cahya/wikipedia-simple-en huggingface dataset:
Modem

A modem (comes from: modulator demodulator) is a piece of computer hardware. It is used to communicate between distant computers. Two modems, one on each computer, are required to make a connection, and each modem can send and receive data to and from the other modem. 

 Modulation is changing the digital data from a computer to analog data (audio tones or sounds) to be sent over telephone lines.
 Demodulation is changing the analog data which is received over the telephone lines to digital data to be used by the computer.
   
Modems are classified by the amount of data they can send in a given time, normally measured in bits per second (bit/s, or bps). They are also classified by their connection method. Dial-up modems were the usual kind in the 20th century, and DSL modems and Cable TV modems are now more used. 

Modems that connect to the computer by a cable are called external modems. Modems that go inside the computer are internal modems. Some internal modems are part of the motherboard; others are inserted into the computer on a PC card. Most DSL and cable modems are external.

Many modems are used to connect to the Internet through telephone service or cable television service. Slow telephone service is called dial-up (maximum 56,000 bits per second). Faster telephone service is called DSL and is usually more than ten times faster. Cable modems connect through cable television, and are similarly fast. 

A CEA study in 2006 found that dial-up Internet access is on a decline in the United States. In 2000, dial-up Internet connections accounted for 74% of all U.S. residential Internet connections. This decline has been more or less mirrored in Canada and Australia.

Dial-up modem use in the US dropped to 60% by 2003, and in 2006 stood at 36%. Voiceband modems were once the most popular means of Internet access in the U.S. But as more homes adopted faster ways of accessing the Internet, the traditional 56K modem is losing popularity.

References

Computer hardware
Telecommunications
Windsor, Ontario

Windsor is a city in southern Ontario, Canada, which is across the Detroit River from the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. Windsor was founded in 1749 by the French. It has a population of 233,763 (counted in 2017).

Media

CBET CBC

Cities in Ontario
Chancellor of Germany

The chancellor of Germany (German: Bundeskanzler, literally: federal chancellor) is the head of government of the Federal Republic of Germany.  The Chancellor of Germany is elected by the majority of the members of the Bundestag, the German parliament.  The chancellor is the German people's version of a Prime Minister or Premier.

The current chancellor is Olaf Scholz (SPD) since 08 December 2021.

Chancellors since 1949 
 Konrad Adenauer (CDU), 1949–1963
 Ludwig Erhard (CDU), 1963–1966
 Kurt Georg Kiesinger (CDU), 1966–1969
 Willy Brandt (SPD), 1969–1974
 Helmut Schmidt (SPD), 1974–1982
 Helmut Kohl (CDU), 1982–1998
 Gerhard Schröder (SPD), 1998–2005
 Angela Merkel (CDU), 2005–2021
 Olaf Scholz (SPD), since 2021

Related pages 
 List of chancellors of Germany
 Reich Chancellor, chancellors of the German Reich

References
Mysore

Mysore is a city in Karnataka, India. Mysore is  south-west of Bangalore. Travel time from Bangalore to Mysore is 2-3 hours by road or rail. Mysore is the second largest city in Karnataka.

Mysore Palace, Jaganmohan Palace, Chamundi Hills, Brindavan Gardens, and Mysore Zoo are the places to see in Mysore. Some people go to Mysore to see the Dasara procession. 

People also go to Mysore to learn yoga.

Cities in India
Settlements in Karnataka
1467



Events 
 October 29 – Battle of Brusthem: Charles the Bold defeats Liege
 Beginning of the Sengoku Period in Japan.
 Circa this year, polyalphabetic cipher invented by Leone Battista Alberti.
 Regent of Sweden Erik Axelsson Tott supports the re-election of deposed Charles VIII of Sweden to the throne.
 Pope Paul II arrested and tortured some of the abbreviators, among them was Filip Callimachus.
Arab League

The Arab League is an organization made up of countries in the Arab world in Northern Africa and Southwest Asia. Most, though not all of these countries use Arabic as their official language. The purpose is to find ways for the countries to have unity and to work together to solve their problems.

Mission
The organization uses the Arabic Language in its summits and all official papers, although it has never been stated by the League that Arabic is the Official Language. The Arab League was founded following the Protocol of Alexandria signed in 1945 by seven Arab States: Egypt, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Trans-Jordan (Jordan). Today the League has 22 members. All countries having Arabic as an official language are among the members of the League, except for Israel, Eritrea and Chad which are not members.

Members 

The countries in the Arab League are:
 Egypt - March 22, 1945 (Founder) (suspended, 1979-1989)
 Iraq - March 22, 1945 (Founder)
 Jordan - March 22, 1945 (Founder) (entered when still using the name "Transjordan")
 Lebanon - March 22, 1945 (Founder)
 Saudi Arabia - March 22, 1945 (Founder)
 Syria - March 22, 1945 (Founder)
 Yemen - May 5, 1945 (Founder)
 Libya - March 28, 1953
 Sudan - January 19, 1956
 Morocco - October 1, 1958
 Tunisia - October 1, 1958
 Kuwait - July 20, 1961
 Algeria - August 16, 1962
 United Arab Emirates - June 12, 1971
 Bahrain - September 11, 1971
 Qatar - September 11, 1971
 Oman - September 29, 1971
 Mauritania - November 26, 1973
 Somalia - February 14, 1974
 Palestine - succeeding to the position held by the Palestine Liberation Organization since September 9, 1976
 Djibouti - April 9, 1977
 Comoros - November 20, 1993

List of Secretaries-General

References

International organizations
Political organizations based in Asia
1945 establishments in Asia
Middle East
Arab world
Politics of Africa
Politics of Asia
1478



Events 
 February 18 – George, Duke of Clarence, convicted of treason against his older brother Edward IV of England, is privately executed in the Tower of London.
 April 26 – The Pazzi attack Lorenzo de' Medici and kill his brother Giuliano during High Mass in the Florence Cathedral.
 December 28 – Battle of Giornico – Swiss troops defeat the Milanese.
 Lorenzo de' Medici becomes sole ruler of Florence
 Grand Prince Ivan III of Moscow conquers Novgorod
 Vladislav II of Bohemia makes peace with Hungary
 Eskender succeeds his father Baeda Maryam as Emperor of Ethiopia at the age of six.
1608



Events 
 March 18 – Sissinios formally crowned Emperor of Ethiopia
 May 14 – Protestant Union founded in Auhausen.
 July 3 – Quebec City founded by Samuel de Champlain.
 August 24 – The first official English representative to India lands at Surat.
 October 2 – Dutch lensmaker Hans Lippershey demonstrates the first telescope in the Dutch parliament
 Swedish troops enter Moscow
 First cheques come to use in Netherlands
 Quebec city is founded by Samuel De Champlain
1870s



Events 
 The invention of the telephone (1876) by Alexander Graham Bell. 
 The light bulb was invented.
 The phonograph is invented in 1877 by Thomas Edison.
 Ludwig Boltzmann's statistical definition of thermodynamic entropy
 Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871) results in the collapse of the Second French Empire and in the formation of both the French Third Republic and the German Empire
 Continuing expansion of the British Empire; beginning of the New Imperialism
 Bulgaria and Romania declare independence following the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878)
 In the United States, continuation of post-Civil War reconstruction until its conclusion under President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1877

World leaders 
 Emperor Franz Josef (Austria-Hungary)
 Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald (Canada)
 Prime Minister Alexander Mackenzie (Canada)
 Tongzhi Emperor (China)
 Guangxu Emperor (China)
 Emperor Wilhelm I (German Empire)
 Chancellor Otto von Bismarck (German Empire)
 King Victor Emmanuel II (Italy)
 King Umberto I (Italy)
 Emperor Meiji (Japan)
 Pope Pius IX
 Pope Leo XIII
 Emperor Alexander II (Russia)
 King Alfonso XII (Spain)
 Queen Victoria (United Kingdom)
 Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone (United Kingdom)
 Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli (United Kingdom)
 President Ulysses S. Grant (United States)
 President Rutherford B. Hayes (United States)
 Nasser-al-Din Shah of Qajar dynasty (Persia)
Jon Voight

Jon Voight (born December 29, 1938) is an American actor.

Early life and family
His mother was of German ancestry; his father was of Slovak ancestry. Voight is the middle of three brothers: volcanologist Barry Voight was born in 1937; musician Chip Taylor was born in 1940.

Voight's son James Haven and daughter Angelina Jolie are actors.

References

Other websites

1938 births
Living people
Academy Award winning actors
Actors from New York
American movie actors
American stage actors
American television actors
BAFTA Award winning actors
Golden Globe Award winning actors
Movie producers from New York
Screenwriters from New York
People from Yonkers, New York
Arnold Schwarzenegger

Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, film producer, screenwriter, and director. He was the governor of the American state of California from 2003-2011. He currently lives in Los Angeles, California.

After serving in the army, Schwarzenegger moved to Munich, where he often slept in a gym because he did not have anywhere else to live.

Schwarzenegger then moved to the United States in 1968 and eventually became an actor. He has been in several big budget Hollywood movies including The Terminator series. He eventually stopped acting in order to run for governor of California in 2003. In 2003, Governor Gray Davis was removed as governor and Schwarzenegger was elected. His term ended in early January 2011, and he was replaced by Jerry Brown.

Before becoming an actor, Schwarzenegger was also a bodybuilder and had won both the Mr. Olympia and Mr. Universe titles over 7 consecutive times. Schwarzenegger has also set up his own official competition, Arnold Classic.

In 1971, Schwarzenegger's younger maternal half-brother Meinhard died in a car accident due to driving while drunk.

In 1986, Schwarzenegger married Maria Shriver, but they separated and divorced in 2011. They have 2 daughters, Katherine and Christina, and also 2 sons, Patrick and Christopher. Schwarzenegger also has a son with another woman. Some people think that Arnold had cheated on his wife but, such statements have not been proven.

In 2013, Schwarzenegger returned to acting with a role in the movie Escape Plan.

Film

Television

Commercials

Music videos

Soundtrack appearances

Video games

References

Other websites 
 
 Schwarzenegger.com - official website
 Arnold Schwarzenegger Workout
 Schwarzenegger bodybuilding 
 

1947 births
Living people
People from Styria
Naturalized citizens of the United States
US Republican Party politicians
Governors of California
Actors from Los Angeles
American television actors
American movie actors
American movie producers
Austrian movie actors
Austrian television actors
Austrian voice actors
Austrian stage actors
Kennedy family
Bodybuilders
WWE Hall of Fame
21st-century American politicians
Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit, or Holy Ghost, is a part of the triune godhead (three in one God) of Christianity.

According to the Bible
The Holy Spirit was there from the beginning. Genesis 1:2 says that the Holy Spirit helped create the Earth.

It was by the Holy Spirit that Jesus was conceived in Mary (Matthew 1:18,19).

When Jesus had finished his ministry on Earth, he told his followers that he would provide "another Comforter" (helper), who would lead them, into truth (John 14:16), and would be their teacher to tell them things that Jesus had not told them, but that they needed to know to continue to live for God.
The second chapter of the book of Acts tells how on the 50th day after Passover (called Pentecost), and 10 days after Jesus ascended to Heaven, Jesus' followers were gathered at the feast. While they were praying, the Holy Spirit came upon them. They began to speak in other languages (tongues).

Holy Spirit baptism
While most Christians believe that the Holy Spirit is in them from the time they become born again, in Pentecostal denominations, such as the Assemblies of God, it is believed that speaking in unknown languages can still be an expression of the Holy Spirit, and that it is proof that a person has received the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

References

Christian theology
1850s



Events 
 Production of steel revolutionised by invention of the Bessemer process
 Benjamin Silliman fractionates petroleum by distillation for the first time
 First transatlantic telegraph cable laid
 First safety elevator installed by Elisha Otis
 Charles Darwin publishes The Origin of Species, putting forward the theory of evolution by natural selection
 Epidemiology begins when John Snow traces the source of an outbreak of cholera in London to a contaminated water pump.
 Discovery of Neandertal fossils in Neanderthal, Germany
 Solar flares discovered by Richard Christopher Carrington
 Crimean War (1854–1856) fought between Imperial Russia and an alliance consisting of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Second French Empire, the Kingdom of Sardinia and the Ottoman Empire. The majority of the conflict takes place around Crimea, on the northern coasts of the Black Sea.
 The Indian Mutiny: revolt against the East India Company's British rule in India
 Dissolution of the Mughal Empire by the British.
 156 are killed in Paris in a failed assassination attempt on Napoleon III, Emperor of France
 Moldavia and Wallachia are unified and form Romania.
 Gideon T. Stewart attempts to create a Prohibition Party.

World leaders 
 Emperor Franz Josef (Austria-Hungary)
 Emperor Napoleon III (Second French Empire)
 King Frederick William IV (Germany)
 Pope Pius IX
 Queen Maria II (Portugal)
 King Peter V (Portugal)
 Emperor Nicholas I (Russia)
 Emperor Alexander II (Russia)
 Queen Isabella II (Spain)
 Queen Victoria, (United Kingdom)
 Prime Minister Lord John Russell (United Kingdom)
 Prime Minister Lord Aberdeen (United Kingdom)
 Prime Minister Lord Palmerston (United Kingdom)
 President Millard Fillmore (United States)
 President Franklin Pierce (United States)
 President James Buchanan (United States)
 Nasser-al-Din Shah of Qajar dynasty (Persia)
1479



Events 
 January 20 – Ferdinand II becomes king of Aragon and rules together with his wife Isabella, queen of Castile over most of the Iberian peninsula. Together they take over Granada in 1492, ending 800 years of Moorish rule.
 January 25 – Treaty of Istanbul between Ottoman Empire and Republic of Venice, in which Venice agrees to give land to the Ottomans and pay them 10,000 ducats a year.
 August 7 – Battle of Guinegate – A French army sent to invade the Netherlands is defeated by Maximilian of Austria.
 September 4 – Treaty of Alcáçovas ends War of Castilian Succession.
 October 13 – Battle of Kenyérmező – The Hungarian army led by Pál Kinizsi and István Báthori defeats the Ottoman Turk army in Transsylvania, Hungary.
 Christopher Columbus, a sailor and trader in the Genoese community in Portugal, marries Felipa Perestrelo Moniz and receives as dowry her dead father's maps and papers charting the seas and winds around the Madeira Islands and other Portuguese island colonies.
Akihito

(known simply as Akihito) is the former emperor of Japan from 1989 to 2019, He was the 125th emperor of his line according to Japan's traditional order of succession.  He is head of the Imperial House of Japan. 

Akihito became emperor after the death of his father in 1989, who was Emperor Shōwa. The current emperor's official reign name is Heisei (establishing peace).

The Japanese government announced in December 2017 that Akihito would abdicate on 30 April 2019. He then did so in a brief ceremony on that date.

What the emperor does
The emperor has many duties and responsibilities.  For example, he regularly
 takes part in affairs of according to the Constitution of Japan.
 attends various events and ceremonies held at the Imperial Palace.
 attends ceremonies in Tokyo.
 makes appearances at a variety of ceremonies in various parts in Japan
 visits welfare facilities.
 visits regions where disasters hit
 visits other countries
 helps transmit the traditional culture of Japan

As a personal interest, Akihito studies fish.

Television broadcast
Akihito directly addressed his subjects in a television broadcast after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.  This was the first time any emperor used television in this way.

Titles and styles

 23 December 1933 – 10 November 1952: His Imperial Highness The Prince Tsugu
 10 November 1952 – 7 January 1989: His Imperial Highness The Crown Prince of Japan
 7 January 1989 – 30 April 2019: His Majesty The Emperor of Japan
 1 May 2019 – present: His Majesty The Emperor Emeritus

Honors
 Order of the Chrysanthemum, Japan
 Order of the Rising Sun, Japan
 Order of the Sacred Treasure, Japan
 Order of Culture, Japan
 Order of the Garter, UK

Related pages
Emperor of Japan
 List of emperors of Japan
 Japanese imperial family tree
Imperial Household Agency

References

Other websites

 Imperial Household Agency (English); (Japanese)
 "Do Not Lose Hope" Address to the Nation, 2011 transcript and audio mp3 and video
  KidsWebJapan,  "Emperor's Role"
天皇制を廃止すべき29の理由
コロナ禍機に君主制廃止検討を

1933 births
People from Tokyo
Living people
Emperors of Japan
Japanese imperial family
Crown Princes and Princesses of Japan
Recipients of the Decoration for Services to the Republic of Austria
Canadian Museum of Flight

The Canadian Museum of Flight is an aircraft museum at the Langley Airport in Langley, British Columbia, Canada. The museum has about 20 peace-time and war-time motor airplanes, gliders, and helicopters to see, six of which can still fly.

Aircraft
List of aircraft displayed :

 Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck Mk.3B
 Beechcraft 3NMT Expeditor (C-45)
 Bowlus Bumblebee BB1
 Canadair (Lockheed) T-33AN Silver Star
 Canadair CT-114 Tutor (used by the Snowbirds)
 Canadian Quickie 1 (Homebuilt)
 Conair Firecat
 Douglas DC-3 "CF-PWH" "Spirit of the Skeena"
 de Havilland DH100 Vampire Mk3 
 de Havilland DH82C Tiger Moth (Flying condition)
 Fleet 16B Finch MkII  (Flying condition)
 Handley Page Hampden
 Lockheed CF-104D Starfighter
 North American Harvard Mk IIB (Flying condition)
 Mignet "Pou du Ciel"
 Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5a (7/8 Replica) (Flying condition)
 Sikorsky S-55
 Sopwith Camel (Duplicate)
 Struchen Ultralight Helicopter
 Waco AQC-6 (Flying condition)
 Waco INF (Flying condition)
 Westland Lysander Mk III

Other websites 
Canadian Museum of Flight
Canadian Museum of Flight website

References

Aircraft museums
Museums in Canada
British Columbia
Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador () is a province on the East Coast of Canada, and is the farthest east of all Canadian provinces and territories. The capital of Newfoundland and Labrador is St. John's. In 2016, 519,716 people lived in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Newfoundland is an island, while Labrador is within the mainland of Canada and on a border with Quebec.

History
The province of Newfoundland and Labrador was originally called Newfoundland and joined Canada in 1949, becoming the newest province of Canada, after being a colony of the United Kingdom. Until an agreement was reached in 1927, Quebec also claimed Labrador. 

In 2001, the name of Newfoundland changed to its new official name, Newfoundland and Labrador, while the postal code abbreviation changed from NF to NL.  The island of Newfoundland, and part of Labrador, are in a time zone that is a half hour off from any other part of North America.

References

 
1949 establishments in Canada
Provinces and territories of Canada
Greenfinch

The greenfinch (Chloris chloris), also known as the European greenfinch, is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae.

This bird is widespread throughout Europe, north Africa and southwest Asia. It is mainly resident, but some northernmost populations migrate further south. The Greenfinch has also been introduced into both Australia and New Zealand.

Woodland edges, farmland hedges and gardens with relatively thick vegetation are favoured for breeding. It nests in trees or bushes, laying 38 eggs. This species can form large flocks outside the breeding season, sometimes mixing with other finches and buntings. They feed largely on seeds, but also take berries.

Finches
Nest

A nest is place animals build to hold their eggs or provide a place to raise their babies. They are most typical of birds, but many other vertebrates do make nests.

Nests may be composed of organic material such as twigs, grass, and leaves. They may be a simple depression in the ground, or a hole in a rock, tree, or building. Nests can be found in all types of habitat.

Other 

 
 Bird nest
 Habitat

Animals
Egg (biology)

An egg results from fertilization of an ovum. The egg is a container for the zygote. It protects the zygote, and feeds the embryo. 

The animal embryo develops until it can survive on its own, at which point the egg hatches. Most fish, amphibians, reptiles, dinosaurs, birds, monotremes, arthropods and molluscs lay eggs outside the mother's body. They are always in some kind of container, a shell or covering. 

Reptiles, birds and monotremes lay cleidoic eggs:  bird eggs are an example. These are a special kind of egg with a good supply of food and water. They have an outside covering which lets through gases so that carbon dioxide can get out, and oxygen can get in it.

Fish, amphibia, insects and arachnids lay simpler eggs in greater numbers, but with much less protection and nourishment.

Live birth 
Some animals, mostly mammals, keep the zygote inside their body where the embryo grows until it is ready to be born. These are also cleidoic eggs, but all the development is done inside the mother's body, as with humans. 

Most mammals, and a number of marine reptiles, give live birth. Also, there are some invertebrates, such as scorpions, where the eggs develops inside the mother. They also give birth to live young.

Largest egg 
The ostrich has the largest eggs of all living animals. Eggs, mostly bird eggs, are often eaten as food. The shell of an egg is a hard calcareous (CaCO3) material. The shell of an ostrich egg can support the weight of a fully grown human.

Related pages 
 Ovum
 Cleidoic egg

Biological reproduction
Javan tiger

The Javan tiger (Panthera tigris sondaica) is 1 of 3 extinct types of tigers. It lived on the island of Java in Indonesia. It became extinct in the 1970s-1990s. The last known sighting of one was in 1972. 

It was small when compared with the subspecies from the Asian mainland. However, it was larger than the Bali tiger and around the size of the Sumatran tiger. It had numerous long, thin stripes.

Related pages
Bali tiger
Caspian tiger

Tigers
Mammals of Asia
1529



Events 
 April 22 – Treaty of Saragossa divides the eastern hemisphere between Spain and Portugal, stipulating that the dividing line should lie 297.5 leagues or 17° east of the Moluccas.
 March 7 or 9 – At the Battle of Shimbra Kure, Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-Ghazi, with 200 men armed with matchlocks, defeats the army of Lebna Dengel, Emperor of Ethiopia.
 May 10 – The Turkish army under Suleiman I leaves Constantinople to once again invade Hungary.
 August 5 – Francis I of France and Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor sign the Treaty of Cambrai
 September 8 – Recapture of Buda by the invading Turkish forces.
 September 8 – The city of Maracaibo in Venezuela is founded by Ambrosius Ehinger.
 September 23 – Vienna is besieged by Turkish forces.
 October 15 – With the season growing late, Suleiman abandons the siege.
 Emperor Charles V and Francis I of France sign the Treaty of Cambrai, or the "Ladies' Peace". Francis abandons his claims in Italy, but is allowed to retain Burgundy.
 Thomas Wolsey, Archbishop of York, fails to bring about the divorce and annulment Henry VIII had sought and is forced to resign.
 Aylesbury is granted the county town of Buckinghamshire in England by King Henry VIII.
 Stephen Báthory becomes governor of Transylvania.
 Boromrajathira IV succeeds Rama Thibodi II as king of Ayutthaya.
 Fluorine is first described by Georg Agricola.
 Giorgio Vasari visits Rome.
 Pietro Bembo becomes historiographer of Venice.
 Heinrich Bullinger becomes pastor of Bremgarten.
 Diet of Speyer takes place.
Abacus

An abacus is an old tool used for arithmetic. It is still used in some parts of the world, and it is well suited for use in shops and street markets. Sometimes blind people use an abacus, because they can feel the numbers easily. The most common abacuses work by moving beads on rods.

Abacuses can do addition, subtraction, multiplication, division. They can be used to find the square root of whole numbers. Expert abacus users can sometimes do math faster than basic calculators. 

There is a common Chinese abacus. This abacus is split into two kinds of basic rows, the top is for the "5"s, and the bottom is for the "ones". There are one or two beads in the top rows, and four or five beads in the bottom ones. For example, 8 is one bead on top and 3 below, because 5 + 3 = 8. Every column represents a different digit.

Etymology
The use of the word abacus dates from before 1387 AD, when the word was got from Latin to describe a sandboard abacus. The Latin word came from ancient Greek  (abax) which means something without base, or (improperly) any piece of rectangular board or plank.

Both abacuses' and abaci are used as plurals. The user of an abacus is called an abacist (soft or hard 'c').

Japan 
There is a Japanese version of the abacus called the 'soroban'. It works in essentially the same way.

Other websites

General and historical articles 
 Abacus Photos and Images 
 Abacus
 Roman abacus

Tutorials 

 Manual de uso del Abaco Japonés Soroban 
 Min Multimedia
 Suan Pan 
 Abacus: Mystery of the Bead - an Abacus Manual

Abacus curiosities 
 Abacus in various number systems 
 Java applet of Chinese, Japanese and Russian abaci 
 An atomic-scale abacus

References 

Arithmetics
Mathematical tools
1606



Births 
 February 12 – John Winthrop, the Younger, Governor of Connecticut (died 1676)
 March 3 – Edmund Waller, English poet (died 1687)
 May 23 – Juan Caramuel y Lobkowitz, Spanish writer (d. 1682)
 May 25 – Saint Charles Garnier, Jesuit missionary (died 1649)
 June 6 – Pierre Corneille, French writer (died 1684)
 June 16 – Arthur Chichester, 1st Earl of Donegall, Irish soldier (died 1675)
 June 19 – James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton, Scottish statesman (died 1649)
 July 15 – Rembrandt, Dutch painter (died 1669)
 September 22 – Li Zicheng, Chinese rebel (died 1645)
 November 12 – Jeanne Mance, French settler in Montreal (died 1673)
 Richard Busby, English clergyman (died 1695)
 Leonard Calvert, governor of Baltimore (died 1647)
 Edmund Castell, English orientalist (died 1685)
 William Davenant, English poet and playwright (died 1668)
 Henry Pierrepont, 1st Marquess of Dorchester (died 1680)
 Giovanni Francesco Grimaldi, Italian architect and painter (died 1680)
 Thomas Harrison, English puritan soldier and Fifth Monarchist (died 1660)
 Thomas Herbert, English traveller and historian (died 1682)
 John Robartes, 1st Earl of Radnor (died 1685)
 Pierre du Ryer, French dramatist (died 1658)
 Joachim von Sandrart, German art-historian and painter (died 1688)
 Tokugawa Tadanaga, Japanese nobleman (died 1633)
 Thomas Washbourne, English clergyman and poet (died 1687)
Accordion

An accordion is a musical instrument that has keys similar to a piano, but is small enough for a person to hold. It makes sounds using air pushed and pulled through reeds using a bellows. The accordion can also have buttons instead of keys. The 6-plus-6-system with three rows has the same fingering in all twelve scales.

The accordion was first patented in 1829 in Austria by Cyrill Demain.

Related pages
 Bandoneon

References

Keyboard instruments
Georg Agricola

Georg or Georgius Agricola (1494-1555) was a German scholar and scientist. He was one of the first people to study mining and minerals (stones and gems), that is the father of mineralogy.

German scientists
1494 births
1555 deaths
1428



Births 
 May 3 – Pedro González de Mendoza, Spanish cardinal and statesman (died 1495)
 September 21 – Jingtai Emperor of China (died 1457)
 Donato Acciaiuoli, Italian scholar (died 1478)
 Abulkhair Khan, Uzbek leader (died 1468)
 Didrik Pining, German explorer (approximate date)
 Leonor of Viseu, Princess and later Queen of Portugal (died 1525)
 Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, English kingmaker (died 1471)
1617

Year 1617 (MDCXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar and a common year starting on Wednesday of the 10-day slower Julian calendar.

Events

January–June 
 February 27 – The Treaty of Stolbovo ends the Ingrian War between Sweden and Russia. Sweden gains Ingria and Kexholm.

July–December 
 November 17 – A naval battle between the Sicilians and Venetians ends inconclusively.
 November 22 – Mustafa I succeeds Ahmed I as Sultan of the Ottoman Empire.

Date unknown 
 At least seven women are sentenced to death by burning for witchcraft at the Finspång witch trial in Sweden.
 Giambattista Andreini's play The Penitent Magdalene is published in Mantua.
1561



Births
 January 6 – Thomas Fincke, Danish mathematician and physicist (died 1656)
 January 22 – Sir Francis Bacon, English philosopher, scientist, and statesman (died 1626)
 July 11 – Luís de Góngora y Argote, Spanish poet (died 1627)
 August 20 – Jacopo Peri, Italian composer (died 1633)
 August 24 – Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk (died 1626)
 August 25 – Philippe van Lansberge, Dutch astronomer (died 1632)
 September 29 – Adriaan van Roomen, Belgian mathematician (died 1615)
December 7 – Kikkawa Hiroie, Japanese politician (d. 1625)
 December 9 – Edwin Sandys, English founder of the colony of Virginia (died 1629)
 Jacopo Corsi, Italian composer (died 1602)
 John Harington, English writer (died 1612)
 Samuel Harsnett, Archbishop of York (died 1631)
New Year's Day

New Year's Day is a holiday in many countries. It was created to welcome the new year. In most countries, New Year Day is celebrated on 1 January. This holiday has been the most celebration with over 200 countries and territories in the world.

The new year is an event that happens when a culture celebrates the end of one year and the beginning of the next. Cultures that measure yearly calendars all have new year celebrations.

Modern new year celebrations

Historical dates for the new year

Early Christmas 
In Christmas Style dating, the new year started on 25 December. This was used in Germany and England until the thirteenth century, and in Spain from the fourteenth to the sixteenth century.

In Annunciation Style dating the new year started on 25 March, the feast of the Annunciation. This was used in many parts of Europe in the Middle Ages. The style was started by Dionysius Exiguus in AD 525. Annunciation Style was used in England until 1 January 1752, and in Scotland until 1 January 1600, when the kingdom of Scotland changed to Circumcision Style. England, the kingdom of Ireland, and the Thirteen Colonies changed to Circumcision Style on 1 January, after the United Kingdom of Great Britain changed from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar on 3/14 September 1752. This happened because the Parliament of Great Britain made an act of parliament, the Calendar (New Style) Act 1750.

References

Other websites
 New Year's Around the World   – slideshow by Life magazine
 

January events
890



Events 
 The sovereignty of prince Svatopluk I in Bohemia is confirmed.
 First ceremonial visit by a Welsh king (Anarawd, King of Gwynedd) to an English court (that of Alfred the Great).
 Founding of Kirby Muxloe. (approximate date)
Rural area

Rural areas are areas which are not towns or cities. They are often farming or agricultural areas. These areas are sometimes called "the country" or "countryside". People who live "in the country" often live in small villages, but they might also live somewhere where there are no other houses nearby.

Rural is the opposite of urban, which means places such as cities where buildings and places where people work and live are all close together.

Many people who live in cities like to go to the country to relax. They go there for recreation, often for their holidays, or to read.

In the U.S. and Angola the term "rural area" technically describes a place that has less than 500 inhabitants per square mile.

Human geography

oc:Campagne
Lawrence's goldfinch

The Lawrence's goldfinch (Carduelis lawrencei) is a small songbird of North America. Bigger than the Lesser Goldfinch, and smaller than the American Goldfinch, with less yellow markings than either.

It lives from central California and its southern coast in the United States, to Baja California in Mexico. Females have less yellow and do not have the black cap and chin of the males.

This bird is named after the American ornithologist (bird expert), George Newbold Lawrence.

References

Finches
Cinnamon

Cinnamon is a spice from the inner bark of Cinnamomum verum. 

The spice is used in both sweet and savoury foods. It is aromatic. People usually put cinnamon in sweet baked goods (such as cinnamon rolls), hot wine or liquors. 

Cinnamon was used to make the spiced wine, claret, in the Middle Ages. In India, cinnamon is commonly used in making flavoured tea. It is either directly added as small pieces or put in powdered form during the preparation of tea. It is known as "Daal-Cheeni" in Hindi.

The Sinhalese name is kurundu. Cinnamon is grown as an export crop in Sri Lanka.

Cinnamon as a herbal remedy 
There is a literature which suggests that cinnamon spice may have positive effects on diabetes type II. This is not the view of the U.S, National Institutes of Health.

References

Lauraceae
Spices
1188



Events 
 Saladin unsuccessfully besieges the Hospitaller fortress of Krak des Chevaliers in modern Syria.
 Newgate Prison is built.
 Richard Lionheart allies with Philip II of France against his father, Henry II of England.
 Giraldus Cambrensis and Baldwin of Exeter travel through Wales attempting to recruit men for the Third Crusade.
 The "Saladin tithe" is levied in England.
 Alfonso IX of Castile becomes king of Leon.
 Queen Tamar of Georgia marries David Soslan.
Antidisestablishmentarianism

Antidisestablishmentarianism is a political position. It means "to keep an established church". An official state church is called the "established" church, so a disestablishmentarian is a person who wants to stop the state church. These people say a state church hurts the freedom of religion. These people say the state should be secular, meaning religion and the country are separate. This idea is called disestablishmentarianism. So antidisestablishmentarianism wants to keep the state church.

It is famous because it is one of the longest words in the English language.

History in England 
The word comes from England in the 1800s. In England, Ireland and Wales, there was an official state church called the Anglican Church. Ireland disestablished in 1871, and Wales disestablished in 1920. England still has the Anglican Church as the state church.

In 2014 Nick Clegg, who was the Leader of the Liberal Democrats at the time, said that he thought the Church of England should no longer be the established church. David Cameron, who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, said the establishment helps the church and state.

As a word 
Antidisestablishmentarianism is one of the longest words in the English language. It has 28 letters and 12 syllables. It is considered to be the longest word, if you do not count technical terms. For example, "pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis" is a technical term for a lung disease made by people who wanted it to be the longest word.

In pop culture 
The word became famous because of a popular television show in the 1950s called The $64,000 Question, where someone spelled it and won. Duke Ellington, a jazz artist, had a song called "You're Just an Old Antidisestablishmentarianismist". Eminem, a rapper, used the word in his song "Almost Famous".

Construction of the word 
 establish
 to set up, put in place, or institute
 dis-establish
 to end the established status of something, in this case a state church
 disestablish-ment
 the separation of church and state
 anti-disestablishment
 do not want disestablishment
 antidisestablishment-ary
 about anti-disestablishment
 antidisestablishmentari-an
 someone who does not want disestablishment
 antidisestablishmentarian-ism
 the movement or ideology that does not want disestablishment

Related pages
State religion
Freedom of religion
Secularism
Multiculturalism

References

Linguistics
Long words
Sarah McLachlan

Sarah Ann McLachlan (born January 28, 1968) is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is known for her emotional music. She was adopted and raised in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She went to the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, then moved to Vancouver, British Columbia.

Her recording company, Nettwerk, released her first album in 1988. After recording several albums, she organized the all-female music festival Lilith Fair in 1997, 1998, and 1999. Some of the money made from these concerts went to women's charities. McLachlan received the Elizabeth Cady Stanton Visionary Award in 1998 for helping women's music.

She married her drummer, Ashwin Sood, in 1997. They have a daughter, India, born in 2002.

McLachlan has been written about in magazines such as Rolling Stone, Time, and Entertainment Weekly. She has won Grammy and Juno awards for her music.

She funds a Vancouver program that helps poor children learn music. She has played at charity concerts, such as for victims of the December 26, 2004 tsunami and at the 2005 Live 8 concert in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.

Some of McLachlan's best-known songs include "The Path of Thorns", "Into the Fire", "Possession", "Building a Mystery", "Sweet Surrender", "Adia", "Angel", and "World on Fire".

Albums 
Albums with only new songs:
 Touch (1988)
 Solace (1991)
 Fumbling Towards Ecstacy (1993)
 Surfacing (1997)
 Afterglow (2003)

Live albums 
 Mirrorball (1999)
 Afterglow Live (2004)
Live EPs (shorter albums) were released in 1992 and 2004.

Other albums 
 The Freedom Sessions (1994)
 Rarities, B-Sides and Other Stuff (1996)
 Albums called Murmers were released only for her fan club every year from 1995 to 2001.
 Two remix albums were released, in 2001 and 2005.

1968 births
Canadian adoptees
Canadian pop singers
Canadian singer-songwriters
Grammy Award winners
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Living people
Entertainers from Nova Scotia
Mark Twain

Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), more widely known as Mark Twain, was a well known American writer born in Florida, Missouri.  He worked mainly for newspapers and as a steamboat pilot on the Mississippi River before he became a writer. He married in 1870, and raised his family in Hartford, Connecticut. In later life he invested and lost the money that his writing had made, and toured the world giving lectures that brought him enough money to pay his debt and recover his fortune. 

Clemens was  best known for his works in fiction, and especially for his use of humour. His first published story, in 1865, was The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is considered by many to be Clemens' best work.  This story of a white boy who helps a black man escape slavery in the southern United States is known for its humanity.

Clemens's style was usually informal and humorous. This made him different from many important 19th century writers whose books he disliked. For example, he greatly disliked Jane Austen's works, such as Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice, and famously remarked, "She makes me detest (hate) all her people, without reserve."

Actor Hal Holbrook plays Mark Twain on stage in a one-man show called Mark Twain Tonight.

Halley's Comet appeared in the sky during the year Twain was born and the year he died. This periodic comet comes back every 74 years, which is how long he lived.

Bibliography 
 The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876)
 The Prince and the Pauper (1882)
 Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884)
 A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1889)

References

Other websites 
 
 
 
 
 The Mark Twain Papers and Project of the Bancroft Library (Archive of Mark Twain's papers and writings)
 Samuel Langhorne Clemens collection of papers at New York Public Library

1835 births
1910 deaths
 
19th-century American novelists
American autobiographers
Deaths from myocardial infarction
Pen names
Comedians from Connecticut
Comedians from Missouri
Writers from Missouri
Comedians from Nevada
Writers from Nevada
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is the third book in the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling. The book was released on 8 July 1999. It covers Harry Potter's third year at Hogwarts. A movie based on the book was released on 31 May 2004. This is the only book where Lord Voldemort does not make an appearance.

Plot 
After accidentally inflating his aunt Marge, Harry leaves the Dursleys, and catches a ride on the street on a magical bus called The Knight Bus. Before he begins his way back to Hogwarts, he learns of Sirius Black, a mass murderer, believed to have killed thirteen people with a single curse. Black has escaped from the wizard prison, Azkaban. Meanwhile, upon meeting the Weasleys, Harry learns that, despite accidentally using magic (which is illegal), he has not been expelled.   Mr. Weasley tells Mrs. Weasley of Sirius Black's motive to kill Harry when Harry overhears this he is told not to go looking for Black. Later in the book, Harry soon realizes why.

Other websites

1999 books
Harry Potter books
British novels
Children's books
Crohn's disease

Crohn's disease is a disease that causes the intestines to become swollen. It is a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The intestines may also develop ulcers. People with Crohn's disease often have pain in the stomach, diarrhea, vomiting, and weight loss. Crohn's can also cause skin rashes, arthritis, and swollen eyes. It is named after Burrill Bernard Crohn, who described cases in 1932. It was first
described by Giovanni Battista Morgagni (1682–1771) in the 18th century.

Nobody knows exactly what causes Crohn's disease. In the disease, the person's body attacks itself. The immune system attacks healthy parts of the digestive tract. This causes swelling in the digestive tract.

Though Crohn's is an immune-related disease, it is not an autoimmune disease (the immune system is not triggered by the body itself). The exact underlying immune problem is not clear.  Crohn's disease seems to be connected to the person's genes. People whose brothers or sisters have the disease are the most likely to get it. Men and women can both be affected by Crohn's disease.

Managing Crohn's disease includes both lifestyle changes and various kind of medication. It is a chronic condition for which there is no cure. Certain parasitic intestinal worms appear to make the bowel less inflamed. It is supposed that the worms modify the immune reactions in the parts of the intestine where they live.

Alternative medicine of various kinds has been tried, with uncertain results.

References

Other websites 
Crohn's disease information and tools for patients 
Crohn's disease facts from the National Institutes of Health 
Crohns Disease Resource Site 

Diseases
Immunology
Pet door

Pet doors, also known as cat doors, dog doors, doggie doors, or in the United Kingdom, cat flaps, are small doors for pets. They are usually built in regular doors, but can also be in windows or walls. They usually have the hinge on the top, with no latch, so the animal can push their way in and out. Newer models sometimes only let the pet go outside, but not inside. Others have a latch and something that can be put on the pet that makes the latch open when the pet gets close to the door. They are most commonly used for pet cats, but can also be used for dogs, miniature pigs, or other small pets.

The pet door was developed by Isaac Newton.
Pets
Architectural elements
Mount Rainier

Mount Rainier is a mountain 54 miles (87 kilometres) southeast of Seattle, Washington, in the United States. The volcano is the highest mountain in the Cascade Range, at 14,410 feet (4,392 metres). The top of the mountain is mostly covered by snow and glaciers. Rainier is an active volcano, but has not had an eruption for more than 100 years. Some describe Rainier as dormant or inactive.

On March 2, 1899, U.S. President William McKinley made the mountain and area around it Mount Rainier National Park. It was the country's fifth national park.

References

Other websites 

USGS: Mount Rainier -- Learning to Live with Volcanic Risk
Mount Rainier National Park 
Mount Rainier Volcano Lahar Warning System 
Mount Rainier stream drainage

Volcanoes of Washington (U.S. state)
Henry Knox

Henry Knox (1750-1806) was a military leader for the Americans during the American Revolutionary War. Originally from Boston, Massachusetts, he was appointed Chief Artillery Officer of the Continental Army. He is best known for transporting cannons and other artillery from Fort Ticonderoga to Boston through icy conditions using oxen. Later, George Washington named him the first Secretary of War. 

Fort Knox in Kentucky & Maine are named after him.

1750 births
1806 deaths
American generals
American revolutionaries
Founding Fathers of the United States
Politicians from Boston, Massachusetts
18th-century American politicians
1775



Events 
May – beginning of American Revolutionary War
May – First Continental Congress
June – Second Continental Congress
Shrewsbury

Shrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, a county of England. It is located 9 miles (14 km) east of the Welsh border and serves as the commercial centre for Shropshire and mid-Wales.

The town is very old. It was started around 700 AD. The town centre has almost the exact same medieval street plan and over 660 listed buildings. Many of these buildings have timber framing from the 15th and 16th centuries. There is also Shrewsbury Castle, which was built  in 1074, and Shrewsbury Abbey, which was built in 1083. The town centre is almost completely surrounded by the River Severn.

Charles Darwin was born in Shrewsbury and lived there for 27 years.

The population of Shrewsbury is just over 71,000, making it the second largest town in Shropshire, the biggest being Telford.

The town has a railway station and a professional football club, Shrewsbury Town, who compete in League One.

Twinning
Shrewsbury is twinned with  Zutphen, Netherlands.

In fiction
Shrewsbury Abbey is the setting of the Brother Cadfael Chronicles by Ellis Peters (Edith Pargeter). The books were later made into a television show.  The story is about a 12th-century monk who solves mysteries.  In 2013, the Abbey honoured Pargeter on the 100th anniversary of her birth.

Gallery

References

County towns in England
Market towns in Shropshire
Ludlow

Ludlow is a town in Shropshire, a county of England. The town is very old and dates back to around 800 AD. There is a large castle and many other historic buildings. 

There are just over 10,000 people living in the town.

It is the largest town in the South Shropshire area.

The town, though not large, is important in its area, which includes the Welsh Marches, Wales and South Shropshire. Its parish church, St Laurence's, is the largest in the county.

Transport

Road 
The A49, A4117, B4361 and B4365 roads pass through or go near Ludlow.

Rail 
Ludlow has a train station.

References

Towns in Shropshire
9th-century establishments in Europe
Establishments in England
Civil parishes in Shropshire
1189



Events 
 January 21 – Philip II of France and Richard I of England begin to assemble troops to wage the Third Crusade
 September 3– Richard I of England is crowned as king of England.
 August 29– Ban Kulin wrote "The Charter of Kulin", which become a symbolic "birth certificate" of Bosnian statehood
 This year was fixed as the start of time immemorial in English law in 1276.
 Beginning of the Siege of Acre.
 The Crusader castles of Montreal and Kerak are captured by Saladin.

Births 
 Yuri II, grand prince of Vladimir (d. 1238)

Deaths 
 July 6 — King Henry II of England (b. 1133)