title: Princess Charlotte of Prussia

text: Charlotte's paternal family belonged to the House of Hohenzollern, a royal house that had ruled the German state of Prussia since the seventeenth century. By the end of her first year, Charlotte's father had become Crown Prince as his father ascended to the Prussian throne as King Wilhelm I. Charlotte's mother, Vicky, was the eldest daughter of the British monarch Queen Victoria and her husband Albert, Prince Consort. Charlotte and her brother, Wilhelm, were the only grandchildren born in Albert's lifetime. He and Victoria visited their daughter and two grandchildren when Charlotte was two months old; Vicky and Frederick William in turn brought Wilhelm and Charlotte on a visit to England in June 1861, six months before Albert's death.


title: Princess Charlotte of Prussia

text: The growing family, which came to include eight children, spent its winters in Berlin and summers in Potsdam; the year also usually included a stay in the country, to the delight of the children. In 1863 Vicky and Frederick William purchased a run-down property and refurbished it into a farm, allowing the family to periodically experience a simple country life. Frederick William was a loving husband, but as an officer in the Prussian army, his duties increasingly pulled him away from the home. Vicky was an intellectually demanding mother who expected her children to exhibit moral and political leadership, and in her husband's absence she carefully supervised their education and upbringing. Shortly after arriving in her new adopted country, Vicky observed the continuous arguments and intrigues within the Prussian royal family. This bolstered her belief in the superiority of English culture; she raised her children in English-style nurseries, and successfully fostered a love of her native country by incorporating aspects of English culture in the home and taking them on frequent trips to England.


title: Princess Charlotte of Prussia

text: While Vicky was close with her eldest daughter, this changed as the girl grew older; by the time she was two years old, Charlotte had become known as "sweet naughty little Ditta" and would prove to be the most difficult of the family's eight children. As a young girl, she acted nervously and made frequent displays of agitation, such as pulling at her clothes. An early habit of biting her nails led to preventative measures like the forced wearing of gloves, but any methods only provided temporary relief. Queen Victoria wrote to her daughter, "tell Charlotte I was appalled to hear of her biting her things. Grandmamma does not like naughty little girls". In 1863 the Crown Princess recorded in her diary that Charlotte's "little mind seems almost too active for her body – she is so nervous & sensitive and so quick. Her sleep is not so sound as it should be – and she is so very thin". Charlotte developed violent tantrums; Vicky described them as "such outbreaks of rage & stubbornness that she screams blue murder". The young girl was also underweight and had a troublesome digestion.


title: Princess Charlotte of Prussia

text: Charlotte was an indifferent student, to the dismay of her mother, who placed a high value on education. Charlotte's governess declared she had never seen "more difficulties" than with the princess, while Vicky once wrote of Charlotte in a letter to her mother that "Stupidity is not a sin, but it renders education a hard and difficult task". The Crown Princess rarely withheld her true thoughts of those who displeased her, and bluntly admonished her children to encourage their efforts and help them avoid vanity. Queen Victoria urged her daughter to act encouragingly rather than reproachfully towards Charlotte, believing that she could not expect the young princess to share Vicky's tastes. The biographer Jerrold M. Packard thinks it likely that the "pretty but nervous and sullen girl sensed [her mother's] disappointment from an early age", exacerbating the gulf between them.


title: Princess Charlotte of Prussia

text: Over time, a rift developed between the family's three eldest and three youngest children. The deaths of Charlotte's brothers Sigismund and Waldemar in 1866 and 1879, respectively, devastated the Crown Princess. The historian John C. G. Röhl posits that Vicky's eldest three children "could never live up to [her] idealised memory of the two dead princes". The strict upbringing Vicky gave to the eldest three children—Wilhelm, Charlotte, and Henry—was not replicated in her relationship with her three youngest surviving children, Viktoria, Sophia, and Margaret. The eldest children, in turn and sensing their mother's disappointment, became resentful of Vicky's indulgence towards their youngest siblings. The historian John Van der Kiste speculates that had Vicky shown the same level of acceptance with Charlotte as with her younger children, "the relationship between them might have been a happier one".


title: Princess Charlotte of Prussia

text: Charlotte was a favourite of her paternal grandparents, whom she frequently saw. King Wilhelm and Queen Augusta spoiled their granddaughter and encouraged her rebellion against the Crown Prince and Princess, and Charlotte and her brother frequently took their side in disputes with her parents. This rebellion was encouraged by the German chancellor Otto von Bismarck, who held political disagreements with the liberal Crown Prince and Princess. Charlotte also enjoyed a close relationship with her eldest brother, though they grew apart after his marriage in 1881 to Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein ("Dona"), a princess described by Charlotte as plain, slow-witted, and shy. Charlotte's relationship with Wilhelm would remain troubled as a result.


title: Princess Charlotte of Prussia

text: By the time she reached fourteen, Charlotte was described by Vicky as appearing much younger than her age; Vicky wrote, "Charlotte is in everything – health, looks and understanding, like a child of ten!" The princess had short legs, which, paired with a long waist and arms, made her appear tall when sitting but short when standing. She was also quite plain. She suffered from significant health issues for the majority of her adult life; this was accompanied by a nearly continuous state of mental agitation and wild excitement, confusing her doctors. Her many health issues included rheumatism, joint pains, headaches and insomnia.


title: Princess Charlotte of Prussia

text: As Charlotte grew older, her behaviour came to include flirtation, spreading malicious gossip, and causing trouble, traits her mother had noticed in her daughter's youth and had hoped she would outgrow. Vicky characterised her as a "wheedling little kitten [who] can be so loving whenever she wants something". She believed that Charlotte's "pretty exterior" hid "dangerous character traits", and blamed nature for producing such qualities in her daughter.


title: Princess Charlotte of Prussia

text: In April 1877, the sixteen-year-old Charlotte became engaged to her second cousin Prince Bernhard of Saxe-Meiningen, heir to the German Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen. According to a story related by Vicky's biographer, Hannah Pakula, Charlotte fell in love with the prince while they were driving with her eldest brother; Wilhelm sped up during the drive, alarming Charlotte and causing her to cling to Bernhard's arm. Pakula adds that this sudden but temporary passion likely fit Charlotte's "changeable" personality. Van der Kiste believes Charlotte's decision to marry Bernhard also stemmed from a desire to become independent of her parents, and especially from her mother's criticism.


title: Princess Charlotte of Prussia

text: Prince Bernhard, an army officer serving in a Potsdam regiment, was nine years her senior and a veteran of the recent Franco-Prussian War. Though regarded as weak-willed, he had many intellectual interests, particularly in archaeology. Charlotte did not share these interests, but Vicky hoped that time as well as marriage would guide Charlotte, so that "at least her wicked qualities will not be able to cause any harm". The engagement lasted nearly a year, with Vicky preparing her daughter's . They were married in Berlin on 18 February 1878, in a double ceremony that also included Princess Elisabeth Anna of Prussia's marriage to Frederick Augustus of Oldenburg. Charlotte's maternal uncles, the Prince of Wales and Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, attended the wedding, as did King Leopold II and Queen Marie Henriette of the Belgians.


title: Princess Charlotte of Prussia

text: The new couple established their household near the "Neues Palais", in a small villa previously inhabited by Auguste von Harrach, the morganatic wife of Frederick William III of Prussia. They also purchased a villa in Cannes, a decision that angered Wilhelm, who viewed France as an enemy country; Charlotte eventually spent most of her winters in the French city, as she hoped that its warm climate would help alleviate her lifetime of ill-health.


title: Princess Charlotte of Prussia

text: One year into their marriage, Charlotte gave birth to a daughter, Princess Feodora, on 12 May 1879. The new princess was the first grandchild of the Crown Prince and Princess, as well as the first great-grandchild of Queen Victoria. Charlotte had hated the limitations placed on her while pregnant, and decided this would be her only child, to the dismay of her mother. Following Feodora's birth, Charlotte devoted her time to enjoying society life in Berlin and embarking on long holiday trips. During these trips, Charlotte would often leave her daughter to stay with Vicky, whom she viewed as the source of a convenient nursery. Feodora frequently made long visits to Friedrichshof, her maternal grandmother's estate; on one occasion, Vicky observed that Feodora "is really a good little child, & far easier to manage than her mother".


title: Princess Charlotte of Prussia

text: Among the era's royal families, it was unusual to be an only child; Feodora likely endured a lonely childhood. Like her mother, Feodora suffered from sickness and various physical pains, as well as severe migraines. Feodora also lacked an interest in her studies, a deficit blamed by Vicky on a lack of parental guidance, as Charlotte and Bernhard were frequently away. Vicky commented, "The atmosphere of her home is not the best for a child of her age... With Charlotte for an example, what else can one expect".


title: Princess Charlotte of Prussia

text: Wilhelm I granted Charlotte and Bernhard a villa near Tiergarten in Berlin and transferred Bernhard to a regiment in the city. Charlotte spent much of her time socialising with other ladies, where it was common to pursue activities such as skating, gossiping, and holding dinner parties. She was admired for her fashion sense, having imported all of her clothing from Paris. Charlotte also smoked and drank, and was liked by many for hosting entertaining parties. She earned a reputation as a gossip, and many found her acid-tongued; she was known for befriending someone and earning their confidence, only to spread their secrets to others.


title: Princess Charlotte of Prussia

text: Charlotte's father ascended the German throne as Emperor Frederick III in March 1888, only to succumb to throat cancer in June of that year. Charlotte stayed with her ailing father during this period, alongside most of her siblings. With her brother's ascension as Wilhelm II, Charlotte's social influence increased in Berlin, where she surrounded herself with a wild group of nobles, diplomats, and young officials from the court. While she had gradually reconciled with her mother during Frederick's illness, Charlotte sided with Wilhelm when he complained that he should have attended Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee in place of his ailing father. Upon Wilhelm's ascension, Charlotte and Bernhard took his side in disputes with Vicky; the Dowager Empress, in turn, was defended by her three youngest daughters. In one letter during this period, Vicky characterised her eldest daughter as "most odd" and "hardly com[ing] near me", also describing Bernhard as impertinent and rude.


title: Princess Charlotte of Prussia

text: In early 1891, Berlin society erupted in scandal after a series of anonymous letters circulated to prominent members of the court, including Wilhelm and his wife Dona. The letters were written in the same handwriting, and featured salacious gossip, accusations, and intrigues among the court's powerful. Some included pornographic images layered upon royal photographs. Several hundred letters were sent over a four-year period. Wilhelm ordered an investigation, but the writer (or writers) were never identified. Some contemporaries speculated that Charlotte, known for her sharp tongue and love of gossip, may have been responsible. Historians have since suggested that the writer may have been Dona's brother Duke Ernst Gunther of Schleswig-Holstein in collaboration with his mistress. It is clear that the author had an intimate understanding of the many personalities within the royal family, likely making him or her either a family member or courtier.


title: Princess Charlotte of Prussia

text: During the letters scandal, Charlotte lost her diary which contained both family secrets and critical thoughts on various members of her family; the diary was eventually given to Wilhelm, who never forgave her for its contents. Bernhard was transferred to a regiment in the quiet town of Breslau, effectively exiling him and his wife. As controller of Charlotte's allowance, Wilhelm also limited their ability to travel outside of the country unless they were willing to go without royal honours. In 1896, Dona accused Charlotte of engaging in an affair with Karl-August Freiherr Roeder von Diersburg, a court official. Charlotte fiercely denied the allegations. Bernhard defended his wife and criticised the Hohenzollerns for attempting to keep every Prussian princess under the control of the family. Bernhard considered resigning his army position and leaving with his wife for Meiningen, though the dispute eventually resolved itself when von Diersburg returned to court with his wife. The scandal was considered to have seriously damaged the reputation of the monarchy.


title: Princess Charlotte of Prussia

text: As Feodora grew older, various suitors were considered for marriage. The exiled Prince Peter Karađorđević, thirty-six years her senior, unsuccessfully requested her hand in marriage. Another potential candidate was her cousin Alfred, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. In late 1897, Feodora became engaged to Prince Henry XXX of Reuss, and they married the following year, on 24 September 1898 in a Lutheran ceremony at Breslau. The groom was fifteen years older than his bride and a captain in a Brunswick regiment, but not wealthy or particularly high-ranked. Many in the family were shocked at the marriage, but the Dowager Empress was at least pleased that her granddaughter seemed happy with the match.


title: Princess Charlotte of Prussia

text: As her husband acquired military assignments, Feodora travelled throughout Germany. The marriage, however, did not improve relations between mother and daughter. After a visit by the couple in 1899, Charlotte wrote that Feodora was "incomprehensible" and "shrinks away, whenever I try to influence her, concerning her person & health". Charlotte also disliked her son-in-law, criticizing his appearance and inability to control his strong-willed wife. Unlike her mother, Feodora wanted children; her inability to conceive left Feodora disappointed, though it pleased Charlotte, who had no desire for grandchildren.


title: Princess Charlotte of Prussia

text: Van der Kiste writes that Charlotte and Feodora had very similar personalities, "both strong-willed creatures who loved gossip and were too ready to believe the worst of each other". Eventually, their relationship deteriorated enough for Charlotte to bar Feodora and Henry from her house. Charlotte refused to accept Feodora's claim to have malaria, believing instead that her daughter had contracted a venereal disease from Henry; this opinion outraged Feodora. Over the years members of the family tried to repair the mother-daughter relationship, without success. Charlotte did not write to Feodora for nearly a decade, finally doing so after Feodora underwent a dangerous operation to help her conceive. Charlotte expressed outrage that such an operation had been approved, but eventually visited her in the sanatorium at Feodora's request.


title: Princess Charlotte of Prussia

text: In June 1911, Charlotte attended her cousin George V's coronation in England, but the country's summer heat left her bed-ridden with a swollen face and pain in her limbs. On 25 June 1914, her husband inherited his father's duchy and became Bernhard III, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen. World War I broke out on 28 July; Bernhard left for the front while Charlotte remained behind to oversee the duchy, serving mainly as a figurehead. During the war, Charlotte increasingly experienced various pains including chronic aches, swollen legs, and kidney problems. The degree of the pain became so severe that she took opium as her only comfortable treatment.


title: Princess Charlotte of Prussia

text: The end of the war in 1918 led to the political demise of the German Empire, as well as all of its many duchies; consequently, Bernhard was forced to abdicate his rule over Saxe-Meiningen. The following year, Charlotte travelled to Baden-Baden to seek medical treatment for her heart, ultimately dying there of a heart attack on 1 October 1919 at the age of 59. Bernhard died nine years later and was buried with her at Schloss Altenstein in Thuringia.


title: Princess Charlotte of Prussia

text: The majority of historians hold that Charlotte and Feodora were afflicted with porphyria, a genetic disease that is believed to have affected some members of the British Royal Family, most notably King George III. In their 1998 book "Purple Secret: Genes, 'Madness', and the Royal Houses of Europe", the historian John C. G. Röhl and the geneticists Martin Warren and David Hunt identify Charlotte as "occup[ying] a crucial position in [the] search for the porphyria mutation in the descendants of the Hanoverians".


title: Princess Charlotte of Prussia

text: For evidence, Röhl reviewed letters between Charlotte and her doctor, as well as correspondence with her parents, that had been sent over a 25-year period; he found that even as a little girl, Charlotte had suffered from hyperactivity and indigestion. As a young woman, Charlotte became gravely ill with what her mother called "malaria poisoning and anaemia" followed by "neuralgia, fainting and nausea", all described by Röhl as a "textbook list of the symptoms of porphyria, and this several decades before the disorder was clinically identified". Röhl also notes further symptoms described in letters between Charlotte and her physician Ernst Schweninger, who treated her for over two decades beginning in the early 1890s; in them, Charlotte variously complains of "toothache, backache, insomnia, dizzy spells, nausea, constipation, excruciating 'wandering' abdominal pains, skin oedema and itching, partial paralysis of the legs and dark red or orange urine", the last of which Röhl calls the "decisive diagnostic symptom".


title: Princess Charlotte of Prussia

text: In the 1990s, a team led by Röhl exhumed Charlotte's and Feodora's graves and took samples of each princess for testing. In both mother and daughter, the researchers found evidence of a mutation related to porphyria; while the team notes they could not be completely certain that this mutation was caused by the genetic disease, and believed it beyond dispute, based on the historical and biological evidence. They add that many of the same symptoms were found in Charlotte's mother Vicky, as well as other family members including Queen Victoria. Röhl, Warren, and Hunt conclude "...for what else could have caused their terrible attacks of lameness and abdominal pain and skin rashes– and in Charlotte's case dark red urine?"


The Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance (commonly known as the Rio Treaty, the Rio Pact, the Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance, or by the Spanish-language acronym TIAR from Tratado Interamericano de Asistencia Recíproca) is an agreement signed in 1947 in Rio de Janeiro among many countries of the Americas. The central principle contained in its articles is that an attack against one is to be considered an attack against them all; this was known as the "hemispheric defense" doctrine. Despite this, several members have breached the treaty on multiple occasions. The treaty was initially created in 1947 and came into force in 1948, in accordance with Article 22 of the treaty. The Bahamas was the most recent country to sign and ratify it in 1982.


title: Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance

text: The United States maintained a hemispheric defense policy relative to European influence under the Monroe Doctrine since 1823, which became increasingly interventionist with the Roosevelt Corollary in 1904. During the 1930s the United States had been alarmed by Axis overtures toward military cooperation with Latin American governments; apparent strategic threats against the Panama Canal were of particular concern. These were discussed in a series of meetings of the International Conference of American States and the 1936 Inter-American Conference for the Maintenance of Peace. During the war, Washington had been able to secure Allied support from all individual governments except Uruguay, which remained neutral, and Argentina, whose government was not recognized by the Allied powers. Some countries had signed the Declaration by United Nations in early 1942 and more had signed by the end of 1945.


text: However, Latin American countries were largely sidelined from the Allied discussions of a postwar security order, held at Dumbarton Oaks. The Brazilian Ambassador Carlos Martins "protested the violation of inter-American norms of consultation in the preparation of postwar plans." These protests led to a series of consultations as well as the Mexican proposal for an inter-American meeting. At the Inter-American Conference on the Problems of War and Peace, in Mexico City during February and March 1945, discussions of the post-war world order were held and produced the Act of Chapultepec. The Act included a framework for the negotiation of a regional security treaty. It also shaped Latin American pressure during the United Nations conference in San Francisco for clauses in the UN Charter to facilitate regional collective defense, under Article 51.


text: Initially, the security conference was due to be held in Rio de Janeiro in late 1945 or early 1946; however, disputes between the United States and Argentina's Juan Domingo Perón led to delays. The United States and some Latin American concern about "peronismo" raised the possibility of including collective intervention to preserve democracy in the security conference. During the delay, global tensions between the United States and Soviet Union grew. In light of the developing Cold War and following the statement of the Truman Doctrine, the United States wished to make those new anti-communist commitments permanent, as did many anti-communist leaders in Latin America.


text: The Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance was the first of many so-called "mutual security agreements", and the formalization of the Act of Chapultepec. The treaty was adopted by the original signatories on 2 September 1947 in Rio de Janeiro (hence the colloquial name "Rio Treaty"). It came into force on 3 December 1948 and was registered with the United Nations on 20 December 1948. With the exceptions of Trinidad and Tobago (1967) and the Bahamas (1982), no countries that became independent after 1947 have joined the treaty; Canada is yet to become a member, though it already has separate defense commitments with the United States.


text: Though the Cold War overtones of the Rio Treaty became increasingly evident, during the immediate post-war years, Long argues that it was more closely tied to pre-WWII regional antecedents and, even, Latin American diplomatic pressure. Long states, "Despite many Latin American concerns about the United States’ ultimately interventionist nature, Latin American diplomats cited the Monroe Doctrine and United States-led Pan-Americanism in support of a grand bargain that would extend and institutionalize U.S. engagement while restricting unilateralism." However, the United States' often considered adherence to the Treaty's principles of nonintervention as secondary to its Cold War concerns.


text: As revolutionary and nationalist governments spread through Latin America through the 1950s and 1960s, the fear of a shared enemy that was experienced during WWII dissipated and the idea of defensive cooperation became strained. According to Slater, many Latin American governments participating in the Treaty sought "to insulate the hemisphere from rather than involve it in world conflict", though the United States pushed the smaller countries towards confrontation with its ideological adversaries. Latin American governments then began to view inter-American collaboration as bending to the will of the United States, forfeiting their sovereignty.


text: Though the action of the United States during the 1954 Guatemalan coup d'état and the 1961 Bay of Pigs Invasion raised questions among Latin American governments, the unilateral approach of the United States invading the Dominican Republic in 1965 during the Dominican Civil War before the OAS's Inter-American Peace Force was organized, proved to members that the United States did not respect the ideals of multilateralism. Conversely during the Falklands War in 1982, the United States favored the United Kingdom arguing that Argentina had been the aggressor and because Argentina had not been attacked, as did Chile and Colombia. This was seen by most Latin American countries as the final failure of the treaty.


text: In September 2002, citing the Falklands example and anticipating the invasion of Iraq, Mexico formally withdrew from the treaty; after the requisite two years, Mexico ceased to be a signatory in September 2004. In 2008, the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) created a new regional security council manage their own defensive objectives. On 5 June 2012, Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA) countries Bolivia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, under the leadership of leftist governments, initiated the retirement from the TIAR, a decision which the Obama administration described as "unfortunate" but respected. The treaty was officially denounced by Nicaragua on 20 September 2012, Bolivia on 17 October 2012, Venezuela on 14 May 2013, and Ecuador on 19 February 2014.


text: The treaty was invoked numerous times during the 1950s and 1960s, in particular the unanimous support of the United States' naval blockade during the Cuban Missile Crisis. In 2001, the United States invoked the Rio Treaty after the September 11 attacks.


text: In 2019 during a presidential crisis in Venezuela between incumbent President Nicolás Maduro and president of the opposition-led National Assembly of Venezuela Juan Guaidó, the latter opened talks on rejoining TIAR. On 11 May, Guaidó sent a letter to Organization of American States (OAS) secretary Luis Almagro requesting that Venezuela be reinstated. On 29 May 2019, the National Assembly approved its return to the Treaty in a preliminary discussion. The National Assembly reiterated its approval to return to the treaty in July 2019.


title: Muthulakshmi Reddy

text: Muthulakshmi Reddy (also spelled Reddi in some British Indian sources; 30 July 1886 – 22 July 1968) was an Indian medical practitioner, social reformer and Padma Bhushan award recipient.


title: Muthulakshmi Reddy

text: Muthulakshmi Reddy was appointed to the Madras Legislative Council in 1926. This nomination marked the beginning of her lifelong effort to "correct the balance for women by removing social abuses and working for equality in moral standards″. She was a women's activist and social reformer.


title: Muthulakshmi Reddy

text: She had a number of firsts to her name: the first female student to be admitted into a men's college, the first woman House Surgeon in the Government Maternity and Ophthalmic Hospital, the first woman Legislator in British India, the first Chairperson of the State Social Welfare Advisory Board, the first woman Deputy President of the Legislative Council, and the first Alderwoman of the Madras Corporation Avvai Home.


title: Muthulakshmi Reddy

text: Reddy was born in the princely state of Pudukkottai of Tamil Nadu. In spite of various constraints faced by girls in India of her time, she completed her higher education and was admitted into the medical profession. In 1907, she joined the Madras Medical College, where she achieved a brilliant academic record. With several gold medals and prizes to her credit, Reddy graduated in 1912 to become one of the first female doctors in India. Soon after, she came under the influence of Annie Besant, and then of Mahatma Gandhi.


title: Muthulakshmi Reddy

text: She was born to a Tamil Family. Her father was S. Narayanaswami Iyer, the Principal of Maharaja's College. Her mother was Chandrammal, a Devadasi. Her father was ostracised from his family because of his marriage to a Devadasi. She developed a close relationship with the maternal side of her family, and this closeness made her very perceptive of the Devadasi community and their issues. Narayanaswami Iyer broke the tradition and sent Muthulakshmi to school. Her enthusiasm for learning was so great that Muthulakshmi's teachers decided to instruct her in subjects beyond those approved by her father. At the onset of puberty, she was obliged to leave school, but tutoring continued at home. Chandrammal wanted to search for a bridegroom but Muthulakshmi had different aspirations. She expressed a need to be different from the common lot. She was against the subordination of women to men and rebelled whenever she heard people say that only boys needed education.


title: Muthulakshmi Reddy

text: When Reddy passed the Matriculation exam she applied for admission to Maharaja's College but her application was not welcomed by the Principal or the parents of other students. Her gender was a factor as was her background. The Principal thought she might "demoralize" the male students. The somewhat enlightened Maharaja of Pudukottai ignored these objections, admitted her to the college, and gave her a scholarship. Her father suggested that she can become a school teacher but she had higher aspirations. She entered Madras Medical College, completed her studies in 1912, and became House Surgeon in the Government Hospital for Women and Children in Chennai.


title: Muthulakshmi Reddy

text: She later married Sundara Reddy with the proviso that he promised to "always respect me as an equal and never cross my wishes." In 1914, when she was twenty-eight years of age, they married in accordance with the 1872 Native Marriage Act.


title: Muthulakshmi Reddy

text: After the marriage of Muthulakshmi with Sundara Reddy she got her surname Reddy. Famous Tamil actor Gemini Ganesan is the son of Muthulakshmi Reddy's brother Ramasamy.


title: Muthulakshmi Reddy

text: During her college years, Muthulakshmi met Sarojini Naidu and began to attend women's meetings. She found women who shared her concerns and addressed them in terms of women's rights. The two great personalities who influenced her life were Mahatma Gandhi and Annie Besant. They persuaded her to devote herself to uplifting women and children. She worked for women's emancipation at a time when women were confined in the four walls of their room.


title: Muthulakshmi Reddy

text: She went to England for higher studies and she gave up her rewarding practice in medicine in response to a request from the Women's Indian Association (WIA) to enter the Madras Legislative Council. She was elected unanimously as its deputy president. She led the agitation for the municipal and legislative franchise for women. She was concerned about the orphans, especially girls. She arranged for them free boarding and lodging and started the Avvai Home in Chennai.


title: Muthulakshmi Reddy

text: Muthu Lakshmi was the author of numerous social reforms. Her book "My Experience as a Legislator" records her service. She passed a resolution to establish a special hospital for women and children. The government accepted her suggestion and opened a children's section in the maternity hospital. She recommended systematic medical inspection of students in all schools and colleges, run by municipalities as well as other local bodies. Kasturba Hospital at Triplicane is a monument to her efforts.


title: Muthulakshmi Reddy

text: She was the president of the All-India Women's Conference. She passed the bill for the suppression of brothels and the immoral trafficking of women and children. A home called Avvai Home for girls and women was opened through her efforts to provide shelter to those rescued from brothels.


title: Muthulakshmi Reddy

text: ""The hostels were all caste-based and would not admit them. Neither would schools. It was then that she decided to house them and educate them herself. Thus was born 'Avvai Illam'(Avvai's Home) for the poor and destitute girls.""


title: Muthulakshmi Reddy

text: Due to her efforts, a hostel for Muslim girls was opened and scholarships were given to Harijan girls. She recommended to the government that the minimum age for marriage be raised to at least 21 for boys and 16 for girls.


title: Muthulakshmi Reddy

text: Muthu Lakshmi also started the Cancer Relief Fund. This has now developed into an all-India institution combining therapy and research on cancer and attracting patients from all over India. She became the first chairperson of the State Social Welfare Board. Her work on the Hartog Education Committee, which incorporated a study of educational progress in India, is a great achievement. As a member of this committee, she traveled extensively and studied the progress of women's education throughout the country. She was the only female member of the committee and brought about many improvements. She was also the editor of Roshini, an important journal of AIWC.


title: Muthulakshmi Reddy

text: She continued to fight for her cause till the end of her days and never let anything stand in her way. Even at the age of 80, she was energetic and vibrant. Her human preoccupations took her away from politics and she stuck to her mission and Gandhian ways. She was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the President of India in 1956. Her two outstanding monumental gifts for India remain the Avvai Home (for children) and the Cancer Institute.


title: Muthulakshmi Reddy

text: She was nominated by Sakthi Hari Haran to the Madras Legislature as a member of the legislative council in 1926 and became the first woman to be a member of any legislature in India. When she was elected as the deputy chairperson of the legislative council, she became the first woman in the world to become the vice president of a legislature. She was the prime mover behind the legislation that abolished the Devadasi system and played a keen role in raising the minimum marriage age for women in India. In 1930, she resigned from the Madras Legislature as a protest following the imprisonment of Mahatma Gandhi. She argued for the removal of the Devadasi system that was widely prevalent in Tamil Nadu at that time against stiff resistance from the Congress lobby led by Dheerar Sathyamoorthy, also from Pudhukkottai. She was the founder-president of the Women's Indian Association (WIA) and became the first alderwoman of the Madras Corporation.


title: Muthulakshmi Reddy

text: Reddy was active in setting up of several toilets and women's toilets and initiated measures to improve the medical facilities given to slum dwellers. In 1930, she founded Avvai Illam


title: Muthulakshmi Reddy

text: During her address at the Centenary celebration of 1935, she declared her desire to start a hospital for cancer patients. The foundation stone for Adyar Cancer Institute was laid by prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1952. The hospital, which started functioning on 18 June 1954, was the second of its kind in India. Today it treats nearly 80,000 cancer patients a year.


title: Muthulakshmi Reddy

text: She worked for the Tamil music movement, Tamil Language development and she protested to increase the salary of Tamil teachers and writers. She was the editor of the monthly magazine 'Sthree Dharumam' for women run by the Indian Women Association.


title: Muthulakshmi Reddy

text: Her book "My Experience as a Legislator" recounts her initiatives in respect of social reforms taken by her in the Madras Legislature.


title: Muthulakshmi Reddy

text: Government of India conferred on her Padma Bhushan in 1956 in recognition of her meritorious services to the nation.


title: Muthulakshmi Reddy

text: In 2022 a monograph was published, "Muthulakshmi Reddy—A Trailblazer in Surgery and Women’s Rights" written by VR Devika, emphasizing the contributions of this legendary medical practitioner, social reformer, and feminist to the development of Indian women.


title: IDW Publishing

text: IDW Publishing is an American publisher of comic books, graphic novels, art books, and comic strip collections. It was founded in 1999 as the publishing division of Idea and Design Works, LLC (IDW), itself formed in 1999, and is regularly recognized as the fifth-largest comic book publisher in the United States, behind Marvel, DC, Dark Horse and Image Comics, ahead of other major comic book publishers such as Archie, Boom!, Dynamite, Valiant and Oni Press. The company is perhaps best known for its licensed comic book adaptations of movies, television shows, video games, and cartoons.


title: IDW Publishing

text: Idea and Design Works (IDW) was formed in 1999 by a group of comic book managers and artists that met at Wildstorm Productions included Ted Adams, Robbie Robbins, Alex Garner, and Kris Oprisko for an outsource art and graphic design firm. Each of the four was equal partners, owning 25%. With Wildstorm owner Jim Lee selling to DC Comics in 1999, Lee turned that company's creative service department, previously run by Adams, clients over to IDW allowing IDW to be profitable its first year. With these profits, the firm decided to fund a new venture every year.


title: IDW Publishing

text: In 2000, they developed a TV show concept, getting as far as a pilot episode. For 2001's project, Adams's Ashley Wood talked to them about publishing an art book, thus starting up IDW Publishing. "Una Fanta" was published in March 2002. Woods had Steve Niles send Adams some of his rejected screenplays. Adams selected one, "30 Days of Night", and paired him with artist Ben Templesmith for a comic adaptation as a three issue series, beginning in August 2002. With low pre-orders, Adams personally pushed the comic with the distributor and major comic book stores. Soon the title's back issues were hot and were followed up with Wood's "Popbot".


title: IDW Publishing

text: In 2007, IDT Corporation purchased a 53% majority interest in IDW from the company's founders, removing Garner & Oprisko, while reducing Adams & Robbins to minority owners collectively at 47%. Then, in 2009, IDT proceeded to increase its interest to the current 76%, reducing Adams & Robbins's interest once again to the current 24%. Then, shortly afterwards, IDT created CTM Media Holdings via a tax-free spin-off. This new company consisted of the majority interest in IDW and CTM Media Group. Eight years later, on April 3, 2015, CTM Media Holdings announced it would continue operations under a new name, becoming IDW Media Holdings, which would continue to consist of the majority interest in IDW and CTM Media Group.


title: IDW Publishing

text: The company's first traditional comic series, "30 Days of Night", created by Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith started a seven-figure bidding war between DreamWorks, MGM, and Senator International, with Senator winning and Sam Raimi attached to produce.


title: IDW Publishing

text: IDW Publishing also publishes comics based on the TV franchises "Star Trek" and "CSI". The company's other licensed comics include Topps' Mars Attacks, Sony's "Underworld", FX' "The Shield", Fox' "24", and "Angel"; Universal’s "Land of the Dead" and "Shaun of the Dead"; and Konami’s "Silent Hill", "Castlevania", "Metal Gear Solid", and "Speed Racer". The company has also had success with comic license from toy company Hasbro brands: "The Transformers" (with Takara), "G.I. Joe", "My Little Pony", and "Jem". Transformers has had as many as five different titles running concurrently.


title: IDW Publishing

text: Beginning in 2008, the company licensed the "Doctor Who" series from the BBC, launching two concurrent titles: "Doctor Who Classics", which reprints colorized comic strips featuring the past Doctors such as the Fourth Doctor and Fifth Doctor originally published in the late 1970s-early 1980s by "Doctor Who Magazine", and "Doctor Who: Agent Provocateur", an original six-part limited series featuring the Tenth Doctor and overseen and written by TV series script editor Gary Russell. An additional six-part limited series titled "Doctor Who: The Forgotten" started in mid-2008 by Tony Lee and Pia Guerra, as well as a series of monthly one-shot, self-contained stories. July 2009 saw the beginning of "Doctor Who", an ongoing series featuring the Tenth Doctor, written by Tony Lee and illustrated by a rotating art team.


title: IDW Publishing

text: IDW Publishing acquired the G.I. Joe comics license in May 2008 (previously held by Devil's Due Publishing) and released three new series under editor Andy Schmidt, from writers such as Chuck Dixon, Larry Hama, and Christos Gage. Other comics were released in time to tie-in with the .


title: IDW Publishing

text: In March 2009, IDW Publishing forged an agreement with Mike Gold's Comicmix.com to publish print versions of Comicmix's online comic books. The agreement stipulates Comicmix must provide two comic books a month to IDW Publishing to publish, as well as graphic novels and trade paperbacks as demanded by the market. The books are published with both the IDW Publishing and Comicmix.com logos on the covers. As of the end of 2009, the agreement has produced print versions of the "Grimjack" series "The Manx Cat"; the "Jon Sable" series "Ashes of Eden"; Mark Wheatley and Robert Tinnell's pulp hero series "Lone Justice"; the graphic novel "Demons of Sherwood" by Tinnell and Bo Hampton; and a graphic novel collecting Trevor Von Eeden's "The Original Johnson". A collection of "Munden's Bar" stories original to Comicmix's website is also forthcoming.


title: IDW Publishing

text: In 2004, 2005, and 2006 IDW Publishing was named Publisher of the Year by Diamond Comic Distributors.


title: IDW Publishing

text: In 2010, IDW Publishing released the sequel to Michael San Giacomo's "Phantom Jack" Image Comics series with "Phantom Jack: The Nowhere Man Agenda." The graphic novel is notable because it features the death of the main character, a reporter who can turn invisible.


title: IDW Publishing

text: IDW Publishing formed an imprint with EA Games in late 2009, called EA Comics, to focus on adaptations of the latter's video games, with initial titles including "Army of Two" and


title: IDW Publishing

text: In January 2011, IDW Publishing announced a new Dungeons & Dragons comic series, under license from Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast. Set in the D&D 4th Edition core setting, the new ongoing series "Dungeons & Dragons (Fell's Five)" ran for 16 issues. Several mini-series were also published including "The Legend of Drizzt: Neverwinter Tales" written by R.A. Salvatore. Since 2014, five five-issue mini-series have been published in the D&D 5th Edition core setting. A sixth five-issue mini-series, "Infernal Tide", is set to be published in November 2019.


title: IDW Publishing

text: In April 2011, IDW Publishing acquired the license to publish new collections of older "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" comics, as well as a new ongoing series beginning in August of that year. In August 2017 issue #73 of the main ongoing series was published, making it the longest running comic series in the franchise's history.


title: IDW Publishing

text: September 6, 2011, for the 10th anniversary of 9/11, IDW Publishing teamed up Charlie Foxtrot Entertainment and released the graphic novel "Code Word: Geronimo", written by retired Marine Corps Captain Dale Dye and Julia Dye, drawn by Gerry Kissell with inker Amin Amat. "Code Word: Geronimo" reached #22 on Diamond Comics top 100 list its first month after release. During that same year, the company has published its first crossover series "Infestation".


title: IDW Publishing

text: In March 2012 IDW Publishing announced it would release new comics based on "Judge Dredd" and "The Crow". Also in 2012, Hasbro licensed the use of "" for an . The company also published "Infestation 2".


title: IDW Publishing

text: In February 2013, IDW Publishing announced a partnership with Cartoon Network to publish comics based on the network's television series and reprint older Cartoon Network comics.


title: IDW Publishing

text: In February 2015, it was announced that IDW Publishing made a deal with Disney to continue the publication of the following comic books: "Uncle Scrooge", "Donald Duck", "Mickey Mouse", and "Walt Disney's Comics and Stories".


title: IDW Publishing

text: In 2016, IDW launched the Hasbro Reconstruction initiative to present a shared universe of Hasbro brands, which was later known as the Hasbro Comic Book Universe. The first event was "Revolution", followed by "First Strike" on 2017.


title: IDW Publishing

text: In April 2017, IDW Publishing acquired a license from Lucasfilm to produce a range of all-ages Star Wars comics.


title: IDW Publishing

text: In July 2017, Sega announced a partnership with IDW to publish comics based on "Sonic the Hedgehog" beginning in 2018, following the conclusion/cancellation of the previous series by Archie Comics. IDW has also launched new imprint called Black Crown, handling creator-owned comics.


title: IDW Publishing

text: In April 2018, publishers IDW Publishing and Oni Press announced a crossover between the "Rick and Morty" comic book and Dungeons & Dragons co-written by Jim Zub and Patrick Rothfuss with art by Troy Little. The four issue mini-series, "Rick and Morty vs. Dungeons & Dragons", was first published in August 2018. In May 2019, a sequel mini-series was announced: "Rick and Morty vs. Dungeons & Dragons: Chapter II: Painscape." It will be written by Jim Zub and Sarah Stern with art by Troy Little.


title: IDW Publishing

text: In 2019, the company went under financial difficulties and got help from JPMorgan Chase evaluating strategies to be profitable.


title: IDW Publishing

text: In May 2019, IDW offered itself as an investor in Clover Press, a new independent publisher founded by Ted Adams (cofounder and former CEO of IDW) and Robbie Robbins (cofounder, executive vice president and art director at IDW).


title: IDW Publishing

text: In July 2019, it was announced that IDW Publishing had acquired the classic Sunday strip publisher Sunday Press Books.


title: IDW Publishing

text: Between April and May 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, IDW was forced to furlough and then layoff several employees, including Managing Editor Denton Tipton, Associate Publisher David Hedgecock, Senior Graphic Artist Gilberto Lazcano, Senior Graphic Designer Christa Miesner and Brand & Marketing Manager Spencer Reeve. In July 2020, Chris Ryall announced to step down from his position of President, Publisher and Chief Creative Officer to launch a new imprint named Syzygy Publishing, but he is still editor of future "Locke & Key" projects. Jerry Bennington was promoted to President, Nachie Marsham was promoted to Publisher, and Rebekah Cahalin was promoted to General Manager and Executive Vice President of Operations covering IDW Publishing, and Veronica Brooks was promoted to Vice President of Creative Affairs.


title: IDW Publishing

text: Around 2021, IDW announced that the comic book license for Disney properties would pass to Marvel Comics, while the license for Lucasfilm's "Star Wars" passed back to Dark Horse Comics. In September 2021, IDW announced that its partnership with Diamond Comic Distributors would switch to Penguin Random House. In December 2021, The Library of American Comics announced that they would be moving to Clover Press. That same month, John Barber announced that he would step away from the role of Editor-in-Chief.


title: IDW Publishing

text: In January 2022, IDW announced that they would "bid a fond farewell" to their comic book licenses of Hasbro's "Transformers" and "G.I. Joe" by the end of the year, but would continue publishing other Hasbro licenses, including "My Little Pony" and Wizards of the Coast's "Dungeons & Dragons".


title: IDW Publishing

text: Konami acquired the video game rights, and minority ownership, in IDW Publishing's "CVO: Covert Vampiric Operations".


title: IDW Publishing

text: "30 Days of Night" has been adapted into a film of the same name in 2007, starring Josh Hartnett and Melissa George, directed by David Slade, and produced by "Spider-Man" director Sam Raimi. It is distributed by Columbia Pictures.


title: IDW Publishing

text: Dimension Films has an option on two Steve Niles/IDW Publishing properties: "Wake the Dead", with "X2" screenwriter Michael Dougherty attached to write, and "Hyde", with Mike Fleiss ("The Bachelor", "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre") attached to produce.


title: IDW Publishing

text: The motion comic version of "" titled "Transformers: Beginnings" (albeit excluding characters not present in the movie) is included in the "Transformers" DVD.


title: IDW Publishing

text: Syfy announced a television adaptation of "Wynonna Earp", which premiered on April 1, 2016 and ended on April 9, 2021.


title: IDW Publishing

text: "October Faction" created by Steve Niles received a 10 episode series order from Netflix on September 28, 2018 with High Park Entertainment producing in association with IDW Entertainment, who would also be involved in the distribution of the series internationally. The series debuted on Netflix on January 23, 2020 and was canceled after one season.


title: IDW Publishing

text: "V Wars" created by William Laurin and Glenn Davis, received a 10 episode order from Netflix on April 16, 2018, with High Park Entertainment producing in association with IDW Entertainment, who would also be involved in the distribution of the series internationally. The series debuted on Netflix on December 5, 2019 and was canceled after one season.


title: Henry L. Stimson

text: Henry Lewis Stimson (September 21, 1867 – October 20, 1950) was an American statesman, lawyer, and Republican Party politician. Over his long career, he emerged as a leading figure in U.S. foreign policy by serving in both Republican and Democratic administrations. He served as Secretary of War (1911–1913) under President William Howard Taft, Secretary of State (1929–1933) under President Herbert Hoover, and Secretary of War (1940–1945) under Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman, overseeing American military efforts during World War II.


title: Henry L. Stimson

text: The son of the surgeon Lewis Atterbury Stimson, Stimson became a Wall Street lawyer after graduating from Harvard Law School. He served as a United States Attorney under President Theodore Roosevelt and prosecuted several antitrust cases. After he was defeated in the 1910 New York gubernatorial election, Stimson served as Secretary of War under Taft. He continued the reorganization of the United States Army that had begun under his mentor, Elihu Root. After the outbreak of World War I, Stimson became part of the Preparedness Movement. He served as an artillery officer in France after the United States entered the war. From 1927 to 1929, he served as Governor-General of the Philippines under President Calvin Coolidge.


title: Henry L. Stimson

text: In 1929, President Hoover appointed Stimson as Secretary of State. Stimson sought to avoid a worldwide naval race and thus helped negotiate the London Naval Treaty. He protested the Japanese invasion of Manchuria, which instituted the Stimson Doctrine of nonrecognition of international territorial changes that are executed by force. After World War II broke out in Europe, Stimson accepted President Franklin Roosevelt's appointment to return as Secretary of War. After the U.S. entered the war, Stimson, working very closely with Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall, took charge of raising and training 13 million soldiers and airmen, supervised the spending of a third of the on the Army and the Air Forces, helped formulate military strategy, and oversaw the Manhattan Project to build the first atomic bombs. He supported the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. During and after the war, Stimson strongly opposed the Morgenthau Plan, which would have deindustrialized and partitioned Germany into several smaller states. He also insisted on judicial proceedings against Nazi war criminals, which led to the Nuremberg trials.


title: Henry L. Stimson

text: Henry Lewis Stimson was born in Manhattan, New York City, the son of Lewis Atterbury Stimson, a prominent surgeon, and his wife, the former Candace Thurber Wheeler. When he was nine, his mother died of kidney failure, and he was then sent to boarding school.


title: Henry L. Stimson

text: He spent summers with his grandmother Candace Wheeler at her Catskills country house and played with his uncle Dunham Wheeler, who was almost the same age, in "the Armory", which was their nickname for one corner of a large room in the house. Roaming the Catskill Mountains, he grew to love the outdoors and would become an avid sportsman.


title: Henry L. Stimson

text: He was educated at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, where he gained a lifelong interest in religion and a close relationship with the school. He later donated Woodley, his Washington, D.C. real estate, to the school in his will (the property is now the Maret School). He was an honorary lifetime member of Theodore Roosevelt's Boone and Crockett Club, North America's first wildlife conservation organization. He was a Phillips trustee from 1905 to 1947 and served as president of the board from 1935 to 1945. He then attended Yale College, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He joined Skull and Bones, a secret society that afforded many contacts for the rest of his life. He graduated in 1888 and attended Harvard Law School, where he graduated in 1890. He joined the prestigious Wall Street law firm of Root and Clark in 1891 and became a partner in 1893. Elihu Root, a future Secretary of War and Secretary of State, became a major influence on and role model for Stimson.


title: Henry L. Stimson

text: In July 1893, Stimson married the former Mabel Wellington White, a great-great granddaughter of one of the Founding Fathers, Roger Sherman, and the sister of Elizabeth Selden Rogers. An adult case of mumps had left Stimson infertile, and they had no children. The couple honeymooned in Kyoto, Japan, a voyage that would prove critical in Stimson's decision not to drop a nuclear bomb on that city during the Second World War.


title: Henry L. Stimson

text: In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt appointed Stimson U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, where Stimson made a distinguished record prosecuting antitrust cases. He later served from 1937 to 1939 as president of the New York City Bar Association, where a medal honoring service as a U.S. Attorney is still awarded in his honor.


title: Henry L. Stimson

text: He joined the Council on Foreign Relations at its inception and was described by "The New York Times" as "the group's quintessential member".


title: Henry L. Stimson

text: In 1911, President William Howard Taft appointed Stimson as Secretary of War. Stimson continued the reorganization of the army that had begun by Elihu Root, which improved its efficiency prior to its vast expansion in World War I. In 1913, Stimson left office following the accession of President Woodrow Wilson.


title: Henry L. Stimson

text: Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, he was a strong supporter of Britain and France but also supported US neutrality. He called for preparation of a large, powerful army and was active in the privately funded Plattsburg Training Camp Movement to train potential officers. After the US declared war in 1917, Stimson was one of the 18 selected by former President Theodore Roosevelt to raise a volunteer infantry division, Roosevelt's World War I volunteers, for service in France in 1917.


title: Henry L. Stimson

text: President Woodrow Wilson refused to make use of the volunteers, and the unit disbanded. Stimson served the regular US Army in France as an artillery officer and reached the rank of colonel in August 1918. He continued his military service in the Organized Reserve Corps and rose to the rank of brigadier general in 1922.


title: Henry L. Stimson

text: In 1927, Stimson was sent by President Calvin Coolidge to Nicaragua to negotiate an end to the Nicaraguan Civil War. Stimson wrote that Nicaraguans "were not fitted for the responsibilities that go with independence and still less fitted for popular self-government." He opposed independence for the Philippines for the same reason after he had been appointed Governor-General of the Philippines, an office that he held from 1927 to 1929.


title: Henry L. Stimson

text: Stimson returned to the cabinet in 1929, when US President Herbert Hoover appointed him US Secretary of State. Both served until 1933. Stimson lived in the Woodley Mansion in Washington, D.C., where he remained through 1946.


title: Henry L. Stimson

text: Shortly after being appointed as the new Secretary of State, Stimson shut down the Cipher Bureau (US cryptanalytic service, later known as the "Black Chamber") in 1929. According to the NSA's Center for Cryptologic History, Stimson likely dissolved the bureau for budgetary reasons. But he also considered intercepting diplomatic communications unethical and famously commented, "Gentlemen do not read each other's mail."


title: Henry L. Stimson

text: In 1930 and 1931, Stimson was the Chairman of the US delegation to the London Naval Conference of 1930. In the following year, he was the Chairman of the US delegation to World Disarmament Conference in Geneva. The same year, the United States issued the "Stimson Doctrine" in response to Japanese invasion of Manchuria. It stated that the US refused to recognize any situation or treaty that limited US treaty rights or was brought about by aggression.


title: Henry L. Stimson

text: Returning to private life at the end of the Hoover administration, Stimson was an outspoken advocate of strong opposition to Japanese aggression.


title: Henry L. Stimson

text: After World War II broke out, Roosevelt returned Stimson to his post at the head of the War Department, in July 1940. The choice of Stimson, a conservative Republican, was a calculated effort by the president to win bipartisan support for what was considered the almost-inevitable US entrance into the war. In the seventeen months leading up to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Stimson, working side-by-side with US Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall (in offices adjacent to one another where the door between them was deliberately left open at all times) led efforts to prepare an unprepared America for war. Together, Stimson and Marshall had to build the Army and Air Force up, organize housing and training for the soldiers, and oversee the design, testing, production, and distribution of the machines, weapons, and materials required to support the country and its allies. Ten days before the attack on Pearl Harbor, Stimson entered in his diary the following statement: "[Roosevelt] brought up the event that we are likely to be attacked perhaps next Monday, for the Japanese are notorious for making an attack without warning, and the question was what we should do. The question was how we should maneuver them into the position of firing the first shot without allowing too much danger to ourselves." With respects to the war in Europe, Stimson was "pro-British" even before Pearl Harbor. Stimson's view was that the British Royal Navy fighting Nazi Germany in the Atlantic was protecting America, and was the reason the U.S. did not (for the time being) "have to do the fighting ourselves." Stimson said America should "rely on the shield of the British Navy," and that on that basis the U.S. should do everything possible to arm and supply the British. Because of this view, when the Senate voted to confirm him, all of the most notorious isolationist Senators such as Henrik Shipstead and Ernest Lundeen of Minnesota, Gerald Nye of North Dakota, Robert Marion La Follette of Wisconsin, David I. Walsh of Massachusetts and Burton K. Wheeler of Montana voted against his confirmation on the grounds that he was "too pro-British" whereas all of the most "Anglophile" Senators such as John H. Bankhead II and J. Lister Hill of Alabama, Kenneth McKellar and Tom Stewart of Tennessee, Harry Schwartz and Joseph C. O'Mahoney of Wyoming all spoke in favor of Stimson and his foreign policy views (and voted to confirm him as Secretary of War). The British government watched his confirmation vote closely, hoping he would have enough votes to get confirmed by the Senate, and they celebrated when he was confirmed. Stimson and Frank Knox, both "vigorous interventionists", were confirmed by the Senate at the same time. Both advocated American entry into World War II on the side of the United Kingdom, earning them the title of "war hawks" from isolationists. Knox was described as ""even more" of a Hawk than Stimson." Stimson was hired by FDR explicitly to replace Harry Hines Woodring, Knox was hired explicitly to replace Charles Edison on the grounds that Edison and Woodring were isolationists who did not agree with the philosophy of helping Great Britain in their war against the Nazis. Stimson referred to the views of isolationists as "hopelessly twisted." The power of isolationists explains why Stimson did not record "shock, horror or anger" after Roosevelt informed him of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Instead, he wrote, "my first feeling was of relief that the indecision was over and that a crisis had come in a way which would unite our people (…) For I feel this country united has practically nothing to fear while the apathy and visions stirred up by unpatriotic men have been hitherto very discouraging."


title: Henry L. Stimson

text: During the war, Stimson oversaw a great expansion of the military, including drafting and training of 13 million soldiers and airmen as well as purchasing and transporting 30% of the nation's industrial output to the battlefields. In addition to George Marshall, Stimson worked closely with his top aides Robert P. Patterson, who succeeded Stimson as secretary; Robert Lovett, who handled the Air Force; Harvey Bundy; and John J. McCloy, Assistant Secretary of War.


title: Henry L. Stimson

text: Stimson was 73 when he took the reins as War Secretary, and many critics questioned if a man of his age could tackle a job that was so enormous. He defied all naysayers and plunged into the task with "an energy that men 20 years his junior could not have mustered." However, at 75, Stimson confessed that he was "feeling very tired. The unconscious strain has been pretty heavy on me."


title: Henry L. Stimson

text: Stimson was initially opposed to the internment of Japanese Americans away from the West Coast, but he eventually gave in to pro-exclusion military advisers and secured Roosevelt's final approval for the incarceration program. The administration was split in the wake of Pearl Harbor, with Justice Department officials arguing against "evacuation" and the Army and the War Department leaders demanding the immediate relocation. Still opposed to the idea of wholesale eviction, Stimson spent much of January 1942 in fielding calls from military advisers and West Coast politicians on the potential threat of a Japanese American fifth column. By February, John McCloy and others from the pro-exclusion camp had won him over.


title: Henry L. Stimson

text: On February 11, Stimson and McCloy briefed in a phone conference Roosevelt, who gave his Secretary of War the go-ahead to pursue whatever course he saw fit. McCloy contacted Karl Bendetsen to begin formulating a removal strategy immediately after. Roosevelt granted Stimson the final approval to carry out the eviction of West Coast Japanese Americans on February 17, and two days later, Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, which authorized the establishment of military zones that excluded certain persons.


title: Henry L. Stimson

text: As the Western Defense Command began circulating civilian exclusion orders, a new debate formed regarding Japanese Americans in the Territory of Hawaii. Stimson joined other officials to push for the exclusion of all "enemy alien" Japanese from the islands. (Japanese immigrants were prohibited by law from naturalization and so were classified as enemy aliens, regardless of their residential status.) However, Japanese Hawaiians were the largest ethnic group in the territory and the foundation of the Island's labor force. Since mass removal was infeasible both economically and politically, Stimson's proposal quickly fell through.


title: Henry L. Stimson

text: Although Stimson believed it to be "quite impossible" to determine the loyalty of Japanese Americans and eventually came to support the army's incarceration program, he remained unconvinced on the legality of the policy: "The second generation Japanese can only be evacuated either as part of a total evacuation, giving access to the areas only by permits, or by frankly trying to put them out on the ground that their racial characteristics are such that we cannot understand or trust even the citizen Japanese. The latter is the fact but I am afraid it will make a tremendous hole in our constitutional system."


title: Henry L. Stimson

text: Stimson authorized the release of Japanese Americans from camp in May 1944 but postponed permission for them to return to the West Coast until after the November elections to avoid controversy in Roosevelt's upcoming campaign.


title: Henry L. Stimson

text: On November 21, 1943, the news broke that General George S. Patton, commander of the U.S. Seventh Army, had slapped an enlisted man who suffered from nervous exhaustion at a medical evacuation hospital in Sicily. The incident caused a storm of controversy, and members of Congress called for Patton to be relieved of command. General Dwight Eisenhower opposed any move to recall General Patton from the European Theater and said privately, "Patton is indispensable to the war effort – one of the guarantors of our victory." Stimson and McCloy agreed; Stimson told the Senate that Patton would be retained because of the need for his "aggressive, winning leadership in the bitter battles which are to come before final victory."


title: Henry L. Stimson

text: Stimson strongly opposed the Morgenthau Plan to deindustrialize and to partition Germany into several smaller states. The plan also envisioned the deportation and the summary imprisonment of anybody suspected of responsibility for war crimes. Initially, Roosevelt had been sympathetic to the plan, but Stimson's opposition and the public outcry when the plan was leaked made Roosevelt backtrack. Stimson thus retained overall control of the US occupation zone in Germany, and despite the plan's influence on the early occupation, it never became official policy. Explaining his opposition to the plan, Stimson insisted to Roosevelt that 10 European countries, including Russia, depended upon German trade and its production of raw materials. He also stated that it was inconceivable that the "gift of nature," which was populated by peoples of "energy, vigor, and progressiveness," should be turned into a "ghost territory" or "dust heap."


title: Henry L. Stimson

text: What Stimson most feared, however, was that a subsistence-level economy would turn the anger of Germans against the Allies and thereby "obscure the guilt of the Nazis and the viciousness of their doctrines and their acts." Stimson pressed similar arguments on Harry S. Truman, when he became president, in the spring of 1945.


title: Henry L. Stimson

text: Stimson, a lawyer, insisted, against the initial wishes of both Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, on proper judicial proceedings against leading war criminals. He and the War Department, drafted the first proposals for an International Tribunal, which soon received backing from Truman. Stimson's plan eventually led to the Nuremberg Trials of 1945–1946, which have strongly influenced the development of international law.


title: Henry L. Stimson

text: As Secretary of War, Stimson took direct and personal control of the entire atomic bomb project, with immediate supervision over General Leslie Groves, the head of the Manhattan Project. Both Roosevelt and Truman followed Stimson's advice on every aspect of the bomb, and Stimson overruled military officers when they opposed his views. That is best seen after military planners had selected Kyoto as the most promising target in southern Japan for nuclear attack. Stimson, remembering his honeymoon in that city, once again overruled his generals:Kyoto had been favored for the very first attack but the committee opted to blitz Hiroshima, which was an important army depot and embarkation port within an urban environment. Targets in the south were given priority to boost possible invasion plans but the ancient city of Kyoto was withdrawn because the U.S. Secretary of War, Henry Stimson, who had honeymooned there, said it was an important cultural center and "must not be bombed."


title: Henry L. Stimson

text: The Manhattan Project was managed by Major General Groves (Corps of Engineers) with a staff of reservists and many thousands of civilian scientists and engineers. Groves nominally reported directly to General George Marshall, but Stimson was really in charge. Stimson secured the necessary money and approval from Roosevelt and from Congress, ensured that Manhattan had the highest priorities, and controlled all plans for the use of the bomb. Stimson successfully tried to get "Little Boy" (the Hiroshima bomb) dropped within hours of its earliest possible availability. Japan was to be forced to surrender, and the bombing of Hiroshima August 6 was likely a finishing blow for Tokyo.


title: Henry L. Stimson

text: Stimson ultimately concluded that if the US had guaranteed the Japanese preservation of the imperial constitutional monarchy, Japan might have surrendered and prevented the use of atomic bombs. Historians debate whether the impact of continued blockade, relentless bombing, and the Soviet Union's invasion of Manchuria would have forced Japanese Emperor Hirohito to surrender some time in late 1945 or early 1946 without the use of atomic bombs but with massive Allied casualties.


title: Henry L. Stimson

text: After American journalist John Hersey's account of the Hiroshima atomic bombing became a media sensation, Stimson and others published their own article "The Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb". It argued that the atomic bombings saved the Japanese from themselves, that demonstrating it would have been impractical, and American casualties from a potential invasion would exceed 1 million, although military documents from July 1945 estimated under 200,000 casualties. Stimson also sidestepped questions such as the suffering of the victims and the radioactive qualities of the bombs, saying they had a "revolutionary character" or "unfamiliar nature". Because his article was the first official account of the reasonings behind the bombings, news outlets that were covering Hersey's "Hiroshima" began to cover Stimson's article instead. President Truman commended Stimson, and McGeorge Bundy, who had worked with Stimson on the article, later wrote, "We deserve some sort of medal."


title: Henry L. Stimson

text: Stimson looked beyond the immediate end of the war. He was the only top government official to try to predict the meaning of the Atomic Age, and he envisioned a new era in human affairs. For half-a-century, he had worked to inject order, science, and moralism into matters of law, state, and diplomacy. The impact of the atom bomb, he thought, would go far beyond military concerns to encompass diplomacy, world affairs, business, economics, and science. Above all, Stimson stated that the "most terrible weapon ever known in human history" opened up "the opportunity to bring the world into a pattern in which the peace of the world and our civilization can be saved." He thought that the very destructiveness of the new weaponry would shatter the ages-old belief that wars could be advantageous. It might now be possible to call a halt to the use of destruction as a ready solution to human conflicts. Indeed, society's new control over the most elemental forces of nature finally "caps the climax of the race between man's growing technical power for destructiveness and his psychological power of self-control and group control--his moral power." To this end, Stimson advocated collaboration with the Soviet Union and genuine international control of atomic technology and weaponry, including possibly turning them over to the United Nations. He was opposed in this by other members of the Truman administration like James Byrnes. Stimson's vision of such a new world order, shared in part by many atomic scientists as well as Albert Einstein, would have meant yielding some sovereignty to something akin to a world government.


title: Henry L. Stimson

text: In 1931, when Japan had invaded Manchuria, Stimson, as Secretary of State, proclaimed the Stimson Doctrine: no fruits of illegal aggression would ever be recognized by the United States. Although Japan ignored it, according to Stimson, the wheels of justice had now turned and the "peace-loving" nations, as Stimson called them, had the chance to punish Japan's misdeeds in a manner that would warn aggressor nations never again to invade their neighbors. To validate the new moral order, he believed that the atomic bomb had to be used against combatants and workers in the war. Hiroshima and Nagasaki had both contained combatant bases and major centers of war industry that employed tens of thousands of civilians. The question for Stimson was not one of whether the weapon should be used. Involved were the simple issue of ending a horrible war and the more subtle and more important question of the possibility of genuine peace among nations. Stimson's decision involved the fate of mankind, and he posed the problem to the world in such clear and articulate fashion that there was a nearly-unanimous agreement mankind had to find a way so that atomic weapons would never be used again to kill people.


title: Henry L. Stimson

text: Stimson officially announced his retirement on September 21, 1945. Afterwards, he wrote his memoirs with the aid of McGeorge Bundy. "On Active Service in Peace and War" was published by Harper in 1948 to critical acclaim. It is often cited by historians, as are the 170,000 typed pages of candid diaries that Stimson dictated at the end of every day. The diary is now in the Yale University Library; parts have been published in microfilm.


title: Henry L. Stimson

text: Two months after leaving office, in November 1945, Stimson suffered a heart attack from which he recovered, although he suffered a speech impediment. In the summer of 1950, Stimson fell and broke his leg and was confined to a wheelchair. On October 20, one month after his 83rd birthday, he succumbed to complications from a second heart attack. Stimson died at his estate Highhold in West Hills, New York. He is buried in the adjacent town of Cold Spring Harbor, in the cemetery of St. John's Church. He was the last surviving member of Taft's cabinet.


title: Henry L. Stimson

text: Theodore H. White noted that Stimson had known and served under more Presidents than any other American citizen of his era. According to White, a short time before Stimson died, he had been asked by a friend which of the many Presidents that he had been acquainted with "had been the best." After a few moments of reflection, Stimson indicated his answer to the query depended on what was meant by "the best." He said that if it meant the most efficient man to hold the office, the answer was William Howard Taft. If, however, the question meant the greatest president, the answer was "Roosevelt," but Stimson could not decide whether the first name would be Theodore or Franklin. Stimson said both "understood the use of power" but as well "knew the enjoyment of power."


title: Henry L. Stimson

text: Mount Stimson in Montana's Glacier National Park is named after Stimson, who in the 1890s hiked and assisted George Bird Grinnell in surveying the area and later supported creating the park.


title: Henry L. Stimson

text: The Henry L. Stimson Center, a private research institute in Washington, DC, advocates what it says is Stimson's "practical, non-partisan approach" to international relations.


title: Henry L. Stimson

text: Stimson's name graces the Henry L. Stimson Middle School in Huntington Station, Long Island; a residential building on the campus of Stony Brook University; as well as a dorm at his alma mater Phillips Academy.


title: Henry L. Stimson

text: Stimson is also commemorated by the New York City Bar Association, where he served as president from 1937 to 1939, with the Henry L. Stimson Medal. The medal is awarded annually to outstanding Assistant U.S. Attorneys in the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York.


title: Henry L. Stimson

text: Stimson has been portrayed in nearly a dozen movies and television shows about World War II and its aftermath, including "Manhattan (2014-2015)", "Truman" (1995), "Truman at Potsdam" (1995), "Fat Man and Little Boy" (1989), "Day One" (1989), "War and Remembrance" (1988), "Race for the Bomb" (1987), "Churchill and the Generals" (1981), "Oppenheimer" (1980), "Tora! Tora! Tora!" (1970), and "The Beginning or the End" (1947).


title: Henry L. Stimson

text: In the alternate history short story "Truth, Justice, and the American Way" by Lawrence Watt-Evans contained in the 1992 alternate history anthology "Alternate Presidents" by Mike Resnick, Stimson succeeded Hoover (who defeated Roosevelt in 1932 after Al Smith ran as a third party candidate and split the Democratic vote) as president in 1936, defeating Roosevelt. He once again defeated Roosevelt in 1940.


title: Mastering (audio)

text: Mastering, a form of audio post production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device (the master), the source from which all copies will be produced (via methods such as pressing, duplication or replication). In recent years digital masters have become usual, although analog masters—such as audio tapes—are still being used by the manufacturing industry, particularly by a few engineers who specialize in analog mastering.


title: Mastering (audio)

text: Mastering requires critical listening; however, software tools exist to facilitate the process. Results depend upon the intent of the engineer, the skills of the engineer, the accuracy of the speaker monitors, and the listening environment. Mastering engineers often apply equalization and dynamic range compression in order to optimize sound translation on all playback systems. It is standard practice to make a copy of a master recording—known as a safety copy—in case the master is lost, damaged or stolen.


title: Mastering (audio)

text: In the earliest days of the recording industry, all phases of the recording and mastering process were entirely achieved by mechanical processes. Performers sang and/or played into a large acoustic horn and the master recording was created by the direct transfer of acoustic energy from the diaphragm of the recording horn to the mastering lathe, typically located in an adjoining room. The cutting head, driven by the energy transferred from the horn, inscribed a modulated groove into the surface of a rotating cylinder or disc. These masters were usually made from either a soft metal alloy or from wax; this gave rise to the colloquial term "waxing", referring to the cutting of a record.


title: Mastering (audio)

text: After the introduction of the microphone and electronic amplifier in the mid-1920s, the mastering process became electro-mechanical, and electrically driven mastering lathes came into use for cutting master discs (the cylinder format by then having been superseded). Until the introduction of tape recording, master recordings were almost always cut direct-to-disc. Only a small minority of recordings were mastered using previously recorded material sourced from other discs.


title: Mastering (audio)

text: In the late 1940s, the recording industry was revolutionized by the introduction of magnetic tape. Magnetic tape was invented for recording sound by Fritz Pfleumer in 1928 in Germany, based on the invention of magnetic wire recording by Valdemar Poulsen in 1898. Not until the end of World War II could the technology be found outside Europe. The introduction of magnetic tape recording enabled master discs to be cut separately in time and space from the actual recording process.


title: Mastering (audio)

text: Although tape and other technical advances dramatically improved the audio quality of commercial recordings in the post-war years, the basic constraints of the electro-mechanical mastering process remained, and the inherent physical limitations of the main commercial recording media—the 78 rpm disc and later the 7-inch 45 rpm single and 33-1/3 rpm LP record—meant that the audio quality, dynamic range, and running time of master discs were still limited compared to later media such as the compact disc.


title: Mastering (audio)

text: From the 1950s until the advent of digital recording in the late 1970s, the mastering process typically went through several stages. Once the studio recording on multi-track tape was complete, a final mix was prepared and dubbed down to the master tape, usually either a single-track mono or two-track stereo tape. Prior to the cutting of the master disc, the master tape was often subjected to further electronic treatment by a specialist mastering engineer.


title: Mastering (audio)

text: After the advent of tape it was found that, especially for pop recordings, master recordings could be made so that the resulting record would sound better. This was done by making fine adjustments to the amplitude of sound at different frequency bands (equalization) prior to the cutting of the master disc.


title: Mastering (audio)

text: In large recording companies such as EMI, the mastering process was usually controlled by specialist staff technicians who were conservative in their work practices. These big companies were often reluctant to make changes to their recording and production processes. For example, EMI was very slow in taking up innovations in multi-track recording and did not install 8-track recorders in their Abbey Road Studios until the late 1960s, more than a decade after the first commercial 8-track recorders were installed by American independent studios.


title: Mastering (audio)

text: In the 1990s, electro-mechanical processes were largely superseded by digital technology, with digital recordings stored on hard disk drives or digital tape and mastered to CD. The digital audio workstation (DAW) became common in many mastering facilities, allowing the off-line manipulation of recorded audio via a graphical user interface (GUI). Although many digital processing tools are common during mastering, it is also very common to use analog media and processing equipment for the mastering stage. Just as in other areas of audio, the benefits and drawbacks of digital technology compared to analog technology are still a matter for debate. However, in the field of audio mastering, the debate is usually over the use of digital versus analog signal processing rather than the use of digital technology for storage of audio.


title: Mastering (audio)

text: Digital systems have higher performance and allow mixing to be performed at lower maximum levels. When mixing to 24-bits with peaks between -3 and -10 dBFS on a mix, the mastering engineer has enough headroom to process and produce a final master. Mastering engineers recommend leaving enough headroom on the mix to avoid distortion. Reduction of dynamics by the mix or mastering engineer has resulted in a loudness war in commercial recordings.


title: Mastering (audio)

text: The source material, ideally at the original resolution, is processed using equalization, compression, limiting and other processes. Additional operations, such as editing, specifying the gaps between tracks, adjusting level, fading in and out, noise reduction and other signal restoration and enhancement processes can also be applied as part of the mastering stage. The source material is put in the proper order, commonly referred to as assembly (or 'track') sequencing. These operations prepare the music for either digital or analog, e.g. vinyl, replication.


title: Mastering (audio)

text: If the material is destined for vinyl release, additional processing, such as dynamic range reduction or frequency-dependent stereo–to–mono fold-down and equalization may be applied to compensate for the limitations of that medium. For compact disc release, "start of track", "end of track", and "indexes" are defined for playback navigation along with International Standard Recording Code (ISRC) and other information necessary to replicate a CD. Vinyl LP and cassettes have their own pre-duplication requirements for a finished master. Subsequently, it is rendered either to a physical medium, such as a CD-R or DVD-R, or to computer files, such as a Disc Description Protocol (DDP) file set or an ISO image. Regardless of what delivery method is chosen, the replicator factory will transfer the audio to a glass master that will generate metal stampers for replication.


title: Mastering (audio)

text: The process of audio mastering varies depending on the specific needs of the audio to be processed. Mastering engineers need to examine the types of input media, the expectations of the source producer or recipient, the limitations of the end medium and process the subject accordingly. General rules of thumb can rarely be applied.


title: The Murder at the Vicarage

text: The Murder at the Vicarage is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in October 1930 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year. The UK edition retailed at seven shillings and sixpence and the US edition at $2.00.


title: The Murder at the Vicarage

text: It is the first novel to feature the character of Miss Marple and her village of St Mary Mead. This first look at St Mary Mead led a reviewer in 1990 to ask why these are called cosy mysteries: "Our first glimpse of St Mary Mead, a hotbed of burglary, impersonation, adultery and ultimately murder. What is it precisely that people find so cosy about such stories?"


title: The Murder at the Vicarage

text: The character had previously appeared in short stories published in magazines starting in December 1927. These earlier stories were collected in book form in "The Thirteen Problems" in 1932.


title: The Murder at the Vicarage

text: The Reverend Leonard Clement, the vicar of St Mary Mead, narrates the story. He lives with his much younger wife Griselda and their nephew Dennis. Colonel Lucius Protheroe, Clement's churchwarden, is a wealthy, abrasive man who also serves as the local magistrate, and is widely disliked in the village. At dinner one evening, Clement offhandedly remarks that anyone who killed Protheroe would be doing the world a favour.


title: The Murder at the Vicarage

text: One day Clement encounters Protheroe's wife, Anne, embracing Lawrence Redding, a young visiting artist; while promising them that he will not reveal their affair, he advises Redding to leave the village at once. The next day, Clement is scheduled to meet with Protheroe to go over irregularities in the church accounts. Clement is called away to a farm to visit a dying parishioner, but learns that the man has recovered, and that nobody actually asked for him. Upon returning home, Clement encounters a distressed Redding at the gate to the vicarage, then discovers Colonel Protheroe dead at the writing desk in his study. He summons Dr Haydock, who pronounces that Protheroe was killed by a gunshot to the back of the head.


title: The Murder at the Vicarage

text: The police, led by Colonel Melchett and Inspector Slack, are confounded by several details, including a note left by Protheroe that seems to conflict with Haydock's opinion of the time of death, and some witnesses claiming to have heard a shot out in the woods, but no gunshot near or within the house. News spreads quickly, and both Lawrence Redding and Anne Protheroe confess to the murder. However, both are exonerated; Redding because he insists on an inaccurate time of death, and Anne because Miss Marple clearly saw that she was not carrying a pistol. Other suspects include Archer, a man treated harshly by Protheroe for poaching; Mrs Lestrange, a mysterious woman who recently appeared in the village; Dr Stone, an archaeologist excavating a barrow on Protheroe's land; and Stone's young assistant, Miss Cram.


title: The Murder at the Vicarage

text: Miss Marple tells Clement she has a list of seven possible suspects in mind. Miss Marple sees Miss Cram carrying a suitcase into the woods at midnight, which Clement later finds, along with a small crystal of picric acid. The suitcase proves to contain valuable silver belonging to the Protheroes, and "Dr Stone" turns out to be an impostor, having stolen the identity of a real archaeologist and replaced the Protheroes' belongings with replicas.


title: The Murder at the Vicarage

text: Reporters descend on the village as other strange occurrences take place. Mrs Price Ridley receives a threatening phone call, and Anne Protheroe discovers a portrait in a spare room slashed to pieces with a knife. A police handwriting expert examines the victim's note and determines that Colonel Protheroe did not write it. Clement is inspired to give a far more vigorous sermon than usual, after which he receives a call from Hawes, his sickly curate, who says he has something to confess.


title: The Murder at the Vicarage

text: Clement arrives at Hawes's rooms to find him dying from an overdose. He discovers the real note Protheroe was writing when he was killed, which reveals that Hawes was responsible for stealing money from the church accounts. Melchett arrives and calls Dr Haydock, but the operator accidentally connects him to Miss Marple, who arrives to see if she can help.


title: The Murder at the Vicarage

text: While Haydock takes Hawes to a hospital, Miss Marple explains her theory about the true murderer. Her seven suspects are revealed to be Archer; Mary, the Clements' maid, who had the opportunity; Lettice Protheroe, the Colonel's daughter, who could not stand him; Dennis, whose alibi about a tennis party failed to hold up; either Hawes or Clement, to prevent the Colonel from investigating the church accounts; or Griselda, who is revealed to have returned on an earlier train the day of the murder. However, none of them are guilty.


title: The Murder at the Vicarage

text: Miss Marple believes the true killers to be Lawrence Redding and Anne Protheroe. In love with Anne, Redding decided they could be together only if he removed her husband. On the pretext of seeking advice from Clement, he left his pistol in a potted plant holder at the vicarage. He then planted the picric acid crystal in the woods near the vicarage, rigging it to explode and create a "second gunshot" that would confuse any witnesses. In the evening, Redding placed the false call to Clement to get him out of the house, while Anne walked past Miss Marple's home without a handbag in close-fitting clothing to show that she was not carrying a gun. She retrieved the pistol (which had been fitted with a silencer), killed her husband, and left the vicarage; Redding then entered, stole the note incriminating Hawes, and planted his own note falsifying the time of death.


title: The Murder at the Vicarage

text: Both conspirators confessed to the crime with obvious falsehoods in their stories, appearing to exonerate each other. Redding drugged Hawes and planted the Colonel's note to make it appear as though Hawes committed suicide out of guilt. Fortunately, Dr Haydock saves the life of Hawes. Miss Marple proposes a trap which tricks Redding into incriminating himself; he and Anne are arrested by Inspector Slack's men.


title: The Murder at the Vicarage

text: The ending wraps up all loose ends. Lettice reveals that Mrs Lestrange is her mother, Colonel Protheroe's first wife, who is terminally ill; Lettice destroyed the portrait of Lestrange in Protheroe's house so the police would not suspect her. The two depart so that Lestrange can spend her last days travelling the world. Miss Cram is revealed to have known nothing about the false Dr Stone's plot, and Griselda and Dennis confess to having threatened Mrs Price Ridley as a practical joke. Griselda reveals that she is pregnant, which Miss Marple deduced.


title: The Murder at the Vicarage

text: Alongside the murder mystery plot, the novel takes time to consider alternative perspectives on the idea of crime. Miss Marple's nephew, Raymond West, attempts to solve the crime via Freudian psychoanalysis, while Dr Haydock expresses his view that criminal behaviour is a disease that will soon be solved by doctors instead of police.


title: The Murder at the Vicarage

text: The "Times Literary Supplement" of 6 November 1930 posed the various questions as to who could have killed Protheroe and why, and concluded, "As a detective story, the only fault of this one is that it is hard to believe the culprit could kill Prothero ["sic"] so quickly and quietly. The three plans of the room, garden, and village show that almost within sight and hearing was Miss Marple, who 'always knew every single thing that happened and drew the worst inferences.' And three other 'Parish cats' (admirably portrayed) were in the next three houses. It is Miss Marple who does detect the murderer in the end, but one suspects she would have done it sooner in reality".


title: The Murder at the Vicarage

text: The review of the novel in "The New York Times Book Review" of 30 November 1930 begins, "The talented Miss Christie is far from being at her best in her latest mystery story. It will add little to her eminence in the field of detective fiction." The review went on to say that, "the local sisterhood of spinsters is introduced with much gossip and click-clack. A bit of this goes a long way and the average reader is apt to grow weary of it all, particularly of the amiable Miss Marple, who is sleuth-in-chief of the affair." The reviewer summarised the set-up of the plot and concluded, "The solution is a distinct anti-climax."


title: The Murder at the Vicarage

text: H C O'Neill in "The Observer" of 12 December 1930 said that, "here is a straightforward story which very pleasantly draws a number of red herrings across the docile reader's path. There is a distinct originality in her new expedient for keeping the secret. She discloses it at the outset, turns it inside out, apparently proves that the solution cannot be true, and so produces an atmosphere of bewilderment."


title: The Murder at the Vicarage

text: In the "Daily Express" of 16 October 1930 Harold Nicolson said, "I have read better works by Agatha Christie, but that does not mean that this last book is not more cheerful, more amusing, and more seductive than the generality of detective novels." In a short review dated 15 October 1930, the "Daily Mirror" review declared, "Bafflement is well sustained."


title: The Murder at the Vicarage

text: Robert Barnard wrote sixty years later that this is "Our first glimpse of St Mary Mead, a hotbed of burglary, impersonation, adultery and ultimately murder. What is it precisely that people find so cosy about such stories?" He found the resolution a bit hard to believe, yet the story is more appealing to readers of 1990 than to those in 1930. "The solution boggles the mind somewhat, but there are too many incidental pleasures to complain, and the strong dose of vinegar in this first sketch of Miss Marple is more to modern taste than the touch of syrup in later presentations."


title: The Murder at the Vicarage

text: Christie herself later wrote: "Reading "Murder at the Vicarage" now, I am not so pleased with it as I was at the time. It has, I think, far too many characters, and too many sub-plots. But at any rate the "main" plot is sound."


title: The Murder at the Vicarage

text: The vicar and his wife, Leonard and Griselda Clement, who make their first appearance in this novel, continue to appear in Miss Marple stories. Notably, they feature in "The Body in the Library" (1942) along with Slack and Melchett, and "4.50 from Paddington" (1957).


title: The Murder at the Vicarage

text: The character of Miss Marple had previously appeared in short stories published in magazines starting in December 1927. These earlier stories were collected in book form in "The Thirteen Problems" in 1932.


title: The Murder at the Vicarage

text: The story was adapted into a play by Moie Charles and Barbara Toy in 1949 and opened at the Playhouse Theatre on 16 December 1949. Miss Marple was played by Barbara Mullen.


title: The Murder at the Vicarage

text: The BBC adapted the book into a film which was first broadcast on 25 December 1986, with Joan Hickson as Miss Marple, Paul Eddington as the vicar, and Polly Adams as Anne Protheroe. The adaptation was generally very close to the original novel with four major exceptions: the trap which exposes the killer is changed to involve another murder attempt, the characters of Dennis, Dr Stone, and Gladys Cram were deleted, Bill Archer is present in the kitchen while the murder takes place, and Anne commits suicide out of remorse instead of being tried.