White previously competed internationally as a single skater and nationally as a hockey player. He gave up hockey after breaking his ankle doing it and making him and Davis miss most of the 2004-2005 competitive season. He gave up single skating in 2006 to focus on ice dancing at the senior level.
Meryl Davis
Meryl Davis is an ice dancer from the United States. Her skating partner is Charlie White. They won the junior title at the United States national championships in 2006. In 2007, they won the bronze medal (third place) on the senior level, becoming the first team since Tanith Belbin & Benjamin Agosto to go from being junior national champions to World team members in one season.
Davis and White have skated together since 1997. They are the longest-lasting team still skating in the United States.
In 2006, Davis and White won the bronze medal at the World Junior Figure Skating Championships. Later that year, they became the first team in the world to get the highest level of difficulty for one of their programs. This happened at the 2006 NHK Trophy and put them immediately into the skating spotlight.
In 2007, they won the bronze medal at Nationals. At the World Championships, they placed 7th. This was the highest placement for a US team at their first World Championships since 1980.
Davis and White are coached by Igor Shpilband and Marina Zueva.
Treaty of Shimonoseki
The Treaty of Shimonoseki (, ) was signed between the Qing Dynasty and Empire of Japan at Shimonoseki in 1895. It ended the First Sino-Japanese War (1894 - 1895).
Tessa Virtue
Tessa Virtue is an ice dancer from Canada. Her skating partner is Scott Moir. Virtue and Moir have been skating together since 2008. In the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, the duo won the gold medal in the ice dancing competition; which was not only a first for them, but also for the country of Canada. They went on to win two silver medals in 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics and two gold medals in 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics. They are now the most decorated figure skaters in Olympic history.
Virtue and Moir were the most successful junior-level Canadian ice dancers ever. They won Canada's first gold medal in ice dancing at the World Junior Figure Skating Championships in 2006. In that year, they also won the bronze medal at the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships, a senior-level competition for skaters who are from countries that are not in Europe.
In their first full season skating at the senior level, Virtue and Moir won the silver medal (second place) at the Skate Canada International and again at Nationals. Their debut at the World Championships was the highest debut by any team in over two decades when they placed 6th. This made them immediately seeded skaters going into the 2007/2008 season.
Virtue and Moir are known for their artistry, musicality, and grace on the ice. They often look as if they were dancing, not skating. They have a close connection. While most of their programs have been soft and romantic, Virtue and Moir have also done humorous programs in exhibition.
Virtue and Moir were coached by Igor Shpilband and Marina Zueva.
Scott Moir
Scott Moir is an ice dancer from Canada. His skating partner is Tessa Virtue. Virtue and Moir have been skating together since 1997. In the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, the duo won the gold medal in the ice dancing competition; which was not only a first for them, but also for the country of Canada. They went on to win two silver medals in 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics and two gold medals in 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics. They are now the most decorated figure skaters in Olympic history.
Virtue and Moir were the most successful junior-level Canadian ice dancers ever. They won Canada's first gold medal in ice dancing at the World Junior Figure Skating Championships in 2006. In that year, they also won the bronze medal at the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships, a senior-level competition for skaters who are from countries that are not in Europe.
In their first full season skating at the senior level, Virtue and Moir won the silver medal (second place) at the Skate Canada International and again at Nationals. Their debut at the World Championships was the highest debut by any team in over two decades when they placed 6th. This made them immediately seeded skaters going into the 2007/2008 season.
Virtue and Moir are known for their artistry, musicality, and grace on the ice. They often look as if they were dancing, not skating. They have a close connection. While most of their programs have been soft and romantic, Virtue and Moir have also done humorous programs in exhibition.
Virtue and Moir are coached by Igor Shpilband and Marina Zueva.
Moir comes from a family of skaters. His older brother Danny competed internationally on the junior level with one of his cousins. That cousin now skates competitively as a synchronized skater. Other relatives of Moir's are judges and coaches.
Albena Denkova
Albena Denkova (born December 3, 1974 in Sofia) is an ice dancer from Bulgaria. Her skating partner and fiancee is Maxim Staviski.
Denkova and Staviski are the first Bulgarian skaters to win Worlds, which they did in 2006 and 2007.
In 2006, Denkova was elected as the president of the Bulgarian figure skating federation.
After 2007 Worlds, Denkova and Staviski did not announce if they would retire, leaving it open. However, in the summer of 2007, Staviski was involved in a fatal car crash that killed a man and left someone else in a coma. Staviski survived unharmed. However, he was legally drunk. Denkova and Staviski have withdrawn from the Grand Prix events they were scheduled to attend. Denkova has not made an official announcement as to their retirement, but if Staviski goes to jail, they will be unable to compete.
Denkova's younger sister Ina Demireva is also an ice dancer.
Denkova and Staviski are known for being pioneers of dance lifts. They invented or popularized most of the ice dance lifts currently in use at the international level.
Maxim Staviski
Maxim Staviski () (born November 16, 1977, in Rostov-on-Don, Soviet Union (now Russia)) is an ice dancer from Bulgaria. His skating partner and fiancee is Albena Denkova.
Staviski originally competed for the Soviet Union and later Russia. He moved to Bulgaria when he started skating with Denkova. He has acquired Bulgarian citizenship and considers himself wholly Bulgarian. He was insulted when a reporter told him he was the only Russian skater to win a gold medal at the 2006 World Championships.
Denkova and Staviski are the first Bulgarian skaters to win Worlds, which they did in 2006 and 2007.
After 2007 Worlds, Denkova and Staviski did not announce if they would retire, leaving it open. However, in the summer of 2007, Staviski was involved in a fatal car crash that killed a man and left someone else in a coma. Staviski survived unharmed. However, he was legally drunk. Denkova and Staviski have withdrawn from the Grand Prix events they were scheduled to attend. Denkova has not made an official announcement as to their retirement, but if Staviski goes to jail, they will be unable to compete.
Denkova and Staviski are known for being pioneers of dance lifts. They invented or popularized most of the ice dance lifts currently in use at the international level.
First Sino-Japanese War
The First Sino-Japanese War (, ; 1 August 1894–17 April 1895) was a war between the Qing Dynasty and the Empire of Japan. Finally, the Empire of Japan won the war. They signed the Treaty of Shimonoseki in 1895.
There were totally 65 warships in China before the outbreak of the First Sino-Japanese War. They were divided into four fleets (Beiyang Fleet, the Nanyang Fleet, the Guangdong Fleet and the Fujian Fleet). However, the Beiyang Fleet was the only fleet participated in the war. In order to save their ships, the other fleets' commanders were opposed to join the war.