokotronis and Yiannis Makriyiannis, who opposed the Bavarian-dominated regency, were charged with treason, put in jail and sentenced to death. They were later pardoned under popular pressure, while Greek judges who resisted Bavarian pressure and refused to sign the death warrants (Anastasios Polyzoidis and Georgios Tertsetis, for instance), were saluted as heroes.


title: Otto of Greece

text: Otto's early reign was also notable for his moving the capital of Greece from Nafplion to Athens. His first task as king was to make a detailed archaeological and topographic survey of Athens. He assigned Gustav Eduard Schaubert and Stamatios Kleanthis to complete this task. At that time, Athens had a population of roughly 4,000–5,000 people, located mainly in what today covers the district of Plaka in Athens.


title: Otto of Greece

text: Athens was chosen as the Greek capital for historical and sentimental reasons, not because it was a large city. At the time, it was a town consisting of only 400 houses at the foot of the Acropolis. A modern city plan was laid out, and public buildings erected. The finest legacy of this period are the buildings of the University of Athens (1837, under the name Othonian University), the Athens Polytechnic University (1837, under the name Royal School of Arts), the National Gardens of Athens (1840), the National Library of Greece (1842), the Old Royal Palace (now the Greek Parliament Building, 1843), and the Old Parliament Building (1858). Schools and hospitals were established all over the (still small) Greek dominion. Due to the negative feelings of the Greek people toward non-Greek rule, historical attention to this aspect of his reign has been neglected.


title: Otto of Greece

text: During 1836–37, Otto visited Germany, marrying a beautiful and talented 17-year-old, Duchess Amalia (Amelie) of Oldenburg (21 December 1818 to 20 May 1875). The wedding took place not in Greece but in Oldenburg, on 22 November 1836; the marriage did not produce an heir, and the new queen made herself unpopular by interfering in the government and maintaining her Lutheran faith. Otto was unfaithful to his wife, and had an affair with Jane Digby, a notorious woman his father had previously taken as a lover.


title: Otto of Greece

text: Due to his having overtly undermined the king, Armansperg was dismissed from his duties by King Otto immediately upon his return from Germany. However, despite high hopes on the part of the Greeks, the Bavarian Rudhart was appointed chief minister, and the granting of a constitution was again postponed. The attempts of Otto to conciliate Greek sentiment through efforts to enlarge the frontiers of his kingdom, for example by the suggested acquisition of Crete in 1841, failed in their objective and only succeeded in embroiling him in conflict with the Great Powers.


title: Otto of Greece

text: Throughout his reign, King Otto found himself confronted by a recurring series of problems: partisanship of the Greeks, financial uncertainty, and ecclesiastical disputes.


title: Otto of Greece

text: Greek parties in the Othonian era were based on two factors: the political activities of the diplomatic representatives of the Great Powers Russia, United Kingdom and France and the affiliation of Greek political figures with these diplomats.


title: Otto of Greece

text: The political machinations of the Great Powers were personified in their three legates in Athens: the French Theobald Piscatory, the Russian Gabriel Catacazy, and the English Edmund Lyons. They informed their home governments on the activities of the Greeks, while serving as advisers to their respective allied parties within Greece.


title: Otto of Greece

text: Otto pursued policies such as balancing power among all the parties and sharing offices among the parties, ostensibly to reduce the power of the parties while trying to bring a pro-Othon party into being. The parties, however, became the entree into government power and financial stability.


title: Otto of Greece

text: The effect of his (and his advisors') policies was to make the Great Powers' parties more powerful, not less. The Great Powers did not support curtailing Otto's increasing absolutism, however, which resulted in a near permanent conflict between Otto's absolute monarchy and the power bases of his Greek subjects.


title: Otto of Greece

text: Otto found himself confronted by a number of intractable ecclesiastical issues: 1) monasticism, 2) Autocephaly, 3) the king as head of the Church and 4) toleration of other churches.


title: Otto of Greece

text: His regents, Armansperg and Rundhart, established a controversial policy of suppressing the monasteries. This was very upsetting to the Church hierarchy. Russia considered itself a stalwart defender of Orthodoxy, but Orthodox believers were found in all three parties. Once he rid himself of his Bavarian advisers, Otto allowed the statutory dissolution of the monasteries to lapse.


title: Otto of Greece

text: By tradition dated back to the Byzantine era, the king was regarded by the Church as part of its head. On the issue of the Church's Autocephaly and his role as king within the Church, Otto was overwhelmed by the arcana of Orthodox Church doctrine and popular discontent with his Roman Catholicism (while the Queen was Protestant).


title: Otto of Greece

text: In 1833, the regents had unilaterally declared the Autocephaly of the Church of Greece. This was a recognition of the "de facto" political situation, as the Patriarch of Constantinople was partially under the political control of the Ottoman Empire. However, faithful people, concerned that having a Catholic as the head of the Church of Greece would weaken the Orthodox Church, criticised the unilateral declaration of Autocephaly as non-canonical. For the same reason, they likewise resisted the foreign, mostly Protestant missionaries who established schools throughout Greece.


title: Otto of Greece

text: Tolerance of other religions was over-supported by some in the English Party and others educated in the West as a symbol of Greece's progress as a liberal European state. In the end, power over the Church and education was ceded to the Russian Party, while the king maintained a veto over the decision of the Synod of Bishops. This was to keep balance and avoid discrediting Greece in the eyes of Western Europe as a backward, religiously intolerant society.


title: Otto of Greece

text: Catholic communities had been established in Greece since the 13th century (Athens, Cyclades, Chios, Crete). Jewish communities also existed in the country, those arriving after the Expulsion of the Jews from Spain (1492) joining the earlier Romaniotes, Jews who had been living there since the times of Apostle Paul. Muslim families were still living in Greece during Otto's reign, since hostility was mainly against the Ottoman state and its depressive mechanisms and not against Muslim people.


title: Otto of Greece

text: Although King Otto tried to function as an absolute monarch, as Thomas Gallant writes, he "was neither ruthless enough to be feared, nor compassionate enough to be loved, nor competent enough to be respected."


title: Otto of Greece

text: By 1843, public dissatisfaction with him had reached crisis proportions and there were demands for a Constitution. Initially Otto refused to grant a Constitution, but as soon as Bavarian troops were withdrawn from the kingdom, a popular revolt was launched.


title: Otto of Greece

text: On 3 September 1843, the infantry led by Colonel Dimitris Kallergis and the respected Revolutionary captain and former President of the Athens City Council General Yiannis Makriyiannis assembled in Palace Square in front of the Palace in Athens. Eventually joined by much of the population of the small capital, the crowd refused to disperse until the king agreed to grant a constitution, which would require that there be Greeks in the Council, that he convene a permanent National Assembly and that Otto personally thank the leaders of the uprising.


title: Otto of Greece

text: Left with little recourse now that his German troops were gone, King Otto gave in to the pressure and agreed to the demands of the crowd over the objections of his opinionated queen. This square was renamed Constitution Square () to commemorate (through to the present) the events of September 1843—and to feature many later tumultuous events of Greek history. Now for the first time, the king had Greeks in his Council and the French Party, the English Party and the Russian Party (according to which of the Great Powers' culture they most esteemed) vied for rank and power.


title: Otto of Greece

text: The king's prestige, which was based in large part on his support by the combined Great Powers, but mostly the support of the British, suffered in the "Pacifico incident" of 1850, when British Foreign Secretary Palmerston sent the British fleet to blockade the port of Piraeus with warships to exact reparation for injustice done to a British subject.


title: Otto of Greece

text: The "Great Idea" (Μεγάλη Ιδέα), the irredentist concept that expresses the goal of reviving the Byzantine Empire, led him to contemplate entering the Crimean War on the side of Russia against Turkey and its British and French allies in 1853; the enterprise was unsuccessful and resulted in renewed intervention by the two Great Powers and a second blockade of the Piraeus port, forcing Greece to neutrality.


title: Otto of Greece

text: The continued inability of the royal couple to have children also raised the thorny issue of succession: the 1844 constitution insisted that Otto's successor had to be Orthodox, but as the king was childless, the only possible heirs were his younger brothers, Luitpold and Adalbert. The staunch Catholicism of the Wittelsbachs complicated matters, as Luitpold refused to convert and Adalbert married Infanta Amalia of Spain. The sons of Adalbert, and especially the eldest, Ludwig Ferdinand, were now considered the most likely candidates, but due to the issue of religion, no definite arrangements were ever made.


title: Otto of Greece

text: In 1861, a student named Aristeidis Dosios (son of politician Konstantinos Dosios) attempted to murder Queen Amalia and was openly hailed as a hero. His attempt, however, also prompted spontaneous feelings of monarchism and sympathy towards the royal couple among the Greek population.


title: Otto of Greece

text: While Otto was visiting the Peloponnese in 1862 a new coup was launched and this time a Provisional Government was set up and summoned a National Convention. Ambassadors of the Great Powers urged King Otto not to resist, and the king and queen took refuge on a British warship and returned to Bavaria aboard (the same way they had come to Greece), taking with them the Greek regalia which they had brought from Bavaria in 1832. In 1863 the Greek National Assembly elected Prince William of Denmark, aged only 17, "King of the Hellenes" under the regnal name of George I.


title: Otto of Greece

text: It has been suggested that had Otto and Amalia borne an heir, the king would not have been overthrown, as succession was also a major unresolved question at the time. However, the Constitution of 1844 made provision for his succession by his two younger brothers and their descendants.


title: Otto of Greece

text: Otto died in the palace of the former bishops of Bamberg, Germany, and was buried in the Theatiner Church in Munich. During his retirement, he would still wear the Greek traditional uniform, nowadays worn only by the evzones (Presidential Guards). Αccording to witnesses, Otto's last words were "Greece, my Greece, my beloved Greece."


title: Otto of Greece

text: Otto's letters to his sister, Princess Mathilde Caroline of Bavaria, Grand Duchess of Hesse, written between 1832 and 1861, are preserved in the Hessian State Archive (Hessisches Staatsarchiv Darmstadt) in Darmstadt, Germany.


title: Otto of Greece

text: Otto's letters to his father-in-law, Augustus, Grand Duke of Oldenburg, written between 1836 and 1853, are preserved in the Niedersächsisches Landesarchiv in Oldenburg, Germany.


title: George Blanda

text: George Frederick Blanda (September 17, 1927 – September 27, 2010) was an American football placekicker and quarterback who played professionally in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). Blanda played 26 seasons of professional football, the most in the sport's history, and had scored more points than anyone in history at the time of his retirement.


title: George Blanda

text: Blanda retired from pro football in August 1976 as the oldest player to ever play at the age of 48. One of only two players to play in four different decades (the other being John Carney), he holds the record for most extra points made (943) and attempted (959). During his career, he played under head coaches Bear Bryant, George Halas, Clem Crowe, Lou Rymkus, Wally Lemm, Pop Ivy, Sammy Baugh, Hugh Taylor, John Rauch, and John Madden.


title: George Blanda

text: Blanda was a quarterback and kicker at Kentucky from 1945 to 1948. Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant, who later won fame and set countless records at Southeastern Conference rival Alabama, arrived in his sophomore year, following a 1–9 season in 1945. The Wildcats only lost three games in each of the next three years.


title: George Blanda

text: Blanda was the starting quarterback his last two seasons at Kentucky (1947–1948), compiling 120 completions in 242 passes (49.6 percent completions), 1,451 yards and 12 touchdowns.


title: George Blanda

text: Blanda was signed by the Chicago Bears for $600 in 1949, an amount owner George Halas demanded back when he made the team. Blanda was given a lucrative contract of $6000, as the $600 was just a sign on bonus. While primarily used as a quarterback and placekicker, Blanda also saw time on the defensive side of the ball at linebacker. It was not until 1953 that Blanda emerged as the Bears' top quarterback, but an injury the following year effectively ended his first-string status. For the next four years, he was used mostly in a kicking capacity. Later commenting on his testy relationship with Halas, Blanda noted, "he was too cheap to even buy me a kicking shoe." Blanda later reflected that by the 1950s the pro game had moved beyond Halas, who seemed to lack the interest he had earlier.


title: George Blanda

text: Blanda retired after the 1958 season because of Halas' insistence on only using him as a kicker, but returned in 1960 upon the formation of the American Football League. He signed with the Houston Oilers as both a quarterback and kicker. He was derided by the sports media as an "NFL Reject", but he went on to lead the Oilers to the first two league titles in AFL history, and he was the All-AFL quarterback and won AFL Player of the Year honors in 1961. During that season, he led the AFL in passing yards (3,330) and touchdown passes (36). His 36 touchdown passes in 1961 were the most ever thrown by any NFL/AFL quarterback in a single season, until matched by Y. A. Tittle of the NFL New York Giants two years later in . Blanda's and Tittle's mark remained the record until surpassed by Dan Marino's 48 touchdown passes in 1984. Blanda's 42 interceptions thrown in 1962 is a record that still stands.


title: George Blanda

text: During 1962, he had two 400-yard passing days for the Oilers: a 464-yard effort against the Buffalo Bills on October 29, with four touchdown passes (winning 28–16); and 418 yards three weeks later against the Titans of New York, this time with seven touchdown passes in a 49–13 victory. Blanda passed for 36 touchdowns that season. On 13 occasions, he connected on four or more touchdown passes during a game, and on November 1, 1964, unleashed 68 passes for Houston against the eventual champion Buffalo Bills.


title: George Blanda

text: From 1963 to 1965, Blanda led the AFL in passing attempts and completions, and ranked in the top ten for attempts, completions, yards and touchdowns during seven consecutive seasons. The 1966 season would see Blanda's Oilers begin the season with a 3-5 record despite a statistically prolific connection with receiver Charley Frazier. Blanda would cede playing time at quarterback to the 25-year-old Don Trull, though Blanda continued to serve as the team's primary kicker. A four-time AFL All-Star, Blanda's already-long career seemed over when he was released by the Oilers on March 18, 1967. However, the Oakland Raiders signed him that July, seeing his potential as a contributing backup passer and a dependable kicker.


title: George Blanda

text: In later years, Blanda remained a strong supporter of AFL heritage, saying: "That first year, the Houston Oilers or Los Angeles Chargers (24–16 losers to the Oilers in the title game) could have beaten the NFL champion (Philadelphia) in a Super Bowl." Blanda said further: "I think the AFL was capable of beating the NFL in a Super Bowl game as far back as 1960 or '61. I just regret we didn't get the chance to prove it."


title: George Blanda

text: In 1967, Blanda's first season with the Raiders, his kicking skills helped him lead the AFL in scoring with 116 points. In two instances, his leg helped play a role in Raider victories: a trio of field goals helped upset the defending league champion Kansas City Chiefs on October 1; in the closing weeks of the regular season, Blanda booted four field goals behind a hostile Houston crowd in a 19–7 victory over his former team, the Oilers, helping gain a measure of revenge. Three weeks later, the Raiders met the Oilers again in the AFL Championship Game and won 40–7.


title: George Blanda

text: In 1970, Blanda was released during the exhibition season, but bounced back to establish his 21st professional season. During that season, Blanda, at age 43, had a remarkable five-game run. Against the Steelers, Blanda threw for three touchdowns in relief of an injured Daryle Lamonica. One week later, his 48-yard field goal with three seconds remaining salvaged a 17–17 tie with the Kansas City Chiefs. On November 8, he again came off the bench to throw a touchdown pass to tie the Cleveland Browns with 1:34 remaining, then kicked a 53-yard field goal with 0:03 left for the 23–20 win. Immediately after the winning field goal, Raiders radio announcer Bill King excitedly declared, "George Blanda has just been elected King of the World!" In the team's next game, Blanda replaced Lamonica in the fourth quarter and connected with Fred Biletnikoff on a touchdown pass with 2:28 left in the game to defeat the Denver Broncos, 24–19. The following week, Blanda's 16-yard field goal in the closing seconds defeated the San Diego Chargers, 20–17.


title: George Blanda

text: In the AFC title game against the Baltimore Colts, Blanda again relieved an injured Lamonica, completing 17 of 32 passes for 217 yards and 2 touchdowns while also kicking a 48-yard field goal and two extra points, keeping the Raiders in the game until the final quarter, when he was intercepted twice. Aged 43, he became the oldest quarterback ever to play in a championship game, and was one of the few remaining straight-ahead kickers in the NFL.


title: George Blanda

text: Blanda's achievements resulted in his winning the Bert Bell Award. Chiefs' owner Lamar Hunt said, "Why, this George Blanda is as good as his father, who used to play for Houston." Although he never again played a major role at quarterback, Blanda served as the Raiders' kicker for five more seasons. Blanda was also named the Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year, being the first-ever professional football player to earn the award.


title: George Blanda

text: He played in his last game at Pittsburgh's Three Rivers Stadium on January 4, 1976, at age 48, in the , in which he kicked a 41-yard field goal and made one extra point as the Raiders lost to the Steelers 16–10. He was released during training camp in late August 1976, succeeded at kicker by rookie Fred Steinfort, but pulled for the team as the Raiders went on to win the NFL title that season in Super Bowl XI. (Steinfort was injured in mid-season, and was replaced by 35-year-old veteran Errol Mann.)


title: George Blanda

text: Blanda finished his 27 professional football seasons having completed 1,911 of 4,007 pass attempts for 26,920 yards and 236 touchdowns. Blanda also held the NFL record for most interceptions thrown with 277, until Brett Favre broke it on October 14, 2007. He rushed for 344 yards and 9 touchdowns on the ground, kicked 335 of 641 field goals, and 943 of 959 extra points, giving him 2,002 total points. Additional stats include 1 interception, 2 kickoff returns for 19 yards, 22 punts for 809 yards, and 23 fumble recoveries.


title: George Blanda

text: He is the placekicker on the All-Time All-AFL Team, and was one of only 20 players to play all ten years of the AFL, as well as one of only three who were in every AFL game their teams played. Blanda was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1981, his first year of eligibility, and also was inducted into the University of Kentucky Hall of Fame.


title: George Blanda

text: Blanda held the record for most professional football games played with 340 until September 26, 2004, when it was broken by another placekicker, Morten Andersen as well as the record for most consecutive games played until September 26, 1976, by defensive end Jim Marshall. He still holds the record for most games played by an AFL/NFL player who was not exclusively a kicker or punter. His 114 postseason points were an NFL record at the time of his retirement.


title: George Blanda

text: Blanda broke Lou Groza's career scoring record in 1971, a record he held until 2000 when it was broken by Gary Anderson. Blanda's 2,002 total points are still good for 7th on the all-time scoring list.


title: George Blanda

text: U.S. Route 119 in Blanda's hometown of Youngwood, Pennsylvania, was renamed George Blanda Boulevard in 1985.


title: George Blanda

text: In 1999, Blanda was ranked number 98 on "The Sporting News" list of the 100 Greatest Football Players.


title: George Blanda

text: Blanda was the first-ever recorded fantasy football draft pick when the game was first created in 1962 by The Greater Oakland Professional Pigskin Prognosticators League.


title: George Blanda

text: Blanda was the son of a Slovak-born Pittsburgh-area coal miner. He was married to Betty Harris from December 17, 1949, until his death on September 27, 2010, ten days after his 83rd birthday. They had two children.


title: George Blanda

text: According to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Blanda died after a "short illness" on September 27, 2010. He was 83 years old. A moment of silence was held in Blanda's honor prior to the start of the September 27, 2010, game between the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears on "Monday Night Football", from Soldier Field.


title: George Blanda

text: The 1970s TV series "Happy Days" was set in 1950s Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In the Season 3 episode "Football Frolics", first aired January 20, 1976, Richie Cunningham (played by Ron Howard) and Ralph Malph (Donny Most) are watching the December 9, 1956, Chicago Bears – Chicago Cardinals televised game. After Ed Brown's pass to Harlon Hill is intercepted by the Cardinals, Richie wants "the other quarterback" put in. Ralph says that the other quarterback is "washed up. He's old. He's 30. He's got no future." Richie argues back, "George Blanda has two or three good years left." The joke was that Blanda, 19 years after the date depicted in the show, was still playing.


title: George Blanda

text: Towards the end of his career, Blanda also served as a commercial spokesman for Chrysler Corporation. He was often seen in television commercials promoting the full-size Dodge Truck line, most notably its new "Club Cab" after the line received a complete redesign in 1973. Blanda also appeared in commercials for Schaefer Beer, Brut cologne, Kellogg's cereals and many others during the early 1970s.


title: Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King

text: The Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King (company designation S-61) is an American twin-engined anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopter designed and built by Sikorsky Aircraft. A landmark design, it was one of the first ASW rotorcraft to use turboshaft engines.


title: Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King

text: The Sea King has its origins in efforts by the United States Navy to counter the growing threat of Soviet submarines during the 1950s. Accordingly, the helicopter was specifically developed to deliver a capable ASW platform; in particular, it combined the roles of "hunter" and "killer", which had previously been carried out by two separate helicopters. The Sea King was initially designated "HSS-2", which was intended to imply a level of commonality to the earlier "HSS-1"; it was subsequently redesignated as the "SH-3A" during the early 1960s.


title: Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King

text: Introduced to service in 1961, it was operated by the United States Navy as a key ASW and utility asset for several decades prior to being replaced by the non-amphibious Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk in the 1990s. In late 1961 and early 1962, a modified U.S. Navy HSS-2 Sea King was used to break the FAI 3 km, 100 km, 500 km, and 1000 km helicopter speed records. The Sea King also performed various other roles and missions such as search-and-rescue, transport, anti-shipping, medevac, plane guard, and airborne early warning operations.


title: Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King

text: The Sea King has also proved to be popular on the export market with foreign military customers, and has also been sold to civil operators as well. As of 2015, many examples of the type remain in service in nations around the world. The Sea King has been built under license by Agusta in Italy, Mitsubishi in Japan, and by Westland in the United Kingdom as the Westland Sea King. The major civil versions are the S-61L and S-61N.


title: Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King

text: During the Cold War, the Soviet Navy built up a large and varied fleet of submarines which at one point was in excess of 200 operational submarines. The US Navy countered this threat by the improvement and development of various anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capabilities, which resulted in the development of the Sea King. During the late 1950s, the US Navy took advantage of recent aerospace advances, such as the turboshaft engine, by commissioning the development of a new large naval helicopter. Sikorsky received a request from the service to design a new turbine-powered helicopter that would be capable of performing the ASW mission. The specification included a dipping sonar, mission endurance of four hours, and the ability to support a weapons load of .


title: Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King

text: In 1957, Sikorsky was awarded a contract to produce an all-weather amphibious helicopter for the US Navy. As per the earlier specification, this new rotorcraft was to excel at ASW; specifically, it would combine the roles of hunter and killer, as these two duties had previously been carried out by two separate helicopters. It was also the first helicopter to be procured under the US Navy's new weapon system concept, under which Sikorsky was responsible not only for the design and production of the airframe, but all major onboard systems, such as the sonar, navigational equipment, electronic devices, and support equipment. As such, the navigation suite for the rotorcraft was developed jointly by Sikorsky and the US Navy.


title: Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King

text: Key features of the emerging ASW helicopter included its amphibious hull, which enabled the rotorcraft to readily perform water landings, and its adoption of a twin-turboshaft engine arrangement that enabled it to be larger, heavier and better-equipped than had been possible with prior helicopters. The designation "HSS-2" was applied, allegedly to imply a level of commonality to the earlier "HSS-1", should political sentiment turn against the development of an entirely new rotorcraft. A total of ten prototypes were produced to support the development program.


title: Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King

text: On 11 March 1959, the first prototype conducted its maiden flight. During early 1961, a pair of prototypes were stationed on board the aircraft carrier to fulfill a demand for carrier suitability trials. These trials, which involved testing the folding mechanism of the main rotor blades and a series of takeoffs performed during winds of up to , were completed successfully in mid-1961. Shortly after the completion of suitability trials, the US Navy formally accepted delivery of the first HSS-2 rotorcraft, which was subsequently re-designated as the SH-3A, in September 1961.


title: Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King

text: In late 1961 and early 1962, a modified US Navy HSS-2 Sea King was used to break the FAI 3 km, 100 km, 500 km and 1000 km helicopter speed records. This series of flights culminated on 5 February 1962 with the HSS-2 setting an absolute helicopter speed record of . This record was broken by a modified French Sud-Aviation Super Frelon helicopter on 23 July 1963 with a speed of .


title: Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King

text: The base design of the Sea King had proved sound and several aspects were judged to be potentially useful for other operators, thus Sikorsky elected to pursue the further development of the rotorcraft for other markets beyond the US Navy. One of the major variants of the Sea King to be produced was a model for civil operators, which was designated as the Sikorsky S-61L. The first operator of the S-61L was Los Angeles Airways, who introduced the type to service on 11 March 1962. Another noteworthy Sea King variant, the significant change this time being the adoption of a conventional fuselage, the Sikorsky S-61R, was also concurrently developed for transport and search and rescue (SAR) duties, this type being extensively operated by the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Coast Guard.


title: Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King

text: In US Navy service, the initial SH-3A model of the Sea King would be progressively converted into the improved SH-3D and SH-3H variants; these featured more powerful engines and improved sensors that gave the type greater operational capabilities as an ASW platform. It was also common for Sea Kings to be converted for non-ASW activities, these roles included minesweeping, combat search and rescue, and as a cargo/passenger utility transport. The aircrew on ASW-tasked Sea Kings were routinely trained to carry out these secondary roles as aircraft could often be quickly adapted to perform different missions in the face of operational needs.


title: Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King

text: In addition to those Sea Kings that were manufactured by Sikorsky, several license agreements were enacted with other firms to produce the type. These included the Japanese conglomerate Mitsubishi and the Italian aerospace company Agusta. Another licensee was the British helicopter manufacturer Westland Helicopters, which substantially redesigned the Sea King to produce various models of their own, collectively referred to as the Westland Sea King. In contrast to the US Navy's Sea Kings, the Westland Sea King was intended for greater operational autonomy. In total, Westland produced 330 Sea Kings; outside of its British-based operators, various export customers were found for the Westland Sea King. including the Indian Naval Air Arm, the German Navy, the Royal Australian Navy, and the Royal Norwegian Air Force.


title: Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King

text: While Sikorsky opted to terminate its own Sea King production line during the 1970s, the type has had a lengthy service life. In September 2009, it was reported that nearly 600 Sea Kings were believed to still be operational.


title: Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King

text: The Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King is a twin-engine medium-sized amphibious rotorcraft. Many of the features on board the Sea King represented a considerable advancement over preceding helicopters. In addition to being fully amphibious and capable of operating under all weather conditions, it is the first operational American helicopter to be able to simultaneously hunt and destroy submarines. Its twin-turboshaft powerplant layout gave the SH-3 a higher payload and greater reliability than previous anti-submarine helicopters. In the event of a single engine failing, the Sea King could continue flying on a single engine. The powerplant used on the Sea King was the General Electric T58-GE-8B, which was initially capable of generating up to each.


title: Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King

text: In normal operations, the Sea King typically would have a four-man crew on board; these being a pilot and copilot in the cockpit, and two aircrew stationed within the main cabin area. When conducting anti-submarine missions, the rear aircrew operated the aircraft's sensors and interpreted the generated data. For search-and-rescue missions, the Sea King's cabin could accommodate up to 22 survivors. In a medical layout, a maximum of nine stretchers plus two medical officers could be carried. In the troop transport role, up to 28 soldiers can be accommodated.


title: Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King

text: The Sea King features many design elements to support naval-orientated operations. The main rotor blades and the tail section can be folded via fully automated systems for storage onboard ships. The adoption of an amphibious hull allowed a Sea King to conduct a water landing and, being completely watertight, would enable the rotorcraft to remaining floating for prolonged periods on the ocean's surface. Deployable airbags in the aircraft's sponsons added to the rotorcraft's stability and buoyancy, resisting pitching and rolling. The hull design was compatible with landing on challenging terrain, including ice, snow, swamp land, and tundra. Wheels are installed in the sponsons for land operations.


title: Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King

text: The armament fitted upon a Sea King could vary considerably. For anti-submarine missions, the aircraft could carry up to four torpedoes or four depth charges. For anti-ship duties, some models were outfitted to carry one or two missiles, typically Sea Eagles or Exocets. The Sea King could also be fitted to deploy the B57 nuclear bomb. ASW equipment used on Sea Kings has included the AQS-13A/B/E dipping sonar which included specialized computers for processing sonar and sonobuoy data, various models of sonobuoys, ARR-75 Sonobuoy Receivers, and the ASQ-81 magnetic anomaly detector. The commonly fitted AKT-22 data link enabled the rapid dissemination of sonar information to other friendly elements. Some later Sea King models featured the TACNAV digital navigation system (first generation GPS) and overhauled cockpit instrumentation for night vision compatibility.


title: Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King

text: During June 1961, the Sea King became operational with the US Navy as the "HSS-2"; at the time, it was not only the largest amphibious helicopter in the world, but was also the first all-weather rotorcraft to reach production status for the US Navy. When the unified aircraft designation system was introduced, the rotorcraft's designation wa changed to SH-3A. It was used primarily for anti-submarine warfare: the largely involved the detection and tracking of Soviet submarines. In the event of open warfare breaking out between the two powers, Sea Kings would have been used to attack these submarines with the intent to sink them.


title: Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King

text: The Sea King was able to operate from the flight decks of many of the US Navy's vessels as well as shore bases. It could also operate from offshore platforms to extend their surveillance and strike ranges. The type was capable of conducting nighttime ASW operations, albeit these usually posed considerable difficulty for the flight crew.


title: Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King

text: The Sea King also performed various other roles and missions such as search-and-rescue, transport, anti-shipping and airborne early warning operations. Aircraft carriers would typically deploy Sea Kings to operate near the carrier as a plane guard, ready to rescue air crew who crashed during takeoff or landing. They were routinely used in a logistical capacity at sea, transferring personnel, mail, and other lighter cargoes between vessels.


title: Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King

text: The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) became a major operator of the Sea King (see Sikorsky CH-124 Sea King) following its introduction to service in 1963. It remained Canada's dominant maritime helicopter for over 50 years, finally being withdrawn in 2018. One notable innovation in Canadian operations, which was subsequently adopted by several other nations, was the use of a winch 'hauldown' landing and securing method, referred to as a 'Beartrap'. This device considerably increased the ability of Sea Kings to land in difficult conditions, such as on small flight decks or during poor weather conditions.


title: Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King

text: The Sea King was exported in large numbers to various nations, such as Brazil, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom. Several operators have kept their Sea Kings in use for more than 50 years.


title: Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King

text: During the Vietnam War, SH-3s rescued the crews of downed aircraft at sea and over land, typically being equipped with self-sealing fuel tanks, multiple machine guns and heavy armor when performing such missions. Due to the type's greater range and the safety of having two engines, it was often used during rescue sorties into North Vietnam to retrieve downed aircrew. The Sea King was also used for medical evacuations and disaster relief efforts.


title: Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King

text: The SH-3 was the primary helicopter for retrieving manned space capsules starting with Mercury-Atlas 7 in May 1962. "Helicopter 66" was the primary recovery vehicle for Apollo missions 8 and 10 to 13. In February 1971, an SH-3A, operating from the amphibious assault ship USS "New Orleans", recovered Apollo 14. A specialist search and rescue variant of the SH-3, the HH-3, also performed in this capacity.


title: Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King

text: Several Sea Kings, operated by the United States Marine Corps's HMX-1 unit, are used as the official helicopters of the President of the United States; in this capacity, the call sign 'Marine One' is used by the helicopter currently occupied by the President. As of 2012, a replacement helicopter fleet for the Sea King is pending under the VXX program. In 1992, the US Justice Department sued Sikorsky over allegations of overcharged component pricing and deliberately misleading US Navy negotiators. In 1997, the Justice Department issued further accusations against Sikorsky of willful overcharging on a contract to upgrade the Navy's Sea Kings.


title: Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King

text: During the 1990s, the Sea King was replaced in the ASW and SAR roles by the U.S. Navy with the newer Sikorsky SH-60 Sea Hawk. However, the SH-3 continued to operate in reserve units in roles including logistical support, search and rescue, and transport. On 27 January 2006, the SH-3 was ceremonially retired at NAS Norfolk, Virginia, by Helicopter Combat Support Squadron 2 (HC-2). They have been replaced by increasingly advanced variants of the SH-60 Sea Hawk. In the early 21st century, following their drawdown in US service, there have been a number of initiatives to refurbish ex-military Sea Kings for continued operations; in addition to civil operators, nations such as Egypt and India acquired refurbished former US Sea Kings to supplement their own aging fleets.


title: Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King

text: The Westland Sea King variant was manufactured under license by Westland Helicopters Ltd in the United Kingdom, who developed a specially modified version for the Royal Navy. It is powered by a pair of Rolls-Royce Gnome turbines (license-built T58s), and has British avionics and ASW equipment. This variant first flew in 1969, and entered service the next year. It was until 2017 also used by the Royal Air Force in a search and rescue capacity, and has been sold to many countries around the world.


title: Raúl Castillo

text: Raúl Castillo Jr. (born August 30, 1977) is an American actor and playwright. He is known for his acting roles in "Amexicano" and "Cold Weather" and his role as Richie Donado Ventura in the HBO series "Looking" and its subsequent series finale television film, "". He received a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male for his performance in the film "We the Animals".


title: Raúl Castillo

text: His notable written plays include "Border Stories" and "Between Me, You, and the Lampshade." His works are associated with the LAByrinth Theater Company and the Atlantic Theater Company.


title: Raúl Castillo

text: Raúl Castillo Jr. was born to Raúl H. Castillo Sr. and Adela "Adelita" Rodríguez de Castillo. He has an older brother, Tony, and a younger sister. His parents are Mexican emigrants from Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico, who later moved to McAllen, Texas, where he and his siblings were raised. His hometown of McAllen was 90 percent Mexican-American. Living so close to the Mexico–United States border, Castillo's family would often visit family members who still lived in Reynosa, affording him an upbringing that he describes as "very much bicultural." Castillo states that growing up in a border town made him feel American when he visited Mexico, but Mexican when he traveled around the United States. He explains he was "too American for Mexico, but too Mexican for the U.S." He was raised Catholic. His childhood nickname was ""Gordo"" ("fat", in Spanish), due to his weight.


title: Raúl Castillo

text: He first became interested in acting in the third grade, after seeing his older brother in a school production of "The Wizard of Oz" as the Tin Woodman. His older brother played guitar and was a musician. His dedication was seen by Castillo when he would sit and play scales for hours, which inspired him to use the same technique for his own performance. He auditioned the next year for the school play "about a mouse and a clock", but could not stop giggling during his audition and was cast in a non-speaking role as a guard. While in 6th grade at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic School, he met and befriended future Mutemath bass guitarist Roy Mitchell-Cárdenas. With their friends Nick Trevino and Robert Vleck, they started underground punk-rock band IPM (short for "Influential Phecal Material") in high school. Mitchell-Cárdenas played drums while Castillo played bass guitar. Before he began acting, he considered pursuing a career as a rock musician.


title: Raúl Castillo

text: Castillo states that he started acting when he was 14. Seeking an elective when entering McAllen High School and a way to make friends, he turned to theater, which was popular in his hometown school. He became deeply involved in his high school drama department, which he says looked fun. His background playing music for audiences since age 11 made performing on stage feel natural for him. His first acting role was subsequently in high school in a production of Paul Zindel's play "The Secret Affairs of Mildred Wild". He also performed in his high school production of "I Remember Mama". It was then, at age 14, that he met and became friends with future staff writer for "Devious Maids", "Girls" and "Looking", Tanya Saracho, who also attended McAllen High School. Saracho influenced Castillo greatly, introducing him to playwrights and encouraging to develop his own tastes in drama. Castillo cites the 1993 film "Carlito's Way" as the film that "changed everything" for him. He was inspired by the performances of John Leguizamo, John Ortiz, Viggo Mortensen, and Luis Guzmán in particular. He even memorized several of Leguizamo's pieces such as "Spic-O-Rama", "Mambo Mouth", and "Freak". Castillo also found inspiration from several Hispanic artists in the media, including Miguel Piñero and an anthology of works from the Nuyorican Poets Cafe. He looked up to several actors such as Al Pacino and Anthony Quinn, and spent much of his time watching the film "The Outsiders".


title: Raúl Castillo

text: After graduating, he went on to study playwriting as an undergraduate at Boston University College of Fine Arts, though he continued to act, and majored in theater. During his studies, Castillo felt that the most important skill he developed there was learning how to produce his own work. He would regularly put on plays during the school's student-run playwright's festival. This university offered festival gave Castillo a platform for his original work. Most of his early plays were heavy and serious, dealing with the sociopolitical and racial tensions on the border of Mexico and the United States, including a trio of one-act plays called "Border Stories", about life on the Mexico–United States border in Reynosa. He graduated from Boston University in 1999.


title: Raúl Castillo

text: Castillo viewed himself as more of a writer, despite his performing abilities. It was not until after college, while performing the lead role in a 2000 production of "Santos & Santos" at the Nushank Theater Collective in Austin, Texas, that he felt encouraged in identifying as an actor as well. He eventually moved to New York City in 2002, which he describes as the smartest decision he made for his career.


title: Raúl Castillo

text: Castillo has an extensive off-Broadway theater career. Right after college, Castillo performed in Austin, Texas in a 2000 production of "Santos & Santos", loosely based on Jamiel Chagra and his brothers. It was during that production that Castillo solidified his confidence in being a professional actor. Castillo joined the LAByrinth Theater Company as a writer shortly after moving to New York. His on-stage acting debut was with the LAByrinth Theater Company's production of José Rivera's play "School of the Americas" at New York's Public Theater in 2006. There he met actress and later co-star Sandra Oh while she was performing in the Public Theater's production of "Satellites". His performance as Beto in the Ensemble Studio Theatre's 2008 production of José Rivera's "Flowers" was described as "flawlessly nuanced" by Laura Collins-Hughes of The New York Sun. In 2009, he performed in the Off-Broadway premier of Cusi Cram's "A Lifetime Burning" at Premiere Stages. In 2012, he was cast in Goodman Theater's production of the Cándido Tirado's play "Fish Men", about the Guatemalan genocide, in the lead role of Rey Reyes. Castillo also appeared in the 2012 BareBones production of "Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train" in Pittsburgh, the inaugural performance of which was directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman for the LAByrinth Theater Company. He later was cast in the BareBones reading of "The Way West" at the Lark Theater. Castillo worked with INTAR Theater, cast in the role of Ismael in the theater's 2014 production of "Adoration of the Old Woman" to positive reviews. He starred alongside Sandra Oh in the role of Gerardo in the 2014 Victory Gardens Theater production of "Death and the Maiden", which was well received by critics. "Death and the Maiden" deals with the lives of a couple, a woman who has dealt with some of the atrocities that have occurred under a dictatorship. Castillo describes his heavy role as a "character dealing with the bureaucracy of government, trying to look into the crimes that were committed, specifically the deaths that were committed during the dictatorship". "Death and the Maiden" was originally produced on Broadway with Glenn Close, Richard Dreyfuss, and Gene Hackman, but Latino actors such as Castillo felt undervalued when ethnic characters were not cast in a play by a Chilean playwright.


title: Raúl Castillo

text: Castillo first appeared in the 2005 short film "Immaculate Perception". He acted in several other short films until his feature film debut role as Ignacio in the 2007 independent film, "Amexicano". The film was screened at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival and won the Jury Award for producer/director Matthew Bonifacio in the category of Narrative Film at the 2007 Sonoma Valley Film Festival. The film was released theatrically in 2008. He continued to appear in short films and independent films, such as "My Best Day", and "Bless Me, Ultima". His role in the 2011 independent film "Cold Weather" garnered favorable reviews and praise from critic Roger Ebert. His performance as Hector in the 2012 Student Academy Award-winning short film "Narcocorrido" earned him an Honorable Mention for Performance at AFI Fest 2012. His performance was praised as a "penetrating lead performance that conveys a sense of loss that leaves a lasting mark on the audience.” In 2019, Castillo starred in the independent film "El Chicano", drawing praise from The Hollywood Reporter, which noted that his "charismatic performance in the lead role carries much of the film's weight".


title: Raúl Castillo

text: During his acting career, Castillo has appeared in various TV roles, including shows such as "Nurse Jackie", "Blue Bloods", and "Law & Order". He was cast in the lead role of the action-comedy web series "The Trainee" and also appeared in the web series "East WillyB" in a recurring role as Edgar.


title: Raúl Castillo

text: In 2014, Castillo was cast in the HBO series "Looking" as Ricardo "Richie" Donado Ventura, the love interest of main character Patrick, played by Jonathan Groff. HBO describes "Looking" as a "look as the unfiltered experiences of close friends searching for happiness and intimacy in an age of unparalleled choice". Castillo had previously worked with series creator Michael Lannan as the character Richie in the 2011 short film "Lorimer", upon which Lannan based the pilot episode of "Looking". Lannan initially reached out to Castillo to participate in "Lorimer" after seeing his performance in "Cold Weather". He contacted Castillo again in 2012 to audition for the "Looking" pilot. Castillo went through several auditions for both the part of Agustín and Richie, initially being passed on, before being offered the recurring role on the show. To research his role as Richie, Castillo watched "Looking" executive producer Andrew Haigh's 2011 film "Weekend". His performance as Richie Donado was universally hailed as a break out role in the series. Critics particularly noted Castillo's portrayal of an openly gay Mexican-American man as a rare representation of the Latino-American community on television.


title: Raúl Castillo

text: Castillo describes his role in "Looking" as important to the LGBTQ and Latino community. In an interview with "Backstage", Castillo states "Especially being a straight guy, I wanted to honor this character. And even though it wasn't representing the entire community—this was one story—I knew there would be a lot of expectations. I know, having done projects around the Latino community, that there were going to be a lot of people paying attention." He told "Out" magazine that he hopes that his character on the show will both enlighten and educate straight audiences, as well as shed light on some of the experiences of the gay Latino community. Castillo and his character Richie gained a large social media following, using the hashtag #TeamRichie. In the show's second season, Castillo was added as a regular cast member alongside co-stars Groff, Frankie J. Álvarez, Murray Bartlett, Lauren Weedman, and Russell Tovey. Due to poor ratings, however, HBO decided to cancel "Looking" after its second season. HBO decided in lieu of a third season, "Looking" would end with a final full-length movie.


title: Raúl Castillo

text: In 2015, Castillo appeared as Eduardo Flamingo, the emotionless, unfeeling villain on Fox Broadcasting Company's drama series "Gotham".


title: Raúl Castillo

text: Castillo has long been interested in playwriting, studying it in college and initially viewing himself as more of a playwright than an actor. During college, Castillo regularly wrote plays for student-run playwright's festivals. One of his college plays to be produced at the student festival was a trio of one-act plays called "Border Stories", about life on the U.S.-Mexican border in Reynosa. After moving to New York, he initially joined the LAByrinth Theater Company as a writer before also becoming an actor, and he remains a resident writer for LAByrinth. Castillo's play, "Knives and Other Sharp Objects", about class, race, and assimilation in South Texas, debuted at the Public Theater as part of LAByrinth's works in development in 2009. The play received moderate reviews. His play "Between You, Me, and the Lampshade" was developed at the Atlantic Theater Company and is set to premiere in 2015 with the Chicago-based Teatro Vista, the largest Latino Equity theater company in Illinois, at the Richard Christiansen Theater at the Victory Gardens Biograph Theatre. Raul Castillo's dark comedy "Between You, Me and the Lampshade" explores a family's life on the U.S.-Mexico border.


title: Raúl Castillo

text: In 2012, Castillo was awarded an AFI Honorable Mention in Performance for his lead role in "Narcocorrido". Raul Castillo won a special mention at the Ashland Independent Film Festival in 2012 for his role in "My Best Day." In 2014, the National Association of Latino Independent Producers presented Castillo with the Lupe Award – named after the late, pioneering Latina actress Lupe Ontiveros – in recognition of his breakout performance in "Looking". His is the second actor to be awarded the Lupe Award since its creation. He also won Best Performance - Comedy at the NAMIC Vision Awards for his performance in "Looking." He has been nominated several times for his supporting role as Richie in "Looking", including at the 2016 NAMIC Vision Awards and the 2015 and 2016 Imagen Foundation Awards. In November 2016 he received a Film Independent Spirit Awards nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his role in "We the Animals."


title: Raúl Castillo

text: Despite having a bicultural upbringing, Castillo stated that he always felt American growing up, and that he and his siblings were considered ""gringos"" when they visited Mexico. He identifies as Mexican-American. Castillo describes his childhood as sheltered from racism and racial dynamics in the US due to McAllen's high Hispanic and Latino population. When Castillo moved to Boston to study acting, it was his first time experiencing life as an ethnic minority.


title: Raúl Castillo

text: Castillo is very close with his family. Though he was raised Catholic, he describes himself currently as "not as religiously involved." He describes his parents as "old school and traditional, [but] very open-minded." Before shooting the pilot for "Looking", Castillo wrote a letter to his family to explain the part and make them aware the more explicit aspects of the show. His family was supportive of his role. His sister is an accountant and is married to chef and restaurateur Omar Rodriguez.


title: Raúl Castillo

text: Although his role as Richie Ventura in "Looking" has garnered Castillo popularity among gay viewers, he is straight. As of 2016, he was in a relationship. He resides in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan.


title: David Ricardo

text: David Ricardo (18 April 1772 – 11 September 1823) was a British political economist. He was one of the most influential of the classical economists along with Thomas Malthus, Adam Smith and James Mill. Ricardo was also a politician, and a member of the Parliament of Great Britain and Ireland.


title: David Ricardo

text: Born in London, England, Ricardo was the third surviving of the 17 children of successful stockbroker Abraham Israel Ricardo (1733?–1812) and Abigail (1753-1801), daughter of Abraham Delvalle (also "del Valle"), of a respectable Sephardic Jewish family that had been settled in England for three generations as "small but prosperous" tobacco and snuff merchants, and had obtained British citizenship. Abigail's sister, Rebecca, was wife of the engraver Wilson Lowry, and mother of the engraver Joseph Wilson Lowry and the geologist, mineralogist, and author Delvalle Lowry. The Ricardo family were Sephardic Jews of Portuguese origin who had recently relocated from the Dutch Republic. Ricardo began working with his father at the age of 14. At the age of 21 Ricardo eloped with a Quaker, Priscilla Anne Wilkinson, and, against his father's wishes, converted to Unitarianism. This religious difference resulted in estrangement from his family, and he was led to adopt a position of independence. His father disowned him and his mother apparently never spoke to him again.


title: David Ricardo

text: Following this estrangement he went into business for himself with the support of Lubbocks and Forster, an eminent banking house. He made the bulk of his fortune by profitably financing Government borrowing. There is a story that he made his fortune as a result of speculation on the outcome of the Battle of Waterloo: "The Sunday Times" reported in Ricardo's obituary, published on 14 September 1823, that during the battle Ricardo "netted upwards of a million sterling", a huge sum at the time, and this was later popularised by the economist Paul Samuelson; in reality Ricardo was already very rich and in June 1815 sold his latest government stock before the result of the battle was known in London, so missing half of the rise.


title: David Ricardo

text: He retired, and subsequently purchased Gatcombe Park, an estate in Gloucestershire, and retired to the country. He was appointed High Sheriff of Gloucestershire for 1818–19. In August 1818 he bought Lord Portarlington's seat in Parliament for £4,000, as part of the terms of a loan of £25,000. His record in Parliament was that of an earnest reformer. He held the seat until his death five years later.


title: David Ricardo

text: Ricardo was a close friend of James Mill. Other notable friends included Jeremy Bentham and Thomas Malthus, with whom Ricardo had a considerable debate (in correspondence) over such things as the role of landowners in a society. He also was a member of Malthus' Political Economy Club, and a member of the King of Clubs. He was one of the original members of The Geological Society. His youngest sister was author Sarah Ricardo-Porter (e.g., "Conversations in Arithmetic").


title: David Ricardo

text: As MP for Portarlington, Ricardo voted with the opposition in support of liberal political movements in Naples and Sicily, and for inquiry into the administration of justice in Tobago. He divided for (voted for) repeal of the Blasphemous and Seditious Libels Act; then for inquiry into the Peterloo massacre; and, in 1821, for abolition of the death penalty for forgery.


title: David Ricardo

text: He adamantly supported free trade. In 1821 he voted against renewal of the sugar duties, and objected to the higher duty on "East" Indian as opposed to "West" Indian produce. He opposed the timber duties. He voted silently for parliamentary reform and in 1822 spoke in its favour at the Westminster anniversary reform dinner; and again voted for criminal law reform.


title: David Ricardo

text: Ricardo believed that increasing imports by free trade boosted the wellbeing of mankind by increasing the amount of goods cheaply available for subsistence and consumption. He was said to have "possessed an extraordinary quickness in perceiving in the turns of the market any accidental difference which might arise between the relative price of different stocks". And he grew his wealth dealing in securities during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars.


title: David Ricardo

text: As the Napoleonic Wars waged on, Ricardo developed a disdain for the Corn Laws imposed by the British to encourage exports. Notably, government intervention in the grain trade can be traced as far back as the 1400s; and thereafter trade was controlled, regulated, and taxed. Meanwhile, England developed a capitalist economy involving workers and landlords generating and consuming incomes and capital accumulations that depended entirely on capitalists’ profits, and these key economic elements were under perpetual pressure during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.


title: David Ricardo

text: Political reform was needed as agricultural output was struggling to keep pace with population growth. The Corn Laws imposed barriers to imports that increased subsistence/consumption costs and triggered demand for higher wages. Higher wages reduced profits for agricultural producers, and had the immediate effects of reducing capital investments and slowing the growth of a nation's economy. Rising rents, attributed by Ricardo to the Corn Laws, came at the expense of the economic profits of nations. For David Ricardo, free trade was ever the answer; he envisioned Britain as importing agriculture products in exchange for exporting manufactured goods. Eventually, after his death, the interventionist laws were repealed, and his free trade views became public policy in Britain.


title: David Ricardo

text: Of David Ricardo, his friend John Louis Mallett commented: " … he meets you upon every subject that he has studied with a mind made up, and opinions in the nature of mathematical truths. He spoke of parliamentary reform and ballot as a man who would bring such things about, and destroy the existing system tomorrow, if it were in his power, and without the slightest doubt on the result … It is this very quality of the man’s mind, his entire disregard of experience and practice, which makes me doubtful of his opinions on political economy."


title: David Ricardo

text: Ten years after retiring and four years after entering Parliament, Ricardo died from an infection of the middle ear that spread into his brain and induced septicaemia. He was 51.


title: David Ricardo

text: He and his wife Priscilla had eight children together including Osman Ricardo (1795–1881; MP for Worcester 1847–1865), David Ricardo (1803–1864, MP for Stroud 1832–1833) and Mortimer Ricardo, who served as an officer in the Life Guards and was a deputy lieutenant for Oxfordshire.


title: David Ricardo

text: Ricardo is buried in an ornate grave in the churchyard of Saint Nicholas in Hardenhuish, now a suburb of Chippenham, Wiltshire. At the time of his death his assets were estimated at £675,000–£775,000.


title: David Ricardo

text: He wrote his first economics article at 37, firstly in "The Morning Chronicle" advocating reduction in the note-issuing of the Bank of England and then publishing "The High Price of Bullion, a Proof of the Depreciation of Bank Notes" in 1810.


title: David Ricardo

text: He was also an abolitionist, speaking at a meeting of the Court of the East India Company in March 1823, where he said he regarded slavery as a stain on the character of the nation.


title: David Ricardo

text: Adam Smith argued that free commercial banking, such as the banking system in Scotland which had no central bank when "Wealth of Nations" was written in 1776, was favorable to economic growth. Writing just a few decades later, Ricardo argued for a central bank, a cause that was taken up by his students, including John Stuart Mill, who was known to favor the "laissez-faire" policies in every place but banking.


title: David Ricardo

text: Ricardo wrote the "Plan for the Establishment of a National Bank" (published posthumously in 1824), which argued for the autonomy of the central bank as the issuer of money.


title: David Ricardo

text: Ricardo proposed that a ratio of gold and Treasury bills, and a fixed claim (asset) against the government, would secure the central bank's liquidity:


title: David Ricardo

text: The public, or the Government on behalf of the public, is indebted to the Bank in a sum of money larger than the whole amount of Bank notes in circulation; for the Government not only owes the Bank fifteen million, its original capital, which is lent at 3 per cent. interest, but also many more millions which are advanced on Exchequer bills, on half-pay and pension annuities, and on other securities. It is evident, therefore, that if the Government itself were to be the sole issuer of paper money instead of borrowing it of the Bank, the only difference would be with respect to the interest: the Bank would no longer receive interest and the Government would no longer pay it; but all other classes in the community would be exactly in the same position in which they now stand.


title: David Ricardo

text: Ricardo was a man of many trades, economically and financially speaking. Ricardo was able to recognize and identify the problem presented through banking within regulations and debauched standards of approval at certain times. Ricardo knew that banks in rural areas as well as the Bank of England had increased note lending and overall lending in 1810. Through this, Ricardo proved subsequent changes in price level through the market was also affected and thus new regulations needed to be made available. Furthermore, Ricardo was able to understand and distinguish the socioeconomic makeup that created and established parameters around different classes within the economy. Ricardo advocated for the productive powers of labor to be held in high concern as the most influential of devices that played a role in the progression of the American Economy along with others. In addition, Ricardo made notable advancements in the concept build involving reactions in the open market when considering banking altercations, stock investments, or other considerable impacting events. Ricardo wanted to establish a firm ground between the bank and the control over monetary policy because there was power within the banking system that Ricardo believed needed to be considered carefully. In 1816, Ricardo said “In the present state of the law, they have the power, without any control whatever, of increasing or reducing the circulation in any degree they may think proper: a power which should neither be entrusted to the State itself, nor to anybody in it; as there can be no security for the uniformity in the value of the currency, when its augmentation or diminution depends solely on the will of the issuers.” Ricardo felt the circulation of money and the decision behind how much is available at any time should not be entrusted to either the State, or any individual. Ricardo argued for the most even distribution possible with the highest control readily available.


title: David Ricardo

text: David Ricardo worked to fix the issues he felt were most concerning with Adam Smith’s Labour Theory of Value. Both men worked with the assumption that land, labour, and capital were the three basic factors of production. However, Smith narrowed in on labour as the determinant of value. Ricardo believes that with production having 3 main factors it is impossible for only one of them to determine value on its own. Ricardo illustrates his point by adapting Smith's deer beaver analogy to show that even when labour is the only factor of production the hardship and tools of the labour will drive a wedge in the relative value of the good. Due to his criticisms of the Labour Theory of Value George Stigler called his theory a "93% labor theory of value".


title: David Ricardo

text: Ricardo's most famous work is his "Principles of Political Economy and Taxation" (1817). He advanced a labour theory of value:


title: David Ricardo

text: The value of a commodity, or the quantity of any other commodity for which it will exchange, depends on the relative quantity of labour which is necessary for its production, and not on the greater or less compensation which is paid for that labour.


title: David Ricardo

text: Mr. Malthus appears to think that it is a part of my doctrine, that the cost and value of a thing be the same;—it is, if he means by cost, "cost of production" including profit.


title: David Ricardo

text: Ricardo contributed to the development of theories of rent, wages, and profits. He defined rent as "the difference between the produce obtained by the employment of two equal quantities of capital and labour." Ricardo believed that the process of economic development, which increased land use and eventually led to the cultivation of poorer land, principally benefited landowners. According to Ricardo, such premium over "real social value" that is reaped due to ownership constitutes value to an individual but is at best a paper monetary return to "society". The portion of such purely individual benefit that accrues to scarce resources Ricardo labels "rent".


title: David Ricardo

text: In his "Theory of Profit", Ricardo stated that as real wages increase, real profits decrease because the revenue from the sale of manufactured goods is split between profits and wages. He said in his "Essay on Profits", "Profits depend on high or low wages, wages on the price of necessaries, and the price of necessaries chiefly on the price of food."


title: David Ricardo

text: Between 1500 and 1750 most economists advocated Mercantilism, which promoted the idea of international trade for the purpose of earning bullion by running a trade surplus with other countries. Ricardo challenged the idea that the purpose of trade was merely to accumulate gold or silver. With "comparative advantage" Ricardo argued in favour of industry specialisation and free trade. He suggested that industry specialization combined with free international trade always produces positive results. This theory expanded on the concept of absolute advantage.


title: David Ricardo

text: Ricardo suggested that there is mutual national benefit from trade even if one country is more competitive in every area than its trading counterpart and that a nation should concentrate resources only in industries where it has a comparative advantage, that is in those industries in which it has the greatest efficiency of production relative to its own alternative uses of resources, rather than industries where it holds a competitive edge compared to rival nations. Ricardo suggested that national industries which were, in fact, mildly profitable and marginally internationally competitive should be jettisoned in favour of the industries that made the best use of limited resources—the assumption being that subsequent economic growth due to better resource use would more than offset any short-run economic dislocation which would result from closing mildly profitable and marginally competitive national industries.


title: David Ricardo

text: Ricardo attempted to prove theoretically that international trade is always beneficial. Paul Samuelson called the numbers used in Ricardo's example dealing with trade between England and Portugal the "four magic numbers". "In spite of the fact that the Portuguese could produce both cloth and wine with less amount of labour, Ricardo suggested that both countries would benefit from trade with each other".


title: David Ricardo

text: Ricardo's theory of international trade was reformulated by John Stuart Mill. The term "comparative advantage" was started by J. S. Mill and his contemporaries.


title: David Ricardo

text: John Stuart Mill started a neoclassical turn of international trade theory, i.e. his formulation was inherited by Alfred Marshall and others, and has both contributed to the resurrection of the anti-Ricardian concept of law of supply and demand, and induced the arrival of neoclassical theory of value.


title: David Ricardo

text: Ricardo's four magic numbers have long been interpreted as comparison of two ratios of labour (or other input in fixed supply) coefficients. This interpretation is now considered as overly simplistic by modern economists. The point was rediscovered by Roy J. Ruffin in 2002 and re-examined and explained in detail in Andrea Maneschi in 2004. The more flexible approach is now known as the "new interpretation", despite having been previously mentioned by Piero Sraffa in 1930 and by Kenzo Yukizawa in 1974. The new interpretation affords a totally new reading of Ricardo's "Principles of Political Economy and Taxation" with regards to trade theory, although it does not change the mathematics of optimal resource allocation.


title: David Ricardo

text: Like Adam Smith, Ricardo was an opponent of protectionism for national economies, especially for agriculture. He believed that the British "Corn Laws"—imposing tariffs on agricultural products—ensured that less-productive domestic land would be cultivated and rents would be driven up . Thus, profits would be directed toward landlords and away from the emerging industrial capitalists. Ricardo believed landlords tended to squander their wealth on luxuries, rather than invest. He believed the Corn Laws were leading to the stagnation of the British economy. In 1846, his nephew John Lewis Ricardo, MP for Stoke-upon-Trent, advocated free trade and the repeal of the Corn Laws.


title: David Ricardo

text: Modern empirical analysis of the Corn Laws yields mixed results. Parliament repealed the Corn Laws in 1846.


title: David Ricardo

text: Ricardo was concerned about the impact of technological change on labour in the short-term. In 1821, he wrote that he had become "convinced that the substitution of machinery for human labour, is often very injurious to the interests of the class of labourers," and that "the opinion entertained by the labouring class, that the employment of machinery is frequently detrimental to their interests, is not founded on prejudice and error, but is conformable to the correct principles of political economy." Ricardo's idea of technological change is now formulated in a modern form.


title: David Ricardo

text: Ricardo himself was the first to recognize that comparative advantage is a domain-specific theory, meaning that it applies only when certain conditions are met. Ricardo noted that the theory applies only in situations where capital is immobile. Regarding his famous example, he wrote:


title: David Ricardo

text: it would undoubtedly be advantageous to the capitalists [and consumers] of England… [that] the wine and cloth should both be made in Portugal [and that] the capital and labour of England employed in making cloth should be removed to Portugal for that purpose.


title: David Ricardo

text: Ricardo recognized that applying his theory in situations where capital was mobile would result in offshoring, and thereby economic decline and job loss. To correct for this, he argued that (i) "most men of property [will be] satisfied with a low rate of profits in their own country, rather than seek[ing] a more advantageous employment for their wealth in foreign nations", and (ii) capital was functionally immobile.


title: David Ricardo

text: Ricardo's argument in favour of free trade has also been attacked by those who believe trade restriction can be necessary for the economic development of a nation. Utsa Patnaik claims that Ricardian theory of international trade contains a logical fallacy. Ricardo assumed that in both countries two goods are producible and actually are produced, but developed and underdeveloped countries often trade those goods which are not producible in their own country. In these cases, one cannot define which country has comparative advantage.


title: David Ricardo

text: Critics also argue that Ricardo's theory of comparative advantage is flawed in that it assumes production is continuous and absolute. In the real world, events outside the realm of human control (e.g. natural disasters) can disrupt production. In this case, specialisation could cripple a country that depends on imports from foreign, naturally disrupted countries. For example, if an industrially based country trades its manufactured goods with an agrarian country in exchange for agricultural products, a natural disaster in the agricultural country (e.g. drought) may cause the industrially based country to starve.


title: David Ricardo

text: As Joan Robinson pointed out, following the opening of free trade with England, Portugal endured centuries of economic underdevelopment: "the imposition of free trade on Portugal killed off a promising textile industry and left her with a slow-growing export market for wine, while for England, exports of cotton cloth led to accumulation, mechanisation and the whole spiralling growth of the industrial revolution". Robinson argued that Ricardo's example required that economies be in static equilibrium positions with full employment and that there could not be a trade deficit or a trade surplus. These conditions, she wrote, were not relevant to the real world. She also argued that Ricardo's math did not take into account that some countries may be at different levels of development and that this raised the prospect of 'unequal exchange' which might hamper a country's development, as we saw in the case of Portugal.


title: David Ricardo

text: The development economist Ha-Joon Chang challenges the argument that free trade benefits every country:


title: David Ricardo

text: Another idea associated with Ricardo is Ricardian equivalence, an argument suggesting that in some circumstances a government's choice of how to pay for its spending ("i.e.," whether to use tax revenue or issue debt and run a deficit) might have no effect on the economy. This is due to the fact the public saves its excess money to pay for expected future tax increases that will be used to pay off the debt. Ricardo notes that the proposition is theoretically implied in the presence of intertemporal optimisation by rational tax-payers: but that since tax-payers do not act so rationally, the proposition fails to be true in practice. Thus, while the proposition bears his name, he does not seem to have believed it. Economist Robert Barro is responsible for its modern prominence.


title: David Ricardo

text: David Ricardo's ideas had a tremendous influence on later developments in economics. US economists rank Ricardo as the second most influential economic thinker, behind Adam Smith, prior to the twentieth century.


title: David Ricardo

text: Ricardo's writings fascinated a number of early socialists in the 1820s, who thought his value theory had radical implications. They argued that, in view of labour theory of value, labour produces the entire product, and the profits capitalists get are a result of exploitations of workers. These include Thomas Hodgskin, William Thompson, John Francis Bray, and Percy Ravenstone.